The Wolf In sheeps clothing

Sorted

Niall wandered about in a daze, unable to focus his thoughts on anything .Images floated through his mind on a loop.He rubbed his aching head. Eventually his thoughts cleared and he knew what he needed to do. Louis needed him and he needed him right now. Mind made up, he booked his flight to the UK, he'd do his best to support Louis , making sure his 'bro' got all the love and support his 'brothers' could  possibly give him.

Watching Louis perform, Niall was in awe of his friend's strength and courage, and so proud of him. All the boys were so close, despite the Hiatus, and nothing made that bond more apparent than today. Whenever one of them needed love and support, it was instantly there. Niall sighed gently. It didn't matter how rich or famous you were, life could knock you back, good and hard.He'd learnt that and now, sadly, so had Louis. Niall's gentle heart bled for his bandmate and friend.

"Thanks Nialler" Louis wrapped his arms around Niall and hugged him tightly. "You look after yourself, bro. I can't lose anyone else, hear me. Now move, you'll miss your flight" He ruffled Niall's hair and gently pushed him towards the waiting car, watching as Niall climbed in and the car pulled away, heading towards the airport. Turning, Louis walked back into his home and shut the door. Bracing his shoulders and hastily wiping tears from his cheeks, he plastered a fake smile on his lips and rejoined his family.

The flight had exhausted Niall despite the fact he had slept the entire journey. Stumbling his way through  LAX, he was grateful to see his Manager, James, waiting for him. Niall gave him a tired smile and followed him through the building and out into the hot LA sunshine. Immediately Niall felt the prickling, burning sensation on his skin that was beginning to feel inevitable .Da*n Lupus, he thought, as he climbed into the blissful cool of the car conditioned car. He wanted to be home, asleep in his bed. He closed his eyes and let himself drift.

 James glanced across at his sleeping passenger and frowned. He knew Niall was tired from the flight but surely he was even paler than normal. There were dark, purplish shadows under his eyes and he looked far too thin, even thinner than he'd been a week ago. He'd have to talk with Niall, get him to understand that he needed to be sensible. They would have to talk about the media as well. There had been so many rumblings lately. Claims that Niall was depressed or on drugs. "Sources' pertaining to be close to the star , had fed the gossip columns with fake stories about the Irishman. Some saying he was a druggie , others that he had some deadly disease. If only Niall would agree to a press release ,it  would end all the lies and speculation. He risked another brief look at his passenger before returning his eyes to the road ahead, turning off the music that had been playing so as not to disturb Niall, who had fallen asleep.In the almost silent car, James could hear Niall's breathing, loud and raspy. 

"Ni, Niall" James gently shook the sleeping man's shoulder. "Wake up, buddy, you're home". The small Irishman. opened his eyes and looked about him groggily. He was indeed outside his home. James had already opened the passenger side door and was waiting patiently for Niall move.

"Sorry, Jimjam" Niall gave his manager as sweet smile as he pushed himself out of the car. "Jetlag's a bummer".

"Sure is" James responded, but his accompanying smile was an effort. "Get yourself in and rest" he advised as he walked around the car to the driver's side. "I mean it, Niall. You look like Sh*t."

"Harsh!" Niall responded "but probably true"

"I mean it, Niall. Rest" With that, James got into the car and drove away, his mind full of concern for the young man he'd just left. He'd only known Niall for just over a year but was already extremely fond of the sweet young man. If only he could believe Niall would rest and take care of himself but he already knew the answer to that conundrum. 

"He's stubborn" James complained to his Secretary, Lisa. "I just don't know who can make him pay attention. I know he's close to Louis but that isn't an option right now."

"No" Lisa agreed. "His other mates? Liam? Harry?".

"No. I'm sure they'd try but Louis always  seems to have more success in the past. I don't know, Lisa. You should see him. He's fading away. It's no wonder the media rumor mill is going overtime." James sounded exasperated .

"Maybe his parents? He's always talking about his family" Lisa suggested. James quirked an eyebrow at her, shaking his head. 

"He's a twenty three year old man, Lisa. Do you think he'd want his Mom nagging him?" James sighed heavily. "Lisa, pull up his contract for me" James said then headed towards his office.

"Here you are" Lisa placed the thick folder on the desk in front of James and he thanked her absentmindedly as he pulled it towards himself. Flipping swiftly through the pages he stopped when the paragraph he needed caught his eye. He read it carefully then re read it. A ha! He pulled the phone towards himself and keyed in the numbers he required, whistling tunefully as he waited for his call to be answered.

Niall leant against the cool tiles of the shower as he let the arm water pour over his tired body, wishing away the grimy feeling travelling always seemed to create. Eventually he turned off the water and stepped out of the shower, wrapping a soft terry robe around his body, too tired and too lazy to dry himself with a towel. He walked into his bedroom and flopped onto the bed, propped up his back with a mound of pillows and turned on the TV. He started to cough and felt his chest tighten.' Da*n ' he thought. He'd not had any problems with his asthma for a few weeks. He hoped it wasn't starting up again. He reached into the drawer of his bedside cabinet and pulled out his inhaler, taking a few puffs. His chest eased slightly but he still felt rough. He coughed again and felt his chest rattling. Pushing himself out of bed, he went back into his bathroom, scanned his choices before pulling some Nyquil from the medicine cabinet. It might still only be early afternoon,, but he was exhausted and wanted to sleep. Shrugging, he opened the bottle and, swallowing down two capsules , headed back to bed. Propping himself upright once more, he continued to watch TV, slowly relaxing into sleep , the  now unheeded TV playing on.Outside his windows, the afternoon sun continued to shine brightly.

"Thank you, thank you very much" James said gratefully before terminating his call. He just had a few adjustments to the diary to make and then everything would be ready to roll. He grabbed Niall's contract and took it back to Lisa, plopping it down on her desk. "Sorted" he told her by way of an explanation. " Now if you could just deal with these for me" he handed her a sheet of paper full of instructions written in his cramped script "We'll be ready to roll."

"Umm...what's sorted?" Lisa asked

"Niall is" was all James replied. Waving a careless hand in goodbye, he walked jauntily from the building.