Don't You Forget Me (A One Direction FanFiction)

Chapter 23

Liam's POV:

"Are you sure this is the right time for us to tour? I mean, are we ready to leave everyone behind again?" I'm still in a state of shock, I can't believe the boys didn't tell me before! I'm part of the band too, don't I get a say in whether we can tour or not?

"You mean you don't want to leave Annie, correct?" Harry asks suddenly, reading me like a book.

"Look Liam, this is going to be hard on all of us. We all have special people in our lives who we don't want to leave but this tour is for the fans and for the band. We need this success for our future and to keep the fans interested in our music," Louis explained, not holding eye contact.

"That sounds like it came straight out of managements mouth," I laughed without humour and turned my back on the boys, "I'm going to talk to Annie for a second and then we can discuss this further. As a band."

Before any of them could object, I ran up the stairs and into my bedroom where Annie was still sat in bed. She looked so small and vulnerable, like a lost little girl. I dread to think what this announcement has done to her, I can almost see the cogs working inside her brain.

"Hey babe," I murmured, slipping into bed beside her and holding her hand underneath the covers.

"Hi," She sighed, reaching up with her other hand to push her dark hair out of her eyes.

My girlfriend looks so tired right here in front of me, like she's fed up with life all over again. This tour will wreck her, of that I am certain. All the progress she has made over the past month will be for nothing.

"What are you thinking about?" I asked softly, almost not ready for the answer.

She sighed again and drew her knees up to her chin, looping one arm around them. Her eyes scared me, they were just staring into the distance with no emotion whatsoever. They looked almost...dead.

"You leaving, the boys leaving, college, my mum, just everything really." She muttered, still not looking at me.

"Hey, everything will be okay, do you hear me? I promise that nothing will change between us Annie. If you don't want me to go on this tour, just say the word. I'll stay here and look after you if that's what you want. The fans won't miss me all that much, they know how much I love them but you're just more important right now. Just say the word Annie, that's all you have to do." I told her sincerely, lightly touching the side of her face so that she would have to turn and look at me.

"I can't ask you to do that, music is everything to you and I know that. Telling you to stay here instead of going on tour would probably be the worst thing I could do. So listen to me, I will be fine okay? You don't need to worry about me all the time because I know that I'll be safe and well here. Sure, I will miss you so much but it's only for six months and then you'll come back! I will wait for you Liam, if you wait for me too?"

At this point her lower lip was trembling and I could tell she was fighting to keep the tears away. Annie is such a strong woman, I'm lucky she trusts me enough to let me care for her the way I do.

"If that's what you want, I promise." I whispered, sealing the deal with a soft kiss.

-ONE WEEK LATER-

Annie's POV:

It's almost here, tomorrow is the day that Liam and the boys leave for their tour. At the moment they're all out at a meeting with management and going over the final checks for each country and each show which sounds tedious to say the least. Liam was complaining about it from the moment we woke up until the moment they left for the meeting.