Bass

Chapter 9

I refused to enter the body of the bus for at least five minutes. I didn't want to face anybody and Paul seemed pretty content with me hovering over his shoulder, watching him drive through the streets of London. 

London was a beautiful city. It wasn't flashy or overdone. It was like that indie person that everyone loves. You know, the kind of person that's laid back and tells jokes at the perfect moments. It was like that. It was carefree and funky, but also kind of grungy and cultured in places. 

People with colourful clothes lined the streets. We moved through a intersection that had huge lighted signs. I had seen pictures of Piccadilly Circus on the Internet but it was amazing in real life. The neon lights made me notice how late it actually was. I checked the clock on the dashboard and read 5: 30. I heard a rumble and the sky started pelting down buckets of rain (surprise, surprise). 

Paul chuckled.

"They don't call it the rainy city for nothing."

I smiled nervously. Living in a country that had been in a drought for ten years meant that I was emotionally allergic to rain. I didn't like it, and it didn't like me. Like thunder, rain made me feel nervous and jittery, and if it was coming down hard enough, I could have panic attacks (like the one in the plane).  It was a weird feeling but something I felt none the less. I guessed I would probably have to get used to it.

It was Zayn that grabbed my arm and pulled me back into the actual lounge area of the bus. I took note of my surroundings straight away.

What I was expecting was an impeccably clean, dull lounge area with a table and kitchenette and the boys seated properly, politely chatting.

I didn't get what I expected.

There were bean bags everywhere and cushion-y couches lined the walls. Everything was in bright, vivid colours like blue, yellow and red. The floor was a black fluffy carpet that covered the walls as well as the ceiling. It was wonderfully cosy! A few TV's were also on the walls. They had either cartoons or music playing on them. There was a red desk with a laptop in one corner of the lounge, at which Niall was seated. He was laughing and throwing a paper ball at Louis and Eleanor who were sitting close together on a couch on the other side of the room. 

Liam was on a beanbag texting someone intently on his phone. Zayn left me to walk over to Niall and spin the chair jokingly. Niall laughed as he got thrown of it on to the floor. Everybody started laughing happily when Zayn sat down in the chair and stuck out his tongue to Niall. 

It was a great moment which I ruined as I starting laughing loudly. Everybody looked at me awkwardly as the room fell silent. I stopped laughing and walked past them, embarrassed,  into a corridor across from where I was standing. I closed the small folding door behind me, hiding from the chatter that was starting up again.

This part of the bus was quiet and excluded. I looked around to find I was standing in the lodging of the bus. There were two bunk beds, one on either side of me. I spotted each bed had been personalised in some way. The bed in the upper left hand side had pictures of leprechauns next to it on the wall and heaps of fan letters. That was obviously Niall's. Another, the bed on the lower left hand side, had pictures of Liam and a beautiful dark skinned woman. This was obviously Liam's, and the woman was probably his girlfriend. I didn't have time to look at any other beds (it's not as creepy as it sounds) as I felt a presence behind me, even further into the bus, past the corridor. I swiveled to find a very laid back Harry leaning against a door frame with his sunglasses hooked on his grey 'Ramones' t-shirt that was fitted around his torso. 

"What are you doing?" He asked.

"Looking for the toilet." I said reflexively. I shuffled around awkwardly before sighing. "Where is it?"

Harry scoffed and moved backward to reveal a brightly lit cubicle, the toilet. But before I could enter Harry's arm shot out to block me. I stopped and looked straight ahead, avoiding his face.

"About earlier," he said before clearing his throat. "I wanted to apologize. I wasn't going to hurt you on the plane, if you were scared. It's just I've never had to deal with that before."

"Deal with what?"

"My hair, getting messed up." He said, like it was obvious.

"Oh, that. Yeah, sorry. I think it might have gotten a bit out of hand" I looked down at my feet, my throat welling with embarrassment. 

"Don't worry about the pictures. Management will deal with them."

For some reason the word 'management' struck a cord and my mind flew back to my very first encounter with Harry. I clearly rember seeing Harry but none of the other boys were in the building with him, from what I saw anyway. Why was he in the Syco building alone? I didn't see any of the other boys there. Was he going to the board meeting with Mr. Skinner that Simon was talking about? Why did he have so much faith in Management? Did the others know about it? I was suddenly curious and couldn't help myself from doing a little digging. 

"Do you always rely on mangement to do everything?"

"What?"

"Like, are you sure their always gonna save your ass?" 

"Don't swear.... and, yes, they tend to fix almost every dilemma."

"Do you make special deals with them?"

"I don't know where your going with this."

"Do you have meetings with them on a regular basis?"

"Um.... is this an interview or something?"

"Why is Management so important? What do they do?"

"Because it's our Management. And they.... manage stuff. Like, organize everything for us." 

"You shouldn't let them rule your life."

"Thanks, Dr. Phil, I'll keep that in mind." He rolled his eyes, and like he was bored of the conversation, walked past me and into the lounge. 

I heard Louis shout 'Hazza!' before the noise subsided again with the close of the door. 

I found myself breathing heavily and slowed it down. There was something about Harry that equally puzzled me and annoyed me. He just seemed so self-assured! I acted weirdly around him and I obviously couldn't control it. I needed to step back and concentrate on drumming. It would take my mind off it.

After finishing up in the bathroom I noticed a small stairwell heading up to another level. I didn't have time to explore as the bus suddenly stopped and I heard everyone in the lounge run out like excited chilren on afield trip. I was reminded that most of them were still teenagers. 

As I crept back through to the lounge to exit the bus, Niall suddenly stepped in front of me and handed me a blue squishy ball. He smiled as I eyed it questioningly. 

"It's a stress ball. I figured you might be a wee home-sick since your moving to London. Now your in the crew, we have to look out for each other. Right?"

He rised his eyebrows which almost make me buckle. God, he was sweet. And cute. And nice....

"Thanks." I stammered.

"You're 'right." He friendly slapped me on the shoulder and turned to exit, swiftly placing a red snap back on his messy blonde hair.

I snapped back (see what I did there) to reality and stumbled off the bus.

Looking up sent me into cardiac arrest. 

The property before me was like a castle. It looked like something out of Oxford University. It was a brick complex with a French chateauesque style with dark red tones. It overlooked a courtyard with a mixture of grass and a pebble driveway (this was where the bus was placed). I literally couldn't breathe for a second before Zayn yelled:

"You 'right there, Charlie?"

I closed my gaping mouth and nodded. I could hardly believe this was were I going to be staying while in London. Waiting for everyone to enter the house I grabbed my pink suitcase and watched the bus roll away.

No wonder Harry gave off that slightly arrogant vibe. He had been treated like a king.