Eighteen // 5SOS

Chapter 14

Before I start, I'd like to thank anyone that's voted on, commented on, shared or simply read this story. It means the world to me that people actually spent time reading my first proper piece of writing, and I really hope you enjoy this last chapter :)

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Three months had passed, and the music of summer was playing out its final chords in the September sunshine. The boys had finished their UK tour, and after a long and serious group discussion with Steve and the rest of their management team after the show, they had all agreed that taking a month's rest was what was best for each other. While they loved their position and the way things were going for their band at the moment, this was very much a group decision, not a management one. For this little while, the band would take a back seat while the boys focused on supporting themselves, not One Direction.

Much to Luke's dismay, Michael had got the tattoo removed, and as he constantly said to Luke, "I can't pick up any girls when they automatically assume I like dick, Luke!" though Luke would always reply jokingly with something along the lines of: "At least that saves you having to tell them!". Calum and Ashton would shake their heads and laugh along with these conversations, happy that the boys used playful jokes in dealing with all this. Truthfully, the topic of girls was still a difficult one to discuss light-heartedly.

They had no way to contact the girls from Luke's semi-disasterous Eighteenth party, and had not seen anyone since. Calum, in particular, was losing sleep. He was struggling with unconciousness, he kept seeing faces. It was not until he woke up that he realised, every time, that those faces looked like Lemon.

"I can't think straight," Calum said one morning to Ashton over breakfast, staring down at the wood of the table in front of him. "I need to see her."

Ashton sighed, kneading his fingers together as he leaned his elbows on the surface in front of him. "I know, I really do." The matter had been clouding his mind for a while too. It did not feel right at all that they would go through so much together, share these unforgettable experiences with each other just to break off contact completely. However he didn't share this to Calum, being the big brother of the band, he had to be strong. He had to make the others feel better. "Maybe try and think about something else, distract yourself. Write about it, that usually makes you feel better. Just don't overthink stuff man, it can ruin you."

Calum nodded and began eating, slowly, but still eating. Ashton smiled sadly at him. He wanted more than anything for his friend to be happy, and seeing him like this was more than odd, it just wasn't Calum. Although Calum was not the only boy who had looked down in the dumps lately, as Michael and Luke had both been far from themselves too. Michael was quiet and left his room rarely, while Luke had developed a habit for going out on long walks for hours out of the city, returning late at night. They all needed an intervention, Ashton thought, drumming his fingers lightly on the worktop as he often did when he was thinking.

There was really no other way.

- - -

If was late afternoon, and Lemon and Caits were walking leisurely through Glasgow. The sun was shining for once and the weather was warm enough that they needed a simple light jacket to brace the cool breeze in. Nevertheless, summer was ending, and darkness was creeping up on the daytime.

"Remember in June?" Lemon said, as they sat in the grass at George Square, watching the city move by. "I still laugh when I think of people's faces when we were driving that party bus through town that night."

Caits nodded along, laughing. They didn't even need to explain what particular day in June this was. Nothing else spectacular had occurred that month, and those 24 hours had more packed into them than the entire year so far. "The best part was when we realised none of us could actually drive and we had to actually ask a taxi driver if he'd drive the bus back."