Falling Again [Larry Stylinson]

Chapter Five-Papped

"I can't believe we're doing this to him!" Louis frets, pacing around the room. "I mean, he just got out of hospital yesterday! And just found out about the band today! Don't you think we should give it all some time to sink in?"

"Louis, you know we can't!" Liam says, running his hand through his hair.

"Can someone please tell me why us going out for dinner is such a big deal?" I ask.

"What if the waitress starts flirting with him or something? Liam we-we can't!" Louis is shaking.

"Lou.." Liam wraps his arm around Louis, and I feel an odd twist in my stomach, so I try to think back to what Louis had said. The waitress flirting with me?

"Well I'm hungry." Niall pouts.

"Louis, he can't stay here forever." Zayn tries to reason. I don't get why Louis is being so protective of me.

"Fine. But if we get mobbed and he doesn't know what to do, that's on your shoulders!" He snaps.

Mobbed?

***

We all drive to the restaurant in one car. I'm in the back between Louis and Niall. Louis is nervously biting his lip.

"Hey, it's going to be fine." I smile, grabbing his hand and squeezing it reassuringly. He looks back at me with a faint smile, then his eyes drifted down to our hands, which are still together...

I quickly pull mine away, and he sighs, resting his on his lap. I can feel my cheeks burning. Why the hell was I just holding his hand? And why did it feel so normal?

As we drive up, I notice a lot of people outside.

"Ugh.. Niall!" Liam snaps from the front.

"Sorry! I.. I'm sorry!"

"What?" I ask, not getting why Liam is getting angry at Niall.

"I tweeted Nando's... I just put the one word! But I was excited!" Niall says.

"I don't get it!" I say again, still lost.

"Just.. Ignore everyone, right? Keep your eyes down and ignore the questions, right?" Louis says. I nod, still unsure. "Let's go."

He grabs my hand, pulling me out of the car behind him. I don't get it at first, then I hear someone scream "THERE THEY ARE!"

And suddenly, people are everywhere. Louis keeps a right grip on my hand as lights are flashing in my face, and I can hear people shouting questions.

"HARRY! WHY WERE YOU IN THE HOSPITAL?!"

"ZAYN! LIAM! HOW ARE THINGS GOING WITH THE SECOND ALBUM?!"

"HARRY! CAN YOU TELL US WHAT HAPPENED IN THE HOSPITAL?!"

"NIALL! WHY DID YOU TWEET ABOUT COMING HERE IF YOU GUYS WANTED SOME PRIVACY?!"

"HARRY! DID YOUR FAMILY COME VISIT IN THE HOSPITAL?!"

"LOUIS! AS HARRY'S BEST FRIEND, HOW ARE YOU HANDLING HIS RECOVERY?!"

"HARRY!"

"HARRY!"

"HARRY!"

And then the doors to Nando's shut behind us. I'm still trying to blink away all the flashing lights as a waitress comes and leads us to a table. Louis is still holding my hand, and I would pull away, but I don't think I'd find my way without his help. As well... His hand feels nice in mine.

As we sit down though, I slip my hand from his and back into my pockets. I see something flash across his face... Pain? No.. It couldn't be.

I see Liam give Louis' shoulder a reassuring grab as we looked at our menus.

***

When we leave the restaurant, it's genuinely empty outside, so we all just go back to me and Louis' place to hang out a bit more, and to answer some more of my questions.

When we get home, Louis quickly excuses himself for bed, even though it's still early.

"What's with him?" I ask, genuinely concerned.

"I told you." Liam shrugs. "He's just a bit more affected by your amnesia than the rest of us because you guys were closer."

"Right." I say, although I feel like they're still hiding something from me.

"He'll come around." Zayn says, smiling faintly.

"I just feel bad about it." I sigh as I rub my arm. "I mean, I can't remember anything. Like today, I found out I have a star tattoo on my arm!"

"Yeah, you got that to represent the band," Liam explains. "One point for each of us."

"Oh. Alright. I still don't like having to have my life told to me by people who I can't remember." I rub my eyes. "Sorry."

"No. It's fine, Harry, we get it." Liam says.

"So," I say, trying to change the subject. "We're pretty big, I take it, from the amount of paparazzi that were outside Nando's?"

"That's the understatement of the century." Niall chuckles.

"What do you mean?" I ask.

"One Direction is the biggest boy band in the world." Zayn states.

"Are you serious?" I gasp.

"Look, I know we're not supposed to let him on the internet, but why don't we just show him the video for What Makes You Beautiful?" Zayn asks.

"I guess." Liam sighs, and we all head over to the computer.

The screen flickers to life, and Liam types in the password, revealing the homepage of Louis and I asleep, cuddled up on the couch.

"What the-" I gasp.

"What?" Niall laughs. "You guys always sleep together."

"Really?" I ask, suddenly not as conscious as I had been the night before. Zayn nods.

I watch as Liam types in One Direction What Makes You Beautiful into the search box on YouTube. He clicks on a result which starts with a beach. And then the music starts playing, and you see five boys on a beach... Us?

Then it goes to Liam singing. And us in a van... And then I'm singing!

"It's got over one hundred and fifty million views!" I gasp.

"Yeah, and it debuted at number one on the American charts!" Niall says.

"Really?" I ask.

I watch as we all continue to sing, and then suddenly, something pops into my mind.

"Zayn, you buried me in the sand."