Left My Heart Behind

Chapter 1

Niall had been acting odd lately. The boys had noticed but hadn’t said anything because they thought they would give their friend some time to himself. He had been distant and very short tempered lately and it was starting to worry them. He ignored them the best he could by either locking himself up in his room or spending time with the band. Neither of which made the other four happy. They missed their leprechaun.  Louis was the one who decided to finally get to the bottom of things.

          “Louis! Let go of me!” Niall yelled as he was drug out of his room and into the hallway where Louis picked him up and threw the light blonde over his shoulder, carrying him downstairs into the kitchen. Louis smirked to himself for his plan. He knew Niall would still be sleeping so he got himself up early, snuck over, and got everything ready. Niall let out a gasp when Louis threw his body into a chair.

          “Lou-“ He started but was stopped when he felt his hands pulled behind the chair roughly and tied together. His ankles were soon tied to the legs of the chairs and Niall was happy he decided to sleep in sweatpants last night. Harry and Zayn stood up and walked in front of the blonde with unreadable expressions on their faces. Niall glared at the two of them harshly. This was NOT his morning.

          “Let me go. Now.” He growled out at the two of them, not realizing that Louis had disappeared. Harry bit his lip and looked away with tears shining in his eyes. Zayn noticed this and put a hand on the younger boy’s shoulder, though not changing his expression. The blonde was irate. How dare they drag him out of bed and tie him up in his own home! Who did they think they were?!

          “We’re your mates, Nialler.” Zayn said stiffly, looking as though his heart had just been ripped out. Harry choked back a sob and left the kitchen quickly. Apparently Niall had been thinking aloud, not that it mattered.

          “Let me go, Zayn. I’m serious.” Niall hissed out, narrowing his eyes in a menacing way as he stared at the older boy. Zayn took a step back and shook his head slightly, though not convincing either of them. The Bradford boy was having a hard time seeing the leprechaun like this. Niall was always the little brother he always wanted and this wasn’t like him. It scared him.

          “Zayn. I swear to god if you do not let me go, when I am untied I am going to go and break all of your-“ A loud crack echoed throughout the room, silencing Niall. The blonde sat with wide eyes up at the person who slapped him. Liam. The Wolverhampton boy stood in front of him, his hand still in the air and tears flowing freely down his face. Louis and Zayn stood behind him with equally shocked expressions on their faces as they watched the stare-down between Niall and Liam.

          “Liam,” Louis was the first to break the silence as he stepped forward and put a hand on Liam’s arm gently, feeling how the brown-eyed boy was shaking under his touch. Niall looked away suddenly, glaring at the floor and trying not to cry. Liam was always the one he could go to when he was having a bad day. Liam was his Superman. And his savior just hit him. He knew he was being a jerk, but he couldn’t help but feel a little betrayed.

          “Nialler, look at me.” Liam’s voice was raw emotion; broken from crying and rough from the tears, making his accent thicker than usual. Niall couldn’t look at him and see just how broken his best friend was. It would kill him and make was he was doing even harder. He was leaving the band. The fans hated him and he could see why. His teeth were all funny looking, his hair was a fake blonde, his eyes were a weird blue, he was super short and really skinny. All around he was ugly. His voice was the worst from the group and he just stuck out.

          He had been watching the boys for weeks and he knew they would be fine without him. Harry had Louis, that was obvious, and Liam and Zayn were there for each other. No odd man out. This is what he had been doing. He already told management and they were completely supporting him through the process, though he knew that they would because they hated him. Almost all his stuff was already back at home. He only had enough stuff in his room to make it look like nothing was really missing.

          “Niall!” Niall snapped his head up, his eyes wide with shock at the harsh and broken tone Liam had used. Liam’s brown eyes were cloudy with tears and all around his eyes was red and puffy. His hands were clenched at his sides and shaking while he stood his ground. Harry had joined them again and was holding onto Zayn hand while being held in Louis’ arms. Niall noted this with a bitter smile before looking at the ground again. Liam saw this and took a step back. He had never seen that expression on his friend’s face before.

          “Niall. What’s wrong? What’s going on with you lately?” He questioned desperately, aching to reach forward and run his fingers through Niall’s blonde hair like he loved doing. Niall thought about it for a moment before looking back up to Liam, a bitter expression on his face.

          “I’m leaving. I already told management.” He said with a strong voice even though he was dying on the inside. Saying it out loud made it final. This was actually happening. Starting right then, One Direction would be a band of four completely gorgeous and talented young English lads. No fifth. Louis raised an eyebrow at this.  

          “When are you coming back?” He asked after a moment’s pause. Niall flicked his gaze to the oldest of the group, holding his blue-grey eyes for a moment before looking into Zayn’s big brown eyes. They were cloudy with what Niall assumed were tears. And finally, Niall looked into Harry’s eyes and had to bite the inside of his cheek when he saw just how hurt the youngest was. They weren’t very close, but they always had this weird connection that neither had with anyone else. Harry knew.

          “You won’t be coming back, will you Nialler?” He said, though the question was a statement. Liam let out a choked breath and snapped his attention to the blonde in front of him. Niall looked away from the green eyes he knew too well and back to Liam, not daring to look at the other two again. Niall shook his head and watched as Liam fell to his knees in front of him and started to sob, his tears dripping onto Niall’s knees.

          “You can’t leave!” Liam cried, looking up at the blonde, clutching a handful of Niall’s sweats in his hand as he looked for something in his friend’s eyes that wasn’t there.  Liam sobbed and Niall closed his eyes feeling a few tears roll down his cheeks. He felt hands untying him and he opened his eyes to see the eldest member of the band untying him slowly, tears dripping off of his face. Liam saw this and shrieked.

          “No! We can’t let him go!” He yelled, trying to grab Louis’ hands. Harry and Zayn grabbed him and pulled him back, holding him tightly as Louis finished untying the Irish boy. Niall stood up and looked away.

          “I’m going to get my things and I’ll leave.” He said before walking back up to his room, trying to ignore the sounds coming from downstairs.

          When Niall came back down he was wearing his signature red polo and chinos with white sneakers. He had a duffle bag slung over his shoulder with the rest of his clothing and things inside. The other four boys were sitting on the couch, holding onto each other tightly. Niall went to the door and set his bag down before walking back over to them. He took a seat on the table in front of them and took a deep breath, rubbing his hands together.

          “I’ve been thinking about this for a while, and about a month ago I told management. They are being super about this whole thing. Sorry for being a dick to you guys this past month, but it was easier for me,” Niall took another breath and looked up at the four crying boys he used to call his family. “I’m not coming back. You guys will be alright without me. I just know it. You’re all talented and good looking. Don’t let anyone else tell you that you aren’t.” With that, Niall stood up, pressed a kiss to each boy’s forehead and walked back to the door. He picked his bag up and was about to open the door when he felt a hand in his own. He knew who it was without looking back.

          “Harry, I’m leaving.” He said, trying to ignore the tears that were now threatening to spill from his eyes. Harry’s hand tightened on his own slightly, almost as if the boy knew that he was trying not to cry.

          “Let me drive you.” Harry said softly, not letting go of the blonde’s hand. Niall wanted to tell him no, wanted to run out the door and never look back, wanted to forget about the boy with the bright green eyes and the curly brown hair. That’s not what he did though. He nodded numbly and held his breath as he stood, still facing the door while Harry put on some shoes and a hoodie before slipping his hand into Niall’s again.

          “Let’s get going then.”