Niam- Take Me Home

**** AUTHOR'S NOTE **** This is an odd story, first time writing fanfiction so please be kind. I love writing and I love One Direction so I'm giving it a try. Please be patient. Thank you! Enjoy! 

Louis William Tomlinson glanced out of the limo window. The streets of London flew by him in a dizzying whirl of color and light. The shop windows were all lit up, contrasting the darkness of the night sky. The 20 year old sighed to himself. He always loved London at night. He loved London period, but something about the way the city came alive when the sun went down was always fascinating to him. Coming from the tiny town of Doncaster, England, he had only just familiarized himself with the City. In fact, it had only been 2 short years since he had first come here. Louis was momentarily startled by that thought. Had it really only been two years? It felt like a lifetime. When Louis thought of himself before the X Factor, before One Direction, it was like he was looking at someone elses life. It didn’t feel real. Like a distant memory. He had done and achieved so much in the last few years.. he was incredibly lucky, he knew.

                He was pulled out of his reverie by the sound of a familiar voice in the seat next to him. “You can’t fall asleep yet, Tommo. We still have an entire night ahead of us,” Harry Styles said in his deep voice.  “You don’t want to miss anything because you fell asleep, do you?” The youngest member grinned his dazzling grin. Harry really did have a nice smile. And he had the best little dimples ever. Louis smirked and returned his head to the window.  “I don’t know what you’re talking about, Curly. I was only resting my eyes. But I am deeply moved that you care so much about my wellbeing.” In an instant, he felt the weight of a pair of arms wrapping around his torso tightly. Harry crooned, “It’s Gotta be LOUUUUU!!! Only LOUUU!!!” Louis couldn’t help but laugh. Harry was so ridiculous sometimes. Though he was one to talk… he loved a good mischief making himself.

                “Are you two flirting again? Good grief, have some self-respect. People will start to talk.” The dulcet tones of Liam Payne came from the other side of the limo, where he was resting his head on Zayn Malik’s lap. Louis could tell by the way the corners of Liam’s mouth lifted up that he was joking. “You’re one to talk,” He said indignantly. “And for your information, they already have started to talk. Or did you miss the Larry Stylinson fan fiction party last weekend?” He punctuated this statement with a jab of his elbow to Harry’s ribs, which made the youngest member let go of his torso and stare at him in mock shock and hurt. “Boo Bear! You cut me deep, man. Perhaps I won’t let you play with my curls after all.” Louis rolled his eyes.  “And what makes you think I would want too, Mr. Charmer? Really, you shouldn’t flatter yourself.” Liam made a fake gagging sound and said, “No, Tommo, I was there for the fanfiction party, unfortunately. Honestly, you are the only two straight men I know that would spend all night reading fictional stories about yourselves in a homosexual relationship for fun.” Louis snorted and Harry perked up. “But of course, Li,” He said, sliding over in the wide seat to wrap his muscled arms around the 18 year old instead. “Why not? The fans are so dedicated in believing that we are secret lovers. We wouldn’t want to dash their fragile hopes, now would we?” Louis smirked. Harry was particularly affectionate tonight. He supposed this was good. An affectionate Hazza was so much better than a moody Hazza. Moody Hazza didn’t come out a lot, but you sure as hell noticed when he did.

                Liam muttered something about them dashing the fans hopes every day by not marrying them when Zayn woke up suddenly and sat up straight, eyes wide, mouth open in a perfect O.  And with that, he went back to sleep. The car started laughing hysterically, and Liam took a photo of the Sleeping Beauty and tweeted it. “The fans are going to absolutely love this…” He said, smiling.

                “Not as much as they’re going to love the video of the conversation you three lovebirds just had…” Came the voice of Niall Horan from the back. Louis twisted in his seat to stare at the Irish blond. “You didn’t…” He said in half shock, half admiration. It was a dirty trick, no doubt, and Louis had to respect that. He even smiled a bit. He never would’ve expected Niall to be that clever. Not that Niall wasn’t smart, he just didn’t do pranks. Niall grinned shiftily. “Maybe I did, maybe I didn’t…. “ Louis chuckled. Liam lunged for Niall’s Iphone, practically knocking Zayn onto the floor in his attempt. Niall laughed evilly and held the phone just out of Liam’s reach. Louis saw his window of opportunity and grabbed the phone out of Niall’s fist. “Hey!” Niall yelped, fumbling to get it back. Louis dodged his flailing hands and looked at the screen of the phone. It was a blank background, no hint of a video at all. Louis rolled his eyes. “Unless your planning on uploading a blank screen, Mr. Leprechaun, you’re out of luck. Now we’re lying, are we?” He grinned at Niall. Niall blushed and glared at Louis in mock anger. “It’s not nice to steal other people’s property Tommo. And I’m not Mr. Leprechaun!” Niall snatched his phone back and skulked in his seat while Liam, Louis and Harry laughed.

                Just then, Louis noticed something out of the corner of his eye that made him turn around. Niall and Liam were still looking at each other. And not just looking. It was almost as if they were sharing some private inside joke… Wait, what?! Louis blinked. When he looked back, Niall had broken the stare and was blushing into his phone, and Liam was looking out the window. Louis shook himself. Maybe he was imagining things… There had never been and never would be anything between Niall and Liam. The thought was absolutely absurd. He pushed it out of his mind.

                Just then, the limo slowed to a stop. The driver announced their arrival at the arena. Louis could already feel the adrenaline rushing through his veins. He could already see the cameras, the thousands of fans, could hear the screaming. He wanted nothing more than to get on that stage and sing. He looked back over his shoulder at four excited faces. A grin slowly spread across his face. “You ready, boys?” Oh yeah. They were ready.

Four minutes till they were on. Five boys stood backstage, microphones in hand, waiting in a line. They could all hear the music of their video intro. An arena full of fans were screaming their names. Two boys hid something that they weren’t sure was real yet. Two boys denied something real. And one boy had only one other person on his mind.

                One Direction stood waiting.

The concert went well. More than well, in fact. The boys were ecstatic. They could feel the energy in the room. They plowed their way through all but one of their songs. The only one left was Gotta Be You. The boys finished Stole My Heart with a band and ran backstage, changing quickly. 3 boys focused on changing, oblivious to the others. But 2 boys knew something. They avoided each other. 2 boys wanted to desperately forget the past.

                Rushing back onstage, somehow all five of them could sense something was different. The energy had intensified. The opening to Gotta Be You played and they took their places, fans screaming. Liam began the song. One other boy had eyes only for him. As the song progressed, it became more apparent. Then it happened.

                In their excitement at the end of the show, it happened. Looking back, they didn’t really remember how. But one thing they knew. The band played the last of the song, the boys jumped up and down chaotically, and all of a sudden Niall Horan’s shirt got ripped open. His bare, muscled chest was there for the world to see.

                And Liam was gone. Vanished. The other boys didn’t even notice him run off stage until they glanced around and he wasn’t there. Louis started. What the hell- where had Liam gone? He knew the others noticed too. He noticed that Niall looked especially concerned. Harry was looking thoroughly confused. There was a few more moments of panic.

                And he was back. Liam came crashing back onstage, seemingly composed and cool, a smile on his face. Okay, something was up… He wasn’t looking at them. At any of them. Niall it seemed, was trying to catch his eye. He wouldn’t budge. They took their bows, and that was it.

                Liam refused to talk to any of them the entire car ride back.