Niall: It was something you thought was a thing of the past, reserved only for movies and cheesy hipsters, but then Niall was handing you a mixtape and you were speechless. “I was thinking of you and listening to music and then I just made this for you.” He explained as he pushed it into your hands with a blush staining his cheeks. “Thanks, Ni. I love it.” Pressing a kiss to his cheek, you felt the skin burn warmer against your lips as he wrapped his arms around you and dropped his forehead against yours. “Well, aren’t you gonna listen to it?” He mumbled, stepping back quickly to point at the old boombox on the shelf behind you. You slowly put the tape in and as the little wheels began to turn you looked over your shoulder at Niall, his hair was messed up, his cheeks were pink, and you were so, so, so in love with him.
Zayn: He clicked the pen he was holding, watching you carefully as you turned the tape over and over in your hands. “Come on, aren’t you going to say thank you?” Zayn dropped the pen and moved around the table to stand beside you. “How am I supposed to play it? I can’t listen to a mixtape by putting it into my laptop, now can I?” He cocked a smile at you, “I thought ahead, babe. See, I’ve got a radio that still plays tapes, so if you just come over, you can listen to it with me.” He nudged you with his shoulder and you smiled up at him. “You think you’re so sneaky, don’t you?” He shrugged and reached down to tangle his fingers with yours. “Yeah, I am.” He’d been trying to get you to come home with him for a few weeks now; everytime he saw you in the record store, he had a new way to try. This time though, you were going to say yes no matter what he did, the mixtape was just an added bonus.
Louis: Really, he wasn’t sure how he’d gotten roped into this. After breaking it off with Eleanor, he’d planned on staying single for at least a year. But then here he is three months later, head over heels in love with you, and spending their travel time learning how to make a mixtape because Harry mentioned that it’s romantic or something. He picks some of your favorite songs, and a few others that he just thinks you’ll like and then he thinks of a few that just remind him of you. And then he’d holding in his hands a mixtape with your name scribbled across it in black pen and Louis’s nervous to give it to you because what if it’s too cheesy or you don’t like any of the songs. All his worries fade away as soon as you’re holding it because you’re smiling brightly up at him like he’s given you the greatest gift yet.
Liam: Christmas time was always something special, but it was your first Christmas together, so you wanted it to be really special and so did Liam. You were never quite sure what to get him since he already had what seemed like everything, but in the last few weeks before the holiday, you decided on something. He’d not even asked you what you wanted or dropped any hints about what it could be, so you were nervous when the day arrived. What if he hadn’t bought you a present at all? But then Liam was standing in front of you, adorably looking like a cuddly teddy bear in his Christmas sweater and there was a cassette tape in his hands. Your present to him lay forgotten as you put the tap in. It was christmas songs, the same ones that you’d been playing around the house and singing for weeks, only it wasn’t just the songs that made it special, it was that it was Liam singing all of them and he’d put them on a tape for you.
Harry: The roadtrip was something that you’d had planned with him for months. You were planning on meeting up at his place in LA where you would both cram yourselves and your luggage into the crappy station wagon that you’d bought a month before, and you were going to travel across the whole United States of America. Just the two of you, no other four boys, or security, and only minimal fans (hopefully). Just the sun, snacks, songs, Harry and you. It’s all you wanted with your best friend. Harry was waiting for you when you pulled up to his house and he hopped in your car before you’d completely come to a halt. He was buzzing with energy and then he handed you a mixtape, his skin vibrating hotly against yours when your fingertips brushed. “I made it for you. For this trip. It’ll be perfect I swear.” His hair was tied back from his face, and he was radiant with the sun dappling gold over his skin. “Alright,” You nodded, and put it into the tape player in the dashboard. “Let’s go.”
