End Up Here [Niam]

A Few Months Later

A few months later

“And we’re live in five, four-” the crew person continued by mouthing the words as we sat down in a line sideways in our best suits. I looked over to Niall who was chewing on his lip nervously. This is the first time Niall is talking about his attack to the media and the fans. I reached over and gripped onto his hand tightly. He looked at me and grinned as the interview woman spoke to the camera.

“Here we are with One Direction,” She, Lily the interviewer, says as she turns to face us. “Three months ago, the four of you heard that your band member had been dragged into the alley and was beaten by a group of men. What was your first thought going through your mind?”

I tried not to wince as Lily said beaten. We were quiet for a short moment before we all looked at each other and Louis spoke first. “Niall sometimes gets scared in a big crowd and we would hold onto him to make him feel like we are there – we are there to protect him from getting hurt. He and I love to prank other people so as a joke to the fans, he ran away from them. A few of the fans ran after him and we followed along but we couldn’t find him. Once we had” – he cleared his throat – “he had been jumped. So – uhm – I was very scared.”

“Now Niall what were your thoughts while you were being dragged away?”

“Damn.” Niall said, earning a few small laughs. “It was a stupid joke and I ran down around the corner from the studio and hid the fans that ran after me. I stayed there for a couple a seconds, teasing them when I felt a man grab at my hand.”

“And what did that man say and do?”

“He said that I was homosexual for making stupid songs and I can’t really say what else he said on live TV.” Niall said, pulling at his ear and smiling nervously at Lily. “He said very explicit words and he started punching me. I tried to defend for myself but there were others.”

“Why do you think they would do that?”

“I guess they didn’t like me.” He shrugged. “I don’t know.”

Lily now looked at me. “Liam, I hear you weren’t at the studio at the time. What was it like to get a phone call that Niall was in the hospital?”

I looked down at my hands and frowned. Somebody placed a hand on my shoulder and I looked up at Lily. “It was very terrifying. I just had to think about what I was hearing before I reacted. I left the phone without closing it and drove to the hospital. I just didn’t know what to think. It was very hard the first couple of days seeing him like that but I knew I had to be there – to help him but I guess he helped me more than I did for him.”

“What do you mean?”

I looked at Niall who smiled, encouraging me to continue. I grinned back. “I didn’t know how to act around him, I was very scared and I was very nervous. I didn’t know what to say to him, I was careful with my words and I would think about what I would say to him before I would say anything at all. I never use to do that before.”

“We’re all guilty; it’s not just you Liam.” Zayn said, looking me in the eye and looking at Niall. He turned to look at Lily. “In a way, we were taking it a lot harder than Niall. We were blaming ourselves because we weren’t there. We weren’t there to protect him and that was beating us up inside. He’s our best friend and you protect your friends. You would do anything for them.”

“So how are you feeling now?” The question aimed for Niall.

He gave a small laugh. “I’m alright. What happened; happened. I was shaken when it went down, I was caught off guard. I guess nobody really expects it to happen until it does.”

“He’s grounded now.” Harry said. Finally someone was trying to lighten up the mood.

“Grounded?” Lily asked.

“It’s so stupid.” Niall moaned.

We were all laughing, leaving Lily confused and probably the viewers. Harry continued, “He isn’t allowed anywhere alone.”

“It was flattering that I had an entourage but it’s so annoying.” Niall went on. “I can’t even go in the toilet, other than my shared flat with Liam, alone. Even then, he’ll be knocking on the door asking if I’m okay.”

It took us a few moments before we calmed down and we were red in the face and tearing up. We all looked at each other, grinning and secretly grateful that we were safe. We turned back to Lily who was smiling at us. “So a rumour has been going around…” She trailed off. I felt myself blush and both Niall and I lowered our heads at the same time. “And I bet everybody wants to know, including me. I am very curious.”

“I guess people want it to be written on an official document now, huh?” Niall asked, showing off a cheeky smile. “There are pictures everywhere on the internet. There are blogs about it and people are still wondering if it’s true?”

“Yes, we want it to officially be told by the two of you.” Lily went on, showing a little bit of her fan girl side.

I looked at Niall and he winked at me. “Yes,” I said, still looking at Niall. “We are together.”

“Very happily together.”

Maybe it was just me but I felt like the world stopped for a few seconds to comprehend the words that came out of our mouths. What were they thinking? What was going through their minds? But I hoped they were cheering for us as I leaned in forward and kissed him.