Labels || H.S. [#Wattys2020]

O N E H U N D R E D A N D T H I R T E E N

Just as Lydia had predicted, Reagan sat in front of her computer at four in the morning—for the third night in a row—attempting to salvage what was left of Louis' reputation. She had given up on sleeping, she had a flight to catch to return LA in less than four hours anyway.

Rumors had begun swirling about Louis though. Whether that it was a one night stand, that his impending fatherhood meant the end of the band or that worst of all he was ordering a DNA test before legally acknowledging his son. But how could she even attempt to counter all of these rumors when Louis was dodging any and all questions she asked him? She was good at her job, but she wasn't that good.

Louis had completely shut down, he was a mess. She couldn't blame him though, he'd totally been through the wringer. But God, you would think he could at least help out a little. They were, after all, attempting to keep him from being completely defamed by the media. But no, he was currently locked on their tour bus, at their stop in Indianapolis, refusing to get off. It was a miracle they had performed, but it went without saying he was not himself on stage.

All of the boys remained by his side, at least that's what Harry had texted Reagan earlier that night. He had assured her that they would sleep "in that bloody tour bus" for as long as Louis needed. It made Reagan nervous though, because even though the boys were a family, there was only so much drama they could take. She was sure Niall was having a fit at having to sleep on the cramped bus. But lately, all Niall seemed to do was throw fits. Perhaps it was the fact that he knew it was all ending soon. She wondered if the other boys were acting out of sorts as well, well other than Louis. Liam seemed to be alright, Harry was as well. Maybe they hadn't accepted it yet. Maybe it didn't seem real. But all Reagan could think was how her father had said that their break was indefinite, how the label might not even resign them. How they themselves may not even want to come back. It scared her. She couldn't imagine how it would scare them.

For now though, she tried to focus on the positive. In order for her to be able to spin things her way, she needed to remain optimistic. Reagan wasn't sure if Louis make it out alright. She didn't know if any of them would, including herself. But if she looked at all the pros instead of the cons, the boys' hiatus was looking better than it ever had.

—✴—

Surprisingly things were rather calm when Reagan finally got back to the studio. The boys weren't back yet, they were just about to touch down in LA. They had one of their final recording sessions with Julian, and Reagan knew that the room would be filled with a nervous tension when they arrived. From what Harry had texted her that morning, Julian had decided to drag them off of the tour bus and into a mattress lined hotel room to finally them finish writing the last song off of their album. But she had to hand it to Julian, she knew he had been having trouble getting them to write that particular song. But it was done, it was over. Now they just had to record it and do a final listen of every track. Reagan was in disbelief. Within a month they would be done with their fifth studio album, almost done with their tour, and officially one step closer to their hiatus. And with that, she would (hopefully) get her life back would be going back to college for her final semester.

But did she really want her old life back? She was finally kind of getting it together. Now, she wasn't saying she had it all figured it out, not by a long shot. All of this had been a whirlwind without a doubt. They hadn't made it unscathed, of course not, that was life. Yet she was changing, slowly but surely. She had her good days and she had her bad days, it was a work in progress. She was making her peace with herself, or at least attempting to. As were the boys, she realized. It had been a tough year all around.

"Boys aren't here yet?" Lydia asked, coming out of her office.

"Nope. Should be here within the hour though."