Fall (One Direction) [Sequel To Run]

Chapter One

Louis

The screaming wakes me up.

I glance at the clock.

2:52. In the morning.

"Harry?" someone asks from the hallway, her voice filled with exhaustion. I glance towards the door, to see Callin standing there in her pyjamas, looking concerned.

I sit up.

"Again?" she asks, glancing past me. I look over at Harry, whom I now realise was the source of the screaming. He's lying on the edge of the bed, eyes shut tightly, still asleep. He's also really pale, tears streaming down his face, a death grip on his pillow.

I reach over and gently shake his shoulder, Callin watching from the doorway.

Harry's eyes fly open, and for a moment, they contain nothing but blind terror. And then recognition.

"Are you okay?" I ask him softly.

"Again" he whispers. "Again."

Callin sits down on the bed next to me. "The same one?" she asks Harry sympathetically.

"Did I wake you?" Harry asks her. "I'm really sorry." He looks absolutely miserable, with his face tear-streaked and his hair a tangled mess.

"It's al-right" Callin says. "Really. I don't mind."

"I just wish they'd stop" Harry whispers. Callin places a hand on his.

"We're safe" she tells him. "Just keep telling yourself that. We're safe."

-

"Louis. It's time to go!" someone shouts.

I promptly fall out of my trousers.

"Liam!" I shout. "Stop pressuring me!"

"Under pressure!" someone else sings; I roll my eyes. Zayn.

I pull my trousers on a bit more carefully, and then head out of my bedroom. The other lads and Callin are all in the den, on our couches.

"Finally!" Liam says, jumping up from his seat. When no one else does, he throw his hands up, exasperated.

"We really do have to go" he says, as if we all thought he was kidding or something.

Zayn jumps up from the couch, striking a pose that looks for all the world like he's a superhero, hands on his hips.

"Super-Zayn?" Liam asks, clearly trying to hold back laughter. Zayn deflates slightly.

"Well, you want to go" he says. "Let's go!" His hands return to his hips. He's way too hyper.

He wasn't up at three in the morning.

"Are you all asleep or what?" Liam asks, looking round at the rest of us.

"Just tired, mate" Harry mumbles amiably, standing. Callin stands as well, leaving Niall alone on the couch. He's staring at the wall, not paying attention to anything else.

"Niall?" Zayn says.

The Irish boy doesn't move.

Zayn pushes his shoulder, and he blinks.

"What?" he asks.

"What're you thinking about?" Zayn asks. Before Niall can even answer, Liam cuts across.

"We have to go!" he says, looking a bit frantic about the whole thing. Harry offers Niall a hand, and the older boy takes it and pulls himself to his feet. Liam opens the door, and then proceeds to shove each of us outside, before locking it behind him.