look at me | wroetoshaw

Chapter 24

sorry for the late update! im gonna try update selfish today too but if i dont it'll be out tomorrow ! im trying my best :)

"We've been given the go ahead. Increased security of each venue, and from now on when you leave the stage myself or Andy will be there waiting for you. Do not leave your position if either of us aren't there, okay?" Kyle told me as we were in the car from the hospital to the airport. 

Harry, Talia and Simon were also in this car, everyone else had already been driven to the airport and were on the plane already. 

"Got you loud and clear," I tell him, my hand resting in Harrys, on his lap. My arm was in a sling, not too painful anymore but I was to avoid using it as much as I could. I was thankful it wasn't too serious. 

I had met with Mike's brother yesterday. It turned out the two weren't entirely close, but the first thing he did was ask if I was okay. 

I told him I was completely grateful for his brother, and that I owed him my life, which I did. When tour was over we were all going to pay our respects to him in the best way possible. I would make sure of it. 

Tour was definitely going to be bittersweet from now on. It would be weird without Mike. I had grown close to him over the last couple of weeks, and he could and would never be replaced. 

But I was going to do this for him, and I was going to make him proud. 

"You alright?" Harry whispered, everyone else deep in conversation. 

"Just thinking about Mike," I whisper, leaning in on his shoulder. "I just feel guilty, I know you're going to tell me I shouldn't, but I still do. I'll just talk it out with the therapist in Birmingham. It's fine," I said with a sigh. 

"I don't know what I can offer to make you feel better except I love you, and I'm going to be here for you from now on. If you'll let me, I'll happily stay with you for the rest of tour. I wouldn't get in the way -"

"Harry-" I start. 

"No, I know, bad idea. I just want to be here for you, is all, I'm worried about you."

"I know you are, but I promise I will call you if I need you. And I'll be there to FaceTime you every night once we leave the UK -"

"So I can travel with you whilst you're in the UK?" He asked, his eyes suddenly lighting up. 

"Well, if you wanted to, of course you can," I say, smiling softly as he celebrated this little victory of his. 

"I'd love to," he grinned. 

We came to a stop, parked outside the airport. It was now that I realised that Harry, Simon and Talia hadn't experienced the media attention of the tour yet. I suspected the new security would debrief them before we left the car. 

I was right, Tom, who used to be Mike's second, was now in charge, and he explained everything to them before giving us a minute or so to prepare ourselves. 

"You weren't kidding on the phone, huh?" Simon asked, a glint in his eyes. 

"Nope, I definitely wasn't," I said amused at their reactions, before being pulled to the side by Kyle. 

"We managed to keep this out of the media, but you're bound to be seen by someone with your cast on, which was not something we've prepared for," He told me, and in all the time I had seen him this was the first time I had genuinely seen him panicked. 

"Don't worry, we'll sort something out, right? I can just say I pulled a muscle or something?"

"Point made. But we're going to have to go with something better than a pulled muscle. I'll figure it out and we'll have a talk with Andy on how to proceed with an official statement or something, alright?" 

"Alright, Kyle. Don't stress about it! We'll figure it out," I said, reassuring him. This must be what it felt like when he had to quell my overthinking nature. 

The car door opened again, this time several men in black tops forming a little barrier. I stepped out first, then Harry, then Simon and Talia and then Kyle. I held tightly onto Harry's hand, wanting nothing more than to just get in the plane and fly back to the UK. I would feel a lot safer when on home ground, I just knew it. 

The camera flashes were on as soon as we went into the building. Luckily the security made a pretty good barrier, so I wasn't actually able to see any of the paparazzi, which I was grateful for. The less of them to see my arm in a sling, the better. 

No doubt it would be leaked and a massive story by the time we reached the UK, but by now it was sort of inevitable. It was bound to happen. 

"I don't know how you do this nearly everyday," Talia whispered from behind me. "I'm already freaked out and they're not here for me."

"Don't worry, I was the same at the start. You just get used to it after a while, I just try and pretend they're not there and keep on walking," I laugh, the sound of cameras getting quieter now, I knew we were nearly at our terminal. 

The security started to disperse a little, giving us all some more breathing room. 

I walked up to Simon, walking next to him for a while. "You alright?"

"The last twenty four hours have been very scary, I have to admit. You don't know how relieved I am that you're up and walking around right now," he tells me. 

"I'm glad too," I joke, not exactly sure what else to say except use humour as a coping mechanism.

He rolled his eyes at me before harshly bringing me in for a hug, but remembering to go careful with my sore arm. 

"The amount of grief you've caused me, holy crap," he said sarcastically, before Harry and Talia caught up with us. 

"So, how much do I have to beg that you all come to the Birmingham show?" I asked, looking between the two of them, already knowing that Harry was going to be with me for the next week or so. 

"You don't even have to ask. We'll be there," Talia said first, Simon agreeing with her straight away. 

"Of course we will. We'd love to," he chimed in. 

 We reached the boarding gate, walking through the tunnel that connected to the plane. I couldn't wait to see their reactions when they got on the plane. It truly was a luxury. 

"Holy shit," Talia gasped, the interior of the plane coming into view. 

"It's nice, right?" I asked, grinning at the three of them before heading straight towards the seat I used every single time.

"It's amazing...hey Kyle, you wanna sign me on as an artist or something?" Simon called out, earning himself laughs from those in earshot. 

"Sorry pal, you'll have to try again next year. I've got my hands full with this one tricky client, you might know her!" He shouted back sarcastically. 

"Hey! Cut it out you lot!" I call out from my seat, budging over a little so Harry can slide in next to me. 

"How long is this flight?"

"Probably around two hours, we're going straight to Birmingham, not London," I tell him, leaning on his shoulder. "You don't have any of your stuff, do you?"

He shook his head. "No I don't, but I don't mind. I came to see you, and you're okay so nothing else really matters. I'll make it for a week," he says quietly, running his fingers through my hair whilst I slowly drift off into a sleep, not knowing the chaos that would ensue when we reached back in the UK. 

It appeared that not everyone would stay as tight lipped as promised.