Caged Birds Don't Sing

Chapter 8

Liz POV:

Once we were back on the  plane, we were given towels and blankets to warm ourselves up. Liam and Niall grabbed dry clothes and went to change, but the four of us just sat there shivering. Due to the stipulations that were given to us over the phone before this whole mess started, we had all only packed one set of extra clothes each.

"Umm...Sorry about your clothes...guess we should stop at hotel, maybe get showers and get you new clothes...and then we can check out the bar." Niall said pointedly, looking sympathetically at us.

"Wait, why the bar?" Liam asked as he pulled his shirt over his head. The four of us looked down, biting down smiles. No matter who was our fav, Liam was hot as hell, and we didn't want to stare.

"Because..." I began, but Niall was speaking as well.

"Because that's where it all happened, Li. Don't you remember all those grainy videos floating around Twitter after that night?"

We all looked up, shocked, as Niall finished explaining. He looked sheepishly at us. "What, I know things. I pay attention. You all haven't shut up about it for three years, how was I supposed to not know?"

"Captain Horan is back," Vanessa muttered and we all burst out laughing, Niall included. Liam was still trying to get his shirt over his head, so he missed that entire exchange. Probably for the best, since they probably fought about who was the captain all the time.

"They probably won't have any clothes that fit...and we don't have the time to stop. The sooner we get there and get this done, the sooner we will have Harry and Louis back, and the sooner you guys can get back on tour." I said, and Niall groaned, putting his face in his hands.

"What?" Selina and Roni and asked in unison, and Vanessa and I watched Niall with concern as he sank into a chair, running his hands through his hair.

"We are missing a show tonight. The only show that we've ever canceled...not even when Zayn...Damn it, Li, they are gonna hate us!"

Liam immediately pulled out his phone and connected to the wifi on the plane, searching Twitter as we tried to console Niall.

"Your fans have been through so much worse than one missed show, Niall. They won't hate you. We certainly don't hate you!" Vanessa tried, placing a gentle hesitant hand on his arm. He leaned his head back against the seat and rubbed at his eyes sleepily, but also a bit angrily.

"I hate letting you guys down...it fucking sucks." He grumbled, looking like he wanted to punch something and like he just needed a hug. So that's what we did. All of us crowded around Niall and gave him a huge group hug. I then went and sat down next to Liam, who was looking sadly at his phone.

"What are they saying?" I asked quietly, so that no one could hear but him. He shook his head dejectedly.

"They don't understand. They are scared that we are breaking up.This is the last thing I ever wanted them to think...I..." Liam stumbled over his words, and I wanted to comfort him, but I didn't dare, in case he didn't want that right now. So I just carefully took his phone and turned it off, placing it next to him on the couch. He sighed and sat back.

Now that I got a good look at everyone, we all looked exhausted. We had been going non-stop for over 24 hours, and we all needed some rest.

"Guys, we should sleep. We've got a long ride ahead of us...and we can't just keep going without rest." Selina said suddenly, right as I was about to mention it myself. Niall nodded and curled up on his chair, closing his eyes at once. Liam took over the couch, which left the rest of us in the two remaining chairs and on the floor. I opted for the floor and I curled into a ball next to the couch. The moment my eyes closed, I was out like a light.