Feels Like Falling

part 19

The short stint on the radio that morning was the only thing we had to do for the next six days now because some press thing had been cancelled. This chunk of time seemed like eons to us all because the tour had been crazy since the very beginning with interviews, radio stuff, photo shoots, meet & greets etc etc. Having any down time was rare, and we had all been sure they would have added another concert stop; the boys were really blowing up here in the states. But they didn’t! They left us this time to be free and Harry was intent on sneaking away from the group for a few days. I was really nervous about this because I knew how important security was and I also knew they would never let the two of us go anywhere alone for more than a few hours. I normally felt really guilty when we gave security the slip but I was feeling caged in and if I needed a break, I was sure Harry did too.

            “You can arrange a car for us right?” Harry asked in a hushed voice as we were getting back to the bus.

            “Yes. Are you sure you want to do this?” I replied. Harry simply nodded and mouthed the word yes.

            We all got comfy in the lounge of the bus and I excused myself to take a pretend phone call. As soon as I was out of earshot I called the car service and requested to have a vintage mustang convertible parked outside the hotel in Dallas. We would arrive there by tomorrow morning and then Harry and I could take off for a few days, just us.  I tried to walk back in the lounge as casually as possible, but as you know well by now, I am awkward and a terrible liar. As soon as Harry looked at me I threw him a thumbs up to indicate that things were good to go. My gesture was out of place and the others looked at me confused. I figured it would be best to just brush it off and I stepped over Niall on the couch and snuggled in next to Harry. My head pressed to his chest I could hear his shallow breaths in and his heart beating; my eyes closed and I drifted quickly back to sleep. When my eyes fluttered open it was dark, I was alone in the lounge.

“Welcome back sleepy head!” came Barry’s voice from the driver’s seat.  

Barry was the only one on the bus it seemed. He was a sweet old man, probably a few years older than my dad. The boys liked him much better then the last driver because Barry would stop off whenever they wanted for snacks!

“So Bare, where are we?” I asked walking to the front of the bus.

“We’ll be to Dallas in about three hours time. Everyone is out getting some grub. They said to send you out if you woke up.” I peeked out the window to see we were stopped at a fast food place.  Barry hated fast food so that’s why he was sitting here instead of eating with everyone else, but he had a soft spot for ice cream.

“Want me to bring you back a shake or something?”

“Yeah love, that would be great! Chocolate!”

I smiled and stepped out the door. The thick, hot air hit my skin like a wall of damp fire and I took a deep breath in. I couldn’t believe it was so hot this late at night.  I unbuttoned the blouse I was wearing and slipped it off. Even in just a tank top my skin began to glisten with sweat as I walked across the street. I tucked my hair behind my ear and opened the door to Rosie Lee’s Burger Shack. Inside smelled like a McDonalds and looked like an old diner from a movie set.  The boys and the band guys were all sitting toward the front of the restaurant, split between two tables that had been pushed together. I stopped walking and just looked at them together. They were all so attractive, and the way they played with one another was incredibly adorable.  It looked just like a junior high cafeteria; they were loud cracking jokes, tossing things about the table, jabbing at each other and laughing like crazy. As I stood there watching them, I couldn’t believe this was my life. I couldn’t believe they had become my life, my family. I truly had fallen in love with them all. Liam was like a brother to me, always protective when strangers got to aggressive with their questions of Louis & I. Josh, Sandy and Dan were like your favorite cousins. We could joke around, jam a little and play a mean game of FIFA. I was horrible at it, but they still let me play so I didn’t feel left out on guy’s night. Zayn was my creative outlet, my favorite pseudo hipster. Sometimes before shows we’d sit in the empty venue and sketch while blasting Pearl Jam and Smashing Pumpkins. Niall was like the best guy friend ever. He’s that guy who has absolutely no idea how sexy he is, which makes him even sexier. The one who would burp and fart in front of you and make rude jokes about girls, forgetting sometimes that I was in fact a girl too.  He had a heart the size of Texas and I was so fortunate to hold a piece of it.  Paul was always there for us. He kept us safe and he had really taken a liking to Seth, which was great because I had been able to really separate myself from doing my old job. When Seth had first arrived, Paul was leery and they hadn’t gotten along so I had been doing the majority of Seth’s job. When things really started to get public with Louis and I, it was impossible to keep up doing both. So I was relieved when Seth finally won Paul over. I think the fact that Seth was older than all of us helped too.