All I Ever Wanted (Larry Stylinson)

Chapter 1

Chapter 1

When I first learned that One Direction was going on a break, I was stunned. I wasn't prepared for it at all. Everything was going so well for us, and it felt like we were all really enjoying it again after Zayn left at the beginning of the year. Well, that was before Harry and I fell apart. I was pretty sure he felt a strong urge to leave the band after we did.

Harry and I'd had moments where we fought and didn't talk to each other before, but that never led to the band breaking up. Not that our breakup was the main reason the band went on hiatus. All four of us were growing pretty tired of working so hard without being able to spend time with our families. It had been five years since we had time to sit down and relax without having an upcoming tour or an album on our minds.

I was also pretty sure that some of us were curious to try out making our own music, but I had never really seen myself as a solo artist. I loved being in One Direction despite all the disagreements with Management. The band made me see things I had never thought I would ever see in my life, and it made me experience something I never thought I would. I absolutely loved it, and doing it all with four guys that I considered family was the icing on the cake. I understood that the other guys wanted to make solo music, though, I did.

It had now been over two years since we went on a break, and I had eventually decided that I also wanted to try out being a solo artist after all. At first, I only thought I would manage other bands and write music for other artists, but I missed the feeling of being on stage and singing to the incredible fans, and that was why I was now working on dropping my first solo album.

I had also taken up the offer of being a judge in the upcoming season of the X Factor. Patrick, the guy who had taken over after Simon, had asked me a few months ago. I had been a little hesitant at first, but after a while of thinking about it, I realized that it couldn't possibly do me any harm. It had been quite some time since I was last seen in public, and I had a feeling people were waiting to see me do something again. Besides, I was sure it would be a lot of fun, and I could relate to the feeling of being one of the people auditioning too.

What surprised me was that Patrick wouldn't tell me what other people he had asked to be judges. He said he wanted it to be a surprise. Therefore, I wouldn't know until they dropped it on social media. If I were honest, I didn't think that was very fair, but on the other hand, it wasn't as if it mattered. I couldn't think of any famous person I was on bad terms with anyway.

These days, I lived in London with my dog, Clifford. The house was pretty big for only one person, so I sometimes had Eleanor over with her dog, Bruce. A year ago, Management had wanted me to get back with her because I was still working for Syco and Larry rumors were still going around. I honestly didn't mind too much because Eleanor had come to be a good friend of mine despite the circumstances. She had been one of the reasons I couldn't come out with Harry, but she wasn't exactly the one to blame. She was just doing what she had been told to do.

It had taken some time for me to get used to being friends with her, though, mainly because Harry and I were pissed at Management for treating us the way they did, so I couldn't even think of being friendly with her. However, I spent four years with her after that, before Harry and I finally managed to persuade Management to break Eleanor's contract, so we got to know each other pretty well over that time.

Harry never really liked her, though, and to be honest, I couldn't blame him. I never liked any of the girls he had to date in public either. Caroline, Taylor, Kendall and all the other ones were just a nightmare, and I was sadly the jealous type of guy. I could never really handle jealousy well, and I was pretty sure that had been proven over the years. That was also one of the reasons I had told Management that I had to be the one in a longtime relationship with a girl and not him. The other was that I had always felt the need to protect Harry from bad things, and this was not an exception.