Where I Am Without You [L.S]

Chapter Forty Four

Sorry for the slow update - Had a busy past few days !! The entire story is now completed so will try an post once, if not twice a week from here on out :) 

"I think we should play our last show in London." Zayn states the minute the five of them are all loaded onto the screen.

Three days into their week off they're back together despite being spread across three separate countries. They've been talking non stop as always but Zayn had sent through a message at 6am that morning stating to sign in to Zoom at 9am sharp.

Louis is pressed into his side, head lazily resting on his shoulder but through the screen he can see his brows furrow at their bandmates statement. He's thankful too then that they'd had the wise enough sense to shower earlier, he wasn't quite prepared to face the mocking they'd have received from the state they'd been in from the others.

"And the reasoning behind this is....?" Niall inquires.

"It's our last show together and I think we should do it back home, where we started. A fitting end to ten years."

"Yeah but think of the logistics of upping the tour from Australia all the way back to the UK to set up for just one final show." He replies, liking the sentimental concept behind it but they'd had this tour planned out for an age now and dragging their tour crew team back across the world after months already on the road seems a little excessive.

"I actually kinda like that idea." Liam cuts in next, "I get what you're saying Haz but this is our final show, our final act together, for real this time. A way to send off the past ten years and all that we've achieved both together and as solo artists and people in front of a home crowd."

"If we are gonna do this we should have just planned this all backwards and end it in the UK instead of starting there." Louis chimes in next.

"Niall?" Zayn questions.

"I'm keen."

"Great." He mutters shaking his head. "And who wants to inform our managers, record label, finance team and tour crew members of this sudden decision only months before tour is scheduled to end?" He tries once more.

"Come on H, live a little!" Zayn pipes up and he's really lost them all to the idea now, even Louis seems to have given in judging by the glint in his eyes.

"Fine." He resigns. "Where?"

~~~~

"I truly cannot believe it's taken you this long to tell us, we've known for weeks H." Sarah tells him, humour evident in her tone.

A vinyl belonging to Florence + The Machine plays quietly behind him, the light outside finally beginning to dim as evening approaches.

"To be fair, we haven't explicitly been trying to hide ourselves, we're just been wanting to do things properly this time." He explains one their last night in the city. Louis had been out all afternoon, busy with his own affairs and faced with the prospect of an empty house for so many hours he'd realised how little he'd spoken truly with his other band members.

Sarah and Mitch had both laughed him off when he'd called them, apologizing profoundly for neglecting their friendship as of late.

You needed time back with your boys H, we understand.

They'd both echoed down the line to him, it hadn't stopped him from repeating his sentiments the moment they'd stepped through his door an hour ago. The couple had managed five minutes of small talk before Sarah had cracked and demanded he tell them both the full story. She'd been here that first night he'd realised he would actually have to face Louis again after being apart all these years and he mentally kicks himself he hadn't been communicating better with them both over the past few months about what had been happening in his life. He hadn't been lying to them, just hadn't been open as he'd gotten so used to during their time working together.