Only Ones Who Know

Fading Away

Izzy's POV:

I woke up to find Alex sleeping beside me; his hair was totally dishevelled, to the point you couldn't distinguish where his quiff was at, but there was something so naturally handsome in him. Honestly, seeing him like that had to be one of the only things lately that would bring peace to myself. He'd fallen asleep with the same clothes he'd been wearing the day before, but he'd taken the time to unbutton his shirt. I still got out of the bed and walked to the bathroom, allowing Alex to take his time to wake up.

I got my teeth washed and raised my head up, staring at myself in the mirror. I'd grown to hate the person that would receive me in its reflection; it wasn't me at all. I looked so fucking sad, even devastated. No wonder the boys were all worried about me. My eye bags got darker every day, my face was slimmer, I was significantly losing weight, and I still refused to eat as much as I would. There was something about this all that was turning me into someone I wasn't, it was making me a gloomy person. Depression, maybe? My heart paralyzed with the mere thought of it, but I knew that I was far from being incorrect.

"Hey, Iz" Alex chirped when he entered the bathroom, appearing right beside me in the mirror's reflection.

"Hey" I greeted, leaving my toothbrush aside.

"Getting ready for lunch?"

"Lunch?" I asked, furrowing my eyebrows at him.

"Yeah, you do remember lunch, right?" Alex and I shared a brief look, and almost immediately, he burst into a fit of laughter. "Oh, fuck, Izzy! I can't believe you forgot the lunch Mark had planned for us for today!"

"Oh, fuck!" I yelped, suddenly remembering the lunch. "Fuck, I totally forgot! Fuck, Al, I can't believe I forgot! And we woke up so late!"

"Hey, calm down!" Alex chortled as he looked at me running all around my bedroom.

"Al, I don't even know what to wear!"

"Come on, you always know what to wear"

"Well, I can't just put on anything over me when Mark literally booked us a table in the fanciest fucking restaurant in all Italy!"

"Whoa, you're freaking out" Alex exclaimed, folding his arms over his chest.

"It's Italy, Alex!" I freaks out. "People here are very fond of their clothes!"

"Come on, Iz, you know how to do this"

"Yeah, yeah, I know" I sighed, stopping right in front of my wardrobe. "Do you know what you're going to wear, though?"

"Uhh... I was sort of hoping you would pick my clothes for me"

"Ugh, men" I groaned. "Go take a shower first, you're not putting on new clothes if you're dirty. Leave your door open and I'll go to your room to pick out the clothes once I'm done with myself"

"Yes, Mum!" Alex grinned, leaving a kiss on my temple and stepping out of my room. None of us knew exactly why, but Mark had decided we should all share a meal together in a sort of celebration of the tour, so we all just agreed to it. It wasn't like we were going to complain at him, least of all me.

"Hey, McCarthey, you're here!" Alex cheerfully greeted once he opened the door to his room for me. "Come in, love, I've missed you"

"We literally haven't seen each other for an hour"

"Wow, your selflessness really hurts sometimes" Alex said. "Seriously, I give you all of my love and look how you answer to that"

"Are you done whining?" I inquired, stepping into his room.