I Hope That You Listen

The Whole World is Watching You Break In

Hello All! How are we?

This chapter is bittersweet because I think it will be the last one. I don't see it going any further than this and honestly, this is where I wanted to end it.

Thank you all again for all the support that you've sent my way. I appreciate all the encouragement!

As usual, all credit for songs featured will be given at the A/N at the end of the chapter.

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December 12, 2020

Harry sat back and watched Louis sing his heart out, feeling much freer than he had in a long time. After they worked out their feelings and were on steady ground with each other, they worked out what they needed to do next professionally.

Namely, get a new management that was willing to accommodate a gay couple.

They waited out their respective contracts, Louis' being longer than Harry's, and both signed with the same management company which gave them both a lot more freedom with their respective images.

Harry still has some trouble believing it at times.

The boys were absolutely overjoyed when they heard about them breaking away from their management's and joining together under a single one. They were even more over the moon when Louis told them that he was able to get out from under Syco's contract.

Harry smiles in memory of that day. It was July, not too long before the ten year anniversary of One Direction's formation that it finally happened. Harry's not sure why or how it happened but it did.

He's also aware that Syco is struggling financially now, but he doesn't really care about that if he was being brutally honest.

Louis also got to meet Amy and Lindsey with an added bonus of one of their friends meeting both of them.

Harry remembers that Amy and Lindsey gave Louis a big hug when they first met him, likely knowing that what he went through wasn't an easy thing. Lindsey, because she's been told no her entire career and had to forge her own path and fight her entire career to get where she is, and Amy because that was the reality of her chosen genre when she started.

Then they introduced Elizabeth "Lzzy" Hale to them.

It was as if they each found another sister. She could be soft and sweet like Harry, but as snappy and sassy as Louis. They hit it off right away and became fast friends.

There was another thing that engendered her to them, but she didn't let it define her.

She may be the lead singer of her band Halestorm, and known in her chosen genre for her fierce fiery vocals, but a little known fact about her is that she is an open bisexual.

That fact alone made her feel like a kindred spirit to them, but also they envied her for her ability to just be open.

Lzzy made no bones about the difficulty she faced when she first broke out onto the music scene and being open about her sexuality. She told them she faced a lot of hate and a lot of biphobia. She also faced a lot of gaslighting and just general dismissiveness to her sexual preferences and also just due to the fact that she's a woman.

Amy supported this as she had witnessed it.

Overall though, Lzzy just decided to be true to herself. She wasn't going to put on a mask to satisfy the masses because then they would be loving a lie. Why should she let her fans love a lie?