One Direction preference

17. You See Him Cry For The FIRST Time

LOUIS:  You enter the house and find it to be eerily quiet.  You know Louis is home, as his car is in the driveway and he hasn’t called or texted to let you know that he’d be taking off with someone, like he normally would do.  The door had been left unlocked as well, leading you to believe one of two things has happened: either something’s wrong, or Louis has been kidnapped.  Normally when you get home, there’s the sounds of the TV or Louis clambering around in his latest conquest of getting into mischief, but today is much different.  “Lou?” you call out cautiously, dropping the bags of groceries onto the counter.  You hear a bit of light shuffling come from the living room, but no other response or movement follows.  You enter the living room just in time to see Louis swipping at his cheeks and eyes.  “Lou?” you ask again, more gently.  He won’t look at you, but you can’t miss the bloodshot, puffy eyes.  It twists your stomach to see your normally confident boyfriend so vulnerable.  “Honey, what’s wrong?” you nearly whisper, taking a careful seat next to him on the couch.  He sniffles a bit, gathering himself some more before answering in a thick voice, “I was on the phone with my mum a little bit ago and I guess things just aren’t great for her right now.  She’s having a hard time dealing with my grandfather’s illness and my sisters are having really hard times, and things are just a mess right now…”  “Oh, Louis…” you start, pulling him into a warm embrace.  “Maybe you should go spend a few days with them until things settle down a little.  You boys have some time off soon right?  I think you should spend that time with them,” you suggest softly.  “I can’t leave you here alone for all that time,” he tries to argue.  “I’ll be fine.  I’ll have a friend come spend some time with me or something.  That’s not important.  What’s important is that you need to be with your family right now,” you tell him firmly.  He nods, not saying another word, as a few more tears squeeze out between his eyelids.

NIALL:  “I cannot believe you just said that!” you shout angrily, storming towards the door.  “How insensitive can you be, Niall?!”  “Are you seriously calling me insensitive?  Did you hear what you said to me not ten minutes ago?”  “That’s not the point!  I came home all upset over something that happened at work and you didn’t care at all - what did you want me to say?” you wail, tears beginning to prick your eyes.  “Not that!” Niall scoffs, seemingly disinterested in the conversation.  “I can’t do this anymore,” you suddenly say, deflated.  “What?!  What are you talking about?  Can’t do what?” Niall asks, now paying full attention.  “I can’t do this…us.  I’m done, Niall.  All we do is fight over the stupidest things; it’s not even worth it.”  Tears trickle down your face now, as you turn your head to try to hide them from Niall.  “Why would you say that?  I mean, yeah, we’ve been fighting a lot more than usual, but all couples go through things like this.  Things will smooth out again eventually.  It’s just a stressful time for us both.  You can’t just quit on us like that,” he babbles on, all the while you just shake your head dismissing all of his statements.  “I’ve been thinking about this for a while, but this has just been the final straw.  I’m sick of the constant arguments.”  “So you’re giving up on us, just like that?” he asks, his tone a combination of anger and devastation.  “I’m done,” you state simply, unleasing a new strand of tears.  “No.  No, I’m not letting you go that easy,” he fights, his voice now shaky as you spot the glistening tears gathering up at the corners of each eye.  “We can fix this, I know we can.  Baby, just don’t throw in the towel yet.  Please…” he begs as a tear falls halfway down his cheek before he swipes it away with his fingers.  The sight of your boyfriend so fragile really tears at your heartstrings, and before you know it, you’re nodding and agreeing to give it another shot.

HARRY:  “Lucy!” you hear Harry scream from downstairs.  You run as quickly as you can down the flight of stairs, seeing Harry running towards the road just as you reach the bottom.  You run after him, but stop dead in your tracks when you spot your beloved cat laying in the road, barely hanging on to life.  “Lucy…no…” Harry says, broken-hearted.  “Come on, let’s carefully get her out of the street and call the vet,” you instruct, as Harry seems too frozen to know what to do.  You pull out your cell phone and scroll through your phonebook as hastily as possible while Harry delicately picks up the small animal and carries her gently to the car.  “Hang in there, Luce.  Mummy and Daddy will make it all better,” Harry whispers, stroking the top of the cat’s head with one finger once he’s settled in the passenger seat with the feline secure in his lap.  You drive at warp speed to the vet’s office, asking along the way, “What happened?”  “I opened the door to get the mail and she ran out like she always does.  There was a bird in the road that she was stalking and ready to pounce on when a car came and hit her,” Harry tells you, his voice breaking as tears stream down his face at having to relive that moment.  You reach over and rub his arm comfortingly, not knowing what else to do.  The vet takes Lucy immediately, leaving you and Harry in the waiting area for who-knows-how long.  Time is lost on you as you do everything in your power to console your devastated boyfriend.  “I’m sure she’ll be ok…” you tell him, silently hoping you aren’t wrong.  Eventually, the vet makes an appearance to tell you that Lucy has a broken leg and two broken ribs, but all in all she’ll be fine after a few weeks.  The smile that lights up Harry’s face is like none you’ve ever seen before and is more than enough to make up for the heart-breaking sight of his tears.

ZAYN:  As the music begins and the doors open, you feel your breath catch in your throat for a moment as nerves threaten to take over.  They are quickly cast aside, however, when your dad hooks his arm, ready for you to slip yours through.  As you do, the heavy double doors made of oak open to reveal nearly 200 family members and friends, with Zayn waiting for you at the end of the never-ending aisle.  Now that you’ve laid eyes on him, all you want to do is run into his arms and give him the biggest kiss of your life, but you settle for beaming like a maniac as you slowly make your way towards the love of your life.  As you get closer to him, you realize he’s holding back tears - which he fails at doing as soon as you take your place next to him at the altar.  He’s choked up over seeing you in your wedding gown and knowing that the beautiful woman standing next to him is his forever.  Tears slip down your own cheeks, touched that he feels so emotional.  He’s never been much of the vulnerable type, and until today, you’ve never seen him cry.  After a few moments, he gets it together and the ceremony carries on without a hitch.  You go through the motions, you’re pronounced husband and wife, and you walk back down the aisle together.  As soon as you have a moment to yourself, Zayn scoops you into his arms, kissing you warmly.  “I’m so incredibly happy that you are finally and officially my wife,” he tells you, using his thumbs to wipe away the tears pooling just under your eyes.  “I love you,” you tell him, leaning in for another blissful kiss.

LIAM: As you bring the laundry upstairs so Liam can pack up a few things from it for tour, you hear light sniffles coming from your bedroom.  “Coming down with a cold, babe?” you asking, dropping the laundry basket onto the bed next to his suitcase.  He grunts, trying to cover up the additional tears threatening to fall as he grabs for a couple of things out of the laundry basket.  “Hey, what’s wrong?” you ask gently, touching a light hand to his bicep.  “I don’t wanna leave you,” he mumbles bluntly.  “What?  Baby, this isn’t the first time we’ve been through this…  I know it sucks, but we’ve done it before and we can do it again,” you assure him with a lame attempt at a smile.  “But it’s never been this long before…  I just hate having to leave you all the time for weeks or months at a time.  I hate being away from you like that.”  The look on his face brings knots to your stomach.  You never want him to leave anymore than he wants to, but things have never been this bad before; he’s never before been brought to tears over it.  “Well, I’m gonna visit you in a few weeks, so just think of it in that smaller chunk.  We really only have to go about five weeks before we see each other…not the whole thirteen weeks.”  “I know, I know…  This is the part of touring that I hate - the only part I hate - being away from you and the rest of my family and friends for so long.”  You pull him into a hug, whispering, “I know it’s gotta be tough.  Trust me, it’s no easier for us to see you boys go.  At least you’ll have each other and the busy schedules to keep your mind off the distance,” you remind him.  He nods into your hair, breathing in its scent as a few more tears escape.