I Cannot Hide This Even Though I Try ~ A COMPLETED One Direction Fanfic

7 - [Not Just The] Same Mistakes

"Maybe…" Harry trails off as we pull up in front of the office building where we have all of our meetings with management.

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*Zayn's POV* 

Why has everyone been acting weird lately? I start to wonder, looking around the vehicle. Liam is sitting in a different section of the van than Niall, which is rare but does happen on occasion. Liam also keeps stealing glances at Niall, then around the rest of the van to see if anyone else noticed, even though we all know they're dating. Niall keeps stealing glances over at Liam, as well, then sniffles and continues staring out the window. Louis and Harry have been whispering to each other in the back ever since Paul and Niall's short conversation. I mean, they also do that all the time, but they seem to be a lot more touchy-feely now, which is saying a lot if you know those two at all.

I guess they could have all started acting a bit off before today, but we've hardly spent any time together as a band since the meeting with management early this month. We had to come together for interviews and such, but other than that I was usually busy seeing Abby. I can't be blamed; we don't get much time in London at a time and I know we'll be leaving on August 1st for a few weeks while we record in Switzerland and L.A.

"We're here," Paul announces, putting the vehicle into park in front of the building so we can scramble out.

We all do exactly that, which leads to Louis having to catch Harry before he falls flat on his face on the sidewalk. Harry brushes himself off before linking arms with Louis and following Liam towards the doors.

"You coming, Ni?" I ask my blonde-haired friend when I realize that his feet were still planted.

"Uh, yeah… I don't really have a choice anyways…"

I sigh as I place an arm around his shoulder, leading him into the building. "Why are you so down?" I question, keeping my voice low so that no one can hear aside from Niall.

"I don't know," he shrugs.

"Seriously, Niall, what's bothering you?"

"It's just, well, I don't know. Liam has been acting really distant ever since he got back from his trip, which he came home early from to be with me, according to him. And I keep having the same dream over and over. It's not a nightmare or anything. Quite the opposite, really. But it hurts being so happy in my dreams and then waking to a less-than-perfect reality because my dreams are so fucking realistic that I can't always tell if I'm dreaming or awake," Niall rambles, his tone slowly rising until his practically yelling his last words.

"What's the dream about?" I inquire, curious as to how it could be much better than his real life. Unless he dreams about being allowed to tell the world his true feelings…

Suddenly, Niall's face is on a level of redness similar to that of the double-decker bus in our video for One Thing. "It's n-nothing," he stammers, speeding up his walking until we're caught up with the other.

I grimace, even more curious as to what could cause the Irish lad to become so flustered. That was weird.

"Come in and take a seat," a voice calls, bringing me back from my thoughts.

I follow after the rest of the lads as they walk into the room, taking a seat near the end of the table closest to the door. I want to be able to leave as quickly as possible when this meeting is over.

"Boys, do you know why we've called you here today?" Will asks.

I quickly look around for anyone else in the room to try and make sense of why he said 'we' when I see his laptop open to Skype with Simon Cowell. We're doomed.

"No? Perhaps Liam could tell you all what happened," Will continues when no one makes any sign of speaking up.

"I-uh-I… I honestly don't know," the lad in question stutters. That is an entirely non-Liam thing to do.

"Liam and Danielle were caught at the airport last Friday without security, turning in the vehicle you had rented out until Sunday and then proceeding to go through customs with all of your luggage. Fortunately for them, the press weren't there, but there were a number of fans in the airport who took photos and videos of Liam and Danielle rushing through the airport. Everyone wants to know why the couple's vacation ended early and why a certain Liam Payne seemed angry as they made their way to their gate," Will explains. "Can you please explain to everyone why this happened, Liam?"

"I-well… I realized the it was Niall and I's second anniversary and I would have hated myself for not being with him for at least part of it, so Dani and I decided to head back early. I was angry more with myself than anyone because I couldn't believe I let our vacation be planned over that and I was scared that we wouldn't make it back to London in time," Liam tells us all, his face going more and more red the longer he speaks.

"Well we need you to come up with a damn good excuse explaining to the media why you came home early or we're going to have a problem. Got it?" Will snaps at Li, causing him to wince slightly.

"Yes, sir," Liam replies, looking down.

"Sir, what if we told the media that one of his family members was really sick and had been taken to the hospital here in London?" I suggest.

"Has Liam visited the hospital in the last few days? No. That was a brilliant idea, Zayn, but too flawed to work."

"We could always tell them the truth," Louis pipes up.

Will sends the Doncaster boy a death glare, scoffing at his idea. "No, we need something a little more foolproof."

"Maybe he came home early from his trip with Danielle because they had a fight. They couldn't handle the pressure anymore," Niall finally contributes after a few minutes of silence.

"No w-" Will begins before he's cut off.

"That might work," Simon concedes, causing everyone to look over at the computer screen where the video call with him is taking place.

"What?" Will and Liam ask at the same time.

"As risky as it is, having Liam and Danielle fighting is a great excuse for Liam to want to leave early, especially with how upset he looked at the airport. Based on the pictures and videos of the couple during their trip home, they could very well have been fighting," Simon explains.

"So if anyone asks I'm just going to tell them that Dani and I were going through a rough patch but we've worked it all out?" Liam asks, his expressions hard to read.

"Yes, I think that will be best," Simon replies before making eye contact with Niall. "Now then, I want an explanation and I want it fast. What the bloody hell were you thinking back there, Mr. Horan?"

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*twitter names are made up, but very likely real. I am not intentionally using anyone's actual twitter username.

*****I would just like to remind everyone that, yes, my name is Abby, but the Abby in this story is 1directioner1997. I AM in this story under the alias Rayne.