Then, One Day (Temporary Hold)

Just Five Lads

We were then left to get to know each other. We literally only had about a week before we were to be shipped off to the judge's houses.

"How are we going to get together...? To, you know, practice?" Liam asked as we gathered up our suitcases and began heading back to the busses.

"We all live far apart... Especially me..." Niall frowned as he rested his hand on top of his stomach. Hungry again, I presumed.

I shrugged my shoulders a moment before stopping dead in my tracks and pulling out my phone.

"Harry?" Louis asked as the other lads came to a stop.

"I have an idea," I replied simply as I began dialling on my phone. There wasn't anyway that we could simply just do this over skype or something, that would be frivolous and would leave us at a disadvantage to the the other group contestants. I held the phone to my ear.

"Yes Harry?" my mum answered almost instantaneously.

I inhaled a small breath before speaking, "Mum is there anyway that the lads can stay with us until judge's houses? We all live quite a bit a part. We need practice... Along with the fact that we don't know a bloody thing about each other..."

"That's just fine Harry. Make sure to have them bring some warm things. Come home safe," she replied before the line clicked.

The lads were staring me down as a grin overcame my face. "To Cheshire!" I shouted a bit cheerily. My voice was still a little bit hoarse from my crying.

Niall was the first to tackle me to the ground. A familiar set of chilled fingertips brushed through my curls as Louis ruffled them.

"Come on then! Let's find a way there! Lets not waste any time...!" Liam ushered us as he slipped his hands under Niall's thinning arms and lifted him from on top of me.

Lou dragged me up. "Come on curly! he laughed loudly near my ear nearly deafening me with his high pitch.

Soon enough, a cab was called and we were sent off. The first hour of the trip was terribly silent. Not a word was spoken between the five of us. Nervous glances and empty stares were shifted blankly around the car. Four of us were smashed into the backseat of the cab with my right shoulder pressed against one door and Lou's left shoulder pressed painfully against the other while Liam sat in the front seat.

Niall shivered in the seat beside me, although i didn't have a damn clue how someone sandwiched between other people could be cold. "A... A bit cramped in here..." he laughed nervously.

"Yeah, why didn't we get two of these?" Lou whined as he tried to nudge Zayn's shoulder off of his own. 

Zayn's brown eyes rolled as he tilted his head back against the head rest and let out an exasperated sigh.

"We can't help it that I was the only one that had any spare money," Liam pointed out. 

I nodded my head and attempted to shrug but only hit my shoulder against Niall's cheek. 

A laugh escaped his rosy lips as he rubbed at the injured spot. 

Conversation progressed decently and at one point or another Niall ended up on Zayns lap. The darker haired lad only seemed to smile at that point, it was odd although I don't really think that anyone else seemed to notice especially with the way that he seemed to force a smile at everything else. 

By the time that we finally neared my rather 'picturesque' hometown the little Irish lad was passed out on Zayns shoulder with his head buried in his neck, and Lou was dosing off against the window. Liam had literally kept up conversation with the poor cabby the entire three hours.