*Niall's POV*
"You can tell me anything," I tell Cope softly, wrapping my arm around her comfortingly.
"Please don't tell anybody else." Cope looks at me, folds her hands up and literally starts to beg. "Please."
I nod. "I promise."
Cope clears her throat a little, then looks down.
"My dad was a really great guy when I was born. Had a full time job, was really happy. He used to call me his little bundle of sweet because I was so quiet as a baby." Cope begins, her voice unwavering and calm.
"But then we started to fall behind on bills. My mom had quit her job at a law firm because she wanted to be a full-time mom, and my dad said he'd take extra hours to make up for it. I guess it wasn't enough, because pretty soon we had to move from our big house to smaller, cramped one." She explains this with a strong voice, and I hang to her every word. From what I'm hearing, her life has been a living hell.
"So my mom decided to get a job as a waitress, so we could afford our new place. And because of the new machinery that was taking over my dad's workplace, his pay got bumped down and his hours were cut off. My mom ended up getting a second job at a different resturaunt, because she didn't have enough time for a full time job back at the law firm.
"We ended up just barely living off of ramen for the years that we lived there, and my dad suddenly went to look for beer instead of me when he got home. I didn't really care, I was 12 or 13 and I figured I could live to see another day if I didn't see him. But the day turned into days, then weeks and months. When I decided to go see what he was up to one night, he was wasted, watching a football game.
"He told me to get out, that I didn't matter to him, and that I was the fault of our family going nearly broke. I did feel like it was my fault, so I started crying and I turned my back for a moment. The next thing I knew I had shattered glass in my back. The abuse just continued from there, and I'd always tell my mom that they were just stretch marks. When she found out about everything, she divorced my dad and moved me, herself, and newborn Suzaine to where I live now. But he showed up every once and a while with a little surprise." I am crying, and Copie is literally bawling.
"Oh my god," I croak. I hold Cope incredibly tight as she weeps into my shoulder.
"Please don't tell them. I don't want them to know," Cope whispers, wiping her tears away with her hands.
I take her wet hands in mine and look her straight in the eyes. "You have my word."
**2 weeks later, near to the end of a show in the Hammerstein Ballroom, NY**
(Still Niall's POV)
"What a show!" Copeland shouts into her (now stylized) metallic blue mic. "But is that all you got?!" She shouts even louder.
The crowd roars in response.
This girl really knows how to run a show.
"We have one more hit for ya," Copie smirks as the crowd waits in anticipation, "and it's a cover!"
The crowd erupts in shrieks and hollers, wanting to know what we were doing.
"This babe is called 'Still Into You' and it is from our good lads and lady, Paramore!" Harry calls, smiling as the crowd electrifies in an excited wave.
I tense as I prepare for my cue:
"Can't count the years on one hand that we've been together!" My vocal blip at the end comes out as an awkward squeak, and Liam points and laughs at me as I continue with a huge grin on my face.
"I need the other one to hold you, make you feel, make you feel better!" My vocal blip works out, and then I see a flash of orange hair. Hell to the yes.
Hayley Williams bounces up and hooks arms with me as we sing the next line.
"It's not a walk in the park to love each other!" I fall out and let Hayley do most of the vocal work on this part, but I join in for the next part. "But when our fingers interlock, can't deny, can't deny, you're worth it!"
"'Cause after all this time, I'm still into you..." Hayley trails off, gesturing to Liam as he picks it up promptly.
"I should be over all the butterflies, but I'm into you." Liam sings loudly and very emotionally.
Copie responds strongly, "I'm into you!"
"And baby even on our worst nights, I'm into you," Liam replies.
"I'm into you!" Hayley and Copie sing at the same time.
"Let 'em wonder how we got this far, 'cause I don't even need to wonder at all." Hayley finishes up the first section of the song, "Yeah after all this time, I'm still into you."
Zayn jumps forward onto one the stage's huge speakers and flies into the second verse. "Recount the night that I first met your mother. And on the drive back to my house, I told you that, I told you that, I loved ya!"
"You felt the weight of the world fall off your shoulder. And to your favorite song, we sang along, to the start of forever." Louis snatches the spotlight away quickly, dancing in place as he rocks out. "And after all this time, I'm still into you."
I begin to sing as awesomely as I can as I toss my arm around Hayley's shoulder, who does the same to Copie. "I should be over all the butterflies, but I'm into you."
"I'm into you," Harry adds in, glancing at Copie as he does.
"And baby even on our worst nights, I'm into you." I send a brief glare in his directon as I reply.
"I'm into you," Copie and Hayley echo.
"Let 'em wonder how we got this far, 'cause I don't really need to wonder at all... Yeah after all this time, I'm still into you." As the instrumental break comes in, we all start dancing around like idiots. I twirl Copie and Harry twirls Hayley, but his eyes are all for Copie. She smiles as she presses her microphone up to her mouth, getting ready for her duet with Harry.
"Some things just, some things just make sense and one of those is you and I!" Copie sings out beautifully, winking down at the crowd.
"Hey!" Hayley cries into her microphone as Harry jumps in.
"Some things just, some things just make sense and even after all this time,"
"Hey!" Copie yelps as another short instrumental break sets in.
"Baby not a day goes by," Hayley begins, and Copie joins in with her. "that I'm not into you!" Both of them hit the extremely high notes before we bounce back into the chorus. Everyone looks at Copie in surprise as she smiles wide.
All of us chorus at once:
"I should be over all the butterflies
But I'm into you (I'm into you)
And baby even on our worst nights
I'm into you (I'm into you)
Let 'em wonder how we got this far..."
Harry and Copie once again take it away and they end up facing each other as they spit into their microphones:
"'Cause I don't even need to wonder at all," Harry calls, staring Copie in the eyes.
"Yeah after all this time," Copie replies, and they finish out together, getting closer and closer as they sing the final lyrics:
"I'm still into you,
I'm still into you,
I'm still into you!" At this point, they are nose to nose and panting as the crowd roars.
Copie stares at Harry for a second longer, her chest heaving, before stepping away and smiling at the crowd and hugging Hayley. I hug the gal as well, on of her strands of purple hair getting in my mouth. I start to chew on it like a cow, and she swats me away, laughing.
We say our goodbyes and everything else before heading backstage to talk quietly and sip some water.
"That was some high note you hit out there girl," Hayley smiles at Copeland, and Copeland smiles as well.
"Took a lot of work, but I managed to practice enough to expand my horizons a bit." She chuckles, running her fingers through her fluffed-out ponytail.
"Sorry for the crappy timing you guys, but I need to get back with Taylor and Jerm. We have a show with a radio station tomorrow night and we haven't practiced at all." Hayley hops out of her seat, blowing kisses to everyone and waving goodbye. As she slips past Copie, she whispers something in her ear before slipping out of the room. Copie whispers something back and smiles when Hayley leaves.
"I gotta go do something," She excuses herself quickly, and I watch as she goes and shuts the door behind her.
"Niall," Liam says.
"This has been bothering us for a really long time." Zayn lays in, leaning forward as he speak.
"We need to know what happened to Ciara." Harry breathes shakily, "Before any of this ever happened."
I stare at them for a moment. "You bastards don't give a fuck about her privacy do ya?"
"It's not that-" Louis starts, but I cut him off.
"Yes it is that! She doesn't have to tell you if she doesn't want to." I say stubbornly.
"Niall, it's going to bring us down as a band if we don't know what went on behind closed doors." Louis reasons.
"That was the past! Copeland is as happy as could be now. You guys don't need to know because it would affect her more than it is effecting us now." I snap.
"Niall, tell us. She won't know." Zayn pressures me.
I debate this in my mind, but I realize I'm in a losing game. I take a deep breath. "When Ciara was little..."
**Copeland/Ciara's POV**
This tour thing is really turning out to be fun. As I exit the bathroom I am in, I look at myself in my compact. Gorgeous! I had tried on some of the makeup Hayley Williams gave me- what a girl she is!
But aside from all the fun and games we've had, I still can't scratch the feeling Niall won't keep his promise. I am beginning to really regret telling him about my past.
And as for the run in with Harry during the concert- it was unexplainable. I wanted to kiss him- just for no reason. It was the strangest feeling I've ever felt. I can't even explain it, it was like a once-in-a-lifetime moment. When I was looking into his eyes I felt something shudder through me- guilt, pain, melancholy, I don't know. But he felt it too, and I could tell.
As I walk back into the little room where I had come from, everything is surprisingly quiet. Everyone looks at their shoes, except for Harry and Louis. Harry has his face in his hands and Louis is rubbing his back, whispering something in his ear. Even Niall looks crestfallen.
"Um, guys?" I ask timidly. Everyone looks up at me immediately. I blink a few times as I look at Harry's face, and my face screws up in a weird way. He'd been crying. But over what?
"Did something happen while I was gone?" I sit down next to Niall, touching his arm lightly.
"No." Everyone replies at once. I raise my eyebrow. Niall grabs my hand and holds it tightly, looking into my eyes. I stare into his, and I see.. well... Niall's eyes. But something is troubling him. His fingers are quivering as they interlace with mine. I look at everybody else as I think back in my mind as to what could have caused this.
...Wait... no, it couldn't have.
No. No. No. This can't be happening. No. NO!
My mind wakes up and I let out a terrified scream. "You told them you dick! You told them!" I roar, and I lose control of myself.
I start bawling histarically, and I backhand Niall in the face. I cradle my fist to my chest as it stings like crazy. I continue to bawl as I sink down to the hard flooring of the room. "You promised," I snarl as I fold my knees to my chest and cover my face with my hands. "You promised."
An awkward silence fills the room. "Zayn told me to," Niall says quietly.
"Stop pointing fingers Niall! I don't care who made you do it, you still did it!" I snap, my eyes flashing with tears. Out of the corner of my eye, I see Niall's fingers reaching for me.
"No." I say coldly, curling up more. Everything gets quiet, and I hear some whispering and then some people leaving.
Someone sits down beside me and I relax. I could tell it wasn't Niall, because his pockets didn't crunch from some snack inside of them.
"Hey," Harry breathes in my ear.
!Harry's POV!
I touch Copeland's arm softly with my hands. I'm glad the boys went out to grab the limo, because I want this to work.
Instead of screaming at me or flinching away, she moves over swiftly and she envelopes me in a weak, shaky hug. I hug her back, pressing her tightly against me.
She whimpers and cries a little more, and I 'shh' her softly. "Copeland, it's alright," I whisper.
Cope raises her head from my shoulder and looks at me, her makeup smudged in multiple directions. She laugh softly as she wipes a tear away.
"What's so funny?" I ask, smirking down at her.
"I never thought I'd do this again." She replies, giggling again.
"Do what-" I am interrupted by the sweet bliss of her lips against mine. Sparks explode and my heartbeat quickens.
We kiss each other for so long, I forget how to breath.
But then the door swings open. Cope and I don't have enough time to stop kissing before someone comes in. "Alright you guys let's-- What the hell?!"
~~~~~~~
DUN DUN DUN Cliffhanger DX Sorry.
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Mirkat and Nix