They had too many plans for the day, and Zachary was exhausted. He woke up after his less than two hour night sleep, feeling like he had just been hit by a bus. He didn't necessarily feel sick, just really, really tired, and his lack of energy probably wouldn't improve with their countless interviews and promo lined up today. He lied in his bunk for a few minutes, staring up at the ceiling, listening to the other hustle around as he thought about what he could do. He would not be able to get through the whole day feeling like this.
Suddenly, a harsh light blinded him as his curtain was pulled back, and he whined loudly, moving away from the source and covering his face.
"Hey Zachy, we need to start getting ready for today!" Corbyn's bright voice met Zach's ears as the younger boy looked towards him, the light still shinning brightly. Zach couldn't even bring himself to get up, so he just whimpered and closed his eyes, opening them right after when he felt himself drifting. Corbyn watched him slowly, his expression changing slightly in confusion.
"Zach, are you feeling okay?" Corbyn's voice softened as he placed a hand against Zach's cheek.
"No." He grumbled, which wasn't really a lie; he didn't feel well, but not in the way Corbyn meant.
"Oh shit, do you think you'll be able to do the interviews?" Corbyn's concerned look made Zach's stomach flip guiltily, but he still went along.
"I don't know Corbs." He whimpered, giving the older boy his best puppy dog eyes. Corbyn pouted and squeezed his shoulder lightly.
"You don't look too good..." the older mused, chewing on his lip conflictedly. "Okay, give me a minute, I'm going to talk to Jo." Corbyn quickly left the bunk area, a peaceful silence meeting Zach's ears. The youngest boy sighed; despite having just lied, he couldn't not think about the idea of sleep, which was all he could focus on in that moment. He closed his eyes again, pulling his cover up to his shoulders and snuggling more into his pillow.
Just as he was about to doze off, a large hand shook his shoulder, and he reluctantly peeled his eyes open to be met with Jonah's concerned ones.
"Hey buddy, Corbyn told me you weren't feeling too good." Jonah's comforting voice soothed Zach, and the youngest smiled weakly; although, it wasn't a difficult task to make his eyes look droopy.
"Jo, I feel so bad but I don't know if I can bring myself to do the interviews. I feel really awful." Zach let out a low groan, his lower lip trembling. Jonah sighed, running a hand through Zach's hair and feeling his forehead slightly.
"Don't worry about that right now Zachy, we can cover it all. You just focus on resting and making yourself feel better. The last thing you need to think about is feeling bad." Then why is that all he felt? As Jonah walked away, Zach couldn't help but look after him guiltily, sighing. It was too late to turn back now. He could just spend the day chilling and then pretend to feel better by tomorrow. No one has to know the truth.
Slowly, Zach drifted into a well deserved sleep, his previous worries vanishing as the darkness took over.
He finally woke up a few hours later, looking around in confusion; the whole area was swallowed in silence, and it took him a while to remember what had happened earlier on. Zach waited for a few minutes before slowly exiting the bunk. He looked around excitedly, thrilled by the idea of having the whole tour bus to himself for the day, and he felt much more rested. It was now almost 1pm, which meant that he had been asleep for nearly fours hours.
The first thing he did was immediately go to the small kitchen area and begin preparing himself a gourmet breakfast/lunch, frying some beacon and eggs and pouring himself some orange juice. He leaned against the counter, watching the sizzling food as it cooked, his mouth watering.
It didn't take him long to position himself in front of the tv, his food plated neatly in front of him and a re-run of FRIENDS playing, making him laugh every few seconds. He couldn't be bothered to change out of his sweatpants and hoodie, but he just wrapped himself up more in the soft material. He was thankful for this day off, despite feeling rather guilty; not following a sleep schedule had started to take a toll on the younger teenager's body. It was hard for him to keep touring and making music and still feel like himself everyday, and he was too afraid to ask for days off; he doesn't want to seem like an unprofessional, immature singer who can't handle his job.
He finally took out his phone, getting bored of the program. It was nearly 2pm now, so he decided to text his family, to see if they were awake since it would probably be early back home. He smiled automatically when he saw a notification saying that his brother had sent him a post through instagram, and he opening it, letting out a laugh when he read the meme Ryan had sent.
bro where do you even find this stuff? lol
don't question my methods ;)
hey, why aren't you with the rest of the boys? they posted a clip of them at an interview and you weren't there.
Zach's eyebrows raise when he reads the message, considering whether he should tell his brother or not. Ryan wouldn't tell the other boys... would he?
He scoffs at his thought; his brother barely talks to the others, it wouldn't hurt to tell him.
hey so don't tell anyone, but i kinda faked being sick so i could get the day off...
oh my god! just like u used to for school ;)
pfft nah, i was a good boy
suuuure
don't tell anyone though, seriously!
you know me, why would i tell anyone? i'm the best bro out there
okay if u say so
okay bye, i'll talk to u soon
enjoy ur day off ;)
lol thanks bye
Zach sighed as he leaned back against the sofa, his phone slipping out of his hand and falling against the cushion, and his eyes began slipping closed again. Of course, he was still tired. After all, they had been touring for a whole month already without breaks and Zachary could only handle it to a certain point. He snuggled up into the warm sofa, a content sigh leaving his lips.
"Zach!" A loud call startled Zach, and his eyes flew open, searching around rapidly as his vision regained itself. He realised it was just his band mates, all standing around in their post-interview outfits, and he flopped back down, letting out a fake groan. He made an effort to make his voice sound slightly croaky before finally speaking.
"Hey guys, how did today go-" Before he could finish, someone's hard voice interrupted him.
"Cut the act Zach, we know you faked it." Jack spat. Zach froze suddenly, his eyes wide and his heart rate increased. Shit, this is not good, is all he thought.
"W-What are you talking about-" He couldn't continue, because Jack softly tossed his phone onto Zach's stomach, making Zach let out an 'oomph'. With shaky hands, under the angry gazes of his bandmates, he picked up the phone and gazed at the screen, his stomach dropping when he read the conversation on display. It was his and Ryan's from earlier today, front his point of view.
"H-How-" His voice trembled as he looked up hesitantly.
"You logged in yesterday when your phone ran out, and you didn't log out." Jack grumbled, snatching his phone out of Zach's grip, leaving the youngest boy slightly startled.
"I can't believe you Zach! This was such a low, selfish stunt to pull." Daniel finally exclaimed, making Zach look down in shame. He was afraid to intervene, not wanting to make the situation worse, but he also wanted to just tell them the truth, defend himself.
"Yeah, for the love of god, you're not ten! Do you think it's fair on all of us to have to go to work whilst you lie here doing god knows what!" Corbyn's raised voice made Zach lip tremble, and he looked around hopelessly. In all their eyes laid anger and disbelief, and it made Zach's heart physically hurt.
"Guys, you don't-" Zach tried, but they weren't having it.
"No, you're pathetic! Don't you think we all want a day off? You can't always get what you want!" Jack's voice pierced through Zach's ears, and he let out a soft whimper.
"I don't think you even think sometimes! You're so selfish-" When Daniel spoke, finally a different, low voice cut in.
"That's enough guys." Everyone turned to Jonah, who was staring hardly at Zach. Zach cowered under his gaze, his lower lip trembling dangerously.
"Zach, I'm disappointed-" Jonah started, and Zach tried his best to intervene before his heart was broken any more. He wouldn't be able to handle it if Jonah said it to him.
"Jo, please-"
"Let me speak!" Jonah deep voice scared Zach into silence, as he looked at him hardly, along with the glares of the rest of the band. "Zach, I'm disappointed with you and your selfish behaviour." His words were hurtful, despite the truth of them, but no one wanted to listen to Zach's reasoning; he couldn't take it. He let out a soft cry as he scurried up and ran out of the room, making his way to the small bathroom and locking the door behind him.
"No, Zach, wait-" Jonah sighed when the youngest left, turning around to the rest of the boys who were almost grinning, proud of themselves.
"But I'm even more disappointed with you guys! You guys can't just insult him, he's still our bandmate and brother whether you're mad at him or not, and what you said probably hurt him." All their faces dropped in realisation when they heard Jonah's words, but the eldest wasted no time with them and immediately ran off to the bathroom, knocking three times.
"Zach, let me in, it's just me." Jonah said softly, straining to hear.
"No, you're just going to shout at me!" Zach sobbed lightly through the wood, his head buried in his arms.
"I'm not going to shout at you I promise." When he got no answer, he continued. "Zach, I know you like the back of my hand, I'm 100% sure you have a reason for doing this. I'm not going to shout." Finally, the bathroom door clicked open, and Zach appeared, looking down at his feet with soft tears trailing down his cheeks. Jonah 'aww'ed sadly, pulling him into his arms and letting him bury his face in his shoulder. Zach breathed in deeply, trying to calm himself down, before eventually pulling himself away and wiping his tears.
"I'm sorry Jonah... I just couldn't take it. I can't sleep properly at night, and I'm so so tired. I just couldn't bring myself to do all the interviews feeling as shitty as I did." Zach cried lightly, looking up at Jonah, who held a sympathetic look. Jonah ran a hand through the youngest's hair, lightly kissing his forehead before pulling him in for another hug.
"It's okay Z, I don't blame you. I know it must be harder for you cause you're still basically a baby on the inside. Just next time, tell us the truth, then no one will be mad at you." Zach quickly modded, relieved at the forgiveness.
"The others are mad though." He sniffed.
"We're not mad." Zach jumped at the sudden voice, turning to face the three boys sheepishly standing a few feet away, watching them. They smiled sadly when Zach looked down at the floor in shame.
"Zach, we're so sorry for overreacting, if anyone is pathetic it's us." Daniel said as they approached the two, Zach finally cracking a small smile. He opening his arms and the three of them grinned, creating a group hug.
"C'mon, we need to get you rested up, let's put on a movie and chill tonight." Corbyn said.
"Thank you guys." Zach finally sniffed, his guilt and worries being washed away.
word count: 2116
hey guys! sorry for being MIA, i just hadn't predicted that i'd be so inactive when exams came around, and i never actually warned you i was putting this book on hold, but now it's finally off again! i've missed it x