Jumping Into Rivers

The boys held onto the final note of their last song, harmonising perfectly as they had been all night. They took a moment to look out at the ridiculous crowd in front of them. Row upon row of dedicated fans filled Wembley arena. Their hand-made One Direction T-shirts sticking to their bodies with sweat. Hair stuck to faces, make-up smudged, plastic cups being crushed under the weight of thousands of feet as they pushed forward, their hands in the air.

Niall’s eyes shone with appreciation as the flashes of cameras went off in front of him. Each one winking like a star as they captured the perfect atmosphere in one still image, ready to be posted on Facebook, or tacked to the wall of the specific teenager who had taken the photograph.

All five of the boys lowered their microphones as the last chord of the guitar hummed around the screaming audience. A smile was plastered on each of their faces, a genuine one at that. Confetti blasted from the cannons on each side of the stage, covering the adoring crowd in glittering pieces of paper. Louis laughed at Harry when several pieces became caught in his curly hair. With delicate fingers he brushed them off before pulling the younger male into a hug. Needing his comfort to make sure that what he was seeing in front of him was reality, and not just some crazy fantasy he’d been dreaming for the last twelve months. They all knew that the last night of tour was going to be an emotional one, but none of them quite expected this. The fans screams deafened them, while the girls in the front row crushed themselves against the barrier to gain one last look at the attractive boy band before they ran off stage.

Liam raised the microphone to his lips, chuckling awkwardly before speaking, “I don’t really know what to say,” he began, making some of the audience quieten down while others screamed louder at his voice, “the only thing I know for sure is that we have the best fans in the world!” the crowd roared in approval, “Seriously, you guys are just the best!”

Liam paused again, licking his lips as a lump formed in his throat. He had worked so hard to achieve this. Years ago he imagined he would be standing on a stage like this on his own, but now he could never imagine going solo. The four boys on either side of him were not only his band mates, they were his best friends. And he realised he would not want to perform to thousands of fans with any other four people. Louis took the moment of silence to parade around the stage in a blue bra which had been thrown to them around three songs previous. Zayn clapped his hands and laughed at the Doncaster lad while Liam just shook his head with disapproval, but smiling anyway. But of course, it made the fans scream, particularly when he wiggled his hips towards Niall, making the blonde boy grin.

“You guys are amazing!” Niall continued. His Irish accent not as thick as it once was, but still adorable “We love you guys! See you next year!”

And with a final yell of, “Vas happenin’!” from a very obvious member they ran off of the stage despite the protest of the crowd.

-

“That was amazing!” Harry exclaimed, jumping onto Louis’s back as soon as they were off the stage.

“Fucking brill.” Zayn agreed, handing his microphone over and taking out his earpiece.

“I thought Liam was gunna cry at one point.” Niall said, jabbing Liam in the ribs much to his disapproval.

“Shut up, Niall!” Liam complained, although there was a bright grin on his face.
“I can’t believe it’s over.” Louis said, hooking his hands under Harry’s knees to support him in a piggy back.

“First tour – Sold out. I can’t believe it.” Liam said, shaking his head slightly.

“Better believe it!” Harry giggled, swatting him on the head as Louis began running towards the doors. However, halfway towards the doors Louis tripped over, and both boys were sent tumbling to the ground. Harry landing painfully on Louis’ back. But the two boys just burst into laughter as their three best friends just sighed at their immature – but classic – behaviour.

“I can’t wait to get back to the hotel.” Harry said to his best friend as they clambered up from the floor.

“Me too. I just wanna crack a beer open-" Louis started, throwing a casual arm over Harry’s shoulder as they approached the tour bus.

“No! No more beer for you. Remember what happened last week?” Harry interrupted, turning to stare at Louis, humour lit in his eyes but disapproval on his face.

“To be fair there should be a fence around the lake if they didn’t want anyone going in it!” Louis defended himself, fully remembering attempting to chase ducks into a lake somewhere up north seven days earlier. Of course he’d had a bit too much to drink and didn’t think about the fact that the lake was pretty deep, and ended up wrapped in a blanket shivering with the cold, and dripped wet with dirty water as he informed the rest of the band with a grin on his face “I touched one, guys! I touched a duck!”

“Yeah, well. I still don’t think John’s happy about having to jump in after you.” John being their overprotective and over-muscled bodyguard who was as soft as cookie-dough on the inside.

“I was fine!” Louis continued, pushing his sweaty fringe out of his eyes.
“It didn’t look that way.” Harry mumbled, following him into the bus but with a smile on his face.

“Fine, no beer. But I can’t promise I’m not going to drink alcohol tonight.” he pointed out, fighting off the damp-with-sweat shirt that Zayn had just thrown at him.

“Please, not Malibu again!” Niall called from the back of the bus, “I’ve not been able to smell coconut without gagging since!”

“Lou, you really need to learn how to keep your drink down.” Liam agreed, sipping a Red Bull.

“Fuck off!” Louis cried, messing with the mature boy’s hair, laughing as he did so. But he had to agree, he wasn't the best drunk in the world.