Status: I'm only uploading one chapter for now, just to see if people are interested. But I promise to update in the near future!
Jumping Into Rivers
12
It was not particularly easy for a boy band to just wander down the streets of London. They’d been out of their house for ten minutes and already they’d encountered four sets of fans demanding pictures, and various other people pointing and whispering to each other. Liam only prayed that the paparazzi didn’t hear of their outing. It would just quite simply ruin the day. And there would no doubt be pictures in the papers too. Something which management would not be happy about.
Management was always hard on them. Harder than the five boys thought they would have been. Niall often thought had he of known how harsh management would be he would have persuaded the boys not to sign. But none of the boys had a clue. None of the boys had a clue that they would be treated like robots. The boys were so busy that sometimes they didn’t even have time for a toilet break. They were tired all of the time, but management didn’t seem to care. But what was worse sometimes, was not how they were treated, but how the fans were. One Direction are only successful because of their fans. Without them they wouldn’t have had a number one single and they wouldn’t have had sell out tours. The fans were everything. But management didn’t care. Management simply pushed the fans away, and barely let them talk to the boys, particularly if they were in large numbers. It was frustrating, but there wasn’t much the boys could do about it other than apologise to the fans and scowl at security.
There was one girl, however, that seemed to be able to spend as much time with the boys as she liked without management even caring. The only problem was, only one of the boys really knew she was there. Of course she was not a stalker. She was a ghost. And she was following the boys right now. She was enjoying her time. Smiling as giggling girls came up to the boys, holding out their cameras while they blushed. It was quite heart-warming, for Diana at least. She’d never seen this behaviour, because she’d never had to help a celebrity before. She’d known others who had, but never had she had to do it herself. To begin with she was anxious. When she was told to help Louis Tomlinson her heart would have skipped a beat, had it been beating. Not because she was a fangirl. She was anything but. It was more because celebrities could be a nuisance. Full of arrogance and ego, so Diana was pleasantly surprised to find Louis was fairly normal. For someone who had been thrust into the media and rose to fame quicker than you could say, “Money!” anyway.
Right now he was ignoring her. He knew she was there, but he chose to look away and snuggle up to Harry as the wind picked up. What a strange relationship, Diana had to think to herself. She’d observed so many people before, but had never seen such a friendship as those two. They seemed to have no boundaries, even in public. Many people acted this way, although most often it was indicated as a romantic gesture. And Diana was sure that Louis wasn’t holding hands with Harry in that way...unless...
Unless maybe he was. Subconsciously. Diana had seen it before, but not with two males. But, it led her to be curious. Could Louis be suffering from the same subconscious thoughts that another had in 1998? Diana remembered it exactly. She was wandering around Cambridge, watching people bustle about the shopping centre. It was Easter, she remembered. With pastel coloured eggs hanging from the ceiling and displayed in shop windows. She was minding her own business, or rather watching other people mind their own business, when she had that feeling. It’s a horrendous feeling. That one that begins in the stomach. Like sometime bad is about to happen. Diana gets that feeling a lot, because that feelings tells her someone is about to die. Immediately she knew where to go. Ghosts don’t know how they do it, or why it happens, but they just know. They realise someone is about to die and all they have to do is close their eyes and disappear. And they’re there.
And that’s what Diana did. She was stood in front of a thirty year old man, sobbing hysterically with a knife in his hand. He jumped once Diana appeared, and pointed the knife to her instead. “Stay away from me,” he cried in a Welsh accent. Diana remained calm, not at all fazed by the sharp object in his hand. “Looks sharp, that knife, doesn’t it?” she began calmly, “It would hurt a lot if you were to push it into your own skin. It would take a good ten minutes for you to die, too. That would be terrible, wouldn’t it? To die in so much pain. I hope no one is silly enough to do that to themselves.”
A month it took, for Diana to realise what was up. Bill, her Welsh friend, wasn’t quite sure why he was ready to die. Much like Louis it was a sudden action...a sudden urge to hurt themselves...to die. She followed him everywhere. To his job, to the pub, even when he simply went grocery shopping she followed him. He knew too. They grew to be great friends. It was just frustrating for Diana, because she couldn’t figure it out. But, finally she did. It was a Thursday night, down the local pub. Bill was with his friends having a laugh and watching the football when a girl walked in. She had brown eyes and was wearing jeans. She had white teeth but bags under her eyes. Sophie, her name was. And it came to Diana. From the corner she watched the way Bill and Sophie interacted. The way Bill tried desperately to gain her attention, but how Sophie would simply smile at him sympathetically and continue her conversation...ignoring him. He was in love with her...so much it hurt. But he wasn’t even aware of it. That’s why he did it...that’s why he tried to kill himself. Because he was in love and he didn’t know it. And the girl he did love, didn’t love him back...not until Diana went to her bedroom that night and listened to her sleep talk. “Bill,” she would mutter under her breath, “Let me...Bill.”
The next morning Diana went away. She told Bill what she found, and at first he was confused. Blushing and bumbling in denial. But finally he saw the light, and admitted it must be true. And from that day on he was okay. And Sophie was too. Diana congratulated herself and moved on, prepared to face another boring year before she could help someone...but now, in 2011 she’d found a boy, suffering from something remarkably similar.
But could it be? Could Louis really be? She’d just have to watch, and observe. But she’d already broken a promise, because she wouldn’t tell. She couldn’t tell Louis this. She would never know how Louis would react. Because a boy loving another boy was a sensitive subject, and Diana was sure Louis wouldn’t take it well. But, she could be wrong! Maybe they were just friends, and the reason Louis was ready to jump was for an entire different reason. One which was far less obvious but none the more probable.
She’d just have to wait and see.
-
“Lou! Lou, catch it!” Niall shrieked as the Frisbee came hurtling towards the older boy. Louis made a noise that sounded inhuman as he watched the coloured disk fly towards his face before it hit him. “I told you to catch it!” Niall whined as Louis rubbed his forehead, a clear red mark where the toy had hit him.
“It was moving too fast,” he pouted, aiming towards Liam and throwing. Harry, who was standing a few feet away walked over to him. “You okay?” he asked delicately, removing Louis’ hand to inspect the red mark. “I’m fine, nothing serious,” Louis laughed, looking into green eyes to encourage reassurance. Harry seemed unsure but nodded anyway. “But, you are okay, right?”
The way Harry spoke made Louis think he wasn’t just talking about the Frisbee wound. He cocked his head and gave a confused look. “Yeah, I’m fine. Why wouldn’t I be?” Harry just shrugged with a smile. “Just making sure,” his eyes flickered to Louis’ wrist before running off again, his curls bouncing as he dived for the disk heading his way.
Louis licked his lips and stared at his wrist too. The cut was barely visible now. Pink shiny skin had mostly taken its place, making Louis groan. A scar. Fantastic. Now he had a constant reminder of how clumsy he was. He hoped again that the fans wouldn’t see. They liked to overreact. Too protective. He cast a look to the left of him, and there was Diana. Sitting on a bench a little way away, one leg over the other showing off her deathly white ankles. Next to her sat a middle-aged man reading a newspaper, obviously oblivious to the fact that a dead girl was sat next to him. Louis laughed as she leaned over a little, keen to see what the man was reading. She was nosey, that Diana. Although Louis had to think that he would be too, if he were a ghost.
“Louis?” Harry asked, his voice right in his ear. Louis jumped and turned to find Harry back by his side. “What are you looking at?” the younger boy questioned. “Oh, nothing. Just...looking at that...newspaper,”
“Um, okay,” Harry said confused, “we’re going to get some ice-cream. Coming?” Louis smiled and nodded, giving one quick glance back to the bench. Of course she was gone. She was probably already at the ice-cream store. Patiently waiting for the boys to turn up. He linked his arms with Harry as both boys walked out of the park, following the other three in front of them. Harry tried to ignore the distant sound of a camera flash from the nearby bushes and instead concentrated on pulling Louis closer. He wrinkled his nose and a raindrop landed, and started to move quicker, away from both the rain and the camera which again, had clicked. Harry wasn’t sure what use those photos would be, but all he knew was that he didn’t like people taking pictures of himself and his Lou. They deserved some privacy, for fucks sake.
Management was always hard on them. Harder than the five boys thought they would have been. Niall often thought had he of known how harsh management would be he would have persuaded the boys not to sign. But none of the boys had a clue. None of the boys had a clue that they would be treated like robots. The boys were so busy that sometimes they didn’t even have time for a toilet break. They were tired all of the time, but management didn’t seem to care. But what was worse sometimes, was not how they were treated, but how the fans were. One Direction are only successful because of their fans. Without them they wouldn’t have had a number one single and they wouldn’t have had sell out tours. The fans were everything. But management didn’t care. Management simply pushed the fans away, and barely let them talk to the boys, particularly if they were in large numbers. It was frustrating, but there wasn’t much the boys could do about it other than apologise to the fans and scowl at security.
There was one girl, however, that seemed to be able to spend as much time with the boys as she liked without management even caring. The only problem was, only one of the boys really knew she was there. Of course she was not a stalker. She was a ghost. And she was following the boys right now. She was enjoying her time. Smiling as giggling girls came up to the boys, holding out their cameras while they blushed. It was quite heart-warming, for Diana at least. She’d never seen this behaviour, because she’d never had to help a celebrity before. She’d known others who had, but never had she had to do it herself. To begin with she was anxious. When she was told to help Louis Tomlinson her heart would have skipped a beat, had it been beating. Not because she was a fangirl. She was anything but. It was more because celebrities could be a nuisance. Full of arrogance and ego, so Diana was pleasantly surprised to find Louis was fairly normal. For someone who had been thrust into the media and rose to fame quicker than you could say, “Money!” anyway.
Right now he was ignoring her. He knew she was there, but he chose to look away and snuggle up to Harry as the wind picked up. What a strange relationship, Diana had to think to herself. She’d observed so many people before, but had never seen such a friendship as those two. They seemed to have no boundaries, even in public. Many people acted this way, although most often it was indicated as a romantic gesture. And Diana was sure that Louis wasn’t holding hands with Harry in that way...unless...
Unless maybe he was. Subconsciously. Diana had seen it before, but not with two males. But, it led her to be curious. Could Louis be suffering from the same subconscious thoughts that another had in 1998? Diana remembered it exactly. She was wandering around Cambridge, watching people bustle about the shopping centre. It was Easter, she remembered. With pastel coloured eggs hanging from the ceiling and displayed in shop windows. She was minding her own business, or rather watching other people mind their own business, when she had that feeling. It’s a horrendous feeling. That one that begins in the stomach. Like sometime bad is about to happen. Diana gets that feeling a lot, because that feelings tells her someone is about to die. Immediately she knew where to go. Ghosts don’t know how they do it, or why it happens, but they just know. They realise someone is about to die and all they have to do is close their eyes and disappear. And they’re there.
And that’s what Diana did. She was stood in front of a thirty year old man, sobbing hysterically with a knife in his hand. He jumped once Diana appeared, and pointed the knife to her instead. “Stay away from me,” he cried in a Welsh accent. Diana remained calm, not at all fazed by the sharp object in his hand. “Looks sharp, that knife, doesn’t it?” she began calmly, “It would hurt a lot if you were to push it into your own skin. It would take a good ten minutes for you to die, too. That would be terrible, wouldn’t it? To die in so much pain. I hope no one is silly enough to do that to themselves.”
A month it took, for Diana to realise what was up. Bill, her Welsh friend, wasn’t quite sure why he was ready to die. Much like Louis it was a sudden action...a sudden urge to hurt themselves...to die. She followed him everywhere. To his job, to the pub, even when he simply went grocery shopping she followed him. He knew too. They grew to be great friends. It was just frustrating for Diana, because she couldn’t figure it out. But, finally she did. It was a Thursday night, down the local pub. Bill was with his friends having a laugh and watching the football when a girl walked in. She had brown eyes and was wearing jeans. She had white teeth but bags under her eyes. Sophie, her name was. And it came to Diana. From the corner she watched the way Bill and Sophie interacted. The way Bill tried desperately to gain her attention, but how Sophie would simply smile at him sympathetically and continue her conversation...ignoring him. He was in love with her...so much it hurt. But he wasn’t even aware of it. That’s why he did it...that’s why he tried to kill himself. Because he was in love and he didn’t know it. And the girl he did love, didn’t love him back...not until Diana went to her bedroom that night and listened to her sleep talk. “Bill,” she would mutter under her breath, “Let me...Bill.”
The next morning Diana went away. She told Bill what she found, and at first he was confused. Blushing and bumbling in denial. But finally he saw the light, and admitted it must be true. And from that day on he was okay. And Sophie was too. Diana congratulated herself and moved on, prepared to face another boring year before she could help someone...but now, in 2011 she’d found a boy, suffering from something remarkably similar.
But could it be? Could Louis really be? She’d just have to watch, and observe. But she’d already broken a promise, because she wouldn’t tell. She couldn’t tell Louis this. She would never know how Louis would react. Because a boy loving another boy was a sensitive subject, and Diana was sure Louis wouldn’t take it well. But, she could be wrong! Maybe they were just friends, and the reason Louis was ready to jump was for an entire different reason. One which was far less obvious but none the more probable.
She’d just have to wait and see.
-
“Lou! Lou, catch it!” Niall shrieked as the Frisbee came hurtling towards the older boy. Louis made a noise that sounded inhuman as he watched the coloured disk fly towards his face before it hit him. “I told you to catch it!” Niall whined as Louis rubbed his forehead, a clear red mark where the toy had hit him.
“It was moving too fast,” he pouted, aiming towards Liam and throwing. Harry, who was standing a few feet away walked over to him. “You okay?” he asked delicately, removing Louis’ hand to inspect the red mark. “I’m fine, nothing serious,” Louis laughed, looking into green eyes to encourage reassurance. Harry seemed unsure but nodded anyway. “But, you are okay, right?”
The way Harry spoke made Louis think he wasn’t just talking about the Frisbee wound. He cocked his head and gave a confused look. “Yeah, I’m fine. Why wouldn’t I be?” Harry just shrugged with a smile. “Just making sure,” his eyes flickered to Louis’ wrist before running off again, his curls bouncing as he dived for the disk heading his way.
Louis licked his lips and stared at his wrist too. The cut was barely visible now. Pink shiny skin had mostly taken its place, making Louis groan. A scar. Fantastic. Now he had a constant reminder of how clumsy he was. He hoped again that the fans wouldn’t see. They liked to overreact. Too protective. He cast a look to the left of him, and there was Diana. Sitting on a bench a little way away, one leg over the other showing off her deathly white ankles. Next to her sat a middle-aged man reading a newspaper, obviously oblivious to the fact that a dead girl was sat next to him. Louis laughed as she leaned over a little, keen to see what the man was reading. She was nosey, that Diana. Although Louis had to think that he would be too, if he were a ghost.
“Louis?” Harry asked, his voice right in his ear. Louis jumped and turned to find Harry back by his side. “What are you looking at?” the younger boy questioned. “Oh, nothing. Just...looking at that...newspaper,”
“Um, okay,” Harry said confused, “we’re going to get some ice-cream. Coming?” Louis smiled and nodded, giving one quick glance back to the bench. Of course she was gone. She was probably already at the ice-cream store. Patiently waiting for the boys to turn up. He linked his arms with Harry as both boys walked out of the park, following the other three in front of them. Harry tried to ignore the distant sound of a camera flash from the nearby bushes and instead concentrated on pulling Louis closer. He wrinkled his nose and a raindrop landed, and started to move quicker, away from both the rain and the camera which again, had clicked. Harry wasn’t sure what use those photos would be, but all he knew was that he didn’t like people taking pictures of himself and his Lou. They deserved some privacy, for fucks sake.