Just One Step

It was the day we all left on tour, and Niall still wasn’t talking to me. I was so stupid. James wasn’t going to change. Niall knew that, I was just too stubborn to realize it. Tay had packed my bags; she wouldn’t let me anywhere near them. Right now, I was running toward Uncle Mark’s studio, where the tour bus would pick us up. It was the middle of summer, and the heat was getting to me. It was about three in the afternoon, and the bus was scheduled to pick us up at 3:15, so I was running late.

I ran through the downtown streets and finally made it to the studio. When I got there I saw the boys loading up the bus. I was about to join them when Uncle Mark came running up.

“Dani! Where have you been? I was getting worried you had bailed!” he shouted from 10 feet away, still running toward me.

“Sorry,” I panted. “I … just… had….to…wait for…Tay…to finish packing…”

“You’re a big girl, pack for yourself next time,” he scolded.

“You know Tay. She… wouldn’t let me near…them.”

“Yeah, well get you’re stuff on the bus. I know you have an extra day but that doesn’t mean we should abuse it.” He said.

“Extra day?” I asked quizzically.

“Yeah, you have a day in Richmond before the tour really begins.”

“Good to know,” I said.

“Well you better get going,” he said gesturing towards the bus.

“Yup,” I said popping the ‘p.’

And then we hugged. I was really going to miss him.

I walked into the bus and saw the boys already goofing off. Louis was hitting Liam over the head with one of the pillows from the bunks. Harry was dancing like an idiot with his headphones in. Zayn was sitting on one of the top bunks, trying to see how far over he could lean over backward without falling over and Niall was spotting him.

The bus was set up with a main lounge area in the front. A little farther back were the bunks we’d be sleeping on, three on top of each other. Two sets of three on each side. I assumed the extra bunks were for crewmembers. Behind the bunks was the small kitchen area and the bath room.I made my way through the piles of bags that they has strewn everywhere to the bunks, dodging Zayn as I walked by. The only bunk that hadn’t already been claimed was one on the top left, but Niall was sitting on it.

“Hey, ummm, are you sleeping up there? ‘Cause like everyone’s stuff is already spread out down here. But if you’re up there that fine too, I just want to know,”

He just shook his head, grunted slightly, then hopped down.

“Lovely,” I muttered.

“Don’t blame him,” Zayn told me.

“Why?” I asked.

“You realized what you did, and yet you still haven’t apologized,”

“Well he did wrong things too.” I defended.

“Yeah, well one of you has to apologize. And Niall, he’s stubborn. Good luck getting him to budge,”

“You know, I’m stubborn too,”

“I do, I told you that the day Tay dragged us out to go shopping,”

“I remember,” I said. “When are we leaving?”

“Couple hours I think,” he turned his head to look over at the rest of the boys, still hanging upside down from the bunk next to mine. “Hey Louis! When we leaving?”

Louis looked up, pausing from his continuous battle against the top of Liam’s head but only for a moment to say, “Err, around four thirtyish I believe.”

“Nahh,” Liam said, seaming oblivious to the battering his head was undergoing. “That’s the latest we’re supposed to leave. We’re trying to be out of here, like as soon as the driver and crew gets here,”

“Gotcha,” I said plopping my small bag down onto my bunk before climbing up myself. I left my guitar and the bag that Tay had packed on the side. Once I was up there I reached into my bag and got out my iPod. I plugged the head the phones in and slowly drifted off to sleep.

What seamed like a few seconds later I was being shaken awake. I opened my eyes to see Harry looking at me.

“We’re leaving now, the crew just got here. I wanted to check and make sure you didn’t forget anything? ‘Cause we can swing by your house and pick it up now if you did,”

“Umm,” I went though a short mental checklist. “Nope, not that I…” I trailed off realizing I hadn’t forgotten something, but someone.

“What?” Harry asked.

“Shit,” I said, jumping down from the bunk. “Shit, shit, shit, shit, shit!”

“Seriously,” he said. “What?” The other boys and the crew that had just arrived were starring at me.

“I forgot something,” I said.

“Well like I said we can just swing by your house and grab it,” Harry explained.

“She’s not at my house,” I told him, freaking out a little more by the minute.

“She?” he asked.

“My grandmother!” I shouted, tears beginning to form in my eyes. “I forgot my freaking grandmother,”

“You’re bringing your grandmother on tour?” he asked.

“No!” He didn’t get it. Either Niall had not told him or he had forgotten. I looked around not knowing what to do, when my eyes landed on Niall. He was looking at me, confused, and then I saw the light bulb go off.

“Get this bus to the hospital!” he shouted.

“What?” Louis asked. The other boys looked from me to Niall, looks of confusion painted on their faces.

“Just go!” Niall yelled. He got up from where he was sitting and walked over to me. He wrapped his arms around me, pulling me close to him. I leaned my head onto his chest, and began to cry. “It’s going to be okay,” he told me.

“I’m sorry,” I whispered.

“Me too,”

***

After I visited the hospital and said goodbye to my grandmother, I felt much better. We were back on the bus and I met the crew. They were mostly older then me and the One Direction boys, but they didn’t seam to care. There was only one other girl, her name was Lilly. She was 19 and was the mic and guitar tech. She had brown-layered hair, and green eyes. She was slightly taller then me and seamed really nice. The other five crewmembers were guys.

Danny, the sound and lights guy, had short brown hair and dark blue eyes. He was definitely the tallest one there, he was 22 and acted like an older brother to everyone, even though Jake, the merch guy was older then him. Jake, 24, had scruffy black hair and dark brown eyes. He was tall but not as tall as Danny. He was definitely the most immature crewmember. Him and Louis were already getting along.

The other three guys, Oliver, KC, and Mac were the roadies. Oli was 18, making him the youngest member of our crew. He had grey eyes, like myself, and swoopy blonde hair. KC was 20, and had longish brown hair the slightly reminded me of William Beckett. Mac, 19, the shortest of the crew, had a voice that made up for his height. Man, he was loud! He had hazel eyes and light brown hair, cut in the classic choppy band boy hair cut. They all claimed bunks while I was in the hospital and the end result was something that looks like this:

Left Wall: Right Wall:
Dani Zayn Lilly Oli
Niall Louis KC Jake
Harry Liam Danny Mac

We were well on our way to Richmond, VA. and I was talking to Lilly. We were sitting on opposite bunks.

“I’m so glad you’re here,” she said. “It’s not often I get to spend time with girls on the road,”

“Yeah, same,” I said. “I didn’t know how I was going to survive ten weeks with these boys,”

“I think it’s twelve,” she told me.

“Even better,” I said sarcastically, and she laughed.

“So what’s with you and Niall?” she asked.

“What do you mean?”

“Well, like you two both look like you like each other and like the way he comforted you when you forgot about your grandma… Not just any guy does that Dani,” she said. “So is there anything going on between you,”

“You know,” I said, looking down the hall to see Danny, Niall, Harry, and Liam, and Oli playing video games, while Zayn, Oli and Mac watched (there were only four controllers) and Jake and Louis raided the fridge. “I really wish I knew,”