Gotta Be You.

“Tell Eleanor I said hi, yeah.” Tanner whispered, pulling away from the hug in which she was wrapped in Louis' arms. He nodded, smiling slightly before kissing her forehead lightly.

“My boy.” Tanner smiled, moving down the line and hugging Niall. He gripped the back of her shirt and for a minute, she swore he was crying. After a long hug, he did the same as Louis, kissing her forehead before he allowed her to continue onto the next.

“Zaynie.” She cried, throwing her arms around his waist in a tight embrace. He chuckled, snaking his arms around her neck, squeezing her and kissing the top of her head. After pulling away from him, she stood in front of Liam; he rested his hands on either side of her face, brushing away the tears before pulling her in for a hug.

“Just come with us.” He whispered. She shook her head, squeezing him a little harder and pulling away completely. “I don't want to leave you here alone.”

“I'm a big girl, Liam. I can protect myself.” Liam nodded though he didn't believe a word of it. The main reason she was with them in the first place was because she couldn't protect herself. “I'll be fine.” Smiling slightly at him, she was suddenly being lifted from the ground, large arms wrapped around her waist. “Paul.” She squealed, hitting his arm so he knew to put her down. When she turned around, she threw her arms around the man, though she could barely get them around his large frame. “Thanks for this.” She said, referring to the small room that had given her privacy to say goodbye to all of them without the fans.

Finally, after the hug, she turned to Harry, walking closer to him and noticing that he was looking to the ground, tears streaming from his eyes. She wanted so badly to reach out for him, to wrap her arms around him and never let go. But she had to let him go and this was the first step.

“I'm losing you again and i've only had you back for a week. It's not fair.” He said, looking up to meet her eyes. Tanner took in a sharp breath, forcing back the sobs. “Can we have a minute?” He asked, looking over at Paul who nodded and ushered the rest of the boys from the room, a wave of screams rushing in through the open door.

“Did you ever really have me back, Harry?”Harry sighed, reaching out for her hand, only to have Tanner place it behind her back. God, Tanner's heart hurt just by looking at the broken boy in front of her. “Look, this is what's going to happen. We're going to say goodbye, you're going to get on your plane and fly to London where you'll forget about me. Me, on the other hand, i'll find an apartment, start a new life here in Florida and forget about you.” Tanner was shaking after the words left her mouth.

“Fine. If that's how you want it, I can't argue with you.” Harry spat. Tanner nodded and watched as Harry reached down into the front pocket of his suitcase, pulling out an envelope. “Read this after i've gone, okay.” Harry pushed the envelope into her hand before grabbing his suitcase and rolling it out of the room.

“Last call for flight 217 to London.” As the lady's voice came on over the intercom, Tanner looked down to the envelope before running out of the room. She had to see them one more time before they left. She just had to. When they saw her, they all waved, except Harry who was already walking through the door onto the plane.

“We love you.” They called out causing the fans to shriek in happiness. Tanner just smiled, knowing that it was actually meant for her. She waved back, watching as they all piled through the small door. Soon enough, the door was closed and it was two hours later. Tanner still sat in the airport, occupying a chair that was seated directly across the room from the door they had all exited through. She couldn't bring herself to leave the airport just yet because if she did, them leaving would finally be reality and she didn't think she could handle that.

“Sweet child, why are you crying?” Looking up, Tanner saw the small, fragile old women and wiped her cheeks. She didn't even know she was crying until now. “Such a beautiful girl should not be burdened with sadness.”Tanner smiled, changing seats and allowing the woman to sit down next to her.

“It's nothing really.” Tanner sniffed as she continued fingering the edges of the envelope that she had yet to open. Slowly, she slid her finger under the flap, reaching in and pulling out a letter. “Oh, god.” She whispered, closing her eyes. The woman rested her hand on Tanner's arm, comforting her even though she had no idea what was going on. Tanner sniffed again, wiping her nose before carefully unfolding the letter.