Any Other Heart

There was a loud banging on my door, which was the reason I woke up. I was confused at first, being half asleep still, but I pulled myself out of bed to answer the door.

“‘lo Sleeping Beauty!” Louis said cheerfully as he brushed by me into my room.

I groaned and rubbed my eyes before peaking out into the hall to make sure he was alone. When I was sure he was, I clicked the door shut and turned around, finding him on my bed. “Fucking hell Lou, what are you doing?”

He shrugged. “Got bored. Couldn’t sleep, none of the lads could. Thought you might want to cause some mischief with us?”

I rolled my eyes before joining him on the bed, bouncing onto it and making him bounce slightly. “I was sleeping, you twat. Not all of us have the luxury of doing nothing tonight, you know.”

He barked out a laugh. “Twat! You should be up anyways. It’s...” he trailed off, checking the time on his phone. “Way past your wake-up call. Lou’s probably already at the venue.”

My eyes widened immediately. That couldn’t be true. I told Lou to make sure she knocked if I happened to sleep in and didn’t come over in the morning. She promised me she would. There was no way....

“You make this whole teasing you bit no fun because you actually panic, like, every bloody time,” Louis muttered, standing up. “Relax, Mia. It’s early still. Lou’s probably still sleeping. But since you’re up...” he wiggled his eyebrows and shoved his hands into his pockets. “Let’s go get breakfast! Nialler was going on about being hungry.”

“When isn’t he,” I mumbled, falling against the bed. “Go away, Louis. Let me get another hour of sleep before all hell breaks loose.”

“BREAKFAST!” he bellowed. “NOW!”

I practically jumped out of my skin. “Jesus Christ, Louis!” I hissed, smacking him on the back of the head as I walked to the bathroom. “Get out of here. I’ll knock when I’m ready, you tosser.”

I could hear the grin in his voice as he said, “That’s all I ask!” before he walked out of my room.

***

An hour later, Louis, Niall, Harry, Liam, and myself were heading down to the restaurant in the first floor of the hotel to get breakfast. Zayn was, as expected, MIA. The others were bright eyed and bushy tailed and ready to start their day.

I was more on Zayn’s level, practically still asleep as we made our way downstairs. I just needed a cup of tea and some food and I’d be ready to go.

I immediately ordered tea when we sat down, not even bothering with the menu. I was seated in between Niall and Louis with Harry and Liam across from us. They chattered on about the day ahead and the tour and everything in between while I stayed silent, hopelessly wishing my tea would just magically appear in front of me.

To distract myself, I pulled out my phone to check for messages. There was one from my brother Matt, wishing me well on tour and asking me to call him when I got a chance, and one from Loren. I smiled as I opened it.



I laughed quietly and shook my head before typing a speedy response.



I pocketed my phone just as Louis was nudging me. “Who was that?”

“My mate Loren, from home. Just wishing me well. Oh, I have to phone my brother when we’re done, don’t let me forget.” I said it out loud, hoping at least one of the lads would make sure I did it. I caught Harry looking at me funny, which made me heat up. I felt the blush rising up my neck. “What?” I asked him.

He shook his head. “How’s Loren? Haven’t seen her... well, in awhile.”

I shrugged. Loren and Harry didn’t know each other very well, aside from their mutual connection through me. We had all gone to Hall Cross together, and I thought Loren may have had a class with Harry if I recalled, but they were just acquaintances. That was Harry though, always the polite one. “She’s good. She’s at uni in London now actually. She wanted to come out, but she’s busy with exams.”

Harry nodded thoughtfully before looking down at his phone on the table, suddenly engrossed with it.

“Are you excited for tour?” Liam asked me once we finally got our food. I couldn’t help but notice Niall’s plates taking up most of the space.

I nodded, smiling. “I am. I was nervous yesterday, but now I’m just excited. What about you lot? Pretty big deal yeah?”

There were noises of affirmation and agreeing around the table. “Bloody huge!” Niall mumbled around a mouthful of toast.

I rolled my eyes and laughed, nudging his shoulder. “Mouth closed, Nialler. For all our sakes, yeah?”

He just laughed.

The boys chattered on about tour and their excitement was apparent. They were anxious to get back out and play real, full shows, a whole new set that hadn’t been done yet. Seeing them so passionate about it was really nice. I stayed quiet, only answering questions when asked for the most part. I was taking it all in, the way they interacted with one another, something I wasn’t used to. I had spent my fair share of time around the boys, but it’d been awhile since the last time and I had to catch up. There were new inside jokes, new things I wasn’t used to. I was certain by the time tour was over, I would know the boys like the back of my hand, but for now I was just taking it all in.

When we finished breakfast, we headed back up to our rooms. Louis and I held back and he wrapped his arm around my shoulder as we walked out. “You were quiet. Everything all right?”

I smiled and bumped my hip against his. “I’m fine. I was just taking it all in. I haven’t been around you guys in a few months, so I was off my game.”

We stopped a little ways back from the other lads as they waited for the lift and Lou looked me in the eyes, completely serious. “I know it’s been barely twenty-four hours and I’ve already given you a hard time more times than you can count, but I’m looking out for you Mia. You’re my best mate. I expect you to tell me if something’s wrong, yeah?”

Without warning I reached out and hugged him tightly before pulling away. I smiled. “I’m fine, Lou. But I promise if my world starts falling apart, you’ll be the first to know.”

Wrapping his arm around my shoulder again and turning me towards the lift, he laughed. “That’s all I ask, Mia. That’s all I ask.”

***

I don’t think I ever could have imagined the chaos that enveloped One Direction on the night of a performance. It was like their energy combined with the chaos of it being the opening night, multiplied by a thousand.

I could hardly keep up, but I had to try.

My job was to help out with outfit changes. There were four of them and every time the boys came into their dressing room hooting and hollering and full of energy, I had to make sure outfits got put back on racks, the right racks, and in the right order.

It wasn’t terribly difficult work. I just had to hang up clothes and put them on racks.

But the first time Harry took his shirt off, dropping it on the ground and looking around frantic for his next outfit, I tripped over a rack and almost fell to the floor.

So no, it wasn’t terribly difficult work, but it was a completely different story when you had to be in the same room as the boy you were head over heels for while he stripped down to his boxers.

Thankfully I could blame the complete and utter chaos on my lack of grace and no one was the wiser. I made it to the final changing without another fall.

“Mia!” Louis called to me across the room while I helped tie Niall’s tie. “My braces are--”

“Wrong, I know. Hold on,” I muttered, concentrating on the tie. When I finished, I patted Niall’s chest and smiled. “All good, Nialler.”

He grinned and thanked me before I went to Lou so she could help fix his hair. I hurried over to Louis, whose braces were in fact a mess. I sighed and planted my hands on my hips. “Really, Lou? They were fine twenty four hours ago. How could you have possibly--”

“Will you just fix them?” he groaned.

I chuckled and shook my head but did as he asked. I leaned down slightly so I was more eye-level with the clasp and tugged and pulled until they were adjusted properly, each side even and fitting him perfectly.

I stood up straight and smiled. “Perfect.”

He grinned and turned to the mirror, nodding in approval. He leaned in and kissed my cheek quick before Paul came in and announced they had to go. “Thanks love!” he said before rushing off.

After the concert, the boys were buzzing. They were so happy, and it was infectious. Or it would have been if I wasn’t absolutely exhausted. Thankfully there were two more shows in London, so we didn’t have to pack anything up. After cleaning up and the boys changed into their regular clothes, we all took cars over to the hotel.

I was so tired, all I wanted was to fall asleep in my bed. Or the floor. Or standing upright in the lift, which I was pretty sure was a good possibility. Lou, Louis, myself, and Liam were in the lift together, completely silent. Well, Lou and I were quiet, exhausted from the long day, but Louis and Liam were bouncing out of their skin practically.

When we got to our floor, Lou said a quick goodnight before disappearing into her room. I said goodnight to Liam before he headed into his room, and then it was just Louis and myself. “So, what did you think?” he asked, bouncing on his heels happily.

I laughed and rubbed my eyes, exhaustion setting in. “I don’t know how I’m going to do this for another two months.”

He grinned at me and shook his head. “You did great, Mia. Really. I know it’s a lot, but you’ll be fine yeah? Just don’t trip anymore,” he said with a smirk.

I laughed, burying my head in my hands. “It was an accident!” I mumbled into my skin. “There was so much happening, and--”

“Go to bed, babe. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

Pulling my head up, I smiled and nodded. Lou kissed the top of my head quick before heading down the hall. “Night,” I called to him before heading through my door.

Maybe I would survive tour after all.