Grade 8

Harry had been avoiding Lena ever since that night in the bus. He went back to sulking and being an ass to everyone around him. Lena ignored him too wanting nothing to do with him when he was being like this.

Harry was hiding out in his bunk thankfully choosing to stay away from everyone until they were at their next city. Everyone was lounging around the bus bored out of their minds. Lena was in the middle of tweaking her new song frustrated with how it was sounding.

"I want to get a tattoo."

Lena looked up surprised to find Niall sitting across from her. He looked determined like he expected her to tell him not to. Setting her pen down she looked at him confused.

"So go get a tattoo." Lena told him with a shrug.

"Will you come with me? I mean you're dad's a tattoo artist I figure you'd know your shit."

"What do you want to get?" Lena was curious. The other boys had plenty of tattoos, even almost more then her, and she knew Niall had never wanted one.

This question made his face go red his hand went to scratch the back of his neck. "Uh-well a name."

"Please tell me you're not getting a girls name." Lena shook her head vigorously. "Bad idea, Ni, do not do that."

"It's not a girls name." Niall took a deep breathe then preparing for what he had to say next. People had mixed feelings about his relationship with Sam and even more so with his relationship with her son, Olly. "Sam has a son, Olly, I want his name tattooed, right here." He pointed to a spot above his heart.

Lena was silent for a moment she didn't look away from Niall and he didn't look away from her. She thought it was amazing he loved his girlfriend's son this much it reminded her of her own step dad but this wasn't something he should do without proper thought on it.

"I'll come with if you promise to really think about it." Lena finally said. "Take tonight to really decide if you want this. Before the show tomorrow we'll go find a place to get it done. I think the fact that you love him enough to get a tattoo of his name, permanently, on you is great. No one understands as much as I do but think about it before you do it."

"I can do that." Niall agreed. "Thanks Lena. Could you not tell anyone about this?"

"Of course."



"Are you ready?" Lena asked as Niall took his shirt off.

"As ready as I'll ever be." Niall said taking a seat in the chair. "How bad will this hurt again?"

"Wouldn't know." Lena shrugged. "I don't have any on my chest, but I'd wager it hurts pretty bad."

"It's nothin'." The tattoo artist, Paul, said as he set up his machines.

Lena kept back a laugh; she had heard that line many times. It was the basic line the artists give to calm people down. It would be bad for business if everyone was scared and ran out.

"Wanna hold my hand?" Lena asked giving Niall a smile.

"No!" Niall said waving away her offer. "I'm a man Lena, I don't need to hold your hand."

As soon as the needle hit his skin he ate those words. It only took forty minutes to get the tattoo and the whole time Niall moaned and groaned about the pain. He held Lena's hand the whole time squeezing tight whenever it hurt too bad.

"This is amazing." Niall said as he looked at his finished tattoo in the mirror. It was all in black, the letters in a beautiful cursive the shading making it really pop. "I love it."

"Me too." Lena agreed. "Sam has to love it too."

"My mum is gonna kill me."

The drive back to the venue was filled with Niall talking excitedly about his tattoo. He wanted to show it off to the world but knew it wouldn't be the best idea. That was the last thing their management wanted was for them to show just how much they loved their girlfriends, or their girlfriend's kids.

"You got a tattoo?" Liam asked as soon as Lena and Niall walked into the boy's dressing room.

"How'd you know?" Niall asked glancing around at the others in the room. If was surprisingly empty only the four boys sitting in various chairs around the room.

"The fans are going crazy about it." Liam held up his phone then as if that explained everything. "Where is it?"

Niall and Lena shared a look before Lena answered for him. "On his chest. It's not very big, minuscule compared to some of yours."

"Can we see it?" Louis asked siting up straighter. "How was it?"

"It fuckin' hurt." Niall whined as Lena found the picture she had taken of it; it was too early to take off the bandage from the tattoo so a picture would have to suffice.

Lena passed the phone to Louis who eagerly looked at the picture. Niall watched them look at the tattoo for the first time his breath held in Anticipation. His face fell as he saw the pained expression louis made looking at the picture, Liam took the phone out of his hands so that him and Zayn could look as well. They had similar looks of shock at the tattoo neither expecting it. Niall wasn't the one to go out and do anything spontaneous finding out Niall had gotten a tattoo without telling them before hand was shocking in itself, and now seeing the tattoo they understood why he hadn't said anything. If he had they would have told him not to do it and he would have listened.

"It's really cool mate." Harry said looking at the picture for a second before handing the phone to Lena, their fingertips brushing, a stare down going on until the contact was gone. This was probably the most interactions any of them had gotten from him in a week. "Reckon Sam will like it?"

"I hope so." Niall said laughing nervously. There was a shrill ringing and a smile was brought to Niall's lips. "Speak of the devil!"

Niall answered his phone the brightest smile Lena had ever seen taking over. She watched him walk away his words lost to her as he left the room. She was glad Niall liked his tattoo even if he did think it hurt too much to want another one.

"Think he'll regret it?" Louis asked the group sitting around the table.

"I hope for his sake he doesn't." Zayn commented. "He has a lot riding on this relationship with Sam lasting."

"Is it so wrong for him to believe that?" Lena asked. "I bet you think the same thing about Alexis." She suddenly understood why Niall wanted her to go with him and why he asked to keep it a secret from them. They didn't understand why he want to do that, couldn't fathom that Niall really loved Sam and Olly.

"I don't have her name tattooed on me anywhere." Zayn reminded her.

"He doesn't have her name on him either." Lena defended Niall. "So leave him alone."

"Olly isn't his kid." Zayn spoke what the rest of them were thinking. Even Harry who didn't think the tattoo was a bad idea was thinking it. "He hasn't even been in his life long."

"Just because they don't have the same DNA doesn't make Olly not his son. That isn't what makes someone a parent." Lena said eyes narrowing "My step dad is the best thing that happened to my mom and I. My dad was a piece of shit I'm glad Rich came into our lives. He loves Olly like his own so why is it so bad?"

"He's nineteen he can't make this choice right now." Liam tried. "He doesn't know what it's like to be a parent, he's barely even an adult!"

"Look my family is like that too." Louis said holding a hand up to stop whatever Lena was about to say. "But they haven't even been together a year. We're just concerned he's jumping into this really fast. Taking on the role of Olly's father too fast."

"Its Niall's life if he wants to be a big part of Olly's life then let him." Lena said with a final nod of her head storming out of the room.

"She's right you know." Harry said finally saying something. "It's His choice. If it was us he'd support us."

They were left with that thought each boy thinking about the situation. Harry was right Niall would support them no matter what was going on. He was loyal always and they needed to do that for him, and be there for him in case something were to happen. They couldn't protect him forever from everything he would have to make his own choices.



Lena knocked on Niall's door not wanting to go to her room just yet. She hadn't had a chance to ask him what happened when he talked to Sam. He answered the door in nothing but a pair of sweets his hair damp from a shower.

"Hey come in." He held the door open for her. "What's up?"

"Just thought we could talk."

"Alright. I'm going out for a smoke if you wanna join."

Lena followed him out to his balcony both of them sitting down on the ground leaning against the railing. Niall lit his cigarette inhaling the toxic smoke. Niall held the cigarette out to Lena and after a second of thought Lena took it from him.

"What did Sam think of the tattoo?"

"She yelled at me." Niall replied looking all too happy about it.

"Why?" Lena asked holding the cigarette out. "And why do you look so happy about that?"

"She always yells at me, doesn't bother me anymore." Niall replied. "She old me I'm an idiot for getting a tattoo. Then when I told her what I got she broke up with me."

"What?" Lena asked alarmed.

"Don't worry we're not actually broken up." Niall gave her another grin. "She'll call me tomorrow."

"Why'd she break up with you?" Lena asked picking at a tear in her jeans.

"Said we're moving too fast." Niall said letting out some smoke. "She always says that though."

He seemed so sure that everything was normal, this always happens he insists, but Lena still finds herself speechless. Niall continued to smoke just looking out at the scenery looking like the epitome of laid back. Lena watched him for a moment before she said anything.

"Louis said you guys haven't been together long."

Niall's gaze flickered to her. "Yeah almost a year."

"I'd say you've been together for ages." Lena laughed. "I've never been in a relationship that long."

"Me either." Niall chuckled. He flicked the cigarette off the balcony with little thought on anyone below him. "I really love her and Olly."

"I know. I can tell."

Niall and Lena sat in silence with nothing but the ripple of their clothes from the breeze to break it.

"My step dad took on the roll as my dad really fast too." Lena told him after awhile. "My little brother Danny was two when my mom met him. It was amazing to see Danny with a real dad."

"You never talk about your brother." Niall looked at her brow furrowed.

"I don't really like to." Lena admitted.

She had never been able to talk about it with anyone, not even the shrink her mom sent her to. It had been so long but everything was still so fresh in her mind. She would never be able to forget the day it happened. She told Niall everything. Once she started talking she just couldn't stop. He listened silently letting her tell her story without any interruptions, fascinated by what she had been keeping from them all this time. She told him about how she used self harm as a crutch, the loss she felt after that day and the constant need to be in control of her self and her emotions. Even how sometimes it just felt like a huge weight on her and the only way to release it was to hurt herself.

"I saw the scars." Niall said when she was finished telling him everything. "We all have. None of us knew how to talk to you about it."

Lena nodded her head slightly. "I figured you guys had."

"You haven't done that in awhile?" Niall asked unsure. When he had caught glimpses of her legs he hadn't seen any fresh cuts."

"Not in two years." Lena confirmed. "I really don't want to again. I got really bad anxiety after I stopped. I'd really like to not go through that again."

"You don't get anxious now do you?"

"No my grandma taught me how to play guitar and my world changed. I had a place to but all of my thoughts and emotions into." Lena explained giving him a small smile. "I never want to be that low ever again."

"If you ever feel like talking you know in here, right?" Niall asked giving her a rare serious look.

"I know." Lena leaned into him her head coming to rest on his shoulder. "Thank you."

"For what?"

"Letting me talk." Lena said shrugging. "I've never told anyone about Danny, and my...problems."

"I'll always be here for you Len, you're kinda my sister now." Niall brought her in for a hug. "No getting rid of me now."

"Good." Lena smiled to herself.

They sat outside until Niall's butt went numb from sitting on the ground so long. They finished off the night watching infomercials together until they fell asleep.It was the best night Lena had had since the tour began.