Chapter Text
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“I’m so fucking nervous,” Liam admits, wiping his palms on his jeans. “How did you even set this up?”
Niall shrugs and smirks, looking around at the large, clean lobby of the Syco building. It’s been another couple of weeks since the incident at the pub, since they all needed a little bit of time to recover from what had happened, but he’s finally here with the other four boys, outfitted in what he thinks is something Caroline would be proud of, he hopes, voices trained to perfection, ready to sing for Simon.
“I just called the receptionist and made an appointment. And told her it’s to discuss Simon’s accounts or something. I know some personal details about him, so I was able to answer his security clearance questions.”
Zayn raises an eyebrow, impressed. “Not bad, babe,” he says, placing a hand on Niall’s waist. “This is so tight,” Louis whines, plucking at his jeans. They’re really jeggings, to be honest, but Niall had squeezed Louis into them hours before, determined to replicate the style they’ve had over the past few years. He also gave them all haircuts, trimming Harry’s hair, quiffing Louis’ up, and buzzing the sides of Liam’s head so that he had that Beckham look that everyone had gone crazy over not too long ago. Liam still can’t stop running his fingers through the freshly shorn hair on the side of his head, and neither can Louis. The two of them smile at each other shyly every once in a while, their relationship still blossoming, but it’s cute, watching them interact during moments when they don’t know anyone else is watching. Which is surprisingly often, actually.
“You sure Simon won’t be mad?” Harry says, playing with the hem of his shirt. “What if he has us thrown out?”
“I know Simon,” Niall reassures them. “He’ll think this is an especially clever way to get a meeting with him. It’s a way to ensure that he remembers us.”
“Horan?” The receptionist calls, and Niall walks over to her. She eyes him warily. “You’re Simon’s...tax...manager?” she says slowly, and Niall nods quickly.
“Yup. They put a young ‘un on the job. You know what they say. We only learn from experience,” he says, giving her a confident smirk. It must work, because she smiles at him and motions for him to go to the elevator.
Niall walks slowly into the lift then holds the door open and lets the other four boys walk into it calmly, hoping the receptionist doesn’t really think of it as very suspicious that one of them is holding two guitar cases. As soon as the doors close, he lets out a relieved sigh.
“Okay, that wasn’t too suspicious,” he says, turning to the other four guys. “Right?”
Harry shrugs. “A small part of me thinks that she knew what we were up to but figured we seemed brilliant enough to let us off the hook.”
“Well, I’ll take it,” Louis says, grinning. “Let’s smash this, lads.”
When they get to their floor they walk off, letting Niall lead the pack, which is a really weird experience for him, since he’s usually in the middle of them, not expected to be the frontman. It’s strange but he supposes he understands why they’re naturally falling into this order. They reach Simon’s office door soon and Niall takes a deep breath before knocking on the door.
“Come in,” a voice calls, another familiar one that gets Niall’s heart racing. Niall walks in carefully, sees Simon sitting at the same desk Niall’s seen him at umpteen times before, and feels instantly relieved. Simon watches them come in carefully and smiles when he sees Harry bring up the rear with two guitars in hand.
“I figured this was what it was,” Simon says, leaning forward and putting his chin on his hand. “But very clever, boys. How did you know all that personal info about me? Am I really that easily googlable?” Simon asks, turning to Niall. Niall blushes.
“It’s a long story,” he says, clearing his throat. “But we’d like to play for you before I tell it, maybe?”
Simon hums contemplatively, then gives the five of them a good, solid once-over. “I suppose,” he decides, leaning back in his chair. “You have two minutes to impress me.”
“That’s all we need,” Niall ensures him, taking his case from Harry and pulling out his guitar while Harry gets his own ready. They’re already tuned and warmed up, ready to go at the drop of a hat, and Niall’s so glad they made sure of this before they showed up here.
“This song is called Once In A Lifetime,” Niall starts, heart thudding as he plays the opening chords. He’d picked this song for them to perform because it’s a damn good acoustic performance, especially with two guitarists, and because Liam and Harry would be the first two singers, their voices strong and trained, before the rest of them could come in with some intense harmonies that Niall honestly believes are their best to date. Plus, the underlying irony of the meaning of the song in this situation helps too, Niall thinks.
“Once in a lifetime, it’s just right, we make no mistakes,” Liam sings, perfectly on pitch. Niall’s heart literally skips a beat and he feels Zayn’s hand brush over the small of his back comfortingly. “Not even a landslide or riptide could take it all away.”
“Somehow, it feels like nothing has changed,” Harry croons, his voice raspy. “Right now, my heart is beating the same out loud, someone’s calling my name,” he turns to Niall and smiles, “it sounds like you.”
When the five of them sing the next few notes, getting into the chorus, Niall swears the world stops, nothing existing but the five of them and a couple guitars, their voices echoing beautifully off the walls of Simon’s office as Niall and Harry strum along. Niall’s pulse moves to the undulation of their voices, Liam’s strong melodic control and Louis’ high but solid medial tone.
They keep playing for the whole song, and Niall’s not even surprised that Simon doesn’t stop them, because he knows they sound damn good. When Liam finishes the last line of the song, Niall and Harry play the last chord in unison, the notes blending together and fading off in perfect unison. The room is completely silent for at least a whole minute, Niall afraid to look anywhere but the backs of his own eyelids.
“Holy shit,” Simon says, and Niall laughs before he opens his eyes, blinking back the tears threatening to fall.
“Fuck,” he whispers, mostly to himself, but feels Zayn cling to the back of his shirt in excitement. Niall clears his throat and finally manages to look up at Simon. “So,” he starts, but Simon is shaking his head, amazed.
“I’m not sure I need the story after that performance,” Simon says, motioning for them to sit down, “but I’d still like to hear it, if it’s okay with you?”
“Right,” Niall says, and takes the seat directly across from Simon. The other boys arrange themselves around him, Zayn never more than an arm’s length away. Harry is to the right of Zayn, and Louis and Liam are on Niall’s other side. It’s like everyone’s breath is held expectantly, no one wanting to break the silence of the spell before Niall.
“So, picture this,” Niall says, crossing his legs. “Five young boys enter the XFactor competition as solo artists. None of them make it through by themselves, but they’re put together into a rag-tag boyband and asked to continue in the competition as such. They agree, and they bond and practice and call themselves One Direction.” Niall smiles at Simon. “And the rest, as they say, is history.”
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It’s quiet in the hallway that Niall’s sat in, his head leaning back against the dark grey wall. He can’t hear any noise here, which is good because it’s so echo-y that even if anyone stepped inside it, he’d be able to tell. It’s a bit stressful being here, his head muddled up with all these emotions, but he hopes he can get past it, since there really isn’t any time for him to be caught up in his own head anymore.
“Niall?” a voice calls, from around the corner, and Niall can’t bring himself to get up or run away because it’s a voice he’ll never flee from, one that he instead finds himself running towards every time. “Babe, you out here?”
Niall grunts in reply and Zayn rounds the corner, breathing out a sigh of relief when he sees him.
“We’ve been looking all over for you, we’re--” Zayn starts, then slows down and stops smiling as he catches Niall’s demeanor. “What’s wrong?”
Niall shrugs, but he knows exactly what’s wrong, he’s just too panicked right now to really open his mouth--plus he thinks that if he does, he’ll projectile vomit all over Zayn. Zayn kneels down, though, understanding a hand on each of Niall’s shoulders.
“You good? I know it’s a bit nerve-wracking, but…”
Nerve-wracking doesn’t even come close to describing it. After signing their contract, the rest had been a whirlwind of approving this and declaring that, photoshoots and makeovers and song decisions, writing sessions and album designs and so much that Niall hardly felt like he had time to just be himself anymore, unless he was in bed with Zayn wrapped around him like a security blanket. It’s been several months since then and they already have an album out, what with Niall basically having pre-written tracks ready for them to use, and they’ve already got a gig in one of the most famous locations in London. It’s fucking ridiculous.
“Hey,” Zayn whispers, leaning in close so their noses brush, “you’ll do great. We’ll do great. We’re going to smash it and show the world what we can do. What you helped us do. We owe it all to you, Niall. You literally made our dreams come true.”
He leans closer, asking for permission, and Niall gives it to him, tipping his own chin up and letting Zayn press their lips together. He waits a moment before sighing into the kiss and opening his mouth, Zayn tilting his head and really kissing Niall thoroughly, sliding their tongues together and making Niall’s anxiety dissipate. By the time they’ve broken apart, Niall feels rebirthed, practically, his eyes shining with comfort.
“Better?” Zayn asks, and Niall nods eagerly. He clears his throat.
“Thank you,” he says gratefully, and Zayn smiles.
“My pleasure. I’m always there if you need it, Ni,” Zayn adds, standing up and holding out a hand for Niall to take. “Now c’mon. The boys are waiting in our dressing room.”
Niall nods, taking Zayn’s hand and letting the other boy pull him up. They walk slowly to the dressing room, fingers interlocked, and Zayn lets Niall open the door when he’s ready, not rushing any process of it at all. God, Niall’s completely in love with this boy.
“Niall!” Harry cheers, when they walk in, and Niall smiles at his enthusiasm. “You ready to go? Fuck, I’m pumped. I can’t stop jumping around, I’m so fucking ready for this.”
Harry’s been a force to be reckoned with, taking so much more creative and musical control than Niall was used to, but it’s refreshing, watching Harry pluck along on guitar with fingers just as nimble and educated as Niall’s.
Niall looks over to where Liam and Louis are sat, the latter in the former’s lap, combing his fingers through the other boy’s hair. Niall’s not sure when the two became as serious as him and Zayn but he’s happy they finally got to this point. They’re opposites but they still fit together, Liam’s serious, managerial side balancing out Louis’ wild, rule-breaking one. They have the same professional dynamic as before, churning out song after song after song when they put their heads together, only now they're interrupted by small kisses and long cuddles, oftentimes. Louis currently has his forehead pressed against Liam’s, whispering something that’s making Liam smile more and more by the second till his grin looks like it might explode off his face. He bites his lip and nods, whispering something back to Louis, and Niall watches them kiss passionately right afterwards, the fucking lovebirds.
“Good news, everybody,” Louis announces, finally breaking apart from a now happily-flushed Liam, “Liam and I are in love.”
“Thanks, captain bloody obvious,” Zayn says, saluting the two of them. “It’s about fucking time.”
Louis scowls. “Hey, it was cute.”
“Yeah, and expected,” Harry adds. “I’ve had to sit through hours of you two shagging in the room next to mine, I half expected you two to be married by now.”
“Maybe later,” Liam quips, and Louis looks down at him, proud.
“That’s my boy,” he says, and Liam smirks.
Someone knocks at the door. “Need you on stage in two, boys.”
“Now or never,” Harry squeals, opening the door and leading the way out. Louis follows him with Liam right behind, then Niall, then Zayn. The once-muted screams get louder and louder as they get closer and closer to the stage entrance, and Niall can already feel his heart thrumming with excitement, the desire to finally start performing again buzzing through his bones.
“You ready for this?” Zayn asks, quietly, and Niall nods, squeezing his hand before slinging his guitar over his shoulder and taking his place behind the screen. The lights in the auditorium turn off and the screams multiply tenfold, the boys waiting for Niall to speak. He’d tried not to take this from any of them but they’d all insisted that he be the one to introduce them, given his role in getting them all back together.
“How’re you doing tonight, London?” Niall asks, as the screen splits open down the middle, and a surge of flashes greet them, like twinkling stars in the night sky. He’s beaming from ear to ear and he knows the rest of the boys are too. He’s finally back where he belongs, with whom he belongs with, and he can’t believe it. He did it, he actually got them all back together, on stage, performing at the O2 Arena like they have so many times before--though this is the first time for the rest of the guys, of course, and they're all giddy with excitement. Niall laughs and waves at the crowd, walking forward and taking his first spot on stage, smiling at the sea of fans, all screaming out loud for them, for their music and their voices and their hearts. He plays a chord, the opening chord of the first song of the night, and the screams get louder, if that's even possible. Niall bites his lip and looks around at the four boys around him, strangers not too long ago who'd put so much faith in this dream, in him, and were now--again--no less than his brothers, his closest friends in the world, all looking at him expectantly, identical grins on all their faces.
“We are One Direction.”
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