Calum's PoV

From being possibly the most perfect part of a tour we'd ever had, everything had suddenly turned sour. I loved Poppy and knew with everything in me that she hadn't done anything wrong, she didn't have a vicious bone in her body so I knew she wouldn't have purposely upset Michael or Crystal... yet it was so hard to constantly side with her over my band mates who clearly thought something was up. Crystal had been released from hospital in the morning and met us at the airport, ready for our final stretch of the Europe tour with the whole gang. Soon the girls were having to go their separate ways and while I was lucky enough to keep Poppy with me, I knew the others would feel it. We'd all packed and got to the airport early, giving us enough time to have breakfast. Where we would normally all sit together, this time Michael and crystal decided to each breakfast alone. This seemed good to Poppy but for the rest of us who had no clue of what was happening, it didn't sit well.

"They need some time, that's all." Poppy had said as she bit some of her toast, a small enough bit to chew delicately. I'd noticed this was another new thing she'd done since she was in the limelight but daren't tell her to stop. Everyone needs time to adjust to being in the public eye and for her, that meant showing herself off in a good light - whether she was eating, drinking or exercising. Ashton shoved a forkful of beans into his mouth just before he spoke, clearly not caring about the paps.

"All I'm saying is something is up. I just hope they're okay and it's nothing bad." Ashton offered Poppy a small smile in agreement, saying there were no hard feelings between them.

"Well as long as it is that and not just because they don't want to see Poppy." Luke said flatly as he sipped his coffee, receiving a gasp and slap on the arm from Sierra.

"Luke!" She said in shock, not understanding why he was so annoyed with Poppy. My body tensed up at his comment, knowing deep down this was hurting her despite her not showing it. We knew everything about each other, how we functioned, our inner most thoughts and emotions. This would be eating away at her.

"Take that back." I snapped, slamming my fork down on the table and making a scene. "I've had it up to here with all of you finding Poppy the one to blame. Did noone hear her say she was keeping a secret for Crystal? The two of them need to talk to sort out whatever Poppy was caught in the middle of. End of story." Poppy put her hand on my thigh and squeezed it, partially thanking me but partially telling me to calm down. I'd noticed a few stray diners now looking in my direction.

"It's fine babe. Don't worry about it. They've got every right to be worried about their friend." Once again she was the mediator, somehow understanding their side and trying to help me understand too. How many people would do that instead of sticking up for themselves and shouting the secret out to protect them? I could see Luke soften a little as she said it, clearly not wanting to stay angry at her.

"Well maybe they shouldn't be angry at all until we know the full story." I said back snidely, making sure the others heard. As we sat in silence, eating up before we needed to board the plane, Michael and Crystal came back to the table with smiles on their faces. They looked giddy and excitable, both of them beaming as they sat back down. They looked at Poppy, who smiled widely back and suddenly it seemed like all the tension had evaporated.

"Are you going to say it or me?" Michael asked Crystal, who giggled like a child.

"You can." She said back, hiding her smile behind her hand.

"Okay." He grinned, giving her hand a squeeze as if it gave him courage. "Okay, so I know there's been some tension and arguing but I wanted to set everything straight. We were going to keep it a secret for a little longer but to be honest, I'm going to need all the support I can get." Michael rambled on, making sure he made eye contact with every one of us individually. "I'm going to be a dad. Crystal's pregnant." The world stopped still as I took in the words, my eyes blinking quickly as my brain whirred with the information. A smile grew suddenly on my face and I jumped up, enveloping them both into a huge hug.

"This is amazing!! I'm so happy for you, congratulations!" I beamed, ruffling Michael's hair as I sat back down. Poppy threw her arms around me and gave me a squeeze as the other band mates quickly congratulated the couple.

"I also wanted to say sorry, Poppy, for everything. I get what you did and why you did it. You were just protecting Crystal and I see that now. I'm sorry if I said anything out of order." She rushed over and gave both of them separate hugs.

"No hard feelings. I'm sorry it came across like I was ruining things but truthfully I just wanted to help and support Crystal. Anything you guys need, just let me know and I'll be there." She said as she then moved back to her seat. Just as she went to sit down, I pulled her onto my lap and she let out a little squeal, turning round and hitting me playfully on the arm. "Calum!" I merely let out a smirk as I cuddled up to her, the gang feeling back to normal as the news finally came out. It finally felt like everything was happy, in place and content, and nothing in the world was going to change that.

And then I saw her.