“I’m bored,” Louis says.

Oh, no. Those are two words that can really strike fear into your heart when they come from the mouth of Louis Tomlinson.

Liam nervously says, “Well, how about we cook something? Or go swimming? Or play a game?” glancing at the rest of us.

“FOOD! Can we make brownies? No, what about cookies? Can we make cookies, Li? I got a better idea! Why don’t we make a cake? Yeah, a big, delicious cake that will be gone by the end of the night?” Niall, of course, is intrigued by the option of food.

Liam groans. “Let's have Lou decide this time, Nialler.”

“I choose… swimming! Race you guys!” Louis shouts, darting down the hall.

The rest of us quickly go to get changed, knowing that whoever is last will be pranked or have something bad happen to them later today. I grab the first pair of swim trunks I find, slip them on, and make a mad dash for the back door. Louis is already outside and in the pool. Thankfully, I’m the next one outside, meaning I’m safe. Sighing with relief, I slow as I reach the edge of the pool.

“Hazza! What are you waiting for? Come on!” Louis happily invites me in.

I take a few steps back, gathering a little speed before cannonballing into the middle of the pool. When I resurface, I see Louis rubbing his eyes and a huge wet area around the pool.

“You got that in my eyes,” he unhappily continues rubbing at them.

I swim over to him, gently removing his hands from his eyes. They’re slightly puffy and red-streaked. “Aww, Boo, I didn’t mean to,” I say, wiping the water from his face.

“I know, but it hurts! Harry, make it stop!” he whines. I chuckle, hugging him quickly before telling him there is in fact nothing I can do to help. Pouting, he turns away just as Niall dashes out the door.

“Hey lovebirds, got any food out here?” He asks.

“We’re not lovebirds! And why don’t you get your own food from the kitchen?” Louis asks, rolling his eyes.

“Right, see you guys in a few!” He winks. Why did I get this fluttery feeling inside when he called us lovebirds?

“Zayn is probably going to be last out, Boo. What are you thinking of doing to him?’ I ask, partly to distract myself from my strange thoughts.

“Something with his hair… I know! I can throw him in the pool. Which ruins his hair, and while he’s underwater I can run in and throw all his hair products under my bed!” He smirks mischievously. We turn to wait for Liam and Zayn to arrive.

A few minutes later, Liam comes out and sighs like I did, realizing Niall and Zayn aren’t here. “I’m not last, am I, Lou?” he asks somewhat worriedly.

“Nope! Niall went to the kitchen for some food and Zayn hasn’t made an appearance yet!” Liam jumps in beside us, though he doesn’t create quite as large of a splash as my cannonball.

Zayn finally comes out, his eyes happy. “Yes!” he screams out, confusing Liam, Louis and I. What is he so happy about when he’s last?

“Niall didn’t make it yet! For once I’m not the one being pranked!” He laughs. Louis signals to us not to tell him that he’s actually last, and Liam fights to hide a grin.

“So Zayn, you planning on taking a swim with us?” I ask.

“I don’t really fancy one, no. I was just going to sit out here with you guys so I’m not alone. Is that okay?” He looks at Liam.

“Of course! There’s chairs over there.” He points to the side of the house and Zayn goes to get one.

“Quick, Lou! Get out while he’s gone and go around to the side of the house. We’ll talk to him when he comes back, and you can come up behind and throw him in when he’s not expecting it!” I urge, pulling him to the side of the pool. Louis jumps out and darts off.

When Zayn appears, carrying a large chair, I smirk thinking of how funny this will be if it works. As he nears, I say, “Why don’t you put it down over there and sit on the side for a bit?” He shrugs, placing the chair to the side and walking to the edge of the pool. I see Louis come out, creeping up behind him. Just a few more seconds-

SPLASH! Zayn’s body crashes into the pool and Louis cackles like a maniac, running into the house. Just after he enters, Niall comes out, presumably to see what the noise was. Liam and I are clutching our stomachs, tears running down our faces in laughter.

“Guys? What’s going on out here? Why is there a chair and what the heck is that floating in the middle of the pool?” Niall asks.

“Zayn… last… chair… sit… Louis… push… float… hair…” I gasp out, and somehow Niall understands me.

“Wow, this is a good one! Where’s he putting the stuff?” He chuckles amusedly.

“Under the bed.”

I look over to Liam, whose face has gone pale. He looks like somebody just killed his turtles. “Li? What’s wrong?”

He chokes on his words staring at Zayn’s body, which I just realized has been underwater a long time. “He can’t swim.”

What have we done? I dive under, swimming quickly to his side and grasping under his arms. He’s heavy, but I manage to pull him with me back to the surface. Liam is still staring at us frozen, while Niall is shaking and stuttering.

I kick hard, managing to get our bodies to the side of the pool. “Liam? A little help here?” He seems to come out of his trance, helping me lift Zayn out of the pool and lay him down on the chair. I turn around to find Niall crying, looking like he’s about to collapse. “Is he...?”

“NO!” I shout at him before softening my tone, “Just go get Louis and tell him it’s important that he get his arse out here right now no matter what he’s doing.” He nods and rushes inside.

Liam is pushing on Zayn’s chest, checking his pulse from his wrist, then his jaw. “He’s still breathing, but I think he swallowed a lot of water. Anyone here know CPR?”

“I don’t. Are you saying Daddy Direction doesn’t know how to do CPR?” I ask, incredulous.

He sighs, frustrated. “That was the next thing on my to-do list. Niall doesn’t know either, so that leaves…” We turn to face the door as Louis bursts out.

“Guys? Haz? Niall says you need me and he’s in tears, what happened? And thanks a lot for stopping-“ he stops, seeing us hunched over Zayn’s body. “What’s going on here?”

Liam glares at him. “Your stupid idea to prank Zayn and mess up his hair by throwing him in the pool was terrible. You didn’t even get the reaction you wanted from him. Look at him!” When his eyes glance down they soften for a second before hardening again on Louis. “You idiot!”

I can see tears pooling in Lou’s eyes. “I’m sorry! I just thought it would be funny! And you never even told me what went wrong so how am I supposed to know what you’re talking about?” He whimpers, burying his face in his hands.

“Boo, Zayn… he… he… erm… Zayn can’t swim.” I whisper.

“WHAT?”

“I said he-“

“I know that,” Louis says, “but how did we not know he couldn’t swim? I didn’t know! Oh my god, is he breathing? Did I kill him? Oh no, Zayn’s dead and I’m a murderer and One Direction is all over… what have I done?” Louis drops to his knees, sobbing.

I pull him back to his feet and embrace him tightly. “He’s not dead; Liam and I already checked. But he’s got a whole lot of water in his lungs and it appears none of us knowhow to do CPR… unless you do.”

He looks up at me with hope. “CPR? That’s all he needs?” I nod.

“I can do it. Liam, out of my way; Super Lou to the rescue!” He shoves Liam to the side, starting the process.

Suddenly, water is pouring out of Zayn’s mouth and nose and his eyes flutter. He coughs, more and more water flowing out of his body and all over Louis and the chair. Liam and I hold him steady while Louis continues.

“G-guys? W-w-what’s g-going on? S-so m-much water…” he mutters through his coughs.

“ZAYN!” I hear Niall yell, and another body is added to our huddle as Niall launches himself into Zayn’s arms. “You’re alive!”

By this point Zayn has mostly recovered and Louis steps back. “Of course I am, Nialler, why wouldn’t I be?” He wraps his arms around the little leprechaun in his lap and Niall buries his head in Zayn’s chest.

“I don’t exactly know how to tell you this, Zayn…” Liam starts, “but you just almost drowned.” Zayn’s mouth drops open.

“What? How? Why?” He raised his eyebrow in confusion.

“You were last out, so Louis thought a good prank would be to shove you in the pool to mess up your hair and the put all your hair products under his bed.” I explain.

“But I can’t swim! Lou, why in the world would you do that?” An angry glare is set on Louis.

“I didn’t know! I just thought it would be a funny prank, I swear to you! I would never have even thought of it if I knew you couldn’t swim!” Louis’ body is crunched guiltily, his eyes glued to his feet.

Zayn reaches out to pat his shoulder. “It’s okay, Lou. I guess I never told you guys, other than Liam. I meant to but I must’ve never gotten around to it,” He reassures the older boy.

Louis stands up straight again, wiping his eyes. “How can you forgive me just like that? I almost killed you, for gods sake!”

“I know you didn’t mean to. It was just an accident. And I’m still here; that’s what counts, right?” Louis joins Niall in hugging Zayn.

“GROUP HUG!” I shout, wrapping my arms around the three of them, and I feel Liam join in from the other side.

We spend the rest of the day messing around in the water. Louis returns Zayn’s supplies, and we all just have fun, not worrying about hidden cameras or our next interview. For once, we were just five normal boys enjoying the company of each other.

Disaster successfully avoided.