[A/N] If you're here to catch up with your reading, I wanna thank you for that :) But you should know I've added a prologue to the book and it would be great if you could read that before going through the chapters! To access the Prologue, just click on the EXTERNAL LINK and there you are!

"And I will hold you closer, hope your heart is strong enough. When the night is coming down on you, we will find a way through the dark" - One Direction

EIGHT

March '14

Time had passed in a blink of an eye and everything was going great. The “One Big Announcement” had told the world about their huge upcoming tour and a few days later most of the gigs were already sold out. Some new dates were added to the original schedule and those sold out within minutes. Zayn, Liam, Louis, Niall, and Harry could hardly believe what was happening. The biggest reason for their happiness was the release of their third album, ‘Midnight Memories’, and its reaction. Most of the publications that criticized them for being a breakthrough boy band from X Factor actually honored them for their new album. The boys were the only people in the world who knew how hard it was to finish this one. They had poured their hearts and souls into this album, you could tell in comparison to their older songs. They’ve grown up and it was clear how they had put their emotions into making such touching songs. They couldn’t be more proud of themselves.

Their promotional tour didn’t make them forget about Sylvia’s record release; it was a blast! The reception was also great and the media had been saying a lot about her supporting the boys’ stadium tour. Every time she was on a TV Show there was a question regarding the boys and the tour. She quickly got used to the questions: “Tell us about who would be your favorite 1D member to go on a date with.” and “How will you control yourself touring with those five sexy lads?” It was all for gossip, that was all they needed. Soon people began to realize how focused she was on her career and on her big step ahead with the boys; which was a real honor.

Time had flown by and they didn’t even realize the tour was just around the corner. A couple more weeks and they would hit the road again. However, they knew this time would be special; a Stadium tour would definitely blow all of their minds. Management had set everything for the rehearsals at the 02 Arena and the boys would be there soon to start rehearsing. But, who said they could wait? The night before it would start, they were at the arena just watching the last settings for the stage and its final lighting sets.

“Man,” Niall closed his eyes and threw his body against the ground, “I-I can’t. This is insane. Look at this stage!” He was right. The huge stage settled in front of them was far beyond anything they could have ever imagined about this World Tour.

“This is just unbelievable,” Zayn spoke up in a dumbfounded tone with his hand covering his mouth. Deep in his heart he knew it didn’t matter how huge the tour would be, he would never get used to everything they conquered through all that time.

“A dream come true, right?!” Liam looked around to check their amazement. All he could think was how blessed they were to be together sharing this experience. Besides everything, he was there with his four brothers living a life they had always dreamed of.

“I’ll be the first one to climb that huge column! Who’s coming with me?” Louis quickly stood up, breaking everyone’s nerves. He ran towards the big stage settled in the middle of the arena, soon followed by the others. Obviously the techs got mad with their behavior, but there was nothing they could do about that. All the boys really wanted to do was to celebrate and enjoy this fresh feeling about to come, which would be best part of their lives.

Harry watched the lads getting along at the stage and playing around. But he, rather, stayed exactly where he was just enjoying the rollercoaster inside his chest. Stepping to the very last inch of the stage, his eyes traveled around the venue and he realized a spotlight over him. That was just a lightning test, but enough to cause him to shiver, the memories of other shows coming to his mind. That yellow and plain light over him, shaping his shadow on the stage’s ground, was a brief review of everything he had been through.

Four years ago he was a kid who was introduced to the lads who would soon become his best friends. They never realized how far their dreams would carry them. He could still clearly remember the day they were told about hitting the road for an arena tour, and that venue was the very first concert of that tour. All his feelings and emotions that night were still so vivid in his remembrance; he couldn’t control himself and he let out a sigh while looking around the venue. This time, it would be bigger. That would be the biggest world stadium ever and a once in a lifetime opportunity to break all their records as a band.

"That was fast,” his inner voice echoed in his brain as he walked from one corner to another of the stage, meeting the crew eyes who were aware of his fascination at that very moment. He seated on the edge of the stage as he watched a young brunette coming inside the venue and getting closer to where they were. Their eyes met in silence and a broad grin lit up her features.

Harry followed her moves with his eyes glued on every little inch of her. Simon was right; there was something about her they just couldn’t explain. She had a sweetness that could definitely make the coldest heart melt. Now, this close to the tour, he would finally have the opportunity to truly meet the fascinating girl, whom Simon cared so much about.

The runs and the pranks around the stage didn’t make the boys realize her presence as she asked Harry to keep quiet, by pressing her forefinger over her mouth. They shared a last smile before she could think of getting their attention.

“Well done kids,” a known female voice reflected loudly from the arena and the lads suddenly stopped whatever they were doing. “Let’s come back from the garden, we have some classes to do!”

"Sylvia!" As soon as they noticed her, they ran towards the girl at the same time almost pulling her on the floor, but Liam is the fastest one who held her from the falling.

"We missed you!" Liam exclaimed while holding her but soon being pulled off by his mates.

"What are you doing here?" Zayn asked whilst placing the girl in his embrace.

"We thought you would come tomorrow,” Niall added with a huge smirk on his lips and couldn’t help but dragging her into his hug.

"I was supposed to, but I think I'm here for the same reason as you guys,” Sylvia smiled back to the Irishman as she placed a little kiss on his cheek.

"So I hope seeing the stage before the rehearsals brings some good feelings,” Louis said, throwing his arm around her shoulders.

"Sorry to let you down folks, but we have to shut down the place,” the arena’s security guard came in, killing the moment and causing them to complain.

"But she’s just arrived! C'mon,” Harry pouted, showing his frustration. That’s probably a new security who never knew about their usual traditional when it comes to see the stage for the first time. By all of the annoyance and their begging to stay, it was sure the boys would like to spend some time at the venue just to chill out and stare at their new-favorite stage.

“You can all sleep here if you want,” the newly one chuckled, not really taking in consideration all their efforts to stay a little more, “there’s enough room for you all”. He turned and soon he was walking away from the group, but shouting his last lines before disappearing in the huge empty space. “I’ll shut everything in ten minutes”.

“Ok then, thanks anyway!” Sylvia screamed to him and showed her middle finger to the security’s back. “Jerk.” All of them cracked up laughing. They couldn’t even imagine how rough she could be beyond the entire girly thing. “Anyway, who will take me to my hotel?”

“No fucking way, we must get together before this insanity starts,” Niall gave her another option, but soon he got her disapproval.

After a little argument about getting together or not, the lads gave up on trying to convince her and Niall was the one picked to take her to her hotel. A matter of minutes was enough for both of them to realize how great they got along; talking about nothing important and laughing, they made their way back to Central London. A promise was made in that drive after Niall told her of their efforts about writing their own songs; Sylvia and Niall would write at least one song together during that tour and it would be memorable. And Sylvia had something telling her that Niall would do it brilliant.

_________________________________

“I’m so sorry!” The brunette stormed inside the dressing room in a not-so-peaceful way. Being late after an eager sleep turned out to be her favorite hobby, but the look on the crew’s eyes said they didn’t want to cope with that.

“That’s the first. Four more delays and you have to buy us all a round, deal?” Liam came around and placed his hand on her shoulder, promptly showing her a soothing grin. That was enough for her to calm down a little. Being in a hurry did not sound great, especially on her first day rehearsing with the boys.

“A round? C’mon Liam, I thought you would be harder than that. A round is pretty much nothing.” She laughed in contempt as Liam crossed his arms, nodding his head with a little smile on his lips.

“Gotta tell you we’re pretty much heavy drinkers-,” His faked serious tone was soon cut off by her.

“Whatever you say Payne. I assume we have a deal now,” Sylvia immediately shook his hand forming an agreement while his eyebrow rose into a peak. “But for the record, you can surprise yourself by my drinking skills.” He laughed back and rolled his eyes, leaving her somehow speechless as he stepped back.

“Good late morning, Sylvia,” Jay got inside the room with tons of papers in his hands, not really looking to the girl in front of him. “Hi! You look great for a late girl,” his grin shone after realizing her tenderness that morning. She could tell he was already excited about the upcoming tour and his role of managing that with Paul. “Shall we go? I wanna show you everything before we start.”

Soon enough they were strolling around the venue where she could see all the preparation for the tour. Jay made sure to show her every little piece of everything and suddenly reality hit her; this was really happening. The previous night, jet lag and the excitement to meet up with the lads didn’t allow her to fully understand what was going on, but in that moment everything was there and settled. A thrill washed her veins when she finally realized how huge was the stage in front of her eyes; yet that wasn’t her own stage, she knew she would turn that a little piece of her newly born heaven.

“Three years,” Jay’s voice surrounded her as soon as she got back from her own parallel universe. Her eyes turned to him as a guessing to get what he was trying to say. “Three years and it’s gonna be yours. No opening act, but a huge stadium just for you.” Their eyes met in silence; Jay would never blurt those words in a waste and she knew as long as he would manage her, everything would be brilliant like they had wished for.

“Two years, I’d say. Or less.” Paul got by their side, handing Jay a radio. “You have full potential for that. All you have to do is,” he caught Sylvia’s attention and the words softly rung from his lips, “take some advantage over this tour and learn with them how to keep grounded from all the fame.”

The butterflies inside her stomach went on a delirious rollercoaster ride after hearing the managers’ words. Maybe that was an over-reaction, but certainly that made her even more nervous and anxious. She definitely had to get ready.

After meeting the crew and getting into sound check details, it was time for rehearsals. She wouldn’t rehearse for that day since the lads had to fix some issues from studio rehearsals; and Sylvia was glad for that. Hitting that insane stage and singing for the first time in front of them and the crew somehow scared her. The fact she was a part of the most popular singing TV show didn’t matter at that moment; all her nerves were filled by an uncontrolled tremble that sent a gulp to her throat. The best thing to do was sitting around and enjoying the boys’ turn.

But she would never imagine how surprised she would be after listening to their new songs. She blamed herself to death for not asking Simon to show her their new album. Yet she had heard all the songs released before ‘Story of My Life’, she didn’t get the chance to listen to their brand new album. Her jaw hit the floor as soon as she got to their new tunes. Astonishment was written all over her face as she watched the lads strolling around the stage whilst performing; Simon was right, they had grown up and nothing could stop them. Everything just seemed perfect for them and she wished that for herself. Forget about the kids running around the beach; she could only focus on the boys in front on her eyes singing their hearts out and being carefree all over the stage. Forget about the kids tripping around London; her attention was all-straight to the gorgeous lads ahead her. Oh yes, it would be hard to not stop for a while just staring at them and reflect on their flawlessness.

‘It will be so much fun!’ A giggle came off her mouth but soon her inner voice was obfuscated by Jon’s desperate voice, the boys’ music director, who was working hard on getting their attention.

“This is not cool, dudes.” He nodded to himself and the boys didn’t really seem to care about his words. “DUDES C’MON! GET YOUR ASSES HERE NOW!” Finally the boys stopped joking around and stared back at him as soon as Jon’s cry resonated through the speakers. “Can you please listen me for a second?” By his begging voice, Sylvia assumed his attempts to put them back on the right track of rehearsals were giving him a hard time. She would never know how bad they could even be.

“Tell us, love,” Niall turned into a girl as he whispered through the mic and got close to Jon to cuddle him, “what worries you?” Sylvia could only laugh by his actions. That boy was easily growing on her with all his silly and playful ways.

“The pitch. It’s not right.” Jon squeezed his face eagerly and concern was all written over his face. “Zayn, dude, we have to try it again. Otherwise we’ll have to start all over again and go a half tone down.”

“I- I know mate. Sorry about that.” Zayn eyes rolled over the stage and he stood holding the mic stand. There was a tension in his hands and a disappointment shadowing his eyes as they hit the floor beneath his feet, making Sylvia target him with her gaze. The frantic feet tapping the ground could only tell there was something bothering him. “Can we do it once more?”

Jon signed positively to him as an attempt for another shot. In a matter of seconds a soft guitar’s strumming echoed from the set. In a matter of seconds, the energy emerging from the stage turned into soft and peaceful as they stood in front of their mic stands and the first lines came out.

“You tell me that you said, "I lost your way", you tell me that your tears are here to stay, but I know you were only hiding, and I just wanna see you.”

Her eyes quickly set into Liam and the mildness in his voice made her believe he was whispering the words. His powerful voice turned into a softer one; he shut his eyes and that could only show her how lost he was in that moment.

“You tell me that you're hurt, and you're in pain.”As soon as he started his next part, Sylvia watched the way Niall pretended to play the drums and she laughed. His hands were hitting the air within the rhythm and she could feel how the music vibes were taking over him, as his right foot also started beating the ground rhythmically.

“And I can see it here, it's so in shake, but I just wanna see your smile again, see you smile again.”

The Irish was so lost in his own drummer dream that he almost lost his time; in a hurry he grabbed the mic, leaning the pedestal towards to his chest. Niall’s sweet singing flew from his mouth whilst a little desperate smile played over his lips. “But don't burn out, even if you scream and shout, it will come back to you.” By that time, Niall noticed Sylvia pretty much melting inside by watching his spirited way of singing and he pointed his finger towards her as his last line echoed through his mic, “And I'll be here for you.”

With the chorus, came a suddenly comfort that surprised her at least. Those lines were so true, so meaningful for her. The moment Sylvia was living didn’t allow her to set her mind on what was left of her broken heart, but once in a while it remembered her how much she missed Sean. There was still a hole that didn’t seem to be filled up any time soon, and that was what hurt her the most. Although, she was starting to realize that it didn’t matter how heartbroken she was, how good or bad everything was; she needed a reason to carry on and to heal her pain. In that moment something told her these boys would be the perfect people to carry her through the ups and downs of being on tour. Little by little she would not only be blessed by meeting each one of them, but also by seeing a bright light after her way through the dark.

She couldn’t help the smile over her expression as she watched the boys interacting to each other on the stage. That song instantly caught her and no denial how good it felt to watch another side of them. Everything became more natural as they were growing along with the song; soon them all were confident enough to play with their lines and to extent their notes. Except for one of them.

One of them remained serious, only focusing on the mic in from of him and not really sharing any feelings with the others. Still trying to see through his layers, her eyes instantly glued over Zayn’s features. By far Sylvia knew how reachable his voice was; he had a deepness that easily caught her attention on watching every little word spoken by his lips. There was a great attempt to reach all the notes and keep it smooth, but the sadness the boy was struggling to hide twisted her mind as she tried figuring out why Zayn didn’t allow giving himself entirely to that moment. Yet he could sing the song perfectly, his emotions were somewhere out of that space.

“And you don't need, you don't need to worry. And you will see it's easy to love, I know you want to be loved”.

But soon she realized how Zayn’s voice easily drew her towards him, making her feel the words he sang were meant just for her. A couple minutes could only show her how addictive he was and how attached she became with his eyes. She would never know how his hazel eyes were begging to run away from that stage, yet they didn't seem to get rid of her glare.

A silence filled up the stage as Jon was fighting to realize the efforts that took Zayn to that perfect tune. The boys shared a satisfied expression after that song; they pretty much knew how hard it was for Zayn to keep his voice so flawless while singing a song that demanded so much of him. He was still there, holding the moment, as he was losing himself on her eyes. Those eyes told him so much more than she would like them to.

They would never notice how their gaze was so tightly hooked on each other eyes until Jon applause’s hit the amps, bringing them back to the place where they actually were.

[A/N] 

Hi y'all!

How is the book so far?! Once again: the first five or six or seven (LMAO) chapters are supposed to give you enough background for what's coming next, so hopefully things will start to get clearer from this point ahead. LET'S THE SHOW BEGIN!

And Zayn *sigh* Who is emotionally unstable because of Zayn?! Because I am. 

This chapter is dedicated to my little sister... Once I asked her feelings for Zayn's voice and her answer happened to be the best inspiration I could have for this chapter. So, because of that, thanks very much! And I love you, lil sis!

Don't forget to VOTE and COMMENT! I love reading everything you guys have to say about this story :)

ps: ONE WEEK AND I'LL BE SEEING THEM LIVE IN FRONT OF MY EYES *-* no more vines, it will be only me and them (and something around 80k people around me lol)

see ya xx