Take Away My Fears

I slid down the fire pole to the bottom story as a laugh bubbled from my lips. I couldn't believe that after all these years I would be leaving not only my father, but the rest of the family I'd found with the men and women of the Northwater firehouse. I jumped a little as my bag hit the ground with a loud thump to my side. "You trying to put me in the hospital dad? Think it'll catch you a few extra days?" I teased, sticking out my tongue as he slid down the pole after me.

Dad chuckled, his arms wrapping around me as the smell of peppermint gum and coffee filled my senses. "I'm gonna miss you Nillie, but I wouldn't ever hurt'cha." He replied with a shake of his head. He pulled away from me to pick up my bag and put it in his truck. I could tell as he walked away from me he was crying a bit, and it made it so much harder to leave him. "Hurry up! You'll miss your plane Nills!" He called out and I nodded, despite his inability to see me.

I was walking to the passenger seat to catch up with him when the glow of my phone screen distracted me. I looked at the time before answering the call and groaned at the black 4:44 am painted on my screen. "Hello?" I answered the call, mentally cursing myself for not looking at who had been calling me in my rush to see what time it was.

"Hey, Azinilia?" A familiar voice answered and I sighed in relief. "We just wanted to confirm that you were flying out today. Just so that the flat was ready for you and all." He answered and I nodded, once again forgetting that the person I was speaking to couldn't see me. "Hello? Azi?" He asked, snapping me back into reality.

"Oh, hey! Yeah I'm actually about to get into the car to head to the airport now." I replied, holding a finger up to my dad and leaning against the car. "It'll still be a while though. It's a long flight to London, so don't rush." I said, laughing a bit as the sounds of shuffling and someone trying to talk came through from the background.

"Okay, sounds good." The man's voice answered, and I heard him murmuring something along the lines of 'get off of me' and 'dude stop'. "Hey, I've got to go! See you later!" He said quickly and before I could reply the click of the call ending sounded.

I slid into the car, feeling bad for just a moment as my father smiled at me. It was hard, knowing that I was lying to him about what my living arrangements would be in London. I had told him I was going to live with my friend Kelsey, though in reality Kelsey's small apartment barely held her and the two roommates she already had, and I was going to stay with a guy I found in an internet add.

"You sure there's nothing I could do to get you to stay?" Dad asked, and I shook my head. "Alright, well then let's hit the road." His voice was less enthusiastic now, and I knew that I was making the right choice by not telling him.

The car ride was mostly quiet, the silence only broken when my father probed me for more information about my new residence. Luckily Kelsey had already gone over everything with me so I was ready for any questions he could have thrown at me.

"Are you in a busy part of London? Those rural suburbs are easy to disappear from."

"Yes, I'm right downtown."

"How many people are you rooming with? What were these girls' names?"

"It's Kelsey and her two roommates dad. Their names are Chelsea and Elliot."

When the car finally pulled up to the airport's drop-off area I couldn't be more relieved to be free of the interrogation. I chuckled quietly as my dad pulled me into another bear hug, squeezing me tightly. "Crushing...me." I winced, smiling and wiping a stray tear as we said our goodbyes.

My suitcases were loaded onto a dolly and I waved one more time to my dad as I pushed the cart into the airport, taking a breath to steady myself as the reality of this move finally hit me. "Watch it!" Someone muttered as I ran my luggage cart into someone accidentally, a sorry falling from my lips.

I checked my bags quickly, glad that this early in the morning there weren't too many people in the airport. I had never found it so easy and fast to get my ticket and make it through screenings, and I was excited to find that I had an abundance of time before my flight to relax, until I saw my ticket. Gate 32B was listed and my eyes looked up to see I was currently standing at 110A.

I made my way to the other side of the airport, only stopping to get coffee and something to eat. It took almost an entire hour to get to my gate, and I only got to slide into my seat for twenty minutes before the call to start boarding sounded. I walked to the line, ignoring the screaming child and the pushy man behind me as I made my way through the line.

My annoyance hit an all time high as the person at the gate stopped me. "Are you Azinilia Webber?" She asked and I nodded curtly. She gave me a weak smile and put my ticket on the counter, holding up a finger. "One moment please." She said, turning towards the computer and leaving me holding up the side of the line.

"Alright, so it seems like you've had a paid upgrade called in, if you'd step to the side I'm printing your ticket now." She said and though I was thoroughly confused I stepped aside, my annoyance starting to lift.

"Thank you." I said softly, feeling vaguely embarrassed about my bad attitude towards her before. I waved my ticket as I walked past a stewardess into first class, my eyes scanning to try and find what seat was supposed to be my new one. I looked up to her in worry as I slid into the row in the middle of two men with their hoods up, sunglasses covering their eyes.

The worry grew as I noticed in front of me sat three more men, all dressed in the same colored hoodies and sunglasses and the two I sat in between. I was thinking about how grateful I was for the space that first class provided, the idea that I would have to be touching these guys making me instantly freak out, when a familiar voice spoke.

"We thought we'd come and meet you early." The boy in the blue hoodie said, and I quirked an eyebrow, looking around me at all of the guys. "Surprise!" He said, and I shook my head.

"So am I going to see your faces? Or have I entered into a deal where I'm living with strangers from now on?" I questioned, only half-teasing. The blue hoodie bobbed up and down and I started to laugh before feeling it catch in my throat as the sunglasses came off and a mess of curls escaped the hoodie.

"Hey!" Harry Styles said, and I wiped a hand down my face as a few moments later every member of One Direction was revealed to me except for one of them. I blushed as the group laughed at my obvious reaction, Harry nudging the boy beside him. "Oi, Louis. You gonna take off your hood and introduce yourself?"

Louis shook his head, pulling his hood around his face even more. The boys started introducing themselves and I just rolled my eyes, a grin painted on my face. "I know who you are. You guys are international superstars, did you think I wouldn't have heard your names?" I teased, shaking my head. "I guess you all know I'm Azinilia then." I added and was given nods in return.

My hand accidentally brushed against Louis' leg and I felt him freeze next to me, scooting so he was pressed even farther against the wall. I turned back to the group, slightly perturbed about his negative reaction when a finger tapped on my shoulder.

"Do you want to switch seats with me?" Niall asked, and I nodded thankfully. Perhaps Louis wouldn't be so cold once he was seated next to his own band members. Niall helped me stand and we switched easily, my nerves relaxing as I turned to talk to the more enthusiastic members of the group for the rest of the plane ride.

**********

We had been telling Zayn to put his seatbelt on for almost five minutes when the plane landed, throwing him out of his seat and the rest of us into a fit of laughter. "Welcome to London?" He grinned up at me sheepishly, and I felt the laughter bubble up in me once again.

I stood up with the rest of the group, biting my lip as Louis pushed past us and grabbed his bad. "What did I do to him?" I asked and Niall shrugged, his face marked with just as much confusion as mine. "Was he acting like this before?" I asked and he shook his head, explaining that Louis had been normal up until I'd gotten on the plane.

"God Louis, control your emotions." Harry teased, but his smile fell when Louis grabbed his bag and pushed past him too, catching all of us off guard. I frowned but continued to grab my own bag, walking off the plane with the rest of the guys.

I was so busy laughing at the boys all popping their sunglasses and hoods back on, and how strange we looked when I smacked into something hard, my eyes wide as I landed on top of Louis, who had been waiting for us. "I'm sorry!" I said quickly, scrambling to get off of him, though not missing the flash of emotion I saw before his mask reappeared.

"It's okay." I heard him mutter and I nodded awkwardly, moving back into the group of the rest of the guys. I noticed the stares as we walked through the airport and the thought hit me.

Hello London, sorry we look like a bunch of freaks.

Notes

So this is the first chapter of this story, which is the first in a series.

I'm excited to be updating this for you guys! I went through and reread it and realized my writing has evolved so much but this was one of my favorite stories at the time! Because of this I've decided to come back and edit this story for you guys!

-Maya