LAX was always one of my least favorite places. It was never not busy and it was always loud, with lots of people shoving to get places. It was no different as our very large group pushed through the airport, causing a bit of a stir as we moved along. Our group consisted of myself, the boys, our bodyguards and Jackie. My mother had flown over the day before to prepare, taking Vee and Bry with her.

Niall looked extremely uncomfortable. He was pushed tight between Zayn, and myself his eyes glancing around him as we pushed even tighter into a hall, walking towards the directed plane. I knew Niall was claustrophobic and this must not be his favorite situation. Feeling bad, I reached out my hand and put it behind his neck, stroking his hair calmly.

Niall looked at me and visibly relaxed, remembering that he wasn’t going to suffocate in this crowd alone. Zayn cast me a grateful look before patting Niall on the back, reminding his Irish friend that he was there for him as well.

It was amazing, how fate had brought this people together in such a tight knit group. I could never imagine having a relationship with other people the way they did. The only person I had ever treated with such kindness and care was Jess- that is until I had met these boys a month ago.

It hadn’t seemed like it had been a month since I met them, it seemed like so long ago. Already Louis and I were always torturing the other boys, cracking jokes and being loud. Harry and I were uncontrollably random and flirtatious, but even when I had to pull myself away for a moment, closing him off when he mad me feel vulnerable, I felt as if we had become extremely close. Zayn was the person I would sit and talk about the most random stuff with and he didn’t mind. Niall was my equal in eating snacks, so over the course of a month I had devoured every ounce of food with him. Liam was the person I could be most sensible around and talks about serious matters with.

They were the best.

My phone buzzed in my pocket as we put our bags on the conveyer belt, only keeping our carry-ons. I opened the phone and smiled, seeing that Jess had text me. I opened it up to read:

Can’t wait to come to your show in France! I love you and be safe! If any of those boys lays a hand on you, I’ll kick they’re ass!! XOXOX

Jess was beyond excited about the tour. I wished I could take her to every single show, but unfortunately it was out of the question. On the bright side, I was allowed to take her to the France, New Zealand and Brazil shows, at the least. All three places she had been dying to do to visit in her lifetime.

We passed through security and all of the other nonsense as usual, hurrying to the plane to board. I was beyond excited to be returning to London, missing it so much it was incredible. I could remember all the times I had visited my family there, and wished that my mother had moved us back there after my father’s death. She almost did, but something told her not to, some feeling. A few years later and here I was, touring with One Direction. The world truly did work in mysterious ways.

I threw myself into the first class seat with a huff, slouching into the soft leather of the plane. I was exhausted and wanted nothing more than to chill for the rest of this nine hour flight. The thought of being stuck in the same place doing nothing for that amount of time was horrid, and I knew that within the first few minutes I was either going to have to go to sleep or submerge myself in a book, otherwise I would get stir crazy.

Niall plopped down next to me, laying his head on my shoulder and sighing. I smiled and scratched his blonde head. Louis and Harry were sitting together and Zayn had paired with Liam, leaving Niall and I to pair up, which was perfectly fine with me. I adored the Luck O the Irish and his cheerful company. It was physically impossible to be sad or bored around him.

“Aren’t you glad you have me to sit with?” I asked him, laying my head on his. I couldn’t see his face but I got the sense that he was smiling.

“O course I am. Wouldn’t want to sit alone. Usually we rotate seats on flights but now I can just sit next to you all o’ the time.” I laughed at him and reclined the chair backwards, causing him to fall. He glared at me and readjusted himself, making himself comfortable and laying his head on me.

It wasn’t long into the flight that Niall was sleeping, breathing leveled out and slow. His head was heavy on my shoulder, but I didn’t mind as I fished out my book from my back, flipping the pages of The Sorcerer’s Stone open. I had read the Harry Potter series a million times and never got tired of reading them, finding out something I had missed every time I had previously read them.

It didn’t take long to get lost in the depth of the words. I had no idea how long I had been reading, somewhere between the dark forest and being saved by centaurs I dozed off, head pressed against the cool glass of the plane window and the words of J.K Rowling swimming around my head.

*
“Beeeentleyyy,” a voice cooed in my ear. I groaned and felt my face scrunch up in distaste. From the way I was leaning, I knew I was still on the plane, and from how tired I was, I knew there was no way I had slept for a long time. I began to doze off again when I felt someone poked my face, causing my eyes to snap open in pure annoyance.

Louis’ face was only a few inches from mine, his blue eyes glittering with mischief and he smiles in a such a way that I half noticed he resembled the Grinch who stole Christmas. It was on odd comparison, but when Louis was up to his pranks it could be amounted to the same thing, in my eyes.

“Where’s Nialler?” I asked, yawning and searching the plane for the blonde wonder.

“I made him switch seats with me. Hazza was taking off his clothes.”

I made a face. “Again?” Harry had the bad habit of stripping when it was hot. Fortunately for me, I didn’t really care when he walked around in nothing but his boxers, which was more often than not. I actually wondered how long it would take for him to walk around butt naked around me. “Poor Niall.”

“Poor Niall? Poor everyone on this plane, at that.”

I rolled my eyes. “What did you wake me for, anyways?”

He shrugged, shifting to get comfortable and pulling a blanket over him. “I was bored and had nothing to do. Everyone else fell back asleep.”

I glared at him. “So because you were bored, you woke me?”

He seemed thoughtful for a moment. “That’s pretty much how it went, yes. Have you the need for me to explain it once more? Okay, see I was bored and-”

“Fuck you,” I cursed loudly, smacking my head and ignoring the glares the adults sent me. If they didn’t want to hear foul language, they didn’t have to listen to our conversation.

“No thank you,” he replied happily. “I’ve got myself a bird already, but thanks for the offer.”

“A bird?” I frowned at the term, recognizing that Harry had referred to such the other day. It wasn’t on my list of British terms, and I supposed I needed to be educated.

“Yeah, a girl of some kind of significance.” He shook his head. “You Americans, I swear.”

I leaned the recliner back on my seat and twisted around, pulling the covers up over me from the cold air. I faced my new friend and watched as his phone distracted him for a moment, tapping away at something before refocusing his attention on me. I smiled. “How are you and Eleanor?”

His smile lit his eyes at the mention of her. “Really good. She’s coming to the show in London so you’ll get to meet her.”

“Ahhh, I can’t wait! She sounds awesome, Lou.”

“She is. I think you’ll get along great, she’s just like me but in girl version.”

“Yes, because the world needs more Louis in it.”

“That’s exactly what I was thinking, actually. The world would be dull without people like me in it.”

I laughed, earning a glare from him. “The world would also be quieter.” He ignored my jibe and pulled out a pack of cookies from his back, offering me Oreos. I snatched a few without hesitation, biting into the chocolaty goodness and the cream that lay in between. “Alright so maybe the world would need more of you, as long as you carry Oreos around.”

“You are a fascinating creature,” he commented, watching me with bemusement as I stuff three more Oreos into my mouth. “I think I’ve just discovered your hidden talent. Don’t tell Haz you can stuff that many Oreos in your mouth, he might get really excited.”

I laughed, nearly choking on the Oreos in my mouth. I glanced back through the seats of the plane, noticing that most of the people around us were now sleeping. Harry was looking around the plane, his green eyes searching for on lookers, causing me to laugh into my seat. “What is Hazza up to anyways? He looks suspicious.”

Louis rolled his eyes. “He’s probably down to his knickers under that blanket, honestly we can’t take him anywhere.”

“Oh please.” Louis bit into an Oreo, pointing a finger at me. “You and Harry are the exact same person, B. You just don’t know it yet.”

“Right,” I said absently, knowing that Harry Styles and I could not be more different.