*Liam’s POV*

The lads, including Pandora, stepped out of the elevator that led to the third floor of apartments. Pandora lightly knocked on the door, peeking her head through. “Everyone’s gone.” She said to us as she stepped into the room. We trailed along with her, looking between the living room and kitchen, not seeing Hazel.

“Where’s Haze?” Niall asked the obvious.

“Let’s check her room…” Pandora said.

We started walking to her bedroom, but a slight noise stopped that. “Is that… music?” I heard Zayn ask. We all turned toward the closed door we heard it coming from.

“Dust in the wind, all they are is dust in the wind…”

“That’s Kansas.” Harry noted.

“That’s also her mother’s bedroom.” Pandora pointed out.

Everyone was silent, until we heard the song die out. The music stopped then, replaced by utter silence. Louis hit my arm, pushing me toward the door. “Go in there and see what she’s doing.”
“What? Why me?” I asked. I looked at Pandora, though I wanted to go in, I was pretty sure Pandora would be the right choice here.

“Just go-“ Pandora added, opening the door and pushing me in.

The hell was that about? The door slowly shuts behind me and I look to the figure on the bed. Hazel looks up from the stack of CDs she had in her hand. I saw more CDs scattered around her. She grabbed some of the CDs beside her and moved them. “Hey, Liam.” She acknowledged. She patted the bed next to her.

I was slightly hesitate, but I climbed onto the bed next to her, resting back against the headboard. So this was her mother’s room, huh? It smelt slightly different than from the rest of the house. It smelt like the room belonged to a woman. I could smell the lingering perfume, lavender with a touch of vanilla. It smelt really good. I looked at the CDs that covered the bed. I saw CCR, AC/DC, Tom Petty, Stevie Wonder, Aerosmith… the list goes on and on.
“You know, I remember her only playing certain songs one night out of the year. It was always on the same night too…”

“Was the song you were playing earlier one of them?” I asked.

She nodded as she held up the Kansas CD. “Dust in the Wind. I think I know why she played it on that day. It was the anniversary of my father’s death…”

“You know… no music was played before.” I was talking about the funeral. Hazel nodded. “I guess that was a mistake on our part. We didn’t know what your mother would like.”
Hazel offered a small smile. “It’s okay.”

I brought my hands in front of me. I started to rub a thumb in my palm. “Do you want me to? Sing, I mean?”

Hazel looked up at me. She swallowed, nodding some. I took a deep breath, getting ready to sing a song I knew all too well, a song I never thought I would be singing for my own reason. “Shut the door. Turn the light off. I wanna be with you. I wanna feel your love. I wanna lay beside you. I cannot hide this., even though I try…”

I took another breath, ready for the next part, but the door opened. Pandora and the lads came in, and Pandora picked up where I left off. “Heart beats harder. Time escapes me. Trembling hands touch skin. It makes this harder and the tears stream down my face.”

Pandora came over to sit on the bedside opposite where I was. Harry was at the end of the bed, taking a seat on the wooden bedframe. “If we could only have this life for one more day. If we could only turn back time…”

“You know I’ll be your life, your voice, your reason to be my love, my heart is breathing for this moment, in time, I’ll find the words to say, before you leave me today…”

Niall sat on the foot of the bed by my feet. He had a leg drawn up, where his hands rested on the front of his knees. “Close the door. Throw the key. Don’t wanna be reminded. Don’t wanna be seen. Don’t wanna be without you. My judgment's clouded, like tonight's sky.”

Louis was sitting on the floor beside me, facing the door with his back against the bedframe. “Hands are silent. Voice is numb. Try to scream out my lungs. It makes this harder and the tears stream down my face.”

I could hear the passion in Harry’s voice as he sung his solo again. “If we could only have this life for one more day. If we could only turn back time…”

“You know I’ll be your life, your voice, your reason to be my love, my heart is breathing for this moment, in time, I’ll find the words to say, before you leave me today…”

Zayn was resting against the dresser, holding a picture frame in his hand. I wasn’t sure what was there, but it was enough to hear the slight crack of emotion in his voice. “Flashing lights in my mind. Going back to the time, playing games in the street, kicking balls with my feet. There’s a numb in my toes, standing close to the edge. There’s a pile of my clothes at the end of your bed. As I feel myself fall, make a joke of it all.”

“You know I’ll be your life, your voice, your reason to be my love, my heart is breathing for this moment, in time, I’ll find the words to say, before you leave me today…”

We slowly came to an end. It was almost like an epiphany for us. I felt Hazel take my hand. The silence was. I took a deep breath, thoughts of a few days ago coming back. The thoughts of leaving her alone. The boys would be heading back home tomorrow. I would be tagging along. From there, I would be staying until our tour would take off again. I didn’t want to leave her. “Hazel…” I started.

Her eyes traveled up to meet my own. “Come back with me.” I said.

I could feel the other’s eyes on me. Her expression became confused. “Me and the lads will be leaving to go back home. I… I want you to come back with me.”

“I think you should.” Pandora said from beside Hazel.

“Pandora-“ I heard Harry start.

She held up a hand to quiet him. Pandora offered a smile to Hazel. “The boys have a tour to get back to here soon. I think this will be the best thing for you.”

“What about you?” Hazel asked.

“I’ll be fine. In fact, no matter how long you plan on staying over there, I’ll promise you something. I’ll debut a song. Before we could ever meet again, you have to remember everything and I’ll have my first song out. How about it? Is it a deal?”

I watched Hazel beside me swallow some. Pandora had a hand up, holding out a pinky. Hazel smiled a little as she interlocked her pinky with Pandora’s. They each kissed their thumbs, sealing the deal.

“It’s a deal.”