Jonny's POV:

I watched as Chris got up and left the lounge in a hurry. Tears streaming down his face. I looked around and met the guys' worried gazes.

"He really isn't coping well with any of this is he?" Will softly muttered, taking a sip of tea from his mug. " he was doing so well before.."

"The stress from this album isn't helping anything either" Guy added. "I mean, it's a totally different sound for us and he's obviously worried sick the fans won't like it". It's true, he had said this the other day- he's worried how some fans will go off us for going in a different direction.

We had pointed out to him that all bands need to evolve to get bigger and better- moving on instead of releasing the same type of songs over and over again like a broken record. It was obvious that Ghost Stories was completely different comparing to Mylo Xyloto... that isn't a bad thing. We shouldn't care about the people who don't like us and focus on the people who do. Ghost Stories means so much to him, The songs were honest and emotional- he had poured his heart and soul into them. It sounded like we as a band were protecting him as we played.

"I just wish he wouldn't bottle everything up.." Lucy said quietly, her eyes diverted to the floor. "I should've called you to yesterday to talk to him , maybe he wouldn't be so wound up now..". I could tell she blamed herself for this when it clearly wasn't her fault. Chris was still going through one of the toughest times in his life right now and his head is all over the place. The best thing we can do is to support him and be there for him- no matter what. After 10 minutes , he still hadn't returned and I was getting more worried by the minute. Where had he gone? Is he okay? He should be back by now.

"I'm gonna go see where he is" I told them, standing up and exiting the room and out to the main corridor. I looked out of the window to see that his car's still here so that's a good sign. Maybe he's in one of the recording booths? No the techs are in there now. I was about to make my way up stairs when I walked past the toilets and heard a weird sound. Shaky breaths. Like someone was crying.

Pausing, I listened harder and I could make out some movement in there. I slowly made my way in and noticed 2 out of 3  cubicles were empty. One was engaged . Upon hearing my footsteps, I heard someone take a sharp intake of breath . I knocked the door with my knuckles.

"Chris? Are you in there?" I called out softy. I paused and listened, realising that he was getting up unlocked the door. My heart shattered when I saw the look on his face. His cheeks were tear stained and swollen, his eyes full of unshed tears. He looked like he'd been crying for a thousand years.

"J-Jon... I..." he failed to keep his composure and broke down again.

"Oh mate, come here" I soothed, stepping forward and wrapped my arms around him tightly. He buried his face in my shoulder, clinging onto me as he wept. "Shhh it's alright, it's all going to be ok" I whispered, tightening my grip around him, rubbing circles on his back soothingly.

"It's a-all m-my f-fault... I c-ant do this a-anymore " he sobbed, diverting his gaze to the floor. I don't think he meant just the paps. But everything in general.

By then, it was my turn to bite back the tears. I hated seeing him like this. He's gone so through much and he was doing so well. He never deals well with change or stress. I can tell he hasn't been sleeping, the dark bags under his eyes and deep worry lines lay deep into his forehead. He looks shattered. He's also lost a lot a weight- I noticed how lean and bony he feels in my arms.

We just stood there in silence for a while, wrapped tightly in each other's embrace- Chris' shaky breathing and sniffles were only to be heard. I couldn't shake the feeling that there was something else that he wasn't telling me. He slowly pulled away and wiped his face with the sleeve of his sweatshirt before his gaze met mine again .

"I-I'm sorry Jon, thank you for being there for me" he told me in a small voice , coughing to clear his throat.

"Anytime mate... you know you can tell me anything " I replied softy looking deep into his eyes- searching for anything that he'd give away to prove that me theory was right. "Although, there's something else you're not telling me, Isn't there?" I added, watching was his demeanour changed. Was that a ghost of a smile I saw?

He sighed , walking over to the sink and winced when he saw his reflection in the mirror. He leaned down and washed his face with water before turning back to me. With a sheepish look on his face.

"God, I can't keep anything a secret from you, can I, Jonny Boy?" He told me, a glimpse of the mischievous look shining in his eyes. Whatever this secret is, I could tell it was probably good news. Or at least it seems like it.

"Nope! C'mon then, what's this big secret?" I replied, curiosity getting the better of me. He looked down to the floor , blushing slightly.

"I like.... someone... quite a lot, actually " he started. I nodded, encouraging him to go on. "I've known her a while now and she's lovely, but I don't know if she's into me or not" he added. The more he went on, I started to put two and two together and realised who he was talking about.

"You like Lucy, right?" I asked, feeling a smile tug at my lips. He nodded, mirroring my actions. I wasn't surprised to be honest , I had sort of seen this coming. The two adore each other but are too scared to express their true feelings.

"God, am I really that obvious?" He asked, worry instantly painting his features. I nodded, chuckling at how nervous he was. God, he must really like her.

"No... but I've noticed the way you look at her. And I know you mate, I know when you like someone " I reassured him, watching as he started to relax again.

"Do you think she likes me?" He asked in a small voice.

"Mate, I know she does" I told him, earning a laugh from him. I'm glad I'm able to cheer him up . " Worries for you so much, you know? She's a sweet girl " . We continued chatting about her and after a while, he asked the question I was waiting for.

"Do you think I should tell her how I feel?" I paused, processing his words carefully . After running everything through my mind again, I nodded.

"Yes, when you feel the time is right... I mean, if you never try you'll never know, she might feel the same way about you too". I added cheekily, looking up to meet his gaze and we both burst out laughing.

"You're so cheesy" he laughed, walking over to me and enveloped me in another hug. "Thank you Jon" he whispered in my ear.

"Anytime mate..." I responded, giving him a reassuring squeeze . "Are you ready to go back to the others?" I asked him and he nodded, pulling away from me with a smile.

"Sure, let's go". With that, we made our way back to the lounge to continue our meeting and finish the album.

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Lucy's POV:

It had been a while since Jon left to go look for Chris and the others had started playing some of the album, focusing on their parts in each song.

After about 20 minutes, Chris and Jonny entered the room. Chris looked like he had been crying, but he smiled as he came over and sat down next to me. I pulled him into a hug.

"Hey, are you okay now?" I asked him, snuggling into his warmth.

"Yeah I'm ok, just had a chat with Jon and I'm all good now " he said softly, pulling away with a small smile. Now that all of the band members were together, we listened to the end product of the album together. After tweeting a few things, it was ready to be released on May 16th which was next Friday.

Once the guys had finished we all said our goodbyes and I got a hug from all of them.

"See ya Thursday night guys!" Chris yelled as he walked through the door. I was about to follow him when Jonny gently grabbed my arm, pulling me into another hug.

"Look after him Luce.... keep your eye on him and make sure he's not left on his own". He whispered in my ear, loud enough for only me to hear. His breathe sent chills down my neck. I looked up and met his emerald green eyes, seeing the worry in them.

"Don't worry Jon, I will" I told him. "Bye guys!" I told the others smiling at them before following Chris to the car.

"What did he want?" He asked me as we stepped into the car. He looked around, on the lookout for any paps before starting the car and started the journey home.

"He was just saying bye" I told him, leaving out Jon's concerns. He nodded and focused his attention on the road ahead of us. It was nearing 5pm therefore it was the start of rush hour.

"God I hate traffic" he chuckled as we came to a stand still in a queue leading to a roundabout. My mind wondered to the time when I was a child, sat in the back of a car on the way to an airport to go on holidays- and always being stuck in traffic.

"Me and my brother used to play a game when we were younger, when we were bored in the car on road trips, we'd always play a game where we'd make names out of number plates or imagine where each car was going, what the people would do once they got there, etc.... It kept us entertained for hours... and drove our parents nuts" I added, laughing fondly at the memory. Chris laughed and we shared family memories for a while.

"I used to play that game as well! But the difference is , I'm one of 5- me, two brothers and two sisters... you can imagine how annoyed my parents got when all of us rambled on and didn't stop!" He Added, glancing at me before with a smile before dealing with the roundabout and joined the motorway that would take us home.

"Are you still in touch with your brother? Mine never leave me alone" he chuckled. This was the question I was dreading. I felt my heart constrict and but my lip hard to prevent the tears from falling.

"No he's dead. He was in the army and was traveling with the troops along one of the suburbs in Afghanistan When the car he was in got targeted and they were all blown to pieces. " I told him, hearing my voice waver and two lonesome tears escaped my eyes. Chris stayed silent. Guilt plastered on his features.

"Lu.... I'm so sorry..... I-I didn't know...." he trailed off and I felt his free hand grabbing one of mine and stroked the back of it with his thumb comfortingly.

"It's o-okay.... I never told you before...." I uttered, focusing my eyes on the road ahead . We stayed in comfortable silence, his hand in mine as we listened to radio 1. After a while, I decided he deserved to know more.

"It happened 6 years ago... he was only 30 I told him quietly. "He was tall and strong, he had blonde hair with piercing green eyes.... similar to Jon's " I added. I told him everything about him, how wonderful and caring he was. Chris nodded, taking in this new information.

"What was he called?" He asked me, genuinely interested.

"Cain" I told him. Smiling at the memory of him. We were close growing up, he was 4 years older than me. He would've been 37 this year... the same age as Chris.

"He would've been the around the same age as me...." he said, his eyes still trained on the road. "He was taken away so young " he added, I noticed his eyes were glazing over and he blinked rapidly to clear them. "I'm so sorry Lucy..."

"It's ok... I've learned to deal with it... I guess it's just hard sometimes " I admitted, wiping my tears with my free hand. Chris squeezed my other one with his. It felt good to talk to someone about this.

About 15 minutiae later, we pulled up onto Chris' drive way and got out of the car. It was about 6:30pm by now and it was dark. Chris turned to me.

"Fancy going for a quick walk before dinner?" He asked me, looking at me hopefully.

"Sure, let's go" I agreed, pulling my jacket around me and rounded the car, we set off down the street together.

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Hey guys!!

Sooooo ... 3 updates in 1 week? Lucky readers lol 😂

We have a new character's POV- JONNY woo woo 😂❤️ isn't he sweet?

Also we get a bit more about Lucy's background (I hope it's not too boring 😂)

And Jon's told Chris to tell Lucy how he feels! Will he tell her? You'll have to wait and see ❤️

Thank you for reading!

Love Ffion xx