(Harry's POV)

 Niall, why do these boxes keep coming!?  I threw my white board at Niall and pulled the net box from the post to my lap. It was yet another one filled with earmuffs. It had been two days since Niall showed up at my apartment and ever since then I had been receiving boxes and packages of earmuffs. Sure it was nice to have Niall there, especially after the fiasco with me falling down and breaking things in everyone’s absence, but I was beginning to become suspicious that Niall did something stupid, and that stupid thing was related to the sudden income of packages from the mail, all of which were from fans.

I looked over at him while I pulled over several different pairs of muffs. His body was shaking with what looked like laughter. Yeah. He had been up to something. I raised an eyebrow at him and he looked up, only to fold over, laughing even harder. I huffed and crossed my arms across my chest. When Niall calmed himself and stood up straight he pulled his phone from his pocket. His thumb graced over the phone a few swipes and then he tossed it over to me. I caught it clumsily and turned the phone so that I could see what he wanted to show me. The twitter application was open and I groaned. I had been avoiding it all these months because all I would get were questions about how I was doing and where I was and why I wasn’t going out like the rest of the guys. The first tweet was from Niall himself and my eyes narrowed with irritation when I read it.

@NiallOfficial: Harry gets cold in this weather! Send some earmuffs. Every kind there is!

 I was going to murder the kid. I chucked his phone back at him and he caught it before it fell to the floor and broke like my phone did two days prior. This whole thing would never stop. How did I know that? How Did I know that these boxes of earmuffs would keep coming for months to years? Well, Louis still gets carrots from our X Factor days. There was my proof.

My head fell into my hands and I groaned loudly. I didn’t have the room for those. Some of them were pretty cool actually, but most of them were obnoxious. I guessed I could donate them to shelters and people in need. That would have been the only way to get rid of them until the packages trickles down to a few a year. I pulled a pair out of the box on my lap and shook my head. They were fuzzier than the ones that Lou Teasdale gave me. I chucked them behind the couch and continued onto the next pair. They were simple, black and big enough to cover my ears entirely. I delicately placed them on my head and looked up at Niall. He gave me the thumbs up and sat down on the couch next to me. He rummaged through the box and pulled out a pair that made me laugh. They were “boob-muffs.” Literally, plastic breasts that are attached to earmuffs. He placed them on his head and posed. I laughed deeply and was surprised at how strange it felt to laugh. I hadn’t been having much fun being injured, but that little moment of hilarity was what I needed.

I playfully punched Niall in the arm and he returned the favor. By then we would have been having a brotherly brawl, but that was hard to do when about half of me was hurt. We settled with a nudge to the ribs and then turned on the old Nintendo 64 to play some old school Mario Kart. After about an hour, a thought dawned on me.

Where are the rest of the guys?

--

(Louis' POV)

I hissed at the pain, clenching my teeth together as the doctor poked and prodded at the stitched on my forehead. He worked skillfully against my skin, but the numbing agent he used was started to wear off. I hissed again.

“Oh, don’t whine, Louis.” Eleanor chided and ran her hand down my back soothingly. I sighed and let the doctor continue. He was almost done a few minutes later. I mean, it wasn’t that big of deal as to why I was at the doctors again. It was just a week checkup after the crash, and he had to reseal my stitches because I was stupid and busted them open the day before.

“Almost done and… there!” He snipped the last bit and applied some antibiotic crème over top of the cut. “These are the ones that dissolve so your bottom should break them down within sixty days. Your face should be as good as new. If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to call. We can even get someone to make a house call since, well, you know.” The doctor smiled and checked the cut once more before patting me on the shoulder and leaving the room.

I quickly swiped my hair over the injury and stood up from the examination table. Eleanor took my hand and we checked out of the hospital. Thomas, out bodyguard for the day, was waiting in the front lobby, checking the exits before we made a break for it. We stepped out into the open floor and it was surprisingly quiet. “How about lunch, babe?” I asked Eleanor, turning towards her and kissing her cheek.

“Sounds great.” She smiled and squeezed my hand. I looked into her beautiful eyes and felt my heart flutter. Man, do I love that girl. We made out way out to the car. Thankfully no one knew about my doctor’s visit, so our short trip to the car was actually normal. We climbed into the back seat of the car and I never once let go of Eleanor’s hand. Even though I didn’t seem too nervous about it, car trips still bothered me. Each time we were in the car, all I could think about were the lights coming at us, the glass flying everywhere, and my head whipping straight into the back of Preston’s seat. I was lucky I just got away with a cut on my forehead. Things could have gone a lot worse. I was lucky to see my Eleanor again.

“Lou? Louis, are you listening to me?” Eleanor’s soft voice drifted into my thoughts.

“What? Sorry.” I shook my head and blinked a few times to get my mind back into reality.

“Thomas asked where we wanted to go for lunch. I was thinking that little café we went to a while back. You know, the one with the patio n the back away from the street?” Her words reminded me of exactly where she was talking about. We had only been there once; near the time we started dating.

“Sounds perfect. Where ever you want to go.” I leaned over and kissed her cheek once more. She giggled and bumped my shoulder playfully.

“Love you, Lou.” She kissed the tip of my nose quickly and I laughed, pulling her in to connect our lips.

“Love you too, El. I love you so much.” I leaned into her, kissing her deeply. “So much, El.” I needed her there in my life. She was the stable feature in my hectic, rock star life. I hoped she knew that she meant the world to me.

“Louis, what’s wrong?” She pulled back and searched my face for answered. I knew I looked like crap. I hadn’t slept very well the past week, what with worrying about my mates and all.

“Things have just changed. That’s all.” I leaned against the back of the seat and let out a deep sigh. “Not with us. Just with everything else, you know? Things might never be the same. Harry’s- well, Harry’s injuries are pretty bad and he refuses to talk, let alone sing. One Direction may be a thing of the past.”

“Then let’s be the future.” Eleanor responded. My eyes widened when I looked at her. “All of this.” She motioned to my body. “All of this constant moving and running yourself on low. What would happen if you could just stop it all and move onto something else?” She looked hopeful and I took a moment to think about it. If One Direction were no longer a thing, what would I do? Move on with Eleanor into the future was a definite, but what about the rest of the guys? Would I be okay with leaving it all behind?

“I-“ I bit my lip. “I don’t know, El.”

She squeezed my hand and half-smiled. “Just a thought.” She pushed back some of my hair from my face and grazed over my cut gently. “But I’ll always be here.” Her smile was sweet and genuine. We shared another kiss before Thomas pulled into the alleyway that connected with the side of the café. He checked the area quickly before giving us the go ahead. I pulled on a hat and a pair of sunglasses and Eleanor did the same. We knew the drill.

Before we could even get to the closed off patio there was a shout from the end of the alleyway. I whipped my head around and there was a flash from a camera. “Dammit, come on El.” I pulled her by her arm into the patio area, but there wasn’t any place we could hide from the paparazzi. Someone must have noticed the car we were in and followed us here. Niall wasn’t around to spill the location, so he was out of the question. “I just wanted to have a nice lunch with my girlfriend! Is that too much to ask for!?” I yelled out at the gathering crowd. A collective scream exploded when I began to speak. Damn fan girls. Don’t get me wrong, I love the fans, but when they get too much into my personal life and made it hard for me to just, well, live, then we have a problem.

“Why are you out here with her?” One fan screamed over the rest. “Where’s your boyfriend, Harry?” I glared at the crowd. Really?

“What happened in the crash?”

“Where’s Harry?”

“LARRY FOREVER!”

“Eleanor! You don’t deserve Louis!”

I winced at the words. They could be so hateful to Eleanor, but I couldn’t say anything or else management would flip shit. I would live nothing other than to tell them all to piss off, but fans meant profits and that’s all that mattered to management. “Come on, Eleanor. We can go back to my place. Don’t listen to them.” I squeezed my hand around Eleanor’s arm and pulled her in between Thomas and myself. We were going to try and make a break for the car. Then the chants started.

“HARRY! HARRY! HARRY!”

What?

“NIALL! NIALL! NIALL!”

Double what?

I jumped, peering over the crowd and saw a second car pulling into the alleyway. The windows were rolled down and the fans turned their attention away from Eleanor and I. In the car were Niall and Harry, with no bodyguards or anything. Thing were about to get insane.

A/N: WOAH! Niall and Harry showing up!? WAAAAAH? Wonder what's gonna happen!? Please don't forget to comment and vote and do ALL the things! I love you my little dinosaurs. Share the love right back!