Paul came on the bus with an envelope in his hand. Liam and Louis were still on the couch, while Niall was hovering over my bunk.
"Hey lads. How was the ride?" Paul asked, smiling.
"Ask Victoria." Louis said, nearly exposing me.
Liam looked up, and flicked Louis' ear.
"Ow, what was that for, prick?" Louis said, rubbing his ear.
I gave Louis a serious look, with eyes wider than a puppy begging for food or something.
"Why?" Paul asked, raising his eyebrow
"I fell asleep, and Louis woke me up by screaming in my ear. I jumped, and it freaked me out." I explained.
"Haha sounds like Louis. You can never fall asleep around him." Paul said, easing up.
"What's in the envelope?" Niall asked, pointing to Paul's hand.
"Your guy's room keys." Paul said, opening the envelope.
Paul handed out the keys randomly, as Harry came back from hiding in the washroom.
"Good luck with tonight's performance lads." Paul said, as he left the bus.
"Harry and I need the same room keys." I said, looking at my key.
"I've got 525" Liam said, reading his keycard.
"I've got 524" I added.
We eventually figured out who had which room key. The boys would be staying in room 525, while Harry and I would be right next door in 524.
We all walked out of the bus, making our way down to the lobby where the rest of the crew would be.
"What's with the little stunt you pulled back there?" I asked, scolding Louis
"It was a joke! Relax." Louis replied.
"Yea, a joke that almost exposed me and Harry." I said, lowering my tone.
"Alright well, I'm sorry. Happy?" Louis said.
I shook my head and ignored Louis, as we entered the hotel.
"Which rooms do you want the luggage in?" Andrew asked.
"The boys are sharing 525, and Harry and I are sharing 524." I informed him.
Andrew smiled and walked away so he could notify the bellboy. I saw my dad from the corner of my eye, and rushed towards him.
"Hey dad."
"Hey there birthday girl."
"How was the ride?"
"Sickening. Nolan caught the flu, so management is making him stay as far away from the boys as possible. They booked him a ticket home, so he's leaving on Wednesday."
"Oh that's too bad. Is David going with them?"
"Paul won't allow David to leave. Nolan doesn't have any technical skills, so nobody prepaid him.
Nolan would be staying with grandmother until then."
"Well I hope he gets better soon. Oh and, why did we stop at the hotel, and not just go straight to the stadium?"
"I'm not sure. You'd be better off asking Andrew."
Fast forward to the bus.
Everyone walked on the bus, and got situated. Liam was driving this time, and Louis hoped in the shower. Niall decided to sit on the couch, and munch on his McFlurry we had ordered earlier. Andrew went for a nap, and Harry climbed onto my bunk.
"C'mon Vic." Harry said, convincing me to cuddle with him.
I crawled onto the soft bed, and put the curtain back up. Harry and I got comfortable under the blankets, snuggling together. He gently wrapped his arms around my stomach, as I was the little spoon once again.
Harry steadily ran his fingers through my long hair, as my eyes drifted, and I slowly dozed off.
Everything in that moment felt just right. This time, we were actually sleeping.
Before you knew it, the bus came to a stop and Niall was hovering over us, calmly waking us up.
I lifted myself up and woke Harry, as he was in a deep sleep.
"What time is it?"
"It's noon, and we're at the stadium. You guys have rehearsal soon. Paul and Adam want me and a few other crew members to entertain the crowd, while the stadium fills up."
"Why?"
"Nolan got the flu. He's supposed to keep his distance from you guys, so I offered to cover for him."
"You help with mic checks, rehearsals, technical work, and merch. Are you sure you want to entertain the fans?"
"Of course. I'm not doing my job because I have to, but because I enjoy it. I want to be able to go on tours, and help out."
"You might have to organize the merch right after we run the mic checks and do a rehearsal. You can't entertain the crowd and sell shirts."
"Harry, this isn't my first show. I always help the crew set up the merch. I've never actually sold anything."
"Why not?"
"Paul said he wasn't sure if I was ready. The other crew members have been selling shirts for way longer than I have. They know what they're doing."
"You're literally selling shirts and stuff. How trained do you have to be?"
"Harry, there's no training needed to be able to sell shirts. It's just those crazy fans who scream, fan girl, and cut in the line. There would be thousands of people. I'm just not comfortable with it, that's all."
"Then how do you expect to entertain the crowd?"
"I won't be alone. Plus, there's a barrier."
"Victoria, it's kind of like an interview. Sort of. You pull some people from the crowd, and play those silly games with them."
The bus doors flung open as Niall rushed on the bus in a panic.