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“I think it’s time to end your hiatus” It was the first thing Louis heard when he picked up his phone. Six in the morning. The call was from Simon. No hello. No good morning. Straight to the business.
“It’s six in the morning, Simon,” Louis mumbled as he rubbed his eyes.
“I don’t care, Louis. Tell the boys and meet me tomorrow morning. All of you,” Simon said.
“You tell the boys,” Louis mumbled angrily. He was having a fantastic dream, and Simon ruined it all. And a reunion?
“Louis, I don’t have time for this. Tell the boys and meet me tomorrow,” And the line went dead.
Louis cursed under breathe and got up to get ready. There was no way he could sleep now. He took a shower and went to the kitchen to have some breakfast. He was warmly welcomed by Clifford. The dog tackled him to the ground and licked his face.
“Okay okay, Cliff, That’s enough!” Louis laughed and pushed the dog away, causing a whine out of him.
He poured some milk and cereal into a bowl and sat down on a stool. If Harry knew, he’d kill him. But Harry was visiting Anne, and there was no one to judge Louis’s cereal. He suddenly remembered Simon’s call. He took his phone and dialed Harry’s number.
“Hello, Boo!” Harry’s soothing voice was heard from the other side, and a fond smile made its way to Louis’s lips.
“Hello, Babycakes!” Louis said.
“Good morning! Slept well without me?” Harry asked.
“I was until morning,” Louis said, and Harry didn’t need to be there to see his frown.
“What’s wrong?” Harry was concerned.
“Simon called,” Louis grumbled.
“What does he need this time?” Harry asked angrily.
“He wants the band to come back,” Louis said. Silence.
“What?” Harry asked after a few seconds.
“He wants us to meet him tomorrow. All of us. Including Zayn too,”
“What the fuck!” Harry yelled.
“Harry-” Louis started softly, only to get cut off by Harry.
“I’m not signing that bloody contract again, Louis!” Harry shouted, making Louis flinch. Louis couldn’t blame him, could he? They suffered a lot because of that fucking contract.
“We don’t have a choice, Haz. I promise you, I’m not letting that happen again,” Louis said, and Harry calmed down a bit.
“We really don’t have a choice, right?” His voice was broken, but there was nothing Louis could do.
“Can you call Niall? I’m gonna call Liam,”
“Okay, See you at Simon’s then”
“Bye, Haz,”
“Bye, Lou,” They end the call.
Louis called Liam, and Liam wasn’t happy to hear the news. Louis didn’t get to talk with Zayn as he was asleep. Liam said he’d tell him when he woke up.
The time went faster than Louis thought. He was pacing around Simon’s office when the boys came. He pecked Harry’s lips and hugged others. And Simon came.
“Take a seat, boys,” They sat down.
“Okay, so, this is what we are going to do. First, we are going to announce your reunion. Then a tour. We could call it The Reunion Tour. Haha! I’m just kidding. We’ll think of a better name when the time comes. So, any question?” Simon finished. When nobody said anything, Simon started to talk again but Harry cut him off quickly.
“I’m not signing that contract,” Harry said firmly. His voice was ice.
“What contract, Harry?” Simon asked, smirking.
“You know what,” Harry said.
“We are not some stupid kids anymore, Simon. You can’t control us as you did then,” Louis joined.
“You really don’t have a choice, Louis,” Simon said, still smirking.
True to his word, he made them sign that contract again. Well, Louis or Harry didn’t have to date girls, but they also couldn’t act like they were a couple. When Harry refused to sign, Simon threatened to kick Louis out of the band. So Harry did. When they came home, Harry cried.
Simon was a man of word. After two days, he made us announce the reunion. The fans were crazy. And Louis couldn’t help but be happy to be back. The truth was, he really missed their fans. But when he remembered what would happen to him and Harry, his happiness faded away.
Two months after announcing the reunion, the tour started. Sydney’s Allphones Arena. The show ended quickly. Fans were so happy to see them again. They just had to sing some of One Direction song and their solo songs.
Days passed, and every day Louis became more and more stressed. The other boys were no different too. Five months passed like that. They didn’t even have time to rest. A show after another. But the only thing they could do was curse Simon silently.
At one show, there was a sign saying “Help me come out to my Mom” And a little Bi flag drawn under it. Louis watched Harry as he kept starring at the sign. Harry was strictly told not to do such things by management. Louis quickly blinked away the tears that formed in his eyes.
It was the last day of the tour. And Louis was so close to murder Simon for putting them through this all. They arrived at Wembley Stadium at noon. They did some sound checks and got ready for the show. The boys were really glad that it was the last day of the tour.
“How are you, London!” Louis shouted to the mic. The loud scream from fans filled the stadium.
“The last day of the tour!” Liam said. And another scream.
“Let’s begin then, yeah?” Harry asked, and the intro to Little Black Dress filled the stadium.
The last song of the day. Louis’s solo. When the intro to Only The Brave started, fans started to wave pride flags. Some of them even threw flags on the stage. It was breathtaking. And just then, the craziest and the bravest idea came to Louis’s mind.
“It’s a solo song…And it’s only for the brave,” Louis finished singing, and a loud cheer went through the stadium.
“Well, that was the last song,” Niall said to the mic.
“Hope to see you again soon!” Zayn said.
“But, before that, I want to say something,” Louis said, and management suddenly understood something was off. They yelled to Louis’s earpiece, telling him to stop. Louis covered his ear at the sudden loudness.
“Damn…My ear,” He said and removed the earpiece, making the management go mad.
“So, I was telling before my dear management interrupt me screaming in my earpiece…” The stadium became silent in a second. Even a pin drop could’ve been heard. Louis smirked at that.
“As you all know…I took some time 'cause I’ve ran out of energy of playing someone I heard I’m supposed to be…” The fans cheer loudly.
“But honestly I don’t have to choose anymore!” Louis said and looked at Harry. Harry quickly understood what Louis was playing and joined him.
“Cause it’s been ages, different stages…come so far from princess park,” Harry finished where Louis stopped.
“I’ll always need you,” Louis looked at Harry.
“In front of me,” Harry said, holding eye contact. The screams didn’t stop. The fans looked like they were seconds away from passing out.
“I just want you to know, I’m really glad of your support. Without you, we wouldn’t be here. And also without you, I wouldn’t even dream of doing this.” Louis fondly said to the fans. Some of them even fainted. But the guards took care of them.
“Harry Styles, You are the habit, that I can’t break!” Louis screamed, and a tear rolled down Harry’s cheeks.
Fuck Simon.
Fuck management.
Fuck everything.
There. He did it.
Louis picked the nearest pride flag and wrapped it around his shoulders like a cape. The fans went crazy at that.
He looked at Harry and whispered one word to the mic.
“Freedom”