Through The Dark

54: America

Niall

Seventeen year old me would never have believed that singing mediocre acoustic covers of popular songs would lead me to being the frontman of one of the most successful bands in the world. The once nervous kid, that had to be persuaded over and over again by his friends to actually gather the courage and get up onto that stage would be in complete awe to find out where that would lead him. But I was grateful for their persistence, and I was even more grateful for my wife's support, through all this.

I'm gonna be honest, calling Saph my wife is still something I was having trouble comprehending, even if it had been over a year since our wedding. A lot happened in that time. We had our second child, a son this time and Maeve had started walking all by herself and saying random words here and there. Her first word was 'Dada', something that Saph deemed unfair since she would spend every second of the day with our daughter. But I tried reasoning with her, saying that it happened because she just missed me a bit too much. It did happen when she saw my face  through FaceTime one day, so it made perfect sense.

That year was also the year we broke America, something that we didn't desperately work towards, but were all glad it finally happened. We started booking a lot more shows in the states, live performances and interviews taking up large portions of our time. But I was glad I was able to bring Saph and the kids along in the country, something that was possible because we weren't travelling around the states too much.

We spent two weeks in California, basking in the sun during our free time and grasping the opportunity to treat whatever time we had as a family as a holiday. New York was our second destination for the trip, mostly for appearing in talk shows either for an interview or for a performance. And we were fortunate enough to have one of the most popular hosts, James Corden, book us for both. Being a Brit, we had already met him countless times during events and award shows, so it was only a matter of time we appeared on his show. So we huddled up behind the curtain leading to his stage, all set to make our entrance in a matter of seconds.

"Ready guys?" Curtis smiled at all of us, always being the one to prepare us and lift our spirits.

"Ready as I'll ever be mate." Levi chuckled and adjusted the collar of his black button down, making sure the opening in the front showcased his chest just how he wanted it to.

"Poser." Azumi huffed, making fun of him. She had definitely come out of her shell a lot more since the day I met her, which gave me a sense of pride. Yet again, Curtis always said the same thing about me. And I guess he was kind of right. I was no longer afraid to be talkative in front of a camera, which was a big relief for Curtis since he no longer had to do all the talking.

The announcing of the band's name from the other side of the velvet curtain had everyone's attention. Cheers from the audience followed and we all glanced at eachother one last time.

"Good luck everyone." Levi patted my back as he stood behind me, next to Azumi. Curtis stood by my side as the curtain was pulled open, revealing us to the audience. Taking a deep breath, I smiled widely and waved around as we walked down the short staircase, being welcomed by James who offered us each a hug before ushering us to sit on his couch. I was the one sat closer to him, followed by Curtis, Azumi and finally Levi at the other end, who seemed to enjoy the extra space.

"Look how much of a buzz you've created in the studio guys! Does that ever get old?" James questioned as he gazed at the audience.

"Are you mad mate? That kind of support never gets old." Curtis laughed, gesturing towards the fans who continued to cheer. It took a few seconds for the noise to die down, which had James dramatically wipe his forehead.