Love At War - Book 2 of Secrets Within

Move One

Chapter Summary for last chapter if skipped - Zayn's cuts reopened and he was rushed to hospital to be stabilised. After he recovers, he tells the boys the truth and Liam shares the update about Sophia.

The next few weeks the boys were shoved into the limelight constantly, ordered by management to do so in order to keep up appearances amidst the chaos caused by the engagement break-off and the hospital trip. Zayn was released from the hospital on orders of bed rest the morning after, but instead, much to the boys' annoyance, they were carted to the ITV studios for a surprise interview, to dwell down rumours of Zayn's ill health, and Liam and Sophia's breakup.

They had no choice, Zayn being helped by the other boys onto the plush sofas whilst the cameras were showing TV ads, and he was propped between Louis and Niall, who gave him comforting squeezes and made sure he was okay, whilst Liam sulked at the end of the bench and Harry received a tweet notification that management had posted for him, a picture of the 5 boys smiling and "healthy" on the Good Morning Britain sofa. Once the questions started, the boys played the hospital trip off as Zayn falling over and cutting his arm on the side of the table, and that he had caught it again in the tourbus, hence the hospital trip. Louis claimed that Paul had carried Zayn because Zayn had fallen asleep at the venue and he didn't want to wake him, and the boys seconded that, saying that they were just about to join them in the hotel when they got the call saying he needed stiches in his arm.

Thanks to Sophia, the ball of calling off the engagement was already rolling, and the interviewer was given a hint as to what to ask. Liam said that he had done it as a last ditch attempt to save their relationship because they were falling apart, and although she had originally said yes, they discussed it properly over dinner last night and decided that the stress and the distance was too much, and that they had split up for now, but still remained good friends, to which Sophia confirmed on a tweet after the show when fans began quizzing her.

After that interview, they were given the rest of the day off to rest, with Liam refusing to leave Zayn's side, and the other couples making the most of the spare time they had, due to the knowledge that they had a plethora of interviews to show up to that they would be given little notice beforehand of, and they had no idea what other things management were planning for them, now that all the "partners" had been taken away and speculation was rife as to the actual story behind-the-scenes, the fans not buying the news reports.

The next few weeks passed in a blur of early starts, interviews, signings and performances, all of which they were told of on the day, even though the news was released to the public beforehand, without the boys consent. Zayn began to get better, but he nearly relapsed 3 times, but on all 3 occasions to his credit and strength, he let Louis know he was struggling, probably later than he should have done, but Louis was there by his side straight away and stopped him going any further. At Zayn's request, Louis did so without letting Liam know, taking Zayn back to his room and looking after him for the night and getting Harry to spend the night out with Liam, who gave the pair a sympathetic but knowing look every time, but never said a word.

Niall and Josh were split apart, with Josh away in America worked on his own single with Sandy Beales and Wheatus, whilst Niall stayed with the boys in England, and they spoke every night, but it was evident that it was taking its toll on them, and Niall spent many nights drinking and clubbing his sorrows away, always followed by either Liam or Harry, usually both, who sat and watched him whilst drinking coke to make sure he didn't do anything he would later regret.

And finally, behind the scenes, Louis and Harry were secretly planning their wedding, which was to take place over Christmas when they had their week break after the release of the new album. They decided it was going to be held at Harry's London house, disguised to the public as a birthday party for Louis, and it would be small, with just the boys and close family there, cosy and intimate, which reflected their personalities when it came to eachother. Louis was planning the after party and Harry was planning the ceremony, with the help of their mums on Skype and Perrie, Eleanor and Sophia, who were all invited to keep up appearances first and foremost, but also because they were their friends and they had helped them out and supported them in the past. So far, the wedding was 3 weeks away, and everything was planned down to the last detail.

However, there was a slight problem in which they had to overcome. As per UK law, the couple had to legally post notice of their wedding at least 16 days before the ceremony at their local registry office, in full public view, and available online. They knew that the fans watched their every move with great detail, they knew that even those who weren't fans stopped at the sight of the name Louis Tomlinson or Harry Styles, but they had no other choice. If they were to be married, they had to literally display it in writing on the office, despite it being at Harry's house, and they legally had to ask the question "Does anyone have any reason to object to these two people being married?", including members of the public.

When the notice went up, the boys attended all together, but Harry and Louis were the ones to put it up together. There were a handful of fans outside, and the two boys looked out as they were escorted out of the premises and the handful became many handfuls, all wishing for a touch or glimpse of the boys. Luckily, many were too engrossed in them to even wonder why they were at a registry office whilst they were there, but after they left and fans took notice of the sign, Twitter went wild, and suddenly, the wedding was world wide news. It went viral, and by the time the boys arrived back at Harry's house, they were getting phone calls from media companies wanting their story and rights to the wedding photos. They were greeted at the door by the others and ushered inside, an army of fans growing outside Harry's fence, with phones and posters at the ready, the sound of Larry ringing through the air.

"Well, that news travelled quickly didn't it?" Liam said as they sat down, the curtains slightly open so they could view the fans outside.

"Just a bit. It's not like we exactly had a choice, I suppose we could have gone out the back way, would've made people less curious"

"Did you tell management first?" Niall asked, and just then the phone rung...