Chapter Forty Six

"Hey now!" Niall yells into his mic, the crowd still roaring with laughter before them as Zayn slings an arm over Harry's shoulders. "Do I get a chance to defend my actions here or what?"

"Nah mate, you're a goner." Louis chimes back, laughter laced through his tone as he wanders back towards the main the seats built into main stage, lined as always with throws and pillows.

"Poor choice of mates I say, who doesn't come to my defence when it happened when I was nineteen!"

"No excuses craic, you're still the one who went through with it."

"That's it, I'm leaving the band." Niall comments with a deadpan voice, sending the crowd into an uproar of protest. "See!" Niall continues throwing his arm out to gesture towards the audience, "They at least want me here!"

"We still love you Ni, promise." He says into his own mic, still tucked into Zayn's side on stage right.

"Mitch!" Niall calls out, turning to face the guitarist standing with a smile on the raised platform, "You're with me on this right?"

Mitch leans forward towards where his own microphone is positioned in front of him, "Think Sandy's the better one to ask, he was there for it."

Niall simply shakes his head in defeat, "Poor friend choice, I'm tellin' ya."

"Alright lads, enough of this we've still got a show to play. As much as I love watching Niall be called out." Louis says, now nestled into one of the burrows.

Liam joins Niall at his side on main stage, wrapped in a giant flag with an intricate home drawn image of New York's skyline painted on the fabric.

"Speaking of tonight's show," Liam chimes in then just as Zayn navigates him and Harry both back towards main stage, "Tonight we're finally making good on a certain promise we made right from the start of our reunion announcement. As most of you will be aware, this show came with another of our challenges we've sorted for you all to work through, and we can now admit we found our two winners earlier today." Liam pauses as the crowd cheers wildly behind him. "Now, from the VIP box I'd like you all to show a huge round of applause towards the winners of this challenge, Lillian and Tina, here all the way from the UK!"

"The lovely Lillian and Tina found us three mongrels strolling through Central Park earlier and have done you all rather a huge favour by choosing a special, one off addition to tonight's set list." The audience goes off, realising then that they're gaining an additional song. They'd promised, back on their first livestream, that there would be the possibility of fans influencing an extra song onto the set list. Though the small shows they'd been playing had largely covered that option, playing it during those shows was only for a smaller crowd, not like tonight's where there were seventeen thousand people attending the event.

"Now I've got to say," Zayn cuts in then, finally taking a seat in one of the burrows, "This is rather special, seeing as this is the very first time this song is to be performed live. So without further ado, we'd like to invite Mr. Rowlands down to main stage to help with this one." Mitch had already begun making his way down to them as Zayn had spoken, taking a seat on the stool which had also been brought out onstage, as well as the acoustic guitar he now carries.

Louis stands from his burrow, the briefest of glances cast his way as he shuffles forward into the center of the stage. Harry smiles back at him, looking out as the lights of the venue close off, spotlighting center stage. Phone lights immediately emerge, without even the first chord of the song having been played.

From where he's seated behind Louis and Mitch, he still catches the smile Louis offers the crowd as he passes the microphone through his hands nervously as he takes a seat across from Mitch.

"Right well, gotta say this came as a bit of a surprise earlier. Wasn't expecting to be playing this tonight, but cheers to you both, Lillian and Tina, sorry I wasn't there to meet you earlier but, this one's for you, and all of you out there who can relate to this song." As if in an afterthought Louis looks up and adds, "Thank you for understanding it."

The venue waits in silence as Mitch positions his hands over the strings, and softly begins to play the opening chords.

Pour mercy, mercy on me

Set fire to history

I'm breaking my own rules, I'm crying like a fool

Tall stories on the page, short glories on the fade

I've been close enough to touch, but I've never cared for love

It's a church of burnt romances, and I'm to far gone to pray

I's a solo song

And it's only for the brave

If the truth tell, darling you fell

Like there ain't enough dying stars in your sky

It's a tall tale, and it's only hello, hello, no goodbyes

Pour mercy, mercy on me, I'll fall upon my knees

And they'll say I told you so

Come on when you know, you know

All the lonely shadow dancing from the cradle to the grave

It's a solo song

And it's only for the brave

Not a single person sings with him. The venue remains in a silent stupor as Louis' voice rings through the stadium, steady and sure. The only accompanying sound that of Mitch's playing.

The phone lights don't fade. Raised simply above the heads of the masses and the song fades out and the lights shine on.

Perfect is the only chance he has to recover from hearing Louis sing. His heart racing as they move through the upbeat number before he's disappearing offstage. Breathing shallow and body stricken with sweat he's greeted by three of their crew backstage as he shifts automatically through the process of changing. Back on stage he can hear Liam and Niall talking together with the crowd, distracting them as he hurriedly moves through the notions backstage.

Harry had been waiting to play this song for a long while now, heart pounding at the thought of performing this with Louis onstage with him. He'd not been expecting Only The Brave to be the song choice tonight in the slightest, it seems strange a turn of events to place the two songs together in the same night, but here he is regardless.

With a final swipe of his brow to clear the glistening perspiration he's directed back to the stage. The crowd livening as they see him wander back out onto main stage. Glancing up at Sarah positioned happily behind her drum kit, she sends him a wink. Shaking his thoughts out he aims straight for his microphone now placed in a stand at center stage. His solo moment of the show having approached too soon for his liking.

"When you're ready Mitch." He says, plastering a sly smirk on his face before the familiar chords rise and the crowd erupts as they realise his song choice for the night.

The venue lights splutter periodically, choreographed to perfection.

Here to take my medicine, take my medicine, treat you like a gentleman

Give me that adrenaline, that adrenaline, think I'm gonna stick with it

Here to take my medicine, take my medicine

Rest it on your fingertips

Up to your mouth, feeling it out, feeling it out

He sings, the crowd joining him with eager as he glances back behind him. HE continues through the song, the venue and crowd exploding as he sings through the pre chorus and chorus.

The atmosphere is electric as he dances through it all, a grin overtaking him as he grabs for the microphone and dances off towards the front of the stage.

The boys and the girls are in, I mess around with him and I'm ok with it

He can't help but sing though he stubbornly refuses to look behind him at Louis as he sings.

I'm coming down, I figured out I kinda like it

And when I sleep I'm gonna dream of how you...

The lights shut off as he waves at the crowd once the song continues through the chorus once more.

I had a few, got drunk on you and now I'm wasted...

He doesn't think he's ever felt more alive on stage than as he does once the lights burn on and the audience screams back at him. Feeling like he's going to explode he flings himself across the stage, catching the faces of those screaming the words to him as the lights flicker on and off, behind him the band playing out the chords and the boys grinning away.

A month. They have a month, and then the world will be open and waiting at their feet.

Here's to freedom he thinks as the song fades and in the darkness, a hand momentarily slips into his.