September 29; Los Angeles
Mob launches in: 8 days
"Pizza, anyone?" Ashley said, setting down a meaty monster of a pizza in front of them, "It's fresh out of the oven."
"Thanks!" Tom immediately grabbed a slice, nearly burning his fingers in the process. And after a long day of learning choreography, no one blamed him for his haste.
"You're not eating with us?" Niall asked as she made to go back to the kitchen, prompting Liam to have a coughing fit into his napkin.
"Uh, sorry. I meant─"
"Niall─" Ashley started.
"No really. Just go if you have to. I mean you don't have to eat with us if you don't want to. I just─"
"Niall," she said, firmly enough to get him to shut up. "Is there something you want to tell me?"
"No!" His defensive tone surprised even him, and Ashley took a step back. "Sorry, I didn't mean it that way."
"Okay, then. You do know that you can talk to me whenever you want, don't you?" Before he could answer, she checked her phone and bustled back to the kitchen. "See you later!" she called over her shoulder.
"What the fuck is wrong with you?" Louis, brutally honest as always, shoved Niall, who bumped into Jay. "Sorry, Jay."
When Niall spoke, he sounded close to tears. "God, I don't know, Lou. I want to ask her out, but when she's around I get butterflies in my stomach, nothing I say comes out right, that whole shebang."
"Aww, little Niall's in luurvveee," Zayn drawled.
"Would it make you feel better if I told you that she likes you too?" Tom said.
"How are you so sure?" He doubted even though a flame of hope had started flickering deep in his heart.
"I see the way she looks at you, mate. She likes you. I mean like likes you, Niall."
"Just ask her out," Max said, recalling how easy it was to ask Michelle out on their first date, one which seemed ages ago, "Or are we gonna have to make this a 2-in-1 mob?"
"But isn't she, like, mad at me?"
"She may be angry at you now, but that's only because she's disappointed that you didn't ask. Once you do, she'll be as bright and happy as the sun in the sky. Girls are bipolar that way," Tom winked, wincing as Kelsey elbowed him in the ribs─hard.
"Fine," a noticeably cheered-up Niall said. "I'll ask her now!"
"Woah, hold it!" Louis almost shouted, grabbing Niall's wrist. "Let her cool off a bit. I say ask her tomorrow, when she least expects it."
"Okay," he sat back down dejectedly.
"Look, Niall, if you're planning to ask a girl out, you've honestly got a long way to go," Max said, setting down his pizza and launching into the same pep talk he'd given Tom and Siva when they had first met Kelsey and Nareesha. If it can't apply to me anymore, at least I can help a friend out.
"First things first. Be yourself. Your date's gonna be way awkward if you don't present yourself as really real from the start. Secondly, don't be nervous. Treat her as a friend, but remember that she's, well, a girl. Unless she turns out to be someone like Kelsey─"
"Shut up," Kelsey punched him in the arm.
"See what I mean? Anyway, be a gentleman. Compliments always help. And, if you really have to, sing to her."
"You sure, I mean absolutely sure, that that'll work?"
"Trust me, mate. Just don't turn out to be a dickhead like I was"
"Oh."
The uncomfortable silence that followed was only broken by the hesitant crunch of a crispy piece of pizza crust in Tom's mouth.
Luckily, Tabitha saved them. "So, are you boys ready to get back to work?" she asked as she jogged over to their table.
"Tabitha, you are seriously the only person I know who gets excited about work at this hour," Jay said.
"Do you want this mob to be a success or not?" she retorted, pushing open the door.
"Fine. Let's go, boys," Louis got up and followed her. Soon, the others got up and did the same.
September 30; Hollywood
Mob launches in: 7 days
Nathan Sykes NathanTheWanted
Make sure to tune in to Fox this Sunday (Oct 7) for an extra-special episode of Mobbed!
Liam Payne Real_Liam_Payne
Got to work with some amazing people this week! Find out who on Mobbed this Sunday ;) In the meantime, any guesses? xx
Howie Mandel howiemandel
This week's Mobbed is gonna be the most epic one yet! #countonit
The next day, they were back at Mobbed headquarters, polishing the song. As they (mainly Harry and Max) rested their voices, all of them took to the Internet after around 3 days of dormancy─3 days in which the fans took the time to flood their mentions.
"You boys do know that since we're all tweeting about the same thing, the fans are gonna figure out eventually that we'll be collaborating?" Louis said, looking up from his laptop.
"Let them," Siva said slyly, "At least it'll put an end to those rumors that there's a rivalry between us."
"Who started all that bullshit anyway?"
"No idea. All I know it whoever it was, he or she will be eating their words on Sunday."
"Amen." Louis and Siva high-fived triumphantly.
"Oi, has anyone seen Niall?" David asked. "We need to get back to work soon."
A cursory glance around the room confirmed that the boy was indeed missing.
"Probably gone looking for some food," Zayn shrugged nonchalantly.
Niall had, in fact, snuck off to look for food. However, that wasn't his only objective. He prowled the hallways like a cat, looking for a janitor's closet which he could hide in.
"Yes," he whispered when he finally found a hidden one on the first floor. Making sure no one had spotted him, he ducked in and, locking the door behind him, found himself face-to-face with a mop. Pushing it aside, he found an upturned pail to sit on and pulled out his phone.
"Hello?" came the teenage voice from the other end.
"Hey, Ash. It's Niall," he said, a smile curling his lips.
"Aren't you supposed to be practicing right now?"
"We took a break. But someone's probably already noticed that I'm gone, so I'll make this quick─"
"Wait, where are you? You sound like you're in a broom closet or something."
"Pretty close. I'm sitting on a pail and I think a mop's staring at me."
"Ha ha," she said sarcastically. "What were you saying?"
"Oh, right. Um, since we're back there tomorrow, would you like to have lunch with me? I need to ask you something."
"Sure, Niall, I'd love to. But you should really get off the phone and out of that closet. You know how fussy David gets."
"Thanks. Bye."
"See you."
Niall remained silent, not wanting to hang up just yet. Ashley, for her part, didn't hang up either. Each could hear the other's faint breathing from their ends of the line.
"Niall, are you hanging up first or do I have to?"
"Yeah, sorry. Bye."
He hung up, a victorious grin plastered on his features, and quickly made his way out of the cramped closet.
"There you are! We were this close to sending out a search party to look for you!" Harry said.
"Where'd you run off to?" Max asked. He had a knowing smirk on his face, as if he could read Niall's mind.
"Does it matter?" he shrugged, although he knew that Max had figured it out.
"Okay, guys, let's get back to work." David said, "This time, let's take it with instruments: I want Siva, Tom, and Niall on guitar and Nathan on piano."
"Yes, sir," Tom said under his breath, but loud enough so that Max, sitting beside him, started coughing violently into his fist.
October 1; Los Angeles
Mob launches in: 6 days
"Okay, people, listen up," Garrett said, "I know for a fact that all of you know what's going to happen during this mob, but let me refresh your memory. First, Michelle comes, but Max isn't there. He'll text her that something suddenly came up and he won't be able to come after all. She'll think she's been set up. But when she pushes open the front door to leave, first group of dancers starts dancing. Legz, what's your song?"
"Lawson's When She Was Mine," Legacy replied immediately.
"Right. Then Jay and Nathan join in. Are you following me so far?"
He was greeted by a chorus of nods.
"Jay and Nath will then bring her back into the resto, and the second group of dancers starts. Jason, song?"
"Nicki Minaj, Right By My Side," the leader of the second group answered.
"Exactly. After that the recorded shit stops and Siva, Niall and Tom start with the guitars, and Nath with the 's doing the first solo from I Want It All?"
"That would be me," Nathan said.
"Good. Then, Max, when will you enter?"
"Chorus of I Want It All."
"Excellent. I'm guessing the ten of you have mastered how the rest of the song goes. Same goes for the dancers, you also know what to do, am I right?"
Without waiting for an answer, he forged on. "So, the mash-up's gonna stop after the bridge, right before Harry's high note. That's the moment Max is gonna apologize. Siva, Niall, Tom, and Nathan keep playing in the background. When she accepts your apology─no buts, I'm sure she'll forgive you─Harry, let it rip. After the song ends, Howie comes out, explains everything, then we're done. Questions?"
When no one spoke up, a satisfied director nodded. "Okay, then. Everyone break for lunch. We'll meet back here in an hour to put everything together."