Marie hopped down and offered Niall her hand. "I hate you, Ny. There's sweet chili somewhere in my hair, I know it." She laughed, making a

big show of checking her hair. When the search came back unsuccessfully she kissed her boyfriend. "You're lucky,"

"What would you have done?" Niall taunted, sticking his tongue out. The mischievous light in Maz's eyes told him enough, but when she batted

her lashes innocently his smile faded. "That's not fair, you started it."

Marie shrugged and skipped towards the door, dragging him along with her. The rest of their group followed after them at Paul's signal. They

had a three hour drive to their next hotel and they were all wide awake.

On the bus the brown girl climbed up to her boyfriend's shelf-bed and grabbed her playing cards. "Who's up for some B.S.?" She called as she

started to climb back down. The boys looked up in time to see her foot slip. Niall lurched forward, catching her awkwardly before her head

could bash the bed across the aisle. The brown girl's foot twisted at an odd angle and she winced, yanking her leg away from the corner. The

cracking noise made her flinch.

"Maz," The blonde murmured, shifting so she was in his lap. "Where?" His eyes travelled the length of her body, noting every curve, freckle,

and the slight reddening of her ankle.

"I'm so dumb, I've done that so many times and I still fall." Marie stretched out her leg and rotated her injured ankle, testing. Her small cry of

pain alerted Harry that she had hurt herself this time, he got up.

"Twisted?" The curly boy asked when he was hovering over them.

Marie stared at her foot, eyes wide. "It's purple," Her voice was very small.

"I'm sorry, Maz. I was worried about you knocking your head. I didn't think you would have landed with your leg like that." Niall's eyes were full

of self-loathing.

"Ny, it's not your fault I fell." Marie held his eyes for a moment longer before glancing up at her ex. "I don't know," She answered him. Paul had

materialized behind Niall and was taking stock of the situation.

He sighed and knelt down to say in quiet tones, "Niall do you want me to carry her or are you going to?"

"I've got her." The blonde stood up and bent down to pick up his injured girlfriend. "Where to?" Paul led the Irish boy to the front of the bus

where there was a first aid kit.

"Sit her down on this seat so I can wrap her ankle." The boys' bodyguard looked Marie squarely in the eyes. "Marie, we're taking you to get

checked out once we stop. I know you don't want to stop now,"

Zayn, Liam, Danielle, and Louis all backed out of Paul's way. Harry and Niall sat on either side of the tiny girl. They all watched worriedly, eyes

flicking between the gauze being wrapped tight and her face. When she sucked in a pained breath through her teeth they all winced with her.

"It's more than just twisted." Paul diagnosed.

Two hours later Niall had his girlfriend on his back, and they were walking into the hospital that was fifteen minutes away from their hotel. The

woman at the front desk did a double take when she saw the boys of One Direction coming through the emergency entrance doors. She

waited, feigning patience, for them to walk over to her.

"What's happened, Mr. Horan?" The woman, Annalynn, according to her name tag, asked.

"We think Maz broke her ankle," Niall told her, the self-loathing from earlier saturating every word.

Annalynn's skilled eyes focused in on the gauzy ankle hanging by the blonde's hip. "Well let's get her in to the doctor, then, shall we?" She

handed Harry, who was the closest besides Niall, a clipboard. "Could you fill these out while I take Jell-them back?"

Haz nodded, he and Louis went to sit down in the plushy green chairs. Zayn, Liam, and Danielle joined them after they each had said good

luck to the brown girl in some way.