Chapter Twenty-Three - Is This Home?

Louis' POV

I sat in the audience while the girls did sound check. Sydney made me stay and guard her purse while she was onstage. To take revenge for being stuck with this terrifyingly boring position, I decided to take cheeky photos of myself on her phone. As I was taking one, the phone began to ring. I was going to ignore it until I saw that is was a call from her father. I hit the green button with my thumb and held the phone up to my ear, "Hello?"

"Erm, hi," a deep voice answered. "Who is this?"

"I'm Louis Tomlinson, one of the boys on tour with your daughter. Syd is currently in sound check, can I take a message?" I responded, trying to sound as respectful as possible.

He spoke urgently, "No, I need to speak to her right away, it's very important."

"Yes sir." I hopped off my chair and grabbed Sydney's bag. Everything stopped as I climbed my way up onto the stage, out of breath from the amount of running I had done. Syd looked at me with a cocked eyebrow. "It's your father," I explained. "He says it's an emergency."

She took the phone from my hand, "Hi Daddy! ... I have some news for you too! You know Louis? The one who dresses like he owns a boat but doesn't ... Oh ... What kind? ... I'm, uhh, going to have to call you back. ... I love you too. Bye Daddy."

I watched her face as it filled with numbness. She just stared, cross-eyed, at her microphone as she slipped her phone into her pocket. "Syd, what is it?" I asked, a crowd beginning to form around us.

"Nothing, umm, are we done yet?" she dismissed me.

"Tell us," Theresa pushed, setting a hand on Sydney's shoulder.

"My mom is just sick, that's all." I took a step towards her, "Sick? How?"

"She, umm, well, she has cancer."

A simultaneous gasp irrupted around us. I could her slight mumblings of things like, "Oh my gosh" and "That's terrible". Without a thought I dropped her bag and pulled Syd close to me. Her head went into my chest and I placed one hand on her back and the other on the back of her head. At this point she was sobbing an uncontrollable amount and I could feel her tears through the fabric of my shirt. I couldn't stand to look at her, to see her in so much pain that I couldn't fix. Theresa looked at me in panic.

"I'm getting her on the next plane out," Paul spoke as he fiddled with his phone.

"Get me on that plane too," Theresa interjected. "I'm not about to let her be alone in her current state." There was a buzz about, making arrangements in a hurried manner. Everyone was moving, a grave looked planted on their faces.

"NO!" Sydney shouted, pausing us all. "I'm not going to ruin our dream."

Theresa stopped in her tracks. "Sydney Lynn Stewart, you listen to me right now. You are not 'ruining' our dream. Your family needs you right now and you will be there for them, because that's what family does. Now, I am getting on that plane home and you are coming with me whether you like it or not." Syd looked at her in shock, her facial expression resembling that of a deer in headlights.

"And you can join back on tour with us whenever everything is settled," I validated Theresa's rant. Sydney looked down is defeat as she soaked in our words.

The next hour was a whirlwind as we gathered both of their things, filled everyone in, and drove to the airport. The other boys stayed at the venue, but I refused to not be the last person who saw Sydney before she left.

Saying goodbye at the security check brought me tears, "I promise I'll call you everyday, even more then once if you need me to."

"Promise all you want, but things will change." She refuted, going back to her pessimistic ways.

"Of course things are going to change, that's life. But how much I care about you isn't, ever. I wish I could come with you and see you everyday while you're going through this, but I have obligations to the boys."

"I know, and I don't blame you, I just wish you didn't."

"So do I, but everything is going to work out in the end. If your mum is anything like you, she's a fighter. You're one of the strongest people I know, and you have to get that from somewhere. Sydney, you'll get through this and so will she. Now go, you're going to miss the plane."

She shoved her lips against mine and cameras around us began to flash rapidly. She smirked, "Now you won't be able to forget about me, we'll be all over the news!"

I snorted as she reluctantly pulled away and began her journey through the security scanner. She avoided my eyes as she walked away. One last glance as she rounded the corner spoke more words then we had ever exchanged. One tear fell on her cheek and I knew, I was in love with this girl.

Sydney's POV

I sat on the plane with my computer on my lap. I pressed play just as the live stream of the concert began. I saw all five boys walk out smiling at the crowd. I could tell they were all fake, and I wasn't sure if this pained or comforted me. I was a bit confused when they just stood their, waiting for the roaring crowd to quiet down.

Harry began to speak, "As many of you know, our mates Vaalea have been opening every night on our tour. However, Sydney's family is currently in need of her, and so the girls are flying home as I speak. Our thoughts go out to Sydney and her family. In order to show our love, we have a song for her."

The stage crew hurriedly brought out five stools and Niall's guitar. Liam spoke, "We wrote this song the night we met her. Sydney, if you're watching, we hope you come back soon. It's not the same without our little nugget." This made me giggle as the opening chords of the song were played.

Zayn opened the song, "I know you don't think that you're perfect. I know you don't think that you're worth it. Your rose tinted glasses must be scratched. Otherwise you'd see you're the perfect match."

The rest of the boys joined in for the chorus, "You're long, blonde hair sets the girl's envy on fire. Your striking blue eyes make you an object of desire. Your smile promises me you're not a liar. You make every note heavenly in the choir. Girl you have everything that I require, to fall in love with you. Oh, you do."

At this point I couldn't help but wipe the tears from my eyes as a spotlight went up on Harry, "It kills me to see that you're hurting. It kills me to see the other boys flirting. Now I know that you're not mine to protect. But I want to make sure everyone gives you respect."

The chorus repeated itself and I expected a powerful bridge by Liam or Harry, but instead it was Louis' voice that grabbed the stage, "You told me jokes that were clever. It was then I wanted to hold you forever. But the way you looked at him told me never. I can't get the feelings inside to go away. So even though it hurts, I'm here to stay. I'll be by your side until you say. You feel the same way too."

They repeated the chorus twice with some very nice harmonies and ended the song. I was about to shut down the computer, for watching them perform the rest would only create more of a waterfall on my face, but Louis spoke into the microphone once again, "Sydney is really going to kill me for this, but I don't care anymore. Sydney Lynn Stewart, I know you're watching this, and I feel this is the best way to tell you, to show that things aren't going to change because you're not here. Sydney, I love you."

I almost threw my computer into the lap of the poor man in front of me when I heard this. Louis loved me? No, no one ever loves me, and that's understandable. But if it weren't true then he wouldn't have announced it to half of the world. In groaned as I thought about the amount of hate I was soon going to receive. I couldn't help but feel a little giddy inside, however. Louis Tomlinson loved me, and I loved him too.