"One day, we will meet Louis again. Just not today." I opened my eyes and yawned. Huh, what a strange dream. I stood up from the couch, then jumped, realizing that Harry was sitting on the other end. "Harry!" "Oh hey, Jessie." He was watching TV. "Today we mourn the death of a beloved member of One Direction," The newscaster said. "Louis-" "STAAP!!! STAAP!!! WE DON'T NEED TO HEAR IT AGAIN!!! WE KNOW LOUIS IS FRECKING DEAD AND THERE'S NOTHING WE CAN DO ABOUT IT!!!" Liam suddenly went into a rage and ran around the room shouting at the top of his lungs. "I CAN'T FIND THE REMOTE, HARRY, WHERE IS THE REMOTE?!?" "LIAM JAMES PAYNE, STOP SHOUTING!!!" Niall's stentorian voice overpowered Liam's. "For sanity's sake, Zayn's still sleeping!" "I'M NOT GONNA SHUSH UP UNTIL SOMEONE TURNS THAT THING OFF!!!" "I don't think this TV has a remote," Harry said quietly. "THEN UNPLUG IT!!! FOR PETE'S SAKE, JUST..." Liam suddenly stopped running around as he collapsed into a corner sobbing heavily. "Guys..." I said, realizing that I hadn't been dreaming. The accident was real. I sighed, putting my hands in my pockets. I felt the plastic case of my phone and pulled it out. I laughed quietly at the lock screen, which was a picture of the boys and I in a pool. Zayn was inside a pink rubber ring looking at Louis's long legs which were stretched in the direction of the bright blue sky, Harry was pointing at the camera in mid-jump with a wacky "Cameraman alert!!!" face and Niall, Liam and I were fighting with water guns. That had been one of the best days in the history of my life with One Direction, I thought, recalling how Louis had wanted a swimming party on his birthday, which was in the middle of winter. He specified that he wanted it outdoor, not cooped up in a building with millions of people. We all thought it was impossible until I remembered my best friend, Valentin Reyes, or Tin-tin as we called her. This British-Filipino girl of 21 years was my best friend who I had met back in grade school. She had lived in Europe for approximately 10 years before her family moved to the Philippines. She said that I could go visiting any time if I just gave her a ring. Since having an outdoor pool party on his birthday was Louis's dream, I decided to surprise him. I remembered the elation on his face when I told him he was gonna have an outdoor swimming party after all. He said that jet lag and all, that party was the best one he had in his whole 21 years of existence.

I snapped out of my daydream, realizing that the room had suddenly become very quiet, save for the beeping of the monitors and Liam crying. I guessed, based on Harry's huge sigh, that Harry had found the TV plug. I went over to Liam and patted his back. He looked at me and tried to smile, but as he blinked, teardrops fell heavily. "Liam, I know it's not okay. I know that the angels flew away with Louis and there's nothing we can do about it." "That's not why I'm crying." Liam said softly. "I'm just...We can't..." "We can't what?" "We can't... be One Direction without..." "Louis?" "Yeah. Or Zayn." "He's not dead, is he?" "No, but... Ask Niall." Liam stood up, went to the couch and sat next to Harry, who had somehow managed to fall asleep and was now snoring heavily. I stood up and walked over to Niall, who was leaning on his crutch and watching the sleeping Zayn. "Beep... beep... beep..." The monitor said, assuring me that Zayn's soul was still in there. "The doctors say he won't make it," Niall whispered. "But they could be wrong. If there's one thing I'm sure about, it's that he'll make it." "True," I said. "Zayn's not gonna give up without a fight." "Then again, that's what Harry said about Louis." I turned to face Niall. "Niall..." I started to say. "I miss him," Niall whispered, with passion in his voice. "Of all the people in the world, it had to be Louis! Of all the times, it had to be when the doctors thought I was dead!" His voice was steady, but his tears gave his emotions away. "We ended on such a bad note. I was screaming at Louis, saying that he was a drunk idiot and I said that I wished he was never in my life. I didn't mean it, God knows that I DIDN'T MEAN IT!!!" Niall's voice rose, then he took deep breaths, calming himself down. When he spoke, it was a gentle whisper once again. "I like Louis. He's such an idiot sometimes, but who cares? He's so special, that Louis. He's so happy, so much of a joker, so funny. I swear, as much as he gives me hell with all the mean stuff he says, that's as much laughter he's given me. No one in this whole wide world could piss me off and still make me laugh the way Louis did. Nobody compares to Lou." "Now all of my friends say it's not really worth it, but even if that's true..." I started to sing. Then Niall joined me, singing, "No one in the world could stop me from not moving on baby even if I wanted to, nobody compares to you."

Notes

Nobody Compares is one of my favorite 1-D songs, so I thought I'd use it as a reference =).