Anna and Kian walked into the BBC studio hand in hand, and ran into Shane in the dressing room. ‘I see things went well then.’ He said, smiling. ‘Better than ‘well’, excellent in fact. It’s amazing.’ Kian squeezed Anna’s hand. ‘Where are the rest of the guys? I’d better let them know what’s going on.’

‘Umm, Nicky’s talking to Georgie again, Mark’s in make-up and who knows where Bryan is! Probably with some girl somewhere. You know what his wicked ways are like! He’s unstoppable, he is!’ Shane laughed. ‘Typical. Look, I’d better go and get ready Anna. I want you to know that if they ask me if I’m single or not, I’m going to be honest.’ Shane left once he’d heard Kian say that. He thought that the two new lovebirds might want some time alone.

‘Do you mean it? But Ki’, I only met you this morning! What if...? Well, what if nothing happens? You’ll go off on some world tour, and maybe send me a couple of postcards, and then by the time you’re back in London and I can see you again, you’ll just about of forgotten who I am. I don’t want to be hurt.’

‘I’m not gonna hurt you baby. You can come with us! I’m more sure about me and you than I’ve been about anything else! I’ll NEVER forget you. How could I?’ ‘I can’t come with you!! What about my house? My job? My friends?’ ‘You could come with us some of the time. Think about it. Please. I’ve only known you for a few hours, but already I can’t imagine my life without you.’

Bryan burst into the dressing room, with his latest ‘acquaintance’ on his arm. ‘Ooops, sorry guys. I didn’t know you were in here.’ Bryan could hardly stand up straight. ‘Bry, have you been drinking again?’ Kian looked worried. Bryan had been spending less and less time sober recently, and it was starting to worry them all.

‘Course I’m sober! What a question! Do you think I’m drunk baby?’ He said turning to the girl with him. ‘Only as drunk as I am.’ That didn’t reassure Kian at all. ‘Bry, why don’t you go home for the rest of the day. You can’t do interviews in the state you’re in.’ ‘What do you mean? I’m fine. Never been better. Who’s your friend Ki? Not seen her before. She’s a bit of alright.’ Anna hid behind Kian. She had never imagined Bryan to be like this. She’d always thought of him as a bit of a joker, high on life.

‘Bugger off Bry. Sort yourself out. You can’t keep acting like this.’ Kian was getting upset and angry now. He could see that Anna was afraid of Bryan. ‘Don’t tell me to bugger off. I’ll do what I want. I’m going home. I can’t be arsed to do anymore today. I’ll see you tomorrow, if I feel like it.’

‘The only thing you’re going to feel like tomorrow, is crap man. Go home and sleep it off. We’ll make your excuses, but it’s the last time! We can’t keep covering up for you. It’s not fair.’ ‘Don’t do me any favours! Go off back to your own little life. I can’t be bothered with you lot anymore. None of yous. Maybe I’ll phone you sometime.’ As he and the girl walked out, he muttered under his breath, ‘Then again maybe not.’ They both laughed and staggered out of the dressing room.

‘Is Bryan okay Kian? What’s going on?’ ‘He’s drinking too much. Keeps threatening to leave, but he always keeps crawling back. He’ll come back once he’s got rid of his hangover.’

Three days later, Kian and Anna hadn’t been away from each other for more than five minutes. Kian had admitted in an interview that he was seeing someone, but no one had paid much attention. They’d all been too preoccupied with the fact that nobody had seen Bryan since he walked out on Kian and Anna the other day. They had said that he was ill, but even the rest of the band were starting to worry now.

‘Louis I know. We’re looking for him. Yes now. Shane and Nicky have gone round to his flat to see if he’s there. No, we haven’t told any of the press! What do you take us for? The only people that know are us, you and Ro, and Georgina and Anna.’ Kian smiled across the room at Anna, who was speaking quietly on her mobile. She looked up and smiled back, but she could see the tension in his face. They’d all been really stressed. And this week of all weeks. Their first time headlining at Wembley, but so far, 3 out of the 3 shows they’d done had been as a four piece. The fans thought he was ill, but the media wasn’t too convinced. Rumours were starting to fly, and Louis was getting more and more agitated as time went on.

‘Louis, listen to me! We’re doing all we can! And I don’t see you volunteering to come across from Dublin to help us, do I? I’ll talk to you anyway I want to! Look, I’ve got to go, I’ve got to cover one of Bryan’s interviews in a while. Yes, I’ll phone you as soon as there’s any news. Bye.’

Kian sat down on the sofa next to Anna and waited for her to finish on the phone. When she had, she put her phone in her bag, and lent across and kissed Kian on the cheek.

‘It’ll be okay babe. He’ll turn up. Don’t worry.’ ‘I know, I know. I’m just so tired. I’ve hardly slept.’ ‘I know. I’ve been there too. Remember?’ ‘So it’s all your fault then? You’ve been keeping me awake!’ They both managed feeble smiles, but inside, both of them knew that it wasn’t through choice that Kian had been lying awake at night.

Shane and Nicky came in through the door. ‘Where’s Mark?’ Nicky looked stressed. ‘He’s gone for a walk. To clear his head. Why, what’s wrong?’ ‘We got to Bryan’s and there was a note on the door, addressed to us all. It’s not good Ki’.’ ‘What does it say? Tell me.’ ‘I suppose you better know. We might not have long enough to wait for Mark to get back.’