One Direction: Dare to Dream: Life as One Direction (17 page)

Everyone in the family was incredibly supportive. Sometimes my mom or dad would talk about the show and ask what would be coming next. I know they missed me being at home because I was always such a family guy. Going out never interested me, I was happiest at home with my family, so I know it feels weird for them that I’m not around.

My friends Anthony and Danny haven’t changed a bit either. They don’t even think about me being in the band. They still say I can go and stay with them whenever I want to and we’ll play Xbox. They don’t want anything from me.

I think some of my extended family find it hard because they don’t want to seem like they’ve changed. If they do something for me they don’t want me to think they’re doing it just because I’m in the band, when actually it’s the same things they’ve always done for me. Fame can do funny things to people’s minds and people sometimes overcompensate when they don’t need to.

The only time I really noticed a difference over Christmas was when I took my older sister shopping for her present. She’d always wanted a pair of Uggs but we’d never been able to afford them, so we went into Leeds to look for some. I didn’t realize how recognizable I had become, but literally one person clocked me and the next thing the entire shopping center came to a standstill. There was a line of people waiting to take photos of me and I was like “What the hell is going on?” My sister found it really weird as well, because I’m just her little brother! Sometimes I think it’s even harder for your family to get their heads around it than it is for you.

I appreciate getting to spend time with my family so much more now, because when I do go home it’s so fleeting that I make the most of every minute. That’s what made Christmas so nice. We all spent as much time together as we could and we had a brilliant time.

I stayed in touch with the boys a lot over Christmas. We were like big girls, saying, “I miss you. Are you okay? What are you up to? Love you.” We had spent so much time together that it felt weird to be apart. It was like being away from my family all over again in a way.

Not many fans came around over Christmas—I don’t think they knew where I lived—but since then there have been quite a few things posted through the letterbox and on Valentine’s Day loads of stuff got delivered. There have also been some girls shouting up at my sister’s bedroom window because they thought it was mine, but I think generally my family have been able to get on with things pretty much as normal.

Interestingly, a few girls from school who were always the popular ones are now being very friendly towards me. I used to do alright with the girls anyway, but I still had to make an effort. Not any more. It does make you realize what the fame card does for you, but I’m very aware who is good for me and who isn’t and I know who I can trust.

Christmas was kind of a double celebration for me and the boys because we knew we’d got a record deal, which was just incredible. Once we came off stage after finding out we came in third in
The X Factor
we were all in a bit of a state. I told myself I wasn’t going to cry, but I looked over at Harry and he was with his mom crying his eyes out and that set me off. Harry and I were hugging and full-on sobbing. Someone said to us: “This isn’t the end, this is just the beginning.” But we had no idea what was going to happen.

I think as much as anything we were crying because the show was coming to an end. We were used to the safety and security of it and knowing what we were going to be doing each day, and all of a sudden it was over. That part of our lives was finished, even if our career wasn’t.

Niall was also in tears, but Louis was trying to make us feeling better by saying we’d be okay. Liam was being level-headed about it. He’s been told “no” a few times before, so he was kind of used to it, but we were all gutted.

We got called up to Simon’s dressing room and then came a classic Simon moment. We all sat there and he was looking at us and it felt like we were back at Judges’ Houses again. Then all of a sudden he said: “You were great on the show. Sony are going to sign you up in the morning.” Harry started crying again and we sat there in absolute shock. Simon hugged us all and said: “You’re going to be alright, don’t worry about coming third.” Then we all went back downstairs to the bar. We were allowed to tell our families but no one else, and we were on such a high.

We played a lot of gigs once the series finished and it was all new for me. I’d never even been to a nightclub before, although my friends used to go, so it was yet another new experience for me.

In all fairness I lived a very quiet, boring and sheltered life before the band. I enjoyed the simple things, like being at home in my room playing computer games, so absolutely everything that happened was a learning curve.

I loved doing gigs right from the start. I loved the buzz of being on stage and seeing the fans. The reaction we got was unbelievable. The under 18s nights were mad, but after the first few times we knew what to expect.

PLANS AND PLAY

I knew that by the time New Year’s Eve rolled around I’d be wanting to celebrate everything that had happened. I planned on staying in with my friends and having a few drinks and a quiet night, but it didn’t quite work out like that. As I’ve said before I’ve never been one for going out a lot, but if there was ever a time to go out and have fun, this was it. Funnily enough I got invited to a lot of parties by people—some I didn’t even know that well.

My friends were up for going out and in the end we had a bit of a crazy night and I woke up on someone’s bathroom floor. I got up and walked home and it was the first time I’d felt normal for ages. After getting so used to being in cars all of the time it was nice to be out in the fresh air, just wandering along on my own.

After New Year’s I headed back down to London. Once again it was hard saying goodbye to everyone, but I was excited about what 2011 would bring. We had a meeting to discuss our schedule for the year, which looked amazingly busy. It was difficult to get our heads around how much we had going on.

We all moved into a hotel, and we’ve basically moved around different hotels ever since. We’re all planning to get our own places but there just hasn’t been time yet. We did talk about all living together, but as we spend every minute together anyway we decided it might not be the best idea. Liam wants to move in with his friend, and Harry’s moving in with Louis. But Niall’s full-on and I’m quiet so we agreed we were better not moving in together. There was no drama; we were just totally honest about it. So we’re both looking for our own places now.

It’s going to be a big thing for me moving into a new place in a new area on my own. Up till now I’ve never lived in London, I’ve never lived on my own and I’ve obviously never been famous, so I’m kind of doing everything at once. But it will be nice to live out of a wardrobe again instead of a suitcase. I have gotten very good at packing, but it’s much more comforting when you knew where everything is and you’ve got a base, so having a place will make a big difference.

We spent most of January either doing gigs or starting work on the album in various recording studios. For me, the best part of being in the band is the time we spend in the studio. I love the whole lifestyle of us all hanging out together and ordering in pizza! The studio is much more fun when you’re in a band because you’ve always got someone to mess around, play games and do some writing with. We’re co-writing a lot of the album, which I love because I’ve always been into writing poetry. To me writing a song is the same as writing poetry, with a melody in the background. Studio life for me is perfect.

In February we headed to LA to do some work on the album, which was absolutely crazy. It’s a different world out there, though at one point I was worried I wasn’t even going to get into the country. All the other guys went through passport control fine, then a woman stopped me, called over our tour manager Paul and said: “There’s a problem with him. He needs to go in the back.” They took me into a room and I thought they were going to keep me there for hours, but thankfully the women who came to talk to me knew who Simon Cowell was and knew I was in a band. In the end I was interviewed for an hour about what I was doing there and why I was visiting America. It turned out that my name was flagged up as similar to that of someone they were looking for, so they were just being cautious. I got stopped at customs as well, but again I got through okay as the guy there was really nice. It was then that LA really began for me.

Everything in LA is so much bigger than in the UK. The roads are about five times the size, and even a regular takeout is like a large over here. A large is like a bucket. When we arrived at the hotel this man greeted us at the door saying: “Oh my god, the boys are here. Whaddup? Come inside.” People were walking along the street giving out water and telling you to have a nice day. Can you imagine anyone doing that in the UK? Everything seems sugar coated over there.