Read One Direction: Dare to Dream: Life as One Direction for Free Online Page B

sadly she couldn’t make it.

    We stayed in this massive hotel called the W, and we used to get up every morning and hang out by the pool. We were there to work but there was no set schedule, so it ended up being more like a guys’ holiday at times. We went shopping and I bought loads of sneakers. No one bought as much as Louis, though, because he’s got a shopping addiction. Zayn and I nearly made us late for our plane because we’d been taken out shopping and we got stuck in loads of traffic. We ended up rushing and panicking, but we just made it in time.
     
    While we were in LA we went out to dinner with a massive producer called Max Martin and we did some recording with RedOne’s crew. I remember thinking, “Wow, it’s got to this.”
     
    The weirdest thing that happened in LA was finding fans waiting for us at the airport when we arrived, which we weren’t expecting at all. They’d checked us out on YouTube and come along to see us, and they had a big banner and everything.
     
    Our arrival home was the craziest thing I’ve ever experienced. There’s only one way out of Heathrow, and it’s the area where all of the celebs get papped. There was literally a wall of fans, so we had to go out of the main entrance and then slip out of a side door and run with hardly any security. I got hit in the face by mistake in the scuffle and some of the other guys had clothes ripped off.
     
    When the police riot van arrived we had to run from this parking booth we were hiding in and try and get into the back of it, but someone had hold of my hood so I ended up being squashed up against the side of the van. In the end someone grabbed me and threw me into the back of the van. We drove off withlights flashing and siren sounding, so it was all quite dramatic. At that point we hadn’t even released a song yet, so it was the maddest thing.

     
    The best thing about the tour is that we got to see loads of the fans, which I loved. Everyone is always really nice and friendly. Sometimes we get shielded from it, but we would always rather go and meet them. If they’re waiting at a gate at a gig we always want to go out and say hello, but sometimes the people looking after us don’t think it’s safe, so we can’t, which is a shame.
     
    We do have the best fans ever. I know all bands probably think that, but for instance Louis put on Twitter the other day that he wanted some Curiously Cinnamon cereal—and someone brought some to the hotel! It’s amazing. It can be strange waking up to people screaming at 7 am, but we love it.
     
    Even most guys are nice to us. I was in a restaurant the other day and these guys came over and they were chatting to me about the band and being really supportive. It’s a shame when people aren’t supportive, because at the end of the day we’re just nice, ordinary guys, and we’ve come from nothing and worked really hard to be here. If they were in this position, they’d feel exactly the same way.
     
    The funny thing about fame is that I don’t think there’s ever a moment where you actually stop and think, “I’m famous now.” There are moments that you have on stage or in the studio that are amazing, but it never really hits home. I remember being on stage in Birmingham and the lights were on the audience and I was looking out at them thinking, “This is my job. I don’t care what it takes, I’m not going to stop doing this.” Equally, when I’m in the studio I’ll find myself standing there smiling at nothing—just because I’m so happy to be there.
     
    We did our tour rehearsals at a place called Light Structures. It was quite challenging as we had to learn dance routines and everything. I’d done somedancing when I was younger, but we were learning so many new things. We were even told to try and walk a little sexily and I think we all found that quite embarrassing at first.
     
    Zayn’s dancing has actually got really good and he dances around all the time now. He’s