Niall: “Hold tight, buddy, we’re gonna race soon!” Niall laughed, watching his little son sit in the shopping cart, smiling and clutching the wheel with tiny, chubby hands. He took a few running steps between the aisles, eliciting giggles and excited squeals from his son. “Again!” his small voice yelled, bouncing on his seat. “In a minute, bud, Daddy’s getting frozen peas for Mommy,” Niall said, smiling as he scanned the frozen pea section, confused by the sheer variety. “There’s like ten thousand different kinds of peas, Christ…” he muttered, shaking his head before grabbing a random bag and tossing it into the cart. “Okay, buddy, are you ready to rumble, James?” He looked at the empty seat, his blue eyes widening with panic. “James? Buddy, where are you?” His heart raced, hands sweating against his sweatpants. “Shit, shit, shit…JAMES? James, answer Daddy!” He ran his hands through his hair, trying to calm down, then a familiar giggle filled his ears. He turned, tracing the sound, to find James in front of the ice cream display, pressing his face against the glass, making silly faces. Niall breathed a sigh of relief, walking towards his son who was giggling to himself. “James, you can’t just leave Daddy like that! You have to stay with Daddy!” he scolded, noticing a slight tear forming in his son’s blue eyes. James sucked his lower lip, threatening to cry, and pointed at the ice cream. “Ice-cream.” Niall tried to sound stern, but seeing his son tear up over ice cream, he chuckled, scooping him into his arms and hugging him tightly. “Next time, just tell Daddy you want ice cream, okay?”
Liam: “Keep close, Maddy,” Liam warned, glancing at his four-year-old daughter who walked beside the cart, hand gripping the edge, clutching a teddy bear to her chest. Maddy nodded, keeping her eyes fixed on the cart Liam was pushing. “I want to sit, Daddy,” she whined, looking up at Liam who was cooing at the infant sleeping in the cart’s baby seat. “We’ll sit down in a minute, love, just try to hang on,” Liam smiled, stroking her head gently. He knew she missed riding in the cart before the new baby took her place, making her walk like a “big girl.” “Do you want to come on Daddy’s shoulders?” Liam asked, feeling guilty she couldn’t sit anymore. She was still Liam’s little girl. Maddy’s eyes widened, and she nodded excitedly. Liam laughed before stopping the cart in an empty aisle. “Oh, hold on, love, your brother just spit up,” Liam said, smiling as he wiped the mess off the baby’s blanket. “Ready?” he asked, turning around. “Maddy? Where did you go?” He asked, turning his head to every direction. “Maddy?” His voice shook as he ran to the next aisle, and then the next, until he saw a glimpse of a tiny girl sitting next to a stack of toilet paper, legs tucked against her chest, crying to her teddy bear. Liam sighed, a weight lifting from his heart. “Maddy?” he whispered, his eyes starting to tear up. He was so relieved to find her. “What’s wrong, baby girl? Tell Daddy, it’s okay.” Maddy lifted her head and looked at Liam kneeling beside her. “You don’t love me anymore,” she cried, her voice trembling. “You only love the new baby.” Liam sighed, tears rolling down his cheeks. “Mads, that’s not true. Daddy loves you so much, so, so much! How about we play together today, just you and me? What do you say?” Maddy nodded, letting Liam wipe away her tears. “Can we play with Barbies?” Liam chuckled at her hopeful voice. “Whatever you want, love. Now, how about that shoulder ride?”
Louis: “Tommy!” Louis called out, looking at his son, eyebrows raised. Tommy whined, putting the shower gel lid back on, making a pouty face. “How do I know if it works if I can’t try?” he pouted, earning a laugh from Louis as he guided his son through the store. “You just have to trust them, son,” he said, smiling as Tommy fired off another question, seemingly a thousandth in the small store. “But Dad, why do they make food for cats?” he asked, his small voice innocent as he scanned the shelves, confusion on his face. “So cats can eat,” Louis answered without hesitation, then stopped to check the grocery list you had given him. “What if they don’t like cat food? What if they like dog food? Are dogs allergic to cats? Dad, what is that? Dad, when I’m old enough to get a tattoo like you? Dad, how do you spell ‘bug’? Can I get candy? Dad, look, that man has no hair, let’s ask why!” Tommy jumped up and down, throwing questions in every direction, making Louis annoyed and frustrated. “Thomas Tomlinson!” Louis warned, making a funny face to try and calm his son. Tommy giggled, quieting down, then tiptoed to stare at the fish in the seafood counter. A minute later, he was gone. “Tommy?” Louis asked, a little fear building inside him. “Tommy, this is not funny! Tommy, where are you, mate?” Louis began walking around the shop, panic creeping into his nerves, when he saw his son in front of a toothbrush display. “Tommy!” Louis exclaimed, walking towards his son who was staring at the brushes. “Dad, why do we have to brush our teeth? Why is there a picture of you on that brush? When will my teeth fall out? Does Grandpa need to brush his teeth too? What about Superman? I want a brush with you on it, Daddy! Do dogs brush their teeth…”
Harry: “What do we need, Darcy? Do we need milk…yes we do,” Harry cooed to his baby, who was sitting in the cart, kicking her legs in every direction. “Come on, baby, give Daddy a hand,” Harry smiled, picking her up and placing her on her feet. She had just learned to walk, and Harry couldn’t be prouder. “Let’s go, baby girl,” Harry cheered, holding her little hand as she wobbled with her tiny feet. Harry chuckled, smiling at a few old ladies who stared at Darcy in awe. “Let’s get peanuts, okay, and bananas! You like bananas, don’t you? Say Banana. BA-NA-NA…” Darcy let out a small laugh, almost tripping, making Harry hold her tighter. “OH MY GOD, IT’S HARRY STYLES!” someone screamed, making everyone turn to look at Harry. “Great,” he mumbled, trying to pick Darcy up and keep her safe, but she wasn’t by his side anymore. “Darc?” Harry asked, shock taking over. “DARC?” He looked every direction, trying to catch a glimpse of her dark hair or hear a small whine, but everything was drowned out by screams and hugs. “Excuse me,” he said, almost rudely, pushing people aside, before running to search for his baby, his heart pounding. “DARCY?” He yelled, his voice hoarse. “DARCY?” He stopped, rubbing his face, then saw a tiny shoe peeking between the aisles. “Darcy!” Harry yelled again, running to his daughter who was sitting in front of a poster booth. She was sitting on the ground, looking at a poster of herself, eyes wide. “Oh Darcy,” Harry whispered, scooping her into his arms and hugging her tightly before kissing her head. “Bana-a,” Darcy babbled, pointing to Harry’s picture on the poster. “Baana.” “Darcy,” Harry sighed, looking at her with awe. “You just…” “BAA-A!” she screamed, smiling at her daddy whose eyes were filled with tears. “Yeah, baby girl, Daddy wants bananas, let’s go get them,” he sniffed, kissing her forehead, refusing to let her go again.
Zayn: “Dad, I’m gonna get candy!” Milo announced, smiling proudly at his dad, who was picking up dinner supplies. “All by yourself?” Zayn asked hesitantly, looking at his six-year-old, who was beaming with happiness. “Are you sure, man?” He asked, watching his son who was almost exploding with excitement. “Daddy, I’m a big boy! I’m six!” he said, looking up at Zayn, who laughed a bit before nodding. “Yeah, you can go,” he muttered, smiling as his son jumped with excitement and ran off, his power ranger sneakers gliding across the floor. Shaking his head, Zayn chuckled, grabbing milk and bread before heading to the candy aisle where Milo would be choosing his treats. “They grow up so fast,” he whispered to himself, a bit sad at how much his son had grown. Lost in thought, he didn’t realize Milo wasn’t at the candy aisle. “Milo?” he asked, turning around to see if any of the kids had his black hair and dark eyes. Zayn breathed out, panic growing quickly inside him. “Milo?” he asked again, walking to check the next aisles, but finding nothing. “This is not good,” he hissed, walking back and forth, trying to catch a glimpse of his son’s sneakers or his superman snapback. After a few minutes, he pressed his hands to his face, trying to focus, when an announcement voice filled the air: “Attention, attention, a small Milo boy is missing his father at the information counter. A small Milo boy is missing his father at the information counter. Thank you.” A smile came to Zayn’s face as he raced to the information counter where Milo was pouting, tears in his eyes. “DADDY!” he screamed the minute he saw him, running to hug him tightly. “Hi, man, what happened?” Zayn asked, trying to keep tears from his eyes. “I didn’t find you,” Milo said still hugging him tightly. “And that lady in the counter called me small.” Zayn chuckled, kissing Milo’s hair. “No more wandering off, okay? You’re six, not sixteen…”