Louis Tomlinson's Birthday Is Hitting Us Hard This Year as We Say Goodbye to One Direction 

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Louis Tomlinson\'s Birthday Is Hitting Us Hard This Year as We Say Goodbye to One Direction

When Louis Tomlinson blows out his birthday candles this year, can

After starting this year not really caring what the members of One Direction were up to on any substantial level, we\'re ending 2015 feeling rather bummed that the pop heartthrobs are going their separate ways for an indefinite period of time.

, they\'re calling it. And while we cynically didn\'t believe that for a second when they first announced their intention to take a break, what with the luck-of-the-draw way the insanely successful boy band started out in the first place, we\'re now vehemently hoping that Louis, Harry Styles, Liam Payne and Niall Horan find their way back to each other sooner rather than later.

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First of all, happy birthday to Louis today as he turns 24. The lad from Doncaster with the David Beckham voice and devil-may-care shag is wrapping up one of his more life-changing years, to be followed by a most momentous 2016 as he becomes a first-time dad. 

Barely more than a boy himself, Louis offered on

this past summer that he was "buzzing" with excitement, but otherwise we\'re guessing we won\'t be hearing too much more from him about fatherhood until he\'s actually walked a few miles in those shoes—or, better yet, changed a few nappies.

VIDEO: Watch the guys shoot for the moon in their "Drag Me Down" video

But while One Direction\'s break is perfectly timed for paternity leave, it also seems to be coming at a time when they\'re gelling more than ever as a group.

Maybe it was how they calmly rode out Zayn Malik\'s exit and it

turn into the beginning of the end, plus they\'ve handled what could have turned weird (what Twitter tried its 

They\'re also actually growing up, and now that they\'re no longer a bunch of teenagers they can\'t help but be appealing to scads more people.

Or maybe it\'s because they knew a break was coming so they were extra relaxed and had a rejuvenated skip in their step (sort of like Jon Stewart\'s new lease on B.S.-bashing after announcing he was leaving

), but their appearances in the last half of 2015 were spot-

Big props to James Corden for picking up the Zayn-less pieces right away, gathering the group for dodgeball, tattoo roulette and, most recently, a killer edition of Carpool Karaoke and a bonus holiday-themed ride-along as well.

We\'re starting to suspect that these blokes actually really like each other...

That could be the magic of television coercing us into drinking the Kool-Aid, but more and more, 1D is growing on us.

READ: 18 ways to pay homage to One Direction during their hiatus

Well, not away-away. Harry, Louis, Niall and Liam will still be hard-pressed to shake the paparazzi from their tails (in descending order of how they\'re listed), what with Harry\'s everything-about-him; Louis\' baby on the way; Niall\'s recent tendency to look cozy with Selena Gomez and Liam\'s...well, look at him. Aren\'t 

But of course there\'s a chance that the story of their life as a group is coming to an end.

All of them seem to be interested in pursuing music on their own, though they haven\'t been too specific, coyly telling the media that they\'re just really excited to see what they come up with on their own—in the studio

in life, considering they spent five very formative years commercially joined at the hip.

"The team knew they had to come up with a solution," an insider told E! News back in August. "Five years dealing with the kind of schedule they were on, there was a danger it was becoming too much."

"They really do get on well," a source also said at the time. "They genuinely care about one another. This has been a crazy ride for all of them and they went through it as a family. They are not done working together yet."

Well, consider us hopeful that the guys don\'t enjoy their break

"I think it\'s going to be interesting for all of us," Louis mused on

. "It\'s going to be interesting just to see what each of us do as individuals and, you know, throughout the break. I think it\'s going to be cool."

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TAGS/ One Direction , Louis Tomlinson , Birthdays , Harry Styles , Niall Horan , Liam Payne , Top Stories

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