UPDATE: According to Billboard, a representative for the band is declining to comment.

Directioners got a scare back in June, when UK tabloid The Sun reported that One Direction were "to go on a break after promoting the fifth album next year, possibly with a number of live dates around the world.” Reps for the band soon shut the rumor down, telling Billboard it was "all speculation and not based on any facts." Fans drew a collective sigh of relief, their current tour rolled on, and the world saw their new, Zayn-free "Drag Me Down" video.

Today (August 23) The Sun reported a markedly similar new story, saying they won't even tour in support of the fifth album — and that their last pre-hiatus show will be their final On The Road Again tour date, at Motorpoint Arena in Sheffield on October 31. "It is definitely not a split and they fully intend to get back together at some time in the future," the Sun's source claimed. But the tabloid had cried wolf before, and 1D fans weren't buying it.

Yet the story has gained steam this second time around, and now People is making the same unfortunate claim: A source tells them the band's hiatus will begin in March of 2016, and Liam, Harry, Louis and Niall will take "at least a yearlong break to pursue their own projects." According to this report, the band will promote the fifth album — due out later this year — through February 2016. After that...we'll get an album of Niall's solo acoustic guitar ballads? Just guessing.

There's no official comment from the band as of yet, but then again, it took them awhile to acknowledge Louis Tomlinson's father-to-be status too. While this open-ended break could indeed signal the end of an astoundingly successful five year run, it may usher in a new period of (solo) creativity for the band's four remaining members. And that's a good thing...right?

See Photos of One Direction Through the Years

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