A Love, a Lie and a False Identity (Louis Tomlinson)

Charlie

Chapter 4

Charlie

          ‘You’ve got everything then? Passport, ticket, money?’ My mother asked, fretting over me, adjusting the strap on my rucksack and straightening my cardigan.

          ‘Yes, mum, stop worrying I’ll be fine,’ I said softly, knowing this would be hard for her. I had never been away from home before and even if I was twenty, it was probably still hard for her to see me leave for a while.

          ‘Call me when you get there, ok?’ she said as the tannoy above us announced that our plane was boarding. I quickly promised and hugged my mother goodbye before heading over and handing my ticket in. Laura and Katherine stood behind me, giggling with excitement.

          ‘It’s really happening! God I can’t wait to see London, all those famous landmarks, so much history and-’

          ‘-Shopping!’ Katherine squealed over Laura’s speech. The blonde shot her an annoyed glance but didn’t say anything. ‘Oxford Road, here I come!’

          ‘You have such a one track mind, Katherine, seriously. And its Oxford Street, dummy,’ Laura laughed, and I chuckled alongside her. I couldn’t blame her for being so excited, this was the biggest thing any of us had ever done.

          ‘Think of all the exciting things that might happen to us while we are out there! Who we might meet!’ I thought about all the famous authors wandering the streets of London, their imagination overflowing with ideas on each step. And now I had the chance to bump into them! Of course I wasn’t naïve enough to think I would meet a real celebrity, someone so well known that everywhere they go people are chanting their names and screaming for an autograph. But to meet anyone in the industry I so desperately wanted to be a part of; that would be incredible.

          ‘This is going to be amazing!’ Katherine was still squealing, and I grinned fondly at my best friend. She had always been the light hearted of our group, always able to brush anything off and with a smile on her face. Laura was more of the down to earth kind of girl, always facing a problem with simplicity and logic. She was my rock, who kept me level headed as I tended to be the dreamer of the group. My mind was always off somewhere, my imagination running wild with thoughts and stories about far off places and life changing experiences. That was why I wanted to be a writer; I wanted to share all these stories with other people so they could enjoy them as I had done.

          ‘Calm down, we aren’t even on the plane yet,’ Laura said, rolling her blue eyes.

          ‘I know, but this is our first ever plane flight!’ Katherine countered, and I smiled, watching my two best friends discussing it as I tied my light brown hair into a high topknot on top of my head and away from my face. However, the always persistent few strands of hair slipped out and fell in front of my grey eyes. Blowing them impatiently, I handed what was left of my ticket to the air hostess who grinned at me in almost alarming sort of way before directing me down the plane. Honestly, what other way was I going to go? Thank goodness she was there, I would never have found my seat otherwise.

          ‘I can’t believe you are listening to them again,’ Laura said once the terrifying experience of take-off had happened. I felt like my stomach was still back on the runway.

          ‘Listening to who?’ I asked, leaning across Laura and looking at Katherine who had her headphones in. I poked her and she jumped, looking across at me with wide eyes.

          ‘What?’

          ‘Who are you listening to?’ I repeated, and Laura rolled her eyes at me.