Then There Were Four

Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Dee and I sit in a café near her work at a quarter past five in the morning. It's a Starbucks - Dee insisted. We're both on our phones, going through our social media and updating statuses as fast as we can before the Free Wi-Fi limit is up. We're supposed to meet Carly here so we can go to Falmer Stadium together. Being at a coffee shop this early is not a common occurrence of ours - hell, waking up this early is not a common occurrence of ours (hence the need for a coffee shop) - but we have vowed to get the best spots in the stadium. Our glittery blue cardboard poster leans against our table.

I stop scrolling through Twitter. "Where is she?" I ask Dee, my leg bouncing. Carly is late and I'm worried that we won't get to our optimum position in the stadium.

"I've just texted her, she's almost here. Calm down."

"I'm calm."

She holds my leg down. "No, you're not. I don't think you should have had that second cup of coffee."

"I'm tired, okay? And we have a long day ahead of us."

She sighs. "I know."

The Starbucks we're in is practically empty. There's only one other occupied table and it's deep in the shadows of the otherwise brightly lit room, and only a mysterious man dressed all in black sits at it, sipping his coffee and typing on his laptop. There are two female waiters who talk quietly to each other behind the counter. It is a very sombre, stagnant morning.

I strain to see out of the window for the umpteenth time, only to discover, yet again, that I'm staring at a reflection of myself. It's so early that it's still dark outside and the lights within the room work against my quest to find Carly.

Dee is wearing black tights, a lacy blue dress, flat blue shoes and a black cardigan with light makeup and heavy jewellery while I am dressed in a red long-sleeved dress and low black heels with light makeup and light jewellery. We thought of changing our outfits to be more One Direction-oriented but decided that we didn't want to be "1D af" when we see "1D irl" - Dee's words.

The sound of a door opening grabs my attention. Carly flourishes into the café and the few people there turn to look at her. I've only met her a few times but every time I do, I am stunned by her beauty. She has beautifully wavy long blonde hair, she has bright blue eyes, she is thin but not bony and she knows exactly how to dress herself. She's wearing a deep green dress with black ballet flats and emerald jewellery. Everything about her just looks so perfect.

It makes me nervous to think that I'm going to meet the boys with her. They'll never look twice at me when they see her. I push these thoughts out of my mind and plaster a smile on my face. You have to stay positive.

"Sorry I'm late," she says, coming to our table.

"No, it's okay. We got to have some coffee," Dee replies.

Carly starts putting her belongings onto our table as I start to collect mine. I hesitate.

"Hi, Kelly. It's nice to see you again."

"It's great to see you too but we really have to get going," I say, standing up.

"Okay, I'm just going to order a coffee quick." She goes to the counter.

I huff. "Calm down, Kell. We'll be fine," Dee reassures me.

"You're right. We're early. We'll be fine. We have to stay positive," I say, mustering a grin.

***

The concert was unbelievable.

We spent the entire day in a sequence of queues, having constantly moved around thanks to the unorganised staff. But we met up with old friends and made new ones, with hollow promises of "Let's make plans!" and "Lunch on Friday?" We lazed around for hours at a time but stood with stranger-on-stranger contact for hours too.

Because we got there early, we weren't right at the back but because we hadn't camped out overnight (like some girls we met who were ahead of us), we weren't right at the front. We were a few rows of people away from the centre catwalk but not too far from the main stage, so we had an amazing view of the boys.

The entire day was mainly waiting then screaming and dancing with bouts of claustrophobia. But it was the best experience of my life.

I don't know what I was so worried about - Dee and I had everything prepared (at least more than other people who were complaining about sore ears and grumbling stomachs), we knew every word of every song and we were pretty sure Josh Devine saw our poster. Josh freaking Devine.

The opening act was 5 Seconds of Summer and I loved them. I can't say that I'm a part of the 5SOS fam (I don't think I'd be able to handle being in both fandoms) but I love their music and - I must say - they're all pretty gorgeous.

The Twitter questions - although none of my thousands of tweets made it - were hilarious and when Harry changed the lyrics in Better Than Words, I nearly died of laughter.

The absolute best part was when they all come onto the catwalk part of the stage and Liam reached out towards our section during his solo in Story of My Life. I can honestly say that I screamed my heart out.

Carly, Dee and I follow the signs towards the Meet and Greet area. Carly and Dee are recounting parts of the show whereas I am struggling not to vomit out the carefully rationed food we'd had throughout the day.

I am about to meet One Direction.

Carly pokes me in the arm. "Kelly?"

I look over at her. Dee catches sight of my expression.

I am about to meet One Direction.

She stops us. "Kelly. Look at me." She places her hands on both of my cheeks and makes me look into her eyes. "It's going to be fine." I can tell she is worried I might have a panic attack. I am a little worried too. This may ruin our meeting and make her hate me for the rest of our lives.

But all I can think is, I am about to meet One Direction.

We've arrived at large double doors with a sign on the wall saying 'Meet & Greet.' Carly walks to the desk on the side and gives the bouncer the three tickets she has in hand. She is given a sheet of paper with a number on it - 28.

"It's going to be better than fine. It's going to be great," Dee reassures me again.

Carly opens the large double doors and we walk into a fluorescently lit room. Both the clinical seating arrangements and the anxious atmosphere make me feel like I am walking into a hospital waiting room. There are at least 50 people in it already - mostly girls but there are a few boys - and the room is eerily quiet. The only people talking are nervously whispering to one another. Carly finds us seats and Dee drags me into the room.

I am about to meet One Direction.

"I am about to meet One Direction," I say out loud, trying to convince myself that this is reality.

Dee grabs my shoulders and says, "Yes, you are and it's going to be great."

I finally smile. "I am about to meet One Direction."

She beams back at me and puts her head on my shoulder in a hug. "Yes, you are, Kell."

"We are about to meet One Direction." I look at Carly over Dee's shoulder.

She's grinning so widely it looks like it might hurt. "Yeah, we are," she replies.

We are about to meet One fucking Direction.

~~~

Hey everyone!

So, I had written this chappie before I'd gone to the concert and when I re-read it, it was actually quite close to the experience I'd had, which was pretty awesome because I'd never been to an actual stadium concert before then, so that was surprising!

I hope you're enjoying this so far! If you are, please let me know by voting or commenting? I'd really appreciate it!

Love you for reading!

~Rea xx