"In everyone's life, at some time, our inner fire goes out. It is then burst into flame by an encounter with another human being. We should all be thankful for those people who rekindle the inner spirit."
- Albert Schweitzer
[trigger warning: this s...
It's the 2022 kickoff of love on tour and we've all come out. Normally it'll be just me alone at a show, hanging around inconspicuously and enjoying the performance. But tonight, tonight is different. Gemma is here, just a few seats away with her boyfriend. To my left is my best friend Taylor. Taylor has been bugging me to come to a Harry show together since the day we met. She's a lifelong fan, right since the X factor days. Her commitment to being a fan is unparalleled. To my right is my boyfriend of 5 years Charlie, who is very out of place, but desperately trying to hide it. Next to him is sweet lovely Ricky, Taylor's boyfriend. A devoted puppy in human form. He's more free, hands in the air, enjoying the vibes.
Harry's out there, his blue and yellow outfit glowing from even way back where we are sat. I can see from here how happy he is to be back out performing. It's a big day. The start of this leg of the tour, the first solo stadium show, the set list is perfect and the man cannot stop grinning. The crowd is electric, I can feel the buzz in the air and it's thrilling. I look over to Gemma as music for a sushi restaurant ends and the pair of us share a look of sheer pride. Along with Harry, I've known Gemma my entire life. I can see everything she's feeling with just a glance at her face. She beams back at me and that's the only communication we need. That's the ease with knowing someone so well, words are not needed.
Taylor on the other hand, my sweet lovely Taylor has not stopped screaming for a full 5 minutes. She's wearing her cowboy hat, there's glitter covering half of her face and a shining childlike joy in her eyes. I'm glad we've decided to do this together. It's a core memory we will share for the rest of our lives. She has met Harry before, briefly. At my birthday dinner my first year of uni and once when Harry had come home to London and she came with us to an art exhibition. He had liked her, knew that I had become extremely close to her over the years, but still kept his distance. As he so often did with new people.
As Golden begins, she grabs my hand and we dance together. Ricky looks on laughing and doing his own little moves whilst Charlie just smirks over, his pint of beer almost permanently stuck to his lips. I know this move. This is to keep his hands busy. He doesn't know what else to do with his body. It's not that he hates being here, I swear. He's just a little reserved, not used to letting go around so many people.
Somewhere in the middle of the set, Harry begins having longer chats to the crowd. We sing happy birthday to one fan. He reads signs from others. Harry proceeds to tell the crowd that his sister is in attendance tonight. He points her out and Gemma grins and waves around. And then Harry tells everyone his oldest friend is in the crowd tonight.
"Give it up for Addy, Glasgow!" He shouts.
On the big screens I can see that cheeky sparkle in his eye and he laughs to himself. He knows I'm a bit uncomfortable with this but always loves to tease me. If I told him to stop, he would of course. You see, our relationship has always been playful, teasing each other and taking the mick. He points in my direction and oh great! There's my image flashing on the screen. Taylor is waving enthusiastically towards the crowd whilst I roll my eyes playfully and then wave in Harry's direction.
The show is fantastic. I hold on to Taylor as she cries through fine line, we dance through canyon moon and spin around together through satellite. Even by the end Charlie has loosened up. He's dancing, singing out and I'm thrilled to see his smile. It's been hidden away for a while. I've missed it.
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