Pictures of us || BWS, The Vamps

5 | smile

"so won't you smile for me"

September 7, 2014, in the London suburbs

Alex

Yes, my mother's tears. She's very emotional, so her son's return is enough to make her cry.

And I'm in the arms of a complete stranger, remember?

In my haste, I simply stumbled across Bradley, the band's lead singer. Not so unknown after all, the 'perfect stranger'! mocks the little voice in my head. The 'perfect' has yet to be proven...

I promise you that my clumsiness has never caused me so much embarrassment.

"I know one who's happy to meet me," he laughs.

"Alex!" exclaimed my mother, still in tears. "This is no way to welcome our guests!"

As I stand up hastily, I realize that the six people around me are laughing, and I can even detect a feline sneer on Tommy's muzzle. I love being supported by my family.

"Excuse me," I say discreetly to Bradley. "That wasn't my intention."

"I can imagine," he replies with a slight smile. "Anyway, I'm Brad, nice to meet you."

I shake the hand he's holding out to me, mentally noting that the rings he's wearing are magnificent, and introduce myself in return.

"Alex"

Suddenly, I feel myself lifting off the ground, and realize that someone has come up behind me and is carrying me, half-choking me.

"Aren't you going to say hello to your favorite big brother?"

He rests me on the ground.

"I only have one brother James," I reply with a sigh, "and unfortunately it's you."

"I knew you'd missed me, little sister," he declares, this time embracing me from the front.

"I don't want to disturb you, but you'd better settle in before it's time to eat!" exclaims Anthony, addressing the boys.

"Yes, let's go!" they all replied, more or less at the same time.

Suddenly, there's no one in the hallway: the boys are upstairs. How can I tell? Their discretion and delicacy are not their first qualities, so you can hear them walking and dragging their suitcases all over the house. My father-in-law sets the table, while my mother busies herself in the kitchen. I decide to follow her to help prepare the meal - seven mouths to feed is not a small task.

Armed with a vegetable peeler and a knife, I get to work on the cucumbers and tomatoes for today's salad.

I don't notice my mother coming up to me and whispering in my ear: "I think you've caught someone's eye, darling," she says in a conspiratorial tone.

"What do you mean?" I reply, surprised by her remark.

- The brunet one, you know Bradley, he couldn't take his eyes off you," she reveals with a smile.

"Mom," I say with a sigh, "I literally fell into his arms, so of course he's staring at me wondering what a crazy person I am."

"It's true that your approach was impressive, and perhaps a little hasty, I have to admit," she said pensively.

"I didn't mean it!"

"Okay, I'll give up this time. But I'll keep an eye on you," she concludes, staring straight into my eyes.

I sigh and concentrate again on my mission: chopping vegetables.

Half an hour later, the meal is ready and everyone settles around the large dining room table.

"Eat while it's hot!" declares my mother, placing what seems to be a roast chicken on the table.

The rest of the meal goes by in a pretty convivial atmosphere: everyone chatting to everyone else, the guys telling us about their band, my mother expressing her sadness at her son's departure in two weeks' time, and dessert coming up pretty quickly.

"By the way, Alex," says my brother. "Did Mum tell you about your internship?"

"My internship?" I reply with a questioning glance at her, who simply smiles innocently in reply.

"You're going on tour with us!" continues James. "Our official photographer, Dean, has agreed to take you on as an intern and train you for three months!"

It takes a few seconds for my brain to process the information, but once it's analyzed, a big smile stretches across my face.

"Seriously?!"

I get up and run to give my brother a hug, articulating a silent "thank you" to my mother since I know for a fact that she's the one who told him about my internship search.

"Welcome to the team!" says Connor.

"You're going to have to bear us for three months, so good luck!" laughs Tristan.

A glance across the table presents me with a pleasant vision: Brad with an irresistible smile plastered on his face. He has dimples. God. Alex, don't start that again! I silence the little voice in my head.

I can't wait to see what the next few months holds for me!