Last First Kiss (One Direction Fan Fiction) (Charlotte's Directions Book Two)

Chapter 2

2      Charlotte POV                                            Day 1 of Tour: Salem

“No, the line starts there.”

“Where are the t-shirts?”

“What color pens: red or blue?”

“Niall needs a snack, people! Someone get the boy a SNACK!”

“Half an hour; let’s hustle!”

I stood in the center of the banquet room and watched about a hundred hotel staff members and One Direction managers rush around me. Chairs were shuffled, red velvet ropes were hung, and a platform was assembled. A long banner was hung up on the farthest wall and the lights were aimed at the sitting spot of One Direction. Of course, they weren’t there at the moment. They were somewhere upstairs getting beautified and such. I had been volunteered by Paul to do some work downstairs, but none of the busy people would even acknowledge me. All I had to do was stand back and let them do their thing.

I reached into my pocket and pulled out my cell phone. I texted my mom, letting her know we had made it to Salem and all.

“Hey! Hey you!” Someone hollered. I looked up from my phone in a panic. “Yeah you! Get off your ass and do something!”

My cheeks got hot. “Sorry, I was just- sorry,” I rambled.

“JUST KIDDING!” The voice laughed. I finally saw Louis standing with Niall in the far corner of the room. His hands were cupped around his mouth to yell at me.

I jogged over. “That was a pretty good American accent,” I smiled.

“Oh yeah,” he shrugged. “One of my many talents, you know.”

“More like your only talent,” Niall mumbled. Louis hit him in the arm.

Paul walked up, wearing a dark jacket and jeans. “Come on boys,” he said. “The fans will be here in a few minutes.”

“What’s the plan, again?” Niall asked.

Paul pointed to a set of doors in the back. “You’ll all come in from back there after the fans get here. Then we spend about four hours with the meet and greet at that table,” He directed his finger to the platform with the table. “Then we sing a quick song and say goodbye. After that we head off to LA.”

“LA goes after food,” Louis corrected.

“Right,” Paul smiled. “We visit the market then we hit the highway.”

“What about Charlotte?” Niall asked.

Paul said, “You guys can make a quick introduction at the beginning if you want. The press will be here of course, so make sure to mention the contest and all.”

I bit my lip.

Niall came up behind me and started to massage my shoulders. Thousands of pleasant tickles went up and down my arms. I closed my eyes. Louis and Paul’s footsteps faded away along with the sounds of their conversational voices. I leaned my head back against Niall’s chest, keeping my eyes shut.

“They’re going to love you,” he whispered in my ear. I nodded reluctantly, swallowing a lump in my throat. “I know I do,” He added.  I lightly opened my eyes to stare into his. His arms snaked around my waist from behind; his open palms resting on my stomach. I stood on my toes, reaching up to kiss his pale pink lips.

“Five minutes, people!” Some bossy man yelled.

“No,” I groaned, not wanting to let Niall go. I reached up. I wrapped my backwards arms around his neck. He smiled, parting our lips just slightly.