Strangers - a Brad Simpson fanfic (sequel to Be Alright)

Familiar faces

"Happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you, happy birthday dear Arianna, happy birthday to you!" I was surrounded by friends and family as I grinned and blew out the candles on the cake that sat in front of me.

"Thanks, guys." I looked up and smiled at every one, stood around the table, all eyes on me.

"Now for your present!" Daniel almost squealed as he skipped out of the room in excitement.

I honestly couldn't wait for this gift. Daniel and Cameron had been bugging it up for months to me, constantly going on about how amazing it is. Apparently it took them and Dad all year to pay for it.

Then, Daniel came running back into the room, carrying a small envelope. He handed it to me, still giddy with excitement.

"Open it!" my dad grinned at me.

Slowly, I peeled open the envelope, not knowing what I'd find...

"Oh my God!" I yelled, jumping up out of my seat and throwing myself into a hug with my dad. Plane tickets! To New York!

They know it's always been my dream to visit NYC since I was a little girl, and they've finally made it come true. I get to leave here, boring old Kansas, for a WHOLE week.

"Thank you! Thank you so much!" I squealed as Dan and Cameron joined the hug.

I can't even begin to think how hard they had to work to get the money to pay for this trip. We're not exactly the richest family in the world and my brothers only have small jobs. And my dad... Well, he's supposed to be dead, so he's slightly unemployable. He probably spent a lot of time running errands for people to get some money.

"You're welcome, Arianna. I think we owe you. Anyway, get upstairs and get packed, we're leaving tomorrow!" Cameron smiled at me. I nodded in response and ran up the stairs, frantically searching for my suitcase and things to put in it.

First day in NYC

"I wanna go to Times Square!" Cameron exclaimed, like an excited little girl.

"Cam, this is Arianna's trip. She decides." my dad replied sternly.

"No, no. I wanna go to Times Square." I smiled.

"Okay then, let's go."

We hopped on a subway train and made our way to Times Square. I pulled my phone out of my pocket and quickly checked Facebook as we were waiting for our stop. Yes, for the first time in my life, I was allowed to have some form of social networking site! No more secret, protected life.

Once we got of the train, Cameron and I practically ran out of the station and into Times Square.

"Ahhhh! It's so pretty!" said Cameron, as he pulled out his camera and started taking pictures immediately. But, my attention was drawn somewhere else.

Just across the road from the station was a small crowd of girls, making a commotion over something. I couldn't quite see what, though. But something else lead me to be curious - I swear I recognised someone in the middle of the crowd.

"Hey, I'll be right back, I'm just gonna cross the road and get some more pictures." I smiled at Cameron, Daniel and dad. They gave me a look of approval and I crossed the road as quickly as I could.

As I approached the crowd of girls, I still couldn't tell what they were fussing over. Probably because I'm short and unable to see over their heads.

That's when someone called my name - from inside the crowd.

"Arianna?" I couldn't tell who the voice was coming from. I did recognise it, though.

Then I realised who had called me, as they pushed their way out of the girls. "James?" I raised my eyebrows as he just looked at me blankly.

That's when it happened.

An arm reached out and nudged James out of the way. That familiar curly hair was the first thing I saw. It looked different than how I remember, though. It was all pushed back and styled like a quiff. Then the rest of him appeared... And there he was. Stood right in front of me. Almost a year later. I didn't know if I believed what I saw...

But it was real. It was Brad. And all these girls... They were here for him. For him and his band.