Look Alive, Sunshine - Michael Clifford

4

The first time I experienced Michael Clifford's face in my crotch wasn't exactly how I'd imagined it - not that I'd imagined it at all. Legs flailing, the poor boy tried to lift his head, half stuck over the back of his previous seat. I didn't know what I was supposed to do, or how I was supposed to react, so I awkwardly stayed in place and waited for the ridiculously buff security guard to remove the excitable band member from the zip on my shorts. If my mother had been able to keep her vulgarity to herself for a couple of hours, we never would have been in this mess; he wasn't even all that attractive. It must have been the fame (and the age) that she'd been drawn to... so creepy.

Upon being removed from my legs, Michael actually seemed like an alright guy. I had to admit that I preferred Calum, who was easier to talk to, but he was definitely quite the character. "Your mum is terrifying. No offence."

"I'd love to be able to say she's not always like this, but she is," I said, shaking my head. It would have been great to have had a soccer mum, in a happy relationship with our dad, doting on Ellie and I. Unfortunately, things didn't quite work out how we wanted them to sometimes. I could't complain; we always had what we needed. "I feel for you, Anna, I really do." His expression expressed permanent mental scarring, but in a somewhat humorous way. "Though, if your mum had been polite and... normal... I wouldn't have ended up face first in your crotch, would I?" I wasn't sure whether I was supposed to be disgusted or humoured, but the playful movement of his eyebrows was a dead give-away - I laughed and shook my head, earning a glare from my mum. What was her problem? 

While the ghost train had been inexplicably 'fun', it only lasted thirteen and half minutes (according to Ellie). "Can we find a hook a duck?" Ashton whined, clearly showing that he was, theoretically, the baby of the group. If given the chance, we probably could have been pretty good friends... except he was famous and I was the tag along big sister on the Make a Wish day out with 5SOS. "You can't just play hook a duck everywhere we go." 

"Calum, you're a fun sucker." I stated, the bravest I'd probably ever been. I still wasn't sure if I was actually allowed to talk to them. "Excuse you!"

"I agree with her," Luke mentioned, raising his hand meekly. The fact that he'd backed me up on insulting his best friend made me feel a lot better about the whole situation; if Luke did it, too, I would't get into trouble... right? "Mikey, they're bullying me."

"Maybe you should have thought of the consequences before you decided to be such a buzzkill."

In the end, we came to the conclusion that Calum was boring and sent Ashton and Luke with Ellie to find Ashton's beloved hook a duck stall. "Do not get lost." Michael said to Ashton, pretty sternly, as if he'd had to go over this a million times before. His loose blonde curls bounced as his head shot up, face enclosed in a frown. You really would never believe he was the eldest of the four. "It only happened one time."

"It happened seven times and you cried th-"

"They don't need to know that!" I couldn't tell whether or not it had been staged, but Ellie was in her element. I'd never seen her eyes light up so brightly. Not since she got sick. Michael rolled his eyes, adding to the possible authenticity. "I'm adding you to a group chat with all of us in it," Michael stated, pulling out his pretentiously expensive phone. His eyes flickered up to mine for a moment and, honestly, I was starting to see my mother's appeal. They were a ridiculous colour - grey and green with little flecks of panic and adventure - and ever so slightly vitreous, but not so much that they'd glazed over. "What's your last name?"

"Niamh."

"En ee ee vee?" I shook my head and spelled it out for him - he looked absolutely distraught as to how this particular combination of letters could possible result in the sound 'neev'. "That's ridiculous." 

Michael had added my mother and I to his public Facebook profile - the one that the fans had access to, not his personal family and friends account - so he could add us both to a group chat, including everyone but Ellie (who still wasn't allowed to have a Facebook account). "If you get lost-"

"I won't get lost," Ashton protested.

"Yeah, I'll be with him. How could he get lost with me around?" Luke added, defending himself more than defending Ashton.

"When you two get lost, message the chat. Someone will find you. Maybe."

Before Calum started puking, eating four hot-dogs each and then choosing the alleged fastest tea-cup sounded like the best idea in the world. But, kid swing, when Calum's face paled and he exclaimed, all too suddenly, "I'm gonna be sick," Michael and I realised the excruciating flaw in our plan. The operator of the ride jerked the children's ride to a stop, flinging Calum's dinner up and out, over the side of the pink tea-cup.

I'd have hated to be the person to have to clean that up.

Calum being sick on a ride wasn't the worst part of the day... we were lost. Despite spending ages teasing Ashton and Luke for their notorious skills of getting lost, Michael had forgotten the way to the designated meeting spot (a ridiculous looking pirate ship). "I'm putting it in the group chat," I stated, worrying about Ellie and mum. Well, I worried more for any males within mum's vicinity more than I worried for mum herself. Did that make me a bad daughter? "No you are not!" Michael cried, his pride damaged by the mention of admitting defeat. "You will not embarrass me like that!"

"Won't I?"