Unrequited

Chapter 8

I woke up to the sound of rain tapping against the window. I’d always liked the sound, it was so peaceful. Mum used to tell me it was fairies dancing at a big fairy party - I knew better than to believe stories like that now, but as I lay there with my eyes closed I could easily remember being eight years old and swallowing that story easily. 

The hotel we were staying in was quite comfortable. The crew had been split up into groups of six or seven and each assigned these apartment like spaces in the hotel. Each had a main living room and kitchen area, surrounded by separate bedrooms. Since my mother was enduring a migraine and wouldn’t have suspected a thing, Sam shuffled me into an apartment with none other than the five cheekiest band members to have ever lived. Sam loved a joke and also annoying my mother. I didn’t mind sharing with them in the slightest, they were good company if nothing else. Louis had helped me carry my bags up to my room and I hadn’t really seen much of the boys after that because I decided to test the bed and fell asleep in the process.

The shrill sound of my message tone had me jolted upright in bed and wishing I’d turned my phone off before I fell asleep last night. All I’d been thinking last night however, was Harry’s voice saying, “You seem like a really nice girl...we like hanging out with you...we genuinely like you, okay?”. How absurd. They wanted to hang around with me? I was two years younger than Harry, three years younger than Liam, Niall and Zayn and a whopping four years younger than Louis. Babysit me more like. Age differences aside, what could they possibly find that interesting in me? I was certainly no winner in the looks department. These boys mustn’t hold physical appearances in high regard. Yeah, keep telling yourself that, Char.

I felt guilty when I slid open my phone to see my best friend’s name lit up on the screen. She hadn’t crossed my mind since I’d left Melbourne. 

New Message 

Sara

char! missed u so much babe & its only been a few days! how is england?! searched that band on the net. wowza. slightly jealous of you. huge news. tom and i are now officially gf and bf!!!!!!!!!!!!!! so much to tell you. hugs xxxxx

--> Reply

sara! missing you too. so happy for you and tom! hate to say i told you so! always knew u would end up tgether. sara. never say wowza again. and yes boys r lovely. use the phone card site i gave u to message me. its free! HUGS xxxx

Sara is completely my opposite. Her ability to make friends has always been more developed than mine and therefore she ended up being the social queen bee of our year level while I was her faithful best friend/sidekick/portable shadow. It never really bugged me. I am usually quite a private person and enjoy the company of my own thoughts. I am not shy but I really have to know someone well before I am able to be myself around them. That’s why my easy, instant friendship with the members of a British boy band surprised me. 

Sara is tall and skinny with legs that make up three quarters of her body. She has golden, curly hair and big blue eyes...and I’m sure a pair of invisible angel wings to match. She has an addiction to red lipstick and the only time I’ve ever seen her really crack it was when MAC discontinued Red Pepper. Like me, she loves to read, but where I would be labeled the nerd, she would be the mysterious movie star with a profound intelligence and partiality  for Jane Austen. 

I’ve never had a boyfriend. Sara has had around seven. Everything I know about boys comes from her. On the rare occasion that she is single, our favourite thing to do is make a tent out of blankets in her room and fantasise about the perfect boyfriend and then shed a few tears when we realise we may never find him. Although, Sara’s heartbreak never lasted long. Another boy would fall at her feet within the space of a week. And that’s the only thing I was ever really jealous of my best friend about. I’d been waiting for Prince Charming since I was ten years old. I wanted to be in love. But the thought that some boy could actually care about me, enough to want to be with me, seemed laughable standing next to Sara.