Never Would Have Thought...

Chapter 1

hola readers, just letting you know that the more one direction-y stuff will be happening in the next couple chapters c:

thanks for reading! comment, vote, show your love <3

*ding*

Another customer on this humid Saturday afternoon walked through the door and headed straight for the fiction section. I looked up from the drawing I was working on at the sound, but continue with it after I realize the customer doesn’t want to talk to me yet. I sit at the cash register, with my sketchbook and pencils in hand, listening to the soft music coming through the store’s speakers from my hooked-up iPod. It’s the “Store Playlist,” so it has all this boring, calm music that no one really likes. The customer hums to themselves as they look at the many shelves of fiction we have. It really is a large store – Easy Reader is the only bookstore in town because no other store can really compete. Mostly tourists come in, or older folks who’ve retired here. Nothing special.

The customer left after purchasing the new Twilight book – blechh. Not my cup of tea. She looked enthused and couldn’t stop staring at the werewolf on the cover.

“Hey, Mel!” I called up to the loft where she likes to hang out and read. It’s for employees only and where we store some of our new shipments, and because the store is so big it gets a great view of everyone. Like watching mice in a maze.

“Yeah?” She stuck her blond head, clad in a white beanie, up from where she was sitting, pulling headphones off her ears.

“It’s nearly noon, wanna lock up to go get lunch or something?” Today was a particularly slow day, with a customer coming in every hour or so. Her blue eyes shut and she put on an expression of extreme pain.

“Yesssss, I’m starvingggg!” She whined, and I chuckled and rolled my eyes. She could be very dramatic when she wanted to be. I told her she should audition for plays at our school but she doesn’t like the idea of public speaking. I grabbed my keychain from a shelf behind the counter and my bag, sliding my sketchbook inside. Amelia climbed down the stairs at the back of the loft and I heard the usual thump as she jumped over the last three steps like she usually does. She had her bag slung over her shoulder when I met her at the door.

“Ready?” I asked. She nodded and I locked the door from outside, leaving a note on it telling our customers – if any even came around – that we were out to lunch and would be back in half an hour. We started down the sidewalk to our normal lunch spot, Amarillo’s. It was a deli sort of thing that we ate at almost every day, for they had the best mayonnaise, I swear it was magical. We went inside and were instantly greeted by the workers there.

“The usual, girls?” The twenty-something Nick asked us. We laughed and gave him thumbs up, and picked out our favorite table to eat at. It was in the back corner and we could people-watch out the window.

I sat down and pulled out my sketchbook, turning to the page I was working on back in the store. Amelia bent over to look at what I was drawing. It was a picture of my cat perched on the windowsill at home.

“That’s really good, Liv.” She said.

“Thanks, Mel. Do his ears look real?” I was struggling with them.

“Maybe take them in a bit here?” She gave me some advice and I asked her about some song she was working on. She got into writing music a few weeks ago, and ever since then she couldn’t stop. We got caught up in our chatter that we didn’t notice at first when Nick brought our sandwiches over.

“Ahem.” He cleared his throat and we looked up to see him.

“Oh! Thanks Nick.” I said, and he bowed and walked away. Mel and I laughed and ate in silence, watching passersby out the window.

All of a sudden Amelia starts coughing, and her face got so red I thought she was choking. She put her sandwich down and brought a napkin to her eyes, which were tearing up.

“Melly! Are you okay?! Can you talk?” I just stared and asked her questions, not thinking to call for someone.

“Yes,” she croaked. “I’m…fine! I just…remembered…something that…I wanted to tell…you.” She coughed a few more times and took a sip of her drink, finally the redness in her face went away and she could breathe normally again. I sighed in relief. “Guess who’s coming to Miami!” She almost yelled, but I shushed her and she giggled. “Guess!”

“Umm, it wouldn’t happen to be that British boyba-”

“One of them’s Irish but go on.” She interrupted and corrected me.

“Fine. Is it One…Dimension? Direction?” I took another bite of my sandwich.

“YES!” She squealed, and this time I started coughing. When I was done I scolded her.

“You scared the shit out of me! Why did you scream?!”

“Because, we’re going to see One Direction perform in Miami! I convinced my parents to buy us tickets! Keep in mind they’re not the best tickets, but we still get to see them! Isn’t that exciting?” She was so enthusiastic it was crazy. How could one girl be so infatuated with a boyband?

“Yeah, it is, I guess. When is it?”

“Like a month from now. It’s their second show in Miami, out of three. We’re sitting, like, the twentieth row but kind of in the middle.”

“Nice. I guess I better learn some of their songs then. Oh, Amelia, teach me about this One Direction! I must know all!” I hoped she knew I was joking, but by the look on her face I think she thought I wanted to know everything about this band.

It was going to be a hell of a ride but I guess I should learn some stuff? I already knew there was an Irish one; she told me that like a minute ago. But what else was there to know? I looked at my watch out of habit.

“Oh, crap, we have to get back to the store.” We picked up our lunches and paid for them, thanking Nick, all while Mel was chatting my ear off about One Direction. The entire way to the store she tried to teach me about them, never repeating anything. I guess there was a LOT to know. “Okay, Melly, I love you, but can the teaching wait until I’m ready to learn? Like tomorrow? Why don’t you come over to my house in the morning and we’ll get started.”

“Awesome, I’ll bring all my stuff. It’s a date!” Stuff? Oh god.

“Cool. Now let’s sell some books!” I yelled with fake enthusiasm, making her laugh and shout “HURRAH!” We were crazy oddballs and we liked it that way.

There were maybe three or four more customers that showed up before closing time at four, so when Melly and I went to our cars we were bored as hell.

“Ugh, there goes another Saturday well spent.” Amelia said, loaded with sarcasm.

“I know, right? I’m off, see you tomorrow around noon at my house?” I unlocked my car and opened the door throwing my stuff inside.

“Sure. By Livy.”

“Peace out, Melly.”