Not So Normal

Chapter 9 ~ The End of the Beginning

   Today is the day that I (along with Lindsey) will be performing live on Good Morning America with the one and only One Direction. I have dreamt of this day since the day I dubbed myself a Directioner. What will people think about the performance? People don't know that Lindsey and I will be performing with the band. They just know that there's going to be surprise guests. I hope they'll be okay with it. I don't know... they're probably all expecting Little Mix or something...

   Since it's Good Morning America, we have to be up pretty damn early. I get up at four to shower and get ready. I decide to wear the black lace dress Niall liked, along with these cute black boots I brought. I decide to leave my hair down, so I curl it and pin it back and out of my face.

   At 5:15 Niall texts me and says it's time to leave. I yell that to Lindsey and get my shoes on. We do appearance checks and whatnot for each other, and when we're all good to go, we head out to the cars. It's not too long of a drive to get to Central Park, but we have to be there early for the guys to do a little bit of a sound check. Lindsey and I just hang out out of sight of the crowd until we get to go up. The guys get interviewed for a few minutes before they actually perform, so we watch them on a TV off set. After the interview they perform three songs from their last album, Catching Time.

   "Now for our surprise guests, please welcome Elissa and Lindsey, The Piano Girls!" the host says. The crowd goes crazy as Lindsey and I head onstage.

   "How's New York City today?" I yell, getting screams in response.

   "We're going to be performing with just us two, and then we'll be performing a duet with the guys of One Direction. ARE YOU READY?" Lindsey yells. More screams. Lindsey sits down at the grand piano they wheeled out onto the stage and starts playing Black Horse & The Cherry Tree. They have a mic up to the piano, which made Lindsey happy when she saw it. I position myself in front of my mic and get ready to sing.

   "Well my heart knows me better than I know myself, so I'm gonna let it do all the talkin'" I sing. I end up getting really into the song and walking around the stage with my mic. I haven't ever gotten this into a performance. Maybe it's the rush of knowing I'm on live television, I don't know.

   "I can't quite get there 'cause my heart's forsaken me," I finish out the song. The crowd cheers and I can't wait to hear their cheers after we perform with the guys. "And please welcome One Direction back onstage!" I yell. The guys come running up onto the stage and the crowd goes wild.

   "Aren't they great?" Niall asks the crowd, putting his arm around my shoulders. "We're going to be performing Just Give Me a Reason for you guys!"

   Lindsey plays the intro to the song and I patiently tap my feet to the beat until I get to sing.

   "Right from the start you were a thief, you stole my heart, and I your willing victim," I sing, glancing at Niall, who grins. I finish out my part, and then the guys take over.

   "I'm sorry, I don't understand where all of this is coming from. I thought that we were fine," they sing. We perform the rest of the song and the crowd loves it.

   "Thank you, New York City!" Harry yells at the end of the song. The GMA host comes onstage and stands in between me and Lindsey.

   "So girls, how are you feeling right now?" he asks.

   "This is probably the coolest performance we've ever done. Even our tour with The Piano Guys never gave me this much of a rush," Lindsey says. I nod in agreement.

   "It's just amazing to us that we've come so far. I mean, just three years ago, no one knew who we were. We're really grateful for everyone that's made this possible," I say.