My heart stopped as the elevator doors opened. There, just a few feet away stood Liam, Louis, Niall, Harry, and Zayn, huddled up in a circle arguing with each other.
"Okay so the plan is, when they come in we jump out and-"
"No no no!" Niall said cutting Louis off. "We should let them walk in and then sneak up behind them!"
"Or...we could just stand here and give them a sexy smirk," Harry chimed in, flicking his curls to the side.
They all began talking over each other, trying to figure out which way would be the best to surprise us when Paul cleared his throat letting them know that we were standing right here. Almost instantly the five of them turned to face us, a little shocked and embarrassed that we had seen their silly little argument.
"SURPRISE!" Louis shouted, almost hitting Zayn as he threw his hands up in the air.
Paul shook his head while picking up our bags, walking past the boys and into one of the smaller rooms off of the main one. Hanley's grip on my arm tightened as we stood in front of the boys, letting out a little laugh at Louis' random outburst.
Andi straightened out, taking a tiny step away from me as she regained her balance. I envied her confidence. Even in front of this gorgeous boy band that was like kryptonite to the typical teenage girl, she could still stand strong, all the while Hanley and I held on to each other so we wouldn't crumble to the floor in pure joy.
Louis bounced back and forth, waiting for something to happen but not wanting to do it himself. Niall was the first to break the silence, looking towards the rest of the boys first before taking a cautious step forward.
"Hi, I'm Niall," he said, walking straight over to Andi.
Her face lit up with a smile as she shook the hand he held out for her. The three of us stepped out into the room as the boys began greeting us with hugs. Each of them congratulating me on winning the contest. Before we could say anything more Paul walked back into the room, telling us it was time to go. I pulled away from Harry, who had been holding me in a hug for quite longer than any of the others had and followed the rest of the group. I was kind of sad when I felt his hands slide out from behind me, dropping to his sides, this was probably the only hug I would ever receive from him, or any of them for that matter, and the moment was already over.
All eight of us, Paul not included as he had to stay behind to help sort out some concert stuff, squished into the elevator. The space was small, causing us to press right up against each other, leaving little room for ourselves. The only sound that could be heard over the silence was Niall's heavy breathing.
"Are you okay?" Andi asked.
"He's claustrophobic," Louis said with a serious face.
Niall looked away from Andi, embarrassed by his fear of tight spaces. Andi gently grabbed his hands in hers in an attempt to calm him down. In just a matter of seconds his breathing lightened slightly. I looked to Hanley who shrugged, unsure of what had just happened. As soon as the elevator doors opened Niall jumped out, hugging Andi and thanking her for calming him down.
Paul had arranged for us to eat at the restaurant in the hotel, making it much easier for us to eat in peace without security and fans hanging over our shoulders. When we arrived, an older man who we assumed to be a waiter showed us to our table at the back across from a younger woman who seemed to be reading something on her phone. Something about the woman was off but I chose to ignore it, trying not to over think every little thing I saw that seemed out of place.
Before we could sit down Andi pulled Hanley and I into the washroom. The smell of soap and bleach entered my nose as we walked in, the smell overwhelming but bearable. Andi leaned down checking to make sure no one else was in here before speaking.
