The Beginning of the Middle (A One Direction Fan Fiction)

Chapter 9: Pre-Concert

"Chasteny! Chas! Wake up! Now! CHASTENY!" Lottie was practically screaming in my ear and she shook me roughly. "Chasteny, you have to wake up! It's ten!" I immediately shot up from my bed after that.

"Ten?!" I repeated in shock. I quickly turned to my digital alarm clock behind me. It was flashing. No! The power went out? No, not today! I reached out for my phone to verify the time and saw, at least, twenty notifications of texts, calls, facebook messages, and even emails all from my friend Inaya. Quickly sorting through them, I soon realized that they were all asking something about the concert. It was surprising how relentless she was, especially since she usually woke up around noon. Soon enough, my phone lit up with an incoming call from her.

"What?" I answered, a little more harshly than intended.

"Why haven't you been answering me? Are you there yet? Are you backstage?" Inaya rapid fired the questions.

"We just woke up." I responded grouchily.

"But you said you guys were leaving at six."

"Our power went out and our alarms were reset and didn't wake us. Sorry, but we have to rush to leave so I'll call you later."

"No!" She abruptly yelled, "I'll drive you!"

"You'll drive us?" I questioned skeptically.

"Yes! I'm already in the car. I'll be there soon!" Before she hung up, I heard the car's engine start.

Soon enough, we were all piled in her little, yellow Volkswagon bug all ready and on our way to D.C. for the concert. Inaya cranked up the stereo in her car to blast One Direction's "Up All Night" and "Take Me Home" cds. The catchy music filled our ears and excited us even more about our destination. The time flew by and, before we knew it, we were following the emailed directions on how to navigate the parking garage and find the side door to the Verizon Center where a security guard would be waiting.

Surprisingly, the security guard looked just like what I had always imagined a security guard to look like: compact with bulging muscles and a bald head. He even sported an all black outfit and an official looking clipboard. We all approached him, Lottie taking the lead.

"Authorized personnel only." he grunted. Clearly, he had had encounters with teenage fans before.

"We're Lottie Beasley and Chasteny Adkins. You may want to check your list first." Lottie sassed back in not so friendly a manner. I shot her a warning glance. Enough attitude shown and we wouldn't be going in, regardless of whether we were on the list or not.

However, the guard skimmed over the list and marked twice on it. He unlocked the door and signaled Lottie inside. "Which one of you is Chasteny Adkins?" he asked. I raised my hand and he gave me two backstage passes, one for me and one for Lottie. "And you are?" he addressed Inaya.

"I'm not on the list. I'll just get going." With that she waved good bye to us and started walking back towards the parking garage.

Lottie and I were about to enter the building when we heard the guard yell, "Wait!" in his husky voice. We both turned around abruptly but found that the guard was speaking to Inaya, not us. She walked back, confused. Out of his back pocket, the guard pulled out another back stage pass. She stared at it, her mouth slightly open. The guard nudged it in front of her silently, his face expressionless.

"Really?" She asked quietly in disbelief. The guard wiggled it in front of her. Without further hesitation, Inaya softly took the pass from his hand, thanking him profusely. The tiniest of smiles appeared on his stoic face as he signaled Inaya to follow Lottie and I. As soon as the door closed behind us, she let out a small squeal of delight.