The Sizes of My Infinities

Chapter 2

A/N: hi guys so um I'm sorry I waited so long to update but I am really busy...so yeah. Please leave comments, don't forget to vote and stay awesome! :)

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My eyes widen. Sitting at the booth behind us is...wait, what's their name again? Five boys around my age are reclining in the biggest booth of the restaurant, talking loudly and laughing. The brown- and curly-haired one notices me staring and raises an eyebrow. Blushing, I return my gaze to Lydia, who is still gawking at the group. "Aren't they Only Way or something? That English boy band?"

She shakes her head and glares at me.

"No, they're One Direction. Just the biggest boy band in the WORLD!"

"Oh, okay," I respond. The waitress comes back to our table. I order spaghetti and meatballs; Lydia gets cannolis. One of the perks of being a professional dancer is that we burn off almost all of the calories from what we eat. In other words, we don't get fat.

Lydia still wears a dazed expression. "So, are you a fan of One Direction?" I ask her.

She nods and glanced back to their table. It's filled with food and the boys are gorging themselves. "I love them so much! They make the absolute best music ever." I want to respond to her but I don't get the chance. Just then, the blond boy of the group slides out of their booth and approaches us. As he gets closer, I notice that, well, he's REALLY HOT.

"Erm, hi, I'm Niall," he says nervously with an Irish accent, blushing fiercely. "My friends and I were playing a game of Truth or Dare, and, well..." He scratches the back of his neck, turning to me. "What's your name?"

I swallow. "Ali," I stammer out. "Ali Summit."

Niall smiles. "Alright then. Ali Summit, would you like to go out with me?"

I glance at Lydia, who is staring at me with wide eyes and taking shallow breaths. I turn back to Niall. "I'm sorry, I already have a boyfriend." His smile droops at the corners and I instantly feel bad. "However, I'm part of the Lord of the Dance troupe that's performing tonight at the Smithson Theatre. Would you like to come? I can arrange for backstage passes."

Niall's smile picks up a bit. "Sure, sounds great! The boys will be so excited. We've never seen real Irish dance before."

My eyes widen in mock horror. "Are you kidding?" I exclaim. "Have you guys never seen Heartbeat of Home? Feet of Flames? Celtic Tiger? Riverdance?"

He shakes his head and laughs. "No," he says. "Sorry."

I say, "You SHOULD be sorry. You have not LIVED. Right, Lydia?"

She composes herself and nods, saying, "It's true, Niall."

Niall chuckles and says, "Well, I'll go tell the boys our new plans for tonight. It was nice meeting you." His blue eyes bore into mine for a moment, then he leaves to go back to his own booth. I turn to Lydia, who looks like she might pass out. I grin.

"I guess that was pretty cool," I say nonchalantly, fiddling with my napkin. Lydia looks at me like I've grown another head.

"Um, that was WAY MORE than cool," she says. "That was the meeting of a LIFETIME."

The waitress comes with our food. We dig in hungrily. Rehearsal sure takes a lot out of you! I taste my spaghetti and moan. "Oh MAN!" I exclaim. "This is just...it's SO GOOD."

Lydia says, "Oh, I agree. These cannolis are to die for!" We eat and eat until we can't take another bite. The freezing walk back to the venue is spent educating me about One Direction, their music and their fame. By the time we reach the theatre, I'm bone-cold and wishing for a vanilla latte to warm me up. Like a dream come true, Jimmy comes toward us juggling five coffee cups.

"Hello, girls," he says happily. "I was wondering where you'd got to."

"Oh, we were just eating at the Italian place down the road," Lydia replies. Pointing at the cups he's holding, she says, "I hope those are for us!"

Jimmy passes a cup to her and a cup to me. I sip the delicious brew and sigh as the burning liquid rips down my esophagus.

"I would love to stay and chat," he says, "but I have to deliver the rest of this coffee to the sound crew. You know how it goes--if the sound guys aren't happy, nobody's happy." Jimmy rolls his eyes and kisses my cheek before continuing on his way. As he passes us, I inhale his wonderful scent--a mixture of the Abercrombie cologne and something musky unique to him. It brings a smile to my face, and I am happy for the post-lunch rehearsal.

When rehearsal's over, Jimmy announces that we have an hour for dinner and an hour to get ready. Lydia and I eat our leftover from lunch for dinner and commence the hair and makeup adventure. As the bad girl, I get to leave my silky black hair down, but I have to cake on smoky black makeup around my eyes and fire engine red lipstick. Luckily I have a helper to assist me, because I'm not skilled enough to do it on my own!

With my makeup and hair finally done, I take a look in the full-length mirror to assess myself. My flowing hair gleams and sets off the red bodysuit I'm wearing. My electric blue eyes are surrounded by heavy black stage makeup to make them pop. The red patent-leather softshoes I'm wearing clench my toes together so hard it hurts. But that's okay. A little bit of pain keeps me grounded.

"Alright, guys!" Jimmy announces. "We're on in ten. Make sure you're stretched." I run over to him from across the room and hug him fiercely. "You okay, love?" He whispers in my ear.

I nod, still pressed against him. "I'm just nervous, I guess," I mumble.

He says, "It's okay to be nervous. Just go out there and be sexy. Make me want you."

I nod again and release him. Just being near him makes me feel better. Jimmy smiles, and the show begins.

The first three numbers go by in a blur; the crowd screams and cheers after each one. As the lights dim at the end of the number before my opening, I take my place onstage and wait. The lights go on, the sultry music starts and I channel my inner sexiness.