Imagine A World (Luke Hemmings a.u.) [in editing]

3 Meeting

Madeline's POV

I wake up the next morning, scared. Was it all a dream?

My phone rings. I pick it up without checking who it is and answer with a groggy, "Hello?"

"Morning, Madeline," a familiar Australian-accented voice says. So it wasn't a dream after all.

"Morning, Luke," I reply, a little bit more perky now.

"How'd you sleep?"

"Alright. It took me a while to actually fall asleep though."

"Why?"

"Oh, just excited for today."

"Yeah, are you coming to the meet and greet before hand?"

"Did you really just ask me that, Luke Hemmings?"

"Right, of course you are. Sorry."

I hear another couple of voices on the other end.

"It's the girl from the DM, Madeline. Say hi," Luke tells the voices.

"Hi, Madeline!" three other voices ring out through my phone.

"Hi! This is so weird..." I rub my forehead a little bit. No, I don't have a concussion, this is definitely not a hallucination.

"That's to be expected," Ashton says. I can hear the smile in his voice. "Excited for the concert later?"

"I can't wait. I can't believe I'm finally going to meet you guys, too."

"Yeah, if I were you, I'd get going. That line is going to be pretty long," Michael says. I glance at my clock. Already 9:15!

"Alright, yeah, thank you guys so much! I'll see you all later. Bye!"

"Bye, Madeline!"

The line goes dead, and I get ready quickly. I straighten my hair, don't bother putting on any makeup other than a little concealer, and throw on some jean shorts and a 5SOS t-shirt.

"Mom, I have to get going! I'm going to go pick up Helena, then we're going for the concert, okay?" I inform my mom as I rush into the kitchen and grab a banana for the road.

"Alright, sweetie, have fun. Drive safe."

"Will do, Mom. See you later."

I close the door behind me, making sure I have my keys, phone, and iPod. Luckily, I do. I rush over to the smaller of our two cars, get in, and take off towards Helena's house.

I pull into her driveway, and she rushes out as soon as she see the car, her dark brown hair flowing behind her. She climbs into the passenger seat and starts firing questions at me top speed as I back out again.

"Helena, calm down, yeesh! Now, ask me again, slower this time," I feel a little silly, talking I her like a two year old.

"Anything from Luke yet?"

I roll my eyes and bite my lip a little, thinking of Luke's lip piercing. "No, still nothing. I didn't expect a whole lot to happen. They saw the DM, they liked a couple posts, it's no biggie, Helena."

She glares suspiciously at me, and I try desperately to concentrate on the road and avoid laughing. I hate keeping secrets, and I always laugh when I'm nervous, but she'll find out soon enough at the meet and greet anyway.

After a very long car ride, filled with Helena screeching along to stupid overplayed radio songs, we pull into the parking garage near the boys' venue. It's about 12 noon, and we hurry to the meet and greet line, which is already very long.

"Ugh, this'll take forever!" Helena groans, and I glare at her.

"Shut up, there are other people here. They don't need to hear your complaining," I scold her, and she clamps her mouth shut angrily.

The queue moves slowly, but finally, after a very long time, we're only a couple people away from the front. Helena clutches her purse excitedly, as it holds a poster and their SLSP ep (the album still isn't available in the US).

"I hope they'll sign them!" she told me halfway through the line.

As the last person in front of us went to them, I start to wonder if they'll recognize me.

"Of course they will, they heard your voice this morning. Plus you have Luke's number, that should be proof enough for them," a voice in the back of my brain assures me.

Finally, it's our turn to go. As soon as we enter the area, Luke's face brightens.

"Madeline!" he exclaims, lumbering over to me to give me a hug.

"Hi, Luke! Hi boys!" I reply under his arm. I'd forgotten just how tall he is. I'm about 5'4", so he towers over me.

Helena is standing at the edge of the area, dumbfounded.

"You lied to me!" she says finally, pointing a finger at my face.

"What do you mean?" Calum asks.

"I mean, she told me that she never talked to Luke. Obviously she did!"

I look over at Luke, and we exchange smirks. "You're overreacting so much right now, Helena," I tell her.

"I have a reason to! My best friend didn't tell me that she was talking to four out of four members of 5 Seconds of Summer for Pete's sake!"

"Keep Pete out of this!" Ashton interjects, and Helena has to hold back a smile.

"Hey, if it's really that big a deal to you, does that mean you don't want a picture?" Michael asks, a grin tugging at his lips.

Helena looks thoughtful for a moment, then hangs her head and walks over to the backdrop for the photo after handing her phone to a helper. The rest of us laugh a little bit, and we get the picture taken, choosing to do silly faces.

After that, Luke asks me if I'll sing for them. I'm a little startled.

"Really? You want me to?"

"Of course we do! Um...do you know Amnesia?" Luke replies.

"Of course," I mumble, my face heating up a little bit. "I'll change the words just a little. Just the chorus, right?"

"However much you want," Calum says.

I take a deep breath and begin.

"🎶I remember the day you told me you were leaving!

I remember the makeup running down my face!

And the dreams you left behind, you didn't need them!

Like every single wish we ever made!

I wish that I could wake up with amnesia

And forget about the stupid little things

Like the way it felt to fall asleep next to you

And the memories I never can escape

Cos I'm not fine at all!🎶"

I can hear my voice carry down the hallway, where the line is. The boys and Helena applaud me, then Luke says,

"Hey, there's still a lot of people out there. You've had your time. Get out."

I'm saddened for a moment, then I see the laughter in his eyes.

"Alright, alright. See you later tonight," I tell them, then proceed to give Calum, Michael, and Ashton hugs, in that order. Finally, I hug Luke extra-tight. He kisses the top of my head, which makes my heart flutter, then Helena and I are escorted out. I turn just as we leave and mouth, "I'll call you," to Luke. He nods, then the next person comes in.