A Dreamers Dream

Showtime

"You're sure Paul isn't going to mind me going to watch the show?" I ask Sammy anxiously as we place the last of several water bottles on the stage ready for Harry and his band. I notice that even some of these bottles have his 'treat people with kindness' motto on them and can't help but smile at the simple message that seems to be close to his heart. The opening act finished a few minutes ago, and people are rushing everywhere, replacing instruments and setting up mic stands as house music pumps over the speakers.

"Yeah don't worry, he'll be fine! H always gives new crew a ticket for their first show, so Paul will be expecting it. Now go on, get! If there are any major issues which we can't survive without the girl who's only been here four hours, who doesn't know how anything works, I'll come find you" she teases me with a wicked grin and pushes me towards the stands.
"Thanks... I think." I reply dryly and make my way off to a nearby staircase, checking my ticket once more for my seat number. When I arrive at my row, it is already packed full of fans decked out in Harry's merchandise and looking excited.
"Sorry girls, can I just squeeze past?" I ask them, and they quickly move to one side to let me through to my seat. I seem to be in between a group of eighteen/nineteen-year-olds on one side, and a family of four on the other and my view of the stage is spectacular. Just as I sit down and start to make myself comfortable, a new song starts to play over the speakers. Everyone around me screams at an ear-splitting volume and jumps out of their seats, starting to sing along at the top of their lungs, phones raised in the air to capture the moment.

Remember the day we were giving up
When you told me I didn't give you enough
And all of your friends were saying I'd be leaving you
She's lying in bed with my t-shirt on
Just thinking how I went about it wrong
This isn't the stain of a red wine, I'm bleeding love

Please believe me, don't you see
The things you mean to me?
Oh I love you, I love you
I love, I love, I love Olivia.

I look around the arena and see that it's not just my section that has risen to their feet. Barely a single person remains in their chair, everyone is up dancing and singing along to the track that I don't recognise. Bemused I sit and watch the group of girls next to me for a few moments before one of them turns to me.
"Not a Directioner?" She asks, her eyes quickly flick down to the lanyard around my neck and she squeals loudly before I can answer her question, not that I knew what the bloody answer was to be fair. "Oh my god! Do you work on the crew? Do you know Harry? What's he like? How tall is he? Do you know what suit he's going to wear tonight? Oh my god, Christine, look, this girl works for Harry!" She shouts to her friend in the next seat along. Before I get a chance to reply, the whole group of half a dozen girls have rounded on me all staring at me in amazement, their excitement at the song playing forgotten in an instant.
"Hi! That's a lot of questions" I greet them, repressing a giggle at their enthusiasm at meeting a lowly member of the crew "I do work on the crew yeah, it's my first day, so I was given a ticket to come to see the show" I tell them, and their faces light up
"That's amazing!" the girl nearest to me says, "So you aren't a Directioner then? Are you a Harrie?" she asks
"Erm, I'm a Maddie..." I say, still confused, and the girl looks at me with so much pity in her deep-set brown eyes that I swear you'd think I just told her my puppy died.
"OK, wow. Clearly, we need to educate you a bit," she says with a grin and gestures to her friends. Who for the next fifteen minutes proceed to tell me everything that they possibly can about Harry. They all talk over one and other, barely seeming to draw breath as they explain the different names for the fans and tell me that the song that was just playing was called Olivia and was from One Directions last album.
The girls inform me that by far the most important thing about Harry's shows is what he will be wearing, his suits have become iconic. The songs may stay the same every night, but he always wears a new suit and apparently twitter goes mad every evening trying to get a clear picture of it as soon as possible after the screens go up. Sammy's amusement at me asking if this was a fashion show earlier suddenly makes so much more sense. This is their first concert of this tour, but they are travelling to see all the shows he is doing in the UK, a totally normal thing for most fans apparently. Christine, the chattiest and I am guessing by her appearance, the youngest of the group brandishes her bright pink iPhone at me to show me that she is live streaming tonight's show on something called 'Periscope' so that fans around the world can watch it on the internet at home.
"Most streams get a few thousand people watching" another of the girls, whose name I've not managed to catch chimes in, like its the most normal thing in the world before she tells me that the last song before Harry goes on stage is playing and we should get ready, I'm guessing from her knowledge that she's watched a fair few streams herself. Listening to these girls talk, it's clear that being a fan of Harry is more of a religion than a hobby. I'm starting to understand why Jeff was eager to hear I wasn't a fan before he agreed to hire me.