Mad Love (The Script//Danny O'Donoghue fanfic)

Chapter 2

The next morning, I got up at 6am. I wanted to be at the queue by 7:30... I decided to wear the Freedom Child shirt from the last album that my dad had gotten me for Christmas... I only wore it on special days, it was the last present I ever got from him. By 7, I'd eaten breakfast and was already walking to the O2 arena. I'd never been to a concert before so I had no idea what to expect.

When I got there, a few people, maybe 15 or 20 were already in the queue. Everyone seemed to have gone with a friends or family, only I was alone. So I stood and waited. Listened to music, ate or just watched other people... By 12:30 I'd been waiting for five hours and the queue had grown a bit longer. Just a few more hours...the wait is halfway done and it'll all be worth it...

Suddenly, a the girl next to me shouted: "Danny!" I turned to the direction she was pointing to and there he was. Would he remember me or even recognize me? He walked in our direction, smiling and waving. Suddenly his eyes locked mine and his smile widened. "Ava?" He asked jogging in my direction. The others were looking at me, I could see the envy in their eyes. Danny knew me.

"Climb over the fence." He said. "What?" Why should I climb over the fence, I've been waiting for hours... "Just come with me. I want to talk and show you something!" The others were seriously jealous now. And probably wondering why I was hestitating. "I can't leave my spot in the queue! I'll never stand in front!" What was so important? He didn't even me. I mean of course I was absolutely freaking out. Fucking Danny O'Donoghue was literally begging me to come with him. I was talking to my idol. One out of thousands of fans that showed up and all of his attention was directed at me. Instead if answering, Danny just winked at me and turned around to leave. Suddenly, I panicked. It was myast chance. I climbed over the fence without hestitating again and ran after him. Danny turned around and smiled. What was up with him? Suddenly, I tripped and fell into Danny. Shocked by the sudden impact, we both fell onto the floor. Shit! How could this happen to me? I pushed Danny...would he send me away now? But instead he laughed. It was a warm-hearted and real laugh. He stood up and looked at me. "You coming?" And walked towards the backstage area.

Once we were inside. He took me to the dressing room and asked: "The concert you're going to is ours? Why didn't you tell me?" Embarrassing moment... "Well, I didn't want to seem like some crazy fangirl...and it just wouldn't have seemed right to tell you..." I shrugged shyly, still not able to believe the reality of everything happening right now. "Ava, it's not bad to be a fan! You know we love all of our fans..." Of course I did. "I know that. But I didn't want you to see me as a fan of yours. I wanted to see you as Danny, Mark and Glen and not as The Script. So I wanted you to see me as Ava and not as a fan. I wanted it to be completely normal and honestly, I didn't think I'd see you again anyways..." I trailed off lost in thought. I was here. With Danny. In The Script's dressing room. After talking to them all night yesterday. Crazy, but 100% real. We chatted for a bit, but it feel so unreal. After a while Danny asked: "You ok? You look like your feeling uncomfortable..."
His question startled me, was he watching me this closely?
"Yeah I'm fine. This is just all so crazy. I'm here, with you. Talking about pizzas!" I laughed. I'd hoped that this moment would go on forever. I was actually happy.

"Dannyyyyy!!! Soundcheck in 5." Glen popped His head through the door. "Ava? What are you doing here?" He asked slightly puzzled when he saw me. I wouldn've been surprised too, if a girl that I'd met yesterday at a bar was suddenly sitting in my dressing room.

While Danny was explaining why I was here, I looked at the clock. 4:10pm. Where has the time gone? WHERE HAS THE TIME GONE?! "Danny? I asked him, as he and Glen were leaving the room. "What? Oh yeah sure come along and listen." He said, as if he knew what I was gonna ask. He didn't. "Thanks, but that's not what I was gonna ask. How am I supposed to stand in front? If I go back to the queue now, I'll never make it to the barrier!" I was internally panicking, But He Just smiled at me and said: "Don't worry, you can just stay there after soundcheck." I thanked him and silently followed him onstage. It was huge. "How can you do it?" I asked Mark, who was already ready to start while the others we're still setting everything they needed up. "Do what?" "This. Everything. You just stand on this huge stage in front of thousands of people and sing your heart out. How?" "It's my life. It's what I do and love. You can't imagine what it's like until you've done it. Then you absolutely love it." He said smiling.

Before going off stage. I took a selfie with them and thanked then for yesterday and today. The thought that I'd probably never see them again tore my heart into pieces. "Enjoy the night and see you again soon!" Danny said into the microphone, looking into my eyes, before they started the soundcheck. I climbed over the barrier and found myself a nice spot right in front of Danny. First row, middle. My dream had come true. For a while, I just stood there with my eyes closed listening to the pure beauty of their music. A tear or two streamed down my face at some point, but I didn't care. It felt like a dream. It must've been a dream. Nothing in life is so perfect. However somehow, today was.

I opened my eyes to find Danny smiling at me while he was singing. I wonder what he was thinking about while he sang. He looked happy with what he was doing. I looked at Mark. He was putting so much passion into what he was doing, even though there was no crowd, he was putting up quite the show. My eyes crossed the stage to Glen. He was smiling too. Having fun. But he was concentrating. In awe I looked at the whole picture. All of them up on stage, it was absolutely beautiful. When they finished their last song. I applauded like crazy and they did goofy bows just for me. It felt like I had friends. I had a good time. I was happy. On stage I could see Danny talking to the others and I realized, I had no friends. I was alone. My happiness faded away and regret flooded over me. Why did I let myself have hope that this feeling would last? It was a moment, moments pass. I was nothing to the lads, just another fan. I turned away from the stage and sat down, staring up at the ceiling. I would never fall for fake kindness again. No one cares, I know that now.

Suddenly a piano softly starting playing. It was 'Flares', one of my favourite The Script songs. I looked up to the stage. It was completely dark now except for a single beam of light over the piano. Danny was sitting there, playing 'Flares', just for me. I burst into tears. Maybe he did care after all?  There's someone out there, sending out flares...is there really?

"Ava?" Danny said, looking in my eyes when he was finished. Tears were still streaming down my face. "I don't know what you're going through, but I can see that you're not ok. There's always someone, somewhere, sending out flares to you. You are not alone, you don't have to be. People will care if you let them. I care. We care. And I bet others care too. Don't be afraid to be happy. Allow the small good things beat the bad ones. One way or another, we are, I am, always there for you." Then the lights turned off completely. When they turned on again, Danny was gone.