Expect the Unexpected (One Direction fanfic)

Chapter 10

“No!” I scream at Zayn while everyone else says something like ‘Perfect’ or ‘Sounds good’. I don’t want to perform as an opening act in front of thousands of their fans…

Zayn sits next to me on the couch. I see that everyone else has left the room already. He puts his hand on my back and rubs small circles, telling me that I’ll be great. I just sit there and stare at a spot on the carpet while chewing my thumb nail. He eventually gets called into the dressing room for hair and make-up. As he’s walking in, Harry comes out and sits in a chair across from me. We sit in silence for a few moments.

“If you keep thinking that hard your brain is going to explode.” Harry says. I look up and see him staring intensely back at me.

“Sorry.” I mumble, taking my thumb out of my mouth.

“It’s going to be alright.”

“I think anyone would be nervous if they were going to sing in front of thousands of screaming, judgmental little girls. If they don’t like me then it’ll be all over the internet. I can already see ‘Avery Sucks’ as a trending topic on twitter.”

“It’s not going to be like that.” He reassures. “They will love you and then you will have thousands of screaming fans.”

“How do you know that? You’ve never heard me sing.”

“I have a feeling.” He winks.

“What are you? A mind reader?” I laugh.

“It’s like I have ESPN or something!” He laughs back. This sent me into hysterics. When we calmed down he asked me what I was planning on singing.

“Um, I think I’m going to do Angels on the Moon by Thriving Ivory… “

“Oh my god, I love that song!” he does an impression of a fan girl.

“I know, right?” I say in a very girly voice. We joke for a few more minutes. I liked this Harry. He was someone that I could really get used to hanging out with. Eventually, a stage crew worker came up to me and said that I would be on in 10 minutes. My heart started to beat faster than a humming bird.

“Hey, if you keep chewing your lip like that it’s going to fall off.” Harry says. I immediately let go of my bottom lip. He stands up and motions for me to follow him. He places his hand on my lower back and steers me to the stage. The other boys are standing there waiting for me.

Harry leans in close to my ear to be heard over the screaming crowd just 20 feet away. Zayn stiffens at his gesture. “A little tip for you” He says into my ear. “You can’t see the crowd past the first row because of the lights. Try to just pretend they’re not there.”

I smile up at him as someone starts to put plugs in my ears. Here’s a little fun fact for you: I don’t like my ears touched. I whip my head around and the crew member looked at me as if to say sorry.

“They’ll help block out the screams.” Zayn now stands in front of me with his hands in his pockets. When the crew member is finished placing things in my ear, he engulfs me in a hug. “You’ll do great!” I read his lips.

I try to smile before I’m practically pushed onto stage. I stumble out and nearly fall right on my face. I glare back at Louis who pushed me. I take a deep breath and close my eyes for a second. You are alone, No one is watching. The lights are pounding heat on me and I can still hear the crowd through the plugs. I open my eyes and slowly walk to the piano that has been places on the center of the stage.

I don't bother with any awkward introductions and just start playing the notes of one of my favorite songs. My fingers flowed easily over the keys and it wasn’t long until I lost myself in the music.