The Lift (A One Direction Fanfiction)

Chapter Seven

   The concert goes quite differently than it did last night. They sing an alternate order of songs, extremely interesting Twitter questions are asked and they don't sing their medley. Also I am not the centerpiece of Niall's solos, so that's a plus. The ending is quite anticlimactic, just a last chord and an immediate turning-off of the lights. Everyone in the audience begins squirming out of their seats and down the aisles, the fans with meet-and-greet tickets (including Katie and I) being escorted backstage.

   I can just barely keep Katie walking forward. She fell asleep midway through the concert and gave me an almost-heart attack when she slid out of her seat onto the floor. I calmed down and helped her up, but it was still freaking terrifying.

   Getting her up at the end of the concert was probably my biggest challenge. She reminded me of a sleeping cat, how when you want to lift it and put it in a more convenient spot, the front of its body will gladly go where you arms tell it to, but its butt stays glued to the spot.

   The crowd of girls headed towards the VIP meeting area is much larger than I expected. There are probably twenty or so other girls here. How are the boys going to have enough time to take good pictures with each and every one of us? And how am I going to talk to Niall with all these other girls around?

   The fans around me are smiling excitedly, nattering about who their favorites are and what they're going to give to the boys and how many people are going to be jealous of them blah, blah, blah... I'm only being cynical about it because I wish I could join in on their fangirling, but I'm not particularly excited for this. I mean, I've already met Niall, so there's nothing new there.

   But I do really want to be friends with him in the future, even if it's a bit weird. We click better than a lot of people I've met and I don't want to lose contact with him. And to be his actual friend, I have to impress the other boys. From years of experience involving awkward small talk and horribly uncomfortable auditions for plays, I have come to the conclusion that I am the absolute worst at first impressions.

   Even when I met Niall, the first couple hours or so were dreadfully quiet and weird. The only thing that saved me then was a random burst of bravery. Unfortunately, that doesn't happen to me a lot. This means I'll have to show the boys that I am, uh, cool or something, by the end of this meet-and-greet which could possibly be only a half hour.

   I just don't know what to expect.

   "Ladies, stop for a second!" The security man who has been leading us backstage holds his hand up and we halt in front of a pair of white double doors. He swipes his card in front of a scanner on the wall, we all hear a click and he beckons us forward.

   We are literally on the stage. I thought "backstage" meant near the dressing rooms and behind-the-scenes offices but no; the double doors are positioned on the back left of the stage behind a large platform that can't be seen from the audience, I would assume. On the platform is where I remember Dan, the guitarist, had been playing. The curtains are closed so we can't see the rest of the park but the stage is absolutely massive.

   "One Direction should be here in about five minutes," the security man says gruffly behind me. Then he lowers his voice and says "Try to not to fling away your pants in excitement."

   I crack up at this and then I look around and realize I'm the only girl who heard that. Even Katie is looking at me in confusion since to her I just laughed randomly. I shrug and look back at the security man who is now smiling slightly at me. I smirk back and let out another chuckle as he crosses his arms and looks over my head at the rest of the crowd.

   The five minutes of tense anticipation probably pass by quicker for me than the other girls since I'm partially dreading this meet-up and they've most likely been waiting for this since the moment they got their tickets.