Bittersweet Serendipity

Chapter 2 - Hotels and Hyperventilation

Screaming. I remember screaming. My head spins and I think I am losing my hearing. I'm gonna lose my mind. Inevitably, Sadie and I aren't the only ones present in the hotel. Sadie's dad owns the hotel so we get to stay inside while the other fans stayed outside. I feel lucky. Very, very lucky.

Once we hear the fans outside screaming, we anticipate ourselves, Sadie and I, but it only turns out to be a random traveler who came in a van and is only staying in the hotel. "Why the bloody hell are there screaming children outside?" he asks a hotel attendant as he gets in, quite annoyed.

And we wait.

At around twelve-eleven, the screaming gets louder, and I am starting to hyperventilate. "Oh my God oh my God oh my God OH MY GOD, SADIE, THIS IS NOT HAPPENING." I pace around the lobby, walking back and forth and back and forth, taking short, deep breaths. My hands are shaking. My best friend grabs one of my hands and grips it tight, squeezing the life out of it, but I don't care; somehow it gives me stability. Like I'm not alone. Like the action tells me to breathe. Like the action makes me aware that she is there. And I feel my heart stop and skip a beat, my breath staggering like staccato bursts and sparks of electricity surging through my veins, as I hear a raspy voice, that one that I hear only in videos, of a man who I perceived to be Thomas Parker, 1/5 of The Wanted, saying, "Yeah, we  love you, too, thanks. Yes, I agree, Max should shave. Bye! See you later!" accompanied by high-pitched screams from fans.

Tom enters the hotel first, followed by Max and Nath, and Jay and Siva. And as they come in, I stare at them in awe, tears spilling incontrollably on my cheeks, my heart rate speeding and speeding and speeding up, my lungs suffocating. I cover my face and try to stop myself from crying harder, but I inevitably fail, overwhelmed, as I let out a sudden and involuntary, "Oh my God, this is NOT real!" I feel Sadie's trembling hand move to the hemline of my The Wanted shirt, trying to steady herself. I see the lads coming and they must have noticed us and knew that we were fans because of our shirts.

Jay scoops me up in a hug and spins me around, like he does with all the fans he has close encounters with. Manwhore. "Why are you crying? Did someone hurt you?" he asks, concerned, and I shake my head no. "Well, if someone did, tell us. No one hurts our girls. Ever." He chuckles and settles me down. "Are you going to the concert to watch us later?" I nod. "See you there then. Are you staying here?"

"No, my best friend's dad owns this place," I reply, slowly calming down. I take my inhaler out as I watch his expression read, 'Wow'. He laughs as I put my inhaler to my lips, and he strokes my back as I did so, saying, "Oh, you have asthma. Overwhelmed on the first encounter, are we now?" And I just nod my answer as Sadie makes a beeline for him after she got her album signed by the other four. She looks more composed than I am so I run straight towards Tom and hug him, wiping off the remaining tears on my face.

"Oi, there you are," he says, patting my head. "Saw you crying when we entered, but Jay took you first."

"To be fair," Jay butts in, "I was the closest to her when we got in. The nearer you are, the faster you get to the person. It's simple logic, Tom."

Tom is about to retort, when Max walks towards us, leaving Big Kev at the reception. "'Lo," he greets and kisses the top of my head. He asks the other lads while pointing at me, "Who's she?" And I don't know why it happens, but their conversation stirs a whirlwind all of a sudden.

Siva: "Crying fan." [points at me too]

Nathan: [chuckles] "Don't you think she has a name?"

Siva: "Well, do we know what her name is?"

Nathan: "No, but if we'd ask h-"

Max: "Jesus, you could've just asked her!" [laughs]

Tom: "So what's your name then?"

Me: "Caleigh. Caleigh Pennington."

Jay: "Nice name."

Nathan: "You like everyone's names."

Jay: "I do not."

Nathan: "Yeah? Gimme a name you don't like."

Jay: "Nathan." [laughs annoyingly with Tom]

Nathan: "Now that's just plain mean."

Tom: "Shut up, both of you! Your names suck. Mines the best, ever." [laughs like a donkey]

Max: "Cocky bitch." [laughs again]

Siva: "No, excuse you, I have an exotic name."

Max: [laughs...again] "Can't argue with that one. Siva wins."

Jay: [gasps, faux-offended] "Neytiri has a better name than Siva!"

Nathan: [stares at Jay weirdly] "We never included your lizards in this conversation!"

Max: "Yeah, where did that come from, Jay?"

Tom: "His arse, obviously."

Boisterous laughter erupts from the four other lads, and Jay is left with a mock-sad expression on his face.

Jay: "But it's true!"

Tom: "Jay, stop! You're scaring the fans!" [laughs like a donkey again]

Siva: "They might be horrified. You okay, Caleigh?"

Me: "Please. Go on with your slimy lovefest. It amuses me."

Siva: "And you, Sadie, you okay?"

Sadie: "I agree with Caleigh. Please do continue."

And they do banter with each other and with us for a while until Big Kev tells them that it's time for them to unpack their things in their Grande Suite. I get my album signed before they go.

"We'll see you there later, yes? "I said. "What's your room number?" Maybe we can visit you lads after the concert."

"We're taking," says Jay slowly, examining their room key card, "er, suite 213. Great, we'll look forward to seeing you and Sadie later on. Maybe the next time around, you wouldn't be crying anymore."

"Is that what Frankie Sandford told you after you cried in front of her flawless presence?"

And that merits me a laugh from Tom and an, "Ooh, burn," from Nathan, all directied to Jay. The latter looks quite embarrassed, the tips of his ears turning pink. He looks down in shame and looks back up at me, resigning the banter with a, "You know, you're quite intimidating for a younger fan," and I reply, "Ooh, thanks. I consider it a compliment. I guess sarcastic people should come with warning tags, but I realized I was too sarcastic and obnoxious to come with a warning."

We have a last minute picture-taking with all of them, including Big Kev and Jayne, and I get a kiss from Nathan and Tom on each of my cheeks (Sadie got one from Jay) and we bid them goodbye by saying that we're looking forward to seeing them later. And we are. We most definitely are.

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((A/N: It's been a while since I updated the fic hahaha. Sorry for the delay, guys! School work sucks like fuck. :( ))