The Stalkers' Guide To Roadtrips

Day 24: Meet Ups With Introverts Are Surprisingly Noisy

 We could stay young forever,

 Scream it from the top of your lungs.

 

Start Destination: Amsterdam, The Netherlands

End Destination: Amsterdam, The Netherlands

Via: Ziggo Dome

 

10:58AM (GMT) / 11:58AM (Local Time)

 

I push open the door of the quaint little cafe and let my eyes scan the room for what should be a familiar face.

Luckily I do not have to look very hard; the incredibly high pitched squeal gives away the location of the people I am looking for. I begin to make my way towards them but Rosie quickly pushes past me and breaks into a walk that could almost pass as a run towards them. Her own squeal is matching the decibel of the one emitted previously and I resist the urge to cover my ears, they're suffering enough from the constant concerts.

Despite my annoyance at the noise I cannot get rid of the smile on my face as I sit down at the table which seems to be fuller than the rest of the cafe put together.

"This is so weird," is all I say.

The group at the table laughs and I take a few moments to look around the table. They're all faces I've seen in tiny squares in profile pictures online. I've reblogged their selfies on tumblr, heard about their life on twitter and obsessed endlessly on many social platforms. We've skyped occasionally but the thought of meeting them – people who are surprisingly important in my life – has always seemed unbelievable. Until now.

My mother always used to tell me that seeing is believing and so looking around at all the faces I have no choice but to believe.

"Still in shock?" Ingrid asks me. "Or do you just always look this gormless?"

"That's her natural expression," Elise teases.

"You're all mean people," I announce to the table, "you're lucky you like Blakely else I'd be leaving."

"And wouldn't we all be glad about that," Olive mutters under her breath jokingly.

I decide to ignore her comment and instead say high to all the other people gathered around the table. There are a surprising number of us here - to the point where this could possibly count as a meet-up - and usually I would retreat back into my shell in a situation like this. But the girls are all so nice, and they're all willing to chat about Blakely for hours on end, a trait I treasure.

Conversation flows easily between the group and after a while the original conversation between us all has diverged into several smaller conversations. I have a coffee in my hand and relax back in my seat as I watch Ingrid and Renee argue over which of the band members is going to get married first.

When Ingrid makes it clear that she is going to refuse to listen to any point Renee tries to make, Renee decides to come and sit with me.

"Enjoying yourself?" She asks me, picking up her own drink.

"It's great," I reply, "I guess it's nice to realise that you're a part of something this big."

Renee nods in understanding and begins to mutter away as she ties her surprisingly green hair up into a bun. On anyone else the colour would look atrocious, as if their hair was growing an unwanted layer of mould but instead Renee has gone for a gorgeous pastel shade that brings to my mind a picture of a mermaid. Renee has luscious locks that I would quite easily kill for.