Romantic [H.S.] (Book 2)

02 | Machu Picchu

April 28th, 2014. Lima, Peru.

The first show of the Where We Are Tour went on without a hitch. I was a lot more emotional than anticipated, especially with trying to come to terms with the fact that I was standing in a crowd of over forty thousand people, there to support my love and four of my best friends.

Leading up to going onstage, the standard routine and rituals were carried out. The entire crew had dinner at the stadium as a family before they were off to work once more with the opening of the doors. I went on my walk around the stadium earlier than I usually plan on to stay close to Harry. Rather than giving him more space, I knew that I had to stay with him a little longer since he was finding himself, surprisingly, but maybe not so much so, nervous. As usual, I was not going onstage, yet, I could feel the nerves radiating off him and transferring onto myself.

Harry dressed in all black; a black sweater and a black pair of jeans, minus the brown Chelsea boots on his feet and the multicoloured scarf tied around his head. From there we ventured to the communal dressing room, where he and the boys were mic'ed up and ready to go. I held Harry's hand and walked with the boys through the halls to the fenced pathway that takes them to the stage. Then, I kissed him good luck before we parted ways, and I joined Lou in the elevated section reserved for crew, friends and family.

The show itself can only be described as electric. If the stadium had a ceiling, it would have been blown clean off. I believe that I have never heard a crowd as loud as this one was, and their noise level only got higher as the show progressed. Every single person in that stadium was having the time of their life. Loud singing, excessive dancing and even a few tears were shed throughout the journey of the show and it all ended with a bang, in the form of fireworks being set off during Best Song Ever.

Straight after the show, we were on the jet and headed straight to Peru, where sleep was virtually impossible. The boys' energy and adrenaline were still sky high, and I could not help but also be just as amped up as they were. Aside from a soundcheck in the late afternoon, there was nothing else on the boys' schedule for the day, but it did not take long for the fans to find out about their arrival in the city. A mass crowd continued to grow outside the hotel and I was concerned as to how they were going to get back from the stadium safely.

The crowd that did gather outside the hotel filled the streets, resembling packed sardines, cheering and singing to show their love and appreciation to the boys for journeying to their country and city. Though this was a wonderful and unbelievable sight, the constant noise level made sleep difficult for the entire hotel. At one point during the night, Harry and I found ourselves staring up at the ceiling in the darkness trying not to lose our wits.

The next day Harry, Lou and I managed to step out and have lunch at a cafe, where we nursed multiple cups of coffee. Harry and I also had the good fortune of linking up with our parents over FaceTime before they turned in for the night in our normal time zone. Being the show day for Peru, sleep deprivation had hit us all like a freight train.