If you have not read the Prologue, there is a very important authors note there. You may not understand the book if you don't read it. Enjoy.
Here is the link to Ashley's outfit: http://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/236x/5b/4e/24/5b4e242aaada625137cd70faa4c6b95d.jpg
Here is the link to Arden's outfit: http://fashionstylesmag.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/1.jpg
Status: Edited
Ashely's P.O.V.
Loud music flows throughout the hall as soon as I take a step out of my room, and I inhale the smell of bacon and eggs. As soon as I hear the first few lyrics I groan, remembering that it is going to be a One Direction filled day.
My feet shuffle against the tan carpet toward the bright kitchen and down the stairs, my eyes barely open. I'm surprised I didn't fall down the stairs when I make it safely onto the hardwood floor. I turn to the right and into the kitchen to see a tall girl in just a long jumper, dancing back and forth in front of the stove with a spatula in her hand. She hums along to the song playing soundly throughout the room, her feet hitting the ground. She's always been fairly good at singing, so I don't mind, even if it is One Direction.
"I don't care what people say when were together, you know I want to be the one to hold you in your sleep, I just want it to be you and I forever, I know you wanna leave so cmon baby, be with me so happily." She sings softly and stops abruptly when seeing my sleepy state standing before her. "Good afternoon sleepy head."
"Ugh, its too early for this." I groan as she hands me a plate full of food. I set it on the counter and sit on one of the stools, and she hands me a fork.
"Its 2:00 in the afternoon." She bursts out laughing and I roll my eyes, pushing my hair out of my face. Arden asks if I would like orange juice and I nod, taking the glass from her. "Maybe you shouldn't stay up so late watching Netflix."
"I know right? I'm such a party animal." I say sarcastically, taking another bite of bacon. "Besides, it shouldn't matter. I have all summer to figure out my life."
"I know, I know. We are adults now living on our own, and we make our own decisions."
"Right."
"So , lets make the decision to go and pick out our outfits together? I have an idea already for mine but most of your closet is black, white, and grey so maybe you can borrow some of my clothes." She suggests.
"First of all, black is very slimming. Second, my clothes are extremely expensive and fashionable. Third of all it also contains navy blue and maroon. Finally, I don't need to wear 'bright colors' to look pretty." I finish off my plate and walk over to the sink, and she shuts off the stove.
"I didn't say it wasn't and that you needed my style of clothes to look pretty. Just try and look nice okay? You look beautiful most of the time anyway, but I really want to make a good impression, okay?"
"Okay, I'll try." I smile and once again she hugs me. "Don't you have to eat?"
"Oh, I already ate before you walked down. I'm gonna go and curl my hair okay?" She sighs contently and scurries off to her room, leaving me to fend for myself with the clothing options.
*~*
Two hours later and my hair is wavy, my nails are painted maroon, and my body is freshly cleaned and pampered. My makeup is done naturally, just a bit of foundation and chap stick, winged eyeliner and mascara on my eyes. A grey beanie covers my hair, but it doesn't look bad at all. I'm wearing a white t shirt with black font on it, and a leather jacket with a grey hood. I've paired everything with black skinny jeans and grey Vans, making sure none of the colors clash. I don't look goth, if anything comfortable and chill. I'm actually looking forward to just going out on a Friday night even if it is to see a One Direction concert.
I just don't understand the hype about them. They are just five regular boys who grew up in the same place I did. They just sing well and look hot. They are equals, just like the rest of us, that make money off of poorly taught teens who dont know what they are getting themselves into. Most of them are brainwashed, and I refuse to become that.
"Ash, are you ready to go?" I look up from my phone to see a very excited Arden, who has keys clutched in her manicured hand. I nod and grab my purse, making sure to sneak my iPod in there in case my phone dies. I dont want to risk boredom. "I like your outfit."
"Thanks. Yours is actually amazing. Only you could pull that off." I chuckle looking over her. She is wearing a denim no sleeve button down with a black infinity scarf around her neck, paired with a black and white patterned skirt and black panty hoes. She has several rings on and a few silver braclets, and shes paired the whole outfit with black combat boots and pink socks sneaking out of them. I actually think I would wear that.
"Well we better get going. And thanks for coming with me, we are going to have so much fun!" She squeals, walking down the stairs and I trail after, locking up the house when we get outside.
"Yup. A boatload of fun." I mutter sarcastically and she hands me the car keys, walking to the white Lexus CT Hybrid parked in the driveway, and I enter the drivers seat, starting the car. Arden closes her door and I lock them, backing down the driveway towards a night full of music.
*~*
As soon as we are at least in a fifty foot radius, there are cars parked everywhere causing traffic jams. Every spot in the O2 parking lot is filled and there are cars parked on the sides of the street where it is illegal. There are thousands of fans lined up at the doors being held back by a barricade, and most of them are screaming at the direction of a tour bus parked. I enter the parking lot, a usher waving me in and he tells me there are a few spots left in lot J through the window, so I drive in the direction he is pointing.
Most of the girls here look around ten or twelve, and I'm laughing internally because Arden is eighteen. The majority of the girls here are around her age group, so I cant blame her for liking them. I'm eighteen also, I'm just not exactly into pop music.
I park in the spot that another usher has directed me in, and shut off the car. I make sure I have everything before I step out of the car, and make sure its locked. Arden is giggling and practically jumping out of her skin when we get to the line and read the sign.
ALL V.I.P. MAY GAIN EARLY ACCESS TO THE ARENA. PLEASE SPEAK TO THE BOOTH MANAGER TO THE RIGHT.
"Thats us! We are V.I.P!" Arden tugs on my sleeve and pulls me along the huge line, some girls giving glares to us like we are budging in front of them, but we are still outside the barricade. We reach a booth that has the title 'INFORMATION' and Arden eagerly reaches in her purse and takes out her ID.
"Excuse me sir?" A man looks up at us through his glasses and he puts down his newspaper. "I am Arden Renee, and I won a contest that was being held by Syco Records. I was told we would get our backstage passes here and our tickets here."
"ID?" The man gruffly speaks, and she passes him the ID under the glass. He scans it over and reaches behind him, grabbing a purple bag. He shoves it under the glass, and Arden catches it before it falls to the ground. "Everything that you need is in there. You may go around the corner, and there will be a bodyguard named Paul. He'll take you from there."
"Thank you, sir. Have a great day." Arden smiles and takes the ID from him with a nod. We follow his instructions and as we walk, she digs in the bag and takes out two lanyards with card hanging on them. "These are our backstage passes, we need to wear them around our necks. I guess the tickets are included in the package."
I'm suprised at how calm she is remaining while taking out everything. Included in the bag was also two glow sticks and two tour tshirts signed by the boys themselves. They actually touched them. And she remained calm.
Unbelievable.
Arden spots a man dressed in all black and he greets us, leading us into a huge arena, no seats filled yet. He leads us to our seats as we both take it all in, in all of its glory.
Fans begin to file in twenty minutes later and I feel suffocated, even though we are in the front row, front in center. Girls are screaming and the lights begin to dim, music starting to play throughout the humongous space. A shriek sounds from Arden when one of the boys step on stage and I can't help but smile at her reaction.
They begin to speak and a curly headed one whispers in the boy with the fringe's ear, and they begin to break out into song. Thier first single, 'What Makes You Beautiful' is sung around me in every direction, and I have to admit the energy is electrifying. Its kind of beautiful.
They start to sing another song and Arden says its called 'Better Than Words'. There is a part of it where the curly headed one and the blonde haired one toch thier groins and the whole crowd goes crazy. I can't help but laugh at all the people around me and it all feels so surreal. One of the boys throws a water bottle into the screaming crowd and it lands next to me, and I don't pay much attention to it. Suddenly I'm not smiling anymore and I'm struggling to breathe as girls start to trample me to the ground. I'm claustrophobic and the atmosphere is starting to get suffocating and hot- too hot. The girls practically overpower me and suddnely im crawling, lost in the crowd and tears spring to my eyes. I hear my name being called and I know it's Ardens, but I'm too caught up in the clenching of my chest. Oh god.
I'm having a panic attack.
I try to calm myself down and crawl in a random direction, and that seems to work until I crawl into a wire fence, trapped under peoples legs. I feel a hand on my back as I start to freak out and one of the bodyguards pull me up, my breathing rapid. Im coughing and I feel like I can't breath as I look back at the stage. The curly headed boy is staring at me with concern and he is yelling angirly at the security guard, pointing to the right. He's frantically pointing when I cough again and suddenly I'm being man-handled by the same bodyguard who I recognize as Paul, and hauled away to a dark area of the stage. I turn back and see a confused Arden, and she points to her phone. I nod and continue to walk with the guard, my chest practically heaving.
I'm sat down in a corner, so deluded from the crowd that the sound is barely hard and handed a water bottle. A lady tells me to drink it and breath in through my nose and out my mouth. I follow her instructions and my breathing slows back to normal, to its normal pace.
"Are you okay? Only twenty minutes into the concert and you've already given up." Paul chuckles and I give him a glare, which he just laughs at. "I'm sorry about that. It happens all the time, I just don't thinks we've ever had that type of reaction before."
"It's fine. Thanks for getting me out of there. I'm fine now, don't worry about it." I gingerly smile at him and he stands up.
"Are you ready to go back out there or would you like to stay back here until the concert is over?" He raises an eyebrow and I give him a look, which he nods. "Thought so. Wouldn't want to risk that again."
He leaves the area and I text Arden explaining everything that has happened. She just asks if I'm okay and that she will meet me after the concert is over. I tell her I'm fine and that I'll see her then, then I stand up and look at my surroundings.
I'm in a room surrounded by clothing racks and hair products lining makeup counters. Empty drinks sit on the coffee table and I lean back, beginning to read and wait for the concert to be over.
Time flies by quickly and suddenly the door bursts open, revealing a very happy but relived Arden.
"Oh thank god." She breathes pulling me into a bone crushing hug once she gets to me. I chuckle and pat her on the back, hugging back just as tight. "Now that this is over, we have to go meet the boys. I think we've had enough disaster for one night."
She grabs my hand and leads me out of what I assume is a dressing room, and down the corridor. She turns left and I realize we are backstage, and there are people walking in every direction speaking into headsets. Arden taps on a man's shoulder and asks him where to go, and we follow him down another corridor, a more deluded one.
"They are back here ladies. You have ten minutes. Make your time worth it." He smiles with a thumbs up and walks down the corridor we just came from. I feel Arden shaking and I turn to her, trying to help her anxiety. I hand her my phone that has an open camera app, and she checks over how she looks. I do the same, and thanked the lord that my hair or my clothing was not messed up in what had happened.
"It's okay. They are right behind that door, okay? You are beautiful, you have an amazing personality, and I promise you they will love it okay? Remember, they are just people." I shrug, offering a smile and she nods, swallowing down her nervousness.
"You're right. They'll love me, just gotta rip the band- aid off right?" She nods, a bit too overly confident and she pries her hand from my grip, and practically throws open the door loudly, walking in without a care in the world. All conversation stops between the boys and she stiffens, a deep crimson covering her cheeks at the British boys' stares.
"Um, hi?" Zayn laughs amused and I let out a breath I didn't realize I was holding. Her feet seem glued to the ground and I push her forward, her stumbling a bit. Her hands are fumbling together as her gaze sets on the floor, this not being the initial reaction you would expect from her.
"Oops?" I laugh, trying to lighten the mood a bit and a round of chuckles emits from all of them. They stand up and begin to walk over and Arden looks like she is about to pass out.
"Are you the fans who won the contest?" Louis asks. The only reason I know their names is because Arden had given me a crash course on the basic information on them.
'It was necessary'
"Uh, fan." I awkwardly say and pat Arden's shoulder, shoving my hands in my pockets.
"H-Hi." She stutters out, and I shove her a little again, and she moves a bit closer to them. Zayn holds out his hand and she takes it slowly, her eyes widening. "Can I um- Can I hug you?"
She asks like she is afraid she's going to get kicked out of the arena, and I see Zayn's sympathy for her as nods. She looks like she is about to cry as she wraps her arms around her neck, and his around her waist. He looks quite smug, and I can tell he thinks she's fit. 'You're her favorite', I mouth to him and that just makes him hug her tighter.
"Anyway, this is Arden. She has been a fan of yours for years, she's a bit starstruck at the moment." I chuckle, crossing my arms. I meet eyes with the curly headed boy, and his green eyes bore into mine, when he walks towards me.
"Do you not like our music?" He questions, cocking his head a bit. He is generally interested, but sarcastically inclined.
"Just doesn't interest me." I shrug and most of the boys look offended. Zayn is now having a conversation with Arden and the three other boys, but it's now halted at my answer. "Sorry, jeez."
"Well Ms. Disinterest, my name is Harry. Nice to meet you." He holds out his hand and I roll my eyes, but take it anyway. It's quite big and soft, from a distance he smells like raspberries and cologne. It's an intoxicating smell and I'm questioning as to why I'm so attracted to it. He is quite attractive in person I have to admit, but I need to get some self control. "That was uh, quite the fall you took back there, huh?"
I bury my face in my hand when he laughs, and groan. "I'm fine, thanks for asking. Your fans are delusional and psychotic. "
"Thank you. And your name is?" He raises an eyebrow, crossing his arms, leaning against the couch.
"Ashley. It's not a pleasure to meet your aquantince." I scoff, and his lips form a pout.
"Well Ashley, I don't think you should judge so quickly. That's how people get hurt." He scolds and I meet eyes with him again.
"I've heard things about The Harry Styles. And not all of them are good things. But thanks for helping me at the concert I suppose." I shrug, fixing my beanie. He smirks and I'm confused at his facial expression.
"That's a label. I'm sick of hearing that you know? Mostly it's from mothers but how old are you? 16?" He cocks his head at me, playing with his fingers and I scoff.
"I'm 18, excuse me. It's a label you made for yourself."
"You're feisty aren't you?" His nose wrinkles and I want to slap him. "Tell you what, everyone deserves a second chance. How about we exchange numbers and I take you out for coffee tomorrow."
"Oh please. I'm sure your schedule is too hectic to be hanging out with just a regular old person like me." I say sarcastically and he smiles, taking out his phone.
"Just trying to be a gentleman, honest." He puts a hand to his heart and hands me his phone. "I'll text you tonight with the details, okay?"
"Harry-"
"Ashley, we are both legal adults, going out for coffee. We make our own decisions, and my decision is that I want to make a better impression on you. C'mon, one coffee can't hurt right?" He winks and for some reason I can't resist to put my phone number into his phone. I make a new contact and hand it back to him which he accepts. "Great. I think this is the beginning of a wonderful friendship, don't you?"
That dumb smirk made me want to get in my car and drive away from this stadium as quick as possible to avoid further argument, so I just stay quiet and watch Arden's dreams come true before my eyes.