7. The Early Bird Catches the Worm. To be Honest, I'd Rather Sleep in.
”You’re insecure! Don’t know what for! You’re turning heads when you walk through the do-o-or!”
Screaming woke me up.
I groaned and rolled towards the noise. With my eyes still shut, I tried to hit the snooze button on my alarm. I frowned, only half conscious, as my hand slapped the edge of the bedside table blindly, hitting a lamp, then a clock and then something hot… it made an ear-shattering CLANG as I hit it.
What the f–
I yelped as I tumbled off the left side of the bed and hit the floor with a loud thump. I swore as my eyes adjusted to the light and found myself staring at the ceiling, dazed. The sheets lay tangled at my feet. Ellie stumbled into the room, anchoring herself upright on the door frame.
“What’s going on? Is there an earthquake?!”
She looked like a deranged squirrel. Her eyes were half shut and her short, brown hair stood up on her head in tufts, as if she’d been electrocuted. I sat up and realised exactly where I was.
Oh yeah, so much for the strange dream I'd been having. The distant memory of a gunshot echoed in my head. Apparently it was all real and coming back to bite me in the ass. I was lying in a hotel room, courtesy of a robbery and One Direction. Plus, the noise that had woken me up wasn’t just screaming, it sounded like singing coming from the window outside.
“YOU DON’T KNOW YOU’RE BEAUTIFUL!”
“Make them stop.” Ellie moaned, slumped against the doorframe in her plaid pyjamas. “You have the power now.” Her eyes drooped closed and she let out an obnoxiously loud yawn. “With great power, comes great responsibility…”
“Ellie. You just quoted ‘Spiderman’.”
We are so not morning people.
I stood up unsteadily to investigate the foreign object on my table. I had no idea how I’d missed it before. There was a silver breakfast tray next to my bed… a white, china plate covered by an intricately carved silver dome used to keep food warm.
Ellie’s eyes widened. “Where the hell did that come from?” She whipped her head left and right, as if she’d catch the culprit hiding in the closet.
“I have no idea…” I murmured, slightly unnerved about the fact that a stranger had stood beside me while I was asleep. I lifted the lid hesitantly, as if unveiling a bomb. Bacon, fluffy eggs and two thick slices of toast sat on the plate. They smelt incredible and looked like a vision from a breakfast ad. Ellie gasped and sprinted back to her room.
“I have one too!” She squealed from behind the wall.
I took the plate into the living area and helped myself to a piece of bacon. Unfortunately, you could still hear the crowd singing outside, loud as ever.
“They’ve been singing since six this morning, just so you know.” Ellie bounced onto the couch beside me, her mouth full of bread. I glanced at the time. My eyes widened.
“Shit, it’s already noon!” I raced off the couch and into my room to change. “How did it get so late?”
“Well, let’s see.” Ellie bit a piece of bacon thoughtfully. “You’re a heavy sleeper even on your best days… so, add a late night and a concussion from the day before, and waking you up would be like poking a sleeping bear.”
“James is meeting us at one!” I informed her, raking my fingers through my hair in an effort to tame it. Both of us steered clear of the window as we got ready. It was as if the area around it was protected by an invisible force-field. Neither of us wanted to catch a glimpse at the street below… god knows how many people were out there.
Judging by the volume of singing, it was a lot. It sounded like the crowd had decided to hold their own public concert in the middle of the road. Probably using the barricades outside as a mosh pit.
“So, how exactly is James getting in?” Ellie twisted her hair into a messy bun. She raised a brow “Should I text him our room number so that he can teleport inside?”
I paused, realising the problem. I hadn’t mentioned James to the boys or the guards on our floor yet. I bit my lip. Great. I’d half expected Paula to parade into our room first thing this morning for a decision, but she hadn’t, and the floor was suspiciously silent.
I didn’t want to bump into anyone until I’d made a decision, and there was no way I could make a decision this big without seeing James first.
I turned to Ellie, eyes wide and pleading, hoping that she’d arrange the visit for me. She knew what that look meant even before I’d asked.
“Oh no. Nu-uh. No way.” She crossed her arms decisively and shook her head. “You’ll have to face them sometime, Ava. Besides, the Men in Black out there aren’t going to listen to me!”
Her description of the band’s bodyguards, Andy and Preston, turned out to be scarily accurate, as I opened our room door and nearly slammed straight into a man outside. He was wearing a suit and shades and was built like a tank. He stepped aside gruffly as I eyed him in alarm. He wasn’t Andy or Preston.
“Hi.”
He nodded at me in acknowledgement, but didn’t reply.
“Uh… who are you?”
“Russell.”
I waited for him to elaborate. He didn’t.
“Oh… okay. Russell. Great name. Suits you.”
Now I was just rambling. They’d probably called for more back-up after last night. I pressed my head around the doorframe like a submarine periscope in an effort to see into the hallway. Russell clearly didn’t have any plans on moving. I recognised Andy positioned outside the room a few doors down.
“Andy!”
I waved at him like a lunatic. He shot me a wide grin and gestured for Russell to switch places with him. Russell returned to his position as a human wall in front of the room next door, his expression stoic.
“Gee, he’s a chatty one isn’t he?”
Andy guffawed. “Yeah, Russell’s not one for small talk. I’m telling you though, I wouldn't want to run into him in a dark alleyway, that’s for sure!”
I could imagine. Even from here, I could see that Russell had arm muscles roughly the size of my head.
“So, what can I do for you, sweetheart?”
I shot Andy my most charming smile. “Plenty, actually. I have a friend that I need to see today…” I paused. “Is there any way that he’d be able to get into the hotel safely?”
Andy’s expression turned thoughtful.
“Or,” I tried not to look too eager. “Ellie and I could just meet him outside...?”
He shook his head immediately at that. “Not possible, love. I don’t know if you’ve taken a look outside,” He indicated to the window at the end of the hallway. “But it’s a circus out there. You’re not leaving the hotel without further arrangements.”
Disappointment washed over me. The ‘further arrangements’ were exactly what I’d wanted to avoid.
“Sorry, really.” Andy shot me a sympathetic look. “It’s for your own safety. I know it’s gonna take some getting used to.”
“That’s okay.” I pushed my disappointment aside. “Will James be able to get inside?”
Andy scratched his chin. “Shouldn’t be too impossible to arrange.” He nodded in confirmation. “Yep, I can organise that. What time is this mate coming? I’ll just grab his details and let the boys know.”
“Let the boys know what?”
A familiar Irish accent echoed down the hall as Niall bounded out the elevator towards us, balancing a tray of food in his hands. He was tailed by Preston, another of the boy’s bodyguards that I’d met briefly last night, who struggled to balance double the amount of trays. Andy took one off his hands. All three (including the one that Niall held) were piled high with food.
“Oh, I was just clearing a request with Andy.” I shot Niall a friendly smile. “I need to get my friend James past security.”
Niall grinned and gestured towards the door, his hands full. “Bring your mates here, there’s plenty of food. The more the merrier!” The mountain of said food teetered dangerously on his tray.
The food he was carrying could clearly be categorised as ‘breads’ as far as I could see. There were rolls and buns of all sorts that smelt like heaven, baked goods that I would bet were fresh from the oven. Preston waited patiently behind him carrying a tray loaded with sections of salad, cheese and olives.
Andy’s tray clearly took care of the ‘meats’ portion. It looked like the boys were having a sandwich party. Either that, or they were starting up their own ‘Subway’.
I couldn’t help but smile, his happiness was contagious. It was nice of Niall to offer, but if James made it inside, we had a lot of catching up to do.
“That sounds great. We’ll see you soon, maybe.” I lied, feeling a prickle of guilt. Niall was a ball of energy as he strolled back to his room, his tongue out in concentration as he struggled to keep his tray upright. Preston followed closely behind him.
“Just text me your friend’s details and I’ll let him know which entrance to come through.” Andy nodded at me and disappeared after Preston into Niall’s room. I let out a breath of relief. That hadn’t been too hard to sort out.
The thought of seeing James soon made me feel lighter already. I skipped back to our room and collapsed onto the couch next to Ellie, satisfied.
“All sorted?” She asked, pouring herself a bowl of cereal. I nodded and flipped the TV’s channel to a cartoon.
“Yep. He’s in.” Which saved me the effort of formulising a plan to sneak out, if he hadn’t been welcome. “And no one even mentioned last night.”
Ellie chomped on her breakfast thoughtfully. “Dove James really haf to come?” She mumbled, her mouth still full.
Ellie and James had never really gotten along. They’d both been my best friends for as long as I could remember, but no matter how many times I’d forced them together, it was clear that they were determined to stay apart.
They were like oil and water. With his scruffy appearance, blunt demeanour and brash personality, James was the polar opposite of Ellie; who avoided conflict, layered herself in colours and lit up the room with her smile.
Ellie thought that James was rude, impatient and harsh, while James thought that Ellie was naïve, oblivious and flighty. Clearly, they couldn’t see all the things they had in common… the fact that they were both kind and loyal, the main reasons that I loved them in the first place.
I shot Ellie a warning glare and sent Andy a picture of James.
“Yes, he has to come Elle! Can’t you guys at least try to get along?”
A look of aversion crossed her face and she frowned like she had a bad taste in her mouth. It was a rare expression on Ellie, who never usually had a problem with anyone or anything.
“Fine.” She surrendered, throwing up her hands dramatically. “But I can’t promise anything! If he’s being an asshat I can’t guarantee that I won’t throw something at him.”
I grinned. Fair enough. James was secretly a softie deep down, but ‘deep down’ meant beneath the layers and layers of blunt remarks and hostility. He could probably stand to be taken down a peg or two, if Ellie ever felt inclined to lob a piece of toast at his head.
Despite all their bickering, I still couldn’t help but think that they would both get along great, if they would only give each other a chance. I smiled evilly to myself. Well, that didn’t mean that I would ever stop trying.
My phone buzzed next to me, interrupting my thoughts. I picked it up and was greeted by high pitched screams in my ear. In fact, all I could hear was screaming. I held the phone away from my face and winced. James was here.
“Ava!” He shouted above the noise. “I’m pushing my way to the front of the crowd now! Jesus, Ow! Get off me!” He let out a string of curses and I imagined him pushing his way through a sea of girls to the hotel entrance. The noise of the crowd echoed behind him.
“Elbows out!” I advised, struggling to keep a straight face.
“Damn right, elbows out!” He yelled back. “These girls are fucking vicious! A thirteen year old just hit me in the balls with her sign!”
Ellie heard his voice through the phone and dissolved into a fit of giggles.
I tried not to laugh, and punched her in the arm to shush her.
“Just get to the front, okay, Jay? Security has your picture. They’ll let you through.”
I heard him swear some more as the crowd began singing another One Direction song. It sounded like they were belting out the first verse of ‘Live While We’re Young’. Loud and proud.
“Jesus, do I really love you enough for this?” He shouted in alarm.
“Yes!” I answered for him, hanging up with a grin.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Dedicated to LouisLarryLarrot for making the gorgeous cover on the side! Talent or what
Chapter 8 includes: A MAROON HOODIE, FIVE MILLION DOLLARS AND AN IDEA.