*Grace's POV*
"Starts in 10! 5 Seconds of Summer, you're up!" Paul shouted to get the Aussie guys' attention. They were still on their Nintendo 3DS playing Pokémon Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire.
Boys will be boys.
"Hold on! Yes! Michael Clifford is the victor of the round! Woohoo!" Mikey proclaimed out loud, slamming his 3DS on the coffee table. He fist bumps the air a couple of times while Luke and Calum stood there in disappointment. Ashton was the spectator.
"Hurry up, boys! We still have to wire you guys up." Paul had irritation evident in his tone. He gestures the lads out of the dressing room, then to the backstage.
"I guess it's our turn to go too! C'mon!" Harmony whips Janice and I away from the room and into the audience we went.
After going pass many security officers and a walking passerby, we made it to the Saitama Super Arena where many teenage girls were awaiting for the performers to be on stage.
The mosh pit was only 20 steps away. But there were many fangirls already hyping up for the performance. The black screen showed 7:25pm, the band would be coming in 5 minutes time.
"How are we going to squeeze our way through?" I ask in the hopes that we don't actually get kicked out for not being behind the metal dividers.
"I don't know! Let me see.. How 'bout we crawl underneath those metal things?" Harmony suggested. So not helping here, best friend.
"We could just say we got lost and here we are?" Janice had the most brilliant plan ever, unlike genius love-struck girl over here.
"Excuse me, we kinda got lost so we landed up here, could we get inside?" Harmony tapped on one of the security guards.
"Me.. no speak English-se!" The Asian man looked around then pulled a fair skinned man. He was rather young as a matter of fact!
"Hi, ladies. Why are you here over the border in the first place?" He asked with eyebrow raised.
"We, you know, had no idea where we were.. So, you know, we tried to navigate but we ended up here, so I wondering, you know, if we could go back into the audience, you know, that'll be great," Harmony explained, grinning forcefully.
"So you're saying you somehow got into here? We have top notch security, wouldn't they bring you to the correct spot?" He answered with clueless written on his face.
"That's why I don't know.. I mean we just arrived in Japan, like 3 hours ago, so I mean, yeah we're lost," Janice added.
The young lad looked at us as if we were three girls that just escaped the mental hospital. Oh boy.
"So could we, you know, get into the audience?"
"The show is starting soon, so, I mean, could we?"
"In a minute? Oh no, please, you know, let us go in?"
That's it, I'm telling the truth.
"We are just friends of the performers and we just wanted to witness their beautiful voices so could you please let us in?" I spoke as fast as possible.
"Oh, you could have said earlier! We have a place just for you three! The One Direction boys told us these instructions, right this way please!" The man joyfully replied, walking us towards the blank space the boys had reserved for us.
Aww, they didn't have to! Actually, they do, if not we'll be stuck either just backstage or worse, stranded outside!
And just in time, we slipped our way through and 5 Seconds of Summer popped up, ready to perform their wonderfully written songs.
"Good evening Tokyo!" Luke shouted out without the microphone, running towards the mic stand with his electric guitar bopping around. The others, Michael, Calum and Ashton, followed suit.
"ONE, TWO, ONE, TWO, THREE, FOUR!" Ashton yelled through the microphone to start off the song.
Instrumentals were starting to surround the arena and loud, high pitched screams echoed through the walls, it was time to face the music.
"You walked in, everyone was asking for your name, you just smiled and told them 'Trouble'.
My head spins, I'm pressed against the wall just watching your every move.
You're way too cool, and you're coming this way, coming this way," Luke started off low then building it up strongly.
"How did we end up talking in the first place?
You said you liked my Cobain shirt, now we're walking back to your place, you're telling me how you love that song about living on a prayer.
I'm pretty sure that we're halfway there and when I wake up next to you I wonder how, how did we end up here?" The rest sang along, captivating my heart.
"How did we end up, how did we end up here?" Michael sang, smirking with confidence.
Ashton hits the drums with precision, professionalism and passion. This dude is obviously mental, in a very cool way.
"Next day out, everybody thought you were so insane 'cause you were so far out of my league," Calum continued with that burst of energy.
~
"Hello hello Tokyo!" Michael squealed, sticking his tongue out.
"Konnichiwa!" Calum attempted to speak Japanese. Even though I did not know what it actually meant, I could see that the crowd laughed along. Also together with Janice, Harmony and I. However, Janice giggled the hardest and loudest. Being with the band really bonded her a lot with them, I realised. (A/N: translation - hello)
"We really appreciate it if you please applaud for our guests this evening!" Luke looks at us, smiling. The audience went wild over us, it felt so surreal.
"So the next song is a song that me and Mikey wrote, hope you enjoy! This is Good Girls!" Ashton tells the audience and they went insanely excited.
"I can't wait for this song! I have a feeling he wrote it for me," Janice giggled, not giving any context of any sort, but we just kept quiet. Somebody's got some explaining to do!
~
"I wanna see the way you move for me, baby. I wanna see the way you move for me, baby. I wanna see the way you move for me," the boys harmonised like it was the end of the world. They had intensity in their eyes and sounded super ultra fantastic.
They were perfect.
Louis had the voice that soothed me, from any kind of illness.
Zayn had that spectacular vocal range and the ultimate strong voice.
Liam was the best harmoniser that I've ever heard and had gorgeous vocals.
Harry's capability of singing was magnificent; that angelic voice of his was ringing nicely in my ears.
And Niall, his vocals was so raw and exposed, I loved it. I could sense his voice change from the day I first met him. My own guitar boy was the fu.cking best out there.
"I wanna see the way you move for me, baby. I wanna see the way you move for me, baby. I wanna see the way you move for me, oh!" They finished the song, with pure strength.
The assembly of listeners screamed and shouted their lungs out, like all people in concerts.
"A massive, massive thank you to everyone who came here tonight! You all are extremely ridiculous! In a good way," Liam shrieked, excitement was written all over him; his eyes crinkled, his bright smile, even his hands - they were shaking
"Thank you everyone! Arigato!" Harry waved towards the audience and obviously the bunch of fangirls waved back. His Japanese actually sounded pretty legit.
(A/N: translation - thank you)
I heard a little murmuring while the boys were goofing around on stage. The voices were behind me.
"I heard that Grace dumped Harry! I thought she was really sweet, but after hearing this piece of news, I'm not sure I like her anymore," a British accented girl was talking.
"I knew from the start that she wasn't Harry's type, I've never shipped them at all. Also, I heard she is dating Niall! She doesn't deserve him, such a b-" The other English lady was interrupted by a raging Harmony.
"Hi, would you kindly be so considerate to stop talking about my best friend? You wouldn't like it if I splurged your private life to every single person out there? Grace is human, she has feelings. So it doesn't give you the right to say things like that," her voice came out surprisingly calm, but I knew, even without looking at her, her face was filled with fury.
The girls never responded, but I did not dare to see their expressions. I looked up to the stage and saw Niall also staring at us. He frowns, probably pitying me.
"Before we move into the other song, just be reminded," Niall said in serious tone, staring into my eyes then facing the audience. "Whatever you're thinking now about the person you hate, it doesn't matter what they did to you or what you did to them, just let it go for this concert."
"That's a bit dark, Niall," Louis honestly answered.
"Well that was just for you to enjoy the concert without distractions, eh?" Harry chimed in, smiling slightly. Zayn and Louis instantaneously nodded in agreement.
"On a lighter note, the next song is also on our Midnight Memories album and it is called Little White Lies, let's hit it!" Liam exclaimed, with his twinkling brown eyes.
Oh Niall, you did not have to do that.
~
After the performance, we went to the backstage and found 5 Seconds of Summer to be lingering around the black boxes of instruments.
"You smashed it out there!" Janice yelled to Ashton, then embracing to a mini hug session. So cute!
"Thanks, Jan," Luke answered for Ashton.
"I wasn't talking to you, dumbäss!" She fought back, and the bickering carried on. I turned around to see Harmony cuddling with Louis but the other guys weren't at sight.
"Louis, where's the others?" I asked the squashed, big teddy-bear-sized man.
"I don't know. I just came here for Mony," he cheekily smiled and I jokingly rolled my eyes at him.
"You even got a nickname for her? Gosh you guys are too lovesick!" I shook my head, stifling a laugh.
"Who's lovesick now?" A fellow Irish accent came out of nowhere, grasping me by the waist. His blonde hair was so soft, it could pass as puppy's fur.
"Hey," I giggle in between my word. "You shouldn't have done that just now, it created more attention towards the situation."
"I was just doing what a boyfriend should do, to protect you no matter what. Anyway, enjoyed our performance?"
"I did. How did you know we were sneaking in?" I raised an eyebrow.
"We knew. Boy power, you know?" He chuckled, continuing,"We actually wanted you guys to go to the concert like everyone else!"
"So no eavesdropping?" I laughed.
"Nope."
"Next stop, the airport. Let's go boys!" Paul shouted, obviously grabbing everyone's attention.
He was going to leave soon, and I really had to say goodbye for real this time.
"Grace? Baby, don't cry," Niall's calming voice wasn't effective towards my agonising pain of him leaving so soon.
My brain could not process anything, my hands were shivering, my chest tightens and my eyes couldn't leave his glorious ones.
He pulls me into an embrace, hugging me tightly. His scent was very distinct today, musky with a little hint of lavender. That help me relax a bit, but the thought of him disappearing wasn't appeasing at all.
"Niall," I wailed, trying to lift the spirits up by faintly chuckling. "You are such an awesome person, that doesn't stop me from saying this: you deserve someone better."
He stared with brooding eyes, cupping my chin. I push back, signaling what I had to do.
I breathe in, trying to slow down my thumping heart, then carried on,"You know what they were saying? They said I did not deserve you, and I think that is true. Someone like me.. I'll just break you into pieces. Someone like me, I'll never be there for you."
"You," I held his wrist, tugging it closer. "Can brighten up my world. Can make me the happiest girl alive. Can turn my whole world the right side up. But me? What can I do?"
My shoulder inched forward as his hands draw me close to his body. This intimacy brought me to look up at him.
"You can make me the most blessed man in the universe! You can set that fiery passion inside of me. You make me contented with who I am. Most importantly, you are the one, the only one that will be my anchor," he preached, also brimming with tears.
I buried myself in the sea of cotton that was his shirt. Why couldn't this man let go?
Following the dark conversation I had with Niall, we - Janice, Harmony, the 5SOS boys and I - hopped onto two One Direction vans that brought us to the airport. I had kept quiet the entire ride there while the others were happily chatting away.
Upon reaching the private jets and private aircraft departure hall, there was still loud chattering circulating in the group of friends next to me. I flipped out my phone, playing the same game the 15th time today. This made me fall a bit behind, but I don't think anyone would be aware of it.
"Hi Grace? You haven't been talking." Harry approached me, noticing that I was cold towards everyone. I put my phone away.
"Yeah, I can't.. I can't accept the fact you guys are leaving." I half-smiled.
"Are you sure about that?" He wasn't certain about my answer. I can't blame him for observing my puffy, red eyes and my frequent phone usage.
"You know me well, Harry. Thanks for worrying, but we'll be separating, we will lose contact then we will become strangers."
"Grace.. Why are you being so pessimistic? What happened to the charismatic and cheerful Grace Persimmons?"
"That girl will come back when you all leave. That girl would be happier without you all here by my side," I reply monotonously.
He stayed silent, trying to collate the things I just said.
"You are wrong. Niall and I will prove you wrong. We will Skype you everyday, if not every week. We will contact by a Whatsapp group. Whatever it is, we will all still be with you. And we will make you happy again."
"What's the point when I know we can't be together as friends? How can I keep on promising myself that you two, if not all of you, that I would never disappoint you!" I bellowed.
"Because we love you!" Harry tried to match my tone then mitigated it down.
"Love is strong word, and I know that. From the day we separated, I thought I lost it. I thought you were gone forever and we couldn't be friends again. But look at us, we're two friends surviving in the harsh world, nothing will stand in our way if you do not give up. So my point is this, if you think you're going to disappoint us, you're wrong. We love you as much as you do."
I was at a loss of words. Many thoughts flooded my mind swiftly but I could not speak out what was going on in my head. Of all the things that I wanted to say, I decided to not say anything. But to just hug him for his act of love, friendship and trust.
"Let's join back, okay? Don't be stubborn, now. We're leaving in a few so I hope you at least interact with some people here." Harry swung his arm over my shoulder as we walked back to the squad.
I exhaled out. Harry was so right, if I was going to miss them, I should really talk to them.
"Hey Grace, Harry," Zayn greeted with a small wave.
"Hi," I grinned. "So, you're leaving huh."
"Yeah, I'll miss you. We'll miss you." He beamed.
"We would make sure to not cause any trouble!" Louis shrieked. "And I promise not to steal Niall's food."
"That's the spirit!" I joked. "Behave yourselves, okay? Listen to Paul, I'm watching you."
"Yes, Madam!" Louis stopped to salute me. Zayn humorously follow Louis, causing to laugh too hard.
I look at the ground, observing my shoes. Once I shot up, it was time that everyone had to leave. Everyone took turns to hug and say their goodbye wishes to me. Friends after friends, I finally end at Niall.
The others knew we were going to have a long and hard time together, so they went ahead first.
"This is where you say goodbye and I love you, right?" I giggle, trying to lift up the mood.
"Yes, Grace." He adjusted my jacket and tucked the loose strands of hair behind my ear. His kisses my forehead, pulling me close as ever.
I took a good stare at him. His eyes were bright blue, clearer than the skies. He had the cutest nose and the best of them, his plump lips. They were the ones that swoon me over, that zipped me up and the ones that made me fall deeply in love with him.
"Grace Carly Persimmons, do you remember that time I confessed that I wanted you to be mine?" I nodded.
"That was the night that felt so right. No more drama, just you and I. At that moment onward, you never cease to amaze me." Tears were rolling down cheek. "You were the brave one, the smart one, the pretty one. Most particularly, the optimistic one. I even thought that you were too good for me!"
He paused, letting me chuckle through his lame joke. "So this thing, this insecurity of yours is utter bullocks! You are the one that makes me question if I was the one in wrong. 'Cause you're just plain wonderful the way you are." Now, I was sobbing.
"With everything I said, leading up to this, I want you to choose wisely. I only want to let you know, if you actually, truely want to separate, it is ultimately your choice."
It was time for me to decide.
__________________________
can i just say this is the end of the book? it technically is the last chapter, if u forget about the epilogue ;)
thank you so so so much for reading through my crazy stupid writing skills! i really appreciate every single one you :) even if you don't read this author's note.
all that mushy things aside, there will be an epilogue.. but, it will take a while to finish it so hope you can wait :D
insert shameless self promo here: if you're a 5SOS fan, please check out my fanfic its called Hacked! i changed it from hijacked to hacked cuz it sounds like i was writing an airplane fic
ANYWAY, (srsly check hacked outtt) i will see you in the final installment expectantly soon!!!
GOODBYE
MY SWORD-FIGHTING,
LASER SHOOTING,
FANFIC READING,
PIZZA EATING,
READERS
-Hannah ♥