Note: This Story is in the P.O.V. of Liam Payne. If you have any question about the story, don't be afraid to ask me ;)
Adrenaline rush. Heartbeats pounding in my chest. That tingly feeling in the stomach, they call it butterflies. Wait a second, why am I even feeling nervous?... Oh God, what am I talking about? I always get nervous.
This is it. Our very first live international tour and I am even more nervous than Niall getting mobbed in France. My 'chuck taylors' are soaking up the dripping sweats off of my feet. First name to be called, first one to sing the first line of our first song in our very first international concert tour, "Oh Liam, what have you got yourself into?,..don't faint, don't faint, don't faint." I whisper to myself.
"and now, Here are THE BOYS, I give you ONE DIRECTIOOOOONN!" The announcer excitedly shouted, bringing everyone to chanting - One Direction, One direction, One Direction. "Liam Payne",.. the announcer calls.
I completely forgot about the roll call. My heart, now racing faster as the chanting countinues to build, my socks and 'chuck taylors' are about as soaked as they could possibly be, I walk to the stage.
What makes you beautiful plays in the background and the boys start walking to my direction. Out of anxiousness I forgot my words. I start to refocus. I let out the words, "You're so obscure",. no that's not it! I tell myself.."It's equals four"...No! Still wrong. I feel my pores releasing moisture all throughout my body, I am now a faucet. My, buttoned up plaid shirt is starting to feel tighter. It is now choking me. My belt is loosening. My pants,.. OH NO, My pants are falling off. I am about to die in embarassment. "This is the night my career, MY VERY SHORT CAREER, ends," I said to myself, shaking my head in disbelief and disappointment. I try to catch my falling pants.
I FAIL. Unable to save myself, I let out a massive disappointed and regretful cry of "NOOOOOO!!".
~ (Now you can play the "Alice In wonderland" video on the right hand side if you'd like a more amazing experience ;) ) ~
In this very moment, The stage transforms into a gigantic inspection room - Dark, massive room with only the light of a single bulb upon me and the eyes of the audience glaring suspiciously, questioning why or how in the world did I mess up such a classic One Direction song.
My confused mind tells me one thing "RUN! RUN AWAY AS FAR AS YOU CAN, AWAY FROM THIS ROOM". I pick myself up and run straight through the very first exit door I encounter. But, what is this? First door I enter and I realize myself clothed in skydiving suit and gadgets. My heart pounded faster. "AAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!!!" is the only sound coming out of my mouth now. This has just confirmed my fear of heights! I am falling down. "My name is Liam James Payne, and this is how I die." I thought to myself.
I hear a very tiny click of a button, I don't what it's for. I feel rumbling in my backpack. Something is forcing to come out. "It's the parachute, ITS THE PARACHUTE" I cry of happiness, somehow this managed to make me feel thankful.
I look down. I know that I am about to hit the surface. But, why is this surface so mettalic and shiny? I rub my eyes, just to surprise myself one more time. It's a giant spoon.
Goosebumps all over me. Shivers taking over my now oh-so-fragile body in my now oh-so-fragile state. I am about to land on the thing that I refused to have contact with my whole life. I am ecstatic.
-___-
BOOM! "Well that was a smooth landing". The only thing I can do now is keep myself entertained with sarcasm.
I feel the presence of another being.
"SHUT THE DOOR!" I hear a familiar voice whispers out of nowhere. "Who are you?" I ask.
"Turn the light off".. it continues..
"Show yourself!" I ask the voice once again, suspiciously. I slowly step backwards and hit a wall. I turn around just to scare myself with an appearing huge grin. It is a very familiar grin. Too familiar actually. The smile fades and appears in it's full form. It's a cat. A naked cat.
"They call me the Holmes Chapel Cat" The creature answers. A pigeon pops out beside the cat. It looks vaguely familar as it is wearing chinos and toms. Its feathers - in stripe patterns. The cat continues to talk. "Did you not notice the sentences I was giving you a while ago?"
I am too confused to even internalize what is happening around me. I start to think, trying to remember what the cat had said a minute ago, and why it is relevant.
"HESITATION!" The bird screams, reminding me of it's presence.
I mumble "Shut the door, turn the light off?" Those are the first two lines of the song Moments, those are my lines. A memory hit me like lightning. "I am in this situation because I forgot my first lines of the song "What Makes You Beautiful" I exclaimed.
"DING DING DING DING", the bird makes a noise. "You are right, but the winner isn't you, and it isn't me either". He tries to lift up the cat from its armpit. "The winner is the Holmes Chapel Cat"
I catch my puzzled self looking at this extraordinary bird. "This has got to be the most random bird I have ever seen" I thought to myself. I turn my back on the cat and the pigeon, trying to come back to my senses and gather the happenings that brought me to this situation.
However, as I turn around, ready to converse with the two, I see the cat starting to fade, and the pigeon vanishes with a loud "poof" leaving behind a smoke that is now fogging up the entire scoop of the metallic spoon. I can't see anything, but I feel the surface of the spoon flattening out. It starts to feel a lot softer - almost like a carpet. As the smoke clears, I see myself now standing on grass. I am surrounded by trees and bushes, everything is green. Infront of me is a pathway. From a distance, I see a Leprechaun running and leaping like a ballerina. He seems to be hurrying for something. I decide to follow him and catch up to him. He seems to be the only one around right now.
"Mr. Leprechaun, wait up!" I called. He seems to have not heard me, so I run faster. As I am nearing him, I hear him mumbling, "I'm late, I'm late,.. my chicken in the oven, my peri peri chips, I'm late."
"Excuse me sir, but what exactly are you late for?" I ask, I am already beside him. His face turns towards me as he continues to leap
"Oh Hey buddy!" He responded. "I have peri peri chips and chicken in the oven, I have timed it. I have to cook it perfectly. I love food." he continues. I am amazed at how he's able to talk properly despite his constant leaping, besides his accent.
He finally stops. I look around and found this wonderful surrounding of streams, ponds and lilies. In front of me is a wondeful hut. In front of the hut is a wonderful garden of shamrocks, but as I look closely to them, I realize that they are not just shamrocks but four-leaf clovers. I pick a couple: "One for me and one for Danielle."
"Well come on in now buddy!" He calls me. He lets a one big sigh, and says "I don't usually share food, but you look awfully exhausted and hungry."
"Well that's new!" Shouts another voice. The Leprechaun seems to have a company in his house after all. I walk towards the direction of the voice. To my surprise, I see a talking oval-shaped mirror hung up against a wall. "Vas Sappnin'?" the mirror asks with an indescribable accent.
"Oh,.. It's a very long story, I don't even know where to start, and,,"
"Just close your eyes and enjoy the roller coaster that is life bebz",. a voice interrrupted.
"What did you say?" I ask the mirror.
"That wasn't me" The mirror answered. "Look behind you"
To my even bigger surprise, I see another oval-shaped mirror. "Life is a funny thing. The minute you think you've got everything figured out, something comes along and it turns it all upside down". Mirror #2 preaches. As much as I hate to admit it, he is right, and what he is telling me right now is very relevant to my current situation.
"This is cray, cray" I exclaimed. Mirrors in front of each other? "This is as vain as it gets" I thought to myself.
I decide to look around the house just to realize that this fancy little home is a fan's shrine. Justin Bieber posters are everywhere. This Mr. Leprechaun is one heck of a fan.
"I know that the pressure you feel is doubled since you usually begin a song, but you should also know that this responsibility was entrusted to you because you are capable" Mirror #2 continues with his words of wisdom.
"Im a bradford bad boii yo!' Mirror #1 shouts randomly.
"Don't mind him" Mirror #2 says.
"Alright Buddy, everything is perfect. The chicken and potatoes are perfectly cooked and the Peri Peri chips are delicious. My two other friends are on their way as well." Mr Leprechaun interrupts our discussion.
"Two other friends?" I ask.
"Yeuh Buddy, the Holmes Chapel cat and the pigeon." he answers. "Have you by any chance came across them?"
"Yes, I have actually. Strange and random friends you've got here." I say, with no offence intended.
"Well, that is how we get along" He answers.
The door creaks and the cat and the pigeon enters.
"POOF", goes the bird once again and now appears infront of me a normal looking person in stripes , chinos and toms. The only strange thing about him is that he seems to be wearing a black curly wig. He is a shapeshifter. A creature of multiple characters.
"SHOUTOUT!" He shouts randomly. "I brought a carrot cake and some yorkshire tea for the party. are we staying up all night this time?" He asks, "and by the way", he turns to me, "Call me, The Tommo!."
"I brought the Graveh!" The cat interrupts.
We all gather around the table: The Tommo in the center, the cat on the his right hand side, I on his left. Mr. Leprechaun decides to get the two oval-shaped mirrors, held them up in the air and magically mashed them up together as one. Now there's only one mirror in the shape of a heart.
I look down on my plate to notice that there is only a fork and I don't see any spoons around whatsoever. I look at Mr. Leprechaun as he winks at me. "How could a stanger possibly know?" I thought to myself.
"Pussy, pussy" the now heart-shaped Mirror calls the cat, "give me some of your graveh." he asks.
The gravy is now being passed around. The aroma of the yorkshire tea fills the room. The savory smell of the chicken and potatoes brings water to my mouth. I find myself contemplating. All these things surrounding me are starting to feel very familiar. I pick up a couple of peri peri chips using a my fork. I decide to drink my jelly.
"Hey Liam!" the cat calls. How does he even know my name? "You seem so insecure, and we don't know what for. What's the worry?? he tells me.
Those words hit me like an avalanche. It rings louder than a wedding bell, and finally, I REMEMBER something and I close my eyes."You're insecure, don't know what for", I said to myself. "THAT'S IT! Those are my lines. I can't believe it took me this long to figure it out."
As I stand up, everything suddenly goes in circles, dizzy is all it's making us. The house starts to fall apart as a waves of water crashes and washes us all away, away from each other. The Cat slowly vanishes like it did earlier. The tommo disappears into a smoke once again, and Mr. Leprechaun and the mirror is nowhere to be seen. Everything now seems to be floating on the rapids of a river and all I could think about is to look for the four companions I have in this place : The naked Worcestershire Cat, The Random Pigeon/The Tommo, The Wise and Vain Mirror, and The Jumpy and Food-Loving Leprechaun. Somehow they all seem vaguely familiar to me. But, as I am being washed away farther and farther from them, I seem to familiarize them even more. I hear the frightening sound of a waterfall. I know I am about to fall once again, but this time I am ready. I don't know where this will take me, but it feels like the closer i get to this waterfall, the better I understand things. Here it goes. My eyes are now closed and I am now falling.
.................
BOOM! with my eyes remain closed, my body slams onto a hardwood. "Ouch! that was a hard fall" I complain. I wake up with my face planted on the floor of a hotel room in Australia. My right leg is wrapped in a duvet. I stand up just to notice how soaked the bed is. I wet the bed, not with my urine, but with my sweat. I never had a dream that caused me to sweat this much before. Come to think of it, I never had a dream this unusual before.
I sit on my bed contemplating my dream.
"It started out with me messing up my words out of anxiety. All I could think about was to run away from it. I gave up so easily. How could I? I thought I was stronger than this?" I know I am. Now I realize how grateful I am to be with my four best friends. I never would have made it without them. Even in my dreams they try to help me:
"The Naked "HOLMES CHAPEL" Cat, Oh Hazza." I smile.
"The Pigeon/The Tommo , How could I forget the Tommo?" I shake my head in disbelief.
"Leprechaun and food, Nialler you little irish lad." I grin
"OH,.. The vain mirrors. The random one plus the wise one, hahah! Oh Zayn!" I laugh hysterically and let my back fall onto the bed. I let out a big sigh.
I can't believe I was so anxious and insecure. It's almost laughable how hyprocritical that dream was. I have been telling girls with this song not to be insecure, but even I myself IS insecure. I guess there is so much more to learn in this experience. I am thankful of that dream and I am thankful of my bestfriends.
There is a knock on the door. "Liam!" Niall calls. "You awake yet?"
"Yeah! come in" I answered.
"Hey Buddy! Get ready now, You should have been awake an hour ago. Our signing is in 40 minutes!" Niall explains
"WHAT!? nobody even bothered to come and wake me up!" I complain
"We were also preparing ye know! and what is this? Did you order some peri peri chips? There is Nandos in Australia?" Niall asks picking up a chip he found on the bedside table.
"Wait, what? Where did that come from?" I asked in surprise. "Now this is getting really freaky", I thought to myself.
"Alright! Get out! I'm gonna prepare now!" I tell Niall. Quickly, I rush to the bathroom to brush my teeth.
I see a little envelope right beside the sink. I pick it up and open it.
I stand intrigued. there is a note and it reads:
"Hey Buddy! Check the front pocket of your tousers on the right side. you forgot something *wink*"
Intrigued as I am, I run back to the room to check the pocket of the trousers I plan to wear on today's signing. I slip my right hand into the pocket.
I sit on the floor shocked and petrified in disbelief. On my right hand are TWO FOUR-LEAF CLOVERS...... as I look at the back of the note.....
"P.S.: One for you and One for Danielle. Have fun at the signing - signed Mr. Leprechaun"