☆ 6: The Concert ★
"Wait! You want me to do what exactly?"
I stare at Vincent and the boys in disbelief. Were they really asking me to do that? They were looking at me with expecting smiles as if this were the most natural thing on Earth.
Well, everyone except Harry.
He was separate from the group, leaning against the cinder block wall with his arms crossing tightly over his chest. An emotionless expression plays on his face. Was he just as shocked as I was? Was he upset? Mad? Constipated? What? He was so hard to read.
"Come on, Paige! It'll be easy," Niall says with a large smile.
"I'm not sure if I can do that," I complain.
"Yes, you can," Vincent reassures. "Right, boys?"
All their answers came at once.
"Oh, yeah definitely!"
"It'll be a walk in the park."
"Just remember to breath and it'll be over soon."
"Whatever you do, just don't throw up. Never a good thing."
"I think it's too late to say that, Louis." I say holding my stomach. "I feel nauseous."
Suddenly, Louis was by my side. He was holding my stomach as if he touched it, it would set me off.
"Someone! Get her a bucket! We've got a puker!" Louis yells at the top of his lungs to the backstage crew. "Code Blue! I repeat! Code Blue!"
"Louis!" I shoot Louis a look of desperation. Does this boy not get embarrassed by anything? "Thanks, but I think I can manage." I say as I drop my hand, trying to internally calm my stomach.
"Well, I have the bucket if you need it," He says as he holds up the blue bucket that a stage hand just brought.
"Thanks," I mumble. "But do I seriously have to do that? Isn't there any other way we can do this? Like I don't know, maybe we can send in some video of us an-"
"A video? You mean like a sex tape?" Louis asks, cutting me off. "Oh, no. I think we should wait a while, at least let you guys get an established relationship before we hit them with that."
"No! Not that!" I blush madly. My eyes widen in horror at what he suggested. "That's not what I meant. I was jus-"
"Aw, look at Paige! She's blushing!" Zayn says as he pokes my cheek.
"No, I'm not," I say putting my hands over my face, hopefully hiding the full blush. Through my fingers I could make out the boys laughing. I could even see Harry smirking as I brought my hands down from my face.
"Okay, boys. Enough," Vincent says professionally, and then to me he says. "I'm sorry, Miss Carter, but this is the way we are going about this. Please be cooperative. Now that you've agreed, this is your job. So, like I said, just before the final song, one of the boys will introduce you. All you have to do is walk out on stage, smile, maybe hold Harry's hand, but most of all act happy."
I stay still as he explains this. I could feel my gut sink with each word he says. Did he really expect me to go out there, in front of thousands of crazy fan girls? I could only imagine what would happen. I shiver.
"Now, boys, go get mic checks and Paige, calm down. It'll be over before you know it." Vincent says before he walks off back stage.
"Yeah, before I know it," I mock, rolling my eyes.
"Don't worry, Paige," Niall says reassuringly. "They'll love you. We'll make sure you get an amazing intro."
"Yeah," Zayn agrees, nodding his head, his perfectly sculptured hair didn't move one bit as he did so. "By the end of the night every girl will want to be you."
"It's true," Liam laughs. "If it's one thing the girls love, it's curls. Right, Harry?"
Everyone turns to Harry for his response. He looks at each of his band mates before his eyes land on me. His green eyes pierce into my skin, covering every inch of my body. Much like the first time on the beach, I felt overexposed. Not because I thought Harry was checking me out, but because it felt like he was sizing me up.
Then, without a word, he pushes off the wall and makes his way towards the back.
"What's his problem?" I mutter.
The boys shrug. "He's probably still trying to grasp this thought."
"It's not fun having your bachelor-ness taken from you," Zayn says sadly.
"Well, I'm in the same position as him," I say, rolling my eyes. "I just don't get the whole I-Hate-Everyone-And-Everything attitude. He needs to get over himself or else this fake relationship won't last long."
I pause as I came to realization of the truth in that statement. How long was this 'relationship' supposed to last? A week? A Month? How long did they expect us to date? This was something that I need to talk to Vincent about before the tour.
"Don't worry, Paige. We'll talk to Harry. He'll act better on stage." Liam says as he puts his hand reassuringly on my shoulder. "Come on, lads. Let's go get him."
One by one the boys walk off in the direction that Harry ran off. As each boy passed they gave me a small encouragement for later on and a pat on the back.
Soon, it was Louis' turn and he stops and looks at me.
"Everything is going to be fine. We'll talk to Harry and he'll cooperate tonight. He'll be the best fake boyfriend ever," He smiles. "Enjoy it. I mean, you're going to be dating my best mate and the most sought after boy of the year. So, at least have fun."
I smile back. This was actually nice advice from Louis. From what I can tell he's not usually the most serious boy of the bunch.
"But not too much fun!" He adds with a wink before skipping off.
~*~
"So, Paul," I say as I watch the boys perform from left wing. "Would you try and stop a certain someone if I- I mean they- happen to run away before the last song?"
Paul was standing next to me as we both watch the boys jump around onstage. It was loud and the floor was vibrating to the beat of the song. Which song? I'm not sure. All I know is they haven't played What Makes You Beautiful yet.
Yeah, I'm a horrible fake girlfriend. I don't even know their songs.
"Well, why would you run away?" he asks, eyeing me.
"Oh, this is a hypothetical situation, of course," I say uneasily. "And I wasn't even talking about me. It's just a question in generaly. Don't take it so seriously, Paul." I give him a little playful punch on the arm and then quickly regret doing it. The man was a brick.
Paul raises an eyebrow as he looks down at me curiously. "Well, I wouldn't have to chase after them. Whoever they are."
I cock my head. "Yeah? Why not?"
"Because they aren't going to run. They are going to stick with whatever they agreed to do. It's what's right," he answers, keeping his eyes on the boys. "But you know, that's all hypothetical. So, of course I don't need to explain that to you, right?"
For a body guard and a very intimidating man, he was easy to talk to once you broke through the tough exterior. Which happens to be not as hard to do as I thought. The moment the concert starts and the boys run on stage, Paul was by my side watching them; and no doubt watching me. The boys must've asked him to keep me company. Or keep an eye on me.
Either way, I was enjoying his company. He was very calm and easy going, which made him easy to talk to.
And as much as I hate to admit it, Paul was right. I have to do this. I have to go out there. Not only because I already agreed to this, but because I want to see my parents again and my only hope at that is to stick with One Direction. They are my ticket home.
My ticket to my parents.
"Right, Paul," I finally answer, giving him a lopsided smile.
"Are you alright, Miss Paige?" He asks concerned. "You look like you're gonna faint."
"Oh, no. I'm fine." I say, waving it off. "I'm always like this before I go out and declare my love for a Pop Star. Just pre-game jitters."
"Are you sure?" he asks. "Louis told me that he left a bucket for you, just in case."
"Oh, how thoughtful." I say sarcastically. "Well, I won't be needing it. I'm perfectly fine."
"Well, that's good because I think the boys are introducing you now," Paul informs me as he points out onstage.
My eyes widen as my head snaps back to the direction of the stage. I didn't even notice that the boys finished the previous song! No, I needed more time. I didn't even prepare a speech! Will I even need a speech? What was I supposed to do again? I thought they were going to sing more songs. I wasn't expecting it to go by this fast.
"Now, a lot of you have probably seen that picture of Harry with a certain lady friend at the beach, right?"
It was Liam is was talking. I was thankful that it was someone sensible that was about announce something like this. I could only imagine the things Louis would've said.
Liam holds the mic out to the crowd. The moment he does that the crowd goes in a sort of screaming-cheering fit. I can't catch what any of them were saying, and by the look on Liam's face, neither can he.
Liam brought the mic back to his mouth. "Well, we just wanted to clear things up with you lot. Or Harry wanted to clear things up. Harry?"
My breath held as I wait to see what Harry does. Was he going to cooperate or was he going to run off like he did earlier? I hold my breath as I see him lift his mic to his full lips.
"Thanks, Liam," Harry says. "Uh, well a lot of you have come to your own conclusions on who the girl in the photo is and how she is connected to me. Well, some were right. The girl in that picture is in fact my girl..." He trails off before finishing the sentence.
Louis who was standing next to Harry, wraps his arm around Harry's shoulder and laughs into his mic. "Oh, Harry. You're always so shy when you talk about her." Louis says. "Now, come on, mate, tell them who she is. It's time our fans know why you've been sneaking out all the time."
Harry takes a big gulp and forces a smile. "The girl in the picture, well, she is my girlfriend."
The crowd broke out into another fit of screaming-cheering. The fans all look at each other as of they were just hit with a bombshell. Which I guess they have in a way. These girls probably dedicate their lives to stalking these boys. They make it their mission to find out their personal lives. They are probably wondering how they overlooked this major detail of Harry's life.
"Now, before everyone goes on a rampage," Niall explians, "You should all know that Harry had been trying to keep his relationship private. That's why you saw pictures of him sneaking around when we were on tour. He was spending quality time with his girlfriend."
The crowd surprisingly awed at what Niall had just said. I guess Vincent was right, the public would eat up the idea of Heartthrob Harry Styles sneaking out to see his secret girlfriend.
"Paige?" Harry says as he turns his body to look off stage. His gaze locks with mine. "Can you come out here?"
Suddenly everything was quiet. The fans, the backstage crew, the band, and the boys were not making a single sound. The only thing I could hear with my heart beating as if I just got done sprinting a mile. This was it. I have to walk out there.
But I couldn't feel my legs.
"Paige," Paul whispers. "I think that's your cue."
"I know, I'm going," I say. But again I'm not able to move my legs.
"You're not moving," Paul points out.
"Oh, I'm not? I haven't noticed," I say sarcastically.
On the stage, I can see the boys all staring at me, waiting for me to walk out. Harry had a look of desperation, as if I was embarrassing him. Which I probably was.
"Aw, it looks like Paige has stage fright," Niall says into the mic as he makes his was to center stage.
"Yeah, why don't you all give her some encouragement?" Zayn offers up, joining Niall. The boys start clapping their hands. All of them except Harry whose hand was now extended toward me, as if he was calling me out. Pleading with me to join him.
Slowly, but surely, the rest of the fans start joining in on the clapping until the venue is filled with the noise. I had to go out there. This was it.
"Paul," I say over the clapping. "Can you give me a push? I can't feel my legs."
"Sure thing, Miss. Paige," He says before he puts his strong hands on my back and pushes me forward.
I let the force of the push bring me toward the stage. Once I came in view of the fans, the cameras were going off. Flashes fill the arena and once again, I feel my stomach drop. Just breathe, Paige. Out of the corner of my eye I could see myself on the jumbo screen and I suddenly grew self conscious. My face looks flustered and I wish I would've fixed my make up before I came out here.
"Ah, there she is," Louis says with a large smile.
I reach out and take Harry's hand, not only to keep appearances up, but to keep my knees from buckling. His hand is soft and slightly sweaty from the stage lights.
"Harry? Care to introduce her?" Liam says.
Harry nods his head and then brings his mic up to his mouth. "Everyone, I would like to introduce you all to Paige Carter, my girlfriend. Paige, these are our girls."
Despite what I thought would happen, the audience broke out into a fit of cheers and clapping. There was no booing like I had anticipated. No objects were thrown at me. No fights broke out. The crazy fans were actually cheering. Why was that so hard to believe?
"See," Harry whispers to me, his arm snakes around my waist, pulling me against him. "What did the boys tell you? They love you."
I look at Harry. That is the first time he talked to me since I got here. Since this plan was offered to me. He was being civil with me. I'm sure that was just because he was playing it for the cameras, but it was nice to be reminded that the boy I met at the beach was still in there.
My nerves were suddenly gone. Maybe this would be easier than I thought.
"Kiss!" Louis shouts into the mic.
And just like that, my nerves were back. My eyes widened in horror. No one told me that I had to kiss him in front of everyone. All Vincent said I had to do was hold his hand. He never mentioned this. I guess I should've seen this this coming, but I wasn't expecting it this early. And in front of thousands of jealous girls.
"Kiss! Kiss!" Louis chants. And just like that thousands of people joined in on the cheering, including the rest of the boys.
I am going to kill Louis after this.
I look over my shoulder towards Paul. I gave him a pleading look to which he just shrugs, as if saying that I had to do this. I look back at Harry, who was already moving me to the side. I wasn't ready for it when he started leaning in. I froze. Was he really going to do this?
"What a- I mean, are you really going to in front of everyone?" I manage to choke out.
"Just stay still, alright?" He whispered into my ear. To everyone else, this was probably taken as a cute little whisper between boyfriend of girlfriend. Never did they expect Harry to be saying, "And close your eyes. I've got this."
As the words left his mouth, his lips touch the side of my lower cheek, right at the corner of my lips. I did as he said and I shut my eyes. The audience went crazy. I could just imagine how jealous they all were. Here I was, kissing Harry Styles. Or, well I guess you wouldn't consider this a full on kiss, but from the audiences reaction, it probably looks like the real thing.
"Oh," Louis says excitedly. "I think I see tongue!"
"Keep it PG, guys!" Niall shouts.
"Yeah, save that for later!" Liam laughs.
"Whoa, slow it down there!" Zayn adds.
"Get a room!" Louis yells.
I quickly pull away from Harry as I feel my cheeks heat up. Of course what the boys were shouting were all lies, but they were doing that to embarrass me. And they were doing a great job, too. Those boys really know how to get to me. I pull out of Harry's grasp, a small smirk playing on his lips as he see's my blush.
Yup, I was definitely killing Louis.
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A/N:
Yup! There is the concert! I really liked Louis in this chapter haha it's sort of his chapter :P
Thanks for all the support you guys! As Taylor told me, the story is now in the 300's in teen fiction! Thats so awesome! I'm so happy! :D :D You guys are awesome!