-Chapter 1-
"Like a skyscraper. Like a skyscraper." I closed my eyes and crouched down, which is a rather difficult task in heels.
"Like a skyscraper." I finished in a whisper, closing my eyes.
The roars and cheers enveloped me, and I felt a huge grin form on my lips. A crowd of over twenty thousand people chanting your name never gets old, especially in such an important and famous city.
I stood back up and brought the microphone to my lips again.
"Thank you, New York City." I yelled and the lights turned off, leaving the whole stadium in a consuming darkness.
I slipped my shoes off and walked off the stage, leaving the crowd chanting my name.
I was instantly handed a towel and a bottle of water as I arrived backstage. I wiped the sweat off my face and the back of my neck, before gulping down the entire bottle of water.
"You did great, Cora." My assistant, and close friend, Gracie said as I collapsed on the chair in my dressing room.
"Thanks, Grace. How long 'till I can go home?" I asked, exhausted. Which is understandable, considering I've just sung twenty-odd songs.
Two years ago, I would have never guessed that I would be finishing my first arena tour around the USA in New York City. I never knew how many fans I had over here, and I hope that this tour will attract even more.
"You can go home now. The doors will be shut for another few minutes, but if you wait too long, you'll have to stay here for the next two to three hours... Where are you going?!" Gracie called after me.
"Where do you think? I'm not waiting here any longer!" I laughed back at her and continued walking, grabbing a change of clothes and my bag.
It didn't occur to me at all that I had just finished my first major tour.
---
*Four days later*
"Wake up, Cora. You've got to get up; you have to be at Ed's in an hour!" Gracie said, shaking me violently.
"Go away." I yelled into the pillow, so Gracie probably heard "Woh awaz."
She laughed and walked over to the window, and opened the curtains. Which let the bright sunlight flood through and illuminate my bedroom, which is quite strange for it to be so sunny in the middle of September in London.
"Hurry up, your outfit is on the chair and your make-up team will be here any minute." And with that said, Gracie left the room, flicking her hair dark brown hair over her shoulder.
I huffed and thought about complaining, but decided against it.
I had arrived back from America two days ago, but since my body reacts badly to jet lag, I'm still really messed up.
After laying around and adjusting to the sunlight for a few minutes, I finally got up.
I grabbed a towel and my wash bag -- which I still hadn't unpacked-- and walked into my bathroom. I quickly checked the time --three pm if you're a nosy bugger-- before I peeled my stinky PJ's off and stepped into the already hot water.
After washing, scrubbing, shaving, and moisturizing every inch of my body, I was done.
Quickly, I towel dried my shoulder-length blonde hair -- since Katie, my hair stylist, will be here doing my hair-- and slipped my black robe on over my undergarments.
I skipped out the bathroom, the hot water having fully woken me up, and carefully put on my beige woven silk and leather mini dress from Balmain, one of my all-time favourite brands. I sat down on my bed with a tump, and struggled to put the matching lace-up cage boot high heels on. Once I had forced both shoes onto both of my feet, I picked up the golden scratched, cuff bracelet and put it onto my right wrist.
Once I was dressed, I headed out of my bedroom and into my open kitchen and living room area, where my make-up artist, Bella, and my hair and fashion stylist, Katie, were waiting for me. They ushered me onto a stool and started on my hair and make-up.
I couldn't help but smile; being who I am today is just amazing. Being the Cora Russell is amazing. Two and a half years into my job and I'm already one of the most well-known female singers. My seven YouTube music videos all have over 500 million views, I have over 30 million followers on twitter, 47 million on Instagram, and an amazing fan base. This is every girl's dream, and sometimes I have to ask people to pinch me so I can check to see that I'm not dreaming... And all of this is thanks to a boy with ginger hair.
Before Ed Sheeran found me, I worked in a cafe, occasionally singing on the small stage provided and at other small events. Then one night, when I was just casually singing 'Because of You' by Kelly Clarkson, the ginger boy walked up to me and told me I could be the next big thing, and that, if I accepted, he would make me the next big thing... And he was right. Two and a half years in, and I have a number-one selling album, have completed a European and American tour, and am on my way to a world tour once my second album is out.
"And there we go." Bella smiled, handing me a mirror. I smiled and nodded at my reflection.
I'm not a very outgoing person, I don't like to stand out, but I love to look amazing. My nude make-up made my face look flawless, and my bleached-blonde hair was falling slightly below my shoulders in their mostly natural curles.
"I don't know what I would do without you guys. You are amazing." I praised the girls while getting off the stool.
"No, you are already amazing. We just know how to show off your amazing bits." Katie grinned and pulled me in for a quick hug. I returned the hug and gave Bella a quick squeeze before Gracie handed me my phone and ushered me out of the door.
As we pulled up outside the hall where Ed Sheeran was holding his charity event, I suddenly got a nervous feeling in my stomach. I couldn't help but feel like something important was about to happen.
"You ready?" Gracie asked me, her hand on the door handle. I nodded and she sent me a quick smile as the driver helped her out of the car. I straightened my dress before I let the driver help me out of the car. I made sure both my feet were securely on the ground before taking the few steps that lead from the pavement to the small red carpet.
I walked it with Gracie at first, but then she went inside to make sure my table was ready. I stayed outside and let the paparazzi take a few photos of me by myself and answered a few of the many questions that were being thrown at me, until Gracie appeared in the doorway and gave me the signal to move on.
As soon as I entered the house, my eyes fell on one of my best friends: the ginger boy himself. I excused myself from Gracie and walked over to him.
He was talking to four other guys, but I still decided to surprise him. I silently crept over to him and snaked my arms around his neck. He jumped and cursed, but then turned around and grinned when he recognised me.
"Cora!" Ed beamed as he pulled me in for a hug. In my heels I was taller than him, something that I was defiantly going to tease him about later this evening.
"Hey, Eddie. How have you been?" I asked, squeezing him back, before pulling away
"Great, and you?"
"Busy, but I'm not complaining--well not to you anyway. Only Gracie has the privilege." I laughed as I pulled away from him.
"Lucky her." Ed smiled. "Oh, how rude I must seem! Cora, please meet Harry Styles, Zayn Malik, Liam Payne, and Louis Tomlinson. Four-out-of-five members from One Direction."
Deep breath. Don't have a complete fan girl moment. Keep it suppressed and act cool.
"Hey." I managed to breathe out as they all nodded to me. How had I not bloody noticed that One Direction were standing only centimetres away from me?
"Guys, this is one of my very favourite friends, Cora Russell." Ed finished introducing us. "But then again, you probably already knew that." He added with a wink.
"Big fan." Harry smiled as he stepped forwards and shook my hand. His hand was strong and firm and I nearly squealed at our touching hands.
I snorted, but quickly turned it into a cough when he looked at me in confusion. Great, how not to make a situation awkward.
"Sorry, I just never thought someone as well-known as you would ever say that to me. Out of everyone here, I should probably be saying it to you guys. Oh great, now I just completely embarrassed myself in front of four strangers, who must now think I'm really weird and jumpy. Ah, now I'm rambling on! Real smooth, Cora, really smooth." I blurted out before I could stop myself. A dark red blush covered my face as the five boys burst into laughter.
"It's not funny." I complained, hiding my face with my hands.
"Only you, Cora, only you." Ed grinned, poking my side.
"I'm going to get a drink. The jet lag is making me jumpy, and I need something to calm me down, but I will be back Eddie. Don't think you can get out of talking to me this easily." I explained and nodded my goodbyes to the guys.
I located the bar and walked over to it. I sat down on the leather stool and ordered a whiskey coke, telling myself that I'd only have one and drink water for the rest of the evening, or maybe wine?
"Guinness, please." A male voice told the bartender.
Being the nosy person I am, I had to turn around and locate the person talking. So I did, and I came face to face with the missing band member. I took a deep breath and a long sip of my drink and tried to keep my eyes away from him.
"Oh my god, are you Cora Russell?" The same voice asked, making my head snap back up to look at him.
Inhale, exhale, inhale, exhale, inhale, exhale. I tried to remind myself as we continued to look into each other's eyes.
"I am, and you're Niall Horan from One Direction." I stated.
And yes, I sounded like a robot.
"I am. I hate to ask, but could I have an autograph and possibly a photo?" Niall asked, placing his hand over his pocket, probably where his phone was so he could get it out quickly before if I said yes and then changed my mind.
"Sure, wow, I must be a lucky girl. Two members from One Direction are fans of mine." I smiled, placing my drink back down and jumping off the stool. In my heels, I am about the same height as Niall, so I would probably reach his lips if I wasn't wearing any.
Niall's face brightened and a huge smile formed on his lips.
"You met Zayn then."
"Ugh, no- well, yes, but Harry was the one who confessed his fan-ship for me." I smiled. "My, my. Three One Direction members now, I feel so blessed." I smirked and fanned myself with my hand, causing one of Niall's famous laughs-- yes the ones I watch on YouTube all the time- to escape his lips. I couldn't help but join in on the laughter, after all, his laugh is really contagious.
"So, where do I sign?" I asked after our laughter had died down.
Niall pulled his iPhone and a small notebook out of his pocket. I grinned at the cheesiness and laughed as he produced a pen from his other pocket. I took the pen out of his hands, our fingers brushing slightly in the process.
I also took the notebook and flipped it open, smiling when I saw that most of the already used pages had autographs on them. I found an empty page and signed my name with three kisses next to it before handing it back to him.
"Selfie?" I questioned.
"Selfie." Niall confirmed, slowly wrapping his arm around my shoulders and pulling me close to his body. I smiled and straighten my hair just in time for the photo.
"Perfect." Niall smiled and pressed a few buttons on his phone.
A few minutes later, my phone buzzed and I saw I had a twitter notification from him:
@NiallOffical: 'Looking good with @CoraRussellOffical'
I smiled and favourited the tweet after re-posting it.
"You have more followers on Twitter than I do." Niall said out of the blue.
"That's because male people aren't afraid to follow me." I smirked and sat down on the stool.
Niall took the seat next to me as he took a sip of his Guinness.
"True. So completely changing the subject, how was your American tour? I wanted to watch your New York show, but there were no tickets left." Niall said sadly.
"It was amazing, thanks. And for a ticket you could of just called me or my management, I'm sure they would have found you a spare ticket, or even a backstage pass." I pointed out.
"I don't have your number." Niall explained.
"Is that a subtle way of asking me for my number?" I said with a cheeky wink.
"Maybe." I said, winking back at me.
Oh my fudge, am I actually flirting with Niall Horan?
"In that case I'll give it to you, but on one condition." I said, continuing my flirting.
"I'm intrigued." Niall declared, leaning in towards me.
I leaned in closer to him and whispered, "You have to promise not to sell it for money." I winked and then leaned back out.
Niall grinned and rolled his eyes, but nonetheless, he promised as he unlocked his phone and created a new contact. He then handed it to me and I typed in my number and name, before handing it back to him.
"So when should I expect a text?" I said jokingly. "Are you a three days, golden rule guy?" I teased, taking a sip of my drink.
"It depends, are you going to think I'm a desperate and overanxious if I text sometime soon?" Niall flirted.
"Depends on what you mean by sometime soon?" I replied.
"I guess you'll just have to wait and see." He grinned at me.
I shrugged but kept a grin on my face. I was just about to reply with a witty comment when there was announcement that the event was about to start and that everyone should get to their seats. I would be lying if I said that I wasn't disappointed about having my flirty chitchat with Niall interrupted.
"Just a quick heads up, if you wait too long I might just have to give up on you." I winked, sliding off of my stool.
"What is too long?" Niall asked, walking next to me as we entered the main room.
"I guess you'll just have to wait and see." I whispered, my lips brushing against his ear. I then turned to the left and made my way to my seat.
I guess we'll both just have to wait and see.
-:-:-:-:-
I'm am so excited about rewriting Hi! At the moment (12/10/16) we have over 61K reads! I never dreamed of this, and to say thank you, I am giving my readers a new and improved version of my book! I really hope you enjoy reading this new version as much as the old one!
In the media we have Cora's outfit (you can follow me on Polyvore @bethlilacpurple) !
Cora is played by Natalie Dormer, and for those of you who don't know who she is, (if you don't then you must have been living under a rock) she is the magnificent women in the outfit photo!
/!| If anyone is interested in doing a manip of Cora and Niall I am a big taker, and will feature you in one of the next chapters! Just send me a DM to be accepted.
That's all for this chapter, sorry for the long author's note.
Love you guys,
BW
Xx
(Chapter originally posted Dec23.14)