Today was the day. I had been waiting for so long, counting down from the moment I knew we had the tickets. Mum was taking me to see OneRepublic again, I just hoped the seats were as good as the first time. We had been so close to them, I just wanted to be that close again.
“Amy! Come on we have to leave!” My Mum shouted up the stairs, snapping me out of my little daydream.
“Coming!” I grabbed my bag and double checked I had everything I could possibly need, including a phone charger because I cannot live without my phone. Like ever. I ran down the stairs; almost falling not once, but twice. My Mum just smirked as we walked to the car, triple checking we had absolutely everything.
We sang along to OneRepublic songs the whole way there, with every minute I became more excited and more nervous. Every song that they played last time brought back happy (and vivid) memories. Me and Mum argued about what songs they might cover this time round. We listened to every album and every song, we were prepared for every and any outcome – at least that’s what we had thought.
I pushed my Mum through the doors, the man showed us the way to disabled seating and I went as fast I could hoping to get good seats. We were the third people to get to that area, so we were so close! I couldn’t contain my excitement, my heart was about to jump out of my chest. Leaving my Mum with the seats I went and bought merch for us both. Mikky Ekko was supporting them for this show, and he was just as amazing as last time. Definitely getting the crowd ready for the act everyone was there to see. Me and Mum sang along and had a laugh while he was on stage, but when he left that was when we really started to get excited.
The lights went out, but you could see the figures on stage. Then the intro to Don’t Look Down began to play, the venue exploded with cheers and applause. When Ryan began to sing it was like angels from above. Time was passing so quickly, each song blending into each other, each song beautiful and perfect in its own way. And we were recording every minute.
Then Ryan picked up a mirror, we knew what that was for and smiled before looking back at the stage. Whilst singing ‘If I Lose Myself’ Ryan reflected the light to look at fans. It passed us first time round, but as he swung back it pointed right at us.
The light landed on her face and for a moment I just couldn’t move. Thank God I knew the song so well, because my mind was blank. I had to meet her, I just had to. But how? The more I thought about it the less I came up with, there was only one option. The song ended, people cheered and I headed towards the guys.
“I was thinking maybe we should bring a fan up today.” I said quietly, not wanting any microphones to pick me up.
“What on stage?” Zach asked, seeming confused.
“Sure! Why not? It’ll be fun.” They didn’t seem too convinced, but I’ve warned them now.
As they began to play ‘Counting Stars’ I felt my face light up. Then something I didn’t see coming. Towards the end of the song Ryan jumped over the barrier and ran down the aisle we were sat in, he stopped behind us. I was frozen.
“How would you like to come up on stage with us?” He asked as the song ended. I nodded dumbly. My whole body felt like jelly. He held my hand and led me to the stage, helping me over the barrier. I could hear hysterical screaming behind me, but my brain was struggling to keep up with everything that was happening.
“Just giving back to the fans.” He says with a smile. God that smile made my heart melt. “What’s your name hunny?”
“Amy.” I managed to say.
“And your favourite OneRepublic song?” He asked.
“All of them.” I replied with a nervous smile. His laugh was beautiful, it made me smile for real.
“How about this one then?” He said, the band starting playing and I instantly recognised it. My favourite version of ‘Good Life’, last time I saw them they did that version and I loved it. I sang along with them from where Ryan had sat me on stage. It was amazing to see them from here, when I managed to tear my eyes off Ryan I looked at the others, seeing how much they put into each performance. It was unbelievable, I couldn’t have wished for more. I looked over at my Mum and gave her a wave, smiling like a mad man. When the song ended Ryan walked back up to me and took my hand.
That went better than expected. She actually came up on stage, and she definitely loved that song. I could hear her singing over all the noise; it had actually given me an idea. When I took her hand in mine again my heart began to race, why I felt this way I don’t know, but I couldn’t control myself.
“How would you like to sing with me?” I whispered into her ear, her grip on my hand tightened but she nodded with a determined smile. I pulled back and beamed. “How does everyone feel about ‘Waking Up’?” The crowd went crazy. The song began playing behind me and Amy was tapping her foot along to the song. Still holding her hand, we began to sing together.
I couldn’t say no to him. I’d been crushing on Ryan Tedder for years, his eyes were so hopeful and he was all smiley. So I focused on him, singing along wasn’t too difficult. I mean it was just like singing in the car- but with the actual band and in front of thousands of people… Maybe not anything like in the car then. When the song finished he pulled me in for a hug. “I want you and you’re Mum to come backstage with us, if you stay in your seats after the stage someone will come get you. Pease.” He added before pulling away and smiling at me. “Well thanks!” He walked me off stage. As soon as his hand left mine I felt cold and empty. The darkness surrounding me like he was the light, it was a strange feeling. We had only just met, but I was so excited about explaining this to Susan. She would have a field day with this one!
“OMG!” My Mum exclaimed when I sat back down. She was speechless.
“What just happened?” I asked. We started laughing, after we got over that I told her about what Ryan had said.
“Well, we haven’t got anything to lose, have we?” She replied with a smile. The rest of the show was amazing, I swear Ryan kept on looking over at us. But I was probably just imagining it.
When the show had finished we sat in our seats, we waited for 10 minutes before a man dressed in black came up to us.
“The boys would like you guys to come backstage.” He announced, he didn’t look very comfortable with the situation.
“Great! Thanks, we would love to.” I replied, he motioned for us to follow him so we did. I pushed my Mum and tried to focus on not fainting now the adrenaline had begun to wear off.
“Amy! Nice to see you again.” Ryan said as I entered the room, he pulled me into a warm hug. “And this must be your Mum.” He shook her hand and then hugged her too.
“Sarah.” My Mum finally said.
“Well, this is Zach, Brent, Drew and Eddie.” He introduced everyone, each one gave a little wave as their name was said.
“Where’s Brian?” I asked.
Ryan chuckled, “You sure know your stuff! He’s already gone back to the hotel. How would you guys like an autograph and some photos?”
“That would be great!” I responded. He was being so nice to us, it was crazy.
“If you guys don’t mind. We don’t want to trouble you.” My Mum added, finally recovering from the shock I guess.
“It’s no trouble. Really.” Zach said, walking over with a pen and some photos. Each band member took a photo with us and signed the photos they already had. It was amazing and at that point my life was complete. We talked for a bit too, although in the beginning they all seemed confused everyone really opened up. They were all so nice and friendly, funny too, I’d got a stitch from laughing so much!
“Look. How about you guys come to the bar with us? It would be nice to get to know you more,” Ryan asked nervously.
The guys gave each other looks at that. I’m pretty sure they had worked out why I was doing this now. Ever since Heather I’ve been alone really, but Amy was something else. I’d only just met her, but my feelings were overwhelming. I knew Brent could see what was going on, he knew me so well and Zach would definitely know. I mean, we’ve been friends since high school, he couldn’t not know.
“I don’t see why not.” Sarah replied. The relief I felt in that moment was overwhelming. We had some time left in England, about a month. I just hoped that was enough.