Chapter 32
(a/n: I know this is entirely unrealistic for all of you Wisconsinites and Illinoisans out there, but Summerfest is going to continue on until mid-July. I know that it ends on, like, the sixth of July, but just bear with me here. And I know Keith Urban didn't perform this year. In fact, I don't know if he's ever performed at Summerfest. Oh well. And for those of you who don't know what I'm talking about, Summerfest is the best kept secret in the world. Look it up)
Desirah's POV
I woke up the next morning with an extreme headache. It hurt like crap, and that's when I knew that I had gotten drunk last night. Despite all of my morals, I had drank too much and let the alcohol get to my head. I was so ashamed of myself.
Niall took care of me the entire day, bringing me cups of water and coffee, and making delicious meals in bed. He kept apologizing profusely about letting me get drunk, but I didn't blame him. I had gotten cocky, and it was my own actions that led me here.
Niall was also acting really strangely around me. I wasn't sure what I had done, since I didn't remember anything from that night, but it made me nervous. I had a feeling that he wasn't telling me something.
Niall and I tried our hardest to forget that night. We continued with the concerts and our songwriting sessions. I got increasingly excited about the Keith Urban concert, which was only a few weeks away. He was performing in the U.S., but that wasn't a problem. A week-and-a-half after my birthday, the boys and I were in America.
"I know we're nowhere near South Dakota, but it feels so good to be home," I sighed as my feet touched the airport's floor in Chicago.
"Do you miss being a normal person?" Harry asked me.
I shook my head. "Not really. Back when I was supposedly 'normal', I didn't have a lot of friends and nobody really paid any attention to me. But now that I'm somewhat famous, I have lots of friends and I'm noticed by almost everyone."
"You'll wish you weren't soon enough," Liam mumbled.
"I don't think Niall feels the same way," I giggled. "He loves the attention. Right, Niall?"
He was looking down and shuffling his feet into the ground. When I said his name, he looked up and mumbled, "Oh, yeah. Sure."
I frowned at him. "Hey, what's wrong with you? You've been acting weird lately."
"No, I haven't," he said defensively. "You've been acting weird. There's nothing wrong with me."
He stomped ahead, leaving me staring after him in surprise. He'd never really talked to me that way before. Was it something I said? Did I do something wrong?
"What's his problem?" I asked.
"Probably jet lag," Zayn said hastily. "Exhaustion makes everyone cranky. Don't let him get to you, Des."
"Okay," I murmured, but I still wasn't sure. He'd been mad at me since my birthday because of jet lag? No way, that couldn't be possible. This was our first plane trip.
We picked up our luggage and took a limo to a nice hotel. We were going to have a couple of concerts in Chicago, plus a week-long break. We were going to be in a stationary place for a while, and for that I was grateful. I was tired of all the traveling.
"We'll all share one room," Liam said at the counter, facing us. He gestured to all of the boys when he said that. To me, he added, "You'll have your own room, Desirah. Since you're a girl."
"Sweet," I said eagerly, grinning. I'd never had my own room before. It's kind of sad how exciting that was to me.
"We don't have any concerts tonight, but there is an early rehearsal," Liam informed us as we walked to the elevators. "So make sure you're at the stadium by 12:00pm."
"Why is it so early?" Harry asked.
"And which stadium?" Louis added quickly.
"Soldier Field," Liam said to Louis. To Harry, he said, "Truthfully, I have no idea. Maybe there's a game or something later on today?"
It wasn't American football season in the States. Niall and I knew why rehearsal was so early. I smiled at him, but he didn't notice. He was looking at his feet again. What was so fascinating about them?
Liam gave each of the boys a room card, plus one extra overall. I got two room cards. The elevator's capacity was six, so we all had to huddle together inside. We were on the top floor, so we got the suite rooms.
"Remember, twelve," Liam said, giving us the don't-mess-with-me look.
"Got it," I confirmed.
I slipped my room key into the scanner, and the light turned from red to green. There was a clicking noise, and I was allowed to open the door. I did so and entered my room.
It was huge! All of the furniture were either a cream or white color, so that was plain. But the living room area led to a large balcony, where two large glass doors stood unopened. There was a massive flat-screen TV in front of the couch. The mahogany coffee table was set on an ivory rug in the middle of the living room area. It really stood out. A glass chandelier hung from the ceiling.
Connected to the living room was a small kitchen. It had a refrigerator, microwave, stove, everything. The cabinets were wooden and light brown. The flooring was wood as well, with red granite countertops. It vaguely reminded me of an advanced camping cabin. It had a homey feel to it, and that was pretty awesome.
Further down the hall was the door to my room, and another door to the other bedroom. Inside was a large bed with cream covers, and a window next to it with a nice view of Chicago's city skyline. Unfortunately, the walls were painted a dull gray and the carpet was pale gray. Apparently the designers of this room thought it was unnecessary to make it spectacular. Or maybe they wanted the residents to design it to their own appeal.
On my phone, the time read almost 11:00am. That meant I had a little over an hour to do whatever I wanted. I was already bored, so I decided to go visit the boys in their room. I left my own and walked over to the next door down. We were neighbors. I knocked on the door.
"A visitor!" I heard someone gasp, and Louis answered the door. He frowned. "Never mind, it's just Desirah," he called over his shoulder.
I rolled my eyes and tried to push past him. "Thanks for the warm welcome," I said sarcastically.
Louis stepped in front of me, blocking my view. "Um, you don't want to go in there," he said hastily.
My brow furrowed in confusion. "Why not?"
"Um," he repeated. "We're kind of busy unpacking, and--"
"Pull the stupid straw, Zayn!" I heard Liam yell from behind Louis.
"No! This is my bed, and there's nothing you can do to get me off of it!"
"Just pull the straw! You still might get the bed!"
"New idea!" Harry shouted over them. "We pick partners. That way when our partner picks a straw, we share the same sleeping arrangement. Deal?"
"I call Harry!" Niall's voice hollered.
"No fair!" Louis cried, spinning around. "Harry's always my pick! Fine, I get Zayn."
"No, no!" Zayn protested. "I want Liam if Niall's taken!"
"What is going on in here?" I demanded, shoving Louis out of the way. I entered the room and stared at the boys.
Liam was holding a cup full of straws. Zayn was clinging onto a bedpost, and Harry was trying to pry him off. Niall was laying down on the other bed. Oddly enough, our rooms looked very different from each other.
"I call Desirah!" Niall shouted, sitting bolt upright.
"You can't claim Dizzy!" Liam shot back. "She's a girl!"
"What is this for, exactly?" I asked, still completely out of it.
"We're picking beds," Harry explained, temporarily letting go of Zayn's legs. "Two pairs of us get the beds, and the one lonely individual gets the couch. To make it fair, we pull straws."
I blushed a little bit when I realized that Niall wanted to share a bed with me, despite his negative attitude earlier. Maybe it was only because he wanted to get away from the other boys. Either way, I should think nothing of it.
"So, who's partners with who?" I asked. I just wanted to see them scramble again. "I'll be a partner with the remainder of you guys, since there's five of you."
"I'll be Dizzy's partner," Niall said instantly, jumping off the bed. He trotted over and stood closely next to me. I blushed again.
"I get Harry," Louis claimed. "Your argument is invalid."
Liam rolled his eyes. "Fine, then I'm with Zayn. I'll pull the first straw, since he refuses to." He picked one up from the cup. It was long.
"Yes, we get one of the beds!" Zayn whooped. He wrapped Liam up in a huge hug. "I love you, man!"
Liam pushed him off. "Yuck. Save it for when Perrie comes over."
"I'll go next," Harry offered. He pulled the second straw without looking. That, too, was long. "We get the other bed!" he cheered.
"Sorry, loser," Louis smirked to Niall. "You're stuck with the couch." The Irishman scowled.
"I have an extra bed in my room," I said tentatively. "You can stay there if you want, Niall."
Before he could say anything, Liam cut in. "No. He's a guy, and you're a girl. You have no idea how... um, excited Niall gets when he... gets it."
Niall's face flushed bright red as the other boys burst out laughing. I felt very uncomfortable in this situation, so I decided that it was best for me to leave.
"See you guys around twelve," I said quickly, and made a hasty getaway.
*~*~*~*
"You don't know, oh, oh!" the boys sang. "You don't know you're beautiful, oh, oh! And that's what makes you beautiful!"
They weren't actually practicing yet, just fooling around as they waited for rehearsal to start. They were in their typical lazy clothes: Old t-shirts, sweats, and beanies. The boys were giving me multiple heart attacks. Their hotness never got old.
"Golf cart!" Louis shouted and raced over to it, Harry two steps behind him.
"What's a golf cart doing here?" I wondered aloud.
"You'd be surprised at what you find in empty arenas or stadiums," Liam told me. "One time, I found an old stuffed teddy bear and gave it to Niall as a Christmas present."
"Seriously?" I laughed. "Does he still have it?"
"I don't think so. I think he gave it to Theo a couple weeks after he was born."
"Ew. Has that bear been washed since you found it?"
"I didn't wash it before I gave it to Niall, which was probably a bad idea."
We both shuddered. I stood up. "I'll go ask him if he washed it, or if he still has it. Maybe he even has a name for it!"
Liam laughed with me. I walked over to Niall. He was sitting at the edge of the stage, swinging his feet back and forth like a little kid. He seemed anxious about something. Maybe the rehearsal or the concert. Or maybe he was anxious about tonight.
"Hey, there," I greeted him as I sat next to him.
He merely glanced at me. "Hey."
"I heard that Liam gave you a teddy bear for Christmas one year. Do you still have it?"
"Um, no," he said seriously, which told me that he wasn't lying. "I gave it to Theo. And where did you hear that from?"
"Liam told me."
"Why?"
"We were talking about strange things we find in empty arenas and stadiums."
"Figures. Wait, I thought he found that thing in a dumpster or something? Huh."
"Did you wash it before you gave it to Theo?" I asked hurriedly.
"Of course I did! That would be gross if I didn't."
I sighed in relief. "That's good. Did it have a name?"
"I named it Mr. Snuffaluffakins at first, but that was too hard for Theo to pronounce. So I changed it to Pookie."
"Like Garfield's teddy bear?"
"Exactly."
I smiled. "Those are cute and funny names for teddy bears, don't you think?"
"Sure," Niall mumbled. He seemed to lose interest in this conversation very quickly, so I changed the subject.
"You never answered me," I said.
He frowned at me. "About what?"
"If you wanted to stay in my room or not. I mean, not in my exact bedroom, but the one that's next door. There're two bedrooms in my hotel room. Weird, right?"
Niall just stared at me. "No," he finally said after a moment. "I want to stay with my friends. Not like you're not my friend, but you're a girl. It would be awkward."
My heart shattered, and the remains fell to the deepest, darkest pits in hell. His words were trying to be kind, but they weren't. He could've just said, "No thanks", or, "No thank you". But no, he had to take the harsher route. And he made it sound like we weren't friends. Despite what we were doing tonight, the way he said that made me question our relationship.
"Okay," I finally said stiffly. "I get it. That's fine. See you after rehearsal."
I got up and walked away. I couldn't help but glance over my shoulder. Niall still wasn't doing anything, just sitting and staring straight ahead again.
*~*~*~*
I looked at my outfit in the mirror in my hotel room's bathroom. I was wearing the dress I had gotten for my birthday, with a daisy clip in my hair. For shoes I had on my white flats, since I planned on doing some dancing. I had really been looking forward to tonight, but not so much anymore.
I grabbed the purse that had my Keith Urban concert ticket in it. I fluffed my hair one more time before brushing part of it behind my shoulders. I didn't like it when it was down my front, but it looked better that way.
There was a knock on my door. I walked to the front of my hotel room and opened it. Niall smiled down at me, as though he had never hurt my feelings. He was wearing a collared green shirt and blue jeans, so nothing fancy. He had sunglasses resting on top of his head and a snapback in his hands. He looked so breathtaking that I wanted to forgive him, but I didn't.
"Ready to go?" he asked me brightly.
I looked back at him coolly. "I don't know. Would you rather bring someone else to this concert? Or maybe I should ask Harry to come with me instead, since his ex-girlfriend was once a country artist as well."
Niall's smile turned into a frown. "What do you mean? Desirah, what are you talking about?"
"I don't get it, Niall," I said, getting huffy. What was wrong with me? "Ever since my birthday, you've been acting strangely. Whenever I try to talk to you, you brush me off. Sometimes you're even mean to me. Please explain to me what I've done wrong."
"You... you haven't done anything wrong," Niall said slowly. "I haven't been acting like that."
"Yes, you have," I countered. "I don't even know if you like me anymore. Are you getting tired of my presence? Just tell me, and I'll go away for a while. I get it, sometimes I get annoyed by myself too."
Niall reached for my hands, but I put them behind my back. "Desirah, I'm sorry if I ever made you feel that way," he said. "I don't want you to leave, not at all. I promise I'll be nicer. Give me a second chance."
"You can't truly feel sorry for something if you don't know what you did," I said flatly. "And promises are dangerous things."
"If you tell me I'm doing something wrong, I'll believe you. I can't remember the last time you lied to me. Other than the eggs thing, but I think that was the only time. And even though I promised you that I wouldn't let you get drunk and you did anyway, I'm pretty good at keeping promises."
I couldn't stay mad at Niall, no matter how much I wanted to. I cared for him too much, and I was so relieved that he wasn't tired of me yet. But would there ever come a time that he would be?
"Okay," I said softly. "I believe you. Now let's go get some dinner, and then go to the concert."
......
Keith Urban was performing in Wisconsin, and Chicago was in Illinois. So it was a couple-hour long drive to the restaurant I had in mind. Niall drove, and we played his music there. On the way back to the hotel, we were going to play my music.
"What is this place?" Niall asked as we stepped out of his rental car.
We were parked outside of a medium-sized restaurant that was mostly made of wood. It was located next to a tiny man-made river. The sign was neon red with a picture of the building in the middle. The name of the restaurant was written in a circle around the picture. It read: "Water Street Brewery".
"Water Street Brewery," I said.
"What?"
"You asked what the name of the restaurant was."
"Oh. Well, we're both looking at the same sign, so I kind of figured that out on my own."
"Oh my gosh, you can read?" I gasped in mock shock.
Niall chuckled and linked his arm through mine as we walked inside. "Don't look so surprised. I only learned a couple decades ago. I'm amazed I still know how."
I rolled my eyes as we took a seat at the bar. I looked around. The inside was much more eventful and homey than the outside. There was a small platform near the bar that had a fireplace, a few cushiony armchairs, and a coffee table on it. It looked really comfortable.
Surrounding the bar were normal booths and tables for customers to sit at. They were all made of polished wood. Hanging on the walls were deer antlers and the heads of dead animals. You know, from hunting. One wall on the other side of the restaurant was a glass case full of beer cans. Near the entrance where Niall and I had walked in was another glass case, but inside was an old machine that used to make beer. It was fascinating. They didn't call this place a brewery for nothing.
In the bar hung a single chandelier from the ceiling. A blackboard with the drink options written on it in colored chalk swung from a wooden stick stretching from one end of the bar to the other. Wine bottles lined the counters, and beer nozzles were placed below them. Underneath the counters were mini refrigerators stacked with sodas and bottled water. Almost everything here seemed to be made out of polished wood. I liked it.
"This place is interesting," Niall said, also observing his surroundings.
"Hello," a bartender said, wandering up to us. "How may I help you? My name is Joe, and my buddies and I will be taking care of you this evening. Do you guys have menus yet?"
We shook our heads. The bartender, Joe, reached down underneath his side of the counter and pulled out a pair of menus. They were black with the Water Street Brewery logo printed on it in gold.
"You can find our selective and homemade drinks up there," Joe said, pointing up to the blackboard above our heads. "Or you can just pick out the other ones from inside the menu."
"I'll have the homemade root beer, please," I said with a smile.
"Good choice," Joe approved, nodding. "We've got the best homemade root beer out there."
"I'll have the Pabst Blue Ribbon Tallboy," Niall said. I struggled not to roll my eyes.
"We'll order our food now too," I added.
"We will?" Niall said dubiously.
I nodded. "We'll have the Super Nachos. With all of the sides, please."
Joe grinned. "Alright. The Super Nachos are my favorite appetizer."
He told a girl our order and she nodded. She left the bar to go alert the kitchen. Joe stayed behind to get our drinks. He handed them to us in under a minute. My root beer tasted pretty good, almost as good as Sprecher's, which was the best. Niall sipped his beer, shrugged, and then sipped some more.
"An appetizer, Dizzy?" he said, almost glaring at me. "My stomach is speaking to me, and it is saying that an appetizer will not be enough. Especially if you're only getting one. By the way, why just one?"
"Trust me, it'll fill you up," I said confidently. "It's a big appetizer. We're getting one to share."
"No, it's not enough," he moaned.
"Tell your stomach to shut up," I said nonchalantly, lifting my root beer glass to my lips like a lady. "It's infiltrating your mouth."
Niall scowled a little bit. "So, when's the concert?"
"8:00pm."
"What time is it now?"
"Um...." I opened my purse, took out my phone, turned it on, and checked the time. "It's 6:34pm. Nope, now it's 6:35pm. But it was 6:34pm before."
Niall rolled his eyes. "No shite."
I glared at him. He didn't exactly say "shite". "Language!" I scolded him.
"Stomach's talking, remember?"
I smirked. "That's kind of disgusting. Why the heck would your stomach say, 'No shite'?"
I had gotten Niall there. He paused a moment before saying, "My body is confused."
I burst out laughing. I drank some more of my root beer, which was slightly sweet. I wondered if Water Street Brewery had put vanilla or honey in it. It was a nice touch.
"Going to keep away from alcohol for a while now, huh?" Niall guessed, tilting his head to one side slightly.
"No," I corrected him. "I'm going to keep away from alcohol forever. It's not good for you, and being drunk is not a pleasant feeling."
"You learn from your mistakes," Niall said. "Me, I usually make the same mistake six or seven times just to make sure."
I giggled, but my humor faded away quickly. I wanted to know what had happened on the night that I got drunk. What did I say? What did I do? Did I offend Niall or something to make him act like he did before?
"Hey, Niall," I said thoughtfully, wiping away the condensation on my glass absently. It only reappeared, so it entertained a blonde like me for a while.
"Hey, what?" he teased.
"What happened... that night? The night I got drunk. I... I don't really remember much."
Niall bit his lip and looked down. He didn't reply for a while. "It was... interesting," he finally said. "We talked a lot, and about a bunch of stuff."
I winced. "What did we talk about? What did I say?"
"We talked about the tour," he said, not meeting my eyes. "And celebrities. And... yeah."
"There has got to be more to it than that," I insisted. I looked at him nervously. "Seriously, just tell the truth, okay? What happened?"
"That's basically it," Niall said, glancing up at me quickly. "You wanted to travel and meet more celebrities, and I told you about the people we met on tour. That's all."
I didn't believe him. He had to be lying to me. There were so many secrets that I kept from Niall that the chances of me opening up to him were huge. What did we really talk about?
I opened my mouth to ask him another question, but he cut me off. "Do you like Big Time Rush?" he asked me earnestly.
I stared at him. "What? What kind of question.... Um, well, since you asked, sure, I do."
Niall raised his eyebrows. "Do you like any of the members in particular?"
I laughed a little awkwardly. "Uh, no. Well, I mean, they're cute and all, but I don't have crushes on them or anything."
"Really?" he said doubtfully. I wasn't sure where these questions were coming from, but they were dumb and made me nervous. "Who's your favorite member?"
"Oh," I said, tapping my finger against my cheek thoughtfully. "If I was forced to pick somebody, I guess I would either pick Logan or Kendall."
"Why?"
"Logan is intelligent and knows where his priorities are most of the time. He's a good singer and wants to be a doctor while being a hockey player at the same time, which is admirable. Kendall is a nice guy to go to if you just want to chat or need some advice. I guess you could say that both of them are kind of like me, in a way. According to the TV show, at least. Why do you ask?"
"Just 'cause," Niall said with a shrug, trying to play off as careless. But I knew better.
"Niall, what are you trying to say?" I asked in an implying voice. "Did I say something about Big Time Rush that night?"
"No!" Niall said too quickly. "Well, I mean, yes, you did. I mean, I did! We were talking about celebrities, remember, and Big Time Rush happened to pop up. You wanted to get a photo with Logan, that's all."
I nodded slowly, a doubtful look on my face. Niall was starting to act really weird again. He was also fidgety. He was messing with the collar on his shirt, tugging on his hair, and tapping his fingertips against the countertop. He looked very anxious about something. But before I could ask him if he was alright, our food came.
"Your super delicious nachos have arrived," Joe said, grinning. "Yell if you need anything." He left to go help the couple that was sitting on the other side of the bar.
"I read about these on the Internet," I said. "A lot of reviews gave them at least four stars, and customers say they're really good. Plus they give you two portions, so--"
"Yeah, yeah, that's great," Niall interrupted, waving my words away. "Let's eat already!"
I rolled my eyes. There was no possible way to keep a slightly-above-teenage boy from eating his food. There were two servings of nachos, placed in big, black, plastic containers. They were covered with hot cheese. The sides consisted of salsa, hot peppers, and chicken. It looked delicious.
I grabbed my own container of nachos and ate a chip covered with cheese tentatively. I may not have been a huge cheese fan, but I was willing to try new things. To my surprise, it tasted fantastic. Like Niall, I started piling my chips with all of the sides and started eating greedily. It was extremely greasy, and before long my fingers, mouth, and chin were coated. But it tasted so good that I almost didn't care.
"Wow, these are really good," Niall said, sounding surprised.
"Is the stomach still talking or are you?" I asked teasingly, nudging him a little bit.
"What's the difference?"
I laughed in agreement. For some reason, Niall just looked so cute and irresistible that I wanted to grab him and kiss his face. Ugh, stupid fangirl hormones! I had to get over them. Just recently I wanted to watch Zayn work out and get all sweaty. I had felt like a real stalker in that moment.
I started to get full before long. I pushed my plastic container away from me and sat back. Niall was still eating, of course.
"Want the rest of mine?" I asked. I pressed my fingers against the cool surface of my second glass of root beer.
"Maybe," Niall said, resorted to eating chips with just cheese on top. He had used up all of the sides. He did manage to eat the rest of them, even mine, and was actually a little full. "Okay, that was impressive," he admitted. I grinned in a "told you so" manner.
Joe gave us the bill at demand, and Niall paid for it. I tried to stop him and split it, but he wouldn't let me. He said that this was part of my birthday present, so I shouldn't have to pay for anything. Some of the old Niall I knew and adored was still there.
"How far away is the Summerfest park?" he asked me as we left the restaurant. He put on his simple disguise of a hat and sunglasses.
Yep, we were going to Summerfest for the Keith Urban concert. I was really excited, because I'd never been there before and it was supposedly the largest music festival in the world. It was going to be amazing.
"Not far, actually," I said brightly. "It's just down the street, a couple minutes away."
"Really? Awesome."
We got back in Niall's car and drove the few minutes it took to get to Summerfest Park. There, we walked in as normal people with passes, although the line was long. Keith Urban wasn't playing at a huge theater, but it was still required that we purchase tickets. Since we already had them, we just had to find our seats and wait for the show to start.
"I want to get some food," Niall said after twenty seconds of sitting down.
"What? But you just ate!" I exclaimed.
"I know, but the appetizer wasn't enough, like I told you. I still want dessert."
"But the concert starts in under thirty minutes."
"Dizzy, you know that I don't really like country music, so I doubt that I'll be missing out on much. Want anything?"
I bit back the words that I wanted to say: "But I want to be with you when one of the greatest concerts of my life starts". That wouldn't be fair to Niall, seeing as he wasn't a country fan and he was a famous singer himself. I shook my head slowly. Niall squeezed my shoulder, got up, and left.
I gripped my little purse in my hands tightly. Niall had gotten us front row tickets, so I was going to be really close to my country artist idol. I wondered if he would hear me screaming his name over and over along with his song lyrics. I wondered if he would recognize me as a fellow country singer, even though I wasn't very well-known. I wondered if he would recognize Niall. Would anyone recognize him here? Just a few minutes before the concert started, Niall returned with a handful of goodies. He was grinning widely.
"You wouldn't believe the selection of food they have here!" he crowed as he plopped down next to me. "This place has everything! Food, music, and entertainment! What more could a guy want? Please remind me why the boys and I have never stopped here before."
"That's great, Niall," I said, forcing a small smile. This guy was nothing like me. How were we best friends?
"This clown came by on a red spinning wheel or something. He threw bouncy balls out of his pockets and blew a whistle in his mouth so people would get out of the way."
I stared at him in concern. "Niall, have you been drinking?"
He rolled his eyes. "No. Look, I have evidence!"
He pulled three bouncy balls out of his pocket and threw them at the ground. They soared high up into the air, but they weren't perfectly rounded. They flew off course, and two of them disappeared into the crowd.
"Aw," Niall pouted. He bent down to pick up the remaining ball. "Hold on to this, please."
He handed it to me. I stifled a sigh and put it into my purse. Why was I feeling so depressed? This was supposed to be great! I had my best friend by my side at the concert of my biggest idol. But this wasn't at all how I pictured it would go.
"I got you a smoothie," Niall said, passing it to me. "It was a pretty pink, and I thought of you. You're welcome."
I blushed and accepted it from him. I took a small sip from the straw. It tasted really good, with no chunks. It was a light pink color, like Niall said. Why did this color remind him of me? My favorite color was light blue.
Music started blaring from the speakers, and I squealed. I set my drink down carefully in my seat's cup-holder before jumping to my feet. It was starting, it was starting!
"Come on, Niall, get up!" I shouted over the music and screams of fans. Niall grudgingly stood up beside me.
Keith Urban walked out onstage with his famous guitar strung over his shoulder, and I screamed in excitement. He was, like, thirty years older than me, but all celebrities were pretty in some way. He strummed a few notes on his guitar.
"Good evening, Milwaukee!" he yelled into his microphone, his Southern accent ringing. I wasn't from Milwaukee, but I shrieked anyway. "Wow, what a crowd. I love Summerfest, and it's so good to be here. I've got some surprises in store for y'all, so that should be fun."
I jumped up and down enthusiastically as Keith Urban strummed his guitar again. It nearly blasted my eardrums out, but I didn't care. I was too excited to care.
He started singing "Cop Car", one of his hit singles from his new album "Fuse". The song was kind of ridiculous, but I still loved it. It was really funny and unique.
The moment Keith Urban sang, "Your dad's gonna kill me....", I felt Niall tense up beside me. When I glanced at him, he was looking at me. When we noticed that we were staring at each other, we both quickly turned away.
Keith Urban sang a lot of songs from his new album. But he also sang some of his old songs, which I guessed were his "surprises". I loved almost all of his songs, so I was delighted when he started singing one of my favorite old songs by him.
"If I knew what I was doing, I'd be doing it right now!" Keith and I sang together. Or rather, I shouted, and he sang. "I would be the best damn poet! Silver words out of my mouth. Well, my words might not be magic, but they cut straight to the truth. So if you need a lover and a friend: Baby, I'm in. I'm in!"
"I LOVE YOU, KEITH URBAN!!" I screeched at the top of my lungs. Keith Urban actually heard me and shot me a quick wink. I gasped, and my hands flew to my mouth in shock. "Did you see that! Did you see that!" I cried as I shook Niall back and forth.
He pushed me off of him. "What? What did I see?"
"Keith Urban winked at me! He actually winked at me!"
I took out my phone and started taking rapid-fire photos and short videos of Keith Urban walking and singing onstage. I was going to treasure these moments forever.
But when Keith Urban began singing "Somewhere in My Car", I absolutely exploded. That was my favorite song on the "Fuse" album! His best song yet!
"Dance with me!" I begged to Niall. He was sitting again and eating a funnel cake.
He glanced up at me and almost spit out his funnel cake. "What?"
"Dance with me," I repeated. "This is my favorite song on his album. You're not going to leave me hanging, are you?"
Niall slowly shook his head and stood up. I squealed excitedly and grabbed his hands.
"What dance are we doing?" he asked.
"Freestyle!" I chirped in reply.
I spun around in his arms and bumped into his chest. He took a step back, and I spun away from him again. For some reason, he wasn't dancing.
"Come on, Niall!" I said desperately. "You're the best dancer in One Direction!"
His face brightened up before I could finish my plead. "You really think so?"
"Dude, it's a known fact! Please dance with me!"
"You got it!" he proclaimed and took my hands again.
We danced in a funky way amongst the crowd of cheering people, but that was okay. They were dancing strangely too. Keith Urban sang on.
"But in my mind we're somewhere in my car, and it's raining hard on the streetlight glow. You got your lips on mine! It's gasoline on fire; I never will forget: You grabbed my shirt and pulled it over my head. Fingertips slidin' up and down my back, breathin' hard, steamin' up the glass. I'd give anything if I could bring you back. Oh, oh!"
*~*~*~*
"That. Was. The. Best. Thing. EVER!!" I screamed as we made our way back to the hotel.
Niall laughed. "I have to admit, dancing with you was kind of fun. It helped block out the music."
"Oh, come on, Ni," I teased him. "Admit that you enjoyed it. And not just dancing, the whole thing. Keith Urban's pretty amazing, isn't he?"
Niall scoffed. "The only country music I like is yours. He may be a nice guy, but I don't thoroughly enjoy his music."
"Well, too bad for you," I smirked as I put one of my CDs in his car. "The deal was we listen to your pop music on the way up, and we listen to my music on the way down. So you're stuck with listening to Keith Urban for the next two or so hours."
Niall groaned as I cackled evilly. "Of course, you could always change your mind...." he began hopefully, but I cut him off.
"Not a chance."
He scowled.
"I'm going to keep these photos forever!" I cried, looking through them all. Some were so blurry that I had to delete them, but others were actually pretty perfect. "I will look back on this day as one of my favorites."
"Sheesh, will you ever have a best day ever?" Niall muttered.
"Well, no," I retorted. "If you keep having an attitude like that. What is with you?"
"Jet lag, okay? I'm tired."
"You're lying to me," I guessed instantly. "Niall, I don't get it. I trust you with my life. Why are you so afraid of telling me something? I won't judge--"
"I'm not afraid," he interrupted me quickly. He sounded a little indignant. "I'm just... never mind. It's none of your business."
My heart sank, but not as deep as before. Clearly, my relationship with Niall wasn't as rock-solid as I thought it was. Something must have happened the night I got drunk that made Niall lose his respect for me. I just wanted to have it back.
"Sorry," I finally mumbled after a moment of awkward silence.
"No, I'm sorry," Niall sighed. "I shouldn't have snapped at you like that. I'm just exhausted, that's all. Everything will be better in the morning."
I still didn't believe him, but I wasn't going to question him about it. I reached over to the car radio and switched to a different CD. My favorite One Direction album, "Take Me Home", began streaming through the speakers.
I saw Niall smile out of the corner of my eye, and that made me smile as well. But I grinned when he moved up to my favorite song on the disk, "Over Again". We sang together as the boy and the girl, just like old times.
*~*~*~*
"I had a really fun time, Niall," I whispered as we stood outside my hotel room door.
I didn't understand why we were being so quiet, but Niall had warned me plenty of times that Zayn was a light sleeper. How could he wake up while we were talking in our normal voices if there was a wall of solid wood, concrete, and plaster between us?
"Me too," Niall whispered back. "I'm just sorry that I wasn't able to make this your best day ever."
I put a hand on his arm. "Don't worry about it. I'm still young yet. I have plenty of days ahead of me."
"Maybe."
I hit his other arm. "Don't be such a Debbie Downer."
He chuckled, rubbing the area where I hit him. "Sorry, sorry. Well, I guess this means good night."
"Probably," I agreed.
"So, um.... Good night."
"Good night," I echoed with a small smile.
We embraced quickly before Niall started down the hall to the next door. I swiped my card in the sensor, and the light turned green. I was about to open the door when I felt a small tap on my shoulder. I jumped fifty feet in the air and spun around. It was only Niall. But I still put a hand over my heart, breathing heavily.
"Goodness, Niall!" I whisper-yelled. "You almost gave me a heart attack!"
He grinned. "Sorry. Anyway, my card isn't working for some reason. So, uh, I was wondering if I could, um... spend the night? Just this once, I promise."
I smiled again, trying to calm my leaping heart. "Sure. Just don't let the other boys find out."
"Cross my heart."
I opened the door and let him inside. "You wouldn't want to sleep on the bumpy old couch, would you?" I guessed. "There's a bedroom next to mine down the hall."
Niall gaped around my hotel room. "Wow! This is totally different from ours."
"I know, right?" I said with a frown. "It's weird. Anyway, I guess I'll see you in the morning."
"Huh? Oh, yeah. Good night again, Desirah."
I giggled. "Good night again, Niall."
We walked down the hall together and went into our separate rooms. As I changed into my pajamas, I couldn't help but thank the ones above for not granting Niall access to his room. At the same time, I was also grateful that he wasn't sleeping in my room. I heard that he slept nude, and as much of a fangirl as I was, I didn't think I was ready for that. Yet.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Author's Note:
So, do you guys think that Niall and Desirah are ready for a relationship or not? Will they even get in one? What ship names have you come up with for the two, if any? I. Don't. Even. Know.
I want to dedicate this chapter to my mom, whose celebrity crush is Keith Urban. Yes, old people like her still have celebrity crushes. I never said that, okay? Keith's my favorite country singer. He's pretty dang awesome.
I have a funny story to tell about the WWA Tour movie. So, my mom and I went together to the cinema on Saturday night to see the movie (because I'm a loser and have few friends). We loved it. We laughed and clapped along with everyone else. In fact, we enjoyed ourselves so much, my MOM wanted to go a SECOND time. That's how much she loved it! So, she bought us tickets for the same exact showing on Sunday night! It was hilarious. I almost think that my mom is a bigger Directioner than I am, lol.
Stay Beautiful,
-Sammi <3