324 Autographs, 247 Gigs, and 152 Photos Later...

Expedition number 2.
Target- Mcfly! (eekkk)
Time- 7pm, so that means like 5 be there at the latest.

And, yea, I'm a bit scared.. You see, I'm going to leave home. And I've finished packing for the third time. I managed to squeeze most of my fashionable wardrobe into one suitcase, and filled another with a lot of odds and ends, that I can't stand to live without. And of course, I've still got space for NEW CLOTHES! Woop! Haha .

So now Zoe and I are reminiscing, and crying. Lying on my purple beanbag, hugging.

‘I still can’t believe you’re actually leaving’ she said softly, wiping at the tears streaking her face with the back of her hand.

‘I don’t know,’ I replied, pulling a tissue out of the almost empty box between us and passing it to her, ‘why am I going again?’

‘I think it was something to do with tracking down lots and lots of famous people for some silly world record you were trying to break,’ she smiled weakly.

‘Remind me why I was doing that again,’ I said, and as I hugged her yet another time, I began to wonder why exactly I was doing it. My friends and family were my life, seriously, they were everything. I was going to be away for more than a few months, and, if I couldn’t work up the money to get home and back at Christmas quickly enough, maybe a lot longer.

‘I think it’s because you’re stubborn, and ridiculous, and can’t stand to be ‘bored in Africa’ for your whole gap year,’ Zoe laughed, another tear rolling down her cheek.

‘I don’t want to go,’ I sighed. ‘Really, I just want to stay here with you and my family, and
everyone else.’

‘But you can’t,’ said Zoe, ‘you have to go and be amazing, and be Chloe Reynolds, my amazing best friend who can’t sit still for more than 2 minutes.’

‘I love you,’ I sighed deeply, pulling a tissue out of the box and using it to dab at my eyes, ‘I don’t know how I’m going to cope all alone out in the USA without you.’

‘You’ll be fine,’ she laughed, ‘don’t be so silly. For all I know, you might meet some American hottie, get a quickie marriage in Vegas, and never come home.’

We both descended into laughter, even though the joke wasn’t really that funny. Definitely not one of Zoe’s best. And as we laughed together through our tears on those purple beanbags, it felt like I was reliving everything that had happened over the last few years. Every time we’d sat on those bean bags, one or other of use crying over some guy, music on full and pounding our ears. All the times we’d sprawled across my bed, eating chocolate and whinging about life, and school, and just about everything. The happiest years of my life.

I glanced at the clock, my eyes passing over my bags, which were already packed and sitting in the corner.

‘It’s time,’ I sighed.

‘It can’t be,’ Zoe groaned, looking at the clock too.

‘If I don’t go now, I definitely won’t have time to get past my parents without missing the bus,’ I laughed, dabbing at my eyes one last time before getting up and throwing the tissue in the bin.
Zoe got up too and came over and hugged me tightly.

‘I’m going to miss you so bad,’ she sighed, ‘so so so bad.’

‘I’m going to miss you too,’ I said softly, ‘I wish you could come too.’ But Zoe had other plans for her gap year. A full time job as a Healthcare Assistant, earning money and gaining medical experience, before she jetted off the Africa (which she insisted was good enough for her, no matter what my opinion of it was) to work as an emergency medic, before studying medicine at university. She was going to have the time of her life. And so was I.

Finally we broke apart, and I grabbed my bags, taking one last look at the room where I had grown up after all these years, before shutting the door and following a now bawling Zoe down the stairs.

********

I climbed on the number seven bus, after hugging my parents for the billionth time, with tears in my eyes, and my suitcase at my feet. Firstly, it was time to find somewhere to stay. Yepp, I had nothing planned. I was just leaving home. The only thing I had with me, was some money, my passport, and a ticket to America in 2 weeks time. So I didn't have long left.

The cold night air hit my face, as I stepped off the bus. I went in to the first decent looking hotel I saw, which wasn't too expensive, and I dumped my stuff. After re-applying multiple layers of mascara, and changing my top, I left.

The queue was not too long when I arrived, so as I joined, I hoped that I would get to the front. With no Zoe to help me, I had to find another way in there..

I was standing next to a group of girls, so I thought ‘what the hell!' and decided to talk to them.

'Um, hey..' I stuttered nervously to a blonde girl wearing a checked shirt.

'Oh, hi' she replied, 'I'm Rosie, so, who's your favourite Mcfly band member?' she questioned, hungry for gossip before adding in a high-pitched squeal that I was sure only dogs could hear, 'mines Dougie, I'm getting on stage, and I'm going to kiss him!'

'Right....' I started, so now I know who the groupies are!

'Well,' I said, thinking of something, 'I'll help you get on stage' I giggled fakely, 'if you do the same for me!'

'TOTALLY!' she exclaimed, 'best buds!'

I fake squealed delightedly, then as she turned, as the queue moved forwards, I mimed hitting her over the head, how fake where these girls?!

********

Finally, after what could have been years of standing in the queue listening to Rosie squeal and shriek and generally tear my eardrums to shreds, the doors opened, and we began to move. With every second that other people were entering the venue, and I was still outside listening to Rosie and her friends analyse the outfit of every other girl in the line I began to get more and more nervous, more completely convinced that I’d never reach the front of the stage and get my next 4 autographs.

When we finally reached the door I opened my bag for security to search it, and then showed them my ticket quickly, before running to catch up with my ‘new best friends’ who’d already left me behind to run to the standing area.

As I drew up beside them and others began to pile in behind us, pressing in on me from all sides, I ignored the elbow in the kidneys I got from Rosie, as she began her mission to get to the front. I followed her through the crowd, listening to the people we pushed out the way grumble and complain away to themselves and their friends-it wasn’t exactly the done thing at gigs.

Suddenly she stopped moving, and I careered into the back of her. She turned around, a not exactly pleasant expression on her face, before seeing me behind her and quickly rearranging her features into a smile.

‘We did it!’ she shrieked, ‘Can’t you just not believe it!’

‘I know,’ I said cheerily, the grating squeals beginning to wear thin. I couldn’t believe the difference between Rosie and the supportive and amazing best friend I’d left behind at home just a few hours earlier.

I managed to push my way through the crowds to join Rosie at the barrier, my chest crushed to it. We squealed and laughed and fake joked together all through the support acts, until Mcfly finally came onstage. When Dougie came on, Rosie let out the single most ear piercing scream I’ve EVER heard. Seriously, I can still hear the ringing in my ears.

They began to strike up a beat, before launching into ‘5 colours in her hair’ which is my complete favourite Mcfly song, and Zoe’s too. I pulled out my phone and called her, holding the phone up high, microphone towards the stage so she could be here to experience it with me.

A few songs in, Rosie looked over at me and said loudly, ‘Here we go!’. Before I knew it she was wriggling away beside me, pulling herself up over the barrier into the gap between it and the stage. It took her just a second to vault up onto the stage, and before the security guards scattered around the venue had a chance to stop her, she was on stage and next to Dougie.

I didn’t stop to watch the rest of Rosie’s suicide mission, as there were so many security guards in front of me now, that it was more than easy for me to slip over the barrier too (I’m a swimmer, which gives me weirdly strong arms), and run down the walkway to the edge of the stage, where the long red curtains that came with the old-style venue hung, unused. I jumped onto the stage and wrapped myself in them, my heart pounding in my ears. From where I stood, I could see the stage door, and through it the corridor that led to the dressing rooms, and my next 4 autographs.