Up All Night

“Mars, come here!”

Marlene Evenson shut her laptop screen down forcefully, letting out a groan of frustration. How was she ever going to sort out her university classes for next year if Isobel kept interrupting her?

“What?” The question came out as a growl, but Isobel didn’t seem to notice.

“Harry’s on TV!”

Marlene forgot all about her impending enrolment and rushed to the lounge room with her laptop, where her cousin Isobel was sitting cross-legged on the floor, glued to an episode of the X Factor. Marlene remembered when Australia tried to do the X Factor years earlier and how it had failed – needless to say, she hadn’t bothered watching its reprisal the year earlier.

The redhead hated talent quest shows, as she felt the majority of the winners only won for their good looks, and not their voice or talent. She also felt that ninety-nine percent of music was auto-tuned nowadays, and that made her even more cynical of talent-quest singers.

Yet she’d promised to watch this season for one reason only. Isobel’s older brother - and Marlene’s other cousin – Harry had decided to take his chances this year and audition. From what Marlene gathered, he’d been put into a group with four other boys, and they were quite popular on the show. Marlene had arrived in England only the day earlier – the same day every year – and all she’d heard for the past twenty-four hours was how wonderful Harry was doing and how perfect One Direction were. It was starting to grate on her nerves.

She was proud of her cousin, however, and she secretly believed that Harry’s decision to take the plunge had been partly up to her. Every year, she’d compliment him on his vocal talent, and reassure him that he’d make it big. Apparently, her prediction was coming true.

She seated herself on the dark-patterned couch as a rendition of The Beatles’ immortal song ‘All You Need Is Love’ began to play. Marlene closed her eyes, trying to see if she could pick Harry’s voice. Halfway through, she gave up and, humming along, opened her eyes to see what the rest of the quintet looked like.

That was when she saw him.

The song ended and the judges gave their opinions, but Marlene didn’t notice. She was too busy trying to work out where she’d seen one of them before.

“Hey 'Bels,” she murmured, racking her brains, “was Harry friends with any of them before this?”

The younger girl shook her head. “No, why?”

“I’ve just got the funniest sense that I’ve seen one of their faces before,” the redhead replied, twisting a curl around her finger as her forehead lines deepened. She was silent for a few moments, before she sighed. “Forget it. I’ve probably just seen him on the street before and that’s why I recognized him.”

“Which one?” Isobel asked.

“The one with the short, straight brown hair,” Marlene replied, already past caring.

“Louis? Louis Tomlinson?” Isobel was up on her feet instantly, her eyes glinting.

“I don’t know. I guess so,” Marlene replied, reaching for her computer and re-opening her enrolment page. “If he fits the description of ‘The one with the short, straight brown hair’ then that must be who I’m thinking of. I don’t know their names yet, Bels. Except Harry’s, of course.”

Isobel was nearly bursting with excitement. “How did you recognize Louis? That means you’ve seen him before! And you didn’t even know he was going to be famous! That’s so cool!”

Marlene rubbed her faintly aching temples, and tutted impatiently at a chip in her nail polish. She’d only painted them the day before. “Look ‘Bels, I don’t really care where I’ve seen him, okay? I didn’t mean for it to be a big deal – I just knew his face and wondered if you knew where I’d seen it before. Now can I please have some peace and quiet so I can decide the hell I’m going to do next year?”

“Defer,” Isobel said. It wasn’t a suggestion, but more of a statement.

Marlene shook her head. “I’m not deferring, Isobel. Mum’d kill me. I just gotta find something I want to do, do it, and hope I can get a career out of it or something.”

Isobel’s eyes narrowed, and she shut down her cousin’s laptop screen just as forcefully as Marlene had done it. “Defer. Or at the very least, don’t think about enrolment now! Your cousin is on his way to international superstardom, and you’re thinking about your higher education! You don’t need to have the enrolment in for another two weeks, so calm down, okay? We’ll try and see if we can see Harry tomorrow, and if so, maybe we can work out where you’ve seen Louis before.”

Marlene groaned. She should have kept her mouth shut. “Are we even allowed to see the contestants whilst they’re in the competition?”

Isobel grinned. “If not, I’ll find a way, trust me.”

The Australian sighed heavily, knowing she was fighting a losing battle. “Okay, fine. But I’m not deferring. Don’t get me wrong – I’d love to, especially if it meant I could stay here for a year – but you know my mum. She’d most likely throw a fit if I even mentioned the word.”

“I’ll sort everything out,” Isobel promised, and she bounded out of the room, brown curls bouncing.

Next time I see someone I recognize, I’ll keep my mouth shut, Marlene resolved. I wouldn’t have remembered Louis if I hadn’t have seen his face, and I can sure as hell bet he won’t recognize or know who the hell I am.

She glanced disdainfully at her computer, fingers itching to sign up to a class, if just to skip her mother’s lecture about the good of a Higher Education. Any minute now her phone would ring, and her mother would be on the other end, asking if she’d enrolled yet.

Faith Evenson was a very impatient women who owned and ran her own beauty parlour. She was always stressing how important university was and how it would make a different to Marlene’s life – she wouldn’t have to struggle like her mother did just because her mother never went to university.

Marlene was always glad for the annual three-month break from her mother every Australian summer. Although it meant giving up the summer sun and the beach, Marlene didn’t mind. She’d never been a summer person anyway, and she loved seeing her extended family.

She smiled - a rare occurrence – as she recounted all the coffee shops she’d meet Harry in every year. It was their tradition. The day after Marlene’s annual arrival, the two would go into the city, wander around until they got separated, and then meet at dinner time in a random café that Harry had pulled from a hat. Every year, he scoured the internet and city guides for café’s that seemed interesting, and he’d put them all in a hat, pulling one out the night of Marlene’s arrival.

They’d been doing it for the past six years, but this year it had been Isobel and Marlene instead.

The year before, Marlene had got lost and nearly not found her way to the café. Marlene had almost forgotten that! The memory resurfaced, hazy. If it hadn’t have been for that boy –

The shrill ring of her phone jolted her from her thoughts, and the memory was once again forgotten, becoming an insignificant chance encounter once more. It’s not as if it were important…

When Marlene angrily hung up on her mum almost two hours later, any chance of her remembering that encounter was long gone.