Dancing in the Dark

Interviews were always the same. Generic questions, some that we had heard hundreds of times, meaning our answers were somewhat rehearsed. That didn’t stop us from enjoying them though, and putting different twists into all of our answers. I was currently in stitches over the answer Dylan and Ethan had constructed, but tried my hardest to not completely loose it on camera. The interviewer laughed along with us, knowing our answers were a bit lavish at the moment, and turned her attention to me for the next question.

“So, Chelsea, as everyone knows you starred in The Summer Set’s video for ‘Chelsea’, which was written for you. Correct?” she asked, earning a small smile and nod from me, “How did that come about?”

“Well, Brian wrote it for me before we actually even started dating, and used it as a way to reel me in I suppose,” I laughed, “Which was incredibly sweet, and worked. Then we dated for nearly a year and a half, before going separate ways on mutual terms. We’re still friends, you could say.”

I heard a few girls make ‘awe’ noises in the audience, and shook my head as the three boys joined in with them and nudged me. There were only a few more questions, most of which were about our new video, and I nearly jumped from my feet as the show was called to a commercial break. We were scheduled to play our newest single acoustic when the show returned, and I started doing the quickest vocal warm ups of my life, as I ran to the back room so I could use the restroom. My black boots sounded heavy on the tile flooring, and I was sure they left a mark as I skidded to a stop when I nearly ran into someone. I apologized to the boy quickly, half recognizing him from somewhere, and rushed the rest of the way to the bathroom.

I made it back out to the main studio just in the nick of time, and hopped onto my stool just as the countdown started. I rubbed my palms against my jeans as the host introduced our song, and tapped my left hand against my thigh as the guitar part started and Dylan started his vocals. I waited as he finished his first verse, and did the three clap intro to mine with Taylor before grasping my mic near my lips.

“It's been a while since I've felt butterflies
Do you feel the same too?
If every single second could last that much longer,
Would you hold me... and kiss me again?”

The nerves I had felt right before the performance flew out the window as we hit the chorus, and I felt myself getting into the song like I did at our normal performances. I found myself tapping along on my legs a lot, while fidgeting on my stool and had to fight the urge to stand up during the last chorus. The audience clapped for us, a few of the girls seeming to actually really get into us, and I did a faux bow as the host walked over to us with a few cards still in her hands.

“Let’s hear it one more time for Sweet Catastrophe!” she all but shouted, earning us more hollers. “Great job guys, you sounded great. Any celebrities you wouldn’t mind kissing? Like the fine lads in One Direction perhaps?”

“Oh jesus,” I muttered, half wanting to cover my ears from the squeals the name caused, “I can honestly say I don’t think I’ve ever actually seen what they look like! I’ve really only ever heard them once or twice. Though they must be good looking if they can make girls scream that loud.”

I twisted my face as soon as I realized what I had said, and elbowed Ethan as he made a ‘that’s what she said’ comment under his breath so I could hear. The host just laughed, obviously hearing him, and told us our goodbyes as the countdown to commercial started. We were rushed at by the production crew, our microphones and packs being taken off quickly, and ushered off towards our dressing room. I let the boys head in front of me, knowing they’d be going straight for the table of food, and pulled my phone from my pocket. I sent a quick tweet, scrolling through my timeline idly, and collided with someone as I turned the corner.

“Jesus Taylor, keep walking,” I grunted, looking up into unfamiliar eyes, “Crap. I’m sorry; I just thought you were my band mate.”

“No worries, love,” he smiled, his accented voice deep and gravely, “You guys smashed it out there with your song, by the way.”

“Thank you…” I started, hoping he’d fill in his name for me.

“Harry S-,” he started, but was cut off as a short girl with raven black hair basically ran at him in her heels.

“Styles! Where have you been?! You have thirty seconds to get out to that studio,” she said sternly, narrowing her eyes, “And stop screwing with your hair!”

“Sure thing, mum,” he snickered, glancing back over at me, “Nice meeting you, Chelsea.”

“Likewise,” I smiled, watching him dash towards the studio, “I’m so sorry I kept him. I didn’t realize he needed to be in the studio so soon.”

“Not your fault, he’s always running late,” she laughed, “I’m Kennedy Stephenopolous, stylist for One Direction.”

“Chelsea Rosenthal, lead singer of Sweet Catastrophe,” I smiled, reaching out to shake her hand, “By the way, killer shoes.”

She smiled, thanking me, and the two of us fell into easy conversation. Being the girl I was, I had to take advantage of her stylist opinions, causing her eyes to light up as I did so. She ushered me towards the room she had emerged from earlier, and sat down next to me on the couch as she pulled her MacBook out. I watched in awe as she glanced at me, opening a few different clothing websites, as well as her Pintrest account, and scrolled away furiously. She told me to ramble about my style, something I wasn’t used to doing, and explained what I wore on a day to day basis. She took it all in, pinning random items, and asking for my input on a few different things that showed up.

We continued this for maybe a half an hour, and I accepted her laptop as she told me to find myself on facebook so she could add me and follow my pintrest. I typed in my name, scrolling past a few fake profiles, and found mine while hitting the add button. The request popped onto my phone, and I accepted her, noticing I had a few texts from the boys. I responded, telling them I’d be back to our room in a few minutes, and profusely thanked Kennedy as she shut her laptop.

“It’s a nice change to style a girl instead of five boys for once,” she smiled, standing up as I did, “Hey, you guys should join us for lunch! I just heard your stomach growl, so I know you’re hungry, plus I want to get to know you more.”

“We wouldn’t want to impose,” I started, shaking my head.

“Nonsense! I invited you! Plus, you could finish whatever conversation you were having with Harry,” she grinned, making me give in and say yes, “Wonderful! Go wrap up whatever you have to do in your dressing room, and we can meet up in the lobby in say, 30 minutes?”

I told her it was perfect, and skipped from the room, thankfully not running into anyone as I made it to my destination. The boys were sitting on the couches and chairs, paying attention to the screens of their phones, and waved as I plopped onto the vacant chair. I told them about lunch, their ears perking up at the mention of food, and laughed as they actually started to put their stuff away. They were disappointed they had to wait 30 minutes, but decided on making a quick video for our facebook, thanking the fans for the support. We all squeezed onto the loveseat, Ethan’s laptop perched on the table in front of it, and started talking as soon as it started recording. It was short, maybe only two minutes long, but still took long to upload and post to all of our social networks.

When we were finished, Kennedy peeked into the room, telling us we could leave whenever. We all grabbed our stuff, myself shoving everything into my oversized purse, and followed her out towards the lobby. You could hear the screams of the girls outside, the lot of them being held behind barricades, and I widened my eyes at the boys who had mirrored expressions. We were the only ones who were fazed, and we listened as Kennedy told us the directions to the restaurant, before going out first and making our way to our white van. I hopped into the passenger seat, knowing Taylor would get lost if I let him drive without help, and took over the stereo immediately. The boys groaned as the song started, having heard it countless times on our cross country drives, and I couldn’t help but to dramatically serenade them the whole ride to the restaurant.