Dancing in the Dark

The directions from Kennedy lead us to a Famous Dave’s that looked suspiciously empty for the time of day that it was. I shrugged it off, figuring we were just missing the usual lunch rush, and hopped from the van quickly. The boys followed suit, letting me lead them into the restaurant, and we were abruptly stopped by a tall, muscular man.

“Are you Sweet Catastrophe?” he asked, making me step back I shock and nod, “I’m Paul, I work for One Direction. Kennedy said you’d be coming, so just follow me.”

“Okay,” I said meekly, following behind him as he walked towards the back, “Is there a reason this place is so quiet? It’s kind of a lunch rush.”

“We asked the management here to not let in any younger people, just in case,” he said, opening the door to what looked like a private dining area, “And just to be safe we booked the room back here.”

I nodded, and immediately shuffled to the seat that Kennedy was flagging me towards. The boys followed, not exactly having talked to any of the people in the room before, and I could hear Dylan mutter something to Ethan that made him snort. I fell into my seat, next to Kennedy and across from Harry, while Taylor took my other free side. I smiled at Kennedy, about to talk to her, when the waitress came and started taking our drink orders. She wrote them all down, no doubt taking a whole page with the size of the group we had, and paused when she got to us. Her eyes widened, and she told us she was a fan of the band, something I was shocked by. I thanked her, telling her we could take a picture with her later if she wanted, and watched her happily walk off to the kitchen. I was shocked that she was more excited about us than One Direction, but still felt a sense of pride like I always did when we met fans.

“Hey, you’re the girl who nearly ran into me at the studio!” the blonde next to Kennedy said, pulling me from my thoughts.

“Guilty,” I smiled, reaching my hand out to him; “I’m Chelsea.”

“Niall, her better half,” he joked, earning a jab in the side, “That’s Louis down there in the stripes, Liam’s the one in the plaid, Zayn is the one with black hair, and Harry is that curly headed fellow across from you.”

“Oh, I met him when I actually did run into him in the hallway,” I laughed, “This is Dylan, Ethan and Taylor, the rest of Sweet Catastrophe. Thank you again for inviting us to lunch.”

“Kennedy insisted, and we know to let her get her way,” Harry smirked, obviously the trouble maker of the group, “So, tell us more about yourself.”

I launched into the story of the band, keeping it short and sweet. I then gave them my basics, such as my age and hometown, and let the boys fill in their information. I asked them about themselves next, and sat quietly as they all took turns telling their versions of the stories. You could tell they all had different personalities, but were still similar in countless ways. I found myself laughing countless times, and almost frowned as a rather hilarious story was interrupted by the waitress taking our food orders. The story was quickly forgotten, and I started a quick conversation with Kennedy about her tattoos. I was particularly intrigued by the script on her wrist in a foreign language, but immediately regretted asking her about it.

She launched into the backstory of how it dealt with a look shared between lovers, and after that I blocked her out unintentionally. The way she spoke about love, something she obviously had with Niall, made a weird feeling erupt within me. I thought about the love Brian and I had, and hated how we pretended to remain friends in the public eye. Truth was, I was still heartbroken about what had happened between us. He was the one who decided it was over, telling me he just didn’t feel the spark anymore while leaving me high and dry. Of course, only the pair of our bands knew this, and I made sure I didn’t let my emotions show as Kennedy spoke. Thankfully, the food was brought out, causing almost all conversation to stop.

“You guys should hang out with us again tomorrow, you’re a right laugh,” Louis said as we all started getting up from the table.

“We actually play Warped tomorrow,” I said, feeling a frown tug at my lips, “But you guys are more than welcome to come! I know Kevin would let us add you guys, and security, to the list.”

“I can’t go, Danielle flies in tomorrow so I’ll be with her,” Liam said, a mix of happiness and sadness in her voice.

“Same with Eleanor,” Louis said, a smile breaking out on his face.

“Date with Kennedy,” Niall said, sounding oddly proud of himself.

“I’ll go,” Harry said, shrugging a little, “I always wanted to go when I was younger, and now I have a chance.”

Zayn agreed to go as well, saying he had no plans the following day, and to say I was excited was an understatement. I exchanged information with Harry, the pair having agreed to just arrive in the van with us, and bid the group goodbye as we exited the restaurant. I crawled into the van, clambering to the back row that I always claimed as mine on tour, and nearly fell asleep on the short ride back to my apartment. The boys jostled me from my almost slumber when we pulled up, and I waved as they drove off while yelling what time they’d pick me up. I shook my head at their yells, and fished my keys out as I climbed up the stairs to my level. The lights were all off when I walked in, meaning my roommate was off somewhere with her boyfriend or friends, and I took the opportunity to take over the Jacuzzi bathtub.

The whole time I was in the tub, I was idly texting Harry, who I found out was similar to myself in many ways. We talked about everything from our favorite movies, to our favorite smells, and even touched on stuff related to schooling. I continued texting him long after I was out of the bath, and fell asleep somewhere during the conversation about childhood cartoons.