Wanderlust

“...A friend of the popular actress/singer is believed to have said that the nineteen year old is looking to move there indefinitely, apparently seeking some ‘down time’ as well as some ‘inspiration for further career developments.’
Having recently wrapped up the filming of eagerly awaited project ‘Fireball’, Callaghan’s fame is at an all time high, gaining attention from the likes of ‘The Hunger Games’ director, Gary Ross, as well as musician, Kanye West, who is believed to be interested in a duet with the young Australian native.
However Callaghan’s reps' have made it adamantly clear that this starlet, although ‘extremely flattered and considerate in any possible projects’, is more so hoping to have some peace in her expected holiday following the completion of her major tasks at hand. Well they seemed to have gotten it pretty accurate this time...”

I looked up from the bright screen of my iPhone 4s, having just sent a quick ‘London is so beautiful! Can’t wait to be a total tourist with Will! Xox’ to my twitter and reply to as many fan tweets as I could.
I snorted playfully, waving away a stray of my ombre-dyed hair, “That’d be a first, wouldn’t it?”

William, my older brother, chuckled and continued flipping the pages of the 'Hello' magazine he held in his hands.

“Oh, look! They have an update on the ‘Jucy’ scandal!” He all but gasped from his place on the couch opposite me.
I smirked.

The ‘Jucy’ scandal – in short – was a rumour claiming Justin Bieber and I were ‘romancing behind Selena Gomez’s back.’ It was gossip like this that made me hate the tabloids sometimes; knowing they would go to great lengths to sell their papers regardless of whose life they had to interfere with.

I forced myself not to roll my blue eyes right in William’s face, asking for him to read me the article nevertheless.

“It has now been confirmed that nineteen year old Lucy Callaghan and fellow teen celeb Justin Bieber are not seeking a scandalous romance behind Bieber’s long time girlfriend, Selena Gomez’s back. Both parties have denied the rumours and stated that while the pair are close friends, there are no romantic feelings involved and Callaghan has nothing but respect for Bieber and Gomez’s ongoing relationship, wishing them the best for the future.”

I scrunched up my nose in distaste. I had quite honestly never met Justin Bieber, nor had I wished him the best for the future, but I’d have to let it go knowing the rumour had been put to rest.

"They literally make up their own fairy tales when life gets a bit boring, don't they?"
Will chuckled, sighing and saying, “well, at least it’s over now.”

I hummed in response, finally putting my phone away and looking around the space of the apartment Will and I had just recently purchased. It was absolutely perfect, giving me everything I needed for what the magazine article very correctly claimed I was in London for.

Although it seemed rather drastic, it was in fact very heavily thought out. Will was all for it, him being my assistant and all, and my Mum and Dad back in Australia agreed that I needed some time off.

I had been singing since I was pretty young, only gaining some real attention when I was about sixteen. However acting had been a huge appeal to me also, not to mention it was what sky-rocketed my career from a ‘young girl with a beautiful voice’ to a ‘young women taking Hollywood by storm.’ And so my publicist had pitched the idea that I take off some time to find my love for both talents again and find a way to manage both of them at the same time.
I couldn’t have been happier with the proposal, but I still wanted some interaction – a couple of interviews here and there, maybe a guest appearance if it came up, just to make sure it was clear I wasn’t retiring or anything.

“Luce, I’m gonna’ run out and get some coffee.” Will called from the kitchen after having slammed and banged just about every cabinet door looking for some.

“Let’s go to a cafe for some! We’ve hardly left the apartment since we got here...” I sat up from the white sofa I had been lounging on and looked to my brother expectantly. I knew he’d be reluctant after having Kara, my manager, drill him on how important it was that I try to stay as much under the radar as possible.

’No night clubs, no drinking, no street fights, no drugs!’ Seriously, who did she think I was, Nicole Polizzi?

He looked unsure, much to my dismay. “Are you sure? I don’t want to be held responsible by Kara for having you caught by the paps over here.” He chuckled awkwardly as I frowned.
I waved him off, “It’s bound to happen sometime, it’s not exactly a secret we’re here.”

He silently agreed and grabbed a jacket from the coat rack by the door, ushering me out and locking up the apartment as we left.

Stepping out of the complex, Will and I had decided on a little cafe we had caught a glimpse of on our few drives through the streets of London, also deciding to walk because of its close proximity despite the biting frostiness of the outside air.

“Lucy! How are you! How are you enjoying London so far? Can we get a smile?”

Cameras flashed at different directions. There weren’t many, considering Will and I weren’t doing anything extremely exciting, so it was a small relief against the hoards of cameras I had experienced in my celebrity lifetime. No matter how many times it happened I could never repair my pupils from the lightening fast flashes of a paparazzi camera after being shielded by a movie theatre for two hours.
I just smiled and gave a little wave, pulling the sunglasses out of my hair and onto the bridge of my nose while holding onto Will’s arm.

After about five minutes of walking without revealing a word the paparazzi decided to lag behind a bit, thankfully, and Will and I eventually made it into a coffee house titled ‘Oxford Beans.’ It was a warm little shop with steam protruding from behind the barista’s bench. It was fairly empty, it being only 11 in the morning and all, and a soft buzz of music played in the background.

Will pointed me toward a table near the back, promising me an order of my usual upon his return.
I pulled out my phone, immediately opening up twitter again and tweeting some nonsense about coffee. I’d hate to say it, but I’d have to admit to being a bit of a twitter addict; tweeting at least a few times a day and feeling guilty if I missed one. I mean, a little over six million people didn’t follow me for nothing; I felt like I owed them something.

I typed away to a few private messages here and there, a shout out for a Portuguese girl’s birthday, I even texted my mum to see how she was doing, still Will hadn’t returned.
I sighed and looked up, roaming my eyes along the front counter before landing on my brother’s face as he happily chatted to another man by the cashier, my white mocha sitting idly by no doubt going cold.

I watched intently as Will smiled, almost appreciatively, to this blonde-haired stranger, before nodding his head off in my direction and gesturing for him to follow.
Maybe it was a fan... That would make complete sense. Will is almost as well known as me, seen basically everywhere with me around the streets and at events and easy to recognize in public.

However when Will had the man turn around and begin walking towards the table I sat at, I couldn’t help but recognize him myself.
Niall Horan?
One Direction’s Irish member.

I beamed as soon as a put a name to his face, eyeing up his khaki coloured pants and dark blue sweater. I was a bit of a fan of his band, respectively, as was the rest of the world really.
As soon as they reached me I stood from my chair, ready to introduce myself, but Niall had beat me to it, fidgeting a lock of his wavy blonde hair and extending his hand.

“Hi, I’m Niall. I’m such a fan of ye’s, it’s so good t’ meet ye’!” He rushed, shaking my hand quickly and firmly within his grasp.

I smiled brightly, almost embarrassed. “I’m Lucy. I could say the same, you guys are amazing.” I commented, referring to the rest of his band.

Will wasted no time in sitting himself down and sipping on his strong black, leaving Niall and I standing by the table.

“Do you want to join us?” I offered, feeling a little numb by the whole coincidental moment.
“Oh, te’ lads are just around te’ corner, should I text ‘em to come in? They're all huge fans of ye's” He pointed to the outside of the coffee shop with a chuckle and a gesture to the iPhone sitting in his hand.

I beamed, excited at his proposal, and nodded while placing myself down in my previous seat.
“Yeah, of course! I’d love to meet them.”

Niall pulled out his phone and began tapping away rapidly, all the while pulling out a chair and placing himself in it beside Will.

“So, ye’s just moved here, right?” The blonde boy questioned, earning a chuckle from Will who always found it humorous that nothing of our lives could be kept a secret anymore.
Niall pale cheeks reddened at my brother’s actions, causing me to scowl silently and the blonde boy to lower his head a bit. “Sorry, it’s jus’ ye’s been in te’ papers a bit.”

I chuckled earnestly, hitting Will’s arm and reassuring the Irishman. “It’s fine, yeah, we got here, like, a week ago. Haven’t seen anything yet, though.” I playfully complained and glared at my brother who had been the one holding me captive in my own home for the short time we'd been here.

Niall opened his mouth to reply, however was cut short when a hand fell down on his shoulder, "'Ello, Niall."

Will, Niall and I all looked up to see the rest of One Direction filing in through the cafe doors, all rugged up in winter gear and lead by Louis Tomlinson who had startled us to begin with. He had a smirk plastered on that tanned face of his, his blue eyes gleaming as he looked over and my brother and I.

"'Ey, Lou, this is Lucy and Will." He gestured to us as all the boys had caught up and stood before the table, looking a bit antsy if I may say so. "Guys, Lucy and Will." Niall repeated for the remaining three.

I smiled happily, casting a glance at each of them while standing to offer a kiss to each boy's cheek. "Really nice to meet you guys, I'm a big fan."

First was Louis, who took it upon himself to lift me off of the cafe floors when hugging me, then was Zayn Malik, who grinned and returned my polite gesture, nest was Liam Payne, who exclaimed how much of a fan he was himself excitedly, and lastly was Harry Styles. I refrained myself from letting the heat rise to my cheeks as his hand pressed against my lower back in a hug and mumbled "'Ello, love." quietly into my ear. All of these boys were incredibly handsome, enough so to evidently make any girl swoon, but the way Harry looked into my eyes with his own green ones... It was almost hard to look away.

"So," My eyes were drawn away from Harry's as Zayn began triggering a conversation for the group. "Ya's in London for a while, righ'?"

I nodded, sitting down in my previous seat while the boys all managed to pack in tightly as well, "Yeah, got our Visas and everything! We're officially British." I nudged Will, raising my brows and at him, "Well, sort of."

The boys laughed along before Niall spoke up, "Lucy was jus' sayin' they haven't been explorin' yet. Ye's should come out wit' us tonight, yeah?"

"I don't think she meant exploring clubs, Niall..." Liam pointed out, a small smirk on his face as if parenting his favourite child.

I chuckled at the offer, looking over to Will for conformation. "We’re not exactly supposed to...” I sheepishly admitted, “But that actually sounds really good, I reckon we’d love to."

The boys all agreed, Louis in particular exclaiming "Brilliant!" and mentioning that Liam and he's girlfriends would be joining us so I wouldn't be the only girl amongst them, which was honestly a slight relief, there being only so much testosterone I can handle.

After another twenty minutes of idle conversation and playful banter, the boys had become quite the welcoming party, making us feel a part of their well-working group within the short time we’d known them. We all exchanged numbers with each member as we – maybe more so I - reluctantly bid them farewell and promised to meet them at the club they ended up choosing for the night.

I hugged each of them goodbye, Harry being the last with his dimpled smile and open arms, and made our way back to the apartment, past all of the paparazzi who had no doubt caught dimly lit pictures of the whole exchange.