Counting the Stars

Once I had my clothes on, I walked back to my room quickly. I shut the door that joined my room and the guy’s room together, making sure to lock it, making sure there was no way they could barge into our conversation. Eleanor was sitting on my bed, tapping her fingers against her ankle as she sat cross legged. She looked up at me with an unreadable look on her face. There was no denying this girl was beautiful. She had the looks everyone envied and had a wonderful boyfriend. Eleanor had an all around perfect life.

“This is going to be extremely awkward since we barely know each other… But I really can explain,” I began, using my normal girly voice. It felt weird to not have to really focus on lowering my voice.

“I’m not going to be judgmental, so please explain,” She nodded, urging me to go on. Her voice was sweet and sincere.

I sighed, “They needed a drummer for the tour, but it was for guys only. The thought of them saying girls couldn’t audition ticked me off and for some reason I created the grand plan of pretending to be a guy. I didn’t think I’d actually get the job and have to be a guy, but I did and I didn’t want to back out of an offer this huge. I’ve been playing drums for 10 years and this is all I’ve ever wanted to do with my life. Granted, I pictured it under different circumstances. I wasn’t going to let such a huge offer pass by me just because I’m a girl. You probably think I'm some crazy fan doing this to get in their pants by the end, but it's the complete opposite, actually.”

I told her my reasoning quickly, each of my words rushed. I only paused twice to take a breath, wanting to get my full story out to her before she said anything. My leg was bouncing up and down out of nerves and I played with my hands mindlessly. Eleanor just stared at me for a few minutes, looking me up and down.

She smiled at my sympathetically, “You’ve got a lot of nerve to do this, you know. You could get in all kinds of legal trouble if you signed a contract for this job. Their management is very strict and would most likely take you to court if they ever found out.”

I smirked mischievously, “That’s where you’re wrong. The only place on the contract that said anything about being a male was the title of it which said ‘Male Drummer WANTED’ never did it state that it was needed. Other than that, everything else was as if you were a boy or a girl. They could take me to court, but all the proof I would need is the contract and a dictionary that defined the difference between want and need.”

I had spent a lot of time going over the contract and finding the loopholes that would get me out of any severe legal trouble if they found out I was a girl. Like I had told Eleanor, the only place that mentioned anything about being a male was when they said a male was wanted. As far as I was concerned, wanted and needed were completely separate things. There also was never anything that said if I wasn't a guy, I couldn't tour. It was set up perfectly for me to find a way around it all.

“You put a lot of thought into this, didn’t you?” Eleanor asked curiously, a small smile tugging on her lips.

I nodded eagerly, “Two whole days of planning. I wanted nothing more than to go out on tour and show the world what I was able to do. Even if that meant having to pretend I was a guy. I gave up a lot to pursue my dream.”

“Well, your secret is safe with me… Kyle. Wait, what’s your actual name? I can’t say I’ve ever met a girl named Kyle,” Eleanor giggled.

“My real name’s Callista,” I replied, smiling brightly.

“Okay, Callista. Your secret’s safe with me… Only on the condition you spill something,” She smirked.

My eyes widened in slight horror, “Of course, of course. Ask whatever you want.”

“Who do you like? And don’t even say no one, because God forbid you’re a hormonal girl on tour with five extremely attractive men.”

I wasn’t sure why I hadn’t expected this question, but it took me by surprise. Really, the only two I could like were Niall and Harry, seeing as the other three guys were in relationships. I stared at her for a little, refusing to answer the question. She waved her hand in a few circles, signaling me to go on.

I blushed and looked down at the ground, “Niall…”

“I KNEW IT!” She shouted loudly, thrusting her fist in the air in triumph, “You two would be so perfect together! Oh my gosh, Danielle and I need to set you two up so you can live happily ever after!”

“One problem… As far as Niall’s concerned, I’m a guy.”

Eleanor and I continued to discuss the subject of mine and Niall’s relationship for another half an hour. She was completely convinced we’d be the best couple in the world. We weren’t sure where the guys had gone, but we used their absence to our advantage. Eleanor was trying to convince me to just tell the guys that I was a girl. She said they liked me enough already to keep me regardless of whether or not I was a girl or a guy, but I was wholeheartedly against the idea. There was no way in hell I was going to risk the chance of losing this opportunity.

After realizing she couldn’t sway me to admitting that I wasn’t really a guy, Eleanor promised me at least ten times that she’d keep it a secret. We had agreed on telling Danielle sometime soon, seeing as they were both going to be on the tour for the next two and a half weeks.

It almost felt good to know that someone knew who I actually was. That there would be at least one person on this tour who I could go to and talk to, not having to worry about which personality to use and whose facts I needed to get straight. It was comforting to know there would be someone to confide in about my feelings on anything. If anything, Eleanor was now what I’d consider my safety blanket. I’d have to make sure I thanked Louis for choosing to date such a wonderful girl.

The guys and Danielle came back from the hotel restaurant about 20 minutes later. Eleanor and I had moved to the main room and were watching an episode of Friends. She continued to make comments on how it was the stupidest show she had ever seen and British television was much better. That comment began a heated discussion on which was better, Friends or any other British television show; in the end we came to an agreement that it was to each their own.

“What have you guys been doing the entire time we were gone?” Louis asked, walking over and sitting next to Eleanor.

Eleanor sighed contently, smiling widely, “I was trying to convince Kyle that British television is so much better than this American rubbish that they watch.”

Her comment sparked up another debate, this time everyone joining in. After a long and heated debate, we came to the generally agreement that we liked a little bit of both. Friends took the cake for the most liked American Show, and the Inbetweeners was the best British show. For once I actually took part in the conversation and enjoyed myself, not worried as much as I had been before.

Niall walked over and sat next to me on the bed, handing me a Styrofoam container, “I brought you food since you stayed back to call your mom.”

“AWWW!” Eleanor cooed loudly. I looked at her desperately, my eyes shouting ‘STOP.’ Once she realized what she had done and noticed all the guys looking at her, she began to laugh, “I mean ‘Awww’ as in ‘Look at that adorable little bromance we have blooming over there!’ Not ‘Awww’ in any other way.”

I sighed, knowing the answer didn’t help in anyway. The guys immediately began discussing how Niall and I indeed have a bromance going on, and it was going to become internet famous within a matter of days. Harry began to laugh, shaking his heads.

“You guys have got it all wrong. They can’t have a bromance when Niall is in love with Kyle’s ex turned best friend Caroline,” Harry said like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

My expression immediately fell once the topic was brought up again. It seemed that at least three times a day the guys reminded Niall that Caroline was waiting for him in California, when I had only mentioned Caroline to them once or twice. They even began to bring it up in interviews, telling everyone that Niall was over his Demi Lovato phase and had moved on to another girl.

Eleanor shook her head violently, “Niall can’t date Caroline if that’s Kyle’s ex. That’s totally goes against every rule in the book of Bro Code’s!”

Niall grinned, “See! I told you all there was a book on the Bro Codes!”

I watched as everyone continued to talk, finishing their discussion on the Bro Code and moving onto various other subjects. I went back to my normal behavior of just listening in on the conversation while I ate the food Niall had brought back for me. My mind was still in a daze over today’s events. I trusted Eleanor, she seemed very sincere and genuine when she promised she would keep my girl side a secret. It still worried me, knowing that she could accidentally bring it up or say something that she couldn’t cover up. I knew that now I had to be extra careful of what I did and what I said, and make sure that Eleanor never brought it up.