iMate

Rose sipped gently from the hot cardboard cup in her hands. White gloves were on her hands, and matching earmuffs were on since it was freezing outside. Snow was gently falling as she made her way down the sidewalk with a plastic bag of clothes in one hand and her purse on the other. She was incredibly annoyed as her younger cousin pounced around down the concrete sidewalk, but Rose didn’t show it as a small smile graced her face.

“Can you believe it, Rose?” she squealed as she jumped up and down on her arm. “We’re going to see and meet One Direction!” she practically screamed, and it took everything in Rose not to lie down on the ground and freeze to death. It would be just her luck for her cousin to get tickets and backstage passes for Christmas, and now she was responsible for taking her, though her family knew about the horrible breakup. There was just no one else to take her.

“Yes, yes, I know Rachel,” she replied calmly as they walked up to her apartment. “Now, we’re going to get you all dressed up before we head to the train station,” she sighed mentally as she opened her door and stepped inside. It had only been a few days since she last saw Louis, and she was hoping it would be the last before her mother told dropped the bomb about Rachel’s tickets. The small girl was beaming as she nodded before she grabbed the bag from her cousin and pulled out the pretty dress she had along with the pink ballet flats.

It would be a good two hours on the train before they arrived in London for concert, and Rose was going to be thinking of all the possible things Louis could say and do to her in those few minutes of meeting. As she helped her six year old cousin into the pretty, sparkly dress and shoes, she did her hair before she kissed her forehead. “Am I pretty?” the six year old asked, and Rose smiled at the adorable little girl.

“Of course, you are, sweetie,” she said before she slipped on her coat. Rose went to slip on her mittens and boots back on before she grabbed her cousin’s hand.

“Good,” she nodded with a small smile on her face and some mischief in her eyes, “because Niall just has to fall for me then!” She and Rose giggled, though she had a nervous feeling in the pit of her stomach. They headed out the door after Rose made sure they had the backstage passes and tickets.



Rose licked her lips as she nervously rubbed her hands onto her jeans. They were waiting in a small line with a group of other girls that had their own backstage passes. It was rather late for a young girl like Rachel, but she was beyond excited as she hopped up and down. “I’m going to meet Niall and Zayn and Liam and Harry and Louis!” she squealed, and Rose felt her butterflies fill her stomach at the name of Louis. She was beyond nervous but not for the reasons she should be.

“Yes, you are,” Rose nodded, and she flashed their backstage passes before she was ushered passed by the guard. As they entered the room, she found the boys up as some took long drags from their water bottles and others wiped the sweat off their face. A sigh of relief fell from her lips as she realized that Louis was currently out of the room.

“Oh my gosh!” Rachel giggled as she skipped over to Niall with no shame or nervousness. She wrapped her tiny little arms around Niall’s legs and hugged him as she went to look up at him. “It’s my boyfriend, Rose! My boyfriend!” she glanced back at her cousin, and Rose felt her cheeks heat up as she shook her head lightly. Niall, who held a look of shock at first, was chuckling as he bent down and scooped her up into his arms.

“You’re just adorable, my little snowflake,” he grinned, and Rose took a picture like Rachel asked before she awkwardly stood off to the side. Her younger cousin was better at socializing with boys than she was.

Someone cleared their throat, and she jumped lightly before she turned her head. She had expected someone else, but she was surprised to see Harry Styles smiling at her. His green eyes sparkled as he asked, “What are you doing over here all by yourself?” He tilted his head to the side, and some of his delectable brown curls fell onto his forehead.

“Um,” she went to rub the back of her neck as she tried to come up with a reason, “well, I’m not exactly a fan.” She grinned awkwardly. “I only really came because of my cousin,” she motioned to the small girl who was talking excitedly with the three other boys who were currently in the room.

“Well, that’s a shame,” his husky voice said, and she could feel chills on the back of her spine just from the sound of it. “Your cousin is absolutely adorable, though,” he nodded with a small smile on his face. “though you’re more my type,” he grinned. His smile was amazing, and she thought she was just going to faint every time he smiled at her like that. Her cheeks heated up as he complimented her, and she bit her lip as she darted her eyes from him.

A door opened and a familiar voice filled the room, “I’m back! Excuse my tardiness. I had to use the loo.” He went to plop down onto the couch next to his mates and Rachel along with a few other girls. For just a moment, he didn’t notice Rose as he talked with a few girls before his eyes traveled around the room to fall on her.

His eyes widened, and she quickly turned away to look at Harry. “Though I’m not a fan,” she told him as she nervously wiped her hands onto her jeans, “your voice is breathtaking.” She nodded, and she knew her face was burning bright red by this point. Harry seemed glad by this statement as he smiled a bit wider; his white teeth gleamed just a bit between his pink lips. Rose didn’t dare cast a glance in Louis’s direction as she spoke with his band mate.

“I’m glad to hear that, uh,” he paused for a moment, “I’ve never got your name.” He leaned a bit closer to her to where she could feel the heat radiate off him.

“Rose,” she breathed out. She hadn’t actually talked to many boys since Louis, but she could definitely move on with this fine gentleman in front of her.

“Rose,” he finalize with a small smile. He slipped his phone out and went to hand it to her, “I would love to see you again, Rose.” She stared at his phone for a moment before she entered her number and gave it back to him.

“Okay, I would love to see you as well,” she said, smiling in return. For just a moment, her eyes peered over at Louis, and she could tell he was upset. She just couldn’t understand why he thought he got the right to be angry. It wasn’t like they were dating anymore.