Serendipity

There was no telling where I'd be at at any given time of the day. One hour I could be in California and then the next I could be on my way to New York or London or Paris. My life was one long adventure. It was an adventure that I never wanted to end.

"Dad is probably flipping his lid," I commented.

My Mom chuckled from beside me. "Well it's not every day that I get to see both my babies at the same time, so he can suck it up."

As soon as her text popped up on my phone, I was on the next flight to London. Gus Mingus was back from his Dad's Norman Reedus, so they decided to go to London before school started in a few weeks. I never objected to spending time with either of them. I didn't get to see Gus as often as I got to see Cali, Castor, and Marcella, so I didn't pass up the chance. I wouldn't tell anyone this, but I missed the dweeb. Okay, I'd totally tell everyone that, but I mean, I missed the kid. I didn't get to see him all the time. My big sister duties weren't being fulfilled. Cali, Castor, and Marcella got to deal with that stuff a majority of the time. Gus needed a big sister to pester him and joke around with him and tease him about girls.

"I didn't even tell him I wasn't coming home." I chuckled. "I just hopped on the first flight out of Toronto."

She gaped at me. "Sullivan Layne!" She slapped my arm. I recoiled, making a face at her. "Heeey!"

She slapped me again. "Don't even, Sullivan. You're father will be worried to death. You know how he gets." She ran her hand through her straight, dark hair with a sigh. "Call him right now." When I went to protest, she slapped me again. "Do it!"

"Take it easy! Don't get slap happy!" I glanced over at Gus, nudging him. He looked up at me. "Does she abuse you like this too? I don't know how you can take it, kid."

He smirked. "Oh, all the time. She's even taken to locking me in a closet lately." I feigned a surprised gasp. "Well I never!" When she raised her hand toward me, I quickly shoved Gus between us, using him as a shield.

"Oh yeah," he scoffed. "Use your baby brother as a shield! Let me take all the abuse!"

With a swift poke in the ribs, I dialed my Dad. When it went straight to voicemail, I sighed. Normally he would've answered, but I didn't think the worst like a normal person would. There had to be a good reason he wasn't answering. An interview, music business, management meeting, etc. So instead of freaking put, I simply left him a message. "Hola Daddy-o, it's me Sullivan, your daughter who forgot to call and tell you that she was going to London straight from Toronto to see her mom and baby brother for the first time in a really long time. So... yeah. I'll be back in a few days. And did I mention that I love you? Because I do. Like a lot. Don't hate me! Bye!"

Gus and Mom shook their heads. "What?"

"He's going to kick your ass." Gus smirked. Both myself and my mom simultaneously, reached back and smacked the back of his head. He let out a whine, rubbing his head. "One of these days I'm going to report you two for child abuse," he muttered.

"Don't use such foul language." And she's in full mom mode! No more fun mom mode. It's all strict mom mode. It made Gus scoff. "Sully gets away with it! I think it's only fair if I get to use 'foul language' too." That made me giggle.

My mom just shook her head and sent him one of her many motherly looks. "When you can drive you use foul language," she replied. That made him smirk. "In Kansas I can, so I guess that means I can start using it."

"You're only thirteen, you dweeb," I said. "And I'm pretty sure you can't see over the steering wheel."

"In Kansas you can be fourteen and get your permit." I wanted to wipe that smirk off his face. The smartass. "And I'm almost as tall as you and I know for a fact that you can see over the steering wheel, so suck one."

"Again, you're only thirteen."

My mom reached out and smacked him again. "Ma!" Now it was his turn to shove me between him and our mother, and use me as a shield. "Quit with the abuse, woman!"



"Is my Dad mad? Have you seen him?"

I didn't even give Beckett a hello, I just climbed in her car and started firing off questions. A week spent in London with the mother and baby brother was just what I needed. It was a much needed break from my work-slash-drama filled life. Somehow a fan had gotten a photo of me at the One Direction concert in Toronto and you can only imagine what that sparked. I had never been bashed on so many social networking sights at once. Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, Tumblr. It was bad. But there were the few fans who were actually nice. And those were the fans that made me keep doing what I was doing.

"Let's just say he isn't very happy," she replied. Throwing my head back against the headrest, I let out a loud groan. "Fuuuck."

"But hey! We get to go to their concert tomorrow and have a cookout the next day!"

"Yay." I gave her a halfassed smile. I didn't even want to think about seeing my Dad right now. I just wanted food. "I need food. And lots of it."

She grinned. "Minnie's?" I almost moaned at the mention of only the best 24 hour cafe on the planet.

Minnie's was hands down the best place to get food on this planet. Screw Chipotle. Minnie's is where it's at. Their Nutella pancakes with cinnamon sugared pecans and fresh maple syrup were the bomb diggity. They had this pumpkin bread french toast that they made during the Fall and it literally melted in your mouth. They knew as soon as it was Fall and they put it back on the menu that that was all I ordered when I went there. Their coffee rivaled Starbucks. Frapuccinos were a specialty of theirs. They had salted caramel chocolate frapuccinos, people. Year 'round! And their milkshakes! Oh god, their milkshakes. Banana chocolate peanut butter milkshakes from Minnie's were my weakness. Ever since Beckett and I had been able to drive on our own, we'd gone here almost every night. It was our little hideaway from the outside world. When we were in the small cafe, we weren't models and we didn't get followed by paparazzi. We were just normal teenagers who spent their nights eating junk food and gossiping about boys.

"Is Minnie still working nights or did she switch to days again?" I questioned. Beckett shook her head. "She's still working nights. I don't know if she's working Monday through Friday anymore though," she answered.

Well crap. I loved Minnie. She was like a sister to us. When the cafe first opened and we started going, we found out that her dad owned it and as soon as she finished culinary school, she was going to take over the business. She was only four years older then me and Beckett. At twenty four, she had the best cafe around. In my opinion. It wasn't long after she took over the business four years ago that her dad passed away. It was a heart attack that took him in his sleep. She didn't let that stop her from working though. She said working helped her cope. The place reminded her so much of her dad, that she said if she gave up on it, that it'd be like she was giving up on her dad and letting him down.

Beckett parked her car in one of the parking spots out in front of the old building. We both hurried inside. Minnie's bright red hair was easily spotted behind the counter. She was pouring coffee into a customers cup. "Minnie!"

She finished pouring the coffee into the customers cup, before setting it down and coming around the counter to greet us. "Girls! I haven't seen you in months! How've you been?"

We gave her quick hugs, before telling her about what had been going on in our lives. She of course had no idea about the drama that involved me and One Direction. She did know who they were, so we didn't have to explain any of that. But as soon as I told her about all that stuff, she whipped out her phone and googled it. She got a laugh out of it all. It was quite comical now that I thought about it. I mean, those girls were saying things about me like they knew me. Beckett however didn't think it was quite as funny, seeing as she went on Twitter and bashed every single one of those girls.

Specky Becky @beckett_munro
Judging someone you don't know because of who they hang out with makes you look pathetic

Specky Becky @beckett_munro
Jealousy is an ugly feature on all you so called fans

Specky Becky @beckett_munro
Continue making yourselves look like complete and utter jackasses. #Directionersshouldbeashamedofthemselves #didireallyjusthashtagthat #idc

"Did this girl really say you should die a fiery death because you weren't even that pretty?" Minnie asked through laughs. I nodded. "Not only that, but I apparently had plastic surgery on my ears, my nose, and basically my whole face-slash-body," I replied.

She almost died laughing. This was something that I thought was funny. Just because they were obsessed with One Direction didn't mean that they had the right to say that stuff. Or act the way they did. Some of the stuff they said though, made me giggle. It was like they knew them personally and had known them their whole lives.

"Okay ladies," she spoke, slapping her hands on the tabletop. "What can I get ya?"

Before we could look at the menu's she spoke up. "I may have the ingredients for pumpkin bread french toast and I may have the ingredients to make salted caramel chocolate frapuccinos."

Beckett and I looked at each other. "But it's only August."

She shrugged as a smirk settled on her face. "I may always have the ingredients for both of those on hand for when you bunch come around."

Grins took over our entire faces. "Have I told you that you're my favorite not-big-sister? Because you totally are!" When she turned to head to the kitchen, Beckett and I basically started fangirling over the fact that we were getting Fall food and drinks, two months before they actually became available. As the song on the speakers around the cafe changed to As It Seems by Lily Kershaw, my phone started ringing.

DADDY-O

The look on my face must've gave away who it was because Beckett snorted. "Your Dad?" I nodded my head yes and answered his call. "Hello?"

"Hello Sullivan. How're you? Still alive I see," he spoke. If banging my head against the table wouldn't cause a concussion to set in, that's what I'd be doing right at the moment. But alas, I had to sit here and listen to what he had to say. "Listen, Dad—" I started.

"Is it too much to ask that you call and tell me where you're going and what's happening?" He asked. "Because I thought something had happened to you. I called your agent and she said you left her in Toronto to go god knows where. Something could've happened, Sullivan, and no one would've known where you were at!"

"Oh my god, Dad. I was with Mom. She knew where I was at. And so did Gus!" I exclaimed, exasperated. "I'm not ignorant."

He sighed. "I didn't say you were, Sullivan. I'm just trying to get through your head that you can't go off for a week and not tell me where you're going. I'm your father, I have the right to know where you are at all times."

Now I sighed. "I get that, Dad, I do. But I'm nineteen and have been doing my own thing for a while now. I was just going to spend time with my mom and baby brother. I don't get to see them all the time like I get to see you guys."

It made me feel bad for saying that because I know it'd make him feel guilty. He was just that kind of guy. He felt bad about stuff he didn't need to feel bad about. But at least I called him and told him where I was. It wasn't like I didn't contact him at all.

"Okay. Okay. Just... don't do it again. I was worried sick."

"Swear on it, Pops." The bell above the door dinged making Beckett look up from her phone. She started choking, on her spit I'm assuming, and almost dropped her phone on the table. I ignored her and kept talking to my dad. "Hey listen, I'm out eating with Becks and I'll probably spend the night at her place, so I'll see you tomorrow. Is that okay? We can hangout before your concert and all that."

"That's fine. Just call or text to let me know you made it to her place safe." We bid each other goodbye before hanging up. I sat my phone on the table. Beckett motioned to the bar area with her head and eyes. My eyebrows shot up as I turned to look over my shoulder. She stopped me.

"Don't look!" She hissed. "That's Harry Styles sitting over there." She was talking so softly that I almost didn't hear her. But there was no mistaking that name. Harry Styles, the boy who made things insanely awkward in Toronto the other night, was sitting a few feet away from me. Did my night have to get any worse?

"Why are you freaking out?" I questioned. She gave me an incredulous look. "Have you not seen his fans tweets and posts? Someone got a picture of you too by each other at the concert and they have death wishes for you. And I kind of get a stalker vibe from him."

"A stalker vibe?" All I got from her little speech was a stalker vibe. Where in the hell did she come up with that? I mean, she hasn't ever met the kid. Shit. I haven't even met the kid. And how do you just get a stalker vibe from someone? That's the real question. Wait a minute. I know what it is. She's been watching Criminal Minds again. I've told her to stop watching that. But does she listen to me? No, of course not. Her head bobbed up and down. "He's got this certain look to him. I think it's the hair. Or maybe it's his eyes."

I couldn't help but laugh. "Oh my god, Beckett."

"I'll be right with you, hon!" Minnie hollered as she passed Harry with a full tray in her hands. He acknowledged her with a nod. She gave us our frapuccinos and then the ginormous plates of french toast. My mouth watered at the sight of it. "Thank you so much, Minnie!"

She grinned. "Anything for my favorites!"









"Uh oh," I sang. Beckett stopped mid-bite. "Wha?" My fork was used to motion behind her. She quickly pivoted to look out the windows. Through the shades you could see a man standing across the street with a camera pointed straight at the cafe. Seriously? Fucking paparazzi couldn't leave us alone for one night.

"They're probably just here for Harry?" It sounded more like a question then a statement. That wasn't really the point. It they saw that I was here and he was here, it'd be another shit storm. It would be one shit storm that I'd be right in the middle of without an umbrella to shield me from everything coming down. It would be bad. And it would be my breaking point. We both went silent as we continued to stuff our faces. That was cut short by Minnie's voice. "You're that kid from One Direction right?"

Oh my god, Minnie. She's going to say something embarrassing.

Harry nodded. "Yeah, I am."

Her eyes flickered to us, before moving back to the British boy in front of her. "So you know Sullivan? She's practically my little sister and was just telling me about your guys' amazing' fans."

His shoulders rose and fell with a sigh. "Yeah, uh... our fans are something else."

She chuckled. "She doesn't seem to like crazy fans. Do you Sully?" I could've killed her. Forget the French toast and frapuccino. My body stiffened as the squeaking sound of the metal barstool turning met my ears. Beckett's face was trying to hide a smirk as she continued to chew her food. I hope she chokes on it.

"Sullivan?" God officially hates me. I plastered a fake smile on my face before turning to answer him. "Harry! Hey, what's up?" To say that I've mastered fake smiles and fake nice voices would be an understatement. I spent more then half of my life using the fake smile and fake nice voice.

He slid off his stool when Minnie mumbled that he should go join us, and slid into the booth seat beside me. Bitches. Beckett and Minnie were both bitches. They thought this was funny. I'll show them funny when I toss my leftover food on them. What am I saying, I won't have any leftover food. I'm a fatty.

Harry grinned a dimpled grin at me. "The lads and I are in town for a week or so for a few concerts. I figured Niall would've told you."

With a shake of my head, I said, "I've been in London with family for the last week. I was basically MIA the whole time."

"That's cool," he spoke. "I heard your Dad has a concert tomorrow night. He got ahold of Zayn and gave us all tickets. You'll be there right?"

Beckett snorted. "Why wouldn't she? She hasn't missed one of their concerts since she's been alive." And that was true. My mom made sure I didn't miss a single concert growing up. I met some of the biggest bands in the rock genre because of him and my uncles. I've met Avenged Sevenfold, Volbeat, Five Finger Death Punch, Rob Zombie, etc. Avenged Sevenfold performed at my sixteenth birthday for Christ sake!

Harry looked embarrassed. I wanted to laugh, but I held it in. "I've never missed a Metallica concert. Even on school nights I was backstage with my earplugs, Metallica shirt, and devil horns up in the air." My phone beeped with a text.



"We gotta go," I stated. "Now." Beckett gave me a confused look, as did Harry.

"What? Why?"

"Chandelier." Her eyes grew wide. That was our safe word for when shit was about to go down. And shit was about to go down. "Chandelier?"

I nodded. "Chandelier. Like, right now."

Without saying anything else, she slid out of the booth leaving me to climb over the table and jumped out on her side. We left Harry sitting at the table with a questioning look on his face. "It's an emergency, sorry! Catch ya later, yeah?" We didn't give him a chance to reply before we darted out of the door and headed straight for her car.

The last thing I wanted right now was to be bombarded by crazed fans and paparazzi. Being famous had its ups and downs. This was one of those downs.