Losing the Feeling of Feeling Unique

We walked out of Heathrow Airport after a swift exit, only to be greeted with England’s signature drizzle. I squeezed Jon’s hand, the excitement of finally being back boiling up inside me.

‘Come on Jonny!’ I squealed, dragging him off in the direction of the car park. He chuckled at my antics and followed my lead.

I cast my over the hundreds of vehicles in the car park. Searching for the familiar face of my best friend, after a few minutes she was still nowhere to be seen. I’d called her with our flight details; she knew what time we were landing. Where was she?

‘BOO!’ the comfortingly familiar voice shrieked from behind me; at a frequency I was sure only dogs were accustomed to.

‘PAIGEY!’ I cried, immediately wrapping her in a hug. ‘I’ve missed you so much girly, how are you?’ I asked eager to catch up on what I’d missed.

‘Well,’ she began, when I suddenly remembered myself.

‘Sorry, I didn’t mean to be so rude. Jon, this is my best friend Paige, Paige this is my boyfriend Jon.’ I introduced the two of them.

They greeted each and Paige led us in the direction of her car. ‘He’s gorgeous!’ she whispered as we walked together.

Reaching her blue Audi A3, we loaded our luggage into the boot; we’d whittled it down to three suitcases after a lot of complaints from Jon. We then set off; going into the city I was born and bred in. As I watched the familiar surroundings fly by, I could barely control myself and a few tears streaked down my cheek.

‘Are you okay?’ Paige asked, glancing at me as she drove.

‘Yeah, I’m fine thanks, just glad to be back,’ I smiled. Wiping the tears away, I felt a reassuring squeeze on the shoulder from Jon.

‘You okay to take us to the hotel Paige?’ Jon asked from his seat in the back.

‘Yeah, that’s fine. Which one are you staying in?’ she asked, she knew London like the back of her hand, even better than I did – and I was born there!

He pulled a piece worn of paper out of his pocket, ‘The City Inn Westminster.’ He informed her.

‘Oh yeah, I know that place, it’s really nice.’ She smiled, taking a left turn onto a slightly congested road.

20 minutes later, we pulled up to a very tall, expensive looking building, the City Inn Westminster.

‘Damn,’ Jon said as he hauled himself out of the car. We both stared up, the building seemed to go on forever, and it was great architecture. Music filled the air, and it took me a second to realise it was someone’s phone ringing. I turned to Paige as she excused herself to take the call.

Jon took my hand in his own and led me to the lobby of the hotel. We walked through the expensive marble room, taking in everything, from the colour of the floor to the priceless art on the walls. We reached the front desk and a brunette woman with a genuine smile on her face greeted us.

‘Hello there, welcome to the City Inn Westminster, I’m Angie, what can I do for you today?’ her sweet voice, sounding immediately trustworthy.

‘Hey, we have a reservation, it should be J. Walker.’ Jon informed her. The management had booked three double rooms, one for Jon and I, one for Spencer and his girlfriend Haley (who I was yet to meet), and the third was for Brendon and Ryan. Keltie was supposed to come, but a last minute emergency kept her in Vegas.

‘Oh yes, it’s right here,’ she said, handing Jon the keys, ‘if there’s anything I can do to make your stay better, Mr Walker, don’t hesitate to let me know.’ She smiled once more before we turned around, looking for Paige.

She rushed over, her black hair flowing behind her. ‘Sorry Ross, but I’ve got to run. There’s this model who wasn’t supposed to be flying in until next week, but she’s here now and she wants her shoot to be done today and I’m the one that’s doing her make-up,’ she rushed, breathing heavily after she shot all of the information at me.

‘Alright then, have fun. I’ll phone you during the week.’ I said giving her a hug.

She nodded before giving Jon a hug. ‘Yeah, the four of us can go out for dinner.’

‘Four? Paige, you do realise there’s only three of us here, right?’ I giggled.

‘Yes, but you still have to meet my boyfriend, Jacob.’ She said cheekily before running off.

‘She’s really nice,’ Jon said of my best friend, ‘I can imagine you two working together, you’d have been a nightmare!’

‘Mr Walker, how very dare you!’ I mocked, shoving him gently. ‘Oh yeah! We have to meet the rest of the guys, their flight landed before ours.’

We’d agreed to meet the others in the hotel bar, but weren’t sure if they’d arrived yet. We returned to the front desk. ‘Hey again,’ I said to Angie. ‘We’re supposed to meet some friends at the bar, and we were wondering what direction it’s in.’

‘If you go to your left and follow the corridor right down, it’s right in front of you, you can’t miss it.’

After thanking her, we followed the direction and in less than a minute we were in the bar. We stood in the threshold, looking around for the familiar faces.

‘Jon, Ruby!’ I heard Ryan’s level voice call. Picking out the source of the call, I turned to my left, noticing the four of them sitting around a circular table.

As we greeted everyone, I suddenly felt at home again, it was then I realised that this was where I belonged, with these guys.

‘Ruby, this is my girlfriend, Haley.’ Spencer said, speaking of a petite blonde woman who stood beside him. I smiled, she held her hand out to shake mine, but I playfully batted it out of the way and wrapped her in a hug.

‘Hey Haley, I’m Ruby,’ I smiled, sitting down next to her. Looking around the lavishly decorated room, I was comfortable. The deep reds and expensive creams made the whole room scream elegance.

The five of us sat around talking and drinking for about an hour, before I realised the time and that the guys were due at Shepherd’s Bush Empire – the venue for the Decaydance Fest.

Once we had arrived, the show was just beginning. The Cab was the first band on stage, and they had the tricky task of getting the crowd going. The boys were whisked off to do a few pre-show interviews, leaving Haley and I to get to know each other.

In the couple of hours that we talked, I really got to know Haley. Her favourite colour was
green, she was 21, her favourite band was the Smashing Pumpkins, and thing I noticed above all? How much she loved Spencer, her eyes lit up when anybody did as much as to mention his name, let alone when he was actually in the room. They were so cute together it almost hurt.

After The Academy Is, Gym Class Heroes, and Cobra Starship had played their sets, it was time for Panic to take the stage. The cheers and screams coming from the predominantly female crowd were deafening. They cheered and cheered for their favourite bands. Panic were the penultimate act, only Fall Out Boy following them.

As they made their way onto the stage, I watched as they slipped away from their normal selves and into their rock star demeanour. The transition now was fluid, almost unnoticeable to anyone who didn’t know them.

But that one was one the many things I knew about the band that no one else did or could.

Watching them perform was amazing, they were amazing. Jon glanced over to me, right before they launched into a special cover of Blink 182’s ‘Rock Show.’ As Brendon sang the
first line of the chorus ‘I fell in love with the girl at the rock show,’ Jon turned to me completely, mouthing the words as they were sung, he had a huge smile on his face. I couldn’t help but do the same. I couldn’t believe my luck in finding a man as amazing as Jon.