2      Charlotte POV                                            Day 1 of Tour: Salem

“No, the line starts there.”

“Where are the t-shirts?”

“What color pens: red or blue?”

“Niall needs a snack, people! Someone get the boy a SNACK!”

“Half an hour; let’s hustle!”

I stood in the center of the banquet room and watched about a hundred hotel staff members and One Direction managers rush around me. Chairs were shuffled, red velvet ropes were hung, and a platform was assembled. A long banner was hung up on the farthest wall and the lights were aimed at the sitting spot of One Direction. Of course, they weren’t there at the moment. They were somewhere upstairs getting beautified and such. I had been volunteered by Paul to do some work downstairs, but none of the busy people would even acknowledge me. All I had to do was stand back and let them do their thing.

I reached into my pocket and pulled out my cell phone. I texted my mom, letting her know we had made it to Salem and all.

“Hey! Hey you!” Someone hollered. I looked up from my phone in a panic. “Yeah you! Get off your ass and do something!”

My cheeks got hot. “Sorry, I was just- sorry,” I rambled.

“JUST KIDDING!” The voice laughed. I finally saw Louis standing with Niall in the far corner of the room. His hands were cupped around his mouth to yell at me.

I jogged over. “That was a pretty good American accent,” I smiled.

“Oh yeah,” he shrugged. “One of my many talents, you know.”

“More like your only talent,” Niall mumbled. Louis hit him in the arm.

Paul walked up, wearing a dark jacket and jeans. “Come on boys,” he said. “The fans will be here in a few minutes.”

“What’s the plan, again?” Niall asked.

Paul pointed to a set of doors in the back. “You’ll all come in from back there after the fans get here. Then we spend about four hours with the meet and greet at that table,” He directed his finger to the platform with the table. “Then we sing a quick song and say goodbye. After that we head off to LA.”

“LA goes after food,” Louis corrected.

“Right,” Paul smiled. “We visit the market then we hit the highway.”

“What about Charlotte?” Niall asked.

Paul said, “You guys can make a quick introduction at the beginning if you want. The press will be here of course, so make sure to mention the contest and all.”

I bit my lip.

Niall came up behind me and started to massage my shoulders. Thousands of pleasant tickles went up and down my arms. I closed my eyes. Louis and Paul’s footsteps faded away along with the sounds of their conversational voices. I leaned my head back against Niall’s chest, keeping my eyes shut.

“They’re going to love you,” he whispered in my ear. I nodded reluctantly, swallowing a lump in my throat. “I know I do,” He added.  I lightly opened my eyes to stare into his. His arms snaked around my waist from behind; his open palms resting on my stomach. I stood on my toes, reaching up to kiss his pale pink lips.

“Five minutes, people!” Some bossy man yelled.

“No,” I groaned, not wanting to let Niall go. I reached up. I wrapped my backwards arms around his neck. He smiled, parting our lips just slightly.

“HORAN! Get over here!” Harry hollered from somewhere distant. Niall lifted a finger in his general direction.

“No, no, no,” Harry tisked. His heavy footsteps marched over and pulled me off of Niall. I stumbled back and crossed my arms over my chest. “Come on you two,” Harry laughed. He took my hand in his right and Niall’s in his left. “No more kissing,” He joked.

Harry pulled us towards a set of double doors. I caught Niall’s eye from behind Harry’s curly head. He winked at me, making me blush.

We were shoved out in the hallway. All of the other guys were already there, including Paul and some other staff.

Harry finally let my hand go. He made a show of wiping his palms on his pant legs. “God,” He joked, “Nervous much, Charlotte?”

“Sorry,” I looked down at my sweaty hands and blushed.

Niall came closer. He grabbed my hands and held on tight, twisting them up to his lips. We stared into each other’s eyes as the rumble of feet came from the room next to us. The distant beat of a One Direction song rocked the floor.

“They’re here,” Zayn said.

Niall rested his forehead against mine. “Are you ready?”

I looked up at him with wide eyes. “I don’t know,” I replied honestly.

Liam said encouragingly, “You’ll be fine, love.”

The fans screamed as Paul walked out of the back door and waved, “Good afternoon, Salem!” His voice was drowned.

“This is the best part of the job,” Louis told me.

A young lady wearing a black collared shirt came towards us. “You’re all clear whenever you’re ready,” She said.

I felt my legs go numb.

“Charlotte?” Niall asked.

OH MY GOD.

I couldn’t do it. I wasn’t ready.

“Yeah we’re ready,” I forced a smile. “Go ahead, I’ll be right behind you,” I lied.

The boys looked at each other and beamed before bolting into the banquet room. Blood curdling screams shook the walls.

I stood in my place, attempting to steady my breathing. Out of nervous habit I began to rub at the golden bracelet around my wrist: the one Niall had given to me.

“I have to leave,” I told myself in a panic. “They won’t miss me; I’ll just mysteriously show up later fast asleep on the bus...”

“CHARLES,” his high pitched voice called as I turned to run away.

I was screwed: there was no way I was getting out now.

“Nope!” Louis laughed, grabbing me by the arm.

I tried to break his hold, “Louis I can’t do this!”

“Sure you can! And you are, so hush up.”

He turned me to face the crowds as we entered the banquet room. The girls all turned to face us. I felt about a zillion eyes digging into me. Fingers were pointed as I was recognized from newspapers. Hands were waving to the handsome British boy who was dragging me to the front of the room.

His hand guided the small of my back as he pushed me up the platform. I avoided everyone’s eyes as Liam took my hand and introduced me to the crowd. “We are pleased to introduce to you…” He said. I lost track of his words at the sight of the Directioners.

There were so many of them.

“…Now, let’s get this party started!” He finished. The girls screamed.

Liam looked over at me and smiled before letting go of my hand. I turned around and made my way off the back of the platform.

“Baby,” Niall’s soothing voice whispered. I turned around and saw a line forming for the meet and greet; his seat abandoned.

“You should be up there,” I told him.

He smiled slightly, “Maybe so. But you should be up there with me.”

“Niall I can’t do that,” I whispered.

“Please,” He outstretched an open hand.

“Niall-”

“Do you trust me?”

I blinked; remembering the night a few days ago when he had asked the same thing. I searched his handsome face and then shyly placed my dainty fingers on his hand. “I do,” I replied.

Niall guided me back to the table. He sat down in between Zayn and Liam, motioning for me to sit in his lap. I blushed and did as he told me.

Twenty or so people passed through, getting signatures and pictures with each of the guys. The first time I was even acknowledged was when a young girl walked through with her friends. She had two twin braids and bright blue braces. Niall signed his name on her poster than asked for hers.

“Sophia,” She answered, her eyes staring at me. I bit my lip and looked down at the table. “Is she your girlfriend?” Sophia asked Niall with a point in my direction.

Niall smiled, “Yeah.”

Sophia nodded. I glanced back up at the little girl shyly. She motioned for Niall to lean in closer, which he did.

“She’s very pretty,” She whispered.

Niall whispered back, “I know, huh?”

I felt my cheeks turn crimson.

Sophia went to get Liam’s autograph, letting the next fan in. I saw Niall’s eyes slip over to me quite frequently. It was starting to make me wonder if I had something on my face; or if my hair was messed up.

“What?” I finally asked as an older lady left with her signature.

Niall laughed, “I was just thinking!”

“About what?” the next fan came through, interrupting the conversation. As soon as she left I asked again, “What were you thinking about?”

“I was thinking about you.” He twirled his pen, “And how much I love you.”

“Oh,” I said with a smile. “I love you, too.”

Teenaged girl after girl came through with a glittery pen and a poster. Niall was always so sweet; he made every fan feel so special. I was actually enjoying myself. The fans were nice to me, making small talk and complimenting my hair. I was feeling accepted by them; which was very important to me.

Another girl about my age was setting her pen down on the table top for Niall to use. He smiled and gladly used it, making small talk about her One Direction t-shirt. He quickly noticed the way she eyed me; even before I did.

“This is Charlotte,” Niall said.

The girl nodded, her long curly hair bouncing at the movement. She squinted at me. I couldn’t tell if she liked me or not. “So you’re the girl who won the contest?” She asked me.

“Yeah,” I said before nibbling at my lower lip.

“Huh,” She huffed. Her green eyes shot down to Niall’s right hand resting on my upper thigh. “How did you end up with him?” The bite in her voice shocked me. It shocked Niall, too.

Luckily, Liam was there to save the day. He caught the whole conversation and our dumbfounded expressions. “Hey there, lovely! My name is Liam,” He drew her over with is good looks and heavy accent.

“Whelp,” I said quietly once she had left. “That girl didn’t like me.”

“Don’t let it get to you,” Niall soothed. His fingers gently massaged a small spot on my leg. I sighed, trying to keep the hot tears from making an appearance.

“One Thing” started to play in the background, making the already swooning fans even crazier than they had been. I looked over at a smiling Zayn. His dark eyes were wandering the crowd. He spotted a group of hysterical fourth graders and waved with the tips of his fingers. They screamed.

“Is it always this crazy?” I asked.

He nodded, “Even crazier.”

I shook my head in disbelief.

“Hey,” Niall said to another fan.

“Hi!” The pretty girl beamed. She outstretched a hand, “My name is Heather.”

Niall took her grasp in his and shook, “Nice to meet you, Heather.”

Heather blushed; making her porcelain cheeks turn a rosy pink. She glanced from the Irish boy in front of her up to me, smiling broadly. “You’re the girl that won the contest, aren’t you?” I nodded reluctantly. “I LOVE your song,” Heather flattered. She reached into her bag and pulled out her iPhone. “Can I get a picture with the two of you?”

“Sure thing!” Niall said.

Heather smiled and turned the camera around on her phone. She leaned back against the table and smiled with me and Niall.

“Thank you!” She giggled. Heather collected her now signed album cover and went to meet Liam Payne.

I sat there; my brow wrinkled in disbelief. “She wanted a picture… with me?” I thought to myself. I looked over at the girl who was chatting with Liam; having the best day of her life. “Me?” I asked myself.

“Don’t be so hard on yourself,” Niall said into my ear; jolting me out of my head. I looked over at his smug face. “You need to practice keeping those thoughts in that cute head of yours,” he poked my nose with the back of his ballpoint pen.

I sighed and leaned deeper in Niall’s lap. His right hand slid up my leg to my waist, holding me against him. I turned my head towards his face. Burying my face in the soft fabric of his shirt; I took a deep breath of his sweet smelling cologne. Just the smell of him made my head spin with happiness.

A loud growl made me jump. I looked around for the source of the sound.

Niall laughed, pointing at me jokingly. “You sound pretty hungry,” He smiled.

I blushed. Duh, the growling was me. I hadn’t eaten since breakfast and it was already five o’ clock. “Yeah,” I replied. “I think I’ll take a quick snack break.” Niall kissed me on the top of the head before I scooted off of his lap and down the back of the platform.

Just as I was turning to leave the banquet room I glanced back at the boys. They all had smiles as big and bright as the sun plastered on their pretty faces; surrounded by equally happy fans.

I was proud of My Directions.

Grinning all sentimental like; I leaned up against the wall and watched them fondly. It would have been a very sweet, reminisce moment if not for the awful growling in my gut. I left the scene in search of food.