I stepped up onto the doorstep next to her. She looked at me. Then I realised what she'd just said.

"What?!" I squealed, but before the word had even fully left my lips I started to laugh at  the ridiculousness of her statement. "Oh very funny," I said. "You almost had me for a moment."

Callie grinned at me. "I'm not even joking," she said.

I stared at her, grinning back, waiting for her to burst into giggles but she just smiled broadly. I could feel my face begin to drop as what she was saying began to sink in. My heart began to pound.

Before I could even think about forming a coherent response a figure approached from the other side of the door, distorted by the frosted glass, and pulled it open. A tall guy with spiky blond hair stood there, looking at us expectantly. "Can I help you?"

"I'm Callie, I'm meeting James Lacy," Callie answered, flashing him her best smile.

"Ah, OK," the guy replied, stepping back and opening the door so we could pass. "Come in. Sorry if I seemed rude, but sometimes random people just turn up uninvited if they think someone famous might be here. I'm Josh, by the way, and this is my house."

"Quite alright," Callie breezed, stepping inside. She introduced herself and me, but I could only smile nervously as I tried to stop my whole body from trembling. "Do you know where James is?" she asked.

"Kitchen," Josh replied, shutting the door. "Go straight down the hall, and help yourself to anything you want."

"Thanks," we both said, and I followed Callie dazedly in the direction Josh had pointed, keeping my face aimed at the ground. I was terrified of catching a glimpse of Harry Styles in the flesh without warning and falling to pieces. We walked into a large kitchen and I heard Callie say, "James! Hi!"

I risked looking up and saw James standing right in front of us, planting a kiss on Callie's cheek. "Hey, you look great," he smiled at her, and then turned his gaze to me. "Hey Jess."

"Hi," I tried to say, but it just came out as a squeak. James grinned. "Oh dear. She's told you Harry Styles is here then?"

My heart pounded even harder. "Harry's definitely here?" I croaked. "I thought she might be joking."

Callie looked at me affectionately. "Jess, I would never ever joke about Harry Styles like this. I know what you're like over him. And before you ask, I didn't tell you sooner because I knew you would take fifteen hours to work up the courage to come, and then take another fifteen hours working out what to wear. And I simply couldn't let you get yourself into a state about it. Or potentially miss your one and only chance to meet him."

As much as I wanted to strangle her for not giving me any warning, everything she had just said made complete sense. She knew me so well. But I did wish she'd given me like five minutes, just to try and get my head straight. I took a couple of deep breaths while James watched me with amusement. "He was in the lounge before with one of the other One Direction lads," he supplied.

My legs almost gave way beneath me. "Which one?" I asked faintly.

He gave me a confused look. "I didn't know there was more than one lounge?"

"Which One Direction lad?" I clarified, a little more clearly. I was struggling to believe I was actually having this conversation for real. It felt like a weird dream.

"Pfft, you're asking the wrong person," he shrugged. "Black hair, stubble, olive skin. Northern accent - Leeds maybe?"

"Bradford," I corrected, as relief flooded through me. "I think you mean Zayn." 

If it had been Louis, I would probably have passed out on the floor there and then.

"I need to compose myself," I declared, looking desperately at Callie as James shrugged again.

"Let's find the bathroom," she suggested.

"Oh wait, I got you some drinks," James said, picking up two glasses of wine from the kitchen counter.

"Thanks," I replied, and downed mine in about three gulps. Callie and James exchanged looks. "Dutch courage," I explained.

Callie took her glass from James and steered me back through the door we'd come in, down the hall and into a plush bathroom. She locked the door behind us and I sat down on the toilet lid.

"Are you OK Jess?" she asked, looking concerned.

"I'm fine," I said shakily. "I know it's really pathetic Cal, but I have had the biggest crush on this guy for like two years and now he's only a few feet away from me. I can't believe I might actually get to speak to him - I feel like a giddy teenager. I need to pull myself together, or he'll just think I'm another crazed fan."

"He's probably an arse," Callie sniffed. "He's bound to be affected by the fame. Just try not to feel let down if he's really aloof or something."

"I'm actually panicking that he might not live up to my fantasy," I admitted.

(Don't judge, but I have a picture of Harry on my desk at work. And on my computer. I even have a One Direction mug. Callie knows all this, and regularly takes the piss out of me for it. It could be worse though - my cousin is twenty-four and obsessed with Justin Bieber, and get this: She has a Justin Bieber pencil case. See, I'm not the craziest person in my family. Although I appreciate that's nothing to brag about.)

I could feel the effects of the second glass of wine as the alcohol hit my bloodstream, warming my veins and giving me a boost of confidence. Now that the initial shock of being told my celebrity crush was in the next room was wearing off, I was starting to get a bit excited.

"What are you going to do?" Callie asked.

"I don't know, I'm going to have to wing it," I replied, standing up and checking my reflection in the mirror. My hair and make-up still looked flawless and I had to admit, I couldn't have chosen a better outfit. I turned to Callie as realisation dawned on me. "Is this why you told me to make the effort tonight? You knew he would be here?!"

"Of course!" she laughed. "You don't think I'd let you meet the love of your life looking like a troll do you?! This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity!"

I flung my arms around her, almost knocking her over in excitement. "I bloody love you," I squealed.

"Love you too babe. Now come on, let's go and wing it."

I took a deep breath, opened the bathroom door and stepped out into the hall. Callie led the way along the corridor and into the lounge where there were small groups of people standing and talking, holding drinks. A DJ was set up in the corner of the room playing Uptown Funk, and there were several squashy-looking sofas arranged against the walls with people lounging casually, relaxed and chatting. As we weaved our way through the gathering I did a double take - Ellie Goulding was casually perched on the arm of a cream leather chair chatting away to a girl I didn't recognise. I stared at her in awe for a second, not quite believing my eyes. Suddenly, Callie stopped dead in front of me and gave me a discreet nudge. Oh my God.

I had been so busy looking at Ellie Goulding I had (momentarily) forgotten what we were doing.

My eyes flicked up slightly to my right and came to rest on a pair of deep green eyes looking straight at me, no more than six feet away. For a moment, the whole world seemed to grind to a halt. I stared deep into those eyes, not even daring to breathe. His hair was soft and curly and he was wearing a pale blue shirt unbuttoned half way down his chest, black skinny jeans and ankle boots. The top of his butterfly tattoo peeked teasingly from where his shirt was fastened, and the tips of the swallows' wings were just visible beneath his collarbone. I wasn't sure how I managed to notice these details without tearing my gaze away from his, but somehow I knew that first image of him would remain burned into my eyelids for the rest of my life. The corners of his mouth curled up slightly as we drew level with him. "Hi," he said. I felt like I was staring gormlessly at him, but gloriously my mouth seemed to realise the importance of the situation, smiled back of its own accord and replied, "Hi."

"Harry!"

The eye contact was broken as Harry looked away towards the voice calling his name, and our momentum took us past him towards the other entrance to the kitchen. I vaguely heard a girl's voice say, "How are you babe? You look great." And then Callie and I had turned into the kitchen and out of sight.