Ananya's POV (30.8.21)

"You know in India there is a saying. Translated, it goes something like 'When He gives, he gives boundless.'

This couldn't have been truer. This is the perfect saying- something we can relate to now more than ever.

You see being in a fandom can be a tiring task. That being said, being in a fandom who's Gods are on a break sucks!

All these years we have survived on circulating old photos, replaying the albums and rewatching every single one of their interviews to the extent that you can tell how many seconds Harry took to answer each question. And we have stalked them like never before. We went all detective modes on them and found their recent photographs-even if all that could be seen was a tuft of hair. We have put Sherlock Holmes on shame with the intensive reporting of where every single one of them is.

And we follow them on every social site- waiting eagerly for any hint, any clue. We have been doing everything in our means to keep us sane.

Being a Directioner- no matter how fun- can be intense and tiring

Though all of it had a selfish motive too. We couldn't live without them. Every day without their faces was a burden to bear. And so we decided that stalking the life out of them was the only way to survive this miserable direction-less life.

But we did all of this for a greater purpose too. We did it all so that we could tell them that we are still here. So that we could make them feel that their Fandom is alive and as energetic as ever. We want to make them aware that we didn't give up on them and we never would. We aimed at making them realize that no matter how long they take- when they come back we will be waiting for them. Arms wide open to embrace them with the same love we had then.

We want to let them know that we still appreciate their talent and support them. We left no stone unturned just to make them understand that they are wanted. We wanted to take their insecurities away.

We might have gone all FBI on them but just because we wanted them to know that we stayed. We just wished to inform them where to come when they decide to return.

And we didn't only stay for them. We also multiplied their fandom. We added everyone we knew. We blackmailed, begged, asked, forced and did everything we could so as to make more and more people get to know them and eventually like them.

And we did it together. When one of us searched the webs for their photos- the rest of us were there ready to spread them. When one of us was down- the rest of us sent those photos and songs.

We stood up to non believers, we taught the haters a lesson. We welcomed new ones and helped the old ones to stay.

We did it all for our boys. We did it all for One Direction.

And now, everything is making sense. Now, our hard work is paying off. The most awaited moment is here. One Direction is back.

And what's makes me the happiest is that we proved our point. We did it! We made it through the toughest phase a fandom has to face ever. And we came out like winners.

Every single person on the planet who liked their songs, photos etc did it. Every single Directioner did it. You. Yes you- the one reading this. You did it too.

And I'm grateful to everyone who helped us. I'm thankful to everyone who helped them take this decision. This is by far the best decision they have taken.

And it's time we prove it.

Directioners, this is my call to you. Do everything in your will to show that this is the best decision they took and that we support them.

Buy those forms, print them, photocopy them, mail them, screenshot them, Instagram them, tweet them. Spread them amongst your friends. Use as many as you can. Send in entries, lots and lots of entries for the contest.

It's time to break records.

It's time to set new standards.

It's time to change the Top Trending.

It's time to define what Breaking News means.

It's time to exploit social media to its fullest.

It's time to show the world what we are capable of.

After all we have a reputation to keep. Directioners are not the most intense, ruthless, undefeatable fandom just like that.

Go on fellow Directioners. It's time to slay!"

I sigh in relief. Finally, I wrote it. I proof read it once, edit and then upload it.

Confused?

Well I have blog and no, I'm not telling the name right now. You gotta wait for that.). Anyways, as I was saying, I have a blog which is linked to my other twitter account- not my real one to keep my identity a secret. Interestingly, my blog twitter account has more followers than me!

My blog is kind of famous if the comments and shares say something.

"You updated?' Ayushi burst in my room, her phone in one hand. As you can see, she follows my blog. I nod.

"Omg! That's too much for my heart to take. The tweet yesterday, contest this morning and evening blog. I'm sure to die soon!" She said in a dramatic tone.

"Jeez woman. Calm down and have some ice cream." I say and she rushes to the kitchen. Ice creams are suitable for every situation. I turn to my laptop to log off when she interrupts me again.

"No twitter reactions?" She asks me and I shake my head.

"I don't need to. Most of us are already high on happiness and others will be soon by my blog." I reply.

"True!" And she went away gushing how it's such an awesome day.

And I agree with her. First of all today is 29th August i.e. Liam's birthday. Next One Direction is back (*squeals*). The there is this contest.

Oh! We need to discuss. So, with my laptop I make my way towards our kitchen and rest it on the island while grabbing a stool to sit on.

Ayushi brings out ice creams and passes me mine.

"So about the contest..." I start.

"Read it out again." She said and I nodded

"We are proud to tell you that the celebrated band, One Direction, is back. We, Niall Horan, Harry Styles, Liam Payne, Louis Tomlinson have decided to rejuvenate the band. And joining us would be none other than Zayn Malik. Which means, that the original One Direction is now on the stage.

To mark this occasion, we have decided to launch a contest. It will be a quiz that you need to fill up and then submit. Anyone can take part- Directioner or not.

Foe every entry, the website will contribute $1. The money thus collected will go for children's NGO- 'Kiddies World'. Participation is free.

The details are mentioned below. We hope to see a generous amount of participation.

Lots of Love

One Direction.

Details

1) The quiz will be available on ' Onedirection.com'- the band's former official page.

2) Members of the website can login and thus fill up the quiz.

3) Non-Members will get an OTP login after following the specified procedure.

4) The quiz will contain basic questions to stalkerish ones.

5) Winners will be announced on 13th September. Criteria for winning will be disclosed at the same time.

Rules

1.Only one entry per person.

2.Entries start from 1st September till 6th September.

3.No new account will be made from now till 7th September.

4.Multiple entries from an account will lead to disqualification.

Prizes

I. First- A chance to tour with the band for two months

II. Second- A chance to go on two dates with a One Direction boy

III. Third- A chance to go on a date with a One direction boy

IV. Next hundred entries- Signed albums

V. And there is a surprise too!

All the best to everyone participating. Spread the word." I finish off.

"I still can't believe it! A chance to get a signed album!" Ayushi says and I look at her confused.

"What? Do you really think we can't even get that?" She asks when she notices my expression.

"No. I mean we could win the first 3 prizes too." I state and she scoffs.

"Don't have hopes too high sweetie." Ayushi said and I smiled nodding. Who'd know that better than me?

"And what are the non-members to do?"

"To sum it up, they have to ask one of their member friends to give them their OTP and punch that in to submit their forms."

"Which means we- the members I mean- need to set an OTP?" She asked and I nodded.

"How are they going to choose a winner?" I ask out of the blue.

"By the answers of course! Oh Crap!" she said typing in her phone.

"What happened?"

"I had to meet Kate for some work and I forgot. I've got 30 minutes." She looked at me frantically.

"If I were you, I'd rush." She nods and then makes her way to her bedroom.

I pick our bowls to keep in the sink and then notice the pile of unwashed dishes. I mentally go over my schedule and thankfully, I've just got one assignment that would take just an hour to do and nothing else.

I head in to my room and bring my work out in the living room. I immerse myself in my work when Ayushi calls out to me.

"I'm going Ananya! Be back in 1 hour tops."

"Bye!" I lock the door after her and continue my work. Next, I clean the house slightly and head to the kitchen. All this while, the contest never left my mind.

"Just this and it's done!" I mutter as I start to wash the dishes. A doorbell interrupts me.

"Hey!" Ayushi mutters out of breath and I close the door behind her. Five minutes in and I'm doing the dishes while she is perched on the counter telling me how her meet went.

"What are you doing?" I say when I see her typing on the phone.

"Oh! Setting the OTP. Server may crash later. I'd suggest you do too."

"What have you kept yours? You know I need some idea." I added the latter when she gave me a questioning glance.

"I kept 'miracle2k21'." She replied absentmindedly. I don't know why but I committed it to memory.

"Dinner's on me right?" She asked and I confirmed.

"Well then let's study and get it over with. Early class tomorrow." She pouted and I chuckled.

"Mine starts late morning." I said and we headed to our rooms. After studying and dining, Ayushi went to sleep.

I did the dishes and switched off all the stray lights. The glow in the dark clock read 11 PM. I tiredly lay down on my bed expecting sleep to engulf me in a matter of seconds.

Except, it didn't. An hour later I was still tossing and turning on my bed. Finally giving up, I sat on the bean bag next to my now open windows. The moon shone brightly and I envied the peacefulness of the world contrasting my inner battle.

Something didn't feel right. Something wasn't adding up and it stressed me out. Being an avid mystery/thriller/suspense reader, I couldn't help but feel that there is a catch.

Sometime during my brain jog, I fell asleep on the bag. Not comfortable, may I warn you.

The next day went boring and normal. The only thing that excited us amongst classes and piling work was that the contest was going to start tonight.

"I hate my life!" Ayushi said and I looked up at her from my books giving her a questioning glance.

"We have an early morning class tomorrow with that grumpy cat. Which means that we can't stay up till 12 to fill in our entries." She whined.

"True. But we can fill it up on the way there."I try to be optimistic. And that's what we did. We took a bus so that both of us could fill in our forms and submit them. The excited grin we supported made us look weird.

Nothing new!

"Weren't the questions borderline stalkerish?" I ask her and she nods.

"But honestly, a bit too easy. Determining winners can be a difficult job for them" That got me thinking hard.

If she says they were too easy then the questions could be termed average. Fir a prize so big, shouldn't the competition be tougher.

"Anyways, let's hurry. And yes, make more and more people participate. More forms, more charity."She said and we separated to go to our respective classes.

Funds... Charity... Of Course!

I've a plan. Time to put it in action!

"Anna! Give me your OTP." Rita says- a recent directioner who sadly possesses no account. I smile at her and relay her password.

"I'm so excited! I'm gonna tell everyone to fill in the forms. This feels so new- this feeling of doing something for those who don't even know me. But it feels so good." She gushes and I smirk at her.

"And now, my heart, you have cherished the feeling of being a fandom." I say in a wise-man tone and we chuckle.

The rest of the days go on just like that. We stop random people and ask them to fill in. At times, they get mad for they've already done and yet have been asked, they say and I quote, 'a bazillion times'. At times, we bump into Directioners and then us fangirl before moving on to the next pray.

Ayushi and I even forced our parents, siblings, cousins, relatives, friends, cousins' friends and many others from India to participate.

"Perks of having an Indian joint family." She had said grinning widely.

And before we could trap more innocent people, the due date had arrived.

"Man! I swear one day more and I could've persuaded old Billy too." I sighed dejectedly. All these days, the local Directioners met almost every day.

"It's to let 'Sparks become Fire'." They say. And every day we would gush about how awesome it is that are finally back.

The craze has not yet gone. It's very much there- now stronger than ever. It was difficult to keep a track of days with all these Fangirl emotions, classes, work and before I knew it was already 12 September.

Yes, Today is 12 September. It's actually 11:53 right now and Ayushi and I are all set and on time for our rituals.

"Countdown!" Ayushi said diverting me from my thoughts and bringing me to reality.

"10. 9. 8. 7. 6. 5. 4. 3. 2. 1."

"Happy Birthday Nialler!" We posted and then you know what we did next- don't you?

In between our dancing and partying, I checked my phone a number of times. Ayushi too did the same though our intentions differ.

"To know the winner." I said.

"To congratulate the winner." She smiled.

At 2 AM, both of us gave up. With all the excitement and fervor of them coming back and contest, we haven't actually had a good night's sleep.

"I guess we should call it a night." Ayushi yawned.

"I agree. We'll see the result tomorrow." I nod along with her and we somehow make our way towards our bed and crash in it.

Since the day the contest was announced, I haven't slept instantly. After a stressful day when I'm back on the bed I usually ponder over the something before I can finally sleep. And contest is the thing that had my attention since days.

But today I wasn't up for another round of 'How can they find a winner by this easy quiz?' or 'Is there a catch? Should I find it out?' or even a 'Is there any way I can help Ayushi.'. Tonight, my brain has decided to give my body some much needed rest. As soon as my head hit the pillow sleep consumed me.

Also, worrying about all those would be plain stupid since it's just a matter of hours before the winner is announced.

For now, I am pretty satisfied with my soft bed and am quite ready to dream about Niall!

Little did I know that this was one of the last good sleeps I'll get for days to come.

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