Ayushi (01.11.21)

Never in a million years would I have thought that there'll come a day when waking up would be the best thing ever and I'd ditch sleeping more. Seriously!

But as Mum says, miracles happen.

And today was one such miraculous day. My eyes flew open at 6 AM only and I was wide awake. The first thing I did was check the circular-kind thing to know when the car would be coming.

Or to confirm reality

Have it your way then! I checked the circular because I wanted to confirm that all this was indeed happening.

After assuring myself multiple times, I made my way to the washroom. I spent almost an hour showering and shampooing my hair. I came out and quickly changed into a size big sweater and sweat pants all the while dancing to WMYB. I leave my hair open and rush out. I almost never blow dry my hair- unless I'm in absolute hurry- and let them dry naturally. All along, a smile has been fixed on my face.

As soon as I step out, I'm engulfed in a hug. I hug her back and then we pull apart.

"You are meeting One Direction today!" She screamed near my ear. I chuckled with her while rubbing my ear.

We make our way towards the kitchen and I start to work on the breakfast but she stops me before I can do anything. I give her a questioning glance.

"You are not to do anything today, Queen." She said. "Today, you'll just relax and listen to me and promise me that you'll obey each and every command of mine."

"And the Queen is getting bossed around?" I ask smirking and she shrugs it off.

"So, what will you have for breakfast?" She asks me.

"Pancake!" I say without missing a beat! Ananya rocks those! She grinned and set to work. I glanced at the clock which said 8 AM.

"So," I say after some time, "You said I had to listen to you and obey you. What exactly were you talking about?"

"Oh that? Well there were some things that I thought I should remind you about. Nothing important. And..." She trailed off.

"And?" I ask.

"And just a teeny weenie favor?" she questions herself. Red Alert! Anaya's favor can be small and elephant size- at the same time. I give her a wary look.

"It's uh nothing big. Just a small thing. Don't say no?" She said while handing me some pancakes. As you can guess, saying no to a girl who just now handed me pancakes and has a puppy look on can be difficult. Very difficult

"What is it?" I sigh.

"There's somewhere you need to go with me." She said bouncing happily. I nodded for her to continue.

"And we leave in 2 hour."

"What? Where?"

"Can't tell. Just wear some Library-worthy clothes." She said and I nodded. Library-worthy clothes, by the way, were comfortable yet stylish ones that won't irritate me for hours.

Two hours and thirty minutes later, we were in our car on the way to god knows where. No amount of questioning could make her spill the beans so I decided to just relax a bit. Though we may seem calm from the outside, both of us know how difficult it is to tame our fangirls to stay put for some hours. Else we'd be found on our floor with tears in our eyes while we are listening to their songs and sobbing our heart out.

Not a pretty sight

I was jerked out of my thought when I feel the car stop.

"The community centre?" I ask aloud confused and she just motions me to enter. I obey.

Surprises are a part of life. They may be planned by somebody else or just be a twist of tale. They may make you happy or may make you sad. They may be skipped-a-beat shocking or my-heart-came-to-my-mouth-and-i-couldn't-breath-and-can't-believe-it's-real-oh-my-god shocking.

I myself am quite used to surprises. Both of us like surprising each other, Ananya and I. And what with the latest happenings, surprises wee not a big deal. But this one, this one stood out.

The walls were a light blue with pink balloons all over. There was a banner too. It read, 'Congrats Ayushi!' There were several One Direction posters hanging on the walls. There in the centre of the fairly big community centre stood about 150 to 200 teenagers- mostly girls. They were all grinning at me.

The moment I entered, silence engulfed the room. And not even a minute after, everyone burst out. Some were talking, some shouting. I couldn't guess who did what because there were way too many people- unknown that too- and I was in shock.

"Guys!" Ananya somehow grabbed everyone's attention and the chatter died down. But the smiles persisted.

"Wondering what's going on?" She asked me and I mutely nodded.

"So Ayushi, this is a farewell to you from all the local fans before you head out to meet- and I still can't believe it's true Goodness gracious- One Direction." Amber said shouting the last two words. The screams that followed were deafening. How do the boys manage to not get their ears bleed?

I had tears in my eyes. I turned to Ananya and asked her something through my eyes.

"Who planned it?" I gestured and she replied with a thumb pointing towards Amber and Iva and I instantly hugged both of them. Iva was in my classes and one of the initial members of the local fan club.

"Thank you so much!"I said still in tears.

"It wasn't a big deal. The day they said they were coming back, we had decided we would do something like this. And then events unfolded and we decided that the best thing to do would be to make it a farewell party for you which soon turns to a fan party." Iva explained yet I couldn't be more grateful. Even their mere thought counted.

"So, let's dance." And then we, Directioners, converted a community centre into a dancing club. Having a party in the early hours of afternoon, we sure are crazy.

At around 12 Ananya decided that we ought to leave. She said the same to Iva and Amber who immediately fluttered away. They turned off the music and soon everyone stopped too.

"Guys, it's time." Iva said in a mike which came from god knows where. What Iva said didn't make any sense to me but the way the crowd dispersed, I think it did to them. I just looked Ananya came to my rescue. She led to me to where Amber and Iva were standing all the while ignoring my questions. Iva and Amber too decided to turn a deaf ear to all my interrogations.

Some friends they are

Soon, the whole crowd came back. But not alone, No, most of them had something in their hand- letters, cards, teddies, chocolates and what not.

"So you must be wondering what all this is about, right?" Amber asked me and I nodded eagerly.

"Since you are going to meet One Direction, we were thinking if you could you know, give them our gifts?" she said hesitantly.

"And get their autographs for us?" Iva continued in the same tone.

"Please!" The whole crowd said at the same time and I couldn't help but stare at them. This should've recorded as the most amounts of co-ordination teenagers could ever have depicted- Directioners at that.

"Pretty please with a caramelatte on top?" Ananya said smirking. She was the only one who was confident enough of my answer and had the gut to wink at me. In her defense, she knew I had lost the second that word left her mouth.

I looked at her with a blank face. But she read my mind and just discreetly smiled. I looked at Iva and Amber who were dying of anxiousness. I looked at the crowd. A hundred expectant faces looked back at me. I could see their nervous fidgeting, their hopeful smiles and their pleading hands.

But among them all, I saw myself. I was looking back at me with that same expression- hopeful smile, pleading eyes and nervous fidget. I too had a gift in my hand which I desperately wanted to give to the boys. I saw myself praying that this golden opportunity of sending my love to my boys doesn't go away. And in that moment, I had decided.

"Sure." I said with a bright smile. The crowd erupted in a cheer, Iva and Amber hugged me but Ananya stood there. She had an encouraging smile on her face.

"So, what are you waiting for? Form a line, first, and then make use of this opportunity." That's all it took for the crowd to form a single straight line and dash at me.

What followed next was an hour of receiving gifts, teddies, autograph books, posters, books, photos, cards and love letters- none of which were for me.

Soon, the crowd was done with its gifting and Ananya and I could leave. Iva and Amber promised us that they would bundle all these up and be at my house by 4:30. With a small wave and wide smile, e left the community centre. It was already 2 PM.

"Where to?" I asked since Ananya didn't turn towards our apartment.

"Your favorite diner followed by Granny's" She replied and I smiled. She knew me well.

Soon, we reached at the 'Rays' Diner'. We ordered our favorite and then indulged in talking. We talked about everything.

"Good thing you agreed to take their gifts." Ananya said and I gave her sly smile.

"You see, I wasn't actually in mood of being tied to a chair in a smelly dungeon by my best friend and then accept the offer." I said slyly.

"What are you talking about?" She said innocently.

"Tell me, didn't you think of forcing me to agree to them if I didn't otherwise?" I asked her and she avoided eye contact.

Ha! Caught you!

"But what made you agree?" She asked curiously.

"I just thought how it would have been if someone else had won, pictured myself amongst the crowd and realized how important my agreement was for them. Then, I had no doubt on my decision." I said as the food arrived. We then dug into our food barely talking. Yes, we, the chatterbox, didn't talk at all. It's not that we don't chat while eating; just that Rays make food so good nothing can grab your attention once it arrives.

After that, we drove to Granny's and spent some time with them. They knew I was going and won't be coming to work for two months though Ananya would come for more days since, and I quote, 'without Mahi around, I'd get bored indoors.'

The staff there too had autograph books from their nieces and granddaughters to give to me. They were hesitant to give me but when Rose hinted at it, I told about what happened some hours ago. That certainly encouraged them and I got a bag full of gifts for the boys.

"We should leave." Ananya said at 4 and I reluctantly followed. After a teary goodbye, they are an emotional bunch, we left.

"You should get ready."Ananya said and I again obeyed. Forty minutes later, I was ready in a pair of jeans and shirt sitting on the island counter. Amber and Iva were already here with a big teddy bear, cutout and three bags. Yes, three bags full of fan love. Gosh, how many people sent them?

Our chatting and squealing was interrupted by the doorbell ringing. All of us looked at each other before Iva and Ananya rushed to the door.

"The car is here." Iva shouted excitedly. I looked at Amber nervously and she just smiled at me.

"It'll be fine."She said and I nodded.

"You are going to live with One Direction!" Iva decided that the whole neighborhood should know this so shouted it out as soon as I came out. I just nodded at her smiling. And before she could go in the fan mode, I hugged her. Amber, winking at me, then took charge of a hysterical Iva.

That girl is full of drama I swear.

"I'll miss you." Ananya said smiling.

"I'll miss you too Annie!" I hugged her.

"Now I'll have to do the dishes and the cooking all alone." She said.

"And no food fights too." I said sadly.

"We can help in that." Now composed Iva said. Iva and Amber spent quality time with us. These past few days, we've grown closer than ever before-especially them as they together planned it all. I was glad Ananya had someone after I went because as friendly as she seems, she doesn't make friends that easily.

"And I'm sure you'll have your fair share with the boys." Amber said and we chuckled.

Soon, I was sitting in the backseat of the limo. The five bags, of which 3 were full of fan mails, were already stacked up in the trunk. A human-sized teddy bear was resting on my left, another gift, and a life-sized cutout of the boys resting on the other seat. Directioners are crazy! I thought the driver would be crazed, a bit annoyed too, at the sight of the entire luggage but I was proved wrong. He just smiled at me, shaking his balding head, and placed the entire luggage in the car efficiently. He even saluted at the girls with his hat. They all, needless to say, giggled at them and I too couldn't control myself. I waved at them as the car started and then relaxed a bit. I nestled in the comfy seat along with my own teddy bear which I had decided to take at the last moment.

"How long will it take?" I asked the driver trying my hardest to control my excitement.

"We'd reach around 10 PM." He said smiling. They live quite far if it would take almost 5h to reach there.

I stare out of the window. The roads pass by slowly at times and at times in a blur. The sun was setting down- the orange hues dominating in the sky. I had opened the windows so the gentle air could caress my cheeks. There's nothing I love more than a long drive with the window open.

Somewhere between staring at the sky and speculating how the next two months would go, I fell asleep clutching my teddy bear.

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Hey! I'm sorry I've been gone so long but the sudden death of Louis' mom had me devastated and I couldn't write....

RIP Johannah. All my love to Louis and his family.

I tried to make the chapter a bit fun. Hope you like it.

ChocoLove