Stardust
Need You Now
The rehearsal went smoothly and they had a meeting with their stylist in the afternoon. Meanwhile, Lilly got a briefing about the VMAs. Paul had completely forgotten to mention them to her, because she didn’t need to me there. It was up to her. She’d actually hoped she could spend some time with her friend Lucy that evening. They’d met at University when Lucy had done an exchange year. After that Lucy had moved back to New York City, but they’d stayed in contact. Lilly had mentioned that she’d be in NYC for work, but didn’t know when she’d have time, so she hadn’t yet talked to Lucy about when they could meet up. Maybe they could go for coffee in the morning.
Paul said that it would work, she just had to be back at the hotel around one so that they could go through everything together and get ready for the VMAs. She would probably not see that many celebrities, but get a good look at what went on behind the scenes.
After the rehearsal, they were busy with all kind of stuff, and Lilly was mostly on the phone, arranging things for when they were back in England. There was also a short phone call to her mother, who didn’t sound so good. She said that everything was okay, and that they would talk when Lilly was back. A slight unease was crawling up her back, but she didn’t press it any further with her mother, because there was a lot she still had to do.
At the end of the day, she collapsed on top of her bed and fell asleep right away. The good thing was, that she’d programmed her alarm in advance and was woken up the next morning with “Boys of Summer”. At that time of day, she needed something like that to get out of bed. After a quick shower she got dressed and headed to the lobby to meet up with Paul and the guys.
They all looked surprisingly cheery and in the mood to get out. They were really looking forward to their performance on The Today Show, and it was the first time for Lilly to see them perform live. The session in her car had been different.
She was standing next to Paul during the whole performance and the interview, chuckling lightly at some of their answers, and when one of the hosts asked Liam about his engagement instead of Zayn.
In the afternoon, there was a press conference about the movie, on which Lilly was allowed to sit in. She sat down right at the end of the room, overlooking all the press people and the guys in the front. It was her first press conference so she took in everything she could. She took out a pen and scribbled down something on her arm. That’s what the lines were there for, weren’t they?
She couldn’t help but notice how aggravated Zayn grew every time someone asked about his wedding plans. Did people not realize that they’d just gotten engaged? There was so much going on in both their lives and maybe they didn’t want to get married straight away, sit down some time and talk when there wasn’t that much stress? Thankfully, there were also people who asked questions about the movie. They’d have the same thing in two days time before the movie premiere.
This evening, Lilly wasn’t as exhausted as the day before, so she did a light workout, got a massage and took a long, hot bath. She could even read a few pages in her book. The only problem was that she’d forgotten to set her alarm and slept right till eleven. There was a message from Lucy on her phone, asking where she was.
“Fuckfuckfuck,” she mumbled to herself, and immediately called Lucy to apologize. Now, there wasn’t enough time left for them to meet up and have coffee, because Lilly had to get ready. But she promised to see if she had time to meet up with Lucy on a different day. If not, she’d be back in NYC soon, so they could definitely have coffee or something else then.
She stood in front of the mirror in the bathroom, and started pinning back her hair. A few strands fell loosely around her face, so she took the curling iron to give them a slightly different look than usual. Still, she held back with the makeup and only used mascara and a bit of red lipstick the same color as her shoes. She wasn’t very comfortable wearing high heels, but those weren’t very “high”. They only had a small heel, and the boys’ stylist, Caroline Watson had given her this outfit yesterday, figuring that this was an occasion where a lady had to dress to impress. And Caroline didn’t take “no” for an answer.
So, when Lilly approached the guys and Paul in a simple, yet elegant, black dress that hit her just above the knee, and the red heels, they simply looked at her. And that was when she started to feel awkward.
“Okay, I shouldn’t have worn what Caroline had given me,” she said slowly.
“Are you kidding me?” Paul stepped forward and gave her a big, warm hug. “You look amazing, and you should always trust Caroline with her taste.”
Paul’s compliment made her blush. Then Harry stepped up and said: “Sorry for staring, that was rude of us. You look beautiful.”
“Okay, thank you, but stop it right there.” She leaned forward and placed a kiss on Harry’s cheek. “We should get going.”
“She’s right.” Paul ushered them all outside so that they could get going.
Lilly would stay by Paul’s side all the time, so that she could learn. While the boys walked the red carpet, they stayed behind, or rather went ahead. Lilly sighed, because she should have worn something more practical instead of a dress that showed off her curves.
“Stop mulling this over, you look great in the dress and there isn’t much to do for you anyway,” Paul said, putting a hand on her shoulder. “Just try to enjoy this and take as much in as possible.”
How did he know what he’d been thinking about? She loved wearing dresses, especially in summer, but she had never worn a dress that expensive. With Paul’s words in mind, she relaxed a little bit. She’d have to thank Caroline the next day for this.
After Lady Gaga’s performance, the boys presented an award. Lilly watched over the monitor backstage while they were on before she returned to watching the people flitting about.
When it was time for their category, for the best song of the summer, she focused her attention on the screen again. Before the winner was announced, Lilly was startled by someone getting out of the hall and walking straight by her. When she looked up, she saw that it was Lady Gaga, who was complaining to the person next to her about people booing One Direction.
“I just had to get out of there,” she was saying, pushing her hair back.
Lilly just stared in bewilderment until Paul caught her attention again, when he hugged her. The boys had won the award, so they would celebrate that later on, only without Lilly. She’d told Paul earlier that she had to head back to the hotel, once all the awards had been given out. She had a skype session with Mary scheduled. On short notice, she’d had to go to Australia for a month to work for the branch of the company she was working for there. She got some extra training, so it was hard to schedule anything, but since Lilly didn’t have to be at the VMAs, she was okay to go.
What she missed with going back to the hotel, was the exchange between Lady Gaga and the boys. After they’d recorded their thank-you-video for the fans, Lady Gaga gave them some words to encourage them, telling them that she’d been booed many times, but they deserve every bit of success.
More or less unnoticed, she got out of the building, and hailed a cab to the hotel. She fired up her notebook and logged on to skype, where Mary was already waiting.
“Look at you!” Lilly exclaimed. “You’ve been there two days and you’ve already caught a tan.”
“I’d much rather discuss what’s with you,” Mary said, grinning from one ear to the other. “What’s the story behind this dress?”
“Caroline chose what I should wear to the VMAs.”
“You went to the VMAs?” Mary gasped. She’d known about all the plans for NYC, but since the VMAs had been news for Lilly, she hadn’t been able to tell Mary in advance.
Lilly told her all about it, and about the last couple of days. It was good to talk like this and see her friend. It gave her more energy for the following day.
With a sigh of relief, she put on her sneakers the next day, feeling a lot more comfortable in her favorite pair of jeans and a grey knit sweater she’d had for years. It was comfortable, stylish and not too warm or cold to wear for the day. She had breakfast in her room, or rather brunch, since it wasn’t really morning anymore, and then headed to her meeting with Paul and the other five guys. They would drive straight to the pre-premiere presser. Harry and Niall would be interviewed first, and then Louis, Zayn and Liam would take over for them.
When the press conference started, Lilly stood behind the cardboard walls, that had been put up behind the chairs where the boys would sit, and listened in on the interview. Harry and Niall walked out and took their seats. Lilly asked Paul if it was okay if she called her Mom. Maybe she’d have the chance to hear her brothers on the phone that way and talk to John as well. He said that it was fine, and that she wouldn’t miss anything.
Liam watched her go and turned to Paul to ask what was going on, and he told him. Louis asked Liam after that. He was a little distracted while she was gone, and he found himself looking towards the door again and again. When it was nearly time for the three of them to take over from Harry and Niall, she returned. Her eyes were red and a bit swollen. She’d obviously been crying, and she avoided looking at them, when she took Paul’s hand and led him a bit further away.
Louis nudged Liam with his elbow and indicated the scene. Lilly was telling Paul something that made his smile fade. When she took a deep breath, Paul took her in his arms and held here there for a moment, before he said something to her and led her to the door.
Paul said that it would work, she just had to be back at the hotel around one so that they could go through everything together and get ready for the VMAs. She would probably not see that many celebrities, but get a good look at what went on behind the scenes.
After the rehearsal, they were busy with all kind of stuff, and Lilly was mostly on the phone, arranging things for when they were back in England. There was also a short phone call to her mother, who didn’t sound so good. She said that everything was okay, and that they would talk when Lilly was back. A slight unease was crawling up her back, but she didn’t press it any further with her mother, because there was a lot she still had to do.
At the end of the day, she collapsed on top of her bed and fell asleep right away. The good thing was, that she’d programmed her alarm in advance and was woken up the next morning with “Boys of Summer”. At that time of day, she needed something like that to get out of bed. After a quick shower she got dressed and headed to the lobby to meet up with Paul and the guys.
They all looked surprisingly cheery and in the mood to get out. They were really looking forward to their performance on The Today Show, and it was the first time for Lilly to see them perform live. The session in her car had been different.
She was standing next to Paul during the whole performance and the interview, chuckling lightly at some of their answers, and when one of the hosts asked Liam about his engagement instead of Zayn.
In the afternoon, there was a press conference about the movie, on which Lilly was allowed to sit in. She sat down right at the end of the room, overlooking all the press people and the guys in the front. It was her first press conference so she took in everything she could. She took out a pen and scribbled down something on her arm. That’s what the lines were there for, weren’t they?
She couldn’t help but notice how aggravated Zayn grew every time someone asked about his wedding plans. Did people not realize that they’d just gotten engaged? There was so much going on in both their lives and maybe they didn’t want to get married straight away, sit down some time and talk when there wasn’t that much stress? Thankfully, there were also people who asked questions about the movie. They’d have the same thing in two days time before the movie premiere.
This evening, Lilly wasn’t as exhausted as the day before, so she did a light workout, got a massage and took a long, hot bath. She could even read a few pages in her book. The only problem was that she’d forgotten to set her alarm and slept right till eleven. There was a message from Lucy on her phone, asking where she was.
“Fuckfuckfuck,” she mumbled to herself, and immediately called Lucy to apologize. Now, there wasn’t enough time left for them to meet up and have coffee, because Lilly had to get ready. But she promised to see if she had time to meet up with Lucy on a different day. If not, she’d be back in NYC soon, so they could definitely have coffee or something else then.
She stood in front of the mirror in the bathroom, and started pinning back her hair. A few strands fell loosely around her face, so she took the curling iron to give them a slightly different look than usual. Still, she held back with the makeup and only used mascara and a bit of red lipstick the same color as her shoes. She wasn’t very comfortable wearing high heels, but those weren’t very “high”. They only had a small heel, and the boys’ stylist, Caroline Watson had given her this outfit yesterday, figuring that this was an occasion where a lady had to dress to impress. And Caroline didn’t take “no” for an answer.
So, when Lilly approached the guys and Paul in a simple, yet elegant, black dress that hit her just above the knee, and the red heels, they simply looked at her. And that was when she started to feel awkward.
“Okay, I shouldn’t have worn what Caroline had given me,” she said slowly.
“Are you kidding me?” Paul stepped forward and gave her a big, warm hug. “You look amazing, and you should always trust Caroline with her taste.”
Paul’s compliment made her blush. Then Harry stepped up and said: “Sorry for staring, that was rude of us. You look beautiful.”
“Okay, thank you, but stop it right there.” She leaned forward and placed a kiss on Harry’s cheek. “We should get going.”
“She’s right.” Paul ushered them all outside so that they could get going.
Lilly would stay by Paul’s side all the time, so that she could learn. While the boys walked the red carpet, they stayed behind, or rather went ahead. Lilly sighed, because she should have worn something more practical instead of a dress that showed off her curves.
“Stop mulling this over, you look great in the dress and there isn’t much to do for you anyway,” Paul said, putting a hand on her shoulder. “Just try to enjoy this and take as much in as possible.”
How did he know what he’d been thinking about? She loved wearing dresses, especially in summer, but she had never worn a dress that expensive. With Paul’s words in mind, she relaxed a little bit. She’d have to thank Caroline the next day for this.
After Lady Gaga’s performance, the boys presented an award. Lilly watched over the monitor backstage while they were on before she returned to watching the people flitting about.
When it was time for their category, for the best song of the summer, she focused her attention on the screen again. Before the winner was announced, Lilly was startled by someone getting out of the hall and walking straight by her. When she looked up, she saw that it was Lady Gaga, who was complaining to the person next to her about people booing One Direction.
“I just had to get out of there,” she was saying, pushing her hair back.
Lilly just stared in bewilderment until Paul caught her attention again, when he hugged her. The boys had won the award, so they would celebrate that later on, only without Lilly. She’d told Paul earlier that she had to head back to the hotel, once all the awards had been given out. She had a skype session with Mary scheduled. On short notice, she’d had to go to Australia for a month to work for the branch of the company she was working for there. She got some extra training, so it was hard to schedule anything, but since Lilly didn’t have to be at the VMAs, she was okay to go.
What she missed with going back to the hotel, was the exchange between Lady Gaga and the boys. After they’d recorded their thank-you-video for the fans, Lady Gaga gave them some words to encourage them, telling them that she’d been booed many times, but they deserve every bit of success.
More or less unnoticed, she got out of the building, and hailed a cab to the hotel. She fired up her notebook and logged on to skype, where Mary was already waiting.
“Look at you!” Lilly exclaimed. “You’ve been there two days and you’ve already caught a tan.”
“I’d much rather discuss what’s with you,” Mary said, grinning from one ear to the other. “What’s the story behind this dress?”
“Caroline chose what I should wear to the VMAs.”
“You went to the VMAs?” Mary gasped. She’d known about all the plans for NYC, but since the VMAs had been news for Lilly, she hadn’t been able to tell Mary in advance.
Lilly told her all about it, and about the last couple of days. It was good to talk like this and see her friend. It gave her more energy for the following day.
With a sigh of relief, she put on her sneakers the next day, feeling a lot more comfortable in her favorite pair of jeans and a grey knit sweater she’d had for years. It was comfortable, stylish and not too warm or cold to wear for the day. She had breakfast in her room, or rather brunch, since it wasn’t really morning anymore, and then headed to her meeting with Paul and the other five guys. They would drive straight to the pre-premiere presser. Harry and Niall would be interviewed first, and then Louis, Zayn and Liam would take over for them.
When the press conference started, Lilly stood behind the cardboard walls, that had been put up behind the chairs where the boys would sit, and listened in on the interview. Harry and Niall walked out and took their seats. Lilly asked Paul if it was okay if she called her Mom. Maybe she’d have the chance to hear her brothers on the phone that way and talk to John as well. He said that it was fine, and that she wouldn’t miss anything.
Liam watched her go and turned to Paul to ask what was going on, and he told him. Louis asked Liam after that. He was a little distracted while she was gone, and he found himself looking towards the door again and again. When it was nearly time for the three of them to take over from Harry and Niall, she returned. Her eyes were red and a bit swollen. She’d obviously been crying, and she avoided looking at them, when she took Paul’s hand and led him a bit further away.
Louis nudged Liam with his elbow and indicated the scene. Lilly was telling Paul something that made his smile fade. When she took a deep breath, Paul took her in his arms and held here there for a moment, before he said something to her and led her to the door.
Notes
Thank you!This was originally supposed to be longer, but when I was finsihed, I had 7 pages, so I decided to split it and leave you with the "cliffhanger" ;)
11/16/13