One Choice

"Are you sure coming here was a good idea, Cara?"

I looked at my best friend and thought carefully about my response. Was coming to the last concert of Big Time Rush's tour a good idea, especially considering that James dumped me only a few months back. Probably not, but after spending some time away in the Caribbean's, I thought I could handle seeing him again. After all, I was over him… Mostly.

Okay, so maybe that wasn't entirely true. The real reason I decided to fly back to New York and catch the concert wasn't because of the amazing after party, nor was it because, as co-owner of one of the world's largest recording labels, my father could get me tickets to basically whatever I wanted; the reason was because of James. I wanted to see him, and not to prove to him how much better off I was, I wanted him to see how much I've changed over the past months. He never gave me a definite answer to why we broke up, but it had to be something small and I was so sure I could fix whatever it was.

I looked down at my shimmering, deep blue dress and smoothed out the fabric. The sparkly silver heels made my legs miles longer, and my makeup was practically perfect tonight. Thanks to my months of basking in the sun and spa treatments, I was tan and relaxed. I ran my fingers through my carefully curled hair and let out a breath I didn't realize I was holding. I had to be what James was looking for now, I just had to be.

"Yeah, Jules. Everything is going to be perfect tonight." I answered confidently, even though I was terribly uncertain and anxious.

Julia smiled thoughtfully at me before reaching over and giving my hand a squeeze. We were standing off to the side and watching people dance around the room. The after parties were always the best part of concerts. In fact, Julia and I missed most of the beginning of the concert because we were busy getting ready for the party. Big Time Rush was on tour with some new band from my home country in England. They called themselves One Direction. Clever enough name, I had to admit, but I also had to confess to never listening to them before in my life. I also didn't even know what they looked like. Around my age, I heard. Maybe a year or two older, but they got their start with Simon Cowell after coming in third place on the X Factor. I was interested in listening to their music, but my main focus of the night was James.

Julia and I watched from the side of the stage as the band and James sang, and I couldn't help but go back to the times when I knew he was singing to me. It hurt to relive, but it was a good kind of ache. It was how love felt, I was sure. Julia was there as my best friend, but also as the new girlfriend of Carlos. They started dating around the same time James and I were coming to an end, but Julia, being the amazing friend she is, decided to keep things quiet and kept her distance from the band in support of me.

As we sipped our drinks, I saw a familiar red head bobbing her way through the crowd and over to us. She was all glitter and fake smiles when she finally approached us. "Hey Cara! Hey Julie!" She giggled as she leaned in to give us air hugs and insincere kisses.

"Hi Valerie," Tricia and I murmured.

Valerie was an old schoolmate of ours, and desperate to get into the limelight. She was a fair singer and dreadful actress, but still tried to make a career out of it. After landing a slot as an extra in Pretty Little Liars, she was even more vicious about reaching her goal.

"How are you ladies this evening?" She asked with wide eyes. Julia opened her mouth to speak, but Valerie wasn't finished. "Planning on stealing some hearts? I couldn't help but notice, Cara, that you've caught the eye of one of those guys in that new band One Direction." With extremely unsubtly, Valerie jerked her head towards the corner of the room.

My eyes followed her awkward motion until they landed on a blonde boy with his mouth full of food. I was surprised to see he was staring right at me, but quickly dropped his gaze when I looked over. He was cute even with his puffy cheeks and in the dark with flashing lights bouncing on and off of his light skin. Definitely an attractive guy, and I was curious to know his name. But of course, I was talking to Valerie Steinfeld and didn't even need to ask.

"His name is Niall Horan. He's our age, second youngest in the band though. He's left handed and his favorite color is either green or blue." Valerie stated and confirmed it with a little nod.

Julia and I blinked. "Bloody hell, Val…" Julia murmured.

"Well, he is cute," I admitted, "but I--"

"Don't tell me you're still hung up on James. Come on, Cara, you could do so much better than him. You should move on. Seriously." Valerie insisted.

Julia narrowed her eyes and said, "Leave it alone, Valerie. She's fine. Besides, she knows she is better off. We're only here because I begged her to come with me."

"Oh, right. I forgot you were dating Carlos." Valerie replied carelessly, tilting her nose a little in the air. "Big Time Rush has gotten both of you poor ladies under their spell."

"Not anymore." I argued quietly. I wanted to change the subject. The last thing I needed was James to overhear from Valerie that I was still sulking over him. "But anyway, tell me more about this new band."

To Valerie, getting asked to talk was like being offered gold. "Oh, well if you like Big Time Rush, you'll absolutely love One Direction. They're from the UK just like us, ladies, and they're all gorgeous. You've already seen Niall, but there's four more: Harry, Zayn, Liam, and Louis. I think Harry considers himself the cheeky and charming one. Zayn has this big aura of mystery and complete sexiness surrounding him. Liam is bloody hot, but the serious one. And Louis is adorable and probably the funniest of the four."

"And they're all here?" I wondered aloud, searching around the room.

Valerie nodded so enthusiastically I thought her head might fall off. "Well, Harry was here earlier but I think I saw him and Liam leave. If you see Harry, he's impossible to miss. He has this amazing, curly hair and--" Valerie stopped midsentence and then smiled. "Oh, there's my catch for the night. I'll catch you ladies around later." She gave us a little wink before skipping off.

"So are you going to go talk to that Niall guy?" Julia asked with a mischievous little smirk.

I subconsciously frowned, "I'm actually not really up to--"

"Cara," Julia said softly, "you know I hate to admit it, but Valerie is right. James doesn't deserve you and you could find someone better. Besides, that Niall is pretty cute and he definitely keeps checking you out."

"I just don't think I'm ready, Jules. Besides, what if James sees me and he wants to get back together?" I mumbled.

Julia suddenly grimaced as she looked up at the door. "I don't think so… I'm sorry, Cara." She glanced up and I looked to where she was looking, but wished I hadn't. The band was walking in, James in the front and with his arm around some tiny little blonde girl.

"Oh," I whispered, feeling that ache in my chest once again.

"Hey baby," Carlos grinned, coming up from behind Julia. He slipped his hand around her waist and smiled brightly. "Wanna dance?"

"Go ahead," I told Julia before she could decline. "And don't bother arguing. Just go out there and have fun for me." I gave her a sincere smile, which she returned with uncertainty, but gratitude.

As Carlos and Julia began to walk off, I turned around to head back to my hotel room. However, I turned straight into another person. I took a step back and looked up to meet a guy with a smirk and killer eyes.

"Hey.