Ch. 3
*RINNNNNNNNG RIIIIIIIINNNNNNNNG*

“Ugh,” I groaned. “Five more minutes pleasssse.” I said to no one in particular.

I rolled over and turned the alarm off, it was bugging me. I always made sure my alarm was loud so it would encourage me to actually get up and turn it off. I dragged myself out of bed and picked out clothes that would be comfortable enough for a plane ride. I settled on a pair of black yoga pants and a burgundy Jack Wills sweater.

I dialed Stephanie’s number and after about a minute of ringing, I was sent to voicemail. I started to panic and called her again. Thankfully, this time she answered by the third ring.

“Chiiiiillll ouuuut, Kaylaaa.”

“Whoah, you’re awake?!” I asked, truly impressed.

“Yeah well I knew you would chew my head off if I didn’t take you to the airport on time.” That’s very true. “Well, that, and… I kinda wanted to catch a glimpse of One Direction.”

I rolled my eyes even though she couldn’t see me. Of course, I should’ve expected this. She loves the boys so of course she would want to meet them. Who wouldn’t?

“Well if you want to get to meet them you should get to my apartment right NOW.”

“THEY’RE AT YOUR PLACE?! EEEEEEEEEEEEP WHY DIDN’T YOU TELL ME?!” I held the phone away from my ear and waited for her to stop yelling. She always did this when we were on the phone and she found something exciting. I feel sorry for her neighbors..

“No,” I said, placing the phone in between the crook of my neck and my shoulder, using both of my hands to gather the toiletries I would need while being on the road. “I just meant that we should hurry because you might be able to catch a glimpse of them if we are early and—“

She interrupted me by half-yelling, “BE THERE IN 15 MINUTES,” then the phone line went dead. She hung up on me.

“Goodbye to you too,” I chuckled to myself and set my iPhone down to brush my teeth.

Once I finished brushing my teeth, I put my toothbrush in its little container and inside my suitcase. Two suitcases worth of clothes should be enough for a three-month trek around the States. Wait, I just realized I don’t even know where we will be going on this tour. I decided to Google this tour, I didn’t really have time to myself so I wasn’t too keen on what One Direction had been up to lately, when I heard an eager knock—or should I say pounding– at my door. I checked the time on my phone then walked towards the door.

“You’re late!” I sing-songed through the door as I opened it.

“Hey, I meant 15 minutes New York time.” She said with a grin. It’s true, there was always traffic in New York, even at 6 a.m.

“Well come on, let’s go. Help me with that bag!” I said as I picked up one suitcase and nodded toward the other one so Stephanie could pick it up.

Stephanie sighed and reluctantly helped me carry *cough DRAG cough* my bags to her car. We struggled to get the bags in the trunk but we managed.

As soon as we got in the car she turned up the volume on the radio and changed the station to Kiss-FM as I buckled my seatbelt.

The Wanted’s ‘Chasing the Sun’ started playing and we started belting out the tune at the top of our lungs.

“THEY SAID THIS DAY WOULDN’T COME, WE REFUSED TO RUN, WE’VE ONLY JUST BEGUN…YOU’LL FIND US CHASING THE SUN,” we sung in unison.

She jammed to every other song on the radio and I just looked out the window. I don’t usually enjoy listening to the radio only because they play the same songs over and over. It gets boring.

Stephanie pulled up to the airport parking lot and willingly took both my bags out of the trunk. I was quite surprised by this action but then caught her drift when I noticed her eyes scanning the airport parking lot.

She wants to meet the boys.

“You think they’re here yet?” She grinned, looking at me now.

I shrugged.

“Come on, let me help you take your bags inside.”

I nodded and let her help me with one of the bags.

As we approached the check-in area, I felt a tap on my shoulder. I turned around and was surprised to find none other than Niall Horan standing in front of me.

I smiled and said a quiet “Hi.”

He returned the smile and placed crossed his arms. “You look confused.” He chuckled.

“Oh..” I slightly shook my head. “I just..wasn’t expecting to run into you.”

He chuckled once again and said, “We’re goin’ on tour together, love.”

“Right.” I said, feeling a little…well a lot..stupid. Thankfully Stephanie cleared her throat and I took this as an opportunity to avert the attention from my stupidity and introduce her to the Irish prince standing before us.

Oh wait, I could have a little fun with this. Stephanie loved all the boys but she had a soft spot for Niall.

“Niall, this is my best friend Stephanie. She loves you.” I smiled evilly, looking at her.

Oh if looks could kill…..I’d be dead right now.

I poked her side and cooed, “Aw, come on Steph. Don’t be shy.”

I shouldn’t be enjoying my friend’s embarrassment this much. Haha.

“H-Hi..N-Niall..Uh.. I-I uh, I’m S-stephanie..” She stuttered, holding her hand out, which was visibly shaking.

I laughed and watched as Niall looked at her with a confused expression on his face. He grabbed her hand and pulled her in for a Horan hug. When they let go, she took my bags and headed for the check-in counter without saying a word. She was trying to hide her blush. I laughed and turned my attention back to Niall who was still looking confused.

“She’s a bit odd..” He said.

I nodded and he spoke up again, “Well, I’ll see ya later, love. I’m gon’ get some food!” His eyes brightened as soon as the word ‘food’ left his mouth. I smiled and he hugged me once more before walking off toward some other direction.

When I turned around, Stephanie was waving her arms, trying to get my attention. Had she been talking to me? Oops. I made my way over to her and she was glaring at me again.

“I hate you.” She said rather bluntly.

“And why is that?” I asked, amused.

“Well one, for that whole Niall thing. And two, I’ve been trying to get your attention for the past five minutes!”

“I’m sorry,” I said, looking over at my bags on the scale. I knew they wouldn’t be overweight because one of them was only half full, I knew I would need extra room for things I would purchase on the road. “You said you wanted to meet Niall and you did! What do you need?”

She grunted, “Not like that! He probably thinks I’m some crazy fangirl! The lady needs your ID.” She said, pointing to the airport employee who works checking in the bags and stuff.

“But you ARE a crazy fangirl..” I said, giving her a quizzical look. I gave my ID to the lady and she printed out my ticket and handed it to me. I made sure my bags were checked in as well and started walking away from the check-in area.

“Yeah, well, he didn’t need to know that.”

I looked at the sign that said ‘Only passengers beyond this point’ then looked back at Stephanie. It hadn’t hit me until now that I wouldn’t be seeing her for months! I suddenly felt my stomach drop, like I was going down a steep hill on a roller coaster.

“What’s wrong?” She asked with a hint of worry in her voice, noticing my sudden change of mood.

“I’m going to miss you.” I could feel the water welling up in my eyes but I didn’t want to cry.

She sighed and I could see that she was about to cry too when she pulled me in for a tight hug.

We really were super close. We were both from Chicago and moved to New York City together a year and a half ago. Even though we lived in separate apartments, we still spent basically all of our time together. That’s why we had decided to look into buying a place together.

I broke the hug a couple minutes later and wiped the tears that had managed to trickle down my face. I offered her a smile and adjusted my carry-on bag that was hanging from my shoulder.

Stephanie smiled back and squeezed my hand. “Bye, have fun. Make sure you call me as soon as you land!”

I nodded and walked toward the gate. Right before walking through, I turned around and waved one last time.

She smiled and waved back.

Turning around, I looked at the people dashing past me and walked through the gate.

Well..this is it.