I'd been sitting on the beach for several hours; just waiting. I'd done my hair and my makeup, my brand new clothes were on, and I was watching the waves as they crashed against the sand. I was attending an Owl City concert at 7, but I'd been ready since 12. I knew I'd have to start queuing at about 5, so I had 5 hours to kill, and when I want to kill time, I always flee to my beach.
Adam was performing in the city, but luckily the venue was close to my house, so I didn't have to nag my parents for a lift. I'd payed for my ticket myself; I didn't want anyone else knowing. I've never had any close friends, and it would have just been awkward to bring someone along with me.
I ran the soft, grainy sand through my fingers, and squinted into the winter sun. A figure sat down beside me, but I didn't look to see who it was. 'I love this time of year.' A soft, American voice sounded. 'Yeah, whenever I wake up, I always open the window just to let in the crisp morning air.' I laughed and turned round to see who I was talking to.
'I spend most of my winters at beaches.' He said. He was so genuine. He didn't even know I recognised him. 'Have you ever been on a beach on Christmas Day? It's a family tradition in my house.' I giggled. 'No. I'll have to try it sometime. But only if you try something for me.' He grinned. I knew he was up to something, but I couldn't figure out what; typical Adam.
'You're not going to make me parade around my street in a Santa hat are you?' The words slipped out of my mouth. 'Oh no... You saw that?' He laughed, then face-palmed.
'Adam, you're basically my biggest hero in the whole world. You have no idea how much you mean to me, but I don't want to scare you with my masses of fangirling. If you didn't exist, I'd be dead. Adam, you've saved my life and I feel like I can't repay because I'm just a useless fangirl and there are thousands of people just like me out there. I don't know what to do, because I just want you in my life.' I threw my hand across my mouth and marvelled at the words I had just spoken. I didn't dare look at Adam, I would have been so disappointed with his reaction, and it was my entire fault.
Adam stood up and walked away. I just watched him go.
They say you should never meet your heroes. In my dreams he'd swept me off my feet, loved me for who I was, and been hilarious and serious at the same time. But that's just it, in my dreams, he was perfect. Adam himself had said it 'Reality is a lovely place, but I wouldn't want to live there.'
As I put my head in my hands, I heard someone walking back down the beach. I looked up, and Adam was charging straight towards me with a video camera in his hand. 'W-what are you doing?' I stuttered, holding back the old tears. He smiled his perfect smile and said 'I don't want to forget this memory.'
'Oh Adam!' I exclaimed. 'You're a sneaky little taco, aren't you?' He laughed, and then turned his camera on. For the next ten minutes, he ran up and down the beach, filming the sea, the clear winter sky, and me. When he finally sat back down, he was out of breath. 'You know,' He started talking 'Your accent is adorable.' I suddenly became self conscious; he was noticing things about me.
'I'm sorry if I react completely stupid, or take ages to reply to you, but I have social anxiety, and I'm a complete introvert, and when I talk to someone I don't know well, I get really...' I rambled.
'Aha, I completely understand! Wait, I never got your name. It's hard when people know your name and you're just like, um, yeah, hello... you!' He laughed a bit and looked at me. 'My name's Rachel.' I couldn't believe what was happening. I was in heaven. 'So, tell me about yourself, Rachel.' I nearly fainted right there and then. The way he said my name was like a dream.
'Well.' I couldn't think of anything I'd done that was even remotely interesting compared to him. 'I want to go travelling enough to say that I've gone travelling. I'm a complete introvert, I'm really, really shy. I'm happiest when I'm at my beach, or when I'm at home. My favourite colour is light green. I spend all my time on my laptop, I don't have many friends. I can't sing, I can drum and I can dance. Um.' I laughed nervously, and he didn't look that interested. 'You seem distracted' I said.
'I'm just a bit nervous about tonight. I am listening, I promise.' He reassured me. 'It's okay. I don't like talking about myself too much. Why are you nervous, you're naturally brilliant?' I tried to calm his nerves.
The wind picked up and I shivered. I was wearing three layers, and I was still cold. Adam took off his jacket, and handed it to me. 'Here. Warm yourself up.' He was so kind, and there was little old me, freaking out.
'AHAHA, ARE YOU SERIOUS?' I took the jacket and wrapped it around my shoulders. He looked at me, confused. 'I'm sorry; I'll try to tone it down.' I laughed a little and smiled at him, and received a smile in return. He looked at his wrist, and then said 'Oh, I probably need to get a watch. Do you have the time?' I looked at my phone, and told him it was 1. 'I need to be back for rehearsals and set up at 4, what should we do for 3 hours?' I could think of thousands of my possessions he could sign, hundreds of pictures we could take together, but I went for the casual "This happens to me everyday" approach.
'Well, I can think of loads of things. We could go to the theme park, stay here on the beach and muck around, go planking- Ooh sorry, owling. You could do a few small fangirl favours for me. We could go to my house and you could meet my family, or see my fan art.' I stopped myself before I seemed too crazed.
'I'd love to see your house! But I love this beach too. I mean, it's BEAUTIFUL.' I could tell he felt passionately about the sea; just like me. 'Would you mind if I filmed some things for my "Through the Lens" thing? Then we'll go to your house.' He chuckled warmly and sped off to film the waves.
I couldn't believe what was happening, but it was like talking to someone I'd known for years. Just the way he dressed was inspiring. He was wearing his jeans with a hole in the knee, his Onitsukas, and a "John Wayne Pizza Party" T-shirt. 'ADAM!' I exclaimed. 'Yes?' He turned round to film me, and I cringed. 'You ARE John Wayne Pizza Party!' He placed his finger over his lips and shushed me.
After more of his film frolicking, we walked off together. 'So where's your house then?' He asked, and I chuckled. I knew he'd love where I lived. 'Follow me!' I shouted, and ran off down the road. He sped up and ran alongside me.
We stopped at a huge building, and jumped into the lift. I pressed the top button and his eyes lit up. 'You live at the top?' I nodded. He jumped around like an excited 5 years old, and the doors opened.
Adam ran through the doors, and wandered around my home picking up ornaments, and pointing at furniture and laughing. My home was the first apartment where my Mother had let me decorate and design everything, so as you can guess, it was pretty exciting. My whole idea and inspiration had come from Adam, my beach, and nature. The floor and half of the walls were a light, grassy green, and the other half of the walls and the ceiling were blue with white, fluffy clouds dotted around. 'This is AMAZING' Adam laughed. 'This makes my house look like a prison cell!' He kept looking up.
'Well, interior design is one of my passions...' I mumbled. I didn't like having something better than Adam. 'It's just this room, the rest are pretty boring... I guess.' I rambled some more. He looked at me and I took the hint. We walked up the spiral staircase in the middle of the room, and along the glass walkway to my door. 'Don't be freaked out, okay?' I started blushing and opened the door for him to see. He gasped and walked in.
'Well this is, crazy.' His eyes widened and he started laughing uncontrollably. My room was one of my favourite places to be; maybe because of my introverted nature. I carried on my inspiration from nature in my room, but a bit more severe. I had little hills in the floor, and on one side of each there were little book shelves. The floor was fake, soft grass, and the whole ceiling was glass. The wallpaper was a giant picture of a forest, with green trees and birds littered everywhere. My bed was on a bigger 'hill', with wooden steps carved in. So, it was basically my heaven.
'I can't believe this place, it's just... Classic!' He looked at me in awe. 'I really want to visit here more often if I get the chance. Ooh and you said I could meet your family?' He seemed excited to meet my family, but I was really nervous. I looked at my watch, it was half 1. My parents wouldn't have been home for a few weeks, but my sister was due home any minute. 'My parents are out in London at a concert, but my sister should be here soon.' I told him. 'Oh, that's probably for the best,' He laughed, 'I'm not good with parents generally. I get all shy and introverted around them.' He giggled, and I saw a glimpse of the real Adam through his famous mask.
I heard a door open downstairs, and we went down to meet my sister. 'Sarah, you know Adam.' I bragged. 'Whoa, Adam Young? Rachel never shuts up about you, ever.' She laughed. 'How did she even find you? Oh lord; she didn't kidnap you, did she? Rachel, I've told you about this several times.' She told me off disapprovingly. 'Oh no, of course not; we met on a beach.' Adam reassured.
Adam and I strolled towards the door, and I called out 'I don't know where we're going or what we're about to do, but I'll text you when I'm on my way home.' We stood in the lift, and awkwardly I said 'What are we going to do?' He thought for a moment, and then decided on something. 'I'm not going to tell you, but you'll have to follow me.' With that the doors opened, he breathed in the fresh sea air, and then pulled out his phone.
I sat on a nearby bench, and he came and sat next to me, still chattering away on his mobile. 'I don't know. Okay, um, two of those? And... It needs to glow in the dark. I don't care if that isn't possible, it's important. Okay, sure, why not? Yes.' He was deadly serious, and I just stared at his face. He hung up and looked back at me.
'This day has been hilarious. I don't know what I could do to top this... I'll show you a surprise.' He asked. I was honoured; this city was one of the best, and I was always eager to explore it. I'd always done it on my own, so Adam showing me around was even more amazing. I nodded so eagerly, I looked like a llama having a stroke, and he whisked me away. We took the nearest taxi, and Adam called out to the driver 'The car park on Tidal Street please.' Every word he said came out so smoothly and beautiful, I just couldn't stop staring.
'You know, Adam, you asked me about myself, but you've never told me about you. I know some things about you, but...' I rambled, and he looked into my eyes. 'Would you like to know something no one else knows?' I nodded. 'Here's my happy place.' And he indicated to the window. The driver parked and we got out the taxi. Adam payed the driver and I looked around. We were in a car park, surround by buildings. 'I hate to disappoint you Adam, but I'm not that impressed.' I told him, and he laughed at my foolishness.
He didn't say a word, but walked towards a large, sphere shaped building with a huge sign that read 'Dreams'. He stood in front of it and grinned at me. 'I've never shown anyone this before. It's my secret project.'
'You met me today at a beach. I'm just a fan, and you've spent...' I looked at my watch; 2pm. '2 hours with me, and now you want to show me a secret you've been keeping from everyone you know and love?' I asked, astonished and honoured. He burst out laughing and charmed me. 'What can I say; I get caught up in the moment.' He opened the door and ran in. I followed gingerly, not knowing what he was hiding.
The room was completely black, I couldn't see anything, and more importantly, I couldn't see Adam. All at once, a blast of music came from behind me, lights blinded me and lit up the walls and ceiling. Adam jumped out from the shadows, and screamed over the music 'WELCOME TO HEAVEN ON EARTH.' I laughed violently. The walls and ceiling were plastered with a huge painting of planets and stars. There was a purple and blue hint to it all, and it was unbelievably beautiful. The room was huge.
The floor was covered with bits of paper, and it had a mix of everything; little notes and massive paragraphs, tiny doodles and huge paintings, single words and giant paragraphs.
'Do you like it yet?' Adam appeared beside me. 'This where I come for my inspiration.' I smiled at him, completely speechless. Adam ran to the middle of the room where a single circular table stood, grabbed one of hundreds of cameras off the surface, and jogged back. He proceeded to take a picture of me with a Polaroid, and it instantly printed out. He shook the picture softly and tossed it on the floor to join thousands of other photographs.
He went back to the table, jumped over the surface, and ducked down. The music changed to something more upbeat and electronic. It seemed louder, and I couldn't stop myself from dancing. He jumped onto the table and started dancing too. We both laughed and smiled and then next few hours turned to a blurry happy mess; we acted our shoe sizes.
When the music stopped we were messes. I was laughing so hard I could feel myself producing a six pack. He turned off the lights, and we walked out. He asked for the time. It was 4. 'WHAT? I'm supposed to be setting up now!' He started panicking. 'Relax Adam. The venue is close to here; if we run, we should get there in no time.' I tried to calm him down, and then we ran.
By the time we reached the venue, it was only 5 past. There were two fangirls already waiting and Adam ran up to them, hugged them both and thanked them for being so loyal. He proceeded to take pictures with them both, signed their t-shirts, and got their names. The girls were both bright red, and he turned to look at me. 'Rachel, would you mind coming backstage with me? I mean, if you want to queue so you can get a good seat, you can. I just need some encouragement and you're a genuine person...' He acted nervous now, and I could tell this was a big show for him. I smiled, and followed him through the door labelled 'To the Stage.'
I was stared at by a few of the OC crew, and Adam explained. 'I met her at the beach earlier, she's coming to the concert anyway and I've chatted to her for a bit. She's really nice but she's also a bit introverted and shy so don't stare!' He laughed, and I could tell the crew were like family to him.
For the next few hours, I chatted to the crew and band members. They made me some tea, and I talked to them about everything I could think of. They were all so nice and I could see why they meant so much to Adam. The doors were about to open, and after watching Adam rehearse a bit, I was whisked backstage. He started shaking, and Unicorn Kid gave him a big hug before going on stage. All the crew got to work, and I could see and hear everything from the wings. Breanne went on after Unicorn Kid, and I was really excited for Adam.
He said 'I have a surprise for you. When I cue you, you can come on stage and dance with me to Umbrella Beach. I've asked the band and they said they would extend the instrumental just so we can dance together for a while longer. Oh, and you can come on and do a drum solo, and sing the last line of the show.'
I gasped. This was amazing, I couldn't believe it. I was going to dance with Adam Young. On stage. In front of thousands of people. And drum. And sing. 'Adam, this is incredible. Yes, I'll do it.' He grinned, and stated 'Someone will tell you when you can come on stage.'
I watched from the wings as he sang and danced and drummed and shouted for his life as his introverted self disappeared. Before I knew it, Umbrella Beach came on and Adam said 'Ladies and Gentlemen, I have a surprise for you tonight. I've only met this girl today but already she means so much to me, and it gives me great honour to introduce Rachel!' He looked at me and I strode on stage with all the swag I had in me. I looked at the crowd.
There were thousands of people all grinning at me. I waved at them, took the microphone Adam was handing me, and said 'Audience? What are you doing watching an extremely introverted person dance on stage?' I laughed, and so did the crowd. 'I'm so honoured to do this. It's like my dream come true, and Adam is the nicest person I've ever had the pleasure of meeting.' I looked at Adam, and he gave me the thumbs up. The band started to play the section just before the upbeat bit in Umbrella Beach again, and I prepared myself. I waved at the audience again, and Adam finished singing.
I started dancing around the stage, owning it, and Adam joined in. The crowd kept laughing and cheering, and I couldn't believe it. When the instrumental finished, Adam started singing again, and I sat down on a stool and couldn't stop laughing. It was such a good feeling when the crowd was cheering for you. The adrenaline rushed through me, and I was having the time of my life. Adam pulled up another stool after the song finished, and said 'Rachel, I'd like to dedicate this song to you. Maybe it will turn out to be a duet. It depends how confident you're feeling.' He kept laughing and handed me a microphone. I went bright red, and talked into the mic. 'You should know that I can't sing.' 'That's fine! Just have fun; no one cares if you can't sing.' He grinned at me, and looked into my eyes. He grabbed his keyboard piano and pulled it round to where he was sitting. 'Met a girl in the parking lot...'
The band chirped up and I laughed. I pulled the microphone to my mouth. 'And all I did was say, hello.' I sang out of tune, and the whole crowd laughed. Adam continued; 'Her pepper spray made it rather hard...' I sang 'For me to walk her home.' We both sang 'But I guess that's the way it goes.' And I laughed uncontrollably.
He sang the chorus to me, and we sang the verses alternately. The entire song he was looking into my eyes, and every time he sang, he leant his whole body forwards and sang in his soft, charming, American voice.
I went off stage afterwards to recover, and ate some bourbons. I could hear him singing while I was backstage, and he was giggling the whole time. He asked for me to come back on stage at the end, and the whole band walked off. I sat on the stool and he said 'I want to do you a favour. You can ask me one question on this stage in front of all my fans, and I'll answer it truthfully.'
I marvelled at what I could say. I grabbed a microphone and asked 'What should I ask him?' The crowd screamed out millions of suggestions. I saw a sign saying "John Wayne Pizza Party" and thought about it. 'Okay Adam, I have a question.' He laughed and said 'You're planning something, I know it.' I nodded.
'Adam Young. Are you John Wayne Pizza Party?' I grinned and stuck my tongue out. He giggled like a 5 year old, and he admitted 'Yes.' The whole crowd went wild. It was the funniest thing. A girl on the front row screamed 'I WAS RIGHT!' I recognised her from Twitter. She was Courtney, and she was hilarious. 'Adam, if you'll let me, can I pick out some people I know from the crowd and let them come up on stage?' I asked politely. 'Sure, I love all my fans, so whoever you want!' Adam was too kind.
'Courtney! Get up here.' I smiled and she screamed excitedly. As she worked her way up to the stage I scanned the crowd and found more people. 'Bethany!' I found her on the second level on the crowd. 'Lilly!' She was in amongst the crowd on the first floor. When they'd all worked their way up on stage, they hugged me and then hugged Adam. We all shared a laugh and I appreciated how nice it was to see my online friends in real life.
'You know,' said Adam 'It's really nice to see my fans getting along. That's the difference between us and the other fandoms. Beliebers and 1Directioners will always fight, but we're here till the end, together.' Adam talked about how much he loved every single one of us, and how he used to be so different to how he is now. 'I'm going to sign things and hug people in the crowd after the show is finished if anyone wants anything.' 'Rachel, I heard you play the drums?' He laughed and winked at me, and I ran towards the empty drum kit.
Of course, I gave it everything I had. Everyone on stage was dancing, and Adam was jamming. It was hilarious, and by the time I was done the concert was supposed to end. The whole band came back on and they played one last song while I cooled off back stage. They finished, Adam ran towards me and he hugged me. 'You were brilliant.' He complimented. I giggled and blushed, and realised every time he hugged me, he had to bend down.
When everyone had refreshed, I followed Adam down the corridor to the audience that had stayed to hug him, and watched him be adored by fans. I was surprised by how many had stayed, but most of them were dedicated, so I wouldn't dare to insult them. I smiled every time Adam looked over, and when he was finally done, it was 11pm. I told him the time and he said 'Well, I'm worn out. Do you mind if I go home? I'm just really tired, but I want to spend more time with you...' I smiled at his remark, and I took his phone from out of his pocket. I my number into his mobile and gave it back, smiled, and hugged him goodbye. I was walking towards the door when he shouted 'Wait!'
I turned round, and he told me he was worried about me walking home so late. 'I'll drive you home; I remember where you live.' I thanked him with another hug, and he walked me outside. He pointed to a huge black range rover. 'I know it's a bit macho, but I kind of like it.' He smirked and opened the passenger door for me. I thanked him and jumped in. It smelt like new car, and freshly baked bread. 'Adam, why does everything you own smell amazing?' He laughed at me, and turned on the radio. "It's time to play: INUENDO BINGO!" The radio blared, and Adam choked. He put in a CD, and out came Coldplay. 'I didn't know you liked Coldplay.' I said.
'Well, their new album was too amazing for me to dislike them!' He chuckled. He put on Hurts like Heaven, and we both sang along. After a while he stopped in front of my apartment. 'You're lucky to be living so close to the ocean. I only moved here a few months ago and I've been visiting a beach almost every day.' He smiled at me.
I jumped out the car and said 'Make sure you call me soon. I'd love to do this again some time.' I grinned at him and shut the door. I could see him waving through the window, and he slowly drove away. I watched him leave and walked to the lift, and returned safely home. My sister was making a cup of tea, and asked 'Where have you been?' I told her I'd been to a concert, and I'd enjoyed myself. She asked 'Was it good then?' as I was walking up the staircase. 'I can only say one thing. Dreams don't turn to dust...' and with that the day was over.
I woke up with an instant smile on my face. The night I'd had a few days ago was unforgettable. I realised my phone was ringing, so I answered it. 'Hello?' I called out. 'Hi Rachel!' I could tell it was Adam, and he laughed down the phone. I instantly woke up, and replied 'What are you up to today?' 'Well, I'm not sure yet, but the band is busy for the whole day, so I'm free if you want to do something?' I still couldn't believe I was talking to Adam Young. My hero was on the phone with me, had sang to me on stage; it was still crazy but it made me so happy, I had no idea what to do. 'Well, if you want to come over I'm sure we could figure out something.' I tried to seem casual.
He had told me he'd be over in five minutes, and I hung up. Only then did I realise that I was still in my pyjamas. I frantically jumped up, grabbed some reasonable clothes out of my wardrobe, threw on some makeup and straightened my hair. It took about 6 minutes but just as I finished I heard someone at the door. Thank God for my slow lift.
I ran downstairs and opened the door. Adam was standing there smiling at me, looking perfect as usual. 'You look nice today.' He said. 'Really? Wait, I mean, pfft, of course.' I was already making a fool of myself, nice one. 'Would you like to come in?' I asked. He nodded, and strode in. He was wearing some jeans and a t-shirt with pacman on it. He sat down on a stool in the kitchen.
'Would you like a cup of tea?' I asked politely. He nodded, and I put the kettle on. He started talking. 'I've been thinking about where we can go today. I thought maybe the beach again. Because we only really sat on the sand and I would quite like to explore and film more. And we could walk along the coastal path, have some ice cream. Does that sound good?' He seemed eager to impress. He jumped up, whipped out his camera and filmed bits of my house. My sister's boyfriend came down the stairs and smiled. I'll have a cup of tea if you're making one.' He said. I nodded in agreement, and went to fetch another cup. Adam came to sit back down, and drank his tea. When he'd finished, I got my jacket and we walked out of the apartment. 'I'll be back later.' I called out as we left.
When we reached the ground floor, the doors opened and my phone rang. It was Shannon. We agreed to meet just outside my apartment in ten minutes, and Adam agreed to wait. He was excited because Shannon was a fan too.
When we finally met up, Shannon hugged Adam for a long time, and it was hilarious. When she finally let go, Adam laughed out loud and we walked towards the beach. Adam instantly climbed the rocks and got his camera out. He jumped around like a monkey filming things, while Shannon and I were rolling around on the sand laughing hysterically. After a whole morning of messing about and filming things, Shannon went home, and it was just me and Adam again.
When we were alone together, Adam seemed to revert back to his cute, introverted, adorable self. We sat in silence for a few minutes, and then he got his camera out and said; 'Here, watch some of the stuff I've got.' I took the camera and pressed play on the first video. It was me burying my feet in the sand. I laughed and watched the next one. It was me standing in the sea, laughing my face off. I watched a couple more, some were of the waves and the rocks, some were of me, and one was of him. I pressed play and he started talking to the camera.
He started off going 'Hi camera. Um, so Rachel is over on the sand, dancing and mucking about. I really want to tell her what's going to happen but I can't bring myself-' Adam turned it off, and took the camera back. He looked down and I was confused. Why was he hiding something from me? And more importantly, what was he hiding? 'Adam, do you have something to tell me?' I asked. I was worried, and I didn't know how severe it could be.
'I'm going on tour tomorrow.' He let it burst out. 'I know that. I'm a rabid fan, remember?' I reminded him. 'I don't want to leave you here. I love spending time with you. It's been absolutely magical, and I wish we could just live together or... You could be in my band and come on tour with us, or be in my crew.' He rambled.
'Gosh, Adam. I love spending time with you too, but imagine what my parents will do when they get home and I'm not living there anymore.' I chuckled at the image in my head, then continued 'And what about my education? I mean, I would be willing to run away from my parents and my home to go on tour with you, and they might understand, but I'm still in school. I would need some form of education at least.' I moaned.
'I've got that covered.' Adam smiled. 'Wait, what?' I stuttered. 'I knew you would need some education so I hired a tutor to teach you all the subjects you chose for you GCSE's. And I phoned your school and they said they approve of your tutor.' He smirked and looked into my eyes.
'So I could go?' I smiled, and pulled my phone out of my pocket. 'Hi. Yeah. This is an emergency. Yes. Would I lie to you? Pfft. Anyway. Adam Young has asked me to go on tour with him, and he hired a tutor and everything... No I'm not lying. Yes he's right here if you want to talk to him.' I handed the phone to Adam, and mouthed the words "Good luck."
'Hello.' He said in his charming accent. 'Yes, it is actually me. No I have no done anything inappropriate to your daughter. Yes I hired a tutor... The school approved of them. Yes. No. Not every day, but sometimes I just let it grow. Yes, I keep my beard in good condition. Always have, always will. Okay. We'll be on tour for about 3 months. Okay, goodbye.' He hung up and passed the phone back to me. He looked down.
'Please tell me they said yes.' I pleaded. Adam smirked. 'THEY SAID YES.' I screamed in excitement, jumped up, hugged Adam and danced my way into the ocean. 'Careful, you'll get your clothes wet. Plus, it's less than 10 degrees out here!' Adam called out to me. I didn't care. I was going on tour with Adam Young. And I was allowed.
After a huge song and dance in the sea, I ran back up the sand and said 'I need to pack.' And we walked across the road, went up the lift, and arrived in my apartment just in time for lunch. I made him a sandwich, and then put my huge suitcase on the floor. I ran around my house frantically packing everything I could possibly need. After I filled one suitcase, I took my sister's. In the end I'd packed all my clothes, millions of random little things from the surfaces of my room, and all the vital things. Adam had been watching the whole time, and when he'd finished his lunch, I gave him my laptop.
When I'd finally finished packing, I looked at what he was doing, and realised he was making a blog post. I smiled, and read a little bit over his shoulder before he realised and stopped me. He was doing a sweet blog post where he tells a story about someone he loves. I started blushing, and went to go and tell my sister what had happened. By the time I had come back, he was finished blogging. I packed my laptop, and carried a suitcase to the lift. Adam carried the other one, and together we waddled down the narrow street with heavy suitcases to the tour bus. It didn't leave till midnight, so we decided to go shopping for new things we needed for the tour.
Adam didn't buy much, but I bought a load of cute stuff, because I was eager to impress Adam and his touring crew. I didn't have any money with me, but Adam insisted that he bought everything for me. By the time we got back on the touring bus, it was 8pm. People who were going to be touring with Adam were starting to appear on the bus. I saw Breanne and Andy chatting, and they both waved at me excitedly. The bus was amazing, there was so much space, and there were separate rooms inside it.
An hour before we set off, the whole band decided to do a live stream. It was complete madness, and all the crew were hilarious. After a while, I was introduced to the fans, and I did a Q & A with Adam. The first question was "How did you meet?" Adam replied with 'Well, I was nervous so I went to the beach, and I saw Rachel sat down looking sad, so I went to go cheer her up. I didn't know she was a fan, but I knew she was beautiful and needed a hug.' He said. I smiled at him; he was so adorable and caring.
The next question was "When are you happiest?" Adam replied 'When I'm on stage in front of the screaming crowd, or when I'm at the sea.' I laughed. 'Yes, I feel the same. I'm also happiest when I'm listening to Owl City, or when I'm chatting to my twitter friends.' I smiled at the camera and laughed nervously.
There were loads of questions, all of which ended awkwardly, but the end question was special to me. The question was "Who matters most to you and why?" I answered first; 'My family, my kitten, my twitter friends, and Adam.' I smiled and waited for Adam's answer. 'Well, I love my family, my second family...' He smiled at the crowd watching us on the tour bus. They all smiled or waved back. '...The fans, and Rachel.' Everyone on the live chat either said "Awwww!" or 'Cute' and I laughed. I saw some name I recognised on chat and said Hello to them. Adam stood up, announced he was going to sleep, and everyone left. 'You can finish the live stream when you like.' He smiled at me before he closed the door.
'Well.' I laughed at the people on the live chat. 'Would anyone like me to explain what has happened, and why I'm sat here on the tour bus?' I asked the loyal Hoot Owls. There were a lot of people saying 'Yes' so I continued. 'I was sitting on the beach, and because the Owl City concert was that night and in my neighbourhood, I could walk to it. I was waiting on the beach when Adam came and sat next to me. We talked and mucked around and explored for hours. He took me backstage at the concert, and I sang, danced and drummed onstage. I gave him my number and a few days later we met up again and had a blast. He said he didn't want to leave me because we have so much fun together, and invited me on tour. My parents were okay with it, Adam hired a tutor, and I frantically packed and bought for this. So here I am. And we're about to leave for this tour. Isn't this exciting?'
I finished the live stream and said goodbye just as the bus started moving. I decided I was going to go to sleep, so I chose a bed and fell fast asleep.
When I woke up in the morning I ran to the bathroom to shower before I could bump into Adam. It was tiny and cramped but at least there was a mirror. I fixed my makeup and walked down to the first level of the bus. A few members of the crew were awake and were eating their breakfast, so I went to join them. We laughed and joked around for a bit, and after a while Adam came down the stairs and sat next to me. 'Good Morning.' He said to me. I giggled and drank my tea. 'Today is the first stop on our tour. It's in Paris...' He told me. Going to Paris was one of the places I wanted to visit before I died, and I'd told Adam about that the day before.
My eyes lit up and I grinned at him. 'So are we in France right now?' I asked excitedly. He nodded and the crew laughed at me. 'We'll be arriving in Paris in an hour!' The bus driver called from the front. 'Wait, does that mean we can explore Paris all day?' I asked. 'Yes. Is there anyone you talked to on twitter that is coming to the concert tonight?' He asked.
I gasped. I didn't even know, so I ran to fetch my laptop, went on twitter and asked. Delitcia replied, and we instantly organised a time to meet up. I was going to bring Adam with me, but she didn't know it yet.
Adam asked me to follow him upstairs, and he rummaged around in his bag until he pulled out a wrapped present. It was a rectangular shape, with curved edges. It was wrapped in bright green wrapping paper, tied with paper string. He handed it to me and said 'I don't want you to forget these memories. What's the point in going somewhere if you have nothing to show for it?' He smiled at me and I tore through the wrapping.
It was a brand new video camera. I jumped up and down and hugged Adam with everything I had in me. I ran around the bus filming everything and everyone.
When the bus stopped, we all piled off and agreed to meet at the venue at 5pm. Me and Adam smiled at each other, and then we ran to where we'd agreed to meet Delitcia. Adam hid behind a corner, and I ran towards her.
We hugged and laughed nervously for a while, before I said 'I have someone you might like to meet.' Adam walked out from the corner, and Delitcia squealed with excitement. They'd met before, but only briefly, so they got along instantly.
For a few minutes we stood there talking, before Adam asked 'What do we want to do today?' He laughed and looked at me. 'Well, we're in Paris. We could do anything!' I laughed and continued, 'I think we should film some more stuff for your "Through the Lens" thing.' I hinted at Adam. He smiled as he stood in-between us both. 'You could make your own thing with your new camera. You know, "Through the lens of Rachel.' He laughed and then he grabbed our hands, and we all ran.
After a few hours of acting like children, Delitcia had to go and get ready, so Adam handed her a VIP pass and she hugged him in delight. After she'd left, Adam and I strolled to the venue. On the way we passed a man holding a huge bundle of balloons. Adam let go of my hand and stormed towards the man.
I laughed out loud and called out 'Adam! Don't!' He payed the man and took all of the balloons. I couldn't stop laughing and we had the biggest grins on our faces. He handed me half of them and we walked down the path laughing and smiling at each other. When we reached the venue we were stumbling around, and most of the people we had passed had given us weird looks. I had filmed a lot of things and taken a lot of pictures. Adam seemed so proud.
We walked onto the stage and looked out to the seating. This venue was a lot bigger than the one in my hometown. Adam took a deep breath and rolled up his sleeves. I hugged him for comfort and watched him practise with his band.
When the doors were about to open Adam came up to me. 'I want you to experience some of the actual concert, but if you want to come backstage just walk through the doors.' He smiled and handed me a backstage pass. I laughed and thanked him, then waited at the front.
The crowd poured in, filling up the venue with excited teenagers and bored parents. The show was amazing. I filmed a lot of Adam singing, and every time I got out my camera, he would look over and smile. On the last song, Adam turned serious. 'A few days ago, I met a girl.' He said. He beckoned for me to come up on stage, and I blushed. A stage hand placed a stool on stage and I went to go and sit on it.
Adam continued; 'I haven't known her for very long, but she means the world to me now. I wrote a song about her.' I gasped and blushed. He took a bouquet of flowers from a stagehand and handed them to me. I laughed and snorted unattractively. He started singing a beautiful song, and I was amazed how someone could write such an amazing song in a few days.
When he'd finished, I was unbelievably red. The crowd poured outside and I went backstage. Delitcia joined me and we happily skipped through the corridor to the dressing room. Adam was sitting on a chair with a Choco Taco. He noticed Delitcia and stood up. He signed some of her stuff and took lots of pictures with her, and kept smiling and laughing.
When Delitcia and I had waved and hugged goodbye, the crew started packing up and within half an hour, everyone was on the tour bus and ready to go. Adam sat on a sofa on the first floor, and everybody else went to sleep, so I sat next to him. He took his laptop out and started clicking and typing various things.
I put all the things I had filmed from that day onto my laptop, and edited them into a video. Adam noticed and said 'You can use any of my music if you like.' He was so kind.
When I'd finished, I uploaded it onto YouTube, and he shared it on Twitter. After 10 minutes it had 50 comments, and I couldn't stop smiling. I looked at Adam's laptop and noticed he was editing a video too. 'You can use my music too if you like.' I joked. He chuckled and closed his laptop.
He went across the room to the CD player. He put a CD into it and pressed play. He walked back to where I was sitting, put out his hand and asked 'Would you like to dance?' He smiled his innocent, wonderful smile at me, and I blushed uncontrollably. 'But I thought you said you didn't like dancing?' I asked.
'Okay let me rephrase that. Would you like to hug me and waddle around a bit?' He giggled. I stood up, took his hand and hugged him close. The song that was on was 'The Book of Love' by Peter Gabriel. My eyes starting welling up, so I sniffed. He smelt so good; like a cross between a fresh meadow and a bakery. He held me close and we slow danced around the room. He was so warm and gentle, I just wanted more than anything for that moment to last forever.
When the song finished he looked into my eyes, pushed my hair out of my face and kissed me on the cheek. He let go of me, didn't say a word and ran upstairs. I felt dizzy, sat down and sighed. He was so perfect, how did he feel about me? He was sending mixed signals all over the shop.
I must have fallen asleep on the sofa. When I woke up, I had a blanket over me. Adam was in the kitchen section, and asked in a hilariously bad English accent 'Would you like tea or porridge?' I laughed at him, and politely asked for porridge. 'Where are we today?' I asked the bus driver. 'We're in Belgium!' He called back.
Adam looked at me excitedly, and handed me my bowl of hot porridge. 'We're rehearsing all day, so you can come and watch if you like. Or you can go and explore?' He hinted at me. 'I'll... 'I'll watch you rehearse. I could never pass up an opportunity to watch you work your magic.' I laughed and ate a spoonful of porridge.
The next few days were magical as usual. I'd love to go into detail but you'd probably lose interest, so I'll just explain the important bits. Every day I'd watch him rehearse, and we'd explore and film together. He'd do something cute or hilarious every day, but not once did he mention the kiss.
9 days after the whole dancing commotion, the venue was in Ireland. I was extremely excited for this, because it meant I had a whole day walking the coastal path with Adam. It was Christmas Eve, so we pulled on all our scarves, gloves, hats and coats. I was completely wrapped up, but my feet still went numb in the harsh snow. When we reached the top of a large hill, we realised there were no prints in the snow at all.
We ran around writing and drawing things in the sand with our feet, laughing and taking pictures. When we'd finished, we sat down on a snowy bench and I looked at him. 'Adam, what was that dance all about?' I asked. He was silent for a while. I couldn't tell whether he was thinking or just being awkward.
'I don't know. It felt right.' He admitted. I didn't dare ask any more questions. I didn't want to offend him or make him uncomfortable. 'I think I'm falling for you.' He said.
