Chapter 1: The Unexpected
Today is not my day. I can feel it. I just got fired. FIRED! I used to work as an assistant in a small shop. And they kicked me out, because they found out I was from Greece. How racist! They said they didn't want a foreign person working for them. How evil! And now what? What am I going to do? I have no job, no money. All I have is my boyfriend Luke and my friend Christine.
So just to clear things up a little bit: I'm just a girl, a common girl. My name is Amanda and I'm twenty one years old. I've got long blonde straight hair and green eyes. I used to live in Athens, but since the situation there was extremely hard, I decided to move to London and follow my dream: study music. Music is my life. Literally every time I have a problem I just sit down and write a song about it. And after that, somehow, I find the solution. Music can do magic. I know that.
And of course I've got a favourite band. One Direction. I admire these guys more than any other artist. They're so talented, very humble, very funny, but most of all they seem to be very nice people. They never brag, they just do what they're good at. And this is what brought them on top of the world. I want to make a career like them one day.
I'm walking down Oxford Street and I'm returning to my house, walking slowly and silently, when my phone rings.
"Hey, baby! It's me Luke!"
"Hi Luke" I say in a very sad voice.
"Everything alright?" he asks.
"I just got fired."
"What? Really? I can't believe this, you used to be so good!"
"I was just an assistant Luke..."
"Well, yeah, but you were good...Anyway, I'm sure you'll find something. I just wanted to tell
tell you that tonight I've got a concert. Would you like to come?"
"Umm look I told you I'm not okay. I don't feel like coming."
"But it's going to be great! You'll love me playing the guitar! Please, if you don't come, Christine won't come and John won't come either. There will be very few people..."
"So you don't really care about ME coming?! All you want is to have people?!"
The truth is Luke is a good musician. But he's got a problem. He's very selfish. All he cares about is himself. I just can't stand him anymore.
"Luke I can't do this anymore! You only care about yourself. I've asked you so many fucking times to put me in the band, help me with learning to play the guitar and you just ignore me and say that it's hard! You know what? I'm sick and tired of the way you treat me. I'm not important to you. It seems I'm not good enough for you!"
"Babe, wait..."
"No Luke! It's over, don't you see? It's not going to work out. You and me. It just wasn't meant to be!"
"Wait are you breaking up with me?"
"Yes. That's exactly what I'm doing!"
I hung up the phone. I'm so mad. I can't believe I hadn't told him how I feel all these months.
I'm now walking through a small park. I have no idea where I am, because I was so angry I wasn't paying attention on the road. I feel relieved that I took it all out of my chest. Things are finally fair. But on the other hand what am I going to do now? I have no job, no money and no boyfriend. Tears start falling down my face. I don't even care about ruining my makeup. I feel so alone and so small in a huge, huge world.
I find a bench and I just sit there. The tears have now turned into sobs. I can't stop it. My whole body is shaking. Thank God nobody is passing by. That would be so embarrassing.
Or at least that's what I think. There's a guy at the other entrance of the park. He's thin and he's got dark curly hair. He's wearing jeans and a t-shirt and his eyes are hidden behind Wayfarer sunglasses. I can't see him clearly, though, because the tears are blurring my vision. I just hope he leaves quickly and doesn't pay attention to me. I cover my face with my hands and wait. But that's when the unbelievable happens
"Can I help you, miss?"
I know that voice. Oh my God, that voice. It's so deep and manly, it's like heaven to my ears.
I throw my head back so quickly my neck hurts. I can't believe my own eyes. Harry Styles is standing right in front of me. He's tall, he's absolutely stunning and so sexy. He's even more handsome than he looks in videos. The first thing I want to do is start screaming. But I know I'm smarter than that. He asked if I needed help. I need to reply. Wake up Amanda!
"Harry? Is that really you?" My eyes are wide.
"Well, umm, yeah I'm Harry." he laughs a little. He looks sad, too. Now that he's taken his sunglasses off I can see his gorgeous eyes and they look a bit tired. "And you are...?"
"I am...umm...I mean my name is Amanda. Amanda Nikolatou." I reply a little stunned. I think I have died and gone to heaven. But wouldn't that mean that Harry is dead too? Last time I checked he was alive.
"It's nice to meet you Amanda. Would you mind if I sat here with you?"
"Are you kidding me? Of course I wouldn't mind!" I sound a bit too excited, but come on! You don't meet Harry Styles every day!
He laughs and then sits right next to me. Our legs touch a little. My heart is pounding so fast, I think it's going to jump out of my chest! His eyes meet mine and I'm in heaven.
"So Amanda, you seemed very sad before. Is everything alright?" he asks and he's still looking straight in my eyes.
"I actually...umm...kind of...broke up with my boyfriend and...I...I lost my job..." I said struggling not to burst into tears again.
"Oh that's...sad. I'm sorry to hear it. Where were you working?"
"I was actually an assistant at a small shop. You probably haven't heard of it. Nothing too special. It was not my dream job of course but..."
"What is your dream job?" He seemed really interested.
"My dream is to become a singer. Or a songwriter. I don't know something that has to do with music. I love music more than people sometimes..." Always I wanted to say, but I didn't. I just didn't want him to take me wrong.
"I understand. I used to say that, too." he mumbles looking down. He looks so cute. I can't believe I'm having a conversation with him!
"And now what? You don't say it anymore?" I have to try and think clearly. I don't want him to believe I'm crazy.
"Just sometimes. When I'm hurt by people..." he looks up again with a sad expression.
"You get hurt easily?" I ask carefully.
"Yes, I do. And I never liked that...Sometimes I'm super-sensitive."
All I want to do right now is hug him tight. But I can't do that. So I just say:
"It's okay, Harry. You're not alone..." I smile at him and he smiles, too. The sight is so beautiful, it makes me dizzy. "Can I ask you something?"
"Yeah?" He stares at me waiting.
"You seemed a little sad before when you came here...Is everything okay?" I hope I'm not being indiscreet.
"You noticed, huh?" He smiles at me but he looks unhappy. His eyes aren't smiling. "Well, there is something...I had this...fight. With Louis. You know the other guy from our band."
"Trust me I know all of you!" I said and he giggled. "So what happened with Louis? I mean if you want to share..." I blush.
"No it's okay, I'll tell you. You see, Louis is my best friend and he was mad at me for some reason I didn't know. And today I found out the reason was jealousy. He was jealous of me. That makes me sad, because I know that being jealous of your best friend is the worst feeling in the world. I used to be a little jealous of him, too, in the past, but now I overcame it. I know it's hard and there's nothing I can really do about it..." His eyes are watery and I don't like seeing him like this. It makes my heart ache. I wish I could comfort him somehow.
"Well I'm sure Louis will overcome it, too. But why is he jealous? He's very talented and very handsome like you are. What happened?"
"Thanks for your compliments. Honestly, I have no idea why he feels that way. Anyway I don't really like talking about that subject. Why don't you tell me something about yourself? Like...where are you from? Because your accent is not British." We both laugh at that a little. God Harry Styles wants to know something about me(!)
"Yeah, you're right I'm not British." I don't want to tell him I'm Greek. I'm scared he will treat me the way the others did at work.
"So where are you from then?" His eyes are curious.
God please help me. "I am from Greece actually..." I mumble. His reaction is not exactly what I expected.
"Greece?! You're kidding! I love Greek people so much and Greece is beautiful! I've only been there once, though, when I was a kid, but it was amazing! God, Greece! You should have told me earlier"
I'm so happy he took it so well! "We just met! It's nice down there. I miss it a little...And I miss my friends..."
His eyes look very compassionate. "Yeah I understand." His voice is deep and low. I love that. "How long have you been in London?"
"About...eight months. I came here to study music. I love England and it has always been my dream to live here."
"Yes, London is a beautiful place", he murmured.
I nodded. There was an awkward silence for about a minute. I decided to break it.
"Harry?"
"Yes?" He stared right into my eyes again. I felt dizzy.
"I was wondering...do you do this with all your fans? I mean sit and talk to them? Not that I don't like it, of course! I was just wondering..." Stupid, stupid, stupid! Do you want him to leave?
"The truth is no, I don't. I don't know why I said so much to you. You just...inspire me I guess..."
Harry Styles just said I inspire him. Who? Me! This is definitely the best thing anyone has ever said to me. I blush as always. I think this is one of my biggest flaws, blushing. I have light skin and it shows. And it's just embarrassing. "Thank you, that's very sweet of you."
"No problem," he replies. "Right now you probably think that I'm so boring and lonely and pathetic, but I'm not always like that. I'm usually more fun. It's just not my day."
"Don't worry about that. It wasn't my day either. Until I met you, of course!" I sound too excited again.
He grinned. "That's very flattering, Amanda," he looks at his watch. "So I guess I have to go now. I'm going to meet Liam, we have some important things to discuss. It was really nice meeting you, though." He stands up.
"It was nice to meet you, too, Harry." I can't hide the sadness in my voice and he notices.
"Come on, things are gonna get better, I'm sure of it."
"Thanks for the support, Harry" I sound even sadder now. I'm pathetic, I know. But I really don't want him to leave me.
"Hey, it's okay, really. You know what would help? A hug would help." And simple as that, he comes closer to me. He opens his arms and awkwardly hugs me around my shoulders. I place my hands on his back. After a few seconds he starts hugging me tighter, so I tighten my arms too. He giggles and lets me go. But it's not over yet.
"It would be great to see you again, Amanda. Do you want to give me your number? I would give you mine, but my manager doesn't allow me to."
I wonder why I didn't faint right when he said that. Harry Styles just asked for my number. I can't speak clearly. "I...I...yeah...sure...I mean I will tell you...I mean I will give you my number" I sound so desperate.
He takes out his mobile phone and I give him my number. I repeat it just to make sure it's the right one. He thanks me.
"I'll see you soon, then!", are his last words.
He walks away and gets out of the park. Damn his ass is really sexy.
I just stand there, completely unable to move. I think I might be dreaming. I pinch myself so hard, I start bleeding. I feel like the luckiest person alive. Not only did I meet Harry Styles, my idol, but he also seemed to like me, he asked for my number and he hugged me. My day is not as bad as I thought, after all. It's probably the best day of my life!
I walk towards the exit of the park. I need to get home and go back to my routine. But after today, nothing's gonna be the same. My life has changed. And who knows maybe tomorrow Harry decides to call me...