Chapter One

Amanda

I'm sitting on a huge comfy seat on my flight back home. Oh god, I can't wait! My face is excitedly pressed to the cold window and I could see the clouds in big fluffy mounds all around the plane. I wonder what's down there, below those clouds. From a thousand feet in the air, the lakes look like rain puddles and the fields like multi-colored patchwork. For the second time I sigh in anticipation…I really can't wait to get back home where it is warm and sunny. Where I've got my family and friends and where I can eat all the rice I want. I drown in my thoughts of home when without warning my seat gives a strong jolt. I was thinking of some turbulence but then all of a sudden the plane churns out an awful crashing sound and something goes "bang!" and from my window I see one of the wings burst into bright red flames. I can feel my heart pound in my ears. The alarms go off and everyone in the plane screams in panic-including me. The idyll landscape I saw earlier is engulfed in black, poisonous smoke as the plane hurtles down-loud and fast and crashing-

I wake up with a start, drenched in cold sweat and shaking. Oh God. A nightmare. Just a freakin nightmare. Not real, Amanda. You can breathe now. Damn. I draw a deep breath and find that it's the middle of the night and I'm- where am I again? Dim-lit room, perfumed bed covers, the pastel wallpaper. I am in…London. In the twins' flat. Right. I slap my sweaty face awake and convince myself that I'm safe and alive and not on a crashing airplane. I'm okay, I tell myself, just not at home quite yet. Well, more like unable to go home, because earlier today I lost my passport and tickets at the train station, where I also almost died of being trampled on by screaming girls who're trailing after some celebrity. Yes, that was it. It's almost as horrible as the nightmare, thinking about it now. Thanks a mob of screaming teenage fan girls, I lost my passport and plane tickets on my supposed last day here in Britain.

"You alright, Amanda?" says a groggy voice.

The lights flip on and there was Sophie, sleepy-faced on my door, her usually perfect hair all over her pretty face.

"Yeah," I reassure her, "Just had a nightmare."

"Aww, you poor thing."

Sophie comes over and gives me a tight hug, "It'll be alright, love. We'll help you get your stuff back and even if we don't, we'll still…" she yawns, "…still find away to get you home soon, okay?"

"Okay," I say, smiling, "Thanks Soph."

We break apart and I feel really thankful and lucky to have Sophie and her twin sister Julia (who was obviously fast asleep) as my friends in the foreign student exchange program back in school. I came here to London about a year ago on a scholarship to study film and we've been inseparable since. They practically taught me all a stranger needs to know about this city and I don't think I could've survived a minute without them then. On the day I lost my things, they were the first ones to offer me a place to stay. I was already packed and was so ready to get home-in fact; I was on my way to the program's going-away party when I lost my things on the train station. Soph and Julia called me in a heartbeat. What on earth would I do without them? I shiver at the thought of being a homeless, passport-less, penniless 20 year old roaming the streets of London in this ridiculous autumn chill, begging like a hobo. Lucky, I tell myself, extremely lucky.

Sophie gets up from my bed and starts to walk back to her room. "You better get some sleep," she says, "Big day tomorrow, remember?" she gives me wide, excited grin.

"Yeah, I know right!"

I afford a nervous smile. The twins' dad is some big-shot executive in the studios where a new show was being taped, and he got me a slot in as a production assistant. Well it's more like assistant of the production assistant but its fine. As long as I have a job to keep myself alive for the next couple of months of being stuck here, it's all right. Really, it's more than anything I could ever hope for. I've heard teenage girls would kill and die to get the chance to just be on the same studio as the boyband I'll be working with first thing tomorrow. If only I could remember their name, though.

"What's the name of the band doing the show again, Soph?"

Her gray eyes grow large in disbelief like I've asked something outrageous. "Seriously Amanda!" she says incredulously, "Hottest boyband in the world, hello? How could you forget?"

"I'm sorry!"

"It's One Direction, silly! Now you better get to bed before you forget again."

And with that Sophie turns off my lights and I try to go back to sleep.

Harry

Bed. Finally.

Bloody long day. Paul's freaked out at me for telling the fans on Twitter we'd be at the train station today. Didn't really think it was classified information. So we almost got squished by the mob of fans, which was a bit scary. I even picked up this person's passport lying around the mess. Poor girl, whoever she is. I'll take care of that tomorrow. Anyway, I've apologized to Paul and to the rest of the crew. Yeah. And I suppose I'll treat him to some giant burgers tomorrow too but for now I gotta hit the sack. I'm so damn tired.