It's coming. The moment you've been dreading since their beautiful harmonies sent shivers down your spine for the first time back in 2008. The moment you've been trying not to think about since acquiring tickets to the last concert of their Greatest Hits Tour. The moment you never thought you'd be able to witness in the flesh: JLS's last song together.
Yet somehow you feel calm, almost as if the time is right. You don't want to feel calm though. As if witnessing the boys' last song together weren't enough to make one weak at the knees, they had chosen Hottest Girl In the World- your favourite. You want to do all you can to make this the night of your life, so you pop the lid off the bottle of Shloer you stole from your mum's wine rack and take a swig. People at school always said you can't have a party without alcohol, right?
With what must be drunkenness bubbling inside your gut, the bass kicks in and you scream as Aston switches from his usual husky soprano voice to a much sexier falsetto- marking the beginning of the end. Feeling quite literally like the hottest girl in the world right now, you push and shove your way to the front row where you can finally breathe. Except you can't because as soon as you reach the barrier, Aston split jumps off the stage, stopping you in your tracks. The chorus is near, and so is he, high-fiving every girl in the front row.
You flick your hair back and offer your sweating palm as the boys launch into their first series of "How does it feel to be the hottest girl in the world right now?". Aston is barely a metre away now, five hands away, four hands, three hands, two, one... Then the world stops. Or so it seems. Aston is your world and is it your imagination, or did he linger a little longer to take in your touch? Was he taken in by your beautiful eyes, or was it maybe your perfect smile? As if he's reading your mind, Aston smirks and sends you a cheeky wink.
Whatever happened next, you don't remember, but you find yourself being pushed backwards in the crowd with the sounds of adolescent screams piercing your eardrums. Finally at the back of the crowd, you sink to the ground dismally as the song comes to an end. This isn't the ending you wanted. You reach for the bottle of Shloer to begin drowning your sorrows but it is no where to be seen. Oritsé is giving some sort of sappy goodbye speech but you couldn't care less as you know your mum will kill you for stealing her liquor. With nothing left but a tiny shred of dignity, you scrape yourself off the floor and shuffle towards the exit as JLS group hug on stage behind your back while you can't bear to watch, knowing you'll cry.
Just as you are about to push open the exit door which is actually a pull-door, a woman wearing black trousers, a black polo shirt and a fancy headset calls over to you. You sigh, expecting her to chide you for leaving early, when she pulls a lanyard from her pocket and holds it out. It can't be. No. Surely not. A backstage pass? Suddenly nothing else matters, your mum can always buy herself some more Asda-price spirits.
A few long corridors and a set of double doors later, you find yourself before a door bearing a sign which reads "JLS". Only now you've arrived at the dressing room do you stop and wonder how on earth you ended up with a free backstage pass. You turn to ask the stage hand who led you here in the first place, but she is nowhere to be seen. Slightly suspicious. But you have more important things to think about. For example, what the heck you will say when you walk in the room. Hi, how are you? No, too formal. Hi, your concert was great! No, they already know that.
Before you can decide on the best course of action, the door swings open and the last thing you hear is a Oritsé's unmistakable voice crying out "I told you this would happen!" before a plume of smoke engulfs you.