SIX
We hop out of the tour bus and onto the street in front of the bookstore where One Direction will have their signing/meet-and-greet. We see that there are three extra chairs set up at the table. Liam takes me by the hand and leads me down the stairs. He doesn't let go when we walk up to the table in front of screaming fans. He pulls out the seat second to the end and motions for me to sit there. Then he takes the seat beside mine.
Zayn sits next to me with Iana on his other side, and Harry and Scarlett come next. Then Niall and Louis sit down at the end. I don't understand what we're going to do. I'm guessing just sit here while they sign CDs and meet their fans. I watch as Liam stands and takes the microphone handed to him.
"Good afternoon, everyone!" he says cheerfully. "We'd like to introduce you to some really dear friends of ours! Here are Ceiba, Iana, and Scarlett!" Liam motions for us to stand, and we do. I wave and smile at the fans and they all fall silent as if they're about to cry.
"Who the fuck are they?" one of the fans shouts from the back. I immediately drop my hand and look to Scarlett and Iana. They're looking at me, too. Then I look at Liam, who glances at me with a concerned look on his face. I could feel this coming.
"Well, they're just friends of ours. Nothing more," Liam says quietly. Harry comes up and takes the mic from Liam. For a second, he just waves at the fans. Then he speaks.
"Erm… So basically… We think these girls are really nice and they're worth the fans meeting, too. We're hoping you guys love them as much as we do," Harry hands the mic back to Liam. The fans still seem a bit upset.
"Anyway, let's start!" Liam says cheerfully. He hands the mic back to the manager of the bookstore and takes his seat. He grabs my hand under the table and looks at me in a way that says "Don't worry about it." But how could I not worry? The fans probably hate me already and I'm terrified.
When the first fan walks up, she high-fives Niall, hugs Louis, IGNORES Scarlett, kisses Harry's cheek, completely IGNORES Iana, hugs Zayn, then she gets to me. She gives me a death stare. I smile up at her, just like I do to the girls at school that I know hate me.
"Hi. Can I help you with something? You seem to be staring pretty intently at me," I say sweetly. I know it bugs her. It always bugs someone when I do that.
"You guys better stay away from the boys. They can't be in relationships," the girl says in a voice I swear creeped me out so much. Liam grabs my hand again under the table. He can feel that I'm worried. I'm a bit obvious like that. I smile up at the girl.
"Since when do I follow orders?" I don't even try to attempt a wink. Yeah, the fans are going to hate me. I can feel it. The next few girls come by and they all smile at us girls. No more threats are given to me, and Liam stops worrying enough to let go of my hand. Some girls even ask for an autograph. I look to Liam and he approves, but I decide not to give out autographs. I don't want One Direction for fame, and I don't want it to look like I do.
Liam and I wish a few girls happy birthday. We say we hope another girl feels better and recovers quickly. Most of the fans seem to like me, I'm thinking it's because the guys have tried very hard to establish that we're just friends. I hug some girls and find that the guy directioners are fairly fond of Iana and Scarlett. I'm usually the least attractive friend. People ask for my phone number, but I deny them access to it. I do give out my Tumblr and Twitter, though. That took me a while to think through, but I finally allowed myself to do so.
After an hour of meeting fans, we go back to the tour bus. We all wave goodbye out the window and smile to the directioners. Some girls try to chase the bus, but they eventually tire of doing so and have to stop. The tour bus takes us back to my house, so I invite the guys in for the rest of the afternoon. The tour bus leaves and we are left with the guys at my house. The girls are to stay over again tonight, so we don't have to worry about their parents coming to get them while the guys are here.