I couldn't keep my gaze off Niall the entire night. Every time I looked at another one of the boys, my eyes seemed to snap back automatically toward him. Not that I was complaining.
All five boys kept glancing at Jo and me intermittently throughout the concert, Zayn and Louis especially, winking and blowing kisses. The girls sitting next to me swore the two boys were flirting with them, and I giggled at them inside my head. Oh well, at least they'll have a story to tell later. Maybe even some pictures to "prove" it.
About halfway through the show, the boys were singing More Than This on a sofa in the middle of the stage. When they finished that song, they all turned to look at Niall. There was a couple moments' silence, first filled with applause and cheers, then with confused whispers and questions. Niall smiled sheepishly at the boys before picking up his microphone and saying, "Do you guys want to help me with something?" The crowd interrupted in screams and cheers. My heart hammered—this was his first monologue of the concert, and even his voice made my knees weak.
"You see, there's a very special girl in the audience tonight," he continued, "and I'd like to pull her up onstage, if that's okay with you." Some of the girls in the audience looked confused, but most screamed, obviously thinking he was going to take a fan onstage.
My heart had already been racing, but when I realized he was talking about me, it felt like the blades of a helicopter were beating against my ribcage. Niall knelt down at the edge of the stage, said something to a security guard and pointed at me. "The one in the white dress," I heard him say. He stood back up and winked at me before joining the other guys back at the center of the stage.
The security guard helped me climb over the low guardrail and escorted me to a hidden set of stairs at the side of the stage. I walked up the steps carefully, watching my feet to make sure I didn't trip. Three more, two more, one more, I told myself slowly, counting smoothly in my head. When I stepped onto the stage I looked up and found myself staring into the big blue eyes of Niall Horan.
He entwined his hand with mine and whispered in my ear. "I hope this is okay. I really wanted to continue our perfect date." I smiled and squeezed his hand.
"You really know how to make a girl feel special," I said, flashing my teeth again. He swiftly kissed my cheek, earning loud cheers from the audience, and pulled me toward the others.
He sat down on the sofa that was still placed in the middle of the stage, and, considering that our hands were still connected, I fell on top of him rather clumsily. My cheeks flushed red and I tried to pull away, but his arms wrapped around my waist, holding me to him. "Very graceful Stells," he commented with a chuckle. I playfully smacked his arm, but he just kissed my cheek again.
I looked into the crowd and was surprised to find that I couldn't see anyone at all. Where I knew there was a wall of screaming girls, I could only see bright lights and camera flashes. I could still hear them, but the noise was rather muted from the stage, and I couldn't separate individual words like I could from my seat. I looked to my left and saw Harry strutting toward center stage, microphone in hand.
"This is Stella, and as you can tell, she's a rather good… friend…of Niall's," he said, to the laughter of the other four guys. "He begged and begged us to let him sing her a song, and, being the awesome bandmates that we are, we agreed." Here, Niall rolled his eyes. "So Niall is singing this song to his beautiful girlfriend over there, isn't that sweet?!" I heard cheers and screams as the music started playing.
Girl I see it in your eyes you're disappointed, cuz I'm the foolish one that you anointed with your heart, I tore it apart. Liam's voice resonated across the entire stadium, accompanied by thousands of others. Niall swayed us gently back and forth to the music, mouthing the lyrics silently. And girl what a mess I made upon your innocence, no woman in the world deserves this, but here I am asking you for one more chance.
Can we fall one more time, stop the tape and rewind, oh and if you walk away I know I'll fade cuz there is nobody else. Niall stood up, and offered me his hand. I took it and watched as he placed his microphone on the sofa and flicked a switch on the one attached to the side of his face.
He led me around the side of the sofa to an open space of about ten feet, before wrapping both his arms gently around my waist. I placed my arms around his neck, playing with the curls there. I stood on my tiptoes, feeling short even though he was only five foot seven. This time, Niall sang along with the other four boys. It's gotta be you, only you, it's got to be you, oh only you…
I felt rather than saw him lean in to kiss me. I angled my face so his lips could meet mine and felt fireworks for the umpteenth time that day. I leaned into him, wanting to deepen the kiss, but knowing that that was hardly appropriate for our location. I instead pulled away after a few seconds, keeping my hands around his neck and my forehead pressed against his. I smiled as the other four boys finished the song, Niall and I singing along with the chorus. The moment was so perfect and right that I could not help the tears that pricked at the corners of my eyes. I tried to hold them back, but the emotion of the moment caused a single tear to stream down each cheek, flowing over my still smiling lips. Niall quickly wiped them away with his thumb, kissing my forehead in the process.
"We have a very special song up next for you all!" Louis shouted over the cheers of the crowd. I was still staring into Niall's beautiful eyes, but in my peripheral vision I saw something red flash at the end of the stage. I turned toward the color defensively, not feeling completely comfortable with my somewhat blinding surroundings, and was surprised to see Harry pulling Jo up the stairs. She looked at me through wide eyes, smiling through the shock. Without further introduction, the beginning to One Thing started playing, and Jo and I freaked out.
I've tried playing it cool, but when I'm looking at you, I can't ever be brave cuz you make my heart race. Liam walked over to where Jo and I stood dancing at the side of the stage and twirled us each around while he sang.
Shot me out of the sky, you're my kryptonite, you keep making me weak, yeah frozen and can't breathe. Harry followed Liam's example, coming to dance with us when it was his turn to sing. When he turned around, Jo and I glanced at each other, hardly believing this was possible, our minds racing and our hearts pounding and our lips singing along to the lyrics.
Niall, playing along with the other guys, came to dance with us during his solo in the second verse. After that, all seven of us danced together wildly to the music, Jo and I having the time of our lives. When the song ended, Niall said, "Give it up for Stella and Jo!" The crowd cheered as he led the two of us backstage.
"We have about an hour left, but I think things might get a little crazy if you go back out there. I hope you don't mind waiting out the show back here?" He looked at Jo and me through worried eyes, as though he had done us a disfavor and was concerned about our reactions.
"Mind? This is the coolest thing ever!" Jo exclaimed. "I've always wanted to see what it's like back here."
Niall flashed us a smile, obviously relieved at our reactions. My face had made it clear that I agreed with Jo wholeheartedly. He hugged Jo and kissed me quickly but gently before jogging back onstage.
I held Jo's hand and couldn't keep the smile from my face. "You know, how did you get to be the luckiest girl in the world?" she asked rhetorically, grinning from ear to ear. I didn't respond, but internally agreed with her—I truly was the luckiest girl in the world.