Anything But Ordinary

All I've Ever Needed

       The dam holding back my tears burst, and I fell to my knees. My body shook with the force of my sobs as tears streamed down my face. All of my dreams had been shattered with the slamming of that door. I could hear the boys talking, but I couldn’t bear to look at them. It was humiliating that they were seeing me like this.

       A hand rested on my shoulder, and I looked up to see sad blue eyes. Niall opened his arms a little, and I threw myself into them. He rubbed my back soothingly and murmured something I didn’t quite catch. I felt safe with his strong arms around me, and his clean scent calming my erratic breathing. His strong Irish accent soothing me even more, until my sobs stopped, and my breathing returned to normal.

        Another hand touched my back, and this time it was Zayn. I sensed, rather than saw, him kneel next to Niall and me.

        “I’m sorry,” he said softly.

        “Yeah,” Harry said from behind. “Gerald is an idiot not to let you in. You sounded like an angel back there.”

        I lifted my head from Niall’s now mascara stained shirt and looked up. Zayn and Harry were already kneeling next to me and Niall, and Liam and Louis were following suit. I couldn’t help smiling at Louis when I noticed Kevin clutched in his hand.

        “I’m going to get you in,” Niall promised, his blue eyes burning with determination. Then, to my intense surprise, he kissed me softly on the cheek. My heart stuttered, and my breath hitched in my chest. I had just gotten kissed by a celebrity.

        “We’re all going to help you,” Zayn added, shooting Niall a look I couldn’t read. Niall blushed and gave me one more tight hug before the back doors opened again.

        “Out!” Gerald yelled as he stalked down the center isle of the theater, followed by two security guards.

        “Paul!” Harry shouted to the kinder looking one. “You’ve got to hear this girl sing! She needs to be on this show! Please?”

         Paul hesitated, but Gerald put his foot down. “I want her out now!”

        The boys started yelling again, the sound of angry voices driving me crazy. Now that Niall was right next to me, I could hear just how creative he was with his swearing. There was so much noise that I could barely think.

        “Hey!” I yelled, but nobody heard me over the chaos. I took a deep breath and covered my own ears.

        “SHUT! UP!” I screamed so loudly that the back of my throat hurt. The silence in the room was deafening, and all eyes were on me. Niall and Zayn, who were closest to me, doubled over with their hands clamped over their ears. Louis and Harry had frozen in the position they had been in when they were yelling at Gerald. Liam was giving me an incredulous look with his hands over his ears.

        “If anyone cares,” I said coldly, “I’m leaving now.”

        I stood up and turned on my heel, my hair swinging dramatically over my narrow shoulders. My hand slid out of Niall’s loose grip, and I felt colder without him touching me. Eight pairs of eyes bored into my back as I swept off the stage and out the door.