It's a sunny Friday morning and I am enjoying my walk, the streets don't seem too crowded today. I love my fans, and I wouldn't be where I am without them, but they can still be quite overwhelming, coming up to me any chance they get. Fame is something I think I will never get used to. I was a nobody from Holmes Chapel, England, but ever since I released my EP my world has been flipped upside down. I now live pretty much full time in LA and have a pretty large fanbase. I have been fortunate enough to get such a sweet fan base, they seem like such a tight-knit group and I love being able to talk to them.
I was pulled out of my thoughts when I reached the double doors to the cafe. Pulling them open, I walk in and get in the line to place my order. As I waited patiently, staring at my feet, my mind started to wander off again. Thoughts of the mysterious girl I met last Saturday have kept my mind busy all week. There was just something so unique about her that I couldn't place my finger on, all I know is that it was very unfortunate that I couldn't get her number... if only I could have just stopped gawking at her for a few seconds.
I was just about to start over-analyzing our interaction again when I heard her voice. I shoot my head up and look around the cafe, eager to catch a glimpse of her. That's when I see her, looking even more beautiful than the day I met her, standing at the counter ordering. She had on a loose white shirt and a pair of baggy shorts with colourful stripes down them.
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Her hair was hanging down today and I realized she has shoulder-length brown curly hair, it reminded me of when I had long hair back when I was touring for my EP. She orders her drink and leaves the line, leaving me to order next. Once I order my drink and pay, I eagerly walk over to the pick-up area to see that she is still standing there.
"Jo?" I ask as I hope she remembers who I am. I forget that when I go in public I try to conceal who I am. I was wearing a pair of big sunglasses as well as a baggy jumper with the hood pulled over my hair, far different from when she saw me in the car last week. She turns to me with a puzzled look on her face.
"I'm sorry, who are you?"
I pull my sunglasses and hood off, quickly glancing around to make sure no one recognizes me. I turn back to her as her eyes light up, realizing it's me.
"Oh, Danny! Hi!" She sounds very excited. I was a little confused as to why she was calling me Danny but I quickly realized what was happening. I give fake names to strangers for safety reasons, it has helped me numerous times and I guess it just became a habit.
"I have an iced matcha latte here!" the barista says from behind the counter. I reach for the cup, knowing that's what I ordered. Just as I'm about to grab it, Jo does the same thing. I quickly pull my hand away and look towards the barista. "Oh sorry guys... looks like this drink is for Jo," he gives a quick nod and goes off to make my drink. I start to chuckle because I find it funny that we have the same drink order, although she does seem like the type to drink matcha.
"Looks like someone has great taste," I laugh again, remembering that's what she said to me at the stoplight. The barista comes back with another matcha latte and hands it to me. I thank him and turn back to Jo, who is looking up at me with a smile. "Would you care to join me?" I motion towards the most secluded table in the cafe. She nods and we start to walk over to the corner table with only two chairs, it was further away from the other tables, but I do not mind, I like a little privacy. Especially if I get spotted by fans... that would be a really weird conversation to have with Jo. We sit in the chairs, facing each other.
"Why did you pick such a secluded table?" She says to me, clueless to the fact that I'm quite famous.
"I'm just not a big fan of crowds," I shrug, trying to play it off.
Just by the look on her face, I can tell she's a little suspicious. "What are you hiding from me, Danny?" she questions with an eyebrow raised and a playful smile.
"I guess we'll never know," I smirk. "So, tell me about yourself," I say, trying to change the subject.
"Well... um... I'm twenty-two years old. I grew up in New York but moved here two years ago... following Zayn, my best friend. He was with me in the car the other day, I don't know if you saw him." I nod, remembering her black-haired mate sitting in the passenger seat that day. "I'm a photographer, for nothing in particular, I just kinda do my own thing," she continues. "Oh! And I also love to paint, go on drives, and listen to music. What about you?"
"What about me?"
"Well, I told you some things about me. Now it's your tur-"
She was cut off by my phone dinging, signaling I got a text. I glanced down at it, seeing it was from Niall, telling me I was late for a meeting about my new album. I completely lost track of time chatting with Jo.
"What's wrong?" she asks, probably noticing my frustrated expression.
"Um... I am so sorry, but I have to go," I sigh. I really hate the thought of leaving her but I really need to go to this meeting. "I have this... erm... meeting that I can't miss. I completely forgot that it was today," I say as I start to stand up.
"Wait! Before you go, I wanted to tell you that I really like chatting with you... I was wondering if maybe we could exchange numbers so we could talk some more later?"
I smile at the thought of us talking more. "Of course." I open a new contact on my phone, handing it to her so she can put her number in. She does the same thing and I type my number on the keypad, saving it under the name Danny. I suppose I'll keep up this little charade until I know I can trust her for sure. You can never be too safe. We trade phones again, our fingers brushing against each other in the process. "Thank you for sitting with me today, I enjoyed getting to know you a bit more." I smile at her and turn away to leave.
"Oh! One more thing!" she says and I swiftly turn back around to look at her. "I just thought of something, you obviously don't have to say yes but maybe we could go for a picnic. I know the perfect place for it, somewhere secluded so there won't be any sort of crowd, ya know, because you don't like crowds. I can get everything ready, you just need to show up," she rambles. "Again, I completely understand if it's too soon and it's totally fine if you don't want-"
"I'd love to," I cut her off. "Just text me where and when, I'll be there," I wink at her and turn around once again to walk out the door.
Later that night, I get home from a long day of meetings and flop onto my couch. I shut my eyes for a moment, completely exhausted. My mind starts to wander to my conversation with Jo earlier. I get excited thinking about the fact that I get to see her again whenever we have this picnic she mentioned.
My mind comes back to reality when my phone goes off. I let out a groan, thinking it's another notification about something to do with work. I pick it up and to my surprise, it's a text from Jo.
J: hi danny!
H: hello jo :)
J: so I was thinking that for the picnic, we go to this really neat park near my house tomorrow
H: sounds great, what time?
J: um...4?
H: perfect, see you there
J: can't wait :)
She sends one last text with the address. I turn my phone off and get up from the couch. I make my way up the steps, heading towards my bedroom. I strip down to just my boxers and climb underneath the warm covers. The last thing I think about before drifting off to sleep is the way that Jo genuinely wants to get to know me as a real person. She sees me as a person and not just some celebrity she can use.
