CHAPTER ONE

ALICE'S POV

I groaned and put my head on the steering wheel. This was the worst traffic I had ever been stuck in and it was simply the queue into the O2 Arena car park.

To make my life even more miserable, my little sister, Grace, and her friend Emily were screaming along to One Direction's latest single in the backseat. The tickets to their tour had been Grace's Christmas present from our mum but as she was working late tonight, I had the unfortunate task of taking them.

Ok I definitely wasn't their biggest fan, but even I could admit the boys were pretty fit It just wasn't really my kind of scene. I prefer indie bands that play small gigs to even smaller crowds. I guess I thought that my kind of bands were more down to earth… from what I'd read in magazines, the One Direction boys were overly-confident, stuck way to far up their own backsides

The entrance to the 02 was rammed with screaming girls, make up plastered all over their face in tiny dresses and heels. I rolled my eyes… did they honestly think that the boys were going to see them from the stage and fall madly in love with them? Even though I thought it was pathetic, I suddenly felt really under dressed because I was wearing an old baggy cardigan with my 'Sex Pistols' crop top, skinny jeans and converse.

"Ali, speed up! We need to get as close to the front as possible!" Grace shouted over the roar of screaming girls. I groaned and ran my fingers through my hair. The sooner this was over, the better.

(in the interval)

Okay so I'd enjoyed the first half a lot more than I thought I would. The songs were excruciatingly catchy and… well… they were undeniably hot. I still couldn't shake off this weird feeling in my stomach that I'd had since Harry's solo in 'What Makes You Beautiful' and that had been at least fifteen minutes ago. 'For God's sake Al, get a grip' I thought to myself. I was craving a cigarette by this point and decided to try and sneak out of the arena to have one. I saw a sign in the corner saying 'Fire Exit' and weaved my way towards it. It took me down a series of deserted, dark passages. There was no one around and I was pretty certain I wasn't supposed to be there but I decided I didn't care. The dimly lit passageway eventually led out to a balcony that snaked round the back of the stadium and overlooked The Thames. The night air was alive with lights and the distant noises of central London. I lit up, reached in my pocket for my mobile and read my text messages. 14 new messages, 3 missed calls, all from my boyfriend, Freddie. His possessiveness was especially annoying, particularly as we had only been dating for a few weeks. I was halfway through sending him a particularly half-hearted text when the door I'd been leaning against flung open, pushing me into the balcony railings and sending my mobile phone plummeting into the depths of the Thames.

I spun round to see who it was, glaring furiously when I stopped and felt my stomach flip over. It was Harry Styles.

HARRY'S POV

"What the-? Oh my god. I am so sorry…wait…how did you even get round here?"

I began, looking at her up and down .I couldn't tell whether she was blushing or incredibly angry but her cheeks was bright pink and her green eyes were baring into me.

"Sorry but if you want photos, you have to wait until—"

"Do you genuinely think I came out here to track you down so I could have a photo with some teenage boy?" she said incredulously, her eyes flicking from me back to the Thames.

"You complete dick, my phone's down there!" she gestured to the still water below.

"Oh. I'm sorry... but you shouldn't have been leaning against the door should you… and why else would you come backstage?" I smirked at her as I looked at her properly for the first time.

She looked about my age, seventeen or eighteen with thick, wavy brunette hair cascading past her shoulders. She wasn't wearing much make-up but she didn't really need it; with golden skin and large emerald eyes that were a similar colour to my own. She was toned but still curvy with one hand on her hip and the other stubbing out a cigarette on the railing behind her.

"Well?" she demanded hotly… I'd be too absorbed in her appearance to listen to what she had said. "What…!" I replied defensively.

"Fine." She snapped, "Can we just pretend this never happened and let me go back in? My sister will be looking for me and she is the only reason I'm here tonight anyway so don't flatter yourself thinking I came here to see you."

She turned and walked past me heading towards the door.

"Wait!" I protested, reaching out and grabbing her hand so that she turned to face me. "Let me sort you out with a new phone or something? I could lend you mine if you need to ring anyone? How can I make it up to you? I feel so bad… I wasn't expecting… well… you."

I was still very conscious of the fact that our fingertips were grazing against each other slightly. I studied her face as her eyes softened and she smiled gently.

"Well… my little sister is a big fan… she's with a friend… I don't suppose there's anyway she could meet you? I think she'd probably die" she laughed gently but moved her hand away from mine. I grinned and nodded my head eagerly. At that moment, Lou burst through the door. "Haz we've got 5 minutes un-ooh sorry! Didn't mean to interrupt." He winked. She blushed furiously and stepped away from me

"It's not what it looks like!" she replied hastily, smiling at Louis.

"I've got to go on for the second half now but I'll get security to fetch your sister and her friend and then you can all watch from the wings? It's the least I can do… I'm so sorry about your phone… and you never did tell me your name?"

"Thank you, Harry. They'll really appreciate it and… uh… it's Alice. Alice Greenwood." She smiled as I led her down through the passage way to the back of stage.