CHAPTER 1


The television was turned to the late night news on low volume in the den of the flat for background noise. A few feet in front of it was a mahogany coffee table where various hotel bills, tour bus oil change fees, and other miscellaneous charges lay askew. Anya sat on the brown leather couch in front of the papery disaster with her computer on her lap- online checkbook open in one window and Sugarscape Magazine's website open in another. Her Blackberry lay next to her with at least four or more missed long-distance calls from American magazines and record labels, vying for her boys' attention.

Another incoming call caused Anya's phone to vibrate violently against the couch. Anya groaned and rubbed her eyes under her rectangular designer frames. Once the call had gone to voice-mail, she sighed and laid her head back against the couch, shutting her eyes momentarily in exhaustion. It had to be almost midnight and the boys still hadn't returned from the studio. Anya spun her promise ring around on her finger, the one Niall had given her when they'd first started dating nine months ago. She got a warm feeling in her chest just thinking about him, subconsciously forming a small smile on her lips.

Anya heard a clamor of multiple footsteps outside the front door along with loud voices and another quieter voice-she guessed Liam-shushing the others. The door opened and the teen pop sensation boy band One Direction entered. But Anya saw it as her five best friends were home.

Liam walked through first, being the only one of the boys to place his shoes on the mat, while the others followed Louis in kicking their shoes off in front of the front closet. Harry and Niall were deeply (and loudly) conversing about their latest Wii Fifa battle. Louis strolled into the kitchen and placed what looked like a strawberry malt from Milkshake City on the marble counter.

“I took the liberty of picking up something for you from the City on the way home, Bon,” Louis said, using the pet name that they've all used for her for as long as Anya could remember. “I swear to you, Niall has not one ounce of self-control...” Louis lifted the shake for Anya to see and stared down her boyfriend.

“I told you, she doesn't eat the medium heat wings from Nandos anyway! They would've gone to waste!” Niall shouted defensively. Zayn laughed as he sat down on the chair by the T.V. and put on some post-soccer game highlights.

“Thanks, Lou,” Anya giggled. She turned back to her computer and tried to concentrate on the remains of the receipts that needed to be entered into the checking account.

Harry plopped down on the couch beside Anya and peered over her shoulder. Before he could take a sip from the freshly opened Red Bull in his hands, Anya snatched it away only a quarter-inch away from his lips. “Are you kidding me? You're not going to drink this the midnight before you have to get up at 6:30 to get on the road.” Anya scolded him and held it out of his reach across her body like a stern mother.

“Seriously?! I can sleep on the bus-and this won't keep me up too long anyway,” he argued, “Don't go mommy on me.”

“I'm not going 'mommy' on you... You're obnoxious when you're on energy drinks,” she replied with a subtle smirk on her face. She let him grab it back and he smugly took a large gulp of it right in her face and laughed victoriously. She shook her head and pushed him out of her work space in attempt to enter the last entries of finances.

Once Liam had joined the rest of the group in the den after cleaning up the kitchen, they all started up in loud conversation. It made it nearly impossible for Anya to concentrate on anything other than their silly side talk. She closed her laptop and looked up for the time being. It was only then that she realized Niall was on her left with his arm draped around her shoulders, where his fingers danced gently on her right upper arm. She placed her hand on his knee and smiled up at him. Niall smiled back, his radiant baby-blues shimmering away. His blonde locks were defying gravity as usual, swept perfectly to the right side of his head.

Anya looked around the room at her other friends and absorbed the scene. Her typical big-brother-figure, Liam, was hopping in and out of the conversation, with the occasional warning that the neighboring flats might call them for being too loud, too late again. But none of the boys could possibly take him too seriously with those tender brown eyes and teddy bear-like smile that was almost permanent.

Louis was laughing up a storm and cracking jokes every other minute. His short chestnut hair framed his define jaw and handsome features-the only thing that could give away that he was the oldest of the gang, since his maturity was much below par for his age.

Zayn sat across the room, fingering through his perfectly quiffed black hair, probably not too fond of the fact that he didn't have a mirror nearby to see how it looked at the moment. He would casually flash his brilliantly flawless smile when he laughed at one of Louis' cracks.

Anya could tell her closest friend of the five was absorbing all of the kicks of the Red Bull by now. Harry was hysterically laughing his childish chuckle, his brown curls dancing around his cherubic face.

Anya just sat soaking it all in. Although it was the most difficult and demanding job for an 18-year-old to be practically the entire management team for a band of five young pop stars, she had to admit it was definitely the most rewarding.