MASTERMIND - H.S

Chapter 1

*• October 2011 •*
- North Carolina -
~< The First Beginning > ~

"REPEAT AFTER ME: I WILL NOT TRIP AND FALL ON MY FACE."

"Do I really have to do this?"

"Yes. Shut up and say it."

"I will not trip and fall on my face."

"And finally, I will be nice and act like a normal human being while meeting new people."

"Aw, c'mon-"

"Say. It."

"I will be nice and act like a normal human being while meeting new people."

Max finally looked satisfied, and he slapped his hand against Adelaide's shoulder. She didn't flinch. "Good. job, Addie. You're ready to meet them."

Max was the person who started the nickname 'Addie'. She'd heard it once and much preferred it to her full name, or the nickname she'd gotten in school, 'Adela' (Or 'Adel', by the kids who made fun of her on the playground).

Adelaide sighed. "I met Katy Perry and acted normal. I think I'm ready to meet a couple of teenage boys."

Max made a sound, something between a sigh and a groan. Despite being her choreographer and Addie technically being Max's boss, the two had a pretty close friendship.

She spent several hours a day for almost two months straight with him, rehearsing for tours and performances. Addie was sure she spent more time with Max than she did in her own house.

Although that might've just been because of her hectic schedule and the fact that she was almost never home.

Nevertheless, Max was Addie's confidant. And her role model, though if anyone asked her, she'd never admit it.

Max made a sound, something between a sigh and a groan. "You most certainly did not act normal while meeting Katy Perry-"

"I didn't mean to pull her earring out!"

"-And you will not be normal while meeting the boys... however, I do grant you permission to talk to them."

Addie gave him a look. "Thanks for your permission," she deadpanned.

Max's witty remark was cut off by the slamming of doors as they opened and shut. Soles of sneakers squeaked against the floor, and the loud chattering of unfamiliar voices carried.

Adelaide took a deep breath, steeling her nerves with the roll of her shoulders. Her mom always chided her, saying she needed to have better posture. It was a long-ingrained habit to always fix her posture.

With a furtive glance towards Max, she readjusted her t-shirt (Adelaide realized at this moment that wearing workout clothes probably wouldn't make a good first impression), and tightened her ponytail.

A boy with a Justin Bieber haircut stumbled into view, clearly having been pushed by another boy behind him whose body was shaking as he cackled with laughter.

"Louis, I swear-" The boy said. Liam, Adelaide thought. Which meant the other guy who'd pushed him would be Louis.

And then a blond-haired boy walked in, arms swung around the shoulders of the last two remaining boys. Niall.

Trying to escape from Niall's grasp, with dark hair in a quiff, was Zayn.

And then Adelaide's eyes fell onto the last boy. With a mop of curly hair, green eyes she wanted to memorize, a dimple in his cheek she was infatuated with, stood Harry.