MASTERMIND - H.S

Chapter 4

*• November 2012 •*
- Los Angeles, USA -
~< Friends You Don't Know >~

ADDIE FELL ON HER ASS IN FRONT OF THOUSANDS OF PEOPLE.

And she blamed it all on Louis.

See, Addie was a surprise guest for one of 1D's shows in LA, and it just so happened that the stage included these stairs that were way too narrow.

Addie had to rapidly climb up those stairs in five seconds while singing, spend a while up there and then go back down the stairs while keeping her eyes on the crowd.

There were several risks, very specifically because Addie had tripped on the stairs several times while rehearsing.

Addie was sure her ass was bruised from how many times she fell down.

But nonetheless, Addie stubbornly agreed to go up and down those stairs, which meant she was at risk for falling.

And when Addie performed We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together with One Direction, she managed to get up the stairs just fine. The problem was as she was going back down, her foot slipped just the slightest bit and she lost her balance.

Addie ended up falling/sliding down half a flight of stairs, right in front of several thousand people. She was sure this moment would be talked about excessively on every social media, and she'd end up seeing photos from this moment in tabloids every time she went to buy groceries.

Addie's foot slipped, and just as she was getting to the good part of the song, she fell on her ass, cutting off her words.

She ended up sitting on the ground, knees bent. From the corner of her eyesight, she saw the panicked look on Liam's face, and could hear Niall laughing his ass off.

A switch flipped on Addie's brain, and before the shock even wore off, she managed to lean forward, kneeling on the ground, practically sitting on her legs.

She kept going with the song, and managed to pull of a dance move Max had taught her for moments like these.

"When you fall, pretend nothing happened, and get back on track, okay?" Max had explained to her. "But make it subtle, make it make sense."

Addie stretched a leg out, doing a turn as she stood up. It sounded weird in theory, but it looked good and Addie learned she could manage to do it while looking smooth and graceful.

Once she was on her feet, she remembered where she was in the song and caught up with the boys, skipping a part of the choreography to get back on track.

Addie kept going, ignoring the questioning looks from both Liam and Louis, and walked over to Niall, who was playing guitar as she leaned against him while hitting her high note.

Addie made it through the rest of the song without incident, and finally managed to get backstage, where she could break down into tears without it being on display on huge screens for thousands to see.

Addie ignored everyone who tried to talk to her, politeness be damned, and made her way to the closest bathroom, vision blurry with tears.

Her whole body was shaking and before Addie knew it, she was hyperventilating, unable to get enough air into her lungs. There was a tingling in her chest that she couldn't escape- a static inside her mind of numbness.