FLASHING LIGHTS | ONE DIRECTION

I. Walking a Tightrope

The chipped blue paint on the nail polish bottle matched the chipped blue paint peeling off Maeve's windowsill. Rain lashed against the glass, mimicking the frantic rhythm of her heart. "Viv, are you serious?" she croaked into the phone, the harsh fluorescent lights of her bedroom casting the room in a sickly yellow glow.

"Deadly," came Olivia's voice, laced with a nervous excitement. "Remember that application we filled out for that One Direction fan show ages ago while we were moderately drunk...? Well, they picked us!"

Maeve's mind whirred. The "One Direction Obsession" competition. A reality show where five superfans live in a house together, competing in trivia challenges and scavenger hunts, all leading to a grand prize to be revealed by the producers. It was every Directioner's dream, except Maeve's.

A bitter laugh escaped her lips. "Viv, that's amazing! But... One Direction?"

Silence stretched on the other end. "Don't tell me you've gone rogue and become a Belieber," Olivia finally said, her voice dripping with mock horror.

Maeve rolled her eyes. "Knowing me, I'm more likely to join a mosh pit at a death metal concert than scream for a boyband." This was a lie, of course, but one necessary to maintain her "not like other girls" facade. Truth be told, One Direction was practically family. There was just no way she could explain that to Olivia.

"Exactly! It makes perfect TV," Olivia countered. The contrarian, the lone dissenter. You'll be the breakout star, Mae!"

Maeve winced. "Breakout star or national disgrace?"

"Don't worry, love. You'll learn to love them. Besides, a free trip to LA? Free tickets to the tour? Who could say no?"

Free trip, indeed. Freedom, however, was something Maeve had very little of. This competition could potentially expose her secret life. Niall, Liam, Louis, Zayn, and Harry, the five boys who made up One Direction, weren't just pop idols to her; they were her friends, Niall being an extension of herself. She met the rest when the group formed during X Factor, and they became friends by association.

A memory surfaced, warm and bright against the gloom outside. A bonfire crackled in the back garden, its flames casting flickering shadows on their faces. She was 16 then, Niall's hand brushing against hers as they passed a marshmallow. Louis, ever the showman, was belting out a song he'd "written" (the melody suspiciously similar to Mr. Brightside) while Zayn and Harry were engaged in a heated game of charades. It was a picture of innocent joy, a moment frozen in time.

And then there was the X Factor audition. Niall, a nervous ball of teenage energy, had practically dragged her along. As he stood nervously backstage, microphone in his sweaty palms, she'd squeezed his hand, a silent promise hanging between them. When he stepped onto the stage, captivating the judges with his teenage coolness and propelling a butterfly effect with Ne-Yo's So Sick, a fierce pride swelled in her chest.

Those memories were hers alone, a secret tucked away in the deepest corners of her heart. Revealing them wasn't an option. Yet, the thought of being stuck in a house filled with screaming fans, pretending to be one of them, sent shivers down her spine.

"Alright, alright," she sighed, conceding defeat. "We'll do it. But if I have to endure one serenade of 'What Makes You Beautiful'—"

"You'll be singing along by the end of week one," Olivia interjected, a triumphant lilt in her voice. "Now, pack your bags. We leave for LA in two weeks!"

Two weeks. A whirlwind of frantic activity ensued. Paperwork was signed, flights were booked, and a crash course in "One Direction 101" was delivered courtesy of Olivia.

"Okay, quiz time," Olivia declared, brandishing a tattered magazine with a boyish face staring back from the cover.

"Don't make me do this," Maeve groaned, picking at the chipped polish on her nails.