In the middle of about a thousand people packed into a room with a capacity of probably only half of that number, it finally sinks in.
She's going to meet him. Finally.
Olivia Daney practically convulses with excitement, shaking in her outfit, which consists of
the ultimate Twenty Planets band t-shirt, skinny jeans, high top Converse sneakers doodled on with yes, planets, and a black beanie with little plush Saturns hanging off of it. Her long brown hair hangs in ringlets down her back, and her brown eyes look bright and shiny like stars.
In her arms is a framed picture of her favorite band of
all time; Twenty Planets. The band was comprised of Eric Dawson; Vocalist, Stefano Hendricks; Bass, Eddy Greene; rhythm guitar, Winston "W" Wallberg; lead guitar, and Gian Lowly; drummer and back up vocals. Thanks to her family and friends, she had already collected Eric, Stefano, Eddy, and W's signatures, as birthday presents. But it was Gian who had been her idol since she had first heard them on the radio. Being a music fan since her early years, she was very picky with what music she listened to. But when Twenty Planets played their first song on the radio, it was love at first sight. Or sound.
Gian Lowly was, in Olivia's opinion, the closest thing to a musical god anyone could ever be. Gian Lowly was perfect. It had come to the point where even her friends and immediate family could tell you random facts about Twenty Planets' drummer, since she talked about him 24/7. Olivia managed a Twitter account dedicated to Gian that had about 4 thousand followers, and she already had a retweet from him.
Only fangirls would know the significance of that retweet.
She had saved for months on end for Gian's meet and greet with his fans about two states away from hers. The drummer was in the area for a charity dinner, and had decided to hold a meet and greet just before doing so. She was
ecstatic. Olivia had stayed in line since 5 in the morning. She was going to see him if it
killed her.
The meet and greet was supposed to start at 1 in the afternoon, and it was almost 2:30. Olivia didn't care though, and she wasn't complaining like the other 'fans' were. And she certainly wasn't leaving, like a small number of them were.
No pain, no gain, she chanted inside her head.
And then suddenly, after about twenty more minutes of waiting, a door near the front of the room opened, and it was like her heart had finally flown to heaven. Gian Lowly stepped into the room, smiling and waving genuinely at everyone. Screaming like everyone else, Olivia jumped up and down with excitement.
Gian was wearing a white t-shirt with the words 'Doesn't get any better than this' on it (words from their first #1 Single), black jeans, and black Converse sneakers. You could see his tattoo of birds in flight peeking out just from under his shirt (the tattoo was on his collarbone), and also the tattoo of even more birds starting from his right wrist to his index finger.
Olivia knew the significance of birds in flight to him, and she thought it was perfectly wonderful. Someone spoke into a microphone, telling everyone to keep calm and exit through the door on the left once they had met Gian. Everyone was given only a very short amount of time to meet with him, due to the number of people, but no one was complaining, especially not Olivia.
Olivia would take 5 seconds, if she had to, as long as she met him.
The line trickled forward slowly, and Olivia listened, amused, as she heard girls squeal with excitement as he gamely posed for pictures with them, and guys ask questions about his drumming style, how he practiced, and much more. Twenty Planets was, Olivia loved to proclaim,
not a girly boy band, like those groups
Richter Town and
Bon Voyage. Twenty Planets was...
indescribable.
There were finally only about five more people ahead of her, and she was practically quivering with excitement. Now that she was closer, she could appreciate finer details about Gian, like how his slightly long black hair covered his eyes when he leaned forward to autograph something, and how he was wearing his signature silver rose stud earring in his left ear, and how his eyes were the perfect shade of grayish blue that every girl dreamed a guy could have.
"Hey, there!" The girl right in front of her, who was wiping away her tears of joy with a handkerchief, moved away, and suddenly, it was her turn. Gian Lowly was finally speaking to
her.
She stepped forward, her knees feeling like jelly, and smiled tentatively at him. "H-Hi!" she said, and handed over her framed picture.
He's gorgeous up close, she thought to herself.
"Looks like you now have the complete set," he said in a joking tone, looking up at her with a genuine smile on his face. "What's your name?"
"O-Olivia," she said quickly, and blushed. What would he think of her, an eighteen-year-old who didn't know how to say a word without stuttering?
His smile didn't leave his face, however, and he pressed on. "Your
whole name?"
"Oh, uh, Olivia Elle Daney," she said, giving herself a pat on the back for saying it straight.
"Olivia Elle Daney," he repeated. She loved the way her name sounded when
he said it. He grinned again. "Beautiful name. It fits you."
She nearly screamed. Was he saying that she was
beautiful?
She could die now.
He leaned forward and started to write something in the area next to his face. He was taking awhile, so Olivia leaned forward and tried to see what he was writing, but he had covered some of it with his hand. The only thing she could see was her name, Olivia Elle, but that was it. Once Gian had finally finished writing, he looked up and smiled at her, his gray-blue eyes sparkling. "Make sure you read it once you're out of the door, Olivia Elle," he said.
"Yeah, sure!" she said, nodding enthusiastically. "Uhm, before I forget, Gian, would it be too much if I asked to take a selfie with you?" she said, blushing. No one was with her to take the picture for her, but a selfie would be fine for her. Heck,
any picture would be fine for her, as long as it was a picture.
Gian smiled, and nodded. "Sure! Come over here so we can have a proper picture." Once she had joined him on the other side of the table, he reached out and took the camera, holding it out so both of them would fit on the screen. He snapped it three times, and handed it back to her. "Now you have three pictures to choose from," he said, winking at her.
She nearly
died. "Thanks! Again! I-I really love your music. You guys are great but you're the best. In my opinion. You're such a great drummer!" she let it all out in one go. "I especially love 'Writing this Song' because it's your first solo. And you have such a wonderful voice and... And I'll listen to you guys for the rest of my life! Thank you!" she said, knowing that this would probably be the first and last time she'd ever get to meet him.
His smiled widened, if that was possible. "Thank
you, Olivia Elle," he said, and she wondered what on earth was with her whole name. "It was a pleasure meeting you."
"Same goes for me," she chirped, and noticed that the bodyguards were looking at her meaningfully, as if trying to tell her that her time was more than done. She sighed.
All good things must come to an end. "I wish you all the best with your music. I hope you make more music for the rest of your lives!" she exclaimed. "Bye, Gian," she said, waving a bit before leaving the venue.
"Bye, Olivia Elle!" he said, smiling at her one more time before she disappeared behind the door.
The sudden sunlight outside made her squint her eyes. It didn't stop her from sighing dreamily, and leaning against the wall behind her with happiness. "He's so dreamy," she said to herself, clutching the picture frame to her chest. The feel of the picture frame was enough to make her remember his message for her, and she wondered what he had written.
Olivia Elle; you've made a great impression on me. This won't be our last meeting. Gian Lowly.
She all but screamed.