Boy Band (7 page)

“Wait, what?” This is the first I’ve heard of that, and I’ve got to be honest, it doesn’t make much sense to me.  

“Why are the guys so popular, Mel?”

“Because people like their music.”

“Of course there’s that, but think about it.  Most of the fans are girls.  Young and single girls.  And Stan thinks that those fans would be more loyal to a group of guys who are, for all intents and purposes, unattached.  Personally, I don’t think that’s giving the fans enough credit, but at the same time, with all the tabloids trying to stir up drama, I can’t help but think he might have a point.  Reports of bad behavior and rude girlfriends are huge turnoffs for some fans.  And they should be!”

“So, Stan doesn’t think the guys should be dating at all?”  That’s news to me also.  

“I guess if they dated someone halfway decent, it would probably be okay.  But if they do, I think he would definitely prefer that they keep it on the down low.  And if I’m right about Tara, which I’m pretty sure I am, she wants to make it known as far and wide as humanly possible that she is dating Cory Foreman.  It’s sickening.”        

“So, is that why you don’t want to date any of the guys?” I ask, thinking of Oliver.

“No, it’s because I’m not into workplace relationships or guys who are constantly in the spotlight.  We watch from the sidelines, but just imagine what it must be like to actually date that.  No privacy.  Constant gossip and speculation.  It’d be horrible.”

“But if you really cared about him, don’t you think it’d be worth it?”

She looks me in the eye.  “Exactly who are we talking about here, Mel?”

“No one,” I try to shrug it off.  “I’m just being hypothetical.”     

I’ve said before that I’m pretty sure Joni knows I’m harboring a secret crush on one of the guys.  In fact, she probably knows it’s Sam.  She grew up with us, too.  I’m sure she’s seen the way I act around him.  Maybe she’s pretended not to notice in order to spare my feelings.  But that would go against her God-given instincts to tell me what to do, which would probably be to forget Sam Morneau altogether.  That, or maybe I’m just a better actress than I’ve been giving myself credit for all these years.  

The guys end their long day of interviews with an acoustic performance o
f
Highwa
y
, their second single off the new album.  Although they usually have a band backing them up, I think they sound just as good, if not better, when it’s just them singing along while Jesse plays guitar.  It reminds me of the days when they were first starting out.  

Those were some of the best days of my life. 

Sam:

Lost in time

Tell me what’s real

This place, it never changes

Olive
r
:

Time to get lost

I’ll take the highway

Don’t want to know where I’m going

But I’ll tell you when I get there

All:

Gonna take my time

Roads keep stretching on

And I’ve got everything to find

I’m leaving tonight

Please don’t miss me when I’m gone

Everything will be alright

Jess
e
:

Under the sky 

I see myself

This face, it’s seen the ages

Cor
y
:

Can’t stay below

I’ll take the highway

I’m not going to turn around 

But I’ll think of you when starlight fills my eyes  

Al
l
:

Gonna take my time

Roads keep stretching on

And I’ve got everything to find

I’m leaving tonight

Please don’t miss me when I’m gone

Everything will be alright

Josh:

And I can’t promise you

That I’ll come back to stay 

But I will remember

Oh I will remember

Promise you’ll remember

All:

Gonna take my time

Roads keep stretching on

And I’ve got everything to find

I’m leaving tonight

Please don’t miss me when I’m gone

Everything will be alright.

CHAPTER 6

“I wanna wake up to your smiling face

Wake up to your arms around me

Why does this night have to end?

Tell me, why has morning found me?

If I have to wake up, wake up

Please let me wake up, wake up

With you.”

Song: “Wake Up”

Artist: The Kind of September 

From the Album
:
Meet Me on the Midway

To get the fans excited for the new album and the world tour, the guys have written a short book. It’s calle
d
The Tour Bus Diarie
s
and it’s filled with all of their stories and personal experiences from the road.  Some of the entries are kind of short.  Some are longer.  Some are insightful reflections.  Some are rants.  Most of them are pretty hilarious.  All in all, it’s the guys’ way of sharing a little bit of themselves with the fans.  It’s their way of thanking them for always being there.

The book also includes a lot of pictures from behind the scenes that fans have never seen before.  I actually took a few of them on my phone.  All in all, it’s a fun book and I really think that fans will enjoy it.  

To celebrate the release o
f
The Tour Bus Diarie
s
, the guys are participating in a big meet-and-greet book signing at one of the New York convention centers.  The event sold out within minutes.  

We arrived at the convention center early this morning, long before any of the fans or media representatives showed up.  Well, there were a few of the more passionate fans staked out near the back entrance where the guys were escorted in.  Despite Stan and security trying to hurry them along, the guys lingered back, took pictures, and signed a few early autographs.  

Now the guys are getting ready to head out to the signing table.  Joni will be standing out with them to monitor the crowd and to keep everything moving efficiently.  We only have three hours and we, especially the guys, want to make sure that every fan gets a chance to interact with them.  As for me, I’m once again on camera duty.  Just photography for today, though.  No video.  And that’s okay.  

It’s always interesting to see fans reactions to actually meeting the guys.  Some of them scream.  Some of them break down and cry.  Some can’t stop talking.  Having known them as long as I have, I’ve never been starstruck by any of them (well, except for Sam... and that was even before he was famous).  However, I know for a fact I’m not immune to the fangirl phenomenon. 

Case in point: last year at this big international music awards thing, I ran into this really hot Irish singer-songwriter and I kid you not, I could not remember how to breathe.  His eyes were just so blue and his accent was so dreamy...  I think I rambled on about how beautiful he was and how much I loved his music for a good five minutes before he finally determined I was psycho and walked away. Oliver told me that he felt the same way when he was introduced to the girl who played Hermione in th
e
Harry Potte
r
films.  It happens.  Of course, when it happens to Oliver, he still comes off as adorable.  With me, it’s just creepy.  

Plus now I know that if things don’t work out with Sam, I definitely don’t have a shot with the hot Irish guy.

As the next group is escorted in, I can’t help but overhear a conversation a few older girls are having.

“He’s so sexy.  I just hope that those rumors about that one girl aren’t true,” the first one says.  She’s tall and wearing turquoise skinny jeans which are actually really cute with her black and white top.  I don’t know who she’s talking about, but if it involves rumors, I can only imagine it’s Sam.  

“They probably are.  I mean, it was pretty much confirmed by Cory’s girlfriend,” says the second one, a blonde with black glasses and a purple scarf.  

“God, I can’t stand her.  Have you seen the way she talks to fans on Twitter?” their third friend asks.  She’s wearing a pink dress and grey boots.  Why do all these girls dress cuter than I do?   

“No.  I un-followed her and Cory after she said that designers shouldn’t cater to anyone bigger than a size four,” the first one mutters.

“What a bitch.  I can’t believe Cory would go for someone like her!  He’s just so sweet.  I mean, I never had a crush on him, I’m totally an Oliver girl, but I always thought Cory was really smart and sensitive.  Why would he put up with someone like that?” the second girl demands.

“Because she’s gorgeous and looks matter,” the third one grumbles.

“Oh well.  At least we still have Sam,” the first girl sighs.  

“Maybe,” the second girl reminds her.

“No, I know Sam.  He’s better than that.  He’d never do that to his fans because he loves us too much,” the first girl replies.  

“You know one of these days, he will get a girlfriend,” the third one says.

“Of course he is.  It’s going to be me,” the first girl says with a laugh.  

“Oh, whatever.”  The second girl rolls her eyes as they’re called forward to meet the guys.

Whatever hard feelings they had completely melt away as the guys smile and ask them how they’re doing.  All three of them are squealing, and the third one is even jumping up and down.  The first one ends up getting a big hug from Sam, which shouldn’t make me jealous, but come on, who wants to see the guy they like hugging another girl?  Especially one who has just pretty much professed her undying love for him?

I tell you, sometimes I think life would be so much easier if I’d just fallen in love with an accountant.    

⋯

Compared to most days being a working member of The Kind of September’s inner circle, today was kind of easy.  For the guys, the book signing was actually pretty low-energy, which is a rare occurrence for them.  It’s true, they had about a thousand different conversations with a thousand different fans (maybe not that many... I don’t think we had that many books), but at least they got to stay seated most of the time.  Of course, Josh is moaning about his wrist hurting from signing so many autographs, and Sam keeps saying they’re all going to end up with carpal tunnel by the time they’re twenty-two, but I think they all had a lot of fun.

Now, Sam, Oliver, and I are sitting out on the balcony watching the sun set over the New York skyline while the others are inside watching movies.  

“I can’t believe the others are missing this,” Sam remarks, shooting a photo with his camera.  The sun has just disappeared beneath the horizon and the city lights are growing brighter and brighter against the hazy orange and maroon backdrop of the darkening sky.  I’ve watched the sun set from countless balconies all over the world, and yet somehow, it always feels like the first time.  

“I know,” Oliver says.  “Growing up back home in London, I always dreamed of visiting New York City.  It was my one goal in life.  Make it to New York.  Now, I’ve made it dozens of times and I’m still dreaming of it.  I actually have been thinking of buying a home for meself here.”

“You should.  Then we’d all have a place to stay,” I grin. 

“Hey, we should all just move in with Oliver!” Sam announces.

“Yeah!  We could be like the Brady Bunch!” I laugh.

“Except minus the weird sibling relationships and retro seventies hairstyles,” Sam adds.  

“I don’t know.  I think I could sport a bowl cut,” Oliver says.

“Yes, you’d look absolutely smashing, Love,” I grin, mimicking his accent.  Sometimes, Oliver’s British roots come out more than usual, and more often than not, we like to tease him about it. 

“Besides, no one should ever sport a bowl cut unless they’re named John, Paul, George, or Ringo,” Sam says.

“Ringo is my favorite,” I say as a bit of an afterthought. 

“But George is your favorite musically,” Sam adds on.  Oh, he knows me.  I mean, that’s the number one quality you look for in a guy, right?  Being able to correctly identify your favorite Beatles?

“I thought girls liked Paul,” Oliver mutters.

“But Ringo has the best personality,” I insist.