Boy Band

by Jacqueline Smith

  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.

  “How do you know? You never met him.”

  “She has a thing for drummers,” Sam smirks.

  “Shut up, I do not.” This is one of ourthings, but it’s one that, honestly, I could live without. Long story short, when I was a junior in high school, I went to a music banquet with one of the drummers from marching band. He wasn’t exactly the best date ever. He talked a lot, but he didn’t seem to care about anything I had to say. He also had really bad acne and got a little handsy as the night progressed. He claimed it was because I was “taller” than him, but that’s no excuse. Needless to say, I don’t look back on that night with very much nostalgia. Just a bit of contempt. And nausea.

  “Really? Do you have a thing for Chris?” Oliver asks. Chris Ortega is the band’s drummer. He’s a great guy, but for one thing, he has a girlfriend. For another, he watches really weird cartoons and they kind of freak me out. And finally, I have a thing for someone else. Coincidentally, the one teasing me about my thing for drummers.

  “No, I do not have a thing for Chris. I don’t have a thing for drummers!” Then again, growing up, Zac was my favorite Hanson brother. But they don’t need to know that. No reason to add fuel to an already annoying fire.

  “That’s good. Because, I think Angela might be able to beat you up,” Oliver tells me. Angela is Chris’ girlfriend, and she’s really tall and used to wrestle recreationally in college. She could totally beat me up. Thankfully, she’s also really sweet and she and I get along pretty well.

  “Then I guess it’s a good thing I don’t have a thing for drummers.”

  “Methinks the lady doth protest too much,” Sam remarks in a sing song voice that is nowhere near as sexy as his regular singing voice.

  “Methinks you’re about to get punched in the face,” I counter.

  “You wouldn’t hit me. I’m too pretty.”

  “Wanna bet?”

  And so I do hit him. Not hard, and definitely not in the face. But I punch him playfully on the arm. He, in turn, goes to grab my ear but I slap his wrist away. For some reason, this makes him laugh and he reaches over his chair to try to tickle my ribs, resulting in me almost tipping over in my lounge chair and spilling my glass of water all over myself.

  “Oh! Oh my God, that’s cold!” I shriek. It’s also November in New York, which makes it even colder.

  “Mel, I’m so sorry.” I don’t know if he’s actually sorry or not. He’s laughing too much to tell.

  “Let me get you a towel,” Oliver stands up and rushes inside. Technically, Sam should be the one rushing to get me a towel since, let’s be honest, this is all his fault. But I can’t say I mind being left alone on the balcony with him, overlooking the magnificent glow of the lights of New York City.

  Even if my pants are cold and soaking wet.

  “I really am sorry, Mel,” Sam apologizes again. This time he really does sound sincere. Though he is still kind of giggling. “Are you okay?”

  “I’m fine,” I say. To be totally honest, I’m still laughing too. And shivering slightly. He notices.

>   “Here,” he says, slipping his jacket off and tossing it over me. It’s warm and leather and it smells like him. I love it.

  I also love just being out here with him, almost to the point where I’m wishing Oliver wasn’t coming back. Part of it was because I love being alone with Sam no matter what, but I especially love being alone with him here, in this city. There’s something about New York. I can’t explain it. It’s less of a place and more of an experience. To see it and to hear it is all to feel it. It’s the feeling of adventure and being away from home and being totally free. The city lives and breathes and thrives and its energy stays with you long after you leave it.

  It’s a place to lose yourself and, I realize looking into Sam’s smiling face, it’s a place to dream.

  CHAPTER 7

  “Baby, I just wanna dance with you

  Take you in my arms and make you mine

  You know I’ve never seen your eyes so blue

  And I never knew that this could feel so right

  You tell me that the world is calling you

  Well, baby it can wait while

  I just wanna dance with you.”

  Song: “Dance With You”

  Artist: The Kind of September

  From the Album:The Kind of September

  From the very beginning, the guys have wanted their fans to know that they come first. One of the ways they ensure that is by staying as connected to them as possible. During their very first tour, they started doing these monthly question and answer sessions on YouTube. As their career advanced and their lives got more and more hectic, however, they were only able to get the videos out a few times a year.

  Today, they’ve got a little extra down time so they decided to film a new video from our hotel. One of the things I admire most about the guys is that even when they have free time, they’re using it to work, write music, or connect with their fans.

  They’re arranged around a couch with a fantastic view of New York City behind them and they’ve all got huge grins on their faces. This is the kind of thing that they really love, partly because it reminds them of when they were first starting out. They still love everything about what they do, but the crazy schedules and constantly being in the public eye does take a toll. They’re also a lot more relaxed and free to be themselves in this setting than they usually are in interviews.

  “Alright, let’s get this show on the road!” Sam exclaims, clapping his hands together. “Mel, are we recording?”

  Oh yeah, they’ve asked me to film.

  “Almost. Is everyone ready?” I ask them. I get five variations of yes and two thumbs up. “Then we are rolling in three, two, one...” I give them a nod as I press record.

  “Hello, Internet!” Sam greets their future viewers with a cheerful wave.

  “Greetings, earthlings,” Jesse says in a weird nasal voice which I guess is meant to sound like an alien. Every once in a while, he decides he wants to try to be funny. Between you and me, he’s better as the sexy bad boy.

  “What’s up, what’s up, everyone?” Josh grins. “We are here in New York City, as you can see behind us.” All five guys turn around to look at the city. “And we wanted to bring back something that we haven’t done in far too long.”

  “Questions and answers!” All five shout out together.

  “As you all hopefully know, we have a new album coming out soon,” Cory says.

  “But not soon enough!” Josh cuts in.

  “And that’s why we’re here today,” Oliver concludes. “Why don’t we get started?”

  “Alright, our first question is from Rochelle in Phoenix, Arizona,” Sam reads from the laptop that they’re sharing. “Her question is, ‘If you could star in any television show or movie, what would it be and why?’”

  “Star Wars,” Josh answers immediately.

  “Why would you pickStar Wars?” Sam asks him.

  “The real question is whywouldn’tI pickStar Wars?” Josh rebuts.

  “Okay then. Oliver?” Sam asks.

  “I want to be the next Sherlock Holmes.”

  “Because you’re British?” Jesse asks.

  “Yes. That is the only reason,” Oliver deadpans.

  “I’d like to play someone smart, like a doctor or a professor. I can’t think of a name though,” Cory says.

  “That sounds so boring. It’s so you,” Josh remarks.

  “I’d be in a horror flick, likeThe Shining,” Jesse answers, looking cool and confident.

  “But you hate scary movies,” Sam reminds him. That is the understatement of the century. Jesse might like to pretend he’s a badass or whatever, but the truth is he is a huge wimp. Last Halloween, we decided to have a classic horror movie night on the tour bus and Jesse flat-out refused to watchThe Exorcist. According to him, he “accidentally” saw it as a child and it scarred him for life. Now, I have no idea how you “accidentally” see a movie, but clearly, it was a traumatic experience.

  “I know, but if I was in one, then maybe it wouldn’t be as scary,” Jesse explains.

  Okay, so he’s not very good at being a bad boy either.

  “I’d be in zombie show, likeThe Walking Dead,” Sam finally answers. “And I say that because zombies are cool. Also, I really like the idea of being a survivalist.”

  “Says the guy who just bought a new pair of seven-hundred-dollar shoes,” Cory comments.

  “Um, excuse me, mymombought them for me and they’re for the tour,” Sam says. By this point, I have to bite my tongue to keep from laughing.

  “Fair enough.”

  “Alright, what’s the next question?” Oliver asks.

  “Oh, this is a good one,” Jesse says. “How did you guys come up with the name The Kind of September? That’s from Lora in Edinburgh, Scotland.”

  “That is a good question,” Cory agrees. “We actually got it from a musical that Sam and a few of our friends saw back in high school,The Fantasticks. One of the songs in it is called ‘Try to Remember’ and it’s actually a quote from that song. We all just really liked it.”

  “Both the name and the song,” Sam adds. “It’s actually a great musical too.”

  “Would you go so far to say that it’sfantastic?” Josh asks, nudging Sam’s arm with his elbow. “Huh?” He follows up with a huge wink and a cheesy grin.

  Oh, Josh. Aren’t you just so funny?

  “Okay, our next question comes from Meagan in Hot Springs, Arkansas. I love that place,” Oliver grins. “The question is if you could switch places with any of your bandmates, who would it be?”

  “You,” Sam answers.

  “Me?” Oliver sounds surprised to hear him say that. “Why me?”

  “Because all the girls just totally love your accent.”

  “It’s true,” Jesse says.

  “In that case, I want to be Oliver too,” Josh says.

  “Same here,” Cory agrees.

  “Okay, so we’d all be Oliver. Oliver, who would you be?” Jesse asks.

  “Josh,” Oliver replies.

  “Really?” Josh looks like that one response just made his entire life.

  “Yeah. You’re just so happy all the time. And I wish I could make people laugh like you.”

  “Oh, Ollie... I don’t know what to say.” Josh pretends to cry and waves his hand in front of his face.

  “Okay, our last question comes from Savannah in Pensacola, Florida,” Cory says. “She asks, ‘Is it hard being away from your friends and family for such extended periods of time?’”

  “Oh wow, that’s a heavy one,” Jesse says.

  “The short answer to that is yes, it’s very hard,” Oliver says. “But I think it’s also worth mentioning that we have some of our very best friends here on this journey with us, and I don’t know what they think, but I feel like we’ve become a family.”

  “Definitely, I’ve always felt that way,” Josh says.

  “Same here,” Sam chimes in.

  And even though I’m not a part of this video ch
at, I have to agree with them. There are a lot of hard things about being on the road and away from home, the first of which being you don’t really feel like you have a home anymore. Of course you have ahome, as in the place you grew up, but you don’t really live anywhere. You also have to be really okay with just going with the flow and eating whatever you have in the hotel or the tour bus instead of sitting down for a nice home-cooked meal of your choice. Everyone is busy and stressed and together twenty-four hours a day, so if you have even the slightest argument or problem, you’d better get over it quickly because you are going to be seeing that person all the time.

  But when it all comes down to it, families are kind of the same way. In fact, sometimes, I think that’s what makes a family. It’s so easy to be around people when everything is... well... easy. But the people who’ve been with you through thick and thin, who’ve seen you at your absolute worst, and who still want to hang out with you at the end of the day?

  If that isn’t family, I don’t know what is.

  ⋯

  It’s snowing.

  It’s only November and it’s already snowing. A lot.

  Okay, it’s November in New York. I’m guessing this isn’t as much of an unheard of phenomenon as it would be in say, San Francisco, but for a group of twenty-somethings who are from San Francisco (well, and one from London), it’s a weird experience.

  Maybe not so much for the Londoner, but for the Californians, it’s weird. That’s probably why we’re all making such a big deal out of it.

  The second the snow started falling, Sam scrambled for his camera and ran out onto the balcony to take pictures. About five minutes later, however, he remembered how much he hates the cold and ran back inside. He’s been repeating the same pattern for about three hours now.

  Josh, on the other hand, announced that we all needed fleece blankets, hot chocolate, and a fire. Apparently, experiencing a real New York winter is a lifelong dream of his and he wants to do it right. Unfortunately, Josh, Jesse, and Oliver don’t have a real fireplace in their hotel room, so we had to improvise. As it turns out, there’s a cable station that, around this time of year, is a non-stop video of a fireplace burning and Christmas music playing in the background.