Boy Band

by Jacqueline Smith

  “Well like you said, this is our third album. The first two have been so well-received with the fans and we’re so grateful to all of them for their love and support, and we just really hope that they love this album as much as they love the first two,” Sam says.

  “These songs are our love letter to them,” Oliver adds.

  “Speaking of love letters, your love lives have been crazy lately. Care to share any dirty details?”

  “Don’t believe everything you read online,” Sam advises.

  “Especially about me,” Josh pipes up.

  “Or me,” Oliver adds.

  “Everything they say about me is true,” Jesse jokes.

  “Same,” Cory admits.

  The interviewer laughs. “Well, boys, I hope you enjoy your evening. You truly deserve it.”

  “Thank you.”

  “Thanks a lot.”

  And with that, the guys are back to the lights, stars, and celebrity of the red carpet.

  ⋯

  Every time I watch the Oscars or the Emmys or any sort of awards ceremony, I always think about how strange it is to see so many actors together and out of context. Seeing the guy who plays Han Solo casually chatting with Sherlock Holmes and Catwoman can really throw you for a loop. I’m feeling the same way now, seeing so many different singers and musicians all together. Most of the time, they all seem to exist in their own separate universes.

  Not here. Here, they’re all packed together under one roof, and it’s a little overwhelming. There’s so muchtalent in this one room. It’s strange to think about. How is this building still standing with all the star power inside?

  Joni doesn’t seem at all fazed by the famous faces all around her. Then again, Joni is kind of hard to impress. Me? I’m trying to remind myself to stay calm and pretend I’m cool. It’s difficult. Seriously, how can I be expected to act cool and casual when the greatest names in music are in this room, some of them within mere feet of me? I know that by now, I should be kind of used to it, and with the guys, I totally am. But if you don’t geek out even a little bit when Paul McCartney says hello to you, you might not be human.

  By now, the show is about half over and the guys are the next group to perform. I don’t know why, but I always get anxious whenever I watch them from the audience. Watching from backstage, I’m totally fine, but sitting out here? I’m a nervous wreck.

  Of course, there’s no reason for me to feel this way. The guys love performing live, and they’re always amazing. Even when they mess up or fall down or accidentally botch the lyrics (often on purpose), they smile, laugh it off, and it goes down in fandom history, or at least on Buzzfeed, as yet another adorable and epic The Kind of September moment. Basically, the guys can do no wrong.

  Okay, that’s not entirely accurate. There are plenty of false rumors and bad information floating around about their personal lives. But as far as their career goes, they’re gold. That becomes even clearer when they take the stage to the most enthusiastic ovation of the night.

  Sam:

  She’s in love with autumn leaves

  And the song the zephyrs sing

  I don’t know but I believe

  That love will find her

  Cory:

  She tells me that she likes to play

  When the skies are cold and grey

  But I hope she’ll find a way

  To open up her heart

  Please, baby, open up your heart

  All:

  And meet me, meet me

  Where the lights are always shining

  Meet me, meet me

  On the Midway

  Tell me, tell me

  That our love will be forever

  And we will be together, come what may

  On the Midway

  Josh:

  I don’t know what she thinks about

  Her pretty head is filled with doubt

  But I hope she’ll figure out

  How much I need her

  Oliver:

  She laughs away the dark of night

  And her eyes are full of light

  Oh, that she’d be mine tonight

  I’d never let her go

  No, I’ll never let you go

  All:

  So meet me, meet me

  Where the lights are always shining

  Meet me, meet me

  On the Midway

  Tell me, tell me

  That our love will be forever

  And we will be together, come what may

  On the Midway

  Jesse:

  You say you’re scared of how you feel

  And I can understand

  But I know that this love is real

  Just let me take your hand...

  All:

  And meet me, meet me

  Where the lights are always shining

  Meet me, meet me

  On the Midway

  Tell me, tell me

  That our love will be forever

  And we will be together, come what may

  On the Midway.

  CHAPTER 14

  “It’s nights like these

  In the summer

  I remember

  And I wonder

  Are you here with me

  Eleven summers

  Passing slowly

  Do you remember

  To remember June...”

  Song: “Remembering June”

  Artist: The Kind of September

  From the Album:The Kind of September

  Note to self. It doesn’t matter how cool the American Music Awards after-party is. If you have to wake up to catch an 8:00 AM flight, you’re going to feel terrible. I know you thought you could handle it. You can’t.

  I’m not kidding you. I didn’t know it was physically possible to be this exhausted. Honestly, I have no idea how the guys are even conscious right now. I only attended one after-party. They were invited to three! Granted, as Artist of the Year, they deserved to let loose and celebrate. But three after-parties?

  I’m willing to bet they didn’t even bother sleeping, but I haven’t asked them. No one seems capable of actually making words.

  This isn’t fair. I didn’t even drink.

  The only person who is even kind of sort of awake and functional is Joni, but that’s because she skipped all the after-parties and went straight back to our hotel after the awards were over. She’s been trying to go over the schedule for after we land back in New York, but none of us are listening. I think I might have heard something about an interview and a photo shoot, but thankfully, no one wants to take pictures of me, so guess what?

  I’m gonna sleep.

  Honestly though, I know I sound like I’m complaining a lot, but I’m really,really happy for the guys and so proud of them. I know they’re proud of all they’ve accomplished too, and they should be. Last night was awesome. This week is going to be spectacular. If the most I’ve got to complain about is that I only got a few hours of sleep last night, I’d say life is pretty okay.

  “Sam Morneau’s Secret Affair,” Joni announces out of the blue.

  Wait, that doesn’t sound okay.

  “What?” Sam asks, looking like he just snapped out of a really weird dream and into an even weirder reality.

  “According to a number of witnesses, notorious heartbreaker, Sam Morneau, was seen flirting and partying with fellow pop sensation Chloe Conley,” Joni reads from her phone. “Friends of Conley, who famously dated Morneau’s friend and bandmate, Josh Cahill, confirm that the two got cozy last night at one of the American Music Awards after-parties.

  “‘They seemed really into each other. It didn’t seem to bother him at all that she’s his friend’s ex,’ claims one source, who requested to remain anonymous.

  “No word yet on how Cahill, who is often viewed as the most sensitive of the group -”

  “What?!” Josh exclaims.

  “- is handling this devastating betrayal.”

  “Are you k
idding me?” Sam groans and leans his head back against the airport benches.

  “Did you see Chloe Conley last night?” Joni asks him.

  “For like, two seconds. We ran into each other, I told her I enjoyed her performance, she gave me a hug and that was it.”

  “See, where you went wrong was telling her you enjoyed her performance,” Jesse remarks.

  “Do people really think I’m the sensitive one?” Josh demands. His brows are furrowed and he looks like he’s trying not to panic. I’m kind of beginning to think that he and I are a lot alike. We’re both dwellers. “I’m not the sensitive one, am I?”

  “Right now? Yes,” Joni answers.

  “I knew it. It’s the big brown eyes, isn’t it?”

  “And the whiny personality. Shut up,” Joni snaps. “How many times do I have to tell you guys to be careful? You know what kind of person Chloe Conley is. You guys just won Artist of the Year, and you’re less than twenty-four hours away from your third album release. This is not at all the time for any sort of bad publicity.”

  “Well, it’s a little late for that, apparently,” Jesse comments. He sounds almost amused.

  “Jesse?” Cory says.

  “Yeah, bro?”

  “Not helping.”

  “Look, I know you think I’m overreacting, and I know that this is just a big joke to you, but don’t you understand what the problem is?” Joni asks.

  The guys respond with blank stares. I’m not really even sure I understand what the problem is. Yes, I hate that Sam is the target of yet another fake scandal and I hate that these people persistently spread lies about him and the guys, but in all honesty, I really don’t see any of that affecting their popularity or their record sales. They never have in the past.

  “Is it because some crazy girl and her goons are spreading lies about us? Because that happens like, every day,” Josh reminds her.

  “But what’s the difference here?” Joni asks. Again, the stares. I think Oliver and Sam are actually on the verge of dozing off. Joni heaves an exasperated sigh. Surely she’s figured out by now that the guys have talent oozing out their ears, but when it comes to logic and actually having to think, the glass is half-full, at best. “The difference is that this time, they’re pitting you against each other.”

  “So?” Josh asks, shrugging his shoulders.

  “How do I explain this?” Joni rubs her eyes with the heels of her hands. “Mel. Why do you like reading those stupid young adult novels?”

  “Hey, they’re not stupid.” That’s totally offensive. I love young adult fiction. Maybe it’s not as quote-unquote sophisticated as what Joni likes to read, but you know what? Those books make me happy. So there.

  “Just answer the question,” Joni tells me.

  “I don’t know. They’re fun.”

  “But they’re not all fun, are they? They’ve all got a bit of drama. A love triangle. Feuding mythical creatures. Maybe a romance with a dead person.”

  “What’s your point?” I ask.

  “The point is that those books wouldn’t sell half as well if there wasn’tconflict. These gossip columnists and reporters are the same way. No one wants to read a news article about a band who gets along. There has always got to be some kind of back-stabbing or friction, and if there isn’t any, they’re going to find a way to create some.”

  “Okay, that might be the case, but there is no friction. There’s no inner turmoil. Sam didn’t betray anyone. They can write that stuff all day long, Jo. It doesn’t make it true,” Jesse says.

  “It’s not true this time,” Joni says, folding her arms across her chest.

  “What, are you saying you think Sam is that guy? That he, or any of us, would actually do something like this? Come on, Joni, I thought you knew us better than that.”

  “Stop,” Sam raises his voice. “Look, if Joni’s right and the media wants to stir up some kind of tension between us, then they’re doing a pretty good job. Jesse, you know that Joni is just trying to look out for us. Give her a break.”

  “Thank you, Sam,” Joni says.

  “You’re welcome,” Sam tells her. “And look, I’m just as sick of these lies as you are. But if we let them get to us, then the tabloids and everyone behind them win. And yeah, it’s upsetting to think that some people will actually believe I would do this to a friend - ”

  “Not as upsetting as it is that people think I’mdevastatedby this so-called betrayal,” Josh once again interjects.

  “ –however, we have too much going on this week. Too muchgoodstuff. And I think that’s what we need to be focusing on. Not this.”

  I’m not sure I’ve mentioned this, but Sam can be very eloquent when he wants to be. I mean yeah, most of the time, he’s kind of gross or kind of silly or sometimes even mildly inappropriate, but he’s got his head and his heart in the right place. That’s not something I can say for a lot of people. I’m not even sure it’s something I can say for myself.

  “You know it’s still going to come up,” Joni warns them. “In all these interviews. They’re going to be asking about this and not the album.”

  “And we’ll deal with it,” Sam assures her. “We always do.”

  “And as always, we’ll charm them with our ravishing good-looks and devil-may-care charisma,” Jesse says.

  “And make it very clear that I amnotthe sensitive one.”

  “Josh, let it go.”

  ⋯

  While the guys are at their photo shoot, I’m taking the time to do some last-minute studying for my finals. And by that, of course, I mean I’m browsing all the social media sites to see how the fans are responding to the Sam/Chloe/Josh non-triangle.

  It’s funny. I always thought that drama like this ended in high school. But clearly, that’s not the case. In fact, I’m tempted to say it only gets worse. In high school, all you have to worry about are grades and whether or not a cute boy likes you. Out in the real world, there are stupid things like money and reputations and status that make people go out of their already ridiculous minds.

  Don’t believe the lie, kids. There is no magical line that people cross once they reach the age of eighteen that magically transforms them into mature adults. They’re all still the same, crazy, dramatic people, but with the legal ability to vote. Yay, America.

  As before with the #Meliver debacle, there are fans who are jumping to Sam’s defense. However, there are others who are accusing him of being a player. Several are in denial. A few are begging the masses to mind their own business. Unfortunately, those precious few are often lost beneath the hundreds of thousands of fans bemoaning their existence.

  This time, however, I’m also noticing a bit of a new trend: theWe Hate Chloe Conley trend.

  I can’t believe that @MsChloeConley would do this to Sam. I used to like her music. Now she makes me sick.

  Chloe Conley’s new album is coming out next month! No one buy it!

  @MsChloeConley is literally the worst person I’ve ever heard of. #SupportSamMorneau

  Even though I know Sam appreciates his fans sticking up for him, I also know that he would be the first person to tell them not to blame Chloe. I’ve never met her, so I have no idea what she’s really like, but from what I’ve heard, it’s the people working for her who fuel these continuous flames of fraudulence. Granted, that kind of means it’s still on her for not firing them, but she doesn’t seem to be a bad person. Even if she was, Sam still wouldn’t want to see his fans criticizing a fellow musician. None of the guys would.

  But while the fans aren’t really saying anything new, the media is taking the reports to the next level.

  Sam and Chloe’s Backstage Passion!

  The Ultimate Betrayal: Sam Morneau Hooking Up With Bandmate’s Ex!

  Is This the End of TKOS? Sam Morneau and Josh Cahill Feuding over Pop Princess Chloe Conley!

  And wouldn’t you know it? They’re all the top news stories.

  Joni was right. Angst sells. Too bad for the press, none of i
t’s true. Well actually, it might be a good thing for them. If The Kind of September did happen to break up, then all their dramatic source material goes out the window. They’d have to rely on other celebrities to stir up trouble, and let’s face, it, no one else does anything as scandalous as TKOS. Supposedly.

  You know, it’s kind of weird to think that for once, Tara isn’t behind all this. Unless she got jealous that she wasn’t invited to the awards themselves, let alone the after-parties, and went to all the news outlets as some sort of ill-conceived attempt at vengeance. But to tell you the truth, I don’t think she’s that smart.

  Unfortunately, Cory still hasn’t figured out that she isn’t that smart because he’s still dating her. Or maybe brains just aren’t that important to him. Either way, Sam just texted me to let me know that Cory’s invited her back to our hotel for the evening since, and I quote, she hasn’t seen him in three whole days. Why can’t he just go back to her hotel? Because the album is being released tonight at midnight and he wants her to be a part of the celebration.

  Honestly, I don’t know how much celebrating will be going on, since I got more sleep than all of them last night and I can barely stand up straight. But they’re guys. Even when we were kids, they seemed to have more energy than us girls. I don’t know why. Maybe the estrogen slows us down or something.

  I just got another text from Sam.

  Are you still studying?

  Yep, I reply. And of course, by that, I mean no. But I am still sitting in my room, in my sweats, on my computer, so I guess that sort of counts as studying.

  Great. Be there in ten minutes.

  As usual, I feel a tiny skip in my otherwise perfectly stable heartbeat. Being with Sam anytime is always wonderful, but being alone with him is the best.

  Okay. See you soon. :)

  Want food? he asks.

  Oh, always.

  Okay. I’ll see what I’ve got in my stash.

  Sam is kind of like a squirrel. Every once in a while, he goes on grocery raids where he stocks up on snack foods. He doesn’t even look at what he buys. If he can eat it, it goes in the stash. The weird part is that none of us know where he keeps this secret food. It is a total mystery. As far as I know, he’s never told a soul. May I just say that keeping a secret like that in a group like this is unprecedented. Privacy just doesn’t exist in this environment, and yet none of us can find Sam’s Secret Snack Stash. It’s the one thing in the world that I don’t know about him.