I was trying to get through some of the homework later that night when Cole turned up at my door. I hadn’t even realized how late it was, the sun had gone missing from the sky without me noticing.
“Please tell me what you know about American History,” I begged. Anything to stop me looking up one more fact for my report.
Cole gave me a hug that wasn’t reassuring. “I know everything I need to know.” He wasn’t going to be helpful to my homework problem. We sat on the edge of the bed so I could get away from the table of horrors.
“How come you don’t have a tutor?” I asked, the truth of my statement suddenly hitting me. I’d never seen any of the boys crack open a textbook or have private study sessions.
“Finishing school didn’t seem that important. We were already living our dream and achieving everything we had ever imagined. School seemed like a distraction so we all decided to focus on the band instead.”
“Don’t you worry about the future?” Cole gave me a moment to work out the answer to my own question. “Right, of course. You never have to work another day in your lives if you don’t want to. You’re all set.”
“I’m not saying you shouldn’t study or that it’s not important, it just wasn’t for us. Maybe one day I’ll go back and get my GED, but it’s not on my radar right now,” Cole explained.
I knew it had nothing to do with intelligence, because Cole was smart. It was more of an informed decision. He’d made his priorities the band and he would live with the consequences of that. In his case, it was the right decision, but for others it might not have been.
After Cole left that night, I laid in bed and tried to work out if finishing high school was something I wanted to do or not. It would have been very easy to quit now and focus solely on the music.
But the truth of the matter was, I did want to finish high school. One day I’d still like to go to college and I had no idea what the future would hold for Two Dimension. We might be over tomorrow and then I would have thrown my future away.
As difficult as it was going to be, I needed to continue to stay on top of my schoolwork. If it meant having less free time or that I had to work into the late hours of the night, then that was what I would have to do. It wouldn’t be forever, and I would still graduate on time.
I could do it.
It was the right thing to do.
With the decision made, it was much easier to get to sleep. I needed all the shuteye I could get because the next day we had dance classes.
The boys had been dancing since their band formed almost two years ago. Two Dimension weren’t exactly mega into dancing, but they knew enough cool moves to look like professionals when they performed.
I was not a dancer, not by any means. I could jump up and down, and shimmy when I wanted to, but that was it. Anything more complicated and my feet would get caught up together and trip me over.
And now I had to learn to dance and sing at the same time. All the while, staying out of the way of the boys and not getting all our microphone cords caught up together. To be honest, it seemed like they were asking way too much.
Our dance teacher was named Simon and he was amazing. His body was as lean and quick as an athlete, but he moved with the grace of a world-class ballet dancer. He was also bossy. “Line up and do it again.”
The five of us stood in a row as the music repeated again. I was sweating and puffed, my gaze constantly flicking to the clock to see when the torture would be over. The boys seemed unaffected, not even appearing in the least bit tired.
So apparently I was the only unfit one. Sure, I’d never tried to run a mile or anything, but I didn’t think I was unfit either. I just assumed my physical fitness was a hidden talent, one I had yet to test. Dance class was proving me entirely wrong.
“No, Melrose, you must lead with your left food. Left. Always,” Simon barked at me. Cole shot me an apologetic look. They all knew I was struggling with the routine but none of them could do anything to help me. I just needed practice, which meant doing it a hundred times over again.
We shuffled, jumped, turned, and shook through the rest of the class until Simon allowed us a break. My face was red from the exertion and my legs were like jelly when I found the nearest chair and sat. I had to take in a few deep breaths to start breathing properly again.
My cell phone rang just as Cole was about to say something. I murmured an apology before answering. It was Jemma on the line and I couldn’t ignore her call. “Hey, Jemma. What are you up to?” I put on a fake happy voice so she wouldn’t know how much I hated the dance class.
“I’ve got a cold, Dad let me stay home from school but I’m bored and I don’t feel well. I wish you were here.” I could hear the cold in Jemma’s nasally voice. I always looked after her when she was sick, she wasn’t used to not having me around.
“I wish I was there too, Jem. Did Dad stay home from work to look after you?”
“Mom’s here.” It was still weird hearing her name used so casually, like our mother had never left us all those years ago. I knew she was making a real effort now, but the worry still lingered pretty close to the surface.
“Is she doing a good job?” I asked. She hadn’t been a mother for a long time, after all. I wondered if being a mom was like riding a bicycle and the instincts would kick back in.
“Yeah. But I want you here.”
“I know. I’d like to be there for you too, but I’m working at the moment. I’ll try to get back as soon as I can but it’s probably not going to be for a while.”
“I miss you.”
“I miss you, too.” Simon was giving me the evil eye, telling me our break was just about over. “I’ve got to go, Jem. Why don’t you give Mom a hug and then take a nap? I’m sure that will make you feel lots better.”
“I guess.”
We said goodbye another three times before she would finally let me go. My heart ached for the little girl. I never wanted her to be hurt with my decision to join the band, but she was probably the one most hurt by it all. Hopefully she would understand one day.
For the next two hours, I danced terribly. But perhaps not as terribly as earlier that day, so I had to be improving. Simon seemed less frustrated with me and we actually got through a whole routine without fault.
When we returned to the hotel later, I had a package waiting for me. The concierge said it had been dropped off for me by a young woman. I had no idea who that could have been.
I carried it up to my room, the box was about the size of a book and as heavy as one too. Anticipation built as I waited until I was inside and the door was closed before I opened it.
It was a book.
With pictures of me and the fan I’d met the day earlier.
Chapter Four
Our pictures were glued onto every page of the notebook, with love hearts and artistic squiggles surrounding them. The cover read: My BFF.
I’d met the girl for only a few minutes outside the record label office. We’d only interacted so far as to have a few pictures taken together. And now we were BFFs?
A creepy feeling ran through me, leaving goosebumps on my skin. It felt like a thousand eyes were watching me in the room, taking in everything I was doing and looking at the photos over my shoulder.
I couldn’t look at the notebook any longer. Snapping it closed, I slid it back into the box and then hid it underneath my luggage in the closet. If I couldn’t see it, then it wasn’t creepy anymore. I could pretend it didn’t exist.
Slumping on the bed with exhaustion, I wondered if I was overreacting. The girl – the return contact details on the box said her name was Amber – was probably an ordinary, nice person. She was probably a lot like me, a fan of Two Dimension and obsessed with their music.
That was probably it.
Nothing more sinister.
I still wasn’t going to let the book out of the closet, though. It could stay there for the duration of my stay and then I would decide what to do with it.
; Instead of going to sleep like I wanted to, I pulled out my Chem textbook and started on my homework. Miss Bell had set a grueling schedule for me and I couldn’t fall behind at this early stage.
I must have fallen asleep reading, because the next thing I knew I was jolted awake and it was sunny outside. It had been dark when I started doing my homework. The clock was flashing six o’clock, which meant I should have been up already.
My days of sleeping in were over.
Stretching every limb, it felt like I’d been run over a few times by something very heavy. Dancing was brutal. Even a hot shower couldn’t stop all the aches and pains in my battered body.
There was no time to dwell on my fatigue as excitement set in. We were performing live for our fans later and we had to be ready with our set list by the afternoon. Rehearsals were all morning to make sure we were perfect.
Cole was the first to greet me in the lobby, pulling me into his arms and giving me a kiss on the forehead. The notebook from Amber popped into my head but I pushed it away again, Cole didn’t need to know about it.
The venue was the city’s Entertainment Centre, capable of seating four thousand people. The show was a one-off to get me used to performing live. We’d sold out of tickets. Apparently people wanted to see me potentially making a fool out of myself.
We did a full run-through of the concert from start to finish with no stops, just like we were doing the real thing. It was afterward when Scott told me everything I’d done wrong.
“You have to look at the audience, they are the ones paying to be there. You can’t be looking at the lights or at the boys, they will only distract you.”
Look at the audience, got it.
“You look too rigid just standing there. Make sure you move, never stay still. Even in the slow songs, you should be swaying or something.”
Move more, got it.
“For two songs you were behind the beat. Use the earphones in your ears to listen to the music, don’t rely on listening to the music directly. Otherwise it will put you off.”
Don’t get behind the beat, got it.
The ‘feedback’ went on for more than half an hour. Nobody else did anything wrong except me. The boys gave me words of encouragement, reminding me I was only new to this and they’d done it for years. I could never be as good as they were this early on, but I was determined to make sure I didn’t let them down.
After the pep talk, we performed the whole thing again. This time, I applied everything Scott had said and tried to be the stellar performer I needed to be. Fans had paid good money to see us tonight and they weren’t going to be disappointed. I wouldn’t let it happen.
There were some more ‘feedback’ points afterwards but the list was getting shorter. I could handle it, I would be perfect for the main event.
We ran out of time to continue rehearsing. The venue needed us out so they could clean up the area and then let the ticketholders in. We moved to the green room, using the time to have some dinner and take a break.
Cole and I grabbed some pizza and were sitting by the window together while the others sprawled around the room, getting into the zone in their own ways.
“I hope I don’t let you down tonight,” I said. The band’s brand was important to me, I didn’t want to tarnish it by looking at the lights and not moving enough.
“You can’t. It’s not even possible,” Cole replied quickly. “Just go out there and have fun, the rest of the stuff just happens naturally. The trick is not to worry about it.”
“Because the audience can smell fear?”
He laughed. “Something like that. Have I told you how much I love that you’re doing this with us? The band is so much better with you in it.”
“Let’s hope you still feel that way after tonight.”
He planted a pizza-flavored kiss on my lips. “I will.”
Seven o’clock came too soon and then there was no more time to run away and hide. The five of us were standing in a row at the side of the stage, waiting for the crowd to reach a crescendo of screaming before we stepped out in front of them.
The lights went out and we found our way onto the stage by flashlights directed by crew members. When the lights went up, the crowd roared with enough noise that I was momentarily deaf.
We didn’t have time to wait for the hearing to return before launching into our first song. All the rehearsals paid off as we moved about like a well-oiled machine. I sang and danced like I’d always been a part of Two Dimension. A part of me always had been, but now it was official. Instead of watching from backstage, I was right in the thick of things.
Songs flew by like they were only seconds long. Before I knew it, it was the time in the show I called ‘quiet time’. It was when the lights were turned on in the stadium and the band spoke with the audience, involving them in the show instead of just watching us.
We sat in a line on high stools with handheld microphones, talking casually with the audience like they were the sixth member of the band. Cole did most of the talking, getting strong reactions from the crowd whenever he asked a question or made a joke.
It was impossible for my heart to swell any bigger for him. Surely it was holding all the love it could for someone.
But it always managed to fall even more in love with him.
My gaze travelled across the audience, for the first time really being able to see them without all the lights being shone in my eyes.
Everybody looked so happy.
We may have just been singers, but we played a part in these people’s lives. We gave them an escape from whatever reality they were living with.
When I’d fallen in love with Two Dimension, their music had given me a break from the heaviness of my life. All the stresses of having no money, needing to look after my little sister, keeping my father going, and the unbearable absence of my mother. Their music was a break, making me forget about it all.
It was an honor and a privilege to be able to be that break for all these people watching us now.
The thought brought tears to my eyes which I hastily wiped away before anyone could see. We had thousands of pairs of eyes on us and I couldn’t let them see me crying for no apparent reason.
While blinking back the tears, my gaze stopped still on one audience member.
Amber.
Chapter Five
She was looking up at us with a rapturous expression on her face, like she was in heaven listening to the music. She was in the second row, probably annoyed that she couldn’t get front row tickets.
Before I looked away, she caught me staring at her. A huge smile instantly spread across her face as she waved at me so enthusiastically I thought her arm might fall off.
I smiled and looked away, hoping it was enough to appease her. I didn’t want to encourage her, especially if she thought we were best friends, but I didn’t want to be mean to her either.
Dallas always said that love and hate went hand in hand, and if someone was crazy in love, they could be crazy with hate too. Her words came to mind when thinking of Amber. I didn’t want her hating me as much as she seemed to love me.
Anything could happen then.
I wasn’t sure what I was supposed to do about her attention. Hopefully I wouldn’t need to do anything and she was just another harmless fan.
Except she’d found out how to get to me at the hotel.
And was there for a random meeting at the record label.
The girl knew what she was doing, she’d done her homework. At the very least I needed to keep an eye on her. It was weird having fans, let alone fans I needed to be wary of. I never thought that would happen.
We finished the quiet time and then launched into some upbeat songs to end the show. It was an incredible adrenalin buzz afterwards. To know we pulled off a great show made me feel invincible.
The boys and crew were going to celebrate at a restaurant. We were all underage so clubbing wasn’t an option. Cole pulled me close to him. “You’re coming, righ
t?”
I shook my head sadly. “I’ve got a pile of homework to get through. If I fall behind, Miss Bell is going to kill me.”
“Just for a little while?” The gorgeous look on his pleading face almost made me change my mind. But I had to be sensible, otherwise the house of cards I’d built would come tumbling down around me.
“Next time.”
We said goodbye and everyone gave me a high-five on the way out. I was driven home by our usual driver and dropped off at the hotel.
It felt really lonely being the only one back. My room was so quiet in contrast to the concert. While I pulled out my textbooks, I kept thinking about what the boys were doing right now.
They would all be having a good time. Girls would be gravitating to them, like they always did when the boys were out in public. I’d never really worried about Cole looking at other girls before, but it was bothering me now.
It was probably all in my head. I was just annoyed because I wasn’t there with him. But still, it was playing on my mind and making homework even more laborious.
It wasn’t very rock star of me.
Maybe the concert had been my escape from reality too.
I did my homework until one in the morning, then finally went to bed. There was still no noise from the room next door. The boys were staying out late.
The next week went fast, a whirlwind of performances, rehearsals, and homework. By Thursday of the following week, I was ready for a break. We’d travelled to New York City and I was itching to get out and see some more of the Big Apple.
Instead of our concert schedule, we had a few days off. The first official single with me in the band was to be released today and I was a bundle of nerves. So many questions filled my mind.
Would people like the new song?
Would they like me in the new song?
Would I be able to stay with the band?
What would happen if nobody liked it?
It was nerve-wracking as the song was released to the public for their critique. I heard it on the radio in my hotel room for the first time. The presenter didn’t say much about it, just that it was our new song. That had to be a bad sign. If they liked it, he would have talked about it for a while.
Star Crossed Collection Page 15
