The Takeover

by Oli White

  Ten minutes later, while everyone else was lost in a whirl of drinking and chattering, I clocked Austin hanging out by himself by the pear tree. He was holding a beer but not drinking it, just staring up into the clear sky. I headed over, slightly concerned that he might still be feeling adrift after everything that had happened.

  ‘How’s it going?’ I said, shaking him out of his trance. ‘Is everything OK, Austin?’

  His mouth widened, turning into an unexpected grin. ‘Yeah, J, I’m just thinking. I’m actually feeling really happy.’

  ‘Yeah?’

  ‘God, yeah! Since we made up, and after the success of the show, I just feel so much more confident about everything. It’s like the fog is lifting, do you know what I mean?’

  I nodded. ‘I think so, yeah.’

  ‘I’ve even called Jess and made up with her,’ he said.

  ‘What, so you’re back together?’

  Austin shook his head categorically. ‘Jess wasn’t right for me and I let it go on way too long. In the end, I was blaming myself for a break-up that was always on the cards. The problem was, I let her prey on all my insecurities. She was forever criticising me and I should have told her where to go, but instead I just took it all on board and then felt crap about myself.’

  ‘Well, it’s good that you know that,’ I said. ‘You’ve got no reason to feel crap about anything, mate.’

  ‘I’m starting to realise that now. I actually had my first couple of therapy sessions this week.’ He was reddening slightly but I could tell that he was happy he’d told me.

  ‘And? How were they?’

  ‘I think they might be a life-saver,’ he laughed. ‘I wish I’d reached out for help earlier, J. If I could have been more honest about my weird state of mind, Ethan would never have been able to drive a wedge between us in the first place.’ He took a slug of his beer, looking thoughtful. ‘Actually, if it’s cool with everyone else, I’d like to do a really open, honest vlog for GenNext about what I’ve been going through.’

  ‘That sounds a very cool idea,’ I smiled.

  ‘It does, right?’ Austin said. ‘I mean, there must be loads of other young guys like me who suffer in silence, so maybe I can help people like that … I don’t know …’

  ‘You’re just dying to get in front of a camera now, aren’t you?’ I said, grinning.

  ‘Yeah, that too,’ he laughed. ‘Watch your back, Penman, I’m coming for you.’

  ‘Chicken and hot dogs are done!’ Dad shouted, coming into the garden with two large roasted chickens.

  ‘But my stunningly excellent triple-cooked chips will be another few minutes,’ Lewis added competitively.

  By the time we sat down at the large wooden table, the temperature had dropped a little, so Dad fired up the patio heaters and we all pulled on sweaters and hoodies so we could hang out in the garden late into the evening. Mum had put a checked tablecloth out and decorated the table with tiny tea lights, and as it got darker, Dad’s solar lights, woven into the branches of the pear tree and scattered all around the garden, twinkled into action so the whole place looked cool and sort of magical. It was good to see the gang chattering noisily across the table, laughing and stuffing themselves silly with all the amazing grub, and the fact that Lewis was there with us made it even better. Who’d have bloody well thought it, huh? That annoying surfer dude I’d once been so worried about meeting had turned out to be not just a long-lost brother, but a true friend.

  I glanced over at him tucking into a ketchup-drowned hot dog like a hungry caveman. ‘Er … excuse me, Lewis. Didn’t you once tell us, not all that long ago, that you never ate processed food?’

  ‘The occasional sausage, man,’ he said, grinning. ‘The occasional sausage.’

  ‘OK, I’ll let you off,’ I said.

  Dad scooted Sai out of the way and sat down next to me. ‘I’m really chuffed you two are getting on, Jack. You know it means a lot to me.’

  ‘Yeah, well, I’ll get back to you after that bike rally I’ve agreed to go on with the pair of you next week,’ I laughed. ‘Maybe the novelty will have worn off by then.’

  ‘I doubt it,’ Mum said, hovering over us with a plate of chicken breasts. ‘I think you and your brother are more alike than you think, Jack.’

  Lewis smiled at me. ‘Yeah, I think we probably are.’

  Ava, who was sitting next to me on the other side, nudged me in the ribs, dropping her food back onto the plate. ‘Do you know what? I’d be enjoying this falafel wrap a damned sight more if I wasn’t being choked by your insanely overpowering aftershave, Penman. What the hell is that?’

  ‘Is that what it is?’ Lily giggled. ‘For a minute I thought it was some kind of weird spice in the chicken.’

  ‘It was a gift from Olympia, and I like it.’ I was slightly offended. ‘It actually arrived yesterday with a handwritten note of congratulations on how well the live show went down, and acknowledging her terrible lack of judgement over Ethan.’

  ‘God, she should have bought you a frickin’ house for that,’ Sai snorted.

  ‘Yeah, well, he had us all fooled,’ Austin said, looking down.

  ‘At least it sounds like he’ll be getting the help he needs now,’ Ella said gently. She was referring to the fact that after Ethan was questioned by the police, he was taken to a nearby psychiatric unit for evaluation. The staff there had been keeping Olympia updated, and seemed confident they could get him the right treatment, even though it might be a long road.

  There was a moment of silence before AJ lightened the mood. ‘I spoke to Olympia this morning,’ he said. ‘She is most definitely keen to go ahead with the US deal and wants to be sure, after everything that’s happened, that you’re all still on board.’

  ‘Well, that’s good news,’ Suki smiled.

  Ella looked nervously around the group. ‘Is it, though? I mean … what do you all think?’

  Ava and Austin both shrugged, turning to me as if I might give them a sign.

  ‘What’s to consider?’ Sai said, clearly surprised at the lack of excitement. ‘I’m happy to start packing when I get home – as long as Lily can come with me.’

  Lily laughed, elbowing him in the gut. ‘Try and stop me, muscle boy.’

  ‘I just think it’s something we really need to think about carefully after the events of the last couple of months,’ Ella said.

  This time I understood Ella’s trepidation about working in America. Before the summer we’d have all leapt at the chance to go and work on a TV show there, but it just seemed like every time GenNext got involved with a new partner, something went horribly wrong. Maybe we were better off staying just as we were and always had been – five friends, doing something we all loved.

  ‘When do we have to decide by, AJ?’ Austin said. ‘Is it imminent?’

  ‘We can’t hang about, let’s put it that way,’ AJ said. ‘I’ll have to meet Olympia sometime early next week and start the ball rolling if we want to go ahead.’

  I looked around the table at Ella, Austin, Ava and Sai and something struck me. It didn’t really matter what we decided to do. Whatever happened, we’d still all be friends, and GenNext would always go on in some form or another. Sure, it might reshape itself along the way, and some of us might have other goals and ambitions we wanted to pursue, but nothing could change the fact that GenNext was something amazing that the five of us had created … together.

  Later in the evening, I found Ella alone in the kitchen, helpfully stacking the dishwasher. As I watched her, a wave of happiness washed over me. I loved this girl so much.

  ‘Do you know how incredibly sexy you look stacking a dishwasher? You definitely need to do that more often,’ I said, knowing full well that there was a distinct possibility I was about to get a dinner plate smashed over my head.

  Ella whirled around. ‘Did you actually say that, Jack Penman?’

  ‘Yeah, but I was just kidding,’ I laughed. ‘I’m well aware that if we ever got married or lived
together, I’d be the one stacking the dishwasher and looking half as good doing it.’

  ‘Yes, well, there’s no chance of any wedding bells if you keep on making comments like that, sunshine.’ She crossed the room, putting her arms around my waist and pulling me in close. ‘So what do you think about this American thing? Are you still keen to do it?’

  ‘I think we’re all going to have to sleep on it, but whatever happens, it’s not going to change anything between us,’ I said.

  Ella smiled up at me. ‘Are you sure about that?’

  ‘Very,’ I said, kissing her. ‘Even if I decide I want to go, and you decide you want to stay here and go to drama school, we’ll make it work, I promise. We’re strong enough to get through anything, including a bit of long-distance. If I’ve learned anything over the past couple of months, it’s that we both have to follow our own path. We all do. Destiny and all that stuff …’

  ‘Destiny and all that stuff.’ Ella nodded in agreement. ‘You know, that’s extremely profound, Jack Penman … and do you know something else?’

  ‘What, Ella Foster?’

  She stood on tiptoe and kissed me once more. ‘That aftershave really, really needs to go.’

  ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

  Well, I can’t quite believe that Generation Next: The Takeover is here! It feels like the first book only came out yesterday. I was pretty nervous at the thought of doing a sequel because I wanted it to be as good as the first, but I can confidently say that I’m extremely happy with how this new book has turned out!

  I want to thank Emily, Louise, Naomi and the rest of the team at Hodder for being amazing throughout the whole writing process; I couldn’t have done any of this without you.

  I want to thank Terry, my co-writer, for once again smashing it and making my vision come true; you’ve done such an incredible job, mate!

  I want to thank Sophie, Molly, Rory and the rest of the James Grant team for believing in me and for always pushing me to do my very best.

  I want to thank my amazing mum, my dad and my awesome brother James for supporting my crazy, strange job – although I still don’t think they understand what it is that I actually do half of the time. Haha!

  And I finally want to thank all of you who are reading this. As I always say, the support you guys give me is overwhelming, and I couldn’t wish for a better audience. I certainly wouldn’t be having so much fun and enjoying all these unbelievable experiences if it weren’t for you. You’ve made me who I am today and I hope we can continue this epic adventure together.