Boy Band (12 page)

I don’t have to ask what “it” is.  

“I’m not sure it’s something that you ever fully get used to,” I tell him.  “It’s still overwhelming to me and I’m not even in the band.”

“You’re still part of the group,” he reminds me.  “I bet if you actually made your Twitter account public, you’d have a million followers like that.”  He snaps his fingers. 

“Maybe.”  I doubt it.  But then, Joni is up to well over a million.  Of course, interacting with fans is part of her job.  “I don’t know.  I’m kind of happy being invisible.”

“You’r
e
no
t
invisible.”  

“Not completely, but I can still go out and enjoy a drink at Starbucks without being recognized.”  And I’m not complaining about that at all.  In fact, I love it. 

“True.  I have to admit, I kind of envy you that,” Sam tells me.  

“You could go out in disguise,” I suggest.

“You mean like with a fake mustache and a trench coat?” he laughs.

“You could try to grow a real mustache.”  

I say try because Sam, God bless him, is one of those guys who just can’t grow facial hair.  He’s tried.  Last year, all the guys decided to participate in No-Shave-November (about which all of us girls had very mixed feelings) and everyone was convinced Sam was cheating because he barely grew anything.  Just a little sparse stubble on his chin and on his upper lip.  It doesn’t make him any less sexy, but the guys do like to give him a hard time about it every now and then.  Especially Jesse, who, in thirty short days, grew one of the most extravagant and full, ginger-colored beards the world has ever seen.  

“I think by the time I actually manage to grow a mustache, scientists will have invented a teleportation device that will enable me to phase in and out of public at my leisure thus eliminating any need I may have had for a disguise in the first place,” Sam remarks.  

What can I say?  The man makes a valid argument.  

“Well, at least you have a cute face,” I tell him absently.  It’s nothing I haven’t told him before, and certainly nothing he isn’t already fully aware of.  But it is the first time I’ve said something like that since confessing out loud that I’m actually in love with him and for some reason, I’m convinced that Oliver is somehow sending Sam telepathic messages about my feelings for him and I’m not going to lie to you, I’m kind of freaking out a little.    

See, this is the kind of crazy that a guy like Sam really just doesn’t need in his life.

Thankfully, he just grins at me.  Sam never overreacts.  He stays calm, cool, and collected.  And confident.  My gosh, he is so confident.  Everything just comes so easily and naturally to him.  That’s something I’ve always loved about him, and something I’ve always envied.  I also think it’s why we work so well together as friends.  

Of course, I’m hoping it means that we’ll work even better together as something more.

CHAPTER 10

“
This time we have

The time we make

This time I love

The time we take

I’ll never ever

Want this moment

In this time to end

So let’s take some time

Take some time

Take some time to 

Begin again
.
”

Song: “Time”

Artist: The Kind of September 

From the Album
:
Meet Me on the Midway

This morning when I open my eyes, everything is perfectly normal.  The sun is shining through the white curtains of our hotel room, and Joni is drying her hair in the bathroom.  Sam is lying next to me, smiling with what I can only call absolute delight and giddiness.

Oh wait, that’s not normal.  

“What the - ?” I croak, half-leaping, half-falling out of bed.     

“Good morning, sunshine,” he greets me with a cheeky grin.  

“Did
I
mis
s
something?” I demand.

“Incidentally, that’s what I came to ask you.”

“What are you talking about?  And how did you get in here?”

“Joni let me in.  But I’m afraid we have more pressing issues to discuss.”  And with that, he holds up his phone.  His Twitter app is open to a list of Trending Topics.  “Notice anything?”

Right off the bat?  No, I don’t.  There’s something about football, something about outer space, something about Kelli Barnett and her new nose job.

“If you’re talking about Uranus, that joke stopped being funny when we were like, eleven,” I tell him.  You know, I’ve always felt kind of sorry for Uranus.  I mean, I know planets don’t really have feelings, but it seems like it gets a bad rap.  

“Nope, not that one.  And you’re wrong.  That joke will never not be funny.”

“Then what am I looking at?”  He points to a hashtag that I assumed was referring to something dumb that a celebrity or politician said. 
#
Melive
r
.  “What is me-liver?”  

“Not me-liver.  Mel-iver.”

“And what does that - oh, God.”  

I kno
w
exactl
y
what it means.  I’ve learned that sometimes in the world of pop culture, fans like to make up what they like to call “ships.”  When you “ship” someone with another person, it means that you want those two people to be together romantically.  For example, I totally ship myself and Sam Morneau.  

When these ships come into existence, some fans take it upon themselves to create ship-names.  These names usually come about by combining the couple’s names.  For example, Cory and Tara are Tary.  Sam and I might be something like Samel or maybe Melissam.      

And Oliver and I would be Meliver.  

People all over the world think that Oliver and I are dating.  There are even pictures of us looking really intimate in the corner last night to support this newly bred gossip.      

That’s it.  My life is over.

“How did this happen?” I ask, my voice about ten times higher than usual.  

“Take a wild guess,” Sam remarks.    

Of course.  Why did I even have to ask? The only person who could possibly have posted these pictures, the only one seeking attention, the only one who doesn’t know any of us well enough to know that we just don’
t
d
o
this kind of thing to one another is Tara.  

“What did she say?”

“She posted the pictures on all of her social media accounts with the caption
,
Hot new couple aler
t
.”  

“Why would she do this?  What is she trying to accomplish? An
d
why do you think this is so funn
y
?”  I demand because Sam will not stop giggling.  Seriously, I have never seen him this tickled.  

“Because... this isn’t necessarily a bad thing,” he says.

“What, are you insane? Yes, this is a bad thing!  This is a very bad thing!”

“No it’s not.  You know why?  Because this isn’t a big deal.  Most people know Tara’s the one who started which means they’re not going to believe it.”  

Okay, that’s a little bit true, but a lot of people totally believe it.  Surprisingly enough, however, a lot of people seem sort of okay with it. 

OMG Mel and Oliver are so cute! #Meliver4Ever

Mel seems so down to earth. I hope she and Oliver are happy together.

Oliver is dating Mel Parker? I never pictured them together, but now that they are, I think they’re so perfect! #Meliver

Some are actually defending us, which would be really awesome, you know, if we were actually a couple.

Look TKOS personal lives are just that... PERSONAL. #MindYourOwnBusiness

Mel is a good friend of #TKOS and if she makes Oliver happy, then that’s all that matters.

On the flip side, others are getting a bit defensive, and even a little threatening.

Guys... this is just a RUMOR. Oliver recently said in an interview that he is SINGLE.

I don’t think I believe this #Meliver stuff. Melissa Parker is their friend. I really don’t think she’s romantically into any of them.  

Then there are the ones who speak the truth.  The ones who, like Sam said, seem to see right through Tara’s twisted intentions.  

I can’t believe anyone believes in #Meliver. Tara Meeks is the one who tweeted it! #AttentionSeeker

Yeah, sure, Oliver is dating Mel Parker. If Tara Meeks told you that pigs could fly, would you believe her then?  

Then there are the ones, particularly the girls who are hoping to one day be Mrs. Oliver Berkley, that are taking the non-news a bit harder.  

Oliver NOOOO! You were supposed to wait for me! #Heartbroken

What?! Oliver has a girlfriend?! This can’t be happening! 

Oliver is taken. I have nothing more to live for. #Meliver #ForeverAlone 

Those are the ones I feel really sorry for.  I feel like I stole one of the most important people in their lives from them.  And I’m not even dating him!  I wish I could tweet each of those girls individually to assure them I did not steal their man.    

Although technically, he is kind of into someone else, but they don’t need to know that!    

“It’s also not a bad thing,” Sam continues, “because so far, no one from the media is harassing you about it.  No one is saying anything bad about you.  I’d like to think that means that if one of us were to date someone that people actually like, then maybe all the rumors and tabloids would go away.”  

“Sam, you know I love you, but I think that might be a bit of a stretch,” I tell him.  Yes, I tell him I love him, but as a friend, of course. I’d never tell him how much
I
reall
y
love him.  

“Hey, I’m always betting on the long shots,” he reminds me as a freshly groomed Joni emerges from the bathroom.

“Mel, I heard your squeaky voice.  What’s wrong?” File that comment under Signs-You-Might-Have-Lived-With-The-Same-People-for-too-Lon
g
.   

“Tara started a rumor that she and Oliver are dating,” Sam answers for me.

“Sh
e
wha
t
?!” Joni demands.  At first I wonder if maybe she’s jealous and that she really does like Oliver after all and she’s just been really good at hiding it.  Then I remember that Joni is the most uptight, anal-retentive person alive and that she really hates Tara Meeks.  

“If it makes you feel better, a lot of people think we’re cute,” I tell her, feeling a little defeated myself.  I’m hoping Sam is right, and it’s something that will pass very, very quickly.  

“That’s it.  I’ve had it with her.  I’m going to talk to Cory,” Joni announces, grabbing her massive bag full of Lord Knows What that she carries with her everywhere she goes.

“He’s not here,” Sam says.

“What do you mean he’s not here?” 

“Let’s see... how do I put this delicately?  I was absent a roommate last night.  I went to bed alone and woke up alone.  Your brother spent the night shacked up in a different hotel with his girlfriend.”

“That was very delicate,” I tell him.  

Joni, on the other hand, throws Sam such a venomous look that he actually recoils a little.  In fact, he even looks kind of remorseful.  

“Sorry,” he apologizes.  “Look, I know you don’t like her, but it’s not like Cory is a bad guy or just doing this to upset you.  He really likes her.  I honestly don’t get it, but I know Cory.  He’s smart and responsible and he’s got a good head on his shoulders.  And come on, he’s not the first guy to go a bit stupid over a girl.  It happens to the best of us.”

“We’ve noticed,” Joni narrows her eyes.  She’s a little less sympathetic to the constant rumors of Sam’s womanizing and hard-partying than the rest of us are.  Then, she relaxes a bit.  “I’m sorry,” she says, sinking down onto the foot of my bed.  “That was uncalled for.  I know I’m overreacting. I just...
I
hat
e
seeing my brother being used like this.  I’d hate it for any of you with a skank like Tara, but I especially hate it for him.  I’m supposed to take care of him, you know?”

“I know,” I tell her.  “But the thing is, Cory is a grown man.  As weird as it is for me to say that about a guy who, not three months ago, was bragging about his new Batman underwear - ”

“Hey!  Don’t be hating on the Batman briefs,” Sam interrupts.  

For once, I choose to ignore him.  “The point is I know you feel protective of him, but he’s going to make his own decisions, and whatever happens is not your responsibility.”

“Well, actually, as one of our managers, it kind of is,” Sam butts in again.

“Sam, has anyone ever told you that you are exceedingly unhelpful?” Joni asks.  Then she turns to me.  “What about you?”

“What about me?” I ask.

“Mel, you’re one of my best friends in the world.  I don’t want to see her hurting you like this either,” she tells me.  

Aw.  I kind of want to reach out and hug her, but I know Joni really isn’t a fan of being touched.  Still, she exposes her soft side so infrequently that I can’t help but feel a little loved.  

“Thank you, Joni.  I’m okay.  But I appreciate it,” I say.  Then I wonder, “What does Oliver think about all this?”

“I don’t know.  Haven’t talked to him,” Sam mutters, stretching back onto the bed and resting his head against my pillows.

“No, no, don’t do that.” Joni scolds him.  

“What?” he asks.

“You have a music video to shoot.  No going back to sleep.  Up.”  

“Ugh” Sam groans.  But he’s back up, with a smile on his face.  He loves shooting music videos, and I know he’s especially excited to get back to Coney Island.  I say this with absolutely no bias, I think this will be one of their best music videos yet.  

That is, if we can keep the drama to a minimum.       

 
⋯

Cory is already waiting when the rest of us arrive on set. 

“Good morning, amigos,” he greets us. He’s in a really good mood.  

That’s probably a bad thing.  

The guys greet him like there isn’t an enormous metaphorical elephant stomping around Coney Island, but Joni cuts right to the chase. 

“So Cory, have you checked Twitter recently?” she asks as the rest of the guys disperse.  I hang back with Joni just in case she needs any moral support.  I also really want to eavesdrop on their Tara conversation.  

“Actually, Sis, I haven’t.  Why, did Sam get another girl pregnant?”  

Okay, that joke is not funny.  Last year, some girl from Tacoma, Washington, whom Sam has never even met, not only claimed that he was the father of her unborn baby, but actually filed a lawsuit requesting he take a paternity test.  It was ridiculous.  Now of course, nothing came of it, but it was still a huge mess.  

But Joni is in no mood for her brother’s odd sense of humor.  “Your girlfriend told the entire Internet that Oliver is dating Mel.”

“What?” Cory asks.  Then he looks at me.  “You and Oliver are dating?” 

“No, nimrod!  That’s the point!” Joni snaps.  “Tara is starting up rumors about your friends and bandmates.  What do you think about that, Romeo?”   

“Well, first of all, I think you need to take a chill pill.  And second, I’m sure it’s all just a big misunderstanding.”

“Did you actually just use the phrase take a chill pill?” I ask.  Seriously, I haven’t heard anyone use that in a real conversation since I was about nine.  

Both Foreman twins stare at me like someone who totally and completely missed the point, which, you know, is kind of fair.  But Joni is back to business soon enough.