Boy Band (6 page)

“I did.  Now I just have the final exams, which I don’t think should be too hard.  They’re scheduled for the week the album is released, though, so it’ll be a bit hectic.  But it’ll be fine.  It always is.”

“You’re so smart.  It’ll be a breeze for you,” Sam grins at me.  

“Eh, we’ll see,” I smile, wondering if he’ll ever know how his compliments affect me.  “What about you?  Are you ready for it all?”

“Oh yeah.  It’s what I love.  I am going to miss this, though.  This time away from the cameras and the craziness.  It’s nice to just be here at home,” he says, glancing around at the trees, the houses, the California sky over the distant hills.  “Then again, I can’t wait to get back on the road, spending nights in hotels and on the tour bus, being on stage...  Those are the moments I live for, you know?” 

“Yeah, I do.  I just wish the media would give you a break.”

He shrugs.  “It’s just a thing.  I can deal with it.”  

I know he can.  Sam is strong, much stronger than I am.  I hate the lies and gossip that are spread about him.  If any such thing had been written about me, I’d go crazy.  Sam is actually a really good influence on me in that respect.  Every time I think to get angry or upset, he manages to calm me down and put things in perspective.  I’ve never met someone with such a positive outlook on... everything. 

Near the end of our walk, a couple of young girls who can’t be any older than six or seven approach Sam with their mom.  He smiles and greets them like just seeing them has made his entire night.  They both give him huge hugs and he graciously poses with them for a picture that their mother snaps on her smartphone.  Then, he signs autographs for each of them before wishing them a goodnight and sweet dreams.      

And he’s supposed to be the wild-partying ladies’ man.

CHAPTER 5

“Spinning, spinning round

Until the world begins to fade

And I don’t think I’ll live to run

Or see another day

Her love, it leaves me on the ground

While she falls away

17, 17, 17 Times

17 Times Over...”

Song: “17 Times Over”

Artist: The Kind of September 

From the Album
:
17 Times Over

This morning, we’re all awake bright and early to catch a flight to New York, where the guys will spend most of their time being interviewed by talk shows, news outlets, and just about every person with a microphone.  

After emotional goodbyes and promises to call our families as often as we can, the entire group, bandmates, musicians, security, managers, all of us are escorted to a private waiting area where we all spread out immediately to wait for our flight. 

Something that the guys have always strived to emulate is individuality.  When Josh and Oliver first joined, they expressed concern than as a part of a boy band, they might be viewed as “clones,” and although they wanted to present themselves as one team, one band, they also want to be known as themselves.  They don’t dress alike.  They put their own spin on their choreographed routines.  They’re five guys in one outstanding group, and none of them ever have a problem being who they are. 

For example, all five have drastically different relationships with early mornings.  

Jesse is the one who has to be physically dragged out of bed, and once he actually is up, he has to have some sort of coffee or energy drink before he can force himself to talk or have any kind of human interaction.  Honestly, though, it’s kind of his fault.  He and Josh are total night owls and they’re the ones we always have to shush whenever we all sleep in the same room or on one of the tour buses.  But at least Josh is pleasant in the mornings.  That boy falls asleep with a smile every night and he wakes up with one every morning.  He’s just a great person to be around all the time.

Except when it’s 2:00 AM and you’re trying to sleep after a twelve-hour work day and he won’t stop laughing or making weird noises.

Then there’s Cory, who is more of a morning person than anyone else I’ve ever met, except perhaps his sister.  They’re both highly ambitious and motivated people, but they seem even more so when they first wake up.  That’s probably why Cory gets so many things tossed at him at times like these.  While the rest of the guys are relaxing, trying to steal a few extra winks, Cory likes to discuss their plans for the day.  This morning, however, he seems too preoccupied with his phone to care about what the others are doing.

Oliver, surprisingly, is probably the worst of the bunch.  He’s sweet and adorable most of the time, but he can actually get a little snappy when he’s tired.  I told you that Josh and Jesse will be the ones being shushed late at night?  Well, Oliver is always the first to do the shushing.  It’s more of an issue at night than in the morning, but if he hasn’t gotten a proper night’s rest, he can be just as crabby in the AM.  

We’d never admit it to him, but both Joni and I agree that cranky Oliver is actually really precious.

Finally, there’s Sam.  Sam in the morning has always reminded me of a sad, sleepy puppy.  His eyes get droopy, his hair is always a disaster, and he usually wears something like sweatpants and a hoodie.  He barely talks, and when he does, his voice is hoarse and much lower than it normally is.  He’s never in a bad mood, but I don’t think he fully wakes up until at least an hour later.  

As for me, I’m not a morning person, but I can usually wake myself up and get myself together fairly quickly.  Unlike Sam, Jesse, and Josh, who are already camped out and dozing, I’m hanging with the awake crowd consisting of Oliver, Cory, and Joni.  

“One day, I’m going to go buy a giant stuffed animal and plant it on Jesse, I think,” Oliver remarks.

“That would be so funny,” I say.  It would be, too.  

“Yeah.  Then I’m going to post it on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook.  In fact, we might just make it the new album cover.”

“I’d buy it,” I tell him.

“Yeah?”

“Definitely.”  

“I’d buy the stuffed animal,” Joni remarks.

I realize I should probably be taking this rare and limited down time to study for my upcoming final exam, but I feel like I spent the majority of my week off doing school work.  Now, I just want to spend time with my friends and prepare for our next adventure. 

By the time we board, Josh, Jesse, and Sam are finally awake enough to at least act like functioning members of the human race, if not society.  I happily take an aisle seat next to Sam and Jesse.  The whole group knows that I’m something of a nervous flyer.  That’s why I usually prefer life on the tour bus to hopping around on airplanes.  That bus might be cramped and crowded and more often than not, it smells like a strange mix of cologne, stale popcorn, and a mountain of men’s dirty socks, but at least it stays on the ground.    

Then again, sharing that one itty-bitty, teeny-tiny bathroom with all of them might just make it a toss-up.  

Life on the road with the hottest band on the planet?  Not glamorous.  But you know, at least they’re entertaining.

“Say cheese!” Sam announces and holds his smartphone up to take a selfie of Jesse, him, and me.  

“Are you tweeting that?” Jesse asks.

“Nope.  This one’s just for me.”  Sam takes a lot of pictures.  He has this fancy camera that he’s absolutely in love with, and he takes it everywhere he goes.  Right now, however, it’s packed up and stowed away with the rest of our luggage, so he has to resort to snapping pictures on his phone.           

“Good.  I look horrible,” Jesse murmurs and runs a hand through his messy, auburn locks.  Somehow, even though he in no way intended for it to be so, he makes it look like a seductive gesture.  That’s probably why, next to Sam, he gets the most attention from girls.  

When the plane finally starts to move, the flight attendants step out to begin going over safety procedures.  I’ve heard the drill so many times that I could probably recite it from memory.  Besides, with the plane preparing for takeoff, I’m trying my best to stay calm and not let my flight jitters get the best of me.  

Sam knows that I’m nervous.  Every flight that he sits next to me, he offers his hand during takeoff.  I always take it.  Today is no exception.  As the plane turns onto the runway, he lays his hand down on the armrest between us, palm up and fingers slightly spaced apart.  I take it, and immediately, flying doesn’t seem that scary at all.    

Okay, I’ll admit that there is a small part of me that always tries to get a seat next to Sam just so I can hold his hand like this.  Holding hands with him is one of my favorite things in the world.  But the fear of flying is still there and is, in fact, a real nuisance when I’m not sitting next to him.  

“You okay?” he asks me.

“Yep.  Great,” I reply, sounding breathless.  Thankfully, as far as he knows, that’s because I’m stricken with terror and not because his fingers are currently laced through mine.       

“Melissa, I can’t believe you made it through that flight to Australia last year,” Jesse remarks.

“Easy.  I took a Dramamine.”

“There you have it.  She was unconscious,” Sam laughs.

The rest of the flight is relatively uneventful.  Jesse dozes off again, his head resting against the closed window, Sam listens to music on his phone, and I bury my nose in the newest Meg Cabot book.  The others like to make fun of my young adult literature addiction, but hey, at least I read.  I bet you anything that right now, Josh is playing a video game, Oliver is watching Netflix on his iPad, Cory is messaging Tara, and Joni is griping about it.  

I ask you, who is the cultured one in this group?         

⋯

Once we land in New York, we’re given twenty minutes for lunch before the guys are whisked away to the dressing rooms for a day of interviews with a host of reporters from a variety of news outlets.  They’re the kind, you know, where the interviewers sit down one at a time with the guys in a dark room with an enormous picture of the new album cover in the background.  Most of the time, they ask questions about the album, sometimes touring, and sometimes it gets personal, even downright silly.

For example, “Who’s the biggest prankster of the group?  Who is most likely to kiss and tell?  Whose feet smell the worst?” 

The answers to those questions, by the way, are Josh, Jesse, and Josh again.  Sam’s feet are a close second, though.

Today, however, I’m guessing most of the questions will be about the new album and the upcoming tour.  Fans, of course, are ecstatic, as are the guys.  They’re always excited to talk about their new music.  

Joni and I only see them for a brief moment before they meet with the first reporter, but they all look great.  By now, they’ve each established their own individual look.  Jesse is the sexy rock star. Oliver is cute and stylishly nerdy. Cory is a throwback to the late 90s. Josh is dreamy in an All-American kind of way.  And Sam is trendy and a little rebellious.

The interview, as expected, starts with questions about the new album.  What are their favorite songs?  How long did it take to write?  Is this their best album yet?  

Then come the personal questions, or as this reporter puts it, “the questions that millions of girls around the world want to know the answers to.”

For instance, “What do you look for in a girlfriend?”

Josh wants a girl who likes to laugh and is into sports.  Oliver likes girls who are smart.  Jesse isn’t sure, but he wants to be able to talk with her about anything.  Sam’s answer is my favorite.  He says, “I want her to be my best friend.  I want to know she loves me for me.” 

I hope for a fleeting moment that maybe, just maybe, he’s talking about me.  But I know, deep down, that if he did have feelings for me, he would have said something by now.  Sam’s not a shy guy.  He’s also not very subtle.  He’s so very caring and he always wears his heart on his sleeve.  If he has feelings for someone, he’s going to let her know.  

Finally, it’s Cory’s turn to talk about his ideal girlfriend.  Of course, he responds with, “Well, I’m kind of dating mine right now.”

“Oh, please,” Joni scoffs.  

“What?” I ask.

“Tara Meeks is not his ideal girlfriend.  She isn’t anyone’s ideal girlfriend.”

“Joni, why do you hate her so much?” I ask.  I mean, yeah, she is kind of stuck-up and a little rude, but to be honest, I’m sure other male celebrities have dated a lot worse.

“I’ve told you.  She can’t get famous on her own so she’s using my brother - no, she’s using all of them - to make a name for herself.  She doesn’t care about him.  And he just doesn’t see it.  He doesn’t know what this is doing to the entire band.”

“The guys seem okay with it.  I mean, I don’t think they’re big fans or anything, but they seem to at least be happy for him.”

“I’m not talking about how they feel about it.  I’m talking about the fans.  The media.”

“What do you mean?” I ask.

“I’ve been talking to Stan and a few of the other crew members.  They think that with the album release and the tour coming up, it’s better for the band’s image and their relationship with fans if the guys at least appear to be single,” Joni explains.  Stan, for the record, is the band’s manager.  He’s the one who, basically, runs all of our lives.