Dedicated to my best friend, Kellie.
He's Thinking of You...
Keaton Stromberg hopped onto the tour bus, absolutely exhausted. Putting on a concert was stressful and exciting and scary; one mistake and it could all fall apart. But he was used the audience. He had recently been on the X Factor with his band Emblem Three or otherwise known as "E3" and they were becoming pretty big.
"Hey! Good job tonight buddy!" Wesley, one of his band members and best friend, yelled to him as he reached their rented bus. Outside he could hear the last of the girls screaming as his final band member and other best friend, Drew, shut the door behind him. It was still so extraordinary that one decision, changed his life forever. He smiled over at Wes, watching him walk to the back of the bus to his bunk with Drew right behind him. It had taken all the energy out of everyone it seemed. He sat in the dining booth, setting his hands on the table as the tour bus began to pull away from it's resting spot. He pulled the curtains from the window behind him and waved and blew a final kiss to the girls. He loved his fans more than anything. Normally, he would have head straight to the bunks in the back, but tonight was different and of course, it was girl. Sure, when he went around, there were thousands of girls throwing themselves at him, not to sound self centered though. It was just the truth. But, he didn't just want someone who loved him because he was in an up and coming band, he wanted someone who liked him for him.
"Let's take a trip to Sunset Boulevard." Drew was singing in his sleep again in between snores. Luckily, Wes and himself were deep sleepers. He thought back to the girl, the way her face lit up every time their next song began. Every time he caught her eye or smile at her, she'd squeal to her friends. Usually, he would brush it off, happy to make a fan happy because squealing kind of hurt his ears. Not with this girl, with this girl, it was different. He loved- no -he lived to see the twinkle in her eyes. He couldn't stop smiling at her all night. He attempted he play it cool when she came to up to get his autograph, almost wanting to ask her for hers, but he just signed it with another smile on his face.
"Stupid..." He whispered to himself. He didn't even get a picture with her. The place was so cramped, security just couldn't allow it. No sort of swapping of information what so ever. He had to see her again, he was determined to.
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You sat in your bed in the middle of your room, staring at it, admiring it, wishing it was more than just a picture. Earlier that night, you had gone to Emblem Three's latest concert in your town and all you had to show of it, was one signed autographed picture of the three of them. You tried so hard to get a picture with them, but security wouldn't let you through. You felt so lucky to have at least gotten to exchange a couple words with them when they signed the picture, but a picture with them would have felt more real. It didn't feel true. You were still in your concert high and didn't believe any of it. I mean, did Keaton really smile at you basically the whole night? He was probably just doing to be nice, but he was your favorite of the group. It made you feel special. You didn't know if you were ever going to see those three boys again, by this time next year, you would guess they would be one of the biggest boybands ever. You were scared to go to bed and let the night end, but you had to. You couldn't help, but wonder, if he felt a connection too.
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A couple months past and you still tweeted Keaton constantly as you did before. You would sometimes send pictures of that night that you had taken, which got Drew and Wesley to eventually follow you, but not Keaton. You were sure that night a couple months ago, would never happen again. They had released a couple new songs and were currently on break from touring. Their next tour began in a couple days and sadly, your state wasn't on that list. There was a big turn out for it last time, but apparently it wasn't big enough for them to use the money to do a venue there. You were heartbroken... Meanwhile, the boys were on break in California, trying their best to live it up on their last few days.
"Keat, you gotta break out of this, man. I'm sorry we can't head to that arena again, but you know how it is. And I'm sure if you are meant to be with this girl, you'll find her again. I mean, maybe she wasn't even real." Such reassuring words from his bandmates. It just made him sadder. Maybe she wasn't real. He tried looking for her for months and nothing, none of them were her. He sighed and laid his head down on his hands on the table. Drew glanced over at Wes with a small smile.
"Okay, if you won't break out of this, I guess there's only one thing left to do. We're going." Wesley said with a huge smile. Keaton didn't understand at first, but then he got up and hugged his best friends.
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The venue had been packed hours before the concert was even set to begin. Keaton didn't know how the boys had convinced their manager to let them do a surprise show at the last moment, but he didn't care. He might see her tonight. He couldn't help but smile at his thoughts of holding her hand and seeing her eyes light up like the first time he saw them.
"Almost showtime, Keat. You ready to see your girl?"
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You nodded approvingly at your outfit one last time before walking out the door and into your car. Your mom was driving you to the venue and she tried to talk to you the whole time, but you were blasting the boys' music so loud in your ear buds, you could hear her. It was going to be your first time seeing Keaton since the concert all those months ago. You had changed a lot, you had gotten your growth spurt finally and your teeth were straightened and whitened, what if he didn't recognize you? What if you didn't get to finally take a picture with him or none the less, talk to him? You walked in the arena alone and found your seat a few rows from the stage, waiting for your friends whom had the seats on either side of you. All you had to do was wait.
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"Five, Four, Three, Two, One!" The boys ran onto the stage and the screams were ear clenching. They all waved, but Keaton's was weak as he tried to look for you in the crowd. He continued through the concert, enjoying every bit of it, but always looking around every once in a while to try and found you in the crowd, but it was like trying to find gold in a bunch of pyrite.
"We are going to take a short intermission, but in this time, we will be signing autographs and taking pictures!" The line seemed to be miles long and they would never have time to get through the line and finish the concert. They cut it off at the midway point and told the girls to come back after the concert for their turn. You were after that midway point. You returned to your seat, a bit disappointed, but you would still get to see him. You sang along to all of the songs and poured your heart out into it, but after the intermission, Keaton didn't seem much into as he did before.
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Keaton didn't mean to seem upset or angry during the last half of the concert, he was just discouraged. It was more than half way over and he hadn't seen her at the signing or in the crowd, but there was still a chance he could see her afterwards, so he tried to put on his best face. They closed off with their last song, Sunset Blvd. and thanked them all for coming. The line began again for signing and pictures shortly after.
"Hey man, see her yet?" Drew asked curiously.
"No, not yet. But she's here, I can feel it." Drew put a hand on his shoulder, trying to reassure him with a smile.
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You were in the front of the line since it had resumed from where it was. You could see him, you could see Keaton. He didn't look too happy, but as each fan came up, he attempted to give them his best smile. He sighed, rubbing his temple as security let you through first you got a quick picture with Drew and Wesley and they both signed their new album for you, ending their turns with a hug. Then, you were standing in front of Keaton, you felt your cheeks getting hot, but you calm for the most part.
"Could- um- Could you sign this for me?" You asked with the biggest smile you could.
"Sure, what's your name, sweet-" He looked up from the album to stare into the same sparkling eyes he had seen that night all those months ago; all those months of thinking of you and he finally found you. Finally.
