The Lincolns

Chapter 2

Danny

The fans threw themselves over the railings as the car pulled up. Their eyes were alight with glee and anticipation but some could not contain their excitement and began to climb over the barrier. Stressed stewards hurried to make sure none of them reached the car.
Inside it, Zak, Luke, Max and Danny sat pressed to their seats like they were on a rollercoaster. The tension was mounting. In front of them, in a separate seat, was Holly, their handler and the face of their management team.
She was young and attractive with glossy, blonde hair that fell in unbroken sheets onto her shoulders.
"It hasn't leaked yet, as far as I know," she said happily, crossing her legs and checking her BlackBerry. "Nope, nothing. The cat is still in the bag."
"We can't have another one of those," Max groaned wearily.
"I swear, after the fragrance announcement, I'm so sure our phones have been tapped," Luke said.
"Yes and then you'll get into a legal case and legal cases equal bad publicity," Holly said. "And yes, there is such a thing as bad publicity. The Lincolns in a phone hacking scandal? Hell no."
The four smiled at this, a reminder of how refreshingly down-to-earth Holly was. Most of their management treated them like princes and none of them liked that. Except, perhaps, Luke.
At that point the car screeched to a halt and the driver raced round to open the door. The four boys got out to a deafening scream from the collected fans that had gathered to see them.
They all waved and this turned up the volume.
"Right, we're early so you can sign some stuff if you like?" Holly said, covering one ear, phone in hand. "God, they're loud."
"Yeah, I'm fine with that," Zak said and they all nodded.

They started to work their way down the crowd, taking notebooks with their faces printed on them and signing. Danny grinned and stuck his tongue out and winked in many photographs as did his band mates.
One girl, an enthusiastic redhead, insisted he kiss her notebook and Danny obliged, winning louder, more feverish screams from the crowd and requests to kiss them on the lips.
He laughed them away and the cameras flashed again like strobe lighting.
"Hey!" Max called, gesturing for Danny to make his way inside the glassy London business complex.
This was the home of The Lincolns' record label: Red Sun.

The press conference was a murmuring hive of activity as the band peeked through a door to the side. The nation's best music journalists had arrived in droves and taken up the floor seating, microphones held aloft. Behind them at the back of the room were a row of cameras, each of them streaming the conference for different websites.
A very happy looking man took to the front of the room where a stage had been erected and a table for the band to sit behind.
He was talking loudly but The Lincolns couldn't hear him through the door.
"Soundproof," Holly explained. "Now, good luck out there, guys. Make sure you think through everything you say. No controversy, whatever, you know the drill."
"Thanks, Hol," they all smiled at her and she held the door open, allowing the audience's polite applause out.
She followed them in and then lingered to the side.
"Welcome, everyone," Zak said, grinning from ear to ear. "We're really excited to announce this – although I don't think I'm going to get any sleep in the next year – and the reason you're gathered here is: The Lincolns are going on our third worldwide stadium tour next year!"

Martha

Martha found Katy lying on the dry, crunchy leaves by the pond in the botanical gardens. She had her eyes closed and earphones plugged into her ears. The Lincolns' latest album, Tiger Burning Bright, could faintly be heard.
Martha nudged her friend with her toe and Katy jerked upwards.
"Oh," she rolled her eyes dramatically. "It's you."
"The one and only," Martha said jokingly, dropping beside her friend.
It was mid-afternoon on an early September day but the sun was still high in the air, casting a warm glow on the browning park.
"We need to talk," Katy said in a calm voice.
Martha yawned and nodded. She had been up until well past midnight chatting to her friend over the phone. The news that The Lincolns were going on tour was met with screams and whoops and tears from Katy while Martha had simply clapped her hands. Part of it was because she was less of an obsessive than Katy but also because she didn't want Clare seeing her geek out over the phone.
The Internet had been abuzz after the news with the press conference trending worldwide and regurgitations of the announcement on all the top websites. The more Martha read on Twitter, the more excited she got, the less sleep she ended up taking.
"Tickets are on sale the day after tomorrow," Katy said. "And I'll kill myself if I don't get them. I mean I don't even care if you don't get any. I just have to see them."
"Right, let's not get too excited – we don't want you to get in trouble again," Martha chided lightly with a grin. "But, yeah, I agree that we need to get tickets."
"I'll buy you a ticket when they go on sale on Saturday morning," Katy said, leading Martha through the park.
"Morning?" Martha blinked. "What time?"
"9am, but the presale is at 8 and they'll probably sell out in seconds so I think you should stay over at my place," Katy enthused, fiddling with the frayed end of her scarf.
"I suppose I could. I can always finish my work tonight..."
"Is that the essay Professor Grey wants?" asked Katy, apprehension in her voice.
Martha nodded and Katy pulled a strained face.
"Yeah, I've not even read the play, let alone started the essay..."
"You're awful," Martha teased. "I still don't know how you got into the class."
"Because," explained Katy. "Professor Grey says I'm proficient in writing. It's the whole studying part I'm a little fuzzy on."
"Do you even know what A Streetcar Named Desire is about?" Martha asked.
Katy sighed.
"Yes, chicken. It's about a car in the street... that's called Desire. And it has all kind of adventures in the future. A bit like that Pixar film, Cars."
"Spot-on," Martha grinned. "You'll give Professor Grey a right laugh if you submit an essay on that."
"Okay," Katy was suddenly very serious. "But you will stay at mine?"
For the most part, Katy was a force of nature, a sunny, vivacious presence that never let you feel down. Occasionally she could be a bit brassy - particularly at parties - but, largely, Katy was fun to be around and Martha just couldn't say no.
"Go on," she conceded, bracing for another energetic display of victory. "But that means I need to hurry up with this Streetcar essay so I think I'll excuse myself."
"Whatever, chicken, but, honestly, think about it," Katy took Martha by the shoulders and twisted her round to face her. "This time in March we will be seeing The Lincolns. We will be in the same room as them. Let that sink in."
Martha smiled, "it's pretty exciting."