Dead Ends // Hugh Jackman

Chapter 26

I want it to be romantic, but at the same time I don't want to wait anymore. I don't want to make Hugh wait.  Not after that interview. And, by it I mean finally reaching out to him after so many months. He made the first move, now it's my turn. He can't be the only one. It takes two to make a relationship work, though we're not quite there yet. We have to exchange words first, and it has to be my doing.

I feel like it should be this grand thing. However I decide to reach out to him, but I'm all the way in Salt Lake, and because Music Man ended back in October, he should be in New York City. We're basically on opposites of the U.S.

Calling him feels like cheapening the moment, except thinking about how to contact him isn't the only thing I'm concerned about anymore.

I had planned to tell Mom and Milo everything once we got home from the mall, but that was immediately thrown out the window when these two girls, who looked to be around in their late teens, approached our table while we were eating at the food court.

"Oh. My. Gosh." One of them started excitedly.

At first, I was confused. What was going on, and why were these girls here with earsplitting grins? They were looking at me like I was a present under the Christmas tree.

"Uh, hi?" Was all I could think to say.

Glimpsing at Mom and Milo, I shot them a questioning look. I guess I was hoping they would know what was going on, but they were about as clueless as I was.

Milo shook his head, and Mom just shrugged her shoulders.

I got my answer when the second girl spoke up.

"You're her, aren't you? Erin Thatcher? The one Hugh talked about in that interview?"

That made me freeze in my seat. How did they know that? I was mentioned once. That's not enough to have this kind of reaction. Why did it matter if I was the one Hugh had been talking about?

I knew there were obsessive fans. I mean I was low-key kind of one myself, but I never went out of my way to find a person Hugh said of the name of in passing. Took too much work and effort on my part, and I had quite a bit of other things to do as an adult.

These girls, however, must be future detectives, because damn, it hadn't even been a day yet, and I'd already been figured out?

It took me a minute to confirm their suspicions, because I was still processing what the hell was happening right then.

"Oh, um, yeah. That's me," I timidly muttered. I wasn't used to this kind of attention, nor did I like it all that much, but on the off chance my book did well once it was published, this was something I'd have to get used to.

The girls turned to each other. The first one giggled. "I told you!"

The second one started talking again. "Had to be sure."

Then her eyes landed on me. "We're sorry to bother you, but we're really big fans of Hugh."

I figured as much. They were big enough fans to stalk the internet to find out who I was, and clearly, they were exceptional at it.

When Hugh said my name, I assumed some things would change, but not like this. I'm nobody. Why'd they go through all of that to find who I was?

It didn't make any sense to me, but to each their own. I couldn't judge them for doing it. If anything, I was oddly impressed by it. I didn't have the talent to find anyone with just a name, but they did. I was sure this kind of thing would come in handy in many situations.

The second girl continued, "We're also huge readers, so we can't wait to check out your book! Anyway, it was really nice meeting you."

Just like that, they were gone. Leaving me in a befuddled mess. I still wasn't too sure what just went down.