Boy Band

Chapter Three

They had a limousine. I was in a limousine. WITH KOOL KIDZ!!! I wasn't even a big fan of them, and I was hyperventilating. So imagine how Jess was feeling. "Ok, just calm down, Layla," I whispered to myself under my breath. Realizing I had said that aloud, I blushed and looked up, but no one had noticed. They were all massaging headaches from the crazy fangirls. Except Jess, who was one of the fangirls herself. She seemed prone to any sort of headache at all.

My heart was thumping from all the loud screams and shouts outside of the car. The paparazzi had been intrigued with me and Jess, much to Jess's delight, and my distress. I groaned. Jess was being absolutely psycho. She was my best friend, but I could swear that she had changed a lot. She used to be serious and would only giggle at one of our sleepovers. Now, though, she seemed to giggle uncontrollably, and she wasn't taking anything seriously at all. It didn't seem to matter to her that we had almost been murdered less than 24 hours ago. All that mattered was that Kool Kidz was right here, right now.

Normally, I would have rolled my eyes at her until they fell out of overuse, but I couldn't bring myself to be rude to my bestie. I had a heart, after all.

I yawned and closed my eyes, stretching. I was tired, and probably would have already fallen asleep if not for the screams of the wild banshees-- I mean fangirls. It was driving me nuts. Nate, or Nathan I guess, looked at me like he understood. "They're ...dedicated, huh?" he asked. I nodded and laughed. "That's true. They're also crazy, psychotic, and obsessed," I joked. Too late, I glanced at Jess, too see if I had hurt her feelings, but she was unfazed. She was still in awe of the boy band.

The Hispanic-looking one turned to me and commented, "Yeah. How come you're not all crazy about us, though?" That sounded a bit conceited, to be honest. Nevertheless, I just told them honestly, "Well, Jess dragged me along. I'm not the hugest fan, but I like your music."

At the mention of music, Nathan perked up. "Do you know a lot about music?" he asked. I smiled as casually as I could at the superstar and told him, "I dabble. Actually, I sing and play piano. I'm writing my own song, as of now." He seemed impressed, like he thought I wasn't just one of those girls who lied about things to sound cool. I was proud of myself.

"Maybe you could show us a little at the penthouse. We have a piano that you could use, and we could make a mini-performance out of it even," Nate said. I nervously nodded, accepting the challenge. I felt a tugging in my gut, because I wasn't the best performer. Sure, I could play piano and sing by myself, but in front of other people? And, sure, it would on,y be five people, but four of which were the most famous guys in the whole world.

Although, really, the whole thing was just downright scary. Terrorists had tried to kill me and my best friend, the biggest boy band on earth had saved mine and Jess's lives, and we had gotten to exclusively see their concert backstage? No way. And now, they wanted me to perform for them? Extra no way. But I didn't object the whole time because, despite the noise and jostling, because I fell asleep against Jess, hoping that when I woke up this would all make sense.

***

Of course, it wasn't a dream after all. Once the boys shook me awake, I braced myself for the, doubtless, huge crowd that would be outside. I took in a deep breath as the door to the limo opened and cameras flashed outside. It was hard to believe there was so much paparazzi, that they could be at the concert and here.

Jess took my hand, and we went out together. I heard shouts about us being with the boys. Were we their new girlfriends? Were we related to them? Were we doing a duet with them? Camera flashes clicked from everywhere, blinding me. The noise and movement was overwhelming. Nate took my wrist (of the hand that wasn't clutching Jess) and we ran for it.

I had a huge headache by the time we reached inside. The boys led us to the elevator quickly, and we all silently urged the doors to close before anyone else could sneak in. The guards outside the huge hotel were enforcing the rules, and not letting a single screaming fan (besides Jess) or paparazzi in.

In the elevator, we all found the time to calm down. This was the first time I had felt at peace since Jess and I had left my house. I caught my breath and rubbed the back of my head. I had learned from my chiropractic uncle that headaches came from the lower back of up your head, not your temples. As I finally calmed down, I felt us getting higher.

"So," I asked into the awkward silence, "why do you live in a penthouse? Don't boy bands travel around on tours and stuff?" Steven, the Hispanic one, looked annoyed at the question but answered, "Well, we aren't on tour right now. That concert was just because we live in the area. When we aren't on tour, this is our home." I nodded to show I understood.

Once the elevator doors slowly opened, we walked in a line out of the confined space. James (the rocker) led us out. As soon as I stepped out of the elevator, I was shocked at the openness of the penthouse. The walls were glass, so you could see the city, and the beach on the horizon. It was dark out, after eleven pm, so the city buildings, lights and bustle stood out.

That was just the view. They had a spiraling staircase leading to the bedrooms. The kitchen was opened up to the living room, which was a step down from the rest of the penthouse. They had fuzzy golden carpet, a 75 inch flatscreen, and an uncountable amount of game consoles. There were plush couches all around, each one of them a light green. My eyes widened at the sight.

"Your parents will pick you up tomorrow," Nate told me and Jess, "You can choose a couch to sleep on in the meantime." Jess giddily squealed, and I was worried she would faint. For real this time. I remembered at they said I could play piano for them, but didn't remind them. I flopped onto a specifically fluffy looking couch near me, and fell asleep almost Immediately.