Bright Eyed Boy

Present 3

“Mar!” I don’t bother turning around. I know who it is, and I don’t feel like talking to the high and mighty Joey Logan. I hear him running up behind me. I walk even faster and wipe a few stray tears. All I know is I have to get to my laptop before that picture goes viral.

“Mar, come on!” Joey grabs my arm and spin to look at him.

“What, your fans finally let you leave now that we’re,” I look at my watch, “ten minutes late! Great.” I can feel more tears coming on and I know if I say any more I’ll start bawling. Unluckily for me, Joey also can tell this.

He pulls me into a hug and rubs my back as I start crying into his shoulder. He whispers comforting words to me that I honestly would have never expected him to say, well at least to me.

Finally I pull away and wipe my eyes carefully, though my mascara is purely ruined by now. “We should get back. My dad is probably having a fit.”

Joey just smiles sweetly and suddenly slips his hand into mine. I don’t even flinch. We just walk down the street like there is nothing weird about it, even though everything is weird about it. Sure, he is an international pop star, and yes he is very attractive, but he’s the only person I’ve been all that close to since my mom died nine years ago. I don’t take our friendship lightly.

His eyes avert to the ground. “I’m really sorry about those girls…”

“It’s not your fault…”

“But I could have done more for you.” He looks over at me, but I keep staring blankly forward. Before I know it, a tear escapes my eye opposite from him, yet he somehow sees it and gently rubs it away with his index finger. I look at him just as he does this, and suddenly his hand stops. His hand slowly cups my face as we just stand there, staring into each others’ eyes. His thumb wipes away another rogue tear and suddenly my heart surges.

It doesn’t matter that we’re in public. It doesn’t matter that I can see the girls from the café stalking us in my peripheral vision. It doesn’t matter he is my best friend, or that he’s famous and I’m just from behind the scenes. None of that matters as his florescent blue-green eyes stare into mine.

Before I know it, we connect in a pure, blissful moment. The world fades away and the small crowd of fans that is gathering around us in the shadows is barely noticeable.

It was only two seconds, but I feel like I’m seeing Joey in a completely new light. Not only was my first kiss with my best friend, but at least 13 girls got it on camera. No way to be invisible from the public now.

Oh no. Joey and I, late at night, a half an hour late getting back, and videos of us kissing. Joey recognizes the panic in my eyes and we immediately bolt in the direction of the hotel. Our hands become unlocked and we just sprint for our lives, hoping that those girls would be so heartbroken that they won’t put it on the internet. Joey mumbles some very colorful words under his breath as starts pulling ahead of me.

Little did either of us realize until now, we’re being chased. The girls start screaming for Joey and are getting a lot closer than what’s comfortable for me. In fact, they’re a lot faster than Joey or me and are suddenly crowding in front of me and circling him, making it impossible for either of us to escape. All I can think about is hoping that this is what gets put on YouTube. Getting mobbed by girls is a good reason to be late, but that kiss could ruin my chances of staying on tour.

Just as claustrophobia is setting in, someone pulls me out of the crowd. To my surprise, a tall man with a fedora, mustache, dark sunglasses, and black trench coat picks me up and carries me like a sack of potatoes.

Needless to say, I’m screaming my lungs out. Not like anyone can hear me over the fangirls.

“Mar?!” Joey is desperately trying to figure out where I am.

“Joey!” My heart is racing and I’m struggling for my life. “Joey, help me! Help! Joey!”

“Marissa,” the man whispers familiarly richly into my ear. “Calm down! It’s just me, Chris.” Sure enough, when the mustache and glasses comes off, it’s defiantly Chris, though the disguise isn’t off for long.

Another man in a similar outfit appears out of nowhere and literally takes me off Chris’ shoulder, carrying me swiftly to a van. The smell of aftershave and beef jerky, mixed with the secret agent music emanating from his vocal chords, I recognize Jason as my new captor. I glance back at the crowd just as Joey is thrown in after me, the four figures that saved us diving in just in time.

“Woo!” Jason hollers and rips of his hat and sunglasses, obviously proud of his fake mustache. “Wasn’t that fun?”

“Fun?” Another disguise is removed to reveal Kelly as one of Joey’s saviors. Her accent rings beautifully in the dark, fast moving van. “I’d hardly call screaming fans mobbing Joe and Mari ‘fun’.”

“What was up with that anyway,” Harris says, also taking off his disguise. “Why did those girl mob you?”

Everyone looks over at Joey and I. My heart is beating so fast that I can’t even hear my thoughts. I just feel like crying, but luckily Joey is there to come to my rescue.

“They recognized me and I guess decided that mobbing me was the best way to get attention.” He sounds flustered, yet completely confident in what he was saying.

Suddenly I come to my senses and make a head count. There’s all four boys, Kelly, and I in the back of the van.

“Who’s driving?” My eyes dart straight to the front seat. In the rearview mirror, I see dark brown, intense eyes and dark hair. Claire.

The van suddenly jerks to a stop and we all try our best to not get whiplash. “All out who wants to live!” Claire’s mature voice was serious to the point of you-are-dead-anyway-but-at-least-the-fans-won’t-kill-you.

As we rush into the hotel, more fans scream from behind ropes and security guards. My dad is waiting for us in the elevator.

“I don’t understand,” Joey says, catching his breath on the ride up. “What just happened?”

“When you two weren’t back, we sent out the troops.” My dad gives us both stern looks.

“We got mobbed…” Joey looks away embarrassed. It’s obvious it’s getting harder and harder to hide the fact he kissed me. It’s also obvious that Jason already knows everything that went down tonight. The others probably know as well, but they don’t show it as much.

“Yeah, I figured.” My dad lets out a sigh. “Well, you’re safe, and that’s all that counts.”

As we all make our ways to bed, I’m just thinking about the storm that’s to come. I just know that video will be worldwide in just a few hours.

It’s gonna be a long tour.