Love Sick

Chapter 9

Walking into the room was like a breath of fresh air. Nash and James were out of sight out of mind and the hall itself was quiet, with only a few people doing final tech checks. I sighed in relief. "Overwhelmed already?" Jack G asked from his perch on the stage. I smiled and approached him, his energy was calming and after the past couple of days I needed more healthy energy. I pushed myself up onto the stage next to him.

"I'm getting there." I answered. Jack ruffled my hair.

"It's okay kiddo, once the event starts, your brain will kind of just shut off." I nodded. God, I hope so. I thought. Jack pulled out his phone and opened Twitter, flicking in silence through his timeline. I leaned my head back and closed my eyes, inhaling the peace. Jack J and Matt were laughing at some video, Jenny stood in the back of the room typing away on her phone, and I was starting to feel a little homesick. Then, in what seemed to be her typical fashion, I heard her before I saw her.

"Jenny!" Emmy's slick voice echoed. I felt G tense next to me and made a mental note to ask him why later. I opened my eyes and stared as Emmy practically floated across the room to Jen's side. Jen looked up, and for the first time in the four months I had known her, I saw annoyance cross her face - it was so brief that if you weren't looking for it you may not have seen it. "Jenny I asked you yesterday to send me the proofs of Hanna and Matt for the signs so I could approve them." I had no idea what she was talking about but the way she was talking to Jenny made me want to hit her with a right hook.

"And I told you that Hanna and Matt don't have proofs yet. I can't work magic, they didn't have a chance in California to get them done, they'll have them by the time we get to Dallas, those were my exact words." Jenny's eyes fluttered back to her phone.

"Well that means I can't put up Jack and Jack's. I just want you to know, it's hard for me to do my job if you can't do yours." Emmy snarled. I stood, hopping off the stage. It was only then that Emmy seemed to realize there were other people in the room. I cocked an eyebrow at her. "Hanna sweetie! Are you ready for the day?" She asked, rushing to hug me.

"As ready as I'll ever be." I said, patting her on the back like an uncomfortable acquaintance.  She released me quickly and set her sights on Matt.

"Matthew darling! It's insane how many people are here to see you!" She planted a kiss on his cheek, a little too close to his mouth. My eyes narrowed. She wrapped him in a hug and Matt made eye contact with me, he looked frightened, most likely of me. I tapped my foot, counting the seconds before they separated. I began to hear noise outside of the hall, the fans were in the building. I turned back to my boyfriend and the blonde bombshell.

"You should probably let go of my boyfriend so we can get ready." The words came out too quickly for me to stop them. I heard G snicker. Emmy whipped around to look at me.

"Jealously isn't a good look on you sweetie. Confidence is key!" Her eyes were scary dark, but I held my ground. Matt rushed around her and grabbed my hand, tugging me away from what was almost a brawl.

"Hey, hey chill." He said, watching me dig my nails into the palms of my hands.

"Chill?" My voice cracked. "Oh yeah, let me just take a fucking ice bath and calm down right quick." I said, yanking my hands out of Matt's. Matt grumbled. "What was that? Would you like to try again so the audience can hear?" My temper was flaring. The stress of the last twenty-four hours was peaking. Matt grabbed my wrists and looked deep into my eyes.

"Chill." I loved that he wasn't intimidated by my snaps, and that he would always challenge my bullshit. I took a deep breath and closed my eyes. His hands moved to cup my face. "Don't let bimbo Barbie get to you. I'm not interested." I nodded and reopened my eyes. "You ready?" He asked.

"Yes." I took my place in front of the MAGCON backdrop. The camera man snapped a few photos, testing out the light. The doors opened a fans flew into the lines, there were at least two hundred people crammed into the room. I smiled, trying my best to seem authentic. I had to watch the boys to understand what to do. They wandered around the stage, reaching out to touch the hands of the fans who were close, stopping to chat with each other, taking Snapchats. The first ten minutes was just screaming while we waved and smiled from the stage. As I was chatting with one of the fans in the front row, James caught my eye from the side of the stage. He smirked that looks could kill smirk. I saw the tech guy approach Jack J with a microphone and I knew we were starting. I returned to my place on stage, and sat on a stool next to Matt. Matt slipped his hand into mine and the screaming doubled. I blushed.

"How is everyone today?" J asked. The screaming tripled. J and G smiled at each other. "We're all so happy you guys could join us today! In just a minute we'll get started with the meet and greet. First some rules, because I know y'all are rowdy!" I laughed at his energy. He passed the mic to G.

"Take lots of photos! Scream as loud as you can! And have a great time!" He said, the group went crazy. Music started to play over the loud speaker as the first group of people was allowed up. I posed and smiled for so many photos that I lost count.

"Hanna! Hanna!" A group of girls called, it was the two girls from the Starbucks line. My face lit up!

"Sandra and Jasmine!" I rushed to hug them. "How are you?" They we're so thrilled I remembered them.

"We love you so much." Sandra stuttered.

"You're an inspiration!" Jasmine nodded. I smiled at them. "It's so amazing how much money you raised for charity last year at your fundraiser." How did they know about that?

"And I'm so sure that you will be accepted into film school at Tisch. They would be stupid not to accept you!" Sandra added. Uh oh, my personal life was coming out. I laughed, trying to hide my discomfort.

"Thanks girls! It's so good to see you again! Please tell me you're stopping by Shawn's concert?" They jumped up and down, distracted.

"Yes, Yes of course!" They yipped.

"I'll see you there!" I winked as they moved down the line to see the Jacks.

An hour in and I was starting to falter. I was already tired. The next group was getting ready to come on stage, and Matt wrapped me up in a bear hug. The awwws flooded in. "Keep it up baby girl, you're doing great." He whispered to my hair. I took the opportunity to look up and kiss him quickly. The crowd screamed. Matt let go of me as a fan stepped up to take a picture. He kissed her cheek, and then she smirked at me.

"Can you get in this picture, and pretend to look upset?" She asked, I laughed.

"Sure." I stood on her left, arms crossed frowning at the two of them as Matt pressed his lips against her cheek. She jumped up and down.

"I love it!" She squealed, hugging Matt and then me in turn. Then she headed off towards G.

"Hanna?" Matt asked, approaching me and pressing his body into mine. I heard the click of cameras going crazy.

"Yes Matthew?" I replied, tilting my head to the side.

"You're incredible."