ONNAXOFF

Chapter 24

Jessie

By the time I finish up the paperwork for the house, rush over to Eli’s house to shower and get changed, I’m running late. As usual.

I call Abel to let him know.

“Oh my God.” He says, the moment he answers.

“What?”

"It's sold out." He says blankly, like he can't believe what he's saying. "All 20,000 tickets. Sold."

"That's amazing!" I gasp.

"Yeah... Fuck. Wow." I hear the smile in his voice and I can’t help feeling proud of him.

“Are you nervous?”

“Of course. But… in a good way. I mean 20,000 XO fans? This show is gonna be on a whole new level.”

“Yeah.” I grin excitedly. “I guess this almost makes you like… a real singer or some shit.”

“Shut up, hater.” He laughs. "When you getting here?"

"I was just calling to say, I'm not gonna make it before you go on stage."

"Oh. I guess I'll see you afterwards then."

"Yup. Have fun!" I remind him as I skip down the stairs to the train station.

"Believe me, I will."

__________

As Abel leaves the stage with a final bow, the crowd erupts in applause, whooping and cheering. The atmosphere in the arena is electric; he did an amazing job tonight. I start making my way backstage to tell him in person.

It takes me much longer than expected to get through the throngs of people making their way in the opposite direction, but once I finally flash my pass at the security guard on duty, I arrive backstage, only to find myself in a maze of corridors with a seemingly never-ending number of doors.

I turn a few corners, checking each door for the words 'The Weeknd' or 'Abel' but find only the rooms for the lighting desk operator, sound manager and various other backstage crew members.

A tall man comes out of the door marked 'Electrician' and I call out “Excuse me?”

He turns around and grins. “Yes? How can I help you?”

“Could you point me in the direction of The Weeknd’s dressing room, please?”

He looks me up and down. “You just go back the way you came and it’s the first door after the first right,” he says directly to my chest. It’s just my luck to ask for directions from the creepiest guy in the building.

“Thanks.” I say tersely, turning around to leave when I suddenly feel his hand on my ass. I whirl round and slap him hard across the face. “What the fuck do you think you’re doing?!” I shout.

“All you groupies are just the same. All tease, no action. I bet if I was The Weeknd, you’d drop those panties in no time though,” he spits back, puffing himself up and taking up almost twice as much of my personal space as he did before.

I lift my hand to slap him again but he grabs my wrist mid-air and pushes me into the wall with a perverted smile. 

A quick, sharp knee to his crotch quickly wipes the smile off his face and he falls to the floor, curling instinctively into the foetal position. “I hope you’ll think twice before you try anything like that with the next ‘groupie’.” I give him a kick in the gut for good measure.

A slow clap starts behind me. I turn around to find Abel standing there, a proud smile on his face.

“Wow. Maybe I should have warned security that I had a thug on the guest list.”