Stay (Punk Luke Hemmings)

Chapter 4

Too many hours later, I stumble off the plane, hair in a sloppy ponytail, sweater falling off my shoulders. The airport is bustling, people running around, ready to travel the world. I wish I was one of them, hurrying off for a plane to Hawaii or the Bahamas. Anywhere but here right now.

I don't have time to really mull over how much I'd like to stab a fork through my tire eyes, as the second I'm off the plane, I'm greeted by the sight of a tall man who immediately walks up to me, looking like he's in a rush.

"Andy Clementine? I'm Mark, I'm part of the 5sos management team. I'll be taking you to the hotel and briefing you." He's short and to the point, professional, but I know if he's part of the boy's team then he must have a sense of humor buried in there somewhere.

"Alright, sounds good." I'm too tired to say much else, a result of my inability to sleep on airplanes.

Mark leads me through luggage, easily picking up my bags for me, taking me to the shiny black SUV waiting outside for us. I climb in, fully ready to close my eyes for the few minutes to the hotel, rest a bit before being thrown into work, but Mark is in full business mode, talking the second he's buckled in.

"The tour officially starts tomorrow, and you'll have unrestricted access to everything. Backstage, concerts, the band themselves, their free time, photo shoots, whatever you want, you'll get. The idea of this whole thing is that you'll be getting the real 5 Seconds of Summer. We want them out there, as real as we can get it. That's what the fans want, and we deliver. They're actually quite charming sometimes. You'll get used to them, hopefully. Here, you'll be reporting to me, I'll get you whatever you need."

"Right." Chris had already been over this with me.

"When we get to the hotel, we'll get you your pass. Were you planning on getting a pre tour beginning interview?" Mark makes a sharp turn, the city fading away past the windows.

"Yes, to get a feel for them before they explode. Super informal, just getting to know them as people. Less of an interview and more of a chat. People want to see them stripped down, normal, not in the glitz of the media. We'll progress with the format of how the reporting will go after that. Maybe get an acoustic session, see the progression from beginning to end of tour." I summarize, slipping easily into the role of reporter. It's the easiest way for me to come to terms with the fact I'll be seeing the one person I've avoided studiously for the last 2 years in a few minutes if I view him as just another assignment.

Mark looks relieved. "I'm so glad you want informal. We can do it as soon as we get to the hotel, the boys are actually already waiting for you. We're booked tomorrow, as it's the first day of Where We Are, and this is pretty much the only time we have for this. Are you ready to go?"

I take a minute to process this. I wasn't going to have a night to sleep on this, it was happening now. "I mean, I need to set up some things, but yeah, I guess I can do it as soon as we get there."

We pass through throngs of people outside a gate, all screaming. If the paparazzi was here, we were probably right next to the hotel. Even just passing through them in the car made my heart rate rise. Claustrophobia and anxiety weren't a good mix, and being in the middle of a mob of paps, all pushing and shoving for the perfect shot made it worse. I held my breath until we were past the gate, unable to breath until the road was clear in front of us.

"Great, because we're here. I'm really sorry to do this to you after your long flight, but it's really important that we get this done today. No time tomorrow, but today is perfect. We just like to jump into things here. Hope that's alright." Mark pulls in front of an ornate hotel, hopping out of the car and running around to open my door for me.