More Than a Fan || cth

Chapter 17

A familiar riff fills my ears. 

"Are you playing Catch 22?" Delilah and I yell simultaneously. We glance at each other amusedly before looking back up at the giant stage in front of us, occupying four tall boys.

All of them ignore our comment, continuing to mess around with riffs. Delilah rolls her eyes, leaning back into her chair heavily with a sigh.

"I'm surprised they haven't forgotten about it." I grumble, mostly to myself since Roy has sparked up a conversation with Delilah. He's sitting to her left, and I'm to her right. The three of us are sitting several rows away from the front center stage, watching the boys mess around.

I don't really know how all of this works yet, but I assume they're waiting for their manager and crew, because it seems to me like they haven't started.

Or maybe they have, I wouldn't be surprised. Either way, they always act this weird.

I watch them fumble around with their instruments, a small smile playing at my lips. Suddenly, Calum yelps in surprise, and I see a fluffy, tan blob sprint past his heels.

"You brought Duke?!" I scream to the stage. Five heads snap toward me, including Duke's.

"We always do," Luke says in a 'duh' tone. He snaps his fingers, and Southy and Petunia come running on stage too. "Hello, my loves!"

"This seriously doesn't seem right," I whisper and face Delilah, who just shrugs her shoulders.

"Duke! Go to Lacie!" Calum commands into the mic. It grabs Duke's attention. Duke yips, jumping off the tall stage gracefully. He disappears into the mass of chairs. Southy and Petunia follow, and a few seconds later, Duke jumps happily into my lap. Delilah grabs Southy and Roy pulls down a chair for Petunia to sit in next to him.

Now all of us are definitely content.

A big group of people enter the audience, with a bunch of equipment and clipboards and such. The person in front greets us with a nod and then makes their way onto the stage to talk to the boys. This must be "Modest Management", accompanied by their tour planning team.

Duke sniffs the air curiously, so I scratch behind his ears and get him to calm down. He twirls in my lap for a few seconds before finally settling down and closing his eyes. I notice Calum watching us, not paying any attention to what his band's manager is saying. The satisfied smile on his face makes Delilah nudge me. I ignore her action.

"Pay attention! Duke's fine." I mouth toward Calum, giving him a thumbs up. He snaps out of whatever daze he was in, replying to me with a grin before turning toward the rest of the people on stage.They aren't talking straight into the microphones, so I can't really hear what they're saying, but I can make out some words occasionally. I assume they're discussing the dates for the tour and such. I thought they'd figure all of that out before starting to practice, but like I said, I have no idea how any of this works.

Ashton is the one really zoning in to what the people are telling them, while Luke, Michael, and Calum are playing little riffs on their instruments or whispering to each other.

They continue like this for a while before Ashton closes his mouth abruptly, sneaking a glance toward the other three who have stopped completely.

"Wait, are you serious?" I hear Luke ask. Roy and Delilah don't seem to notice but I start to feel concerned. What is happening?

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Calum's POV

5 hours earlier

"Okay okay, yeah, I got it. Be there at 11." I groan into the phone, willing Luke to hang up already. I can practically feel him roll his eyes as he hangs up without a goodbye. I toss my phone onto the nightstand next to my bed, letting out a large sigh before forcing myself to get up.