All About the Hype (20 page)

She was a little quiet yesterday at school and I wondered if it had anything to do with her not being invited to Gina’s launch party. I chose not to bring it up, which was a bit
cowardly.

‘So two weeks until our gig. Have you decided what I’m wearing yet?’ I ask impertinently.

‘I’ve got some ideas,’ she replies with a smile at my tone. ‘
You OK?
’ she mouths, nodding at Jack.

I shrug at her.

‘Want to come and see what I’ve got for you in my wardrobe?’ she asks at normal volume.

‘Sure. That OK, guys? Are we done now?’

They wave me away, barely looking up from my interview as I leave the room.

‘What’s wrong?’ Agnes asks, as we walk into the house.

‘Jack and I had an argument on Saturday night,’ I say morosely.

‘So that’s why he’s been like a bear with a sore head,’ she comments, as she leads the way upstairs.

I sigh. ‘It’s pretty stupid. I don’t know why I haven’t just called him to apologise.’

‘It was your fault?’ she asks with surprise. ‘That’s new.’

I sigh, as we walk into her room. ‘Mmm.’

I’m a bit sick of everyone thinking it’s Jack who’s going to screw this up. No one has any faith in us as a couple.
We
don’t have any faith in us as a couple.
‘I told him I’d been speaking to Tom,’ I say.

‘Your ex-boyfriend?’

‘Yeah. We’re friends,’ I say firmly. ‘He’s going to be in San Francisco visiting his dad when we’re there for our gig. Obviously I’m going to catch up
with him.’

‘Oh.’ She turns away from me to rummage in her wardrobe.

‘Do you think that’s wrong?’ I ask with a furrowed brow.

‘Well, I wouldn’t like it if Brett was still friends with his exes. It just complicates things, doesn’t it?’

‘Maybe, but I don’t want to lose Tom from my life.’

She turns round and gives me a significant look.

‘I still care about him,’ I say. ‘It doesn’t mean I want to be with him like that any more.’
Does it?

‘Are you sure you’re not just keeping him sweet so if things with Jack don’t work out—’

‘No!’ I exclaim. ‘Definitely not. Anyway, Tom never goes back. He was totally in love with his last girlfriend when she cheated on him, and she begged him to give her another
chance, but he never once cracked. He stuck to his guns. Even if I wanted Tom back, he’d never go there.’

‘Hmm,’ she says.

‘Show me what you’ve got in mind,’ I prompt, nodding at her wardrobe. I think it might be a good idea to change the subject.

I’m trying on my third outfit when there’s a knock at the door. Agnes opens it to reveal her brother standing there.

‘You gotta minute?’ he asks me, leaning against the door frame.

‘You can have her in five,’ Agnes replies inflexibly. ‘We’re in the middle of a styling session.’

‘I’ll come and knock for you,’ I tell him, smoothing my hands over the skin-tight skirt I’m wearing. It’s black with gold thread and fits tight to my hips, all the
way down past my knees. I’m wearing a black, fitted bodice top.

Jack’s eyes graze over the length of my body before meeting my eyes. Electricity crackles between us. Then he pulls the door shut without another word.

‘That’s the one,’ Agnes says, pursing her lips as she nods at my outfit.

‘Are you sure?’

‘Just take it off now before he tears it off you.’

‘Agnes!’ I squawk. ‘Not likely!’

‘It’s only a matter of time, though, right?’

‘Not if we can’t stop arguing,’ I reply truthfully. ‘And I can’t believe I’m having this conversation with my boyfriend’s sister,’ I mutter, as
she giggles and passes me my jeans.

As soon as I knock on Jack’s door, it opens.

‘I’m just going for a smoke,’ he says, joining me in the corridor and patting his jeans pocket. ‘Come with.’

I follow him downstairs and outside to the garden.

‘Do your mum and stepdad mind you smoking?’ I ask. He’s pretty blatant about it.

He shrugs. ‘They’d prefer that I didn’t.’ He sits on one of the sunloungers beside the pool. The floor is covered with peach-coloured tiles and there are enormous palms
dotted around in huge terracotta pots.

I take a seat opposite him and watch as he lights up, blowing smoke away from me.

‘I guess I should quit,’ he says, regarding the cigarette he’s holding. ‘But some habits are hard to kick.’

‘Does the same go for you being a player?’ I ask drily.

‘What do you want from me?’ he asks outright. ‘I’ve told you we’re exclusive. I’m not messing around.’

‘I’m not, either.’

‘So what’s the problem?’ he asks, flicking his ash into a nearby pot plant.

‘The problem is that you don’t trust me to be friends with Tom,’ I remind him.

He sighs and looks away from me. ‘I trust you,’ he says eventually, meeting my eyes.

‘You do?’ I ask with surprise.

‘Yeah. I don’t have to like it, though, do I?’

‘No,’ I reply with a grin, getting up and going to sit beside him. He stubs out his cigarette and leans back on the sunlounger, patting my leg and indicating for me to straddle him.
I breathe in sharply as he manoeuvres himself beneath me so he’s more comfortable. I wouldn’t like his mum to look out of the window and see us in this position, even though we’re
fully clothed.

‘So your stepdad is coming on Saturday?’ Jack asks, eyeing me steadily.

‘Yep.’

‘You’re not gonna be around this weekend, then?’

I shake my head. ‘Not really, no. Why?’

He purses his lips. ‘You know Saturday’s Valentine’s Day.’

‘Is it?’ I reel backwards. I’d completely forgotten, which is odd considering how much they make of it here. The hearts and flowers have been in the shop windows for so long
that they’ve almost become part of the furniture.

‘I wouldn’t have thought you’re the Valentine’s type,’ I say with a smirk.

He shrugs. ‘I’m not, really.’

‘Well, you won’t miss me, then.’

‘Don’t be so sure about it.’

We smile at each other for a long moment, and then I lean down and kiss him. He clasps my face in his hands and kisses me back passionately.

I pull away on a gasp of breath. ‘Jack,’ I whisper, wanting more. I always want more. ‘I can still see you while Stu’s here. We’re going to be practising every day,
anyway,’ I say hurriedly.

He reaches up and tucks a wayward lock of hair behind my ear, looking thoughtful.

‘You sound a little stressed about everything. Do you need to do so much?’

‘I keep thinking it’s ridiculous that I’m taking my GCSEs on top of everything else,’ I grumble.

‘I’m talking about your singing lessons, your keyboard lessons. You can already sing, and keyboards will be cool, but they’re not gonna happen in time for
this
gig.
Maybe you need to cut yourself some slack.’

I bite my lip, thinking. ‘Maybe,’ I reply with a sigh. ‘Do you think Miles and Brandon are OK about doing practice at my house?’

‘They’re totally cool.’

‘What did they think of the interview?’ I ask apprehensively.

He shifts beneath me so I sit up again, worried I’m squashing him.

‘It’s not really their thing,’ he says diplomatically.

‘I didn’t talk about the band as much as I wanted to,’ I tell him.

‘I think the name’s mentioned once,’ he states.

‘Is that all?’ I ask with alarm. ‘God, I definitely talked about you guys more than that.’

‘Don’t worry about it. It’s not what the piece was about.’

‘Yeah, but—’

‘Seriously, don’t worry,’ he reassures me. ‘The gig’s already sold out so you’re not gonna dampen anyone’s mood.’

‘Has it?’

‘Yeah, the
Muso
piece helped. Anything you can do to raise our profile won’t hurt, but it’s not a problem if you can’t.’

‘I wonder if Johnny can help. I mean, he’s so well connected. Surely it’s only a matter of time before someone wants to sign us.’

Jack raises his eyebrows. ‘I hope so.’

It is so good to see Stu again. I really wanted to go with Davey to collect him from the airport, but the boys came over to have an early band session so I could take the
afternoon off. I’m grateful to them, but desperate to spend time with my stepdad.

The LA traffic must’ve been exceptionally good for a change, because he arrives while we’re still in the swing of things.

My dad brings him into the studio.

‘Stu!’ I yelp, cutting out mid-song. I shove my mic into its stand and rush out through the glass studio door to engulf him in a hug.

He chuckles warmly, pulling away to look at my face.

‘You shouldn’t have stopped,’ Johnny drawls.

‘No, that wasn’t very professional of me.’ I cast a look over my shoulder at my bandmates watching and waiting patiently. ‘Coming, guys,’ I call, turning back to
Stu. ‘You want to watch for a bit? We won’t be long.’

‘Sure,’ he says, pulling up a chair.

‘Mind if I sit in, too?’ Johnny asks.

‘Of course not.’ I try to sound flippant, but his presence always makes me nervous. I notice my bandmates looking a little less comfortable when I walk back into the studio, too.
‘
OK?
’ I mouth.

Jack gives me a small nod.

Johnny leans forward in his seat, resting his elbows on his knees. It’s a laid-back position compared to Stu’s more upright posture, but I can tell that Johnny is anything but
relaxed. He’s watching and listening intently as we start the song from the beginning. This is his thing. This is what he’s good at.

Stu claps when we’re finished, but Johnny just nods. I
think
he’s impressed. ‘Sounding good,’ Johnny says. ‘A week today, right?’

‘Yeah, you coming?’ Brandon asks my dad cheekily.

‘Flying in especially,’ he replies.

It’s so nice to have Johnny in here like this with us. He’s been pretty absent from the family in the last few weeks. The only time we’re guaranteed to all be together is at
breakfast, but Meg really has to kick his butt to get him downstairs in time. He’s so tired rehearsing for his tour that he’d sleep in every day if he could. And, if he’s going to
be home for dinner, we all make an effort to be there.

Anyway, because of his busy schedule, Johnny is not going to bring Meg and the boys to San Francisco for the weekend. Instead, they’re going to stay here and he’s going to fly in
just for the gig. He’s not even planning to stay overnight.

Stu and I, on the other hand, are making a proper weekend of it. Johnny has organised for us to fly by helicopter on Friday, straight after school, returning on Sunday night. I can’t say
I’m desperate to feel helicopter-sick again, but air travel has its benefits and we’ll be there in time for dinner with Tom.

I haven’t mentioned this plan to Stu yet. Or Jack…

We finish up soon afterwards. Miles played on Johnny’s drum kit so all he has with him are his sticks, but Jack has his pedalboard so he takes longer to pack it away in its padded
case.

‘I’ll meet you by the car,’ he tells Brandon, who’s swung his bass guitar over his shoulder. We used Johnny’s amps, too.

‘It’s OK, I’ll wait for you,’ Brandon says cheerfully.

‘Have you guys heard the song Jessie’s doing on my new album?’ Johnny asks.

‘I still haven’t played it for them,’ I interject cautiously.

‘Let’s hear it!’ Brandon says, clapping his hands together.

‘Yeah, I’d love to hear it myself,’ Stu chips in.

Butterflies invade my stomach as Johnny digs out the CD and presses Play. Jack shoots me an encouraging smile.

Brandon reacts with enthusiasm. ‘Man, that is sick!’ he exclaims. ‘What’s it called?’

‘“Acorn”,’ Johnny and I reply simultaneously.

Miles nods. ‘It sounds cool.’

‘Very cool,’ Jack says, smiling at me.

Johnny ruffles my hair, proudly.

‘OK, you’re embarrassing me now,’ I say, blushing. ‘So are we meeting back here tomorrow evening?’

We all walk downstairs together, but Jack manages to hang back from his bandmates. He arm-bumps me and whispers, ‘Back pocket,’ jerking his head to indicate he wants me to get
something for him. He’s laden down with his guitar and pedalboard so I reach into his pocket and pull out a small white box.

‘
For you
,’ he mouths.

‘What is it?’ I whisper, taken aback.

He frowns at me, so I shove it into my own back pocket, aware of Stu and Johnny talking between themselves as they follow right behind us.

Jack jogs down the last of the steps. ‘See you tomorrow,’ he calls over his shoulder, striding after his bandmates.

I come to a standstill at the bottom of the steps. He’ll be through the door before I reach him so I decide to let him see himself out.

‘Coffee?’ Johnny calls, heading into the kitchen.

‘Sure,’ Stu calls back, joining me. ‘I saw that,’ he says in a low, meaningful voice.

‘Saw what?’ I ask innocently.

‘What did he give you? Are you smoking again?’

‘What? No!’ I exclaim, annoyed. ‘I don’t know what he gave me,’ I say with a shrug.

It’s obvious from Stu’s expression that he’s waiting to find out. Feeling nervous, I take a chance and pull out the box. It
is
about the same size as a cigarette
packet, and wrapped in white paper, so I can see why Stu might’ve jumped to that conclusion. I carefully unstick the edges, wondering what the hell it is and whether I’m insane to open
it in front of my stepdad, when I realise there’s a grey velvet box underneath the wrapping paper. I open it up, my heart in my throat, to see a tiny silver red rose. It’s a charm for
my bracelet.

My face breaks into the widest grin. ‘It’s for Valentine’s Day,’ I say, as my heart melts.

‘So you’re still together, then?’ Stu asks. He’s not enthralled by the idea, judging by his tone.

‘Yes, we are,’ I state adamantly.

‘What was with all the secrecy, then?’

‘Miles and Brandon don’t know we’re a couple. It would complicate things with the band.’

I’m getting a bit sick of this explanation – no one understands what the band means to me, how much of my new life is tied up in it.

‘I hear Tom is going to be in San Francisco this week,’ Stu says, but, although his tone is casual, I notice his cheeks flush slightly.