All About the Hype (3 page)

‘Where first?’ I ask Johnny, smiling at three little girls dressed in princess costumes, passing by with their parents.

‘It’s up to you,’ he replies with a shrug.

‘Peter Pan!’ Barney shouts, jumping up and down on the spot.

‘Are you sure about that?’ I ask my dad with amusement. I think we all know who the boss is here. ‘Can we go straight to Peter Pan, please?’ I ask our guide with a
smile.

‘Sure.’ She doesn’t move, though, her smile frozen on her face as she looks from Mickey and Walt to Johnny and Meg and back again.

I wonder what she’s waiting for. Are we supposed to show the statue more respect or something?

And then Johnny’s and Meg’s faces light up at the sight of something behind me. I turn round to see a cart being drawn by a real horse, and then, from behind it, Libby, Natalie, Lou
and Em emerge! I almost die on the spot as my British friends run, laughing, towards me. And the boys follow: Dougie, Aaron, Chris and – no way – is that
Tom
? I stare at him in
shock, and then I spy Stu with who I
think
are Libby’s and Tom’s mums, but my eyes are so full of tears, it’s hard to tell.

My friends engulf me and there is so much screaming going on that it almost bursts my eardrums. Eventually I make it to Stu and I’m pretty sure he’s crying as we hug. I can’t
believe almost everyone I care about is here. And was I dreaming? Did I really see Tom?

I break away from my stepdad and look around for him and, sure enough, my recently ex-boyfriend is standing awkwardly beside his mate, Chris.

He meets my eyes and gives me a small smile and then Natalie is accosting me.

Natalie is a relatively new friend, as are Em, Dougie and Aaron. I started to hang out with them earlier last year when I went through a particularly rough patch. They’re older than me
– they all go to college now – and Stu wrote them off as a bad influence with their drinking, smoking and late-night partying. I think he now understands that they helped me in their
own way, even if he didn’t approve of their methods.

‘Get a look at Em, would you?’ Natalie whispers in my ear.

Em’s eyes are bulging out of her head as she stares at my dad. Johnny pretends not to notice. Em’s his biggest fan. I watch Johnny greet my geeky stepdad with a backslap-mini-hug,
but Stu can’t quite carry the gesture off with the same swag, bless him.

‘How did you all get here?’ I ask.

‘Your dad flew us over,’ Libby tells me. My oldest friend’s grin is nearly splitting her face in half.

‘Business Class!’ Dougie interjects, pumping the air with his fist.

‘He’s paying for this whole trip,’ Libby adds. ‘My mum and Tom’s mum came as chaperones.’

I lock eyes with Tom. I want to pull him aside for a proper talk, but it’s too hard with everyone around.

‘Hi,’ I say.

‘Hey,’ he replies quietly.

This is so awkward
…

Chris comes to our rescue, wrapping his arm round Tom’s neck. ‘So where are we going first?’

‘Barney wants to go on the Peter Pan ride,’ I tell them.

‘It’s your day, Jessie,’ Meg says firmly. ‘You choose.’

‘Let’s go on Peter Pan,’ I decide, smiling with affection at my little bro.

‘We can always split up later,’ Johnny chips in. ‘He won’t be able to go on Space Mountain, but
I
can’t wait!’

He looks even more like Barney than usual.

I soon find out that my dad got in touch with Stu to arrange this whole thing. They weren’t sure my friends would be able to make it at such short notice, but apparently every single one
of them jumped at the chance. Everyone except Tom, who Lou tells me took some persuading.

‘We knew you’d want him here,’ she says, as she, Libby, Natalie and I board the log ride at Splash Mountain. Em is in the log ahead, staring manically at the back of my
dad’s head. ‘I hope I was right?’ Lou checks worriedly.

‘Absolutely. I emailed him a couple of days ago asking if we could stay friends. I’m so glad he’s here, even if he doesn’t look too happy about it.’

‘You should talk to him, reassure him,’ Lou says. She was the new girl at school last term and she goes out with Chris, so I’m sure she knows the inside scoop about his best
mate.

‘I will as soon as I get a chance,’ I vow.

My opportunity comes not long afterwards, inside the creepy Haunted Mansion. Tom and I find ourselves standing beside each other in the foyer. Suddenly the floor starts to move downwards and I
press my palm to his chest with alarm.

‘You’re wet,’ I notice, patting his T-shirt.

‘Log ride,’ he replies stiffly. I quickly drop my hand and edge away a little.

‘Nat got the worst of it in ours,’ I tell him.

‘Muggins here sat in the front,’ he reveals with a small smile.

Both of us fall silent, but I force myself to speak.

‘I’m glad you’re here,’ I whisper.

‘Your email persuaded me,’ he replies in a low voice, glancing down at me, his brown eyes glinting in the darkness.

The doors open to let us out of the foyer, but we stay side by side as we walk along the spooky corridors towards the ride.

The prevailing memory I have of Tom right now is of the last time we saw each other, when he was on his knees on my bedroom floor, bleakly staring up at me. He was so gutted that I’d
cheated on him. His last girlfriend, Isla, did the same, and I’d always thought she was completely mad.

Tom had told me that he ‘never goes back’, so once it’s over with him, it’s over, period. I didn’t think he’d forgive me, even if I begged him to, but
I’ll never know for sure because I didn’t even try to stop him from breaking up with me. In my heart, I’d chosen Jack.

Now that Tom’s beside me, though, I feel a sharp sense of loss.

‘How are you?’ he asks as we wait in line for the Doom Buggies.

‘Fine.’ It’s not an honest answer to describe how I’m feeling on the anniversary of my mother’s death, but I don’t know what to say to him. It occurs to me
that if we’re going to be friends, like I want us to be, I need to try harder.

We’re next in line so when we climb into the buggy together – just the two of us – I turn to him and force a small smile.

‘Actually, I’m not fine,’ I admit, swallowing. ‘Today was always going to be hard, but it helps having you all here.’

‘I figured you’d need friends around you,’ he says, as our car takes off. His tone is unmistakeably gentle, even over the noise of the spooky voices and old-fashioned
music.

‘You’re right.’ I lean into him instinctively, resting my cheek against his shoulder. He feels achingly familiar and I don’t want to move away, but I do as soon as he
asks his next question.

‘How’s it going with Jack?’ He sounds tense.

‘OK,’ I reply edgily.

‘I didn’t know if he’d be here today.’

Oh my
God
, can you imagine? I’m suddenly incredibly relieved that Jack and Agnes had family commitments.

‘No, he’s visiting his grandparents.’ I pause and then turn to Tom with a frown. ‘But you still came, anyway?’

He shrugs. ‘Some things are more important.’

The ride whooshes round the corner and I clutch his arm, but force myself to let go and steady myself on the rail in front instead. See-through ghosts are dancing the waltz before us, but
it’s hard to concentrate on the ride.

‘How’s your mum?’ I ask.

She’s been nothing but kind to me today, though I still feel uncomfortable that she’s here. I dread to imagine what she thinks of me, considering I broke her son’s heart.

‘Not great,’ Tom replies. ‘I’m going to see my dad tomorrow so she’s a bit upset.’

‘You’re going to see your dad?’ I ask with surprise.

‘Yeah. I thought, well, I thought I might as well, seeing as I’ve come all this way.’ He sounds self-conscious.

Tom’s dad left his mum a year and a half ago and moved to San Francisco to be with another woman. Tom was devastated. He hasn’t seen his dad since, but they spoke to each other
recently.

It hurts to lose a parent, even when they’re still living and breathing.

‘How long are you going to stay with him?’ I ask, trying not to get sidetracked by thoughts of Mum.

‘A week. I’m taking a few days off school.’

‘I hope it goes well,’ I say.

‘Thanks.’

I don’t like this. We’re right next to each other, but we’re so far apart. I used to be able to console him, but now I can’t even touch him without thinking twice about
it. I have no idea how we’re going to be able to stay friends.

I realise with dismay that our buggy has almost returned to its starting point. This ride has been way too brief.

‘I’m sorry,’ I blurt, knowing we’re out of time.

He glances at me, taken aback.

‘I’m sorry. I hope you can forgive me,’ I say urgently.

‘No,’ he states, his eyes even darker than usual as he gazes back at me. My heart sinks, but he hasn’t finished. ‘Not yet. But I will one day. And yeah, we can try to be
friends.’

I’m so thankful I could cry.

‘Don’t,’ he implores, noticing my eyes well up. The safety rail lifts and he touches my cheek before turning to climb out of the car. He offers his hand to help me out after
him.

His kindness does nothing to help the rapidly growing lump in my throat, but, as soon as our friends surround us once more, my grief recedes into the shadows.

There’s so much going on in the next few hours that I barely think about Mum at all. Sometimes it occurs to me to feel guilty, like I should be honouring her memory
today, rather than enjoying myself, but it’s hard to be glum at the sight of all of my friends having so much fun.

Eventually my dad rounds us up and tells us that it’s time to go.

‘But what about Buzz Lightyear?!’ Barney whines.

‘We can come back another time, buddy,’ Johnny tells him.

‘YAY!’ comes his son’s ear-splitting reply.

It’s only late afternoon when we walk out of the park and we’re going to miss the Disney firework show, but I know my friends are shattered. They only flew in last night –
Johnny is putting them up at a hotel in downtown LA. The time is eight hours ahead in the UK so technically they should be going to bed right now, but there’s no chance of that. They’re
desperate to see my new pad.

Pizza, popcorn and a chilled-out evening in my dad’s private cinema would be pretty much perfect.

‘I’m assuming you want to travel with your friends,’ Johnny says, as they excitedly pile on to a sleek black bus.

‘Definitely.’ I’m about to start after them, but I halt in my tracks and turn round. ‘Thank you so much for today,’ I say sincerely.

‘You’re welcome,’ he replies gruffly. ‘See you back at the house in about an hour. Your driver’s going to take you on a mini tour of Hollywood first.’

‘Cool!’

The bus was lent to Johnny by his record company and there’s a huge bench seat at the back, wrapped round a shiny black table. There are crisps, sweets and cans of soft drink already laid
out.

Stu, Caroline, Tom’s mum, and Marilyn, Libby’s mum, sit in seats further down the bus, leaving us to it.

‘Is it wrong that I’m actually craving a salad right now?’ Libby asks, tucking her ginger hair behind her ears. ‘I’ve had so much sugar I think I’m going to
take off.’

Libby was my best friend for most of my life, but she and I drifted apart after Mum’s death when I grew close to Natalie and co. Last term at school, Libby made a new BFF who turned out to
be a total nightmare in more ways than I care to mention. I’m so glad she and I have come full circle and are friends again. ‘Have you guys had fun today?’ I ask, looking round
the table at everyone.

‘Are you kidding? It’s been the best day of my life!’ Em squeals, making us laugh.

Natalie cracks open a can of Coke. ‘It’s not over yet,’ she says, her blue eyes sparkling mischievously at me.

An hour or so later, we’re winding our way up through the hills of Bel Air, home to loads of the rich and famous. My friends try to catch glimpses of the mansions behind
the high garden walls and neatly trimmed hedges.

‘That’s where Charlotte Tremway lives,’ I point out.

‘Oh, wow!’ Libby exclaims, whipping round to look at me. ‘Don’t you know her?’

I nod. ‘We’ve hung out a few times,’ I reply.

Charlotte Tremway – or Lottie, as her friends call her – is the star of one of our favourite TV shows:
Little Miss Mulholland
. Lottie’s dad is the executive producer
and he’s mega wealthy. It was at his fortieth birthday party that I met Jack.

As I gaze out of the window, I let my thoughts drift to the guy who may or may not be my boyfriend. He’s eighteen, with black hair and blue-grey eyes, and he’s tall and fit and so
damn sexy that he makes my blood sing. I can’t wait to kiss him again.

The memory of his fingers in my hair and his body pressed against mine brings on a hot flush, and then I’m jolting with shock as I realise that this same memory is the moment I cheated on
Tom. I flash Tom a guilty look and try to push Jack from my mind.

I’m so relieved he’s not here. The thought of him and Tom meeting is too awful to contemplate.

As we drive through the gates of the Jefferson mansion, everyone sits up straighter and stares out of the windows. It’s getting dark now so there’s not much to be seen, but lights
from the house are glowing through the leafless trees situated outside my bedroom window.

‘What’s that?’ I hear Natalie ask and I look to my left to see a huge white structure in the garden.

‘I have absolutely no idea,’ I murmur, confused.

‘It looks like a giant igloo,’ Dougie comments.

Indeed it does.
What the hell?
And then I see a group of people I don’t recognise lurking in among the trees and suddenly other things register –
bam
,
bam
,
bam
– one after the other: the festoon lights glowing in the branches; music coming from unseen speakers; and Jack, Agnes and my All Hype bandmates, Brandon and Miles, standing on
the drive as the bus pulls to a stop. My mouth drops open, aghast, and then I’m looking at Tom.

Oh, shit
.