The Concert
Part I: The Concert
Collins’ hand linked with mine, as we walk down the red carpet. “Collins! Kiernan! Over here!”
“And look who it is, Collins Hart and his mystery girl.”
“Can we get a word with you two?”
~1 Month Earlier~
The last bell of the school day rings, Louise and I meet up and wait for Bryn before leaving.
Louise and I stand in the back of the school, watching everyone leave already. “Where the hell is she?” I lean my head back against the brick wall.
With a slight shrug. “B is always late.” She chucks her cigarette butt on the ground, rubbing it into the ground with the sole of her maroon boot. “She’s probably with Mack.”
After about ten minutes, Bryn comes rushing around the corner. “Sup bitches!” She shouts with a big smile on her face, waving something in the air. “Guess what I’ve got.”
Louise and I exchange looks. “What? Another supposive contest winner?” Louise begins. “Look B, we’ve got to get going if we’re going to make the movie.”
“But guys, I have actually won a contest!” Bryn says holding up three pieces of paper. “The Alternative Hearts. Second row, backstage passes!”
My eyes widen. “What the fuck? Are you serious!?” I grab them from her hands. “Nice, B! When’s the concert?”
“Tonight. Starts at 10:00.” She takes the tickets back from me. “My house at 9:00?”
It’s 9:55 and the three of us take our seats, waiting for the band to come on. And then from the curtain, Collins followed by the other band members.
After hours of singing along and dancing, we head to the security guard who stands in front of the area to go backstage. We all hold up the passes and he opens the small, metal gate.
He directs us to stairs on the side of the stage that lead to a narrow hall. A woman approaches us with a headset on and a clipboard in her hand. With a quick glance up from her board. “Passes?”
“Yes.” Bryn replies as we hold them up.
She points down the hall and to a door, “Wait in that room. The band will be there whenever they feel like it.”
We go to the room she directed us to and when we open the door, two purple couches sit along the walls, a glass table in between with food loaded on it. The walls are lined with signed pictures of musicians that played here before.
“This is sick!” Louise says as she walks and scans every single one. “I can’t believe you really got these tickets, B.”
Dropping my purse on the side table, I nod while scrounging through the food. “I know. This is amazing!”
As we continue to pick apart everything in the room, the door opens. “‘Ello loves.” The lead singer, Collins, stares at us with his bandmates behind him. “You must be the lucky winners of our lil’ contest.”
The three of us stand side by side, speechless. Then I speak up, “Yeah. I’m Kirsten, this is Louise and Bryn.”
The other members - Dianne, Connor, and Jackson all flop on the couches and begin eating all the food, leaving Collins in the doorway. “Sorry bout them, big fans of your American candy.” He chuckles. “We can give you a lil’ tour after they finish eatin’ that rubbish.” With a slight clap of his hands, “So. Are you from Los Angeles?”
“I wish. But we’re from Pasadena.” Louise laughs.
Collins sits on the arm of the couch. “Nice, I grew up and currently live in the city. But anyways, you ready for a tour?”
Connor, Dianne, and Jackson all look up with food shoved in their mouths. “Oh, yeah.” They stand up and file out the door, us following.
“I’ll meet up with ya. I’ve gotta talk to Mazzie.” Collins says as walks the other way.
The three of them show us around backstage and to see everything. About two minutes into the tour, I go to reach into my purse to grab my phone… And then I realize I left my bag in the dressing room.
“Shit.” They all turn around. “I left my bag in the room. I’m going to go get it, but I’ll meet up with you guys in a minute.”
They all nod as I head back to the dressing room. When I open the door, Collins is talking on the phone. “Oh. Sorry.” I mumble. “I can come back.”
He shakes his head. “I’m just about done, love.” He goes back to his conversation as I awkwardly stand in the doorway. “Yes, mum. I’ll give you a call in a bit.” He hangs up the phone. “Sorry bout that.” He lets out a long sigh and slips his phone into his pocket.
I see a certain look in his eye, “I don’t want to sound like I’m butting into your business, but is everything alright?”
He shakes his head. “My sista is sick and I really need to go see her.”
“I’m so sorry.” I reply as I pick up my bag from the table. “How old is she?”
“Fourteen. She’s got cancer and we don’t know how much longer she’s got.”
I take a step closer, “You shouldn’t be touring right now. You should be home with her.” With a pause, “I lost my mom to cancer a few years back. I wasn’t there when she died because I was at a party… Which I bully myself everyday for.”
He takes a step closer to me, “I’m sorry, but you shouldn’t beat yourself up about that. It isn’t your fault.”
Slightly shrugging, “It’s whatever, I’m used to it. But we should catch up with them, they’re going to be done with the tour soon.”
Collins nods. “Yeah.”
I begin twirling my bags chain around my finger and then it falls from my hand, “I’ve got it.” He leans down.
I tuck my hair behind my ear, “No, I can get it.”
We slightly bump heads as our hands touch as we’re about to grab the bag. My eyes meet his, “They’re probably waiting for us.” I laugh.
“Yeah.” And then my head gets closer to his and our lips touch. We slowly back away and our eyes meet again. “I’m sorry.” He quickly stands up straight.
I grab my bag, “Don’t apologize.”
Stepping closer to me again, he puts his hand to my face. “I’ve met many fans in my time. And none of ’em have been like you, Kiernan.”
After I come back to reality, I stop and think. “What just happened?”
With a slight chuckle, “Did you not want it to happen?”
My eyes shoot back up to him. “No. I’ve fangirled over you for so long.” I laugh back. “But I never thought that I would meet you, let alone kiss you.” With another pause, “And it can’t happen again.”
He raises an eyebrow. “Why not? It must have been as amazin’ to you as it was to me.”
“It was amazing.” I smile, “But you’re a celebrity and I’m a normal high school student.”
Collins puts his hands in his pockets and inching towards me again. “I know we just met a few moments ago, but I want to take you out.”
My eyes widen a bit, “Like a date?”
“If you’re alright with that, love.” He smiles again. “We’ll just have to dodge the paparazzi a bit. But that shouldn’t be a problem.”
“Give me your phone.” I put my hand out.
He slowly pulls it from his pocket, “This isn’t some prank, right?” I roll my eyes as I take it from his hand.
I type my number in his contacts and hand the phone back to him. “Here you go.”
Bringing his eyes down to the screen, “Brilliant.”
Adjusting my bag hanging on my shoulder, “We should probably catch up with them.”
I begin walking towards the door as he grabs my hand and pulls me back towards him. Next thing I know, we’re kissing and too many thoughts swirl through my head, What the hell? Am I really kissing him right now? What am I going to tell Louise and Bryn? What am I going to do about this date?
Collins and I catch up with everyone else and finish the tour. At the end, the three of us head home. As we get in the car, they turn to each other as my phone buzzes. “Ahhhhh!” Bryn screams at the top of her lungs. “This was the best day of my life!”
“I know. And we’ve got to post right now! Insta, snapchat, twitter, everything!” Louise replies, then they turn to me in the back seat. “Why are your eyes glued to your phone?”
Once I realize they’re talking to me, I glance up at them. “I’m just posting th pictures.”
Bryn and Louise trade looks. “Who’s the guy?”
My eyes widen. “What are you talking about? I’m not texting anyone.” And then, before I know it, Bryn is grabbing my phone from me.
Stopping them from looking at my phone, someone knocks on the cars window. We all jump at the sudden noise and then Louise rolls down the window to Collins holding up a bag. “’Ello loves. Did one of you forget this?”
Bryn laughs, “Yeah. Thanks.” She reaches over Louise and grabs it. And as he goes to turn away, Bryn speaks up again. “Wait, Collins!” He turns around. “Just between you and your biggest fans…” She hesitates. “Is there any lucky girl that has your heart?”
Collins chuckles under his breath. “Not that it’s any of ya business, I just started seeing someone pretty recently.” He glances to me in the back seat. “But that information doesn’t leave this car.”
With her flirty smile, “No problem… love.” She says as I snatch my phone from her hand, she doesn’t even notice.
Snickering again, he winks at me and then walks away. “I wonder which celeb he’s seeing.” Louise says with a sigh.
I shrug, “Who knows. But we’ve got to post these already.”
And then we all take a few minutes to post the pictures with the band and come up with “clever” captions.
It’s now two in the morning when Bryn, Louise, and I get to Bryn’s house. The three of us sit in her room, watching movies. As we’re halfway into Bedtime Stories, my phone rings.
I pick it up and across the screen it reads an unknown number. “Maybe it’s my true love confessing their feelings for me.” I joke as I show Bryn and Louise the screen. They laugh back and pause the movies as I answer it and put it on speaker, “Hello?”
From the other side, “’Ello. Is this Kiernan?”
We all laugh, “Yes. Who is this?”
I hear them chuckle. “You already forgot about me?”
And then I realize that it’s Collins. I quickly switch the call off of speaker and bring it to my ear. Bryn and Louise look at me strangely. “Sorry, I didn’t have your number saved in my phone.” I laugh as I stand up and walk out of the room.
Sitting on the couch in the living room, “It’s quite alright love. But, I wanted to call and make sure this was a real number.”
“First of all, we were texting earlier. Secondly, do you not trust me?” I laugh to myself.
He now laughs. “I’m not that smart and I don’t know. But there is something else I wanted to ask you.”
“What is it?”
“The bands manager, Mazzie, helped me plan a night out with you.” He says as I smile. “Tomorrow, if it works for you.”
Although he can’t see me, I nod. “Definitely. What did you have in mind?”
He pauses, “It’s a surprise. Tomorrow at seven. You’ve just got to tell me where to pick you up.”
“Alright. 48 Willow Lane in Pasadena.” I reply as I hear footsteps behind me. I turn to Bryn and Louise coming around the corner. “I’ve got to go. I’ll talk to you later.”
“Okay. I’ll see ya tomorrow.” He replies as I hang up.
I turn towards them as they sit on the couch across from me. “What was that about?”
Looking down at my phone, I debate whether or not I should tell them everything. “I’ve got a date tomorrow.”
They both smile and exchange looks. “Finally moving on from Gabe, huh?” Louise chuckles. “Who’s the lucky guy?”
“I don’t want to talk about it right now. Let’s just get back to the movie.” I stand up and walk back to the bedroom as they follow.
For a few more hours, as they watch the movies, I text Collins. We go back and forth, saying random stuff about ourselves to each other.
