“I’m going to go out and say hello!”
“But it’s pouring outside!” I say, stating the obvious.
“I don’t care! I could probably do with a shower anyway . . . and guess what!” He holds out his hand. “You’re coming with me.”
“What?” I say, my eyes opening wide.
“I want everyone to see us together, and I want you to experience this with me. Be back in a second, Larry.”
The car pulls to a stop, and Noah leaps out, dragging me behind him. I hesitate at the door, but then I see Noah’s beaming smile and it gives me strength. I grab my bag, pull my camera from it, and jump out of the car.
My ears are pummelled with the shrill sound of fans screaming his name, and they wave frantically as he walks towards them.
There is something really magical about watching Noah chatting away with his fans. His face lights up, and he just doesn’t care that he is getting wet and his hair is getting messier and curlier by the second. He’s in his element.
I hear someone shout, “Penny! Look, there’s Penny. It’s Girl Online!” I glance over at two girls who are waving at me, and I wave back with a smile. This feels very strange, and there is a massive part of me that wants to run back into the safety of the car. Instead, I take a calming breath and start to photograph Noah as he hugs and high-fives some of the people in the queue. My camera feels like a shield. You can do this, Penny, I think to myself. I move backwards, and the two girls who waved at me are now right next to me.
“Are you excited to see Noah play in front of so many people?” one of them asks.
I nod vigorously. “I’m so excited. It’s so crazy!”
“We absolutely loved your blog, by the way! You should start it up again soon,” the other girl chips in.
“Oh, I’m not sure. I do miss it, though.” I smile at them warmly.
“What’s it like to be with Noah Flynn?” the first girl asks.
“It’s like a dream,” I say honestly. Noah catches my eye and gestures back towards the car. “It was so nice to meet you both,” I say, as Noah takes my hand and we hop back into the car. I wave to the girls one last time, then turn to Noah. He has this Cheshire-cat grin on his face. I can only imagine what he must be feeling at this point.
“Are you feeling OK?” Noah says, his face frowning in concern.
“That was . . . amazing!” I say, and I wrap my arms round him. We laugh as my camera bumps against his chest, and we’re forced to separate.
“Wait, I want to remember this moment,” I say to Noah. I pull him close and turn the camera on my phone round to snap a selfie of the two of us together. Looking at the faces on the screen, all I see are two ridiculously happy, shining people, and my heart fills with so much warmth I feel like I’m about to explode. The best thing is, this feeling is going to last all summer long.
Chapter Five
When we finally get out of the car, Noah’s manager, Dean, is outside, tapping his foot and staring pointedly at his watch. His hair is slick with gel and although he’s wearing a suit he’s left the top buttons of his shirt undone to make him look more casual. Noah calls this his effort to be “down with the kids.” I’m instantly reminded of my old drama teacher, who we nicknamed “Call-Me-Jeff” because he wanted all his students to think he was cool; at least Dean has an awesome job.
“Hi, Dean!” I say. It’s nice to see a familiar face. I met Dean over the Easter holidays, when Noah first brought up the possibility of me joining him on tour.
“Penny! Lovely to see you.” He kisses me on both cheeks and I’m hit with a strong waft of aftershave. “Come on, you two lovebirds. I can’t believe you’ve been hanging around out front! Don’t you know the security nightmare you’ve caused?”
Noah doesn’t apologize, and shrugs. “Have you noticed it’s pouring with rain outside? I wanted to say hi to all those people out there who are being forced to wait.”
I feel like I’m walking on air after meeting everyone, and I’m sure Noah does too. I don’t even care that I probably look a bedraggled mess. Noah, of course, just looks even better.
Dean rolls his eyes, but he doesn’t look mad—he knows it’s all part of Noah’s charm. Dean was the one who first discovered Noah on YouTube and signed him to Sony. Since then, he’s almost been like a surrogate dad, helping Noah to handle all the challenges that come with being an overnight Internet sensation. It was Dean who got him on the tour with The Sketch, convincing people that Noah was ready—even if Noah wasn’t so sure himself.
Dean had also been part of Noah’s plan to convince my parents it would be all right to let me go away with him. Dean had spent a whole afternoon at our house, reassuring Mum and Dad that a rock tour with Noah and The Sketch was not going to be the crazy alcohol-and-drug-fuelled environment that gets depicted in Hollywood movies and TV shows.
“What with smartphones, social media, and paparazzi nowadays, we can’t take any risks with our talent,” Dean had said. It felt strange to hear Noah being described as “talent.” “The moment they step out of line, someone will capture it on film and it will go viral, so it’s my job to make sure it never comes to that.”
That afternoon feels so long ago, and now everything is actually happening. I can hardly believe it.
Dean snaps me back to reality. “Noah, you’re onstage in an hour—we have no time to mess around!”