Girl Online (5 page)

“You got me, sir,” he says. “And you must be Penny?” He gives me a friendly wink and I instantly feel at ease. I know why Noah wanted to reassure me about him—he looks like the sort of man you might see standing at the doors of a nightclub on a Friday night, keeping everyone in order. From what Noah just said, though, perhaps he'd most likely be found
inside
the club—at the karaoke machine, dancing around with a pink cocktail in hand—than outside it, pulling fights apart.

I'm imagining him belting out “I Will Always Love You” as I reply: “Hello! Yes, nice to meet you, Whitney.” I hold out my
hand, but my face flushes red as I realize what I've just called him. This was not the introduction to Noah's entourage that I had pictured! What ever happened to sophistication, intelligence, or even normal words? Straightaway I stammer out an apology, trying to rescue the situation, but Noah steps in.

“You're definitely not the first to call him that, Pen,” Noah says, laughing.

Larry gives me a wink and a smirk. “Well, from now on, Penny, you can call me Whitney. Just don't go expecting any sing-along sessions, unless you're willing to join in.” Larry hops into the driver's seat while I nervously laugh along with him.

Although the drive to the Brighton Centre isn't very long, it feels good to finally be with Noah. He slides over into the middle seat to sit beside me, his arm wrapped round my shoulders.

“It feels so good to have you next to me!” he says, squeezing me close. “How did your exams go?”

I shudder. “Don't ask,” I say. “But they're over now. I can't believe it's time already!”

I lean into his chest and feel his heart beating; I can't help but think this is
way
better than Skype. I stare up at his chiselled jaw, messy dark hair, and deep brown eyes. How did I get so lucky? I'm normally the unlucky girl who's always caught in the rain without an umbrella, who never has her number drawn in the school raffle, and who always loses at Monopoly. Maybe life has been storing up all my wins just for this: so I can be with Noah.

“Are you excited for tonight?” He squeezes my hand and I realize I've been staring at him in awe, like a complete weirdo.

“Oh . . . Yes! I can't believe it. You're opening for a band so big that even I've heard of them!” Noah's face goes a bit white, and I realize I must not be helping his nerves. “You're going to be amazing, I know it. Are you nervous?”

“I'd be lying if I said no, but I'm mostly just pumped. This has been my dream since I was twelve, and now I get to do it all, and with the best girlfriend on the planet.” He lifts my hand to his mouth and kisses it, and I blush a deep red. “I guess my only wish is that my parents were here to see it, you know?” Noah turns to look out of the rain-streaked window as we pass the seafront, dark and grey under the thick clouds, and I feel a deep pang of sadness for him.

His parents died in a tragic skiing accident only a few years ago, and I knew the pain was still fresh for Noah. He and his younger sister, Bella, went to live with their grandmother, the wonderful Sadie Lee, but I knew there would always be a hole in his heart big enough to hold the ocean, a hole that only his music could help to fill.

“They are incredibly proud of you, Noah, I'm sure of it.” I squeeze his hand back and he turns to look at me with a smile. “How are Sadie Lee and Bella?” I ask.

“Oh, they're great. Bella's starting first grade this September, and G-ma has her hands full with her catering business. G-ma also gave me a box of chocolate-chip cookies for you that should have
just
survived the flight over—but you'll have to eat them quick! I've got them in my dressing room.”

“She's so sweet!” I feel like drooling at simply the thought of Sadie Lee's cookies—they are seriously the best I've ever tasted—then I quickly lift my hand to my mouth in case I actually
am
drooling. That's just what Noah needs to see: his
girlfriend as a drooling, unsexy mess. But Noah laughs. Then he reaches up and cups my chin, pulling me forward gently, and we kiss for the first time in three months. Oh my gosh, I have missed this boy so much that it almost kills me.

“I've really missed you, my gorgeous, goofy autumn girl,” he says, as if he's reading my mind.

“I'm pretty sure I've missed you more. In fact, I'm willing to bet on it.”

“You don't strike me as a betting girl, Penny. I mean, three hours at those 2p machines you told me about is pushing it . . .” He raises his eyebrows and winks at me, then leans back in his seat and gives me an appreciative look up and down. “I really love that dress on you, by the way.”

“Thanks, I really like those dimples on you . . .”

“Well, you're going to be seeing these dimples a lot more while we're away on tour together. I'm so happy that you decided to do this with me, Pen. It's going to be the greatest adventure.”

“Well, adventures are my favourite . . . once we get past the flying part!” I laugh, although it doesn't quite cover up the nerves I feel at the thought of all the planes we'll have to take on the tour. Noah recognizes this in my eyes almost immediately.

“I promise you that I will look after you. We're going to have the best time.”

His reassuring words bring a smile to my face. I can't believe I was so worried that things wouldn't be the same between us. In fact, I have a feeling things are going to be even better than before. “Hey, Larry—are we close?” Noah asks, craning his neck to see out of the front windscreen, the
fast-moving wipers and thick drops of rain doing their best to obscure the view.

“Just round the corner,” Larry replies.

“Can we drive past the front? I want to see the turnout.”

“Sure thing, boss.”

Noah grins at me, his eyes sparkling with a hint of mischief. It's a look I recognize from when we first met—and the end result was that he showed me all his favourite New York places. I don't know what he's up to, but I'm intrigued.

The road outside the Brighton Centre is packed with people already queuing to enter, and Larry has to slow to a crawl to drive past. The crowd must be at least ten people deep, some in colourful macs, others huddling together under umbrellas to avoid getting completely drenched. All of a sudden I feel a wave of anxiety come over me at the intensity of what I am seeing. My boyfriend is Noah Flynn. All these people are going to be watching him sing onstage, and if they don't already know who he is they will after tonight. Some of them are even holding handmade banners that say:
MARRY ME, NOAH
;
WE LOVE YOU, NOAH;
and
LET ME BE YOUR SUMMER GIRL
.

Then I relax. I don't mind that someone wants to be his “summer girl” (after all, I'm quite happy in the knowledge I'm his all-seasons girl now). I think about how lovely it is that he has so many supporters when he is the opening act for such a huge band. Most of these girls will only know him because of YouTube, and each one will have played a part in making him as successful as he is. Of course, there are a lot of people who are only there to see The Sketch—it helps that all four members look as though they have stepped out
of a poster for Abercrombie & Fitch. I feel a huge sense of pride for Noah and this crazy journey he is about to embark on, and I do a little wiggle of happiness at the thought that I will be by his side along the way.

Noah clicks open his seat belt and I stare at him in alarm. “What are you doing?” I ask.

“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.