Girl Online: On Tour (15 page)

I take a seat on a plush velvet sofa in the reception lobby and a beautiful spray of orchids catches my eye. I can’t help myself—I lift my camera and start snapping away. Orchids are one of my favourite flowers, particularly white ones. Elliot once bought me an orchid for my birthday and it sat proudly on my dressing table, looking elegant and fresh. Unfortunately, its beauty was short-lived—I quickly realized how difficult it is to look after them, as I overwatered it and it died. The year after that he bought me a cute succulent in a miniature hanging pot and told me if I managed to kill that then I could never own another plant again! Thankfully, it’s still hanging in the corner of my room, holding up despite the fact that I don’t pay it any attention. That’s about the level of care I can handle, and Elliot knows it.

I look down at my phone—it’s 9:20 a.m. I look back up and scan the reception lobby for any sign of Noah. Nothing. Just the hustle and bustle of a busy Berlin hotel, but no sign of my boyfriend’s trademark scuffed jeans and sparkling white smile.
He must still be getting ready
, I convince myself.
Or maybe he has something up his sleeve that involves a bit of planning?
I recline onto the sofa and wait a further ten minutes, watching people start their day.

“Oh, hey, Penny?”

The voice startles me out of my people-watching. I crane my head over the sofa and see a rather sorry-looking Dean, bloodshot eyes peering at me over the top of his gold-rimmed Ray-Bans. “Why are you hanging around in reception? Have you had breakfast yet? I think they stop serving at ten, so you should get in there quick if you want
a croissant. They get snapped up pretty quick.” His husky laugh turns into a cough. He really does look rough.

“No, I’m waiting for Noah. We’re having breakfast together, then heading out to explore the city.”

Dean cackles so loudly that it echoes throughout the lobby and a few people turn and stare at him with bemused looks on their faces. When he finally recovers, he says, “You won’t be seeing him until at least midday. The boys were out until about four a.m. last night. It could’ve been later—I gave up at three thirty.” He slumps down onto the sofa next to me. “It got really crazy, to be honest, hence the sunglasses. Man, I need a coffee. And I wouldn’t say no to a bacon sandwich.”

My heart sinks. I try to maintain a smiley demeanour while Dean is still beside me.

“Oh, of course. Silly me, I completely forgot. Noah did mention something about it changing to midday.” I stumble on my words as I struggle to think of anything to say that will make me seem less of an idiot.

“Do you want to grab a bite with me instead? I mean, I’m nowhere near as good-looking, but I can play a few chords on the guitar.” Dean stands up and tries to usher me over to the dining area but I shake my head.

“Actually I think I’m going to head back up to my room. I just realized I have to call my parents and let them know I’m still alive. You know what parents can be like . . . they forget you aren’t ten anymore, and if they don’t hear from me they might send the police, or the army . . . or at least my brother, Tom. But you enjoy your hangover cure. I’ll see you later.”

Before Dean can try to persuade me to grab some food with him, I jump up and head for the lift. Once inside it, I
press my floor number and collapse against the wall, resting my forehead against the cool glass. I’m not sure what is more upsetting—the fact that Noah never told me he was going out, the fact that he didn’t think to invite me, or the fact that he went out
and
still couldn’t meet me for the one day we had together that he promised would be so special. I check my phone to see if he has tried to call or text me, but I already know there’s nothing.

As I walk along the corridor from the lift, instead of taking a right along to my room, I turn left and head towards Noah’s. I stand outside it and go to knock, but, as my hand is hovering inches from the door, I change my mind and walk back to my own room. Noah’s never given me a single reason to worry before, and I don’t want him to think I’m turning into one of those clingy girlfriends who needs to know my boyfriend’s every move. What if he is still getting ready? What if he
does
have something else planned? He may not have invited me out last night, but I suspect it was all Blake’s idea anyway and, knowing Blake, Noah wouldn’t have had much choice in the matter.

When Noah’s ready, he’ll come and find me—nothing is going to ruin our Magical Mystery Day.

Chapter Twenty-Two

The clock ticks past midday and I accept that Noah probably isn’t busy getting ready or planning something for the day. I’ve already painted my nails (fingers
and
toes) a summery coral pink that I’d been saving for the trip, checked Instagram and WhatsApp about a million times, updated my Snapchat story with clips and photos of the hotel room, and done everything I can to distract myself without leaving the room in case Noah turns up.

I text him again to ask where he is, but I get no reply. I call him too, but it’s almost time for everyone to head back to the venue and do the soundcheck for tonight’s show anyway, so the chances of Magical Mystery Day still happening are slim. It’s not like Noah to be this rubbish with his phone, or be this rubbish in general.

I try not to think about it too much. Every time I think I’m calm, another question rises in my mind.
What if something happened to him? What if he’s hurt? Or in trouble?
The questions threaten to grow bigger and bigger with every passing minute that I don’t hear from him. I know they will
drive me crazy if I stay in this room alone, with nothing to distract me. I can’t even text Elliot—I’ve bothered him enough already, and he and Alex are having a date day. They don’t need me dragging them down with my whingey texts. I need to perk myself up.

I think about trying Noah’s room but then convince myself that he’s just asleep and won’t want to be woken up. That’s not such a bad thing. This is his first tour after all; he’s allowed to have fun. He probably forgot to set an alarm. That’s OK.

I grit my teeth and push back any negative thoughts that try to take hold, bursting them like soap bubbles before they can land on my brain. I grab my bag, my camera, and my laptop, and make the decision to head to the venue on my own, instead of sulking around my hotel room. At least some of the crew will be there and I can take some shots for my project of everyone setting up before Noah arrives. I try his phone one more time before heading out, but it goes straight to answerphone.

When I arrive at the venue, Dean greets me with a huge hug. He looks more alive now—food and coffee must have revived him. “PENNY! What brings you here so early? Lover boy is still asleep, I take it?”

“Yeah, I just figured I’d leave him to sleep while I get a few shots here and then I might sit and edit some of them. I’m doing photography for my A levels next year and my teacher is not going to be happy if I come back with nothing to show for it.”

“Hey, well, it’s great you have a hobby. Remember, I’m here if you need anything. I think Larry should be bringing the boys over soon for a soundcheck.”

I nod and make my way to the dressing room. I take the memory card out of my camera and transfer the images that I have so far onto my laptop. There are some goofy ones of Noah and me that I took at the airport, some of Noah in front of the tour bus, lots of backstage shots, and then ones that I took from the crowd last night. I’ve managed to catch one of Leah that makes it look as though she’s floating above the stage. She looks amazing. I open the image in Photoshop and start playing around with the exposure and colour filters.

I’ve always loved taking photographs, right from the moment my parents gave me my first camera—a disposable one that I used in the playground. I liked trying to catch people unawares, winding the dial on the back of the camera to get the film ready for the next picture. Editing in Photoshop is something that I’ve only just started learning how to do in the past year, and it’s addictive. Hours can pass as I sit on the computer, making the tiniest adjustments to my pictures. Most people think Photoshop is about turning spotty faces into flawless ones, but it’s so much more than that: I can add filters, adjust the colour palette, fix poor exposures, and make the photos more vibrant. Miss Mills has taught me that less is more when it comes to editing my images, but I still love to play around.

“Wow, that’s a killer shot!”

I spin round quickly to catch Leah peering over at my laptop screen from the doorway—I must have left the dressing-room door open when I came in. I instantly feel as though I need to slam my laptop shut.

“Oh, no, don’t close it. Honestly, it’s really cool. Can I
come in and take a closer look?” She doesn’t wait for an answer, but strides in and sits down next to me. “You like photography, right?”

“Yes, er . . . I mean, yeah, I love it. I saw the show last night and it was truly amazing. You looked great—and you and Hayden sounded incredible singing that a cappella song.” It feels weird to be giving Leah Brown a compliment. I’m not entirely sure she wants a compliment from me, but I also know that I am speaking the absolute truth. I feel a bit scared and more than a little intimidated by her, though. When she’s on stage, she looks otherworldly—like a more perfect being from another planet, or a goddess blessed with unnatural beauty. She is still stunning in person, but with her sitting beside me I can hear her breathing and it reminds me that she’s just like me. And I don’t really know her at all.

“Oh, thanks, honey. That’s nice of you. Hayden is a sweetheart. Have you met him?”

I shake my head.

“Well, The Sketch are kept on a pretty tight leash, you know? Their management are the absolute best in the business. You wouldn’t catch them getting drunk on a work night.” Leah winks at me, but my stomach flips when I think of Noah and Dean’s late-night antics. Leah continues, oblivious to my discomfort. “You know, you really have a talent with those photos. I’ve worked with lots of photographers who don’t get shots like these. May I?” she asks.

I nod and she scrolls through some of the other photos until she gets to the goofy ones with Noah. “You guys are cute. I’m glad it’s all working out, Penny. I really do mean that.” She places her hand on mine and I instantly feel
warmth from her. Is the Leah Brown I thought I knew crumbling away right in front of my eyes?

“Thank you,” I say. “I suppose we’re quite cute! I still can’t believe it’s all worked out.”

“I guess I’m jealous!” She smiles at me. Not a small, sarcastic smirk; a proper heartwarming smile. “It’s so hard to meet decent people in this business. And, trust me, it was not fun for me either, having to pretend to be with a guy who didn’t actually like me.”

I suddenly realize how difficult it must have been for her, even though I’ve never thought of it that way. Noah retreated from the world, holing up with his grandmother in Brooklyn, completely abandoning Leah to handle all the speculation and gossip about their relationship on her own. She had to be professional, whereas Noah escaped by being the amateur who couldn’t handle the pressure.

“I have no idea why you’d even need to pretend, though. Surely you have guys falling over themselves for you!”

She laughs. “It’s not those types of guys who you want, to be honest! And I’ll never pretend again. Did you know I dumped my manager after he made that arrangement? Being so fake just isn’t worth it. I hope Noah knows how lucky he is. It’s easy to get swept away in all the other stuff and forget what’s real.”

“I think I’m the lucky one that he even wanted me here at all. But we support each other, you know?” I look at her hopefully.

“Yeah, I know. You’re so darn cute—it’s hard to be mad at either of you. Oh, damn, I’ve chipped this nail.” Leah jumps up from the sofa and calls out to her assistant. “CLAIRE,
I’VE CHIPPED A NAIL! CAN WE SEND THE TECHNICIAN OVER ASAP?” She turns back to me. “Penny, I’ve got to run. Let’s catch up again before this tour is over, though. It’s nice to have some female company. The male energy in this place is sometimes a little too much to cope with.”

I can’t help but smile, as I’ve had the exact same thought. Maybe having Leah around won’t be so bad after all. “Yeah, it was nice to chat with you.”