AllFreeNovel
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“I’m serious. She was hiding in the dressing room. All curled up in a ball behind a rack of clothes. When she jumped out, I screamed like a fucking girl! She straight up attacked me, and I have never in my life been so terrified of a woman,” Gareth recounts the night a crazed fan somehow snuck into his dressing room, hoping to catch him changing and jump his bones.
“Oh my God, what happened?” I ask.
“Well, after Wayne heard my high-pitched scream from the next room, he busted in and dragged her out.”
Wayne pipes up, “Kicking and screaming the whole way out, too. That one was something else.”
“I’ve got that beat,” Ant remarks. “Remember that sweet-looking little old granny at the meet and greet in Jersey?”
The bus erupts in laughter as they all clearly remember.
“Oh no, what happened?” These stories are great, and I can only imagine how this one is going to end.
“The crazy woman plopped out her fucking dentures and asked me to sign them! She thrust them into my hands before I even had time to react. I will never get over that. They were slimy and disgusting, and there was a crowd around us, so it isn’t like I could throw them back in her face.” His face turns green from the memory.
Neil can barely speak, he's laughing so hard. “And the best part? The paparazzi snapped a picture at the exact moment the teeth landed in his hands. The look on his face was fucking priceless.”
There are tears coming out of my eyes from laughing so hard. “Holy shit. That’s pure gold. So, did you sign them?”
“He sure did, and then rushed off to a bathroom to disinfect his entire body,” Neil answers.
“It was right after our first album blew up. I wasn’t used to all the attention and had no fucking clue what to do,” Ant offers up as we all continue to laugh at his trauma.
Gareth turns to Ryan. “How about you, Knox? What’s your craziest fan experience?”
Ryan looks deep in thought. “Probably the time some delusional chick had convinced herself and her entire family that we were secretly engaged. She had photo-shopped pictures of us together all over her house. She spent her life’s savings on concert tickets but told everyone I sent her the passes for free. I finally had to set the record straight during an interview with Access Hollywood when the story got out. She then proceeded to slander me all over the media, telling anyone who would listen that I ditched her after the fame went to my head. This psycho convinced a lot of people of that shit.”
“Fuck, I forgot about crazy Stacy,” Neil says. “For a while, I thought she was going to hunt you down and tie you up in her basement.”
Ryan shudders. “You and me both.”
I clasp my hand over my mouth. “That’s literally insane. Like, lock her in a padded room with a rubber duck, insane.”
He nods. “That was probably the craziest thing that’s happened to me. I still get freaked out when I think about it.”
The conversation shifts after that, and before long, the guitars are broken out, and a full-blown jam session ensues. It’s amazing to watch them unplugged like this, without all the theatrics. I remember my first impression of the band- that their talent played second fiddle to their raging good looks and raw sex appeal. Now, I know I couldn’t have been more wrong.
Listening to them harmonize and goof off with covers of classic hits is a surreal experience. Before long, they are able to convince me to start drinking with them. Gareth boasts that he can teach me to play an entire song on the guitar, despite the fact that I’ve never held the instrument in my life.
To my surprise, with the help of his expert guidance, I am suddenly playing “Sweet Caroline” while everyone sings along. Wayne and I even pipe in with the bum bum bums. Granted, the entire song is just a series of the same three chords.
When the driver stops to refuel, Ant and Neil get out to stretch their legs and load up on gas station pizza. Gareth begins to pluck out a melody I don’t recognize on the guitar, and I find myself mesmerized by the way his fingers dance across the strings.
“I have a question, actually,” I ask, suddenly nervous. I just remembered that I still haven’t figured out where I will be sleeping tonight.
“Shoot,” Gareth says.
“Um, Where do I sleep?”
Ryan is the one who answers. “The bedroom. We normally flip for it, but we can take the bunks for now.”
Thank God. I wasn’t looking forward to cramming into one of those small bunk beds, especially since I had no clue if these boys snored.
“Oh, okay. Great.”
Gareth stops playing. “You aren’t tired yet, are you?” He seems disappointed that I may leave the party and go to sleep.
“Not yet,” I say with a smile. His face brightens, and he returns to his guitar.
