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“Wild, huh?” Olivia asked when we finally got inside the arena where tonight’s show will be held. “Can you imagine being so loved by complete strangers?”
I shake my head. “Not at all, actually.”
“Honestly? I’m not sure I would want to,“ she shares, her candidness catching me off guard.
“Why do you say that?“
Olivia crosses her arms and takes in the massive empty stage in front of us.
“Right now I get to experience both sides of this world. Maybe not in the same way the guys do, but I see how they are treated. How they are worshiped. I see the parties, the nights that turn into mornings and into nights again, I see it all. It’s a fantasy. I also get to go home after a long tour and see my family. I get to leave this all behind and have normalcy. I can go to the grocery store with my wife and daughter, and not have to worry about being mobbed by adoring fans in the canned goods aisle. It’s nice to get to live the fantasy for a bit, but I always love going home.”
I thought about her words.
“There is no normalcy for them anymore. After their first album went platinum everyone knew their names, their faces. They can barely check their own mail without being swarmed.”
She was right. I couldn’t imagine being recognized everywhere I went. Never having privacy again, never getting to enjoy the little things like a walk through Central Park or catching a taxi to the coffee shop.
“Remember that, Juliet. There will always be a camera around, always someone watching and listening. Waiting for you to slip up. I know it’s your job to handle the PR, but this world is new to you. You may be used to paparazzi catching your socialites in a compromising position, but you have no clue what it’s like for them to follow your every move.”
I nod, grateful for the reality check.
I think back to the night in the bar, and the night on the bus where I’d given in and had drinks with the band.
It would just take one time for that to come back to bite me. One time where I let my guard down and someone snapped a photo.
“I understand,” I reply, and she nods. The smile she gives me is genuine.
“I want you to succeed here. I like you, Juliet. I think this could really be what you are meant to do, but I also know this world can swallow you whole. It’s easy to get caught up in the glamor of it all.”
We walk up the stairs leading to the stage and look out at the thousands of empty seats.
“Can you believe in a few hours this place will be completely packed out?” I ask her, my awe not easily hidden. “All of them, screaming and cheering.”
I turn and face the set design, seeing bits of my own design intermingled with the ideas of my team.
“And I had a part in it. This—” I gesture out towards where the fans will be, “I helped make this happen. It’s so surreal.”
???
I’d never been backstage at a concert of any type before, and this time, I was standing just out of sight of the fans. On stage right, where I had the best view in the house. I watched in awe as the guys nailed every single number. I cheered and clapped with the crowd, and smiled when they caught me dancing along.
“This is incredible!” I yelled over the screams and loud music.
It felt like I was living a dream.
I took out my phone and took a short recording to send to Alyssa.
The lights dimmed and I knew it was time for the new song to debut.
Ryan walked out to center stage, his guitar slung over his back and sporting a wicked smile on his face. He dragged the mic stand with him as he made his way to the edge. That man sure knows how to wear a pair of tight leather pants.
“You may have heard from a little birdie that we have a new single,” he said, his lips pressed to the microphone.
He was covered in sweat, and the look he was giving the crowd was earth-shattering.
“You wanna be the first ones to hear it?” he called out to the fans, and they responded with a thunderous roar of approval.
“I said, do you wanna be the first ones to hear it?“ he called out a second time, and this time the response was even louder. The noise of the crowd was so deafening, my ears rang a little.
