All About the Hype (12 page)

As I climb down from the bed, I notice him adjusting his crotch. His cheeks brighten as he meets my eyes.

‘You might have to see yourself out,’ he apologises, casting a quick look south. ‘I don’t want your dad to have me castrated.’

I giggle. I did that to him. The realisation makes me feel kind of powerful.

But, as I walk down the stairs alone, I muse that surely it’s only a matter of time before he wants – maybe even needs – more from me. And what’s going to happen if
I’m not ready to give it to him? Will he get it from someone else?

As Sam drives out through the gates, I also realise that I forgot to ask Jack where he was last night.

It’s a ridiculous twenty degrees and sunny the next afternoon when Davey drives me to Soho House in West Hollywood to do the
Muso
interview. I’m meeting my
bandmates there and I’m a bit gutted to receive a text from Jack telling me that the journalist has already arrived. I would have liked a moment to get my nerves under control.

As it is, the view distracts me from my jitters as I head along the walkway to the roof garden, listening to the sound of car horns honking below, helicopters whirring up above and my heels
click-clack
ing across the stone tiles. Soho House is on Sunset Boulevard on the top two floors of a fourteen-storey building and the view stretches across LA with downtown in the distance.
I round the corner to see olive trees in large plant pots and lanterns in spherical wicker lampshades hanging from the underside of their branches.

I manage to avoid the temptation of scanning the crowd, looking for famous faces – I should try to be cooler than that – but I do have a quick search for my friends, locating them on
a couple of sofas near the window.

‘Hi!’ I exclaim, attempting to sound confident as the journalist gets to his feet to shake my hand. ‘Owen, right?’

He seems pleased that I remember his name. I recognise him from our San Fran gig. He’s in his mid-twenties and he’s wearing a crumpled black jacket over blue jeans. His brown hair
looks recently slept-in.

‘And I remember you, of course,’ he replies with a friendly smile. ‘You look just like your father.’ He motions to a wicker garden chair situated between the two sofas.
‘What can I get you to drink?’ he asks, as I sit down.

‘I’m happy with water.’ I nod at the bottle of sparkling that rests on the table, flashing my bandmates a quick smile.

‘You mind if I turn this on?’ Owen asks, indicating the recording device on the table.

‘Go for it,’ Jack responds.

My eyes linger on him for a moment. He looks so cool, calm and collected, lazing back on the sofa. Brandon seems pretty relaxed beside him, but Miles is sitting forward with his elbows resting
on his knees and his foot tapping an unheard beat. The tips of his black hair are dyed orange, and they look even more vibrant than usual. I’m guessing he’s just had them redone.

‘So let’s get a few specifics out of the way first,’ Owen says. ‘When did you guys form?’

Brandon takes the lead, talking about how they got together when they were still at school. Someone is discussing a new TV show at the table next to us, saying that the pilot has been picked up.
I try to concentrate on our interview and not eavesdrop on the conversations going on around me.

‘Your original singer quit, right?’

My ears prick up.

‘That’s right,’ Brandon replies, casting a long, accusatory look at Jack.

‘What’s that all about?’ Owen asks with a grin, sitting up straighter.

‘It’s not important,’ Jack says, glaring at his so-called friend. ‘Things didn’t work out with Eve, but we’re in a better place now,’ he says
steadily.

‘Why didn’t things work out?’ Owen asks, not about to let it drop. The seconds tick by. ‘You got involved?’ he asks Jack, as realisation dawns on him.

Jack shrugs, but doesn’t deny it. I very much want to kick Brandon.

‘And it went sour,’ Owen sums it up. ‘So where is she now?’

‘In another band,’ Jack replies.

I stare at him in surprise.
Is she? How does he know that? Has he seen her? Are they still in touch?

‘What’s it called?’ Owen asks.

‘I can’t remember,’ Jack replies, scratching his chin. Owen looks dubious, and I am, too, but I imagine he’ll find it out if he wants to.

‘So, Jessie…’

I start as he fixes his attention on me.

‘How did you come to be in All Hype?’

The interview gets easier after that, but I’m still mortified when Miles and Brandon rib Jack about the way he flirts with me.

‘Luckily she’s got a boyfriend,’ Miles states jokily, ‘otherwise we would’ve had to stick to our plan of getting a guy.’

I try to cover up my shock at the fact that my break-up with Tom has gone unnoticed.

‘That’s not true, dude,’ Brandon interrupts. ‘As soon as we heard her sing, it was a done deal.’

Miles nods, conceding, and my insides expand with warmth.

‘So it had nothing to do with who her dad is?’

‘Definitely not,’ Jack says. The strength in his voice startles me – in a good way.

‘It helps, though, right? I mean, you guys are gonna get more attention this way.’

‘That’s not always a good thing,’ Jack points out calmly.

‘Yeah, I mean, we want it to be about our music,’ Miles chips in.

‘Sure, your music’s great,’ Owen says, nodding. ‘But it doesn’t hurt that one of your songs has gone viral because Johnny Jefferson sang it at his daughter’s
birthday party. His daughter that he didn’t even know existed until a year ago. That’s a great story, man.’ Owen looks at me. ‘You’ve been on some journey.’

‘You could say that,’ I reply.

‘And I hear you’re gonna be singing on his new album?’

‘How did you know that?’ I ask with a frown.

‘So it’s true, then?’ He raises one eyebrow.

‘I don’t think it’s a secret…’ I hope not, otherwise I’m in big trouble.

‘Have you guys heard the track?’ Owen asks my bandmates.

‘I haven’t even heard it myself yet,’ I chip in before they can reply.

‘Are you all doing solo stuff?’ He looks around the table.

‘I wouldn’t say I’m doing solo stuff,’ I quickly say, feeling tense at the expressions on my bandmates’ faces. ‘I’m just helping out my dad.’

‘Right…’ he says, moving on.

Luckily there aren’t too many difficult questions after that and the interview flies by. I wish I could travel home with Jack – I really want to ask him if he’s still in
contact with Eve – but Davey is waiting and I’m still trying to make amends for messing him around after Jenna and Justin’s party.

‘See you tomorrow,’ I say, touching my fingertips to Jack’s when Brandon and Miles aren’t looking.

‘Four o’clock,’ he replies, glancing at his friends. ‘Guys, can we do four o’clock tomorrow? I’m having a late lunch with my dad and Drew.’

‘Sure,’ they reply.

‘See you then,’ I say meaningfully, turning to walk towards Davey, who’s holding the door open for me. I climb in and he shuts the door, but I still feel on edge, even though
the interview is over.

‘I’m so glad I don’t have to rush out of the house today for school,’ I say the next morning, revelling in being able to come downstairs in my PJs for
breakfast and find my family sitting round the table and dressed accordingly.

‘Me too,’ Meg says. ‘Well, I mean I’m glad I don’t have to rush to get Barney ready.’

Bee started back at nursery this week and he’s been in a foul mood every evening because he’s been so tired. Now he’s chattering away quite happily and Phoenix is also trying
to get a babbled word in edgeways between mouthfuls of Rice Krispies.

Johnny looks like he has a bit of a headache. He’s resting his head against his palm and he smiles groggily up at me as Meg places two pills and a glass of water in front of him.

‘Take these,’ she says wryly.

Phoenix is around a year and a half old now and his vocabulary is coming along in leaps and bounds. I pull up a chair next to him and ask him what a cow says.

‘Moo,’ he replies obligingly.

I reach into his highchair and tickle his ribs. He lets out a squeal and spits Rice Krispies all over the place.

‘Whoops!’ I say with a laugh, grabbing a napkin.

‘Dezzie,’ he says in a silly voice, giggling.

‘Jessie,’ I correct him, my face close to his. ‘Je, je, je.’

‘De, de, de,’ he tries to mimic me.

‘Jessie, will you play with me today?’ Barney asks, seeking my attention.

‘Of course I will, buddy. What do you reckon – Lego?’

‘YEAH!’

‘Haven’t you got band practice?’ Meg asks me, smiling.

‘Not until four.’

‘Maybe we could all go somewhere this morning?’ she suggests hopefully.

‘No, I want to play here!’ Barney complains.

‘I’ve got to be in the studio, anyway,’ Johnny tells Meg reluctantly.

The corners of her lips turn down. ‘On a weekend?’

‘Afraid so.’

He’s putting the last touches to his album, but his schedule is not going to let up. He has to start rehearsing for his tour on Monday so the next couple of months are going to be really
full-on, apparently.

‘Nick sent our track over late last night if you want to hear it?’ he asks, looking at me.

My eyes light up. ‘I’d love to!’

We go upstairs to the studio straight after breakfast.

‘How’s this week at school been?’ he asks, pushing the door shut behind me.

‘Good,’ I reply with a nod. ‘Everyone’s really friendly.’ I sense his unspoken question so don’t make him vocalise it. ‘I haven’t seen much of
Sienna,’ I tell him.

He looks relieved. I imagine he’s hoping it was a flash-in-the-pan friendship – one that lasted only a night. I wonder if he’s mentioned it to Meg. I don’t want her to be
upset.

‘Hey, how did your interview go?’ he remembers to ask, as he pulls up a chair and pushes one towards me. He worked late at the studio downtown last night so I didn’t see
him.

‘Fine,’ I reply. He sits with his hands clasped between his knees, listening intently as I fill him in on some of the things we were asked. I avoid talking about Eve.

‘You’re going to get more requests, but make sure you run them past me before agreeing to anything.’

I frown at him. ‘Sure, that’s fine if they come through your publicist, but I can’t control what comes directly to the guys.’

‘You can ask them not to agree to anything until you’ve checked with me,’ he says, and it’s not a request, it’s a demand.

‘Why?’ I ask, bristling.

‘Jack, Brandon and Miles are eighteen. But you’re sixteen and I’m responsible for you. I’m not going to let you walk into anything unless I’m sure about it.
OK?’

If Stu spoke to me like that, I’d feel patronised and pissed off, but right now Johnny’s words have the opposite effect. It’s still so strange to have a cool, connected dad
whom I respect and who actually cares about me.

Chances are my bandmates won’t appreciate him interfering, but I’ll have to convince them that it’s for the good of us all.

So I nod in compliance. Satisfied with that response, he gets on with what we came in here for: to play ‘Acorn’, our track.

I’m on the edge of my seat as Johnny’s electric guitar comes in first, then a laid-back drumbeat follows and, soon after, his vocals. My head prickles as the room is filled with his
deep, soulful voice, and then my own voice comes in and the prickling rushes all over my body. Oh my God. I can’t believe that’s me. I stare at Johnny in shock. He’s avidly
watching my reaction, a small smile on his lips. I press my hands to my face as a blush spreads across my cheeks. I have goosebumps all over. I look down at my arms and can actually see the hairs
standing up on end.

‘Me too,’ he says, showing me his arm.

I let out a laugh, but stop abruptly. I want to focus on listening to the rest of the song.

As soon as it’s finished, I jump up, unable to keep still.

He laughs and gets to his feet, too, wrapping his arms round me and giving me a brief kiss on top of my head.

‘You like it?’ he asks.

‘It’s amazing,’ I whisper, staring up at him.

‘I’m glad.’

There’s so much warmth in his gaze. Tiny bubbles of happiness are popping inside my stomach, as though someone has shaken a can of Coke and opened it in there. ‘When can I show my
friends?’ I ask.

‘This is the only copy,’ he replies, taking a CD out of the player. ‘And it cannot, under any circumstances, leave this room. The album is embargoed by the record company, so
no one’s supposed to hear it until nearer release and only then under strict regulations. But, if your lads are coming over anytime, you can play it to them.’

‘Thank you!’ I can’t wait.

I listen to the song three more times before leaving the studio, and then I’m on such a high that I don’t know what to do with myself. I’ve told Barney I’ll play with
him, but he’s is in the pool with Meg and Phee, judging by the squealing and splashing noises carrying up the stairs from the open living room doors. I suddenly remember that I promised to
call Tom. I emailed him earlier in the week and we agreed to touch base today. Annie doesn’t work on the weekends so I have the office to myself. I pull up a soft, padded black chair on
wheels and dial his number, feeling odd when I realise that I know it by heart.

‘Hello?’

My heart clenches a little at the sound of his familiar voice.

‘It’s Jessie,’ I reply. ‘Are you OK to talk?’

‘Sure.’

‘Cool.’ I settle back in the chair and put my feet up on the desk. ‘So what are you up to? How was America?’

He starts to tell me about the week with his dad. It was the first time he’d met Riley, his dad’s girlfriend – the woman his dad left his mum, sister and him for.

‘What was she like?’ I ask.

‘Young.’ He sounds on edge. ‘She didn’t seem that much older than me. She’s really pretty, and
really
over-the-top friendly. She was trying so hard. I
reckon I could’ve asked her to drive me to New York and she would’ve jumped at the chance.’

‘Was she nice?’

‘Yeah. I mean, I don’t know how much of it is false, but she seemed pretty desperate for me to like her. I don’t think she’s going away anytime soon.’ He pauses.
‘Do you know, this is the first time I’ve been able to talk properly. Mum has been driving me insane with her questions.’