Fangs And Fame (22 page)

“
You’re still a bit of a mystery, Aurora,” he continued, searching my eyes. “Don’t get me wrong. It’s one of the things I love about you. Still, it’s nice catching a glimpse of what you’re really feeling every now and then. So for that, thank you.”

Trey

YOU COULD SAY THE official birthday celebration started in the middle of tonight’s show. We were about to start into the acoustic set – or at least I thought we were – when Jonas ran off the stage all of a sudden. The fans looked just as confused as I was as I blinked and eyed the other guys suspiciously. O’Shea shrugged and gave me his best innocent face, but I knew they were up to something. I was actually quite relieved when Jonas walked back out onto the stage a moment later carrying what appeared to be a normal looking birthday cake, candles and all.

“
Awe ... you shouldn’t have,” I said as he held it out in front of me.

“
True,” Jonas said, grinning and earning a round of laughter from the fans.

“
This is the part where you all come in,” O’Shea said, gesturing with a big sweep of his hand for the crowd to follow his lead. He started singing happy birthday into his mic, and the fans sang right along with him.

I stood there, grinning like an idiot. Aurora smiled up at me from her spot next to Kacie in the front row, and I realized she
’d been in on it. Of course she had, and from the looks of the amazing cake in front of me, she’d probably supplied it. I blew out the candles when the singing stopped, earning a round of applause for my mad candle-blowing skills. Jonas held up a plastic fork, and I took it from him.

“
It’s real?” I asked into the mic, laughing.

“
What do you mean?” O’Shea said, feigning insult.

“
I mean, you didn’t bake a laxative into it or anything?”

He answered with a none-too-convincing
“Nooooo....”

“
I’m trusting you,” I said, bringing my finger to my eye and then pointing to Aurora. “If I’m in the bathroom all night, I guess that’s on you.” That earned a bunch of laughs from the fans, and Aurora laughed with them, shrugging her shoulders in a perfect imitation of O’Shea’s earlier gesture. I pointed at the fans now, saying, “You’re my witnesses. If the show goes to crap now, you know who’s to blame.” I nodded in the direction of Chase and Jonas, who were standing closest to me. Then I used the fork to scoop up a bite of chocolate cake and brought it to my mouth. The cake tasted great, even to my sensitive vampire palate. “Mmm.... It’s good, actually,” I said.

“
Don’t act so surprised,” Jonas said dryly.

I laughed and clapped him on the back.
“Are there any more forks?”

Jonas
’s expression was a blank, but Neon came out onto the stage a few seconds later, a whole handful of forks held up for me. The fans screamed for him in greeting, and he waved and took a bow before handing the forks over to me.

“
Try it,” I said, handing one back to him. He scooped cake onto it and took a bite, nodding his approval as he chewed. “Neon, ladies and gentlemen!” I said into my mic. “He’s got my back.”

“
That’s what you pay me for,” Neon said, leaning into my mic, which just made me laugh. “Anytime,” he said, waving to the crowd before he sauntered off the stage and disappeared into the shadows again.

“
Now comes the real test,” I said, holding forks out to the guys.

“
You don’t have to ask me twice,” Chase said, stepping forward to sample the cake. Jonas and O’Shea followed suit, each taking a bite.

I looked out at the crowd and said,
“Who else wants a bite?” The response was a loud one, to say the least, but a few fans in the front row in particular stood out. I handed my mic to Jonas and took fresh forks, walking to the edge of the stage. Tytus met me in the space between the stage and the barrier, and I handed him the cake and hopped down. I fed a bite of cake to four or five girls in the front row, pausing in front of Aurora long enough to steal a birthday kiss, which, judging by the sound of the crowd, must have broadcast over the big screens for everyone to see. When I joined the rest of the guys on stage, I took my mic back and said, “Thank you for celebrating my birthday with me. Twenty-three feels amazing already, and I have all of you to thank for that.... The only thing that would make it better would be getting to play a few more songs for you tonight. What do you say?”

The rest of the show went by in a blurry rush. When it ended Aurora and I headed back up to our suite to get ready for the rest of our night in Vegas. That was when we found the note on the door to our room.

I hope this letter finds you both in good condition. I’m sure our paths will cross again in the very near future. I look forward to seeing you both.

-S

It was very similar to the one Nikki had shown up with the other day. We
’d been trying to forget about that note, and now this.

“
What on earth do you think he wants?” I said after Aurora finished reading the note a second time.

“
No idea,” she answered, crumpling it up and tossing it across the room. “I don’t think I want to know.”

I had to agree with her on that, but I
’d had about enough of the cryptic notes. Chase, Jonas and Kacie all slowly trickled in to our suite until O’Shea was the only one missing.

“
I guess we’re still waiting on O’Shea. He really is high maintenance,” I said for Kacie’s benefit. “I bet he takes longer than you to get ready. It’s that crazy hair of his.”

“
He can take as long as he wants,” she gushed. “I love his hair.” Right on cue, O’Shea opened the door and stepped in.

“
She’s a keeper,” I told him, gesturing to Kacie. “Don’t let her get away.”

“
I’ll remember that,” O’Shea said slowly, smiling as he bent to give Kacie a quick kiss. “Do I even want to know what you were saying about me?”

“
Just that you take longer than a girl to get ready,” Chase stated. “Are we ready to go now? Some of us actually have to
go
out
to meet women.”

“
Speak for yourself,” Jonas said, earning a few laughs.

Aurora greeted me with a kiss and linked her arm in mine. She was wearing the studded heels Rolling Stone had let her keep from the photo shoot. She stood almost as tall as me in them, and the little black dress she wore really showcased her never-ending legs.

“Where’s Neon?” I asked.

“
He said he’d meet us there,” Jonas answered.

“
All right, then. Let’s head out.” I pulled my jacket hood up, and Aurora and I led the way. Tytus waited in the hallway, escorting us across the hotel as we made our way to the club.

The dance floor at Eye Candy was jam-packed when we arrived. An usher let us in and directed us to the VIP area they had roped off for us. Chase was flirting with girls and got lost somewhere in the club along the way.

“He’ll turn up eventually,” O’Shea said with a dismissive wave when Kacie looked concerned. “Always does.”

The DJ didn
’t waste time in announcing that Catalyst was at the club for the night, celebrating Trey’s birthday after putting on their killer show. Almost instantly the little screens above the dance floor began flashing ‘Happy Birthday!’ messages to Trey from the club’s guests, showcasing comments like ‘Save a dance for me?’ and ‘How about a b-day kiss?’ It was actually cool the way everyone in the club was able to interact through the screens and touch-tables. We’d been there for half-an-hour, enjoying our VIP section, when the DJ played an original remix of ‘You Only Live Twice,’ making the crowd go nuts. It wasn’t every day I heard a remix of a Catalyst song, and the DJ had put a great spin on it and I was almost surprised at how well it worked as a dance track. Trey decided to make his way down to the DJ to thank everyone and say hello. Kacie and O’Shea were dancing behind me as I watched Trey and Jonas work their way through the dance floor until they reached the DJ.

“
Give it up for Trey and Jonas!” The DJ said during a song’s transition. He handed them each a mic and Trey spoke first.

“
What’s up Vegas?” he called out, earning a massive collective yell from the club-goers. “How about this guy?” Trey said, pointing at the DJ enthusiastically. “I didn’t know our song could sound like that,” he said, he and Jonas laughing. “Man, I love this place,” Trey added. “And thanks for all the birthday wishes. I can’t think of a better place to celebrate than this city.”

Just then Neon appeared at my side.
“You made it,” I called out, hoping he’d be able to read my lips even if he couldn’t hear me over the insanely loud music. He grinned and nodded, moving his head with the music and watching the guys with me.

“
I think it’s only fitting that Trey give you all a present on his birthday,” Jonas added, pausing to enjoy the enthusiastic response. Just then, a message flashed on the ceiling from Chase that said, “I didn’t know that was a rule! We get presents?”

Jonas noticed it just after I did and pointed it out to Trey, which made everyone look up and laugh. I still had no idea where Chase had ended up, but apparently he hadn
’t gone far.

“
I already shared my birthday cake with you tonight,” Trey said, looking off in the crowd a ways to his right. I followed his gaze and finally saw Chase standing with a large group of women, grinning and pointing at Trey. “What more do you want?” Trey teased.

“
I think you should premiere our new single for all these lovely people at your birthday party here tonight,” Jonas said into his mic. Another round of screaming.

“
Did you know they were going to do that?” I asked Neon.

He shook his head, but smiled like he wasn
’t real surprised.

“
I think that’s only fair,” Trey said. “Especially since we just filmed the video for it right here in Vegas!” He nodded to the DJ who began playing another original mix, this time of ‘Mirage,’ which – as it turns out – is also a great dance song when mixed right. The people in the club seemed to enjoy it, too. Trey and Jonas stayed with the DJ for the song and then slowly made their way back toward the VIP section throughout the duration of the next song, stopping to take selfies with fans and their phones.

Trey approached Neon and I, an innocent look on his face. He held his fist out to Neon, waiting.
“C’mon,” Trey urged. “You know leaking the song will only do good things.”

Neon just shook his head and grinned before bumping Trey
’s fist and laughing. “Why do I even bother with you guys?” he said.

“
You can take that up with Jonas,” Trey added, holding his hands up. “He planned the whole thing with the DJ last night.” Then Trey grinned and pulled me into his arms, kissing the top of my head.

Having a good party?
I projected to him.

He grinned.
Absolutely. I’ve got everyone I care about in one room. What could be better?