Page 109 of Sky Full of Stars

Nick: Oh shit

Me: what?

Adam: Jordan just posted a pic of us on Instagram saying we’re in Mathew Street.

Me: Oh no

Nick: Cats outta the bag, Jordan and his big mouth. There are people gathering.

Adam: There are people coming from everywhere

I stop in the middle of the street and stare at my phone, my heart in my mouth. I quickly pull up their Instagram page and see the same photo Nick sent me as well as a few others of them goofing around, making it blatantly obvious where they are.

Me: It’s blowing up on Instagram

I scroll through the comments of excited fans shocked to learn the band are wandering around Liverpool.

Adam: I’ll call soon, gotta get out of this. Fucking Jordan.

There is no point in responding. He will let me know when it’s safe but I still worry something could go wrong.

Nick: Fucking Jordan.

I chuckle at Nick repeating Adam’s words. I can picture them slapping Jordan on the back of his head.

Once we make it into the Porterhouse Pub, Elle and I grab a table while Kevin goes to the bar. We sit side by side watching BreakNeck’s Instagram page go crazy with photographs of the band. They stop to take pictures with fans and sign autographs. They look smiley and not at all concerned but they still have to be careful.

Another picture pops up of Jordan blowing air kisses, captioned ‘Love you Liverpool’ then a final one from the inside of a black cab, of three hands giving him the finger, his hands on his cheeks as though appalled.

“Those boys are nuts,” Elle laughs beside me.

“Tell me about it,” I smile, putting my phone on the table and gratefully accepting another pint of Guinness from Kevin. We are going full on Irish tonight.

“They live such a crazy life,” Elle says, sipping from her glass leaving a white frothy moustache. Kevin snaps a picture of her before she can wipe it away, and she swats his hand. “It was amazing getting to be a part of that,” Elle gushes. “My niece is so jealous I got a photo with the band and saw the show from backstage. You know, I really didn’t want to face the situation on a European tour, but I’m so glad I did it. Not just because of them,” she laughs. “The whole thing has been such a wonderful adventure.”

“I’m really sorry about Birmingham,” I tell her.

“Would you stop,” she put a hand on my arm. “It wasn’t your fault, it worked out okay.”

“Elle’s agent put out a press release,” Kevin reminds me. “All that bullshit with those non-fans isn’t a problem. The real fans have totally backed Elle up on social media. It has had no negative effect on book sales.”

“Still,” I glance at the table.

“Stop! You organised this whole thing so well, and the tour across the States. I never had to worry about anything the whole time, you and Izzy have looked after me for years now. Seriously. Iz is really proud of you.”

“She is?” I can’t lie, I spent hours worrying how Izzy would react to this screw up, even though she told me not to worry, easier said than done.

“Yes!” Elle took my arm and shook it. “And…I wanted to wait to tell you guys this but I can’t hold it in anymore.”

Kevin and I look at each other before turning back to Elle.

“I hit the New York Times Bestseller List this morning.”

“What?” I shriek. “I can’t believe I didn’t know that!”

Kevin’s mouth drops open in shock while Elle sits there, a beaming smile on her face. We all jump up, hug and shout while congratulating Elle. People around us see us celebrating and don’t seem to care why but join in and before long, a whole party is going on. I’ve never come across such friendly people before, a lot of them Irish but others are from all over the world, even a group of Americans join us.

I’m drunk enough to have a fine old time, but not enough to lose my faculties. I’m well aware any more alcohol is a bad idea, so have been nursing a glass of coke for the last twenty minutes. I check my phone now and then to see if Adam has sent another message, but it’s been radio silence since his last one berating Jordan. At least I know they are safe from their Instagram posts.

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