Girl Online (4 page)

“Sure,” he says. I snap a few shots, and then take a pound out of my purse and put it in his guitar case. He grins gratefully at me and I make a dash for the restaurant as the heavens open and it starts to pour with rain. Typical British summer.

Inside, everyone is waiting. Elliot rushes up to me and pulls me to a stop. “Don't freak out,” he says.

“What do you mean?” I frown. But then he steps to one side.

Megan is standing behind him.

And she's wearing the exact same dress as me.

Chapter Three

I wrap my jacket even tighter round my body, covering my dress. Megan smiles serenely, looking surprisingly cool about it, but that's probably because I've already turned tomato red with embarrassment. I almost turn round and walk out of the restaurant right there and then, but Elliot grabs my hand and gives it a squeeze.

“Oh my god, Penny, we're wearing identical dresses!” Megan says, tossing her long chestnut hair. “Did you find this on ASOS too? Better make sure Noah doesn't see me first or else he might get confused and give
me
the backstage pass.” She gives me an exaggerated wink that turns my stomach. I can't help thinking she looks way better in the dress than I do.

“Grow up, Megan. It's just a dress—not a brain transplant to make you a nicer person,” snaps Elliot.

Kira is sitting at the table behind Megan. She gives me an apologetic smile and a shrug. A sharp pain jabs my heart as I wonder if Kira told Megan about the dress I ordered. But then I tell myself not to be so paranoid.

“Glad you could make it, Penny!” says Kira. “Is Noah going to join us?”

I can sense everyone turn to look at me, even from the other tables. I laugh nervously. “Oh, I don't think so. Noah is too busy prepping for the show. I'll meet him after.”

Elliot pulls me through the restaurant and into a booth as far away from them as we can be without seeming rude. It feels like my entire school and half of Elliot's is coming to watch the concert. Of course they are all excited to see Noah Flynn, but the main band, The Sketch, are
massive
at the moment. They're a group of four boys from the US who exploded onto the scene last year with their song “There's Only One.” They've already done gigs in Manchester and Birmingham, but this is the first one that Noah is joining. He's then heading off with The Sketch to Europe, and I get to go with him.

My stomach flutters with nervous but excited butterflies.

I slide into the booth and Elliot sits down opposite me. “Ugh, I can't believe we have to be in the same room as Mega-Nasty,” says Elliot. “Why did you agree to meet everyone here again?”

“Kira invited me and I couldn't think of a way out of it. They're all coming to the concert so it made sense for us to go together. Besides, it's the Brighton Centre. It's so big that hopefully we won't even see them,” I say.

“Did you know the Brighton Centre can seat four and a half thousand people, and was the last venue Bing Crosby performed in before he died?”

“Is that the guy who sang ‘White Christmas'? How do you know all this stuff, Wiki?” I say with a laugh.

“I know everything, Miss Penny P. You know that. At least we'll be sitting in the VIP box,” says Elliot, flashing his ticket and grinning. “First class, here we come!” He bum-dances on the bench. “Wow, if we're this excited, how is Noah feeling?”

“Oh, Noah never gets nervous!” Though, as I'm saying it, I don't know if it's true. I've never seen him perform properly before—not in front of an audience this big. “I know he's super excited. This is his chance to really make it big in Europe.”

“Yeah, there's no way people won't know his name after he's played with The Sketch. Even someone like you would know who he was!”

I smile, but Elliot's words have disconcerted me. It's strange to think that only six months ago I had no idea who Noah Flynn was, and now everyone is about to know him. I almost lost myself to the media storm before. Will I be able to hold on to Noah throughout the whirlwind that's to come?

“Have you met the rest of his band?” Elliot asks.

I shake my head. “Not yet, but I know he's got some of his best friends with him.”

“I really wish I could come with you,” says Elliot, his eyes downcast.

“I wish you could come too! But you're going to have an amazing time at
CHIC
,” I remind him. Elliot's been looking forward to his internship since he found out at the start of the year that he got it.

“Did you know
CHIC
was started in 1895?”

I reach over the table and put my hand over Elliot's. I know when he's spouting facts out of nerves rather than for fun. “You're going to be brilliant,” I say, reassuring him.

The waitress comes by and asks for our order, but I feel so nervous I can't bear to eat. I bury my face in my menu and we ask for a few more minutes, but almost instantly I wish that she'd stayed. Behind her is the person I dread.

“Hey, Penny.”

I lower my menu slowly. “Uh, hi, Megan.”

Elliot is throwing daggers at her with his eyes, but Megan ignores him. Instead, she focuses on me. “I'm sorry we're wearing the same dress—do you want me to change? I can run home before the concert.”

Now
this
is a side of Megan that I'm not expecting: the sweet, friendly side. For a moment I get a glimpse of the girl I used to know. But I find it hard to separate that girl from the one who tried to destroy my life earlier this year—like two photographs overlaid on top of each other, a real-life double exposure. I still don't know which one is the real Megan.

“No, it's OK. It's kind of funny, actually,” I say.

She smiles at me, and it seems genuine. “So, I was wondering . . .” she says, and suddenly her smile has become sharklike—all teeth—and it's clear she's got an ulterior motive for coming over. “Do you think you could get me, Kira, and Amara backstage later? I would absolutely
die
if I got to meet The Sketch.”

I frown. Elliot tuts out loud and rolls his eyes. “Oh, I don't know . . . I'd have to ask Noah,” I say.

“Well, why don't you?”

“What do you mean?”

She raises an eyebrow. “Why don't you text him and ask? You
do
have your boyfriend's number, don't you?”

“Penny doesn't have to do any favours for you,” says Elliot.

“I wasn't asking
you
, Elliot,” she snaps back. “I'm asking my
friend
.”

“Um, OK . . .” I start to take my phone out of my pocket, but Elliot stops me with a glare. I take several deep breaths and then I look back up at Megan. “I'll ask Noah later, but I can't make any promises,” I tell her. My phone remains firmly out of sight.

Megan hesitates. When she sees that I'm not going to change my mind, she shrugs, trying to act as if it's not a big deal. “Well, thanks—hopefully see you later, Penny.” She flounces off, still smiling at me. But the way she snapped at Elliot makes me realize that she hasn't changed at all.

Now I do get my phone out of my pocket, and I read my latest text conversation with Noah.

Almost as if Noah knows I'm reading his texts, a new message from him pops up on my phone.

I quickly type in a reply.

I frown at his message.

“What's up?” asks Elliot, spotting my confused expression.

I show him the screen. “What does he mean, ‘No you're not'? How else does he expect me to get to the concert?”

Elliot shrugs, but then his mouth forms an O of surprise. His eyes widen as he stares past me towards the front of the restaurant.

“What is it?” I ask.

Even before I've finished asking the question, shrieks and squeals of delight surround us. I hear Kira scream, “NOAH FLYNN!” and I sit up straight in my seat and spin round.

There he is: my boyfriend, Noah Flynn. Rock god extraordinaire. He's wearing his trademark black T-shirt, ripped jeans, and a big smile. Seeing him makes the rest of the world—the restaurant, my schoolmates, even Elliot—just melt away. Like a camera pulling focus, suddenly the rest of the world looks blurry while he stands out, clear and sharp.

He spots me and grins even wider. He saunters over to the
booth, ignoring the squeals and slack-jawed stares of the girls at the other tables, grabs both of my hands, and pulls me up from the bench. “Penny Porter, do you mind if I steal you away?”

“Not at all!” I say, wanting nothing more than to disappear with him. But then I quickly remember and turn back to Elliot. “Wait, do you mind?”

Elliot laughs. “Go ahead, Pennylicious! I don't really want a burger anyway—I'm thinking about going vegan.” He lowers his voice. “I'll go find Alex. I've been apart from him for about half an hour and already I think I might die.” He steps out of the booth too, and Noah gives him a big hug.

“Elliot, my man! Good to see you.”

“Good to see you too, Noah! You're going to kill it tonight.” Elliot turns to me. “Don't forget me when you're off with the rich and famous, OK, Penny?”

“Never! I'll see you at the concert.” I grin, then grab Noah's outstretched hand. Followed by the gawping looks of all my friends, we walk out of the restaurant and over to a waiting car. It's concert time.

Chapter Four

Standing by the passenger door of the nondescript black car, holding a big black umbrella, is a big, burly man with a bald head so shiny I'm almost certain I can touch up my makeup in it.

“This is Larry,” Noah says. “He might look intimidating, but actually he sings along to Whitney Houston songs in his spare time and would choose a bubble bath over a shower most days.” Noah gives his bodyguard a friendly punch in the arm as we pass him to get in. “Isn't that right, Larry?”