NorthangerAlibiInterior (21 page)

When I first awoke about forty minutes later, I thought the radio was on. My eyes blinked open, and I listened to the sound—it was far away, almost as though it was in another room. I groaned and pulled my watch off the bedside table to see how long I had slept.
Good grief, it was way past time to get up.
When I sat up, the music seemed to get louder. It was oddly familiar, like I had heard the song before, just not the version that was playing now.

The room was still empty. I could tell Cassidy hadn’t been up to check on me.
Good.
I slipped off the bed to wash my face. As I walked closer to the window, the music got louder.
What’s going on? Is someone having a party outside?
I moved the curtains and peered out the window.

Oh my gosh! Is he for real?

Rock Star

I quickly threw open the window, engulfing myself in the glorious music below. Tony grinned up at me, jamming on a guitar, and continued to sing the song I had been raving about earlier from the new band, Northanger Alibi.

I didn’t have a heart until I met you.

That smile is killin’ me too.

I can’t look away.

Can I always stay?

I can’t look away.

I need to stay.

I didn’t have a heart until I met you.

Come on, girl, I need you.

I smiled.
He’s good! He’s really good. Like, almost as good as the band’s lead singer.

With a flash, I remembered the singer’s name—Jackson Russolini. My smiled faltered. Why that name caused me to stop and stare hard at Tony, I don’t know. But it did. Oh my gosh! Is he—? He can’t be! I mean, there’s no way he’s Jackson from—

“Hey, Claire!” Cassidy came rushing in the room. “Have you seen what’s going on outside? Oh! You’re looking now. Holy cow! Did you know he was Jackson Russolini? I’m totally freaking out—you have no idea!”

“Is he? Do you think so?” I still couldn’t believe it.

“Uh, duh!” She joined me at the window and groaned. “Look how hot he is playing that guitar!” She turned and grabbed me by the shoulders. “Claire! We totally know someone famous!” She clutched tighter and began to jump up and down. “I can’t believe it! I’m gonna freak, seriously! I’m gonna die right now! Eeeh!”

I hardly paid any attention to her. My sole focus was on the amazing look Tony was giving me from below. It had to have been the most magnificent grin in the whole world.

The key changed in the music, and I knew he was gearing up for the guitar solo. As fast as I could, I shook my sister’s hands off and dashed down the stairs and out the front door. There was nothing I loved more than an awesome guitar solo, no matter what music genre.

Tony smiled as he approached me, his head bobbing with the beat. I liked the way he bit his bottom lip and scrunched up his nose when he got to the really complicated part.
He loves this! He’s such a natural, too.
I could tell he’d been playing for a long time.

“Wahoo!” I hollered and clapped, which made him smile more. It blew me away to see him like this—so in his element and so talented. I’d never seen anyone as hot as Tony Russo was right then.

When he got to the chorus again, I laughed and sang along. He took another step toward me, strumming and jammin’. We were only about two feet apart when he did a quick break in the melody and sang the chorus again, this time straight at me, like he wanted me to really hear what he was saying. I listened while the spark in his eyes subconsciously pulled me closer.

I didn’t have a heart until I met you.

That smile is killin’ me too.

I can’t look away.

Can I always stay?

I can’t look away.

I need to stay.

I didn’t have a heart until I met you.

Come on, girl, I need you.

He finished with an extra jolt and a strum that he playfully held out as his voice matched the note on the word “you.” After yanking his guitar up, he did a half bow, his eyes still holding mine. For a split second, the world around us was frozen and silent. No one else existed except Tony and me.
I can’t believe he sang to me! Oh my gosh!
A splattering of applause erupted all around us, breaking the hold he had on me.

As I looked around, I was surprised to see a group of neighborhood children clapping on the lawn. An older couple with their dog was also applauding by the driveway, but my own family and friends were cheering the loudest.

“Tony! Way to go,” Roger hollered from behind me.

I didn’t even know he was home. I stepped aside and watched as he rushed past to clap Tony on the shoulder.

Darlene was all eager smiles and glee. “That was the best thing we’ve heard in a long time!” she exclaimed as she ran past me to give him a hug.

Tony shyly took it all in stride, especially when Cassidy ran over, jumping up and down and acting like a complete teenage crush. The more praise he got, the more the neighbors warmed up as well. Soon everyone was around him and cheering for him and asking for his autograph. Only I stood back. He noticed, too. Every chance he got, he looked up at me and then smiled. It was cute to see that he was still thinking of me.

After a few minutes, I did notice a problem starting. He was beginning to attract even more attention from passing neighbors and people spreading the news. Just when I was beginning to think I’d never get a chance to talk to him, a man approached with his camera phone.

Apparently that was Tony’s limit. He backed off, and after handing his guitar to Roger, he moved toward the porch near me, thanking everyone graciously with a little wave. People everywhere broke out into applause again. Tony smiled, grabbed my hand, and maneuvered us into the house. I had a quick glimpse of Roger and Darlene bathed in glowing admiration from the natives as Tony shut the door.

“Sorry about that.” He looked worried. “I wasn’t expecting so many people to be around.”

“Well, you did come here in broad daylight,” I pointed out.

“Yeah, but . . .” He shook his head. “I kind of pictured that differently. You know, I thought I’d get you all to myself.”

I laughed. “I’m here now.”

“Yeah, I know.” He grinned and then walked past to poke his head around the curtains.

“What’s wrong?” I asked as he came back, looking dejected.

“Plan B isn’t going to work now.”

“Plan B?”

“Yeah, I—” He sheepishly looked down. “I kind of had a couple of plans for tonight.”

“Really?”

He peeked up at me. “Plan A was to get you to talk to me. If that worked, I was gonna move on to Plan B.”

“What’s that?”

“Well, I had planned to take you on a picnic in the park, but I’m thinking I’m not going to be able to leave anytime soon. Those kids are all around my car.” He didn’t sound mad, just disappointed.

Aw.
My heart melted. I cleared my throat. “Well, there’s a small back yard, if you want to try that.”

“Really?” His eyes gleamed as he raised his head. “Yeah, that’d be cool. Where is it?” He tugged my hand and pulled me with him toward the back of the house.

“Not there!” I chuckled and stopped near the closet to put on a pair of flip-flops. “You have to go through the kitchen.” I gently maneuvered him the right way. “In here.”

We were out back and walking on the small stone path that led to a canopied swing before either of us spoke again. “Thanks for talking to me,” Tony all but whispered.

I didn’t know what to say, so I settled on, “That’s okay.”

As we reached the swing, he stepped aside and allowed me to sit down. I thought he would automatically join me, but instead he asked, “Do you mind if I sit with you? I know I don’t deserve to, so I totally understand if you say no, it’s just—”

“Yes.” I scooted over. “Sit down.” I patted the seat next to me for emphasis. The swing rocked and jerked a bit as he joined me.

“Um, so I need to explain a few things first.” He glanced over at me and then nervously began to rock the swing.

I matched his rhythm. It was comforting to be sitting next to him, even after the day I’d had. “Okay.” I was all ears.

Tony took a deep breath. “Let’s start with today and that kiss.”

I blushed and looked away, not sure I
wanted to hear what he had to say.

“No, wait. I’m going to start before that—way before that, like two years ago, when I first vowed I wouldn’t kiss a girl until, well, until . . .” His voice trailed off.

Until . . . ?
Instantly, I was reminded of what Nora had said earlier about him not kissing a girl until he could—I was too embarrassed to even think it.

When he found his voice again, he was staring right at me. “Until I thought I could love her.”

Oh my gosh! He actually said it!

“Well, I guess what I’m trying to say—and failing miserably—is that you’re the first person I’ve felt that possibility with, you know?”

I was confused—baffled, actually—and I found myself wanting a straight answer. “But why me? I don’t get it.”

Tony must’ve seen I was serious because he shook his head and answered truthfully. “I don’t know. Honestly, I’ve asked myself that a lot. Why now? And why a girl who doesn’t even live here? That’s the hardest part for me.” He straightened up a bit and turned to face me. “I think it’s just because you’re you. You’re steady, and like today, just now, when everyone else was around me, you stood back and waited. You’re—I don’t know—security for me, or something. Look, ever since this whole band thing happened—which I promise to get to in a bit—my life has changed, really changed. Everything around me was hard to control, and people were everywhere, always around and laughing and excited and, well, they wanted me because of who I was, not because of me. Do you understand what I’m saying?”

I nodded. “I think so.”

“Then you came along, and you didn’t even care about me, or think about me, or—or anything. And I don’t know, it was nice. You were nice and spunky and funny and tough, and I just found myself drawn to you. I wanted to talk to you and be by you. And anyway, it surprised me when you told me you’d kissed that Jaden guy. It surprised me big time, because all at once I was jealous. That’s when it hit me that I wanted to kiss you—and I would’ve then, not impulsively, either. I decided long ago that if I ever met a girl I wanted to kiss, and the opportunity presented itself, I was going to take it. I just hadn’t found you, and then the opportunity wasn’t really there, I guess, until today.”

I knew my face was beet red. I lowered my eyes and focused on the grass. “But what about Nora? Why doesn’t she want you to kiss me? Did I make her mad or something?”

“Nora? No way. She likes you. Really.”

She has a funny way of showing it.

He sighed and ran his fingers through his hair. “She’s just worried about me—about the band. Look, I uh—kind of risked a lot by coming here. And she knows it. She thinks it’s stupid, and maybe she’s right. I mean, that’s why I came, because for the first time, I could see it from her point of view, and it
is
stupid.”

“What, the contract you guys were talking about?”

“Yeah, that. Actually, it isn’t legal or anything—it has to do with my mom and dad. Back when the band was first starting out, we were attracting the notice of a lot of people—so much so, my mom and dad freaked.” Tony leaned back in the swing, and the rocking motion slowed almost to a stop. “They promised to let me do this—become a sort-of rock star—if I promised not to get a big head about it. They had seen so many celebs lose their cool and go crazy, and they were worried about me, because I was so young.”

I’d be worried, too. Who could ignore the tragic stories of the different teen/young adult celebrities in the pages of gossip magazines?

“Anyway, I had to promise not to tell anyone who I was—well, that and keep my grades up.” He grinned. “The thing is, when I was on stage, I could be me, but when I wasn’t performing, I had to keep a real low profile. It was the only way they’d let me do it. I haven’t even seen much of the money, either. It’s all wrapped up in a bank account for college, or life or whatever.”

“Are you kidding? Does that bother you?”

“The money?” He shrugged. “No. It’s not like they’re hoarding it or anything. It’s my account. Their names aren’t even on it. I just don’t get to spend it on sports cars and stuff.”

I had never heard of anything like that before. “So, what happens if you do, or if you broke this contract with them?”

“Yeah, that.” He cleared his throat. “See now, that’s a bit harder. They’ve always threatened to pull the plug on the band if I told anyone about it—”

“Wait! But you’ve told me, right? And all those neighbors, and—”

“Actually, I haven’t told you—I’ve
shown
you, and I’m thinking you put the pieces together. But it won’t count anyway. My mom and dad are going to be ticked. They would definitely consider singing under your window in front of everyone to be showing off.” He leaned forward and rested his elbows on his knees, his head in his hands. “I’m seventeen. I’m a minor. They can very easily step in and pull me out of the band for a couple of years.”