Underneath by V. J. Albert (best e reader for academics TXT) 📖

his fault! He would have gladly swept tickets with Emily, so she could meet Henry too and fangirl her arse off together with Chel but of course Joan had to put her children's names on it.

”No”, Luca simply answers.

“This is my brother, Luca”, Chel introduces him.

As if Henry famous Shaw would care about his name, or him at all.

Luca rolls his eyes at his sister. What even does she think? He doesn’t want Henry Shaw to know his name but then again, what does it matter. Henry will have forgotten his name as soon as he’s out the door again. Maybe he’ll remember him as the only person he ever met at a Meet & Greet that wasn’t totally crazy for him. Maybe it’ll even bug him for a while. Luca doesn’t care. He’s not here to please Henry annoying Shaw but his mother. Yes, he’s just here because of her and his sister who wanted to be here so badly, that he’s forced to play babysitter at a concert he’d never have attended voluntarily.

Life is so unfair.

“Why are you here then?” Henry asks, now apparently curious why someone would pay so much money for a concert ticket, where he doesn’t even want to be.

“I’m here because of her!” Luca points at Chel and groans again.

“Yeah, I’m a big fan. Mind signing my phone case, this shirt, your last album and your new single? The song is SO good! You did so wonderful with ‘Life story’. I bet the whole album will be fantastic!”

Chel cannot shut up, can she?

“Of course, love”, Henry says and takes the pen out of Chel’s hand. He quickly signs everything Luca’ sister is holding out to him. Then Henry turns back to Luca who still stands awkwardly by the door. Luca didn’t really walk far into the room because what for, really? He planned of being out of the room again as soon as possible. By now, he was there far too long already.

Henry smiles at Luca and then asks, “Seriously why are you here?”

Didn’t Luca already answer that? What was so hard to understand?

“Already said I’m just here because of my sister.”

“That can’t be all, can it?” What is he on about?

“Our mother wouldn’t have allowed her to go, so I had to come as well.”

“Haven’t you actually thought about telling your mother you’ll go with your sister but in fact you just drive her and a friend while you do something else in Manchester during the concert and then you just pick them up again?”

“You really think you’re smarter than the rest of us. I would have considered that, but I discussed about not having to go until my mother placed my name on the ticket.” Henry starts to laugh, and Luca just can stare at the celebrity confused.

What the fuck is wrong with this guy?

“And you’ve never been to a concert as big as this one, have you? There's no need to put your name on the ticket and I think Luca is easily changeable into Lucia, don’t you think? None of the door guards would have been wondering; none would have even checked if it really was her name. It would have been really easy, so why are you here?”

“Maybe I didn’t know, yes. Are you done questioning me, or what? I think you have better shit to do than talking to someone who for sure doesn’t want to talk to someone like you.“ Everyone in the room is quite shocked. Never before had anyone talked to Henry like that.

“Eh, Henry. I don’t want to interfere, but the time is already up.” The guy with the clipboard says, walking towards Henry.

God bless this clipboard guy!

But Henry doesn’t make a move or does throw Luca and Chel out just like this. Actually. he seems not to care that he gives the two of them more time with him than the other groups, more than his management allowed.

 “Thank you, Marcus but can I have a couple more minutes please?”

Okay, what the heck is that about? Time’s up. Now let us go!

The guy that is apparently called Marcus gazes at Henry in disbelief and so does Luca. Luca is… he can't even describe it. Mostly confused. He did insult freaking fucking Henry Shaw and he does not even blink.

Why does this guy not just go back to his backstage area and does whatever he does previous to a concert? Why does Luca have to stay in a room with the devil himself?

"Why do you not like me? No, actually why do you dislike me so much?" Henry asks curiously and strides towards Luca.

"The media is full of you. Everywhere I go people talk about how hot you are and amazing and how desirable. I don't get why everyone wants you. You're not funny and half of the shit you wear is ugly as hell. You hang on every woman's arm as if it was totally normal to flirt with just everyone. I don't even care if you also sleep with all of them like media says but I wouldn't be surprised if you do. But the worst is that all my sisters love you. Your shitty music is on like every fucking minute. I don't even want to walk in any of their rooms because all I'd see is your damn face on their walls", Luca lists all the reasons he can find why he dislikes Henry. "Can we go now, Chel?"

No one moves. Everyone in the room is in some kind of shock. Never in the last three years has anyone attacked Henry like this. Nobody has ever told him so many things they didn't like about him. And when someone did insult Henry it was mostly one reason and it was just lame insults and something he was able to just shrug off. But how Luca pictured him was just not him, not at all. How did he get such a bad image of the pop star? Was this really all people saw in him when they just looked at his image and media picture? Was he really just that, a fashionista who was a disaster or a master from time to time? Someone that looked like a womaniser who's fucking every girl that is totally willing? When Henry thinks about it, it is a hideous scene he has in mind. And the worst is that it's so far away from how he really is and how he wants to be seen from others.

"You don't know the real me", Henry mutters but Luca doesn't listen. He has enough, has been long enough in this shitty room. Luca needs to leave, now. The air is already thin, he needs air, needs room to breathe. Mostly he needs to see something else than Henry pain in the arse Shaw.

Luca walks around Henry who looks after Luca who grabs his sister's left hand and drags her to the exit. Chel has to grasp hard on her signed items to not lose them while the two of them rush to the door.

The blonde girl is so embarrassed by her brother she wants to look apologising at Henry but at the same time she just wants to get out of there as quickly as possible, almost as much as her brother wants to. Luca didn't just embarrass himself but also his sister. She's quite ashamed to be related to him right now.

Really, why did Luca have to come with her? They should have thought about the fact that Luca was easily editable into Lucia and no one cared about names on tickets anyway. Chel wants to get swallowed up by a deep, deep hole and never come out of it. Luca just fucking humiliated her in front of her freaking idol, in front of Henry lovely Shaw. He did insult him as everything he was not. What even has gotten into him?

"You just really don't know me!" Henry then suddenly shouts, just as Luca and Chel leave the room.

"I don't give a fuck!" Luca hollers back. Then they're gone and Henry's left behind thunderstruck.

 

Henry stares at the open door, feeling totally dumbfounded and flabbergasted.

"That was crazy!" Marcus seems to be the first to be out of the shock state they were all in for at least five minutes. "I think this guy is insane. Shall we call security and throw him out of the arena?"

"No", Henry answers.

"You're sure?" Marcus looks appraisingly at Henry, not quite certain on what was to do in such a situation.

"Yes, thank you Marcus. He paid for the ticket, a ticket is really expensive. I don't want it to be wasted."

"But he doesn't seem to really care about being here."

"Doesn't really matter, does it? Practise what you preach, Marcus. Be nice to everyone", Henry exclaims and walks out of the door, just like the blue-eyed boy before him five minutes before.

The doors must be open by now and he should be backstage already for at least ten minutes.

Stupid time table, there isn't even time to breathe!

"Your sentence is 'Be nice to nice'. Would that mean 'Be rude to rude'?" Marcus and the guards follow the pop star suit and instead of taking the right door that Luca and Chel had to go through, they leave the anteroom through the left door in the direction of the backstage area.

"No, it's 'Be nice to nice and nice to everyone'."

"Since when? Today?" Marcus counts himself to those people that are really close to Henry, know him really well. He's also considered a friend, although he's his personal assistant. That's probably even better than just working together, to be honest because Marcus just knows Henry on a whole different level. It's so damn helping to have him keeping his appointments in order and at the same time being a friend when there's no one else around. Even though, Nathan was there most of the time too anyway.

As they enter the backstage room a blonde guy storms into Henry.

Speaking of the devil…

"Henry, you're late! Where have you been?"

"Some guy insulted him at the Meet & Greet. We all were shocked as hell. Can you believe it he did shout at Henry and scolded him as womaniser and you don't want to know what else."

"WHAT?" Nathan's eyes nearly pop out of his head.

Why would anyone even insult Henry? He's like the kindest person on earth!

"Let's not talk about it boys, okay? We've got a show in an hour and we are ten minutes late, aren't we Marcus?" Marcus blinks frequently. Wow, how Henry just shrugs it off as nothing has just happened.

Of course, usually Marcus is the one always being organised, but right now he still is kind of paralysed. It feels like someone has slept him right into the face or hit him with a baseball bat.

How was he supposed to do his job when his friend was slaughtered like that from some guy that didn't even know Henry, the real Henry? How must Henry feel right now? How was he able to just dismiss the incident as though nothing has happened?

"Yeah, sure", Marcus gets over his lips, leaving the chat unchallenged. The three of them leave for the make-up room because time's precious.

Four

 

 

 

 

 

 

When Luca and Chel stumble into the anteroom the