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

They make it out of the arena without another incident.

Emily’s mother is already waiting for them at some light post on the way to the roofed car park of the arena.

The two younger girls say their goodbyes to Alexis and also mutter an almost inaudible bye towards Luca, who doesn’t get looked at nor gets a hug. Luca knows he has fucked up big time tonight. Making Chel really angry at her big brother is really hard to do and so it’s indeed rare. Today Luca just really did something he shouldn’t have done. He even feels a little bad about it. Mostly because he doesn’t want to be on radio silence with his favourite sibling. Luca doesn’t think he did anything wrong, really. He was just being honest. Maybe a little brisk and a tad too rude but in Luca’s opinion Henry Shaw should accept it as it is. Even think about it and learn something out of it. What he shall learn, Luca isn’t that sure though. Luca isn’t even sure why the fuck he even thinks about Henry Shaw. This so-called idol and famous pop star isn’t exactly on his list with people that are important, nor on a list with people he’d like to meet again. Sure, he hasn’t really had a real conversation with the guy but to Luca his image was enough. When he was being honest, he doesn’t want to see beneath celebrities’ images. He’s just so sure that there’s nothing to be found. Empty shells, spending too much money on things they don’t need and looking down at anyone who doesn’t earn at least a million a year, that’s what celebrities are to Luca. Nothing more.

Well, Luca could definitely think about better people to talk to. So, yes, Henry Shaw definitely isn’t on any of Luca’s lists. Except maybe the ‘Things-I-Got-Chel-Angry-With’ list. And there's nothing else on there, really.

Alexis looks at him questioning as soon as the girls got into the car.

“Don’t look at me like this, Al.”

“You fucked up big time, didn’t you?”

“No commend.”

“What did you do, Luca? It was just one bloody evening! Couldn’t you get your shit together?” Al sounds annoyed. Luca doesn’t want to tell her. He already got Chel against him, he for sure didn’t need Alexis being angry at him for scolding the untouchable Henry Shaw.

“Not going to answer that.”

“Did you insult Henry, or what?” Alexis jokes.

Awkward silence.

“NO WAY, YOU DIDN’T!”

“Shut up, Al, okay? I've already got my well-deserved punishment with Chel being mad at me for weeks now. I don’t need you telling me how much of an idiot I am, thank you very much.”

“Fine. I pretend like this isn’t the biggest scandal of all Luca Goldberg scandals in all time.”

“Stop sounding so dramatically. I was just being honest, that’s all.”

“Yeah sure”, Al says sarcastically and with that their conversation is finished. Luca asks which club they want to go to and Alexis fishes her phone out of her bag to check the address of the club she has looked up back home in London two days ago.

Henry gets backstage and feels kind of exhausted.

Henry’s fucked.

He wishes it was the right way, but it isn’t. The curly boy is feeling down.

There comes the most beautiful creature he’s ever seen to one of his meet & greets and then it turns out that the blue-eyed boy hates him. The pop star has felt so dumbfounded when the boy has insulted him earlier to the show, in a room with his bodyguards, extra security people, Marcus and the guys little sister. Henry can’t believe that even though all of the things he has thrown at him, he wasn’t able to detach his eyes from the boy through the whole concert. He’s not sure if he has been too obvious with his glares but most girls in this block where Luca has sat might just have thought that he was looking directly at them. So, whatever.

Nathan storms into the room and grins ear to ear like a god damn Cheshire cat.

“Henry, are you finally ready to go?” The blonde boy asks with an Irish accent. It’s his birthday and they will go out tonight. Henry’s guitarist and best friend is overexcited. They aren’t going out much anymore. It just wasn’t possible anymore with how famous Henry has become. Just three years ago Henry was still able to walk through the streets somewhere without getting recognised or people really didn’t know him because they didn’t watch X Factor. Today he’s stalked everywhere he goes. At every corner he walks by it seems there are people interested in him and asking for pictures and or autographs. His privacy became non-existent and he had to hide all of his secrecies behind closed doors.

He didn’t care much about it though. It wasn’t like he had someone else to hide. All there was to it was a little secret. Henry’s always honest to his fans and still he has this dirty little secret. Okay, it’s not that dirty. It’s just him being bisexual and not straight like everyone thinks. Till now it never was a question, no reason to label himself anything. Henry has never said he’s straight or bisexual or anything else. He lets people think what they want. Labels aren’t his thing. Love isn’t something you’re able to label, so Henry thinks.

Henry grabs his jacket.

“I’m ready”, he exclaims and smiles because birthdays are holy to him. Birthdays always allow him to go out and give a flying nothing if he’s found by paparazzi and fans, or not. He’s going to celebrate his best friends’ birthday as if it was the last day he’s allowed to be outside – what he literally is. At least as just him, Henry – not the infamous Henry Shaw, the pop star.

“About time, Shaw.” Before they can exit the building – of course they are using a secret exit, so they won’t run into some fans that still hang around the arena to get a glimpse at private-Henry – they are stopped by Marcus.

“Guys, where are you about to go to?”

“Partying of course. It’s my 20th birthday today!”

“Can I come?” Marcus asks, and Henry almost laughs out loud. Henry’s personal assistant is more than that. He’s also a friend of him and Nathan. There’s no reason for him to ask them if he’s allowed to tag along. Henry and Nathan just are confused that prude and un-spontaneous Marcus Pearson wants to go partying with them.

“Sure”, Henry and Nathan say simultaneously. They grab their friend in between them and leave the arena, followed by Henry and Nathan’s bodyguards Paul and Mick.

Luca and Alexis found a cute little club which is very much jam-packed by now. It appears to be one of the most highly desired clubs in town. The two of them are here for at least three hours already and the place seems to fill up more and more. 

Is there a celebrity in here or did I miss a sign saying, ‘booze for free today’?

Luca thinks that both of his thoughts are stupid. It might just be a really well frequented club, that’s all.

“I’m at the bar when you’re looking for me”, Alexis screams into her best friends’ ear and leaves Luca in the dancing crowd. A lot of girls already tried to flirt with him, but he politely warded them off. He doesn’t like to let girls think they had a chance with him.

Now Luca’s dancing with a guy he didn’t understand the name because it’s too loud in the club to understand anything when you’re not interfering the other ones’ sphere of personal privacy. Luca’s 51 percent sure his name’s something with L as well.

“Where’re you from?” The guy asks and dances closer to Luca than he did a few minutes ago. Well, at least now Luca does know that he wants something from him.

“’M from Doncaster. What about you?” Luca replies and dances closer to the guy whose name he still doesn’t know for sure. Maybe he should ask him again later.

“From Manchester. Why are you so far away from home? Are you on holidays here or something?”

“No, was here for a concert and to babysit my underage sister at that said event.”

“What concert?”

“Do you know Henry Shaw, the infamous pop star and womaniser?” Luca’s opponent rolls with the eyes and sighs.

Does that mean he dislikes the guy as much as Luca does?

“I know him. Not much of a fan. What about you?”

“Not at all. Had to bear a meet & greet with him and the first thing I did was telling him what I really think about him.” Luca’s a bit tipsy. He’d never tell anyone about that incident. It was kind of embarrassing that he got his sister to be ashamed of him. "Think I shouldn't have done that though."

“Sounds horrible. Glad you survived.”

“Me too, believe me”, he says.

The music in the club is amazing and Luca’s dancing since he entered the dancefloor. He enjoys the attention he gets. Also, the ladies’ attention. But really, when the guy – he’s dancing with now – approached, he’d been utterly excited.

He and Alexis will stay at a hotel in Manchester tonight because they’ll be too drunk to drive. It also will be a bit too late for the travel back home to London. And to say it in Alexis’s words ‘LuLu, I want to have some fun. Don’t destroy this for me.’ So, they even booked two double rooms just to be sure. Although Luca's sure that Alexis is so deeply into Dean that with having fun she just means leading someone on but how can he be sure with that girl? Anyway, Al knew Luca wouldn't hesitate to take some guy back to the hotel room and she was the last person to be in the way of Luca's one-night stands.

Now Luca is glad about it. He quite likes that guy that moves against him. The best part is the guy doesn’t live near him. Manchester isn’t really around the corner from London, so he’d be safe from desperate stalking and begging for dates. Dating just isn’t something Luca does. Dating is for people with relationships and relationships are for the weak. All of Luca’s relationships have taught him that you always just give everything away and make compromises and in the end you are the one with the broken heart. Good friends and one-night stands, that’s Luca’s compromise.

“So, you’re from Doncaster?”

“Yeah but I live and study in London.” Luca hopes this already tells the guy he’s not into relationships and just wants a decent fuck for the night. Not that he gets the idea of dating him and maybe a long-distance relationship.

“London must be amazing. I’ve only ever been there once for a concert when I was seventeen.”

“Glad you’re not seventeen anymore”, Luca leers, hoping the other one follows the ambiguity and gets what he means. As it seems the other boy catches on with what Luca meant and almost laughs from the saucy remark.

“I’m glad, too.”

“What was your name again?” Luca blurts because he just can’t take it anymore not to know. Maybe it's also the thing that he's got too much to drink by now and can't coordinate his words anymore.

“You’re fast in forgetting, I see.”

“It’s not like that”, Luca starts. “It’s just so bloody loud in here, I didn’t catch the whole name. I know it starts with L as well.”

“It’s alright. I’m Lance”, Luca opposite says and smiles.

So, Luca was right. He’s glad he didn’t embarrass himself with remembering the wrong beginning of the boy's name.

“I’ll remember that one.” Luca will. Maybe not forever but for now. It’s always like that. He finds some guy in a club or bar, goes home with them and the next morning it’s a quick goodbye. Then he never sees them again (at least not like that, maybe once or twice on the streets) and a few weeks or months later it’s already hard for him to remember their names.