Supernova (Supernatural Superstar Book 1) Page 12

  “You know what will happen if we’re caught,” Thorne said.

  “We’re not going to get caught,” said Peg. “This was the strongest vision I’ve ever had. It’s going to happen exactly like I saw. I can feel it.”

  “That’s easy for you to say,” said Thorne. “You’re not wearing stilettos.”

  “Hey,” Peg said, holding up his hands. “There were no shoes in my vision. They were your idea. It’s weird that you’re taller as a girl, though.”

  Something occurred to Audrey that made her realize exactly how complacent she’d gotten since she’d come to live at the house. “The security,” she said. “The cameras. They’ll see us.”

  Surely, the guards would report them to the president before they could even get off the grounds.

  “It’s fine,” said Thorne. “Stan and Di are working today. We have an understanding.”

  Audrey stared at him, but before she could question him on it, Peg and Koko were already out the door.

  Running in the PVC catsuit had its own problems. Well, one problem, really. A very uncomfortable, chafey problem. The others had issues of their own. Peg couldn’t see very well out of his mask and kept nearly running into trees. Thorne’s heels got stuck in the soft ground every few steps, and Koko’s wig had gone badly sideways. By the time they made it to the stone wall at the edge of the grounds, they were all red-faced and short-tempered.

  “I’ll give you a thousand dollars for your shoes,” Thorne said to Peg.

  Peg snorted, sounding like a bull behind his mask. “No deal. I can neither breathe nor see in this mask. I need my feet.”

  “I hate you so much right now,” Thorne told him, then turned to Koko. “Is my eyeliner smudged? I’m sweating like a pig. Do I look like a pig?”

  “You look perfect,” she told him. “Help me fix this wig.”

  Thorne fixed Koko’s wig while Audrey tried to discretely adjust her catsuit, and Peg hunted around for where he’d stashed the rope ladder for them to climb over the wall.

  “I wish you’d had visions of us wearing pajamas,” Audrey said as Peg tossed the ladder over the top of the ornamental fence post, then tugged to make sure it was secured. At least her wig was short and on her head securely. Both Koko’s and Thorne’s looked heavy and hard to wear.

  Audrey climbed the ladder and crouched on top of the wall, looking up and down the street as she waited for the others. The street was quiet. Once she crossed the fence, she’d be outside the president’s protection for the first time since she’d signed the contract. There was no sign of any of the Followers on the street, or anyone else. They hadn’t been anywhere near the house since that first day, after that one Follower had been zapped when he touched the car. She figured they’d realized she was under protection and directed their evil attentions elsewhere for the time being. She probably wasn’t in any immediate danger from them, but that didn’t mean she was safe. She’d have to stay on her guard.

  “Once we get to the main road, we’ll catch a cab,” said Peg, crouching beside her. “We just need to get out of the neighborhood without being seen.”

  Audrey nodded. She wished Peg could tell her what she needed to do, what this whole thing was about, but she supposed that might compromise the outcome of it all.

  As they ran down the street, Audrey found a way to move that stopped the catsuit from rubbing so badly. It made her running style a little strange, but that was better than having all her skin worn off her body. She searched in the shadows for signs of movement, for any hint she was being watched by the cult, but there was nothing.

  Finally, they got to the main road. Peg tried to flag down a cab, but none would stop.

  “Well, obviously,” said Koko. “You’re wearing a clown mask. They probably think you’re going to murder them and do perverse things to their corpses.”

  She pushed him out of the way and waved at a cab, but it zoomed past.

  “It was occupied,” Koko said, though Audrey hadn’t seen anyone in it and its light had been on.

  It wasn’t until Thorne stepped out onto the street beside her that a cab swerved and cut across two lanes to double-park in front of them.

  “You ladies need a ride?” the driver asked through the open window.

  Thorne gave him the name of the stadium in a stupidly high-pitched voice.

  “Well, hop on in,” said the driver. He didn’t look too happy when Peg got into the front seat, but Thorne flashed a smile, so he didn’t complain. “Going to see Tempest?”

  Thorne nodded.

  “She’s such a big fan,” Koko said, grinning. “Dragged the rest of us into going with her. You should see her room. Eli Gale posters all over the walls.”

  Thorne pressed his lips together, glaring at her, but she just grinned back.

  The cab driver kept making small talk, but Audrey tuned him out. She rested her head against the glass of the window, watching the city rush by. She was going to see Eli. It felt like so long since she’d last seen him. She’d been a completely different person then.

  She wondered what he’d think of the new Audrey. She hoped he wouldn’t be too disappointed. Would he be able to sense her there, among all those people? Would she even get to talk to him? She had no idea of the plan once they were inside. He’d be busy, and they had to stay unrecognized, but even if he didn’t see her, she’d get to see him, and that was enough. She touched the empathy ring lightly. At least she could feel him again now, even a little.

  “Looks like you kids are late,” the driver said as they got closer to the stadium. “You’re going to miss the start.”

  “That’s fine,” Peg said, the mask muffling his voice.

  The driver jumped in his seat when Peg spoke, nearly ramming into the car in front of them.

  “You can drop us here,” Peg said, getting his wallet out of his hoodie pocket to pay.

  The driver seemed happy enough to pull over. He eyed Peg suspiciously, even after Peg had given him an amount much larger than what it said on the meter and told him to keep the change.

  The stadium rose up on the other side of a paved square, a giant silver dome like an alien spaceship, covered in lights and advertising. Even from outside, Audrey could hear the low thump of the music. The merchandise stall off to the left still had a long line, but there was barely anyone at the food vans near the entrance. Groups of girls sat around on benches near raised flower beds, eating hot dogs and trying on their Tempest t-shirts. A few stragglers were running toward the stadium. Nobody seemed suspicious. Once she got to the stadium, she’d be back under the president’s protection, so long as Tempest was playing there.

  They walked past two girls holding a sign that said: WANT TO BUY: TICKETS x2. In smaller letters underneath, it said: will pay $1500. Audrey had two thoughts when she read the sign. The first was that these girls were asking to be mugged, telling people they were carrying around that kind of money. The second was that she should check if ticket scalping was included in the profit Supernova had to earn to win the agreement.

  “We have to go to Gate 2 and ask for Luke,” Koko said, her cheeks turning pink.

  “Luke?” asked Thorne. “Luke Byrne? Are you kidding me?”

  “Put a sock in it, Piggy Shortcake,” Koko said, going even redder.

  Peg made a weird noise behind his mask. For a moment, Audrey worried that he was having another vision, but then she realized he was laughing.

  “Oooh,” he said. “Koko loves Luke! Luke loves Koko. Luko! Koke! Koko and Luke, sitting in a tree…”

  Koko stuck out a foot and tripped him.

  “But Koko loves Thorne,” Audrey said, confused. “Thorne loves Koko.”

  From where he’d fallen to the ground, Peg laughed even harder. He laughed so hard that his mask started to slip off. Koko laughed as well, and even Thorne had to put a hand over his mouth to cover his amusement.

  “Koko loves nobody,” Koko said eventually, giving Peg a hand up. “Luke’s just a friend. Thorne just
doesn’t like him because he hates anyone associated with Tempest.”

  “They started it,” Thorne muttered.

  Peg brushed himself off and straightened his mask. “They didn’t become a success just to annoy you,” he told Thorne.

  “That’s not it,” Thorne muttered.

  Audrey wondered what it was. She couldn’t imagine anyone hating Eli.

  The man at the gate didn’t look twice when Koko said Luke had invited them. He waved them through, telling them to sit in Section 24B, Row 12, down to the right.

  Through the gate, in the outer part of the stadium, there were more merchandise stands, more food vendors. A girl in an Eli Gale t-shirt was running toward the toilets. Another girl with a tray full of drinks around her neck stood near the exit, but apart from that, the area was deserted. The music was loud out here but still muffled. Every few meters was a stairway marked with a section number, so they walked around until they got to Section 24.

  Audrey could hear his voice now, as if he was calling her to him. Every step she took was a step toward him. She hurried up the stairs to get to him faster.

  At the top of the steps was a girl with a flashlight. Koko spoke to her about their seats, but Audrey barely noticed.

  They were inside the stadium. There were so many people. The lights were down, but that only made the space seem bigger. In front of them was a tier of stands down to the stadium floor, and there were more tiers behind. The stadium floor was filled with rows and rows of seats, broken up only by a stage in the center and one at the back, as well as the bigger one at the front, which was walled with massive screens. The screens showed a close-up of Eli’s face as he sang a ballad, but Audrey only had eyes for the real thing.

  He stood in the spotlight, one tiny figure in all that vast space, yet his presence filled the entire stadium. He seemed completely different from that ordinary guy who had saved her from the alpha.

  He was a superstar.

  This was the closest she’d been to him in so long, but he’d never felt farther away.

  Chapter Eighteen

  Audrey was vaguely aware of Koko dragging her along to their seats, but it was hard to take her eyes off Eli. She’d thought that Thorne was the barometer by which star power was measured, but this was on a whole different scale. The two other guys in Tempest were no slouches, either. One of them could really sing – she’d learned enough to be able to tell.

  “Wow,” she whispered, after he’d hit a note that should’ve been well out of his range and held it for ages.

  “That’s Luke,” said Koko. “The other guy is Pete. I guess you already know Eli.”

  Even though Luke was a better singer, Audrey preferred Eli’s voice. It was more reassuring, somehow. Pete’s voice was a bit nasal, but that didn’t stop people from liking him; there were as many people wearing Pete t-shirts as Eli and Luke. Probably because he looked so cool. Pete was the most conventionally good-looking of the three, with his square jaw and full lips. Luke was taller, a bit lanky, with wild hair.

  Audrey thought Supernova were better dancers. If they’d been in Supernova, Thorne would’ve yelled at them about having clean lines and how one of them was always a fraction of a second out of time with the others. Their staging was spectacular, lights and fire blasts and swirling mist. At one point, the three of them went flying through the air above the crowd. But Audrey thought the most impressive thing was how the three of them seemed to be having so much fun. She hadn’t realized that was allowed. She’d thought concerts were supposed to be stressful and painful. You had to do every single thing perfectly or people wouldn’t like you and you’d get yelled at and fail and the world would end. None of that seemed to bother Tempest. At one point, Pete messed up the choreography and ran into Eli, and the two of them nearly fell down laughing. If she ran into Thorne, she thought he might actually kill her.

  Audrey was enjoying the concert so much that she forgot why they were there until Peg leaned across the other two to whisper to her. “We have to get closer. In my vision, we were near the stage.”

  “Are you crazy?” Thorne whispered back. “Did your mask block your view of all the security between us and the stage?”

  Peg shrugged. “I don’t control the visions, man.”

  Audrey got the feeling he was enjoying how much this was bugging Thorne.

  “Sssh,” Koko said sharply, pointing to the row in front of them. Audrey had been too transfixed by the concert to realize they were sitting almost directly behind Maddie & Matt. “This is no problem. Come on.”

  She stood up and the others followed her as she shuffled to the end of the row, trying not to block the view of the people sitting behind.

  “Did you forget who you are?” Koko asked as they walked back down the stairs. “We don’t need to hide from the president here. Take off your stupid mask, Peg. You’re the most recognizable. Talk your way backstage, and make sure to mention your father.”

  Peg sighed but slipped his mask up to rest on top of his head. It was a relief to see his face again, instead of that horrible grinning clown. “You know how I feel about doing that.”

  Thorne coughed into his hand.

  “You’d have no career without doing that,” said Koko. “Just make the best of it. It’s your dumb plan, so it’s about time you suffered for it.”

  “If we’re trying to be recognized, does that mean I can take off this wig?” asked Thorne. “It’s itchy and heavy.”

  “No,” said Koko. “Your hair will look disgusting. Don’t shame us with your awful hair, Thorne. Don’t make us carry that burden.”

  “Plus, you look really pretty,” said Peg.

  Thorne stopped pouting. “I really am the prettiest Eli Gale fan, aren’t I.”

  None of them could disagree. Even Audrey, and she counted herself as one of them.

  They walked around the stadium until they found the backstage door. Two of the burliest guards Audrey had ever seen were standing outside it.

  “We’re Supernova,” Thorne told one of the guards.

  The guard stared him down.

  “We’re here to explode your world,” Thorne added.

  The guard raised an eyebrow, unimpressed.

  “Actually, we’re here to go backstage. That’s just our tagline,” Thorne amended. “We’re not literally going to explode anything. We’re quite harmless and unobtrusive, actually. It’s fine for you to let us through, we won’t cause any trouble.”

  “I’m Pegasus,” said Peg. “My father, rock legend Huxley King, said he might be along later and for me to meet him backstage.”

  The guard raised his other eyebrow.

  “Oh, hey, I remember you from the Forever King tour!” said the other guard. “You were only about half the size then, though. You probably don’t remember me.”

  Peg snapped his fingers, then pointed at the guard. “Eric, right? You piggybacked me around the stadium so I could see my dad over the crowd!”

  “That’s right!” said Eric.

  “That’s not very professional, Eric,” the other guard told him.

  Eric shrugged. “He was a cute kid. You’d have done it too.”

  The other guard looked doubtful, but he moved out of the way and let Eric open the door.

  “Thanks, Eric,” Peg said, clapping him on the shoulder as he walked inside.

  “Man, I wish I had a famous dad,” Koko said once they were inside. “I’d use it for so many things, you don’t even know. I’d never eat salad again.”

  The backstage area they’d entered was a long corridor full of people rushing around. There were people holding costumes, people with equipment, people talking on headsets to other people. On stage, everything had looked calm and effortless, but down here, it was chaos.

  “We need to get underneath the stage,” said Peg. “We don’t have long.”

  “Do you have any idea what you’re doing?” Thorne asked, then abruptly stopped walking and snatched a pair of shoes out of the arms of a woman
rushing in the other direction. He glanced at the soles. “My size!” He kicked off the stilettos and pushed them to the side of the hall. The high-top trainers looked odd with the rest of the outfit, but Thorne sighed in relief.

  “You’re a disgrace,” Koko told him.

  “I’m beautiful, no matter what my footwear,” Thorne said. “Don’t oppress me. Now, come on. Didn’t you hear Peg say we’re in a hurry?”

  “You’re short again,” Audrey said. “It’s better.”

  He scowled at her, but it lacked impact when he was bouncing along in glee at his new shoes.

  The three of them obviously knew where they were going, so Audrey followed along.

  “We have to be careful up here,” Peg told her. “It’s where the management staff usually watch from. There’s no way to cut around, so we’ll have to go through the middle. Keep your head down, and don’t look anyone in the eye.”

  Audrey shuffled in closer to Koko. She was used to having longer hair that she could use as a shield to cover her face, so the short bobbed wig made her feel exposed. She turned her head when she spotted Agnes talking to an assistant and walked along staring at her elbow.

  “Through here,” Thorne whispered, ducking behind a rack of clothes that someone was wheeling along.

  They used the clothes rack as a cover all the way into the costume area.

  “Now, if we just go under here…” Peg said, slipping into some scaffolding.

  This close to the stage, the noise of the concert was much louder, so loud that it distorted. A slow song was just ending, and the crowd began to cheer.

  They climbed through the scaffolding until they left the backstage area behind. Above them, background music played and Audrey could hear Eli talking, though it sounded too muffled to make out the words. Every so often, the crowd screamed. Audrey wondered what he was saying to make them react like that. She was torn between jealousy and professional curiosity.

  “Almost there,” Peg whispered.

  They reached a section of the scaffolding that joined to another part. Audrey thought it was where the walkway to the center stage joined the main stage.