The Real Score

Chapter 4: Please Don't Leave Me

I didn't know at what point during the wee hours of the morning we had fallen asleep, but I woke up on the couch, my head on Marcus' broad shoulders, and his arm draped over my shoulder. He was leaning his head back, against the headrest, exposing his throat and his very prominent Adam's apple. I inspected his face—so calm and worry-free, so young, and so beautiful.

I moved very slowly so as to not wake him, and managed to move away from him on tiptoe. His arm, the one that was over my shoulder, dropped to his side, and he moaned, but thankfully he didn't wake. My eyes darted to his palm, where he asked me a few hours ago to write some Filipino phrases that he could say during the concert. I wanted to write it on a piece of paper, but he produced a Sharpie—do pop stars keep it in their pockets just in case someone asks for an autograph?—and held out his palm.

The CDs that Marcus gave me were teasing me as they peeked out from my bag. There was something else stuck between the two CDs, and I leaned over to grab it. On a Post-It, in what I guessed was Marcus' handwriting: Give us a chance. Be there tonight. .xx M

Shaking my head, I stuck it in my bag, slung it over my shoulder, and took a deep breath. "Bye, Marcus," I whispered. "Thank you for the fun night."

I headed for the door, opened it very slowly, and was greeted by a surly Preston outside. His arms were crossed and I sneaked past him, scared to touch even a hair on his arm.

"Leaving so soon?" he asked, raising an eyebrow. I rolled my eyes at him and shook my head.

"I think I've had too much fun for one night. Bye Preston."

I excused myself, and I was about three steps away when he spoke again.

"It's William."

I twirled. "Huh?"

"My name is William," he said, taking a step towards me.

"William," I repeated, a small smile on my face.

"I haven't heard Marcus laugh like that in a long while. The tour has been taking its toll on the boys—even if they don't want to admit it." His eyes met mine, and I saw them soften. "Thank you."

I nodded, repeatedly, at a loss for words to say. He winked at me, a creepy guy wink, and I laughed, and then I finally turned to leave.

*****

MANILA! Excited for tonight's show. Wanna hear you loud and proud, ayt? .xx M #giveusachance

It was one in the afternoon when I woke up from my 'real' sleep, and Twitter was the first thing I checked. I searched for Marcus, found the Twitter account with the check on it. Verified, with six million followers.

That was his first tweet since landing in the Philippines yesterday, and I grinned at the hashtag. I clicked follow, searched for his other bandmates, and followed them, too.

Oh Caitlin, what is happening to you?

I tapped on my phone, pulled up a name, and then called it.

"Tan!"

I smiled. I could hear Gezellig blasting in the background. "Lorin, please turn it down! You'd want to hear this!"

I heard a click and the music stopped. "Preparing for the big night, I see," I said.

"Of course. I'm listening to their playlist tonight. I sent you the songs they're going to sing tonight, so give them a listen, will you?"

I sighed, checking my inbox, and true enough, the setlist was there. "Yeah, I got it."

"So what's up, Ms. Killjoy?"