"How can you fuck up a fan meet?"

☆

He tried his best to ignore it. That face. The look Luca had received from Ash, out there in the crowd. One of displeasure. He knew that Ash had felt like he had been deceived and he had. Luca had made it so, but he had his reasons. Now all Luca needed to do was explain before things got any worse. 

"What the hell!" Dan, one of the band members, heads for Luca, pushing him on his left shoulder, causing him to stumble backwards. "You nearly fucked up the whole routine! What were you thinking?"

"Hey!" Jojo steps forwards, standing in between the pair. "Cool it Dan." Dan steps back, grabbing a bottle of water from a nearby table, opening the lid and chugging down most of the contents in one go before throwing the bottle to the dressing room floor. 

Jojo puts both his hands on Luca's shoulders. "Look at me." Luca reluctantly looks up at Jojo. He felt overwhelmed with guilt in that moment. Not only for how he had behaved with Ash, but also with how he had nearly messed up months of practice, on stage of all places. "What is with you?" 

Luca pushes both of Jojo's hands away from his shoulders. "I screwed up! I know. I…" 

"He's just tired." Noah tries to defend. 

"Hey, we're all tired!" Dan shouts in response. "But we kept it together."

"Look!"  Jojo raises his voice over the rising commotion. "We still have to do the fan meet, let's just calm down." 

"Don't try to fuck that up too." Dan mumbles. 

"How can you fuck up a fan meet?" Noah says laughing in a sad attempt to lift the mood. 'You sit, say hi and sign." Noah holds up his hands in question. 

"I won't fuck anything up." Luca says with annoyance. The space momentarily goes quiet between the four before they are ushered by officials from the back dressing room to yet another room. They settle behind a long table, with Luca making a bee line for the last seat, followed by Noah, Jojo then Dan at the other end. Luca sits down, leaning across to Noah. "I need your help." He utters quietly. 

"What with?" Noah mumbles back, just as silently. 

"If he shows up, cause a distraction. I need to talk with him again out of earshot." 

Noah looks at Luca and sighs. "Can't you just let this one go? He seems more hassle than he's worth." 

"If he doesn't show, I will. If he does, but doesn't want to hear what I have to say, I will, I promise. Luca insists. 

"Well, let's see then." Noah says as he looks up at the double doors open and the VIP fans set foot inside. 

Luca glances up, to see the VIP fandom walk in with their complementary merchandise, all ready to be signed. They pile in, one after the other. No sign of Ash…yet. Luca still clung on to the hope. 

As he gets on with what he is supposed to be doing, he quickly glances up to the door less and less, until Luca stops looking all together. Whatever he thought would come out of the evening, he decided was never going to happen. That is until the huge elbow nudge from Noah tells him otherwise. "Is that him?"

Luca looks up, seeing Ash at the beginning of the table, getting something signed by Dan. He hurriedly takes a pen and begins to write some words on a post it note. 

When he reaches you, choke.

The note is pushed across to Noah, who picks it up and briefly reads it, before glancing at Luca. He then looks to see Ash with Jojo, getting what he could now see was their album sleeve signed. 

Noah grabs the bottle of water in front of him and takes a mouthful of water and before he knows what he is doing, he is spraying it all over Jojo. "WOAH!" Jojo stands up, looking down at his soaked crotch. 

Noah starts to splutter. "Sorry, I'm sorry." He also stands up, with all eyes now on the drama and not on the hand reaching across the table to Ash. Ash looks up, to see Luca staring at him. His head nudges slightly to the left as he begins to pull lightly on the hold. Without being noticed, Luca guides Ash through an exit into a quiet corridor, where he lets go. 

"Who are you?" Ash snaps, as he pulls himself away from the other male. 

"My name is still Luca." He insists, but he sees the look Ash is giving him and knows that he needs to elaborate. "Ok, Luca Brailsford… Have you got your phone?" Ash pulls his phone from his jeans pocket. "Put my name in." Luca demands.

Ash still looks at Luca suspiciously as he searches up Luca Brailsford. He starts to read.

'Luca James Brailsford, better known by his stage name Luca, is a singer, songwriter and dancer. He is one of the four members of boy band Ultimate Crush managed under NBV entertainment, which debuted in 2016….

Below there was a picture of him. Ash keeps on looking at his phone, then looking at Luca. Suddenly it dawns on him. He really was Luca Brailsford.  Ash lets his hand holding the phone drop down by his side, before covering his face with the other. "Shit shit! I am such an idiot. Why didn't you say something before? Is this some kind of sick celebrity game?" 

"Why didn't I tell you?" Luca begins, now resting a hand by Ash's head as Ash slumped against the wall. Ash shakes his head, as he dares not to even look up at the man who now felt like an untouchable god, even though Ash didn't know his existence a week ago. "I gave you the ticket  because I wanted to thank you for how you treated me the way you did that night.  Not like an idol or a star, but like an ordinary person. You helped me, not because I'm Luca Brailsford from UC, but because I was a person in need. I was just an ordinary Luca." He smiles at Ash, who has now managed to meet his gaze.  "I know I should have told you. I guess I was foolishly holding onto the fantasy of feeling ordinary."

"And what you just told me is any less of a fantasy?" Ash laughs with amusement. "You don't have to be a fan to know you're a hot property. I've witnessed that tonight with my own eyes. You could take your pick from anyone to make you feel whatever you want to feel." Ash gestures towards the door they had just escaped through. 

Luca looks down at his expensive shoes. "Maybe I don't want just anyone." He speaks low, but loud enough for Ash to hear. He looks back up, a feeling of apprehension surrounding him as he wonders if Ash can somehow catch his meaning. 

Their eyes connect, maybe for a moment longer than necessary. Ash felt his body go hyper sensitive. Luca's stare was hypnotic. 

"So yes, I'm Luca Brailsford of Ultimate Crush, but you can just call me Luca. That's my name after all. Nice to meet you." 

"And you're still carrying on like this is normal?" Ash chuckles. Well, I'm Ash Brown. That's my full name."

"I'll remember that easy. It sounds like hash brown." Luca snorts a laugh.

"Very origional. I've never heard that before." Ash rolls his eyes.

"I have to go back in there soon but I want to ask you something." Luca steps a little closer to Ash. 

"What?" he replies. 

"Can I just borrow your phone? Unlock it for me." 

Ash looks a little warily at the idol. "Why?"

"Just trust me ok." He smiles. "I'm trying to make this right." 

Ash huffs a sigh as he unlocks his phone and gives it to him. Luca starts to type something. He then gives it back. "I've saved my number on your phone. Look. I'm dumpster guy. If you ever need anything, just call."

Ash looks at his phone, then back at Luca "Won't that get you into trouble?"

"Only if people find out. Right?" Luca smiles.