ChapterSixteen:The Eight Stars Align

Monday, February 27, 2006

Alex stared at his phone, seeing the group text from his former dance troupe. He still engaged with them, despite being back in Connect8. Most of them were in uni, so they were talking about whatever assignment their professors gave them. A part of him wished he was living that college life everyone would talk about. At the same time, he was nowhere near ready to give up being a public figure, knowing he lost a good amount of privacy.

Alex glanced at his bandmates. Lauren and Sarah seemed excited to meet UTurn. Jerrod and Diana were on their phones, most likely texting their friends. Lori, Amber, and Mason looked like they were ready for naps. They should've gotten used to being a pop band by now, but apparently, they still needed to catch up.

He heard the boardroom door being opened. There they were, UTurn in what looked somewhat casual designer clothes. For some reason, they all looked more beautiful than when he first saw them outside the Worldwide Music Group building. Them being popstars definitely worked in their favor.

He stood up, watching the facial expressions of the UTurn members. Most of them seemed unfazed, though Justin seemed surprised, Andrew looked like he was trying to have a scowl, and Alyson's eyes were widened. It was like she was star-struck by the sight of her favorite band.

She walked up to him, looking up at him. She didn't seem that short, around the average height of a woman. He was only a few inches higher than her. She said to him, "I have all of your albums. Nightfall is my favorite album of all time."

She's definitely the fan. He smiled politely, "Thanks. It's my favorite too."

Alex watched her grin like she was about to melt her brain away. It was clear she was trying to stay calm, but her mouth said otherwise. He noticed Andrew walking up to them, seemingly not impressed with this. He's definitely her boyfriend.

Andrew cleared his throat, and said in a somewhat deeper voice, "The name's Andrew Hawthorne. I'm pretty sure you know my name by now. We're UTurn."

The guy held Alex's hand, shaking it profusely. A part of Alex wanted to like this, but he couldn't help but feel annoyed by this gesture.

Andrew continued: "I'm the male lead singer and the main dancer. I'm one of the main songwriters. I had a poster of me that sold out quickly. I'm that of a big deal."

Alex kept his polite smile plastered on his face, despite becoming irritated with this guy. Andrew was still shaking his hand, so Alex said, "You can let go now."

Luckily, Andrew did just that. Alyson asked, "So you all have heard about us? Have you heard our albums?"

Sarah, who walked up to them, replied, "Yeah, that's all Seth ever talks about! But yeah, your albums are pretty good."

Alex looked at Diana, wondering how she'll react. He knew she wanted nothing to do with UTurn. She approached them, and asked Alyson, "So, you were inspired by us to form UTurn?"

Alyson proudly smiled, "Yeah, I was."

Diana gave a small smile. "That's nice."

She looked at Alex, glaring at him, as if to send him a message. Alex didn't want to dismiss her opinions on UTurn, but he felt she was judging the band too early. Sure, Andrew seemed like an annoying asshole, and Alyson was the intense fangirl; but they all just needed to get to know them better.

Seth said to everyone, "So this week, UTurn will be following Connect8 around as they promote their single, Not In My Head. UTurn will be living with Connect8 at their flat in the meantime."

                                                                           >>>>>>>>>

The two bands arrived at the Connect8 house. They had to drop off UTurn's things before they left for Connect8's TV gig. The Connect8 guys led the UTurn guys to their room.

Alex noticed the expressed on the UTurn boys' faces. They seemed somewhat disappointed in their living arrangement.

"This looks small," Andrew said in his normal voice.

Mason said, "Oy, this is the only spare room we have. One of you can have the couch if you want."

Jerrod said, "Look, I'm hardly in London. I got exams. Why don't one of the guys use my bed?"

Alex looked at Andrew, who seemed to be thinking. The American guy glanced at him, seemingly hint at an interest in the idea. Alex wasn't sure what that meant. A part of him wanted Andrew to have a crush on him; the other part was that he was somewhat scared of Alyson. He even wondered if she was dating Andrew because he looked like himself.

Derrick said, "I think we should rotate every night."

Andrew said, "Yeah, we can do that."

Justin said, "I'll go first."

"Why you?" both Andrew and Derrick asked.

Justin replied with his arms across his chest, "I wanted to audition for juniorConnect, but my parents wouldn't let me. So why not?'

Alex raised an eyebrow at this revelation. He knew he heard from an interview that Justin had been living in America since he was ten. He was from Oxfordshire; his accent was apparent, as if it never left.

Alex felt like he needed to set things straight with Justin, so he said, "Yeah, you could've auditioned, but that wouldn't mean you would've gotten into the band."

Justin said, "I know, but still."

"You were probably better off joining UTurn instead. You wouldn't have to travel between England and America during holiday."

Justin glared at him. "I have relatives in Newcastle and Birmingham. I could live with them instead of my parents."

Alex was confused by this. It sounded like Justin had disdain towards his parents. What happened? He noticed Justin lifting up one of his jean legs, revealing what looked like an ankle tracking device.

Andrew scolded, "Really, Justin? Why are you showing that to them?"

Justin said, "He needs to know in case he has questions!"

"Well, I'm sure he does now!"

Justin faced Alex, and said, "I did shit when I was twelve. You know, vandalizing people's homes. Threw a rock into Andrew's house."

Andrew got between Justin and Alex, and said, "I'm so sorry about that. He's fine now. He's just bitter that he has crap parents, though I don't blame him."

Alex, without thinking, asked, "Andrew, do you want to be our roommate for the night?"

Andrew's piercing blue eyes widened. His eyes didn't seem innocent. They seemed worn, tired, but the color was still there. The guy was a mystery that he wanted to crack open. Maybe he's not so bad after all.

"Connect8! UTurn!" one of the chaperones yelled. "Let's go!"

Alex asked Andrew, "So you in?"

He stammered as his face reddened, "Uh, yeah! Sure!"