Celebrities Don’t Date Bookworms (Texting the Boyband #1)

Chapter 12

twelve

When I walked into French class the next morning, almost everyone else was there before me. At first, I thought I was late somehow, but Mme. Dubois wasn’t even in the classroom yet.

“Hey,” I said to Sloane as I came in. On mornings when she had cheer practice, we usually met up in class because it was easier than trying to co-ordinate when we got to our lockers. I sat down sideways in my chair, so I could talk to her even though she was sitting at the table behind me. When I came in, I was kind of hoping we would go back to our old seating arrangement, and leave Hudson and Jude to sit together at the empty desks, but I wasn’t surprised to see that Sloane hadn’t gone for that. For one thing, as much as I hated it, it probably made more sense for the boys to sit with their guides and properly integrate into school life. And of course, considering how much Sloane had been gushing about him yesterday, I was sure she wanted to be sitting next to Jude for the whole class .

“Hey,” Sloane said. She was writing something in her notebook, but she put her pen down as she looked at me. “How’s it going?”

I shrugged. “Not bad.” I looked around, and lowered my voice, so that nobody would hear me, then asked, “Why’s everyone here so early?”

“They all want to see the boys for as long as possible before class starts,” Sloane whispered back. She smirked. “And I’m pretty sure that’s the same reason Mme. Dubois isn’t here yet.”

Yeah, that checked out. I doubted she had anything against the boys themselves, but she didn’t seem pleased with the way that her class got derailed yesterday by everyone staring at Hudson and Jude for the whole class.

Sloane sat up straight and focused her eyes on the door. “Speak of the devils.”

I looked over as well, just in time to see Jude and Hudson fully round the corner and come into the class. I felt like every person in the class sat up a little straighter, fixed their hair, and put on fake brilliant smiles as they stared at the boys.

It was a little unnerving to see everyone do it at once, actually.

Hudson and Jude both smiled politely and shared pleasantries with some people, but they didn’t stop to talk to anyone. I felt a little bad for some of my classmates who seemed to genuinely think that one of the boys would single them out, and have a conversation with them right now for the thirty seconds we had before the bell rang. I was sure that when they found out their favorite boy band was coming to our school that they had visions of what it would be like, and this probably wasn’t living up to their expectations. But I guess it was about time that they learn what celebrities were truly like—that their fans were only there to line their pockets, and they couldn’t care less about them beyond that.

“Hey, Starbucks girl,” Hudson said as he sat down next to me. I sighed and spun to face forward.

“Are you going to keep calling me that forever?”

He shrugged. “Only until it stops being fun.”

Lovely.

“Did you get my present yesterday?” he asked.

For a second, I didn’t understand what he was talking about, and thought he meant a present at my house or something, which would have been creepy since he had no idea where I lived. But then I realized he meant the Starbucks card.

“I did,” I said. I twirled my pencil in my fingers. “You didn’t have to do that.”

“You wouldn’t let me pay you back any other way.”

“But fifty dollars? We both know coffee would never cost that much.”

He shrugged with one shoulder. “Consider it interest.”

The bell rang then, followed by Principal Roman’s voice saying, “Please rise for the national anthem,” effectively cutting off our conversation. Even though Mme. Dubois hadn’t actually entered the room yet to watch us, talking through O’Canada was just waiting for a teacher to stare you down or, if they were really strict, give you detention. He didn’t stop looking at me with that stupid lopsided grin of his, though. In fact, he didn’t stop for all that class or our next one, even when I once again went to sit by myself on the other side of the room while his adoring fans fawned over him for the final ten minutes of class.

Group name: I promise this isn’t a group chat, Dad

Members: Ni-Ni, Bay, Sharky, Tis Moi Luca, Not Zesty, Eggo

Tis Moi, Luca

Is anybody else bored out of their mind in class right now

Eggo

meeeee

Tis Moi, Luca

What class are you in

Eggo

Can’t say

Gotta stay anonymous

Tis Moi, Luca

Boring

Eggo

Ok hot shot what class are YOU in?

Tis Moi, Luca

I can’t say if you’re not saying

Eggo

I probably won’t figure you out from that

Because I know there isn’t anyone named Luca in this class

Tis Moi, Luca

Wanna know a secret?

The question reminded me of Bay, bringing a fond smile to my face. I wondered what he was up to now. I could see that he was reading the messages, but he wasn’t responding, so he was probably actually listening in his class with the message thread open on his phone or something. You know, like a good student.

I glanced up for a second and caught Hudson’s eye. He must have been looking at me already because what were the chances that we made eye contact that coincidentally? He smiled at me, but I quickly looked back down at my phone.

Eggo

Always

Tis Moi, Luca

Luca isn’t my real name

Well it is, but not the one I’m using at school

Eggo

Why not?

Tis Moi, Luca

Very long story

If we ever meet in person one day, I’ll tell you ;)

Sharky

Do your teachers just not teach or something

Why are you always on your phones??

It was a little strange, actually. Summerfield was known for its rigorous curriculum and there were few teachers that gave any sort of free time during class, Mrs. Kavinsky being the best known one. I wondered whether Luca was actually in a class that allowed him to use his phone or if he just trusted that he wouldn’t get in trouble for it. He wouldn’t be the only one to do it, although I knew from experience that usually ended with your phone being confiscated.

Tis Moi, Luca

Don’t ask questions you don’t want the answer to

Bay

Retweet

Eggo

I can’t tell if you’re saying that as a joke or if you don’t know how group chats work

Tis Moi, Luca

The second 100%

He doesn’t understand technology

Bay

HEY

I laughed to myself, and bit my lip, almost cradling my phone in my hand. Not for the first time, I found myself wishing that I had met the boys in real life instead of through this group chat. It was a stupid wish, though—if we’d met in person first, there was no way I would have acted this confidently around them or that they would have liked me in any way. It was a hopeless dream to think like that, and yet, I constantly found myself thinking it anyway.

When the bell rang at the end of the period, I headed for the door, but stood there, and waited for Hudson to finish his conversation. Even though I was sure any one of his die-hard fans would have been happy to assist him, I felt a duty to hang back after class and show Hudson the way to the cafeteria again today. I had shown him yesterday, but the school was big, and could be a little confusing, and I didn’t want him getting lost or something. Plus, I was a little worried that with the way some of them were looking at him, they might try to lead him to a private spot to kiss rather than the cafeteria, and even if I wasn’t the biggest fan of the guy, I didn’t want him to be stuck in an uncomfortable position.

“Sorry, ladies,” Hudson said to the group after a full five minutes of lunch had passed. He gestured toward me, leaning impatiently in the doorway, and waiting for him, my stomach grumbling. “My guide is waiting.”

“We can show you to the cafeteria, Hudson!” One of them said. She looked at me distastefully, and I grimaced back. What was with all this hostility? Was it just because I was chosen to be his guide? Or did they realize I wasn’t a fan and hate me for it? “She can go downstairs by herself. You don’t want to sit with a loser anyway.”

Well.

“She’s not a loser,” Hudson said immediately. He pulled the girl’s hand off of him, then picked up his bag. “And I don’t sit with bullies. Come on, Megan.”

The girl stared after us, looking completely dumbfounded. She didn’t even glare at me or anything as I followed Hudson out of the room.

“George is going to kill me for that,” Hudson murmured, rubbing a hand over his face.

“For standing up for someone?” I asked. A thank you was stuck in my throat, but I couldn’t quite get myself to say it, and I wasn’t sure why. It was nice of him to do that when he didn’t have to. It would have been easy for him to say that he needed to stick with me because I was his guide or even take her up on his offer, but he stood up for me instead, and I had no idea why. Did he feel like he owed me? Like claiming that I wasn’t a loser was his way of making up for the fact that he gave me first-degree burns on my chest?

“For calling a fan a bully,” Hudson said. We started down the almost empty stairwell that would take us to the cafeteria on the first floor, near my and Sloane’s lockers. “I like to call it as I see it, and he is… usually less than impressed.”

“And George’s your… publicist?” The name sounded familiar to me, but I couldn’t place it. I didn’t know enough about Take Five to be able to keep up in a conversation without context.

“Manager,” he said. “But I’m sure the PR Team won’t be happy with me either. Hopefully the girl doesn’t tweet about it or anything.”

“I doubt she will,” I said. It was a total guess since I didn’t know her, but it seemed unlikely that she would want to bring that negative attention on herself. “More likely that she’ll try to get back in your good graces.”

Hudson smiled grimly, lips pressed tightly together. “She’ll have a hard time doing that.”

All because of what she said to me? Why did he care so much? She definitely wasn’t the only one around who thought I was a loser.

I didn’t have much time to think that question through because a second later, I stepped through the cafeteria door, and I was grabbed by the wrist. I didn’t even have time to register that I was moving before Sloane started badgering in my ear about how Jude invited us to sit with them, and she’d been saving my spot from all the girls trying to take it, so they would have the chance to sit with Take Five, and honestly, what was taking me so long? She pulled me all the way to the end of the cafeteria, far away from where we usually sat, and pushed me down into a seat near the end of the table. When I finally zoned into what was happening, I realized that I had a set of four boys staring at me very curiously.

“Um… hi,” I said. “I’m Megan.”

“This is Zach, Jude, Finn and Neil,” Sloane said, pointing at each of them in turn. For a bunch of celebrities, they all seemed pretty shy as they all just awkwardly waved or nodded at me.

“She’s the girl I spilled coffee on at Starbucks,” Hudson added. Oh great. What a lovely way to be known.

“Hope he didn’t hurt you too badly,” Neil said. I tried not to show the shock on my face as I heard his Irish accent. Even though I knew one of them was from Ireland originally, I’d never actually heard him speak. Neil smiled at me, looking incredibly young as he did so. I was pretty sure he was younger than the other boys, though I’d already forgotten all of their ages. “He can be a bit of an idiot when he’s around pretty girls.”

I made a small noise in the back of my throat, and even I wasn’t sure what it was supposed to mean. Mostly, I was just in shock about anyone calling me pretty, let alone a member of a boy band.

“Shut up, Neil,” Hudson muttered.

“He couldn’t stop talking about you,” Jude jumped in. Unlike the other boys, his accent was the same as most people here. “When he came back from Starbucks, he was mortified that he had spilled coffee all over the prettiest girl he’d ever met.”

“It was a little annoying how much he was talking about you, actually,” Finn added. All their timidness seemed to have disappeared now that they were making fun of their friend. “And after he saw you again in the mall? I thought he’d never shut up.”

“ You’d better shut up,” Hudson said. He grabbed a plastic knife off of Jude’s tray and pointed it in their direction. “Any of you say another word, and you’re not surviving the night.”

A mental image of Hudson chasing the other boys around the house with a plastic knife appeared in my mind, and I snorted at the thought. He turned the knife so it was pointed at me.

“You think it’s funny?” he asked. “I’m not above killing you too.”

“I’d like to see you try.”

“I wouldn’t recommend it,” Sloane intervened. “I know she looks innocent, but she could take you.”

“Give me a time, and place, and we can test it out,” Hudson said, waggling his eyebrows at me.

“Careful,” I said. I opened Twitter on my phone and started typing. “You wouldn’t want me to tweet about Hudson Shaw threatening my life, would you? Can’t imagine that would go over with the press or—hey!”

Hudson leaned over so far that he was practically on top of me as he tried to grab my phone out of my hand. I let out a weird mix of a laugh and a shriek as I practically fell on top of Neil, who was sitting next to me. He was no help, as he just slid down the bench, letting me fall completely on my back.

“Got it!” Hudson said. He grabbed my phone from my hand and quickly deleted the tweet. Still laughing, I tried to grab it back from him, but he sat up and leaned the other way, towards Jude. I couldn’t see the screen of the phone anymore, but if I had to guess, I’d say the two of them were taking some stupid selfies on it. I shook my head and sat up, smoothing my hair with one hand.

“You didn’t need to tackle me for it,” I said, grinning at him. “I only have like ten twitter followers anyway.”

“Not anymore,” Jude said.

I frowned. “What?”

I highly doubted that my follower count had changed that significantly since I last checked it two days ago, and even more than that, I doubted that Jude Turner, of all people, would know what it was.

“Followed you,” Hudson said. He tossed the phone back to me, and I threw my hands out to catch it. I fumbled a few times, but didn’t drop it. “And just sent your twitter handle to all the guys, so they can follow you too. I imagine you’re going to be gaining followers by the second now.”

“Why did you follow me?” I asked. My voice raised half an octave, like it always did when I was confused.

“Why not?” he asked. “You’re my guide. It only makes sense.”

I didn’t quite follow his logic there, but I didn’t bother to question him further. I swiped over to my profile, and my eyes widened in school as I realized I already had over a hundred new followers from the past couple of minutes. Their fans moved fast . I’d never imagined I would have this many followers on anything, and I didn’t really know how to react. Sure, this was probably a normal amount to most people, but it wasn’t a normal amount to me.

I sighed and decided I should tweet something to let everyone know what they were in for. First, I changed my name. And then I sent out a simple tweet:

Why Are You Following Me @meganwhite0202

To all my new followers: sorry to disappoint, but my tweets are super boring

Mel @ellemel

How did you get Hudson and Jude to follow you??

#1 Jude Fan @abbydoodle

can you ask Jude to follow me xx

Riley | Take Five @rileythorton223

do you know Take Five?

Take Five Fangirls @iloveyouhudson

are you friends with Hudson????

Hudson @hudsonshaw

you could never be boring

“Really, Hudson?” I said to him.

He shrugged. “ I’m not wrong.”

Why Are You Following Me @meganwhite0202

@hudsonshaw please don't fuel this fire

I felt stupid tweeting with him when we sat next to each other, but I had to say something. Within seconds, my tweet amassed more likes than anything I’d ever posted before. I glanced around the cafeteria and found multiple people staring daggers at me, jealousy and hostility in most of their eyes. Somewhere in the last week, I’d gone from being a nobody to being publicly recognized as knowing Hudson Shaw. I wouldn’t exactly call us friends, but I didn’t think it mattered—we were linked, whether I liked it or not.

And I wasn’t sure I was ready for the spotlight was coming with that.

The problem with keeping everything that was going on a secret was that I had nobody to talk to about it. Since Sloane didn’t know about the group chat—or, by extension, about Bay—I couldn’t tell her that I was falling in love with him. My next best option would have been to talk to the boys in the group chat, but since Bay was obviously in there, I couldn’t do that. So, I finally settled on tweeting about it. I couldn’t talk about it expressly, but at least I could get some opinions. Whether the opinions of random strangers were worth anything was… questionable, but it would make me feel better nonetheless .

Why Are You Following Me @meganwhite0202

Do you think you can fall in love with someone without meeting them?

May @may_flower

What does that even mean

Call Me Jude @judeturner

How would you fall for them then?

Why Are You Following Me @meganwhite0202

@judeturner talking over text/phone

Call Me Jude @judeturner

Oh then I vote yes

Hudson @hudsonshaw

you should make a poll

Why Are You Following Me @meganwhite0202

@hudsonshaw nobody would vote

Hudson @hudsonshaw

@meganwhite0202 I would

Why Are You Following Me @meganwhite0202

@hudsonshaw then tell me your vote now

Take Five Fangirls @iloveyouhudson

@meganwhite0202 Don’t be rude to him

Riley | Take Five @rileythorton223

@meganwhite0202 You got all the Take Five boys to follow you and this is how you talk to them???

Jessie @takefive3221

@meganwhite0202 Maybe you should be grateful

T5 for Life @ilovetakefive

@meganwhite0202 if you care so much, why don’t you make a poll like he suggested

See, this was why I never posted anything online, especially about celebrities. I couldn’t say a single thing without their fans jumping down my throat. I wondered if it had occurred to any of them that the boys were following me because they knew me in person. Probably not, though—I bet they wanted to believe I was just some random fan the boys happened to follow because then there was a chance it could happen to them too.

Hudson @hudsonshaw

@meganwhite0202 boring but fine. I vote yes

I couldn’t help but be a little bit snarky in my reply, just to spite all the other people who responded .

Why Are You Following Me @meganwhite0202

@hudsonshaw thank you. Was that so hard?

Neeeeeeeil @neilhadley

For what it’s worth, I vote yes too (and so does Zach. Finn’s not sure but his opinion doesn’t matter anyway)

Finny @finnparker

@neilhadley just @ me next time wow

I shut off my phone as the replies started to pour in, both cursing me for speaking to Hudson that way and demanding to know why Neil followed me too. Honestly, they would probably have an aneurysm when they realized that all five of the boys were following me now. I decided not to worry about any of them or what they thought about that, though. What was more important right now were the votes of the boys—that they thought yes, it was possible.

Now, I was just left to wonder whether there was any way that Bay felt the same way about me.