Fangs And Fame Read online

  Chapter 26

  Trey

  “ARE YOU SERIOUS?” I asked, unable to hide my surprise. I’d been wondering ever since the night she’d made me a vampire what my moon-given talent would be, and when it would make itself known to me. I’d tried to be patient, but I couldn’t help feeling a little shafted that it was taking so long to manifest. I’d even started worrying that maybe I didn’t have one. That would be my luck, after all, to be the one vampire in history who doesn’t get a super cool gift that works 24/7. “So?” I asked eagerly, grinning like an idiot. “What is it? Come on. The suspense is killing me.”

  Aurora sat down on the leather bench and patted the spot next to her. I sat down, leaning forward on my elbows as I waited for her to explain. I felt like a kid on Christmas morning, about to open up the best present ever. What I didn’t get was why she didn’t look as excited about it as I was.

  “I think you’re projecting yourself onto the audience,” Aurora said slowly.

  I blinked at her. “Projecting?”

  She nodded. “Whatever it is that you’re feeling at the time,” she added. “I think you’re linking up with the fans in the crowd, and they’re getting a rush of that emotion from you, whether you mean for it to happen or not.”

  I stared at Aurora with wide eyes, hardly believing my ears. “So, let me see if I’m following you,” I said. “You think I’m actually influencing the crowd when I sing?” I asked. I could hear it in my own voice, a mixture of horrified fascination.

  Aurora nodded, leaning in to touch my hand. “I don’t mean influencing like any performer does. I mean really influencing, like directly affecting their emotions on a subconscious level.”

  I closed my eyes, holding up a hand and shaking my head. “I ... I don’t....” I got to my feet, pacing back and forth in front of her a few steps at a time. I ran my hand through my hair and heard the sound of a humorless laugh escape my mouth. Then I paused to look down at her again. Aurora gazed up at me with concern, like she wasn’t sure what to say next. “I’m hijacking people’s emotions,” I said matter-of-factly. “This is fan-freaking-tastic.”

  “Trey....” Aurora’s hand brushed against mine, but it was all just too much to handle. I reacted by taking a step back and shaking my head, desperately trying to clear it of the massive ball of guilt and confusion that my brain had become.

  “I don’t even know how I should be feeling right now,” I said. “Maybe I’ve subconsciously hijacked myself. That would explain it.”

  “I could be wrong,” Aurora offered, but neither one of us actually believed that.

  I met her gaze again, realizing that there was only one way to explain to her how this news was rocking my entire world. I projected into her mind, and she let me in willingly. I put her into one of my strongest memories of performing on stage. I shared with her the intense reactions from the fans, just like I get from them during every show. I felt it in her thoughts as she began to understand the direct connection I have with each and every person in the crowd, how it isn’t normal, and how it’s completely intoxicating and exhausting, all at once. I released her mind when I was convinced that she’d seen enough to understand exactly where I was coming from.

  “It explains a lot of things,” I said as I slouched back down onto the leather bench next to her. “I knew something was different at the album launch party. That was the first time I’d been on stage since, well, you know, but I chalked it all up to being a new vampire.”

  “Hey,” Aurora said, reaching over to touch my face. “It’s taken me this long to figure it out, and I’ve been doing this whole moon-given talent thing a lot longer than you have. Don’t beat yourself up about it.” Then she bit her bottom lip as another thought came to her. “You’re usually buzzing with power when you come off the stage, and I still didn’t put it all together.”

  “It’s been happening the whole tour,” I said slowly. “What if I’m brainwashing them? What if they don’t even like the new music, and I’m just projecting this insane night of highs and lows and they’re only reacting to that?”

  “You know that’s not true,” she insisted. “Besides, it wouldn’t work indirectly. Fans wouldn’t be buying tickets to come out to see the shows if they didn’t like what they heard on the record. You’re good, Decker, but you’re not that good. Don’t let it go to your head.”

  But I’d just realized something as she was talking, and I felt panic creeping back into my core at just the thought of it. “I did something to that girl tonight didn’t I?” I asked, not sure I really wanted the answer.

  “We don’t know that-” Aurora tried to buffer the thought, but the truth of it was ringing inside me.

  “I did,” I stated. “I was singing right to her, and ‘Filtered Ache’ just brings back so many memories for me. I got caught up in the song, and I totally overwhelmed her, and she passed out.”

  “It’s not your fault your so good-looking,” Aurora said, trying to lighten the mood. I humored her with a smile, letting her know I appreciated the gesture. “It also explains why you need blood so often,” Aurora said slowly.

  “How’s that?”

  “My moon-given talent only really affects me. I only have my own mind to worry about. You’re projecting your emotions onto an entire crowd of people every time you perform. No wonder you need to feed a lot.”

  “That’s a good point.” I sighed, taking her hand and lifting it to my lips. I kissed it softly. “How long have you known?”

  “I wasn’t sure until tonight,” she explained. “I’ve suspected something like this ever since that fan you fed on showed back up at another show later.”

  “Jes?” I asked.

  She nodded. “We were obviously right to wonder if your gift affects the aversion that humans normally develop after a vampire has fed on them. That would explain why she came back. Whatever emotion Jes got from you during that first show, it was enough to override any desire to stay away from you. You’re literally irresistible,” she added, jabbing me lightly in the ribs and smiling. “What else is new?”

  “Huh.” I bit my lip, trying to process this new information. “So maybe I’m not chasing our fans off, after all. At least that’s something.” But the more I thought about it, the more this moon-given talent of mine made sense of so many other situations. “It’s not just happening when I perform, is it?” The question was rhetorical. I knew she’d already drawn all of the same conclusions that I was coming to. I could think of several instances where I had almost certainly influenced O’Shea, Jonas, and Chase without meaning to. “Why couldn’t I have just gotten your mental fortress of solitude?” I said. “Or just plain old mind reading? That suits me just fine.” Aurora looked at me sympathetically. “Seriously,” I said after a moment of contemplation. “What am I supposed to do with this?”

  “You’ll learn to control it,” she offered. “We all have to do it, no matter what the power is. Maybe not on such a large scale, but there are downsides to every moon-given talent.”

  I raised an eyebrow at her. “How is being able to block your thoughts ever a bad thing?”

  “It closes you off completely, if you let it,” she admitted, a hint of regret in her voice. “It took me a long time to learn that isolating yourself isn’t always a good thing, and more than once I almost let it stop me from being with you.”

  I squeezed her hand gently. I had never thought about her moon-given talent in that way, before. “I’m really glad you didn’t give in to that,” I said to her. “I can’t imagine not being with you. I can’t imagine life without you.”

  “You’ll never have to,” she promised, and I recognized the strength and conviction in her bright green eyes. “We’re going to figure this out together,” she added. “You’ll learn to control it.”

  Chapter 27

  Aurora

  “YOU”RE NEVER GOING TO believe what I have here,” Trey announced as he came onto the bus.

  “A surprise?” I called out as I fin
ished pulling my hair up and stepped out of the small bathroom to meet him. He proudly held out a copy of Rolling Stone with our picture on it. It was times like this that I appreciated that breathing wasn’t necessary, and I just stopped. It was the shot of Trey in the lounge chair and me with a palette and paintbrush, wearing that dress Trey had loved so much. In big letters to the left it said, “Newlyweds Trey Decker and Aurora Evins Take the World by Storm.” In another line just below that it added, “The scoop on their surprise wedding, and all you need to know about their life on the road with Catalyst.”

  “I haven’t even looked through it yet,” he touted. “I wanted to wait so we could see it together.”

  “Do we have to?” I asked, only half joking.

  “Come on,” he said, grinning and pulling me toward one of the leather benches. I sat down with him and he held the magazine between us, cover up for me to admire. “So far so good,” he said, encouragingly.

  “It’s just so real now,” I said slowly. “Other people are going to be seeing this.”

  “Other people are already seeing it,” he said with a smile. “I signed at least ten copies at the radio station and on the sidewalk outside this morning.”

  I steeled myself and nodded at him. “Okay, just do it quick.”

  “It’s not like ripping off a bandage,” he said, laughing.

  “It kind of is,” I insisted.

  He flipped through the pages and then had to go back a few when he passed the feature. I gazed at the picture of me pretending to paint while Trey rocked out on the big screen behind me. It felt surreal, but that was me in the picture. I still had the heels from the photo shoot as a reminder that I’d actually been there, which came in handy on the days that I was in denial about the entire ordeal. Like today.

  “The shots look great,” Trey was saying objectively, but he’d already known they would. He’d approved them after the magazine had sent him proofs in an email. I’d refused to look at the email at the time (another one of those days I was in denial that I’d even participated,) but now I wasn’t sure that had been the best idea. Seeing it all at once like this was overwhelming. Specific quotes from the article were enlarged and highlighted, making it easy to read a few pieces quickly.

  “‘When you find that one person you don’t ever want to lose, you do whatever it takes to make them happy, and make it forever.’” –Trey

  “‘I never imagined this life for myself, but now I can’t picture my life without Trey in it.’” –Aurora

  “‘I figured if I surprised her with a proposal and a wedding all at once, she might not have time to realize that she was getting the raw end of the deal.’” –Trey

  “The couple seems genuinely happy and completely comfortable with each other as they invite me backstage to visit the band’s lounge. When we arrive, a game of ping-pong is in progress, and the rest of the band quickly invites me to join in. The guys are flinging insults back and forth in friendly competition, and when I ask Aurora how she puts up with them on a daily basis she just smiles and says, ‘I have to beat them at ping-pong on occasion, or they’re completely insufferable.’”

  I scanned the picture of me holding Trey’s guitar while he sat behind me, helping me to place my fingers on the right strings for a chord. This picture was subtle, and probably my favorite for that reason.

  “You haven’t said a word,” Trey said, grinning at me, but with that look that let me know he was a little worried. “What do you think?”

  “I think it’s amazing,” I said, truthfully. “I just can’t believe we really did this.”

  “Now it’s out there,” he said, squeezing my knee. “At least people will get a chance to hear our story in our own words. I love that.”

  “Me, too,” I said. He was absolutely right. There was no need for speculation. Trey and I had a lot to hide, but showing people that we were going through this life together – one day at a time – there was nothing wrong with that.

  Trey wasn’t exaggerating about the magazine getting out quickly. When we arrived at the venue that afternoon there was a group of fans eagerly awaiting their favorite guys. Girls were clutching their copies of the magazine like their lives depended on them.

  “Can you guys sign my copy?” one girl called out as we approached. I glanced around, only then realizing that we were the first bus to arrive.

  “She means you and me,” Trey said, taking my hand in his and leading the way toward the fans.

  “Me?”

  He let out a little chuckle and said, “You’re on the cover, too.”

  I usually waved at the fans and headed inside the venue. It seemed only fair to let them have Trey all to themselves for a while before he joined me inside to get ready for the show. Apparently, today I was breaking out of my routine. I counted them quickly. Twelve fans in all. I smiled and was relieved when they waved eagerly, happy to see me coming over to say hi with Trey.

  “The cover is to die for,” one girl said as she handed me her copy of Rolling Stone.

  “Thanks,” I said.

  “I bet it was so fun shooting for it.”

  “Nerve-wracking is probably the word I would use,” I said, signing my name in marker.

  “Really?” she asked.

  “You’re just so gorgeous. I can’t imagine anything would make you nervous.”

  “You’re sweet,” I told her. “But I obviously don’t spend enough time with you all, or you’d know me better.”

  She laughed and turned to Trey, saying, “I’m excited about the show tonight.”

  “Me, too,” he said. “First time seeing the show, everyone?” Lots of nodding ensued and he grinned, saying, “I hope we don’t disappoint.”

  The second bus pulled up just then and the girls got excited all over again.

  “Is that the rest of the guys?” one asked me.

  I turned to glance over my shoulder and nodded. “That’s them.”

  “I’m so glad I came early. I wasn’t sure we’d see you all.”

  “I’m glad you did, too,” I told her, smiling.

  “Is it true you really do the zombie makeup for the show?” Another girl asked me.

  “Yeah,” I said. “Gotta put my painting skills to work every now and again.”

  “Is it hard?”

  “It’s not easy making this guy look ugly,” I said, grabbing Trey’s chin and planting a kiss on his cheek. “But someone’s gotta try.”

  The fans and Trey laughed at that, and Trey and I took a picture with a girl and her younger sister on her phone.

  “Speaking of painting,” I said. “We’re doing another sketching/painting lesson during soundcheck today. If you haven’t entered online, go do it. I might just see you at soundcheck!”

  We mingled until everyone had an autograph and a picture that wanted one, and then we said our goodbyes and headed inside, leaving Chase, Jonas and O’Shea to make the rounds. My phone started buzzing in my pocket and I pulled it out to see Kacie’s face smiling back at me on the caller ID.

  “It’s Kace,” I told Trey.

  “Tell her hi,” he said as I answered the call.

  “Hey,” I said. “Trey says hi.”

  “Tell him I said hi back, and he’s looking super hot in the magazine. You both are.”

  “Kace says you’re looking hot in the magazine,” I repeated.

  “This is why I like her so much,” Trey said matter-of-factly.

  “Why didn’t you tell me?” Kacie demanded. “You did a spread in Rolling Stone and didn’t tell me? What in the history of our relationship made you believe I’d be okay with that?”

  “Uh....”

  “I was getting coffee this morning and there you were! This is huge!” she squealed. “And not just because you’re staring back at me from the biggest music magazine ever, but because I could have used a little warning. Don’t you think?”

  “I ... I didn’t think – wait – why would you need a warning?”

  “You sold fi
ve paintings online this morning before I got into work. Three Catalyst fans came in to The Waking today and each bought smaller paintings. They were here for over an hour asking questions about you and Trey....”

  “Fans are buying paintings?” I asked, trying to reel in her train of thought. Trey’s head shot up when he heard my last statement, and I shrugged at him, trying to decipher Kacie’s jumbled explanation.

  “What?” she said. “You didn’t think this would happen? The attention is great for business. I just think you could have warned me. I’ll be here all night just filling the internet orders and getting the shipping company set to deliver them, but I can totally handle it.”

  The rest of the guys were filing into the lounge then, and the noise level in the room jumped dramatically. “That’s great, Kace,” I told her slowly. “I’m going to have to call you back.” I hung up the phone and sank down on to the couch next to Trey. If I didn’t know better, I’d have thought I was in shock.

  Trey leaned forward, putting a hand on my knee. “What’s going on?”

  “Some fans came into The Waking Moon today and bought paintings,” I told him.

  He raised his eyebrows, seeming impressed. “Nice,” he said.

  “Yeah....” I was still reeling from the news, and I suddenly felt extremely guilty – not because the fans had bought my paintings, but because I wasn’t sure how to feel about it. “Apparently we’ve sold eight pieces just today.”

  “That’s amazing,” Trey said, his face lighting up.

  I forced a smile and said, “I just didn’t see this coming.”

  “You’re going to have some painting to do to stay on top of that,” O’Shea added, grinning.

  I sighed. “You can say that again.”

  I didn’t recognize the fan that won the sketching/painting lesson for the soundcheck, but she was super eager about winning when Neon brought her in to meet me. I called out to the guys as they took the stage and introduced Jasmine to them. They all waved and talked to her from the stage for a bit while they got set up with their instruments. Jasmine was more interested in sketching than painting, and I explained some basic technique to her and we got comfortable a few rows back with our sketchbooks and pencils. She was a natural, and as we talked she revealed that she was taking art classes, which explained why her sketch turned out really great. She didn’t mention the Rolling Stone article once, and I was grateful for an excuse not to think about it for a while. When soundcheck was over, all of the guys came down to meet Jasmine and sign their names at the bottom of her sketch for her. Jasmine thanked all of us and headed back out to the front of the venue to show off her masterpiece and wait for the show to start with her friends.