Tremble (Jacob Whitesides)

3.02. Not-So-Secret Secret

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Chapter Twenty-Six

"Wake up, sunshine!"

Jacob groaned and pressed his pillow over his head. I crawled off his bed and skipped over to the curtains. With a dramatic gesture, I threw them up open and let the brilliant, morning light stream in.

Jacob muttered a string of profanities as he rolled over and faced away from the window.

"Rise and shine!" I sang, twirling around in Jacob's oversized shirt and spandex.

Suddenly, a pillow smacked my head, causing me to stumble and collide with the nearby dresser. I heard quiet snickering from Jacob's covers as I stood upright.

"Aw, don't be such a grump," I giggled and walked directly up to Jacob. I could only see the tip of his nose under the mass of comforters, blankets, and pillows. Then, I had an idea.

Slowly, I extended my hand and squeezed his nose shut with my thumb and pointer fingers. Bad plan.

Lightning fast, a hand whipped out and yanked me onto the bed. I shrieked in surprise as the covers enveloped me.

"It's so dark," I whined. I couldn't even see anything in front of my face beneath all this.

Just then, I felt Jacob's soft lips on mine. I smiled as our lips moved in sync, but pulled away after a few moments.

"You should be nice and awake now," I sighed as I kicked back all the blankets. Jacob squinted in the bright light and rubbed his eyes.

"Up and at 'em, we've got a meet and greet to get to," I yawned as I pulled my outfit out of the closet-- high waisted jeans, boots, and a blush crop top with tiny little bears riding skateboards printed on it.

Soon, Jacob was up and getting dressed too, so I went into the bathroom and straightened my hair and applied my makeup.

"Ready?" I said, going back into the bedroom. Jacob was on his phone, but he nodded. I grabbed mine off the bed and sent a quick tweet.

"@itsMadsCarter : Chattanooga today! Can't wait to meet you babes and perform :) "

"Wanna grab some breakfast on the way?" Jacob asked, flipping off the lights.

"Sure," I said, and we left the room, his arm around my waist.

* * * * *

4:30pm

"Maddy, you stand here, and Shawn, you stand here."

'Aunt Mahone', as I called her, pointed at a spot on the ground, and I stepped onto it. Shawn stood next to me, and Grant was on my other side. Jacob was placed at the far end, and you could tell he wasn't too happy about that.

Quickly, I tiptoed out of my designated spot and over to Jacob. He glanced down at me- his face had a blank, sad expression.

"Baby, I'll be fine, and so will you. Please don't be sad," I slipped my hand into his and entwined our fingers. "Smile for me, and the fans."

Jacob grinned, a small, toothless one, but it was progress. I smiled, and gave him a peck on the lips before skipping back to my meet and greet place. Meanwhile, Grant caught my eye by making a disgusted face.

"You guys are so in love it makes me want to throw up on both of you," He muttered, shaking his head.

"Don't be so jealous, Landis," I giggled, causing him to roll his eyes.

"One minute, until we open the doors!" Aunt Lisa announced, and suddenly I because super excited.

"Someone's pumped," Shawn chuckled, and I realized I'd been smiling from ear to ear.

"Oh, yeah, I just really love meeting fans," I nodded.

Just then, the metal doors of the backstage room swunt open, and the fans outside let out ear-splitting screams. They stampeded inside and pushed up against the metal barricades that separated us from them. Several girls yelled my name and waved at me, and since I wasn't allowed to leave my spot, I just waved back. I noticed Jacob wave and smile at a girl, and she burst into tears (ME AF).

"Okay, everyone, we'll be taking 15 of you at a time. Please, no requesting stage kisses or on-the-lips kisses, camera flashes, or inappropriate gestures," Aunt Lisa spoke into a microphone as a security guard opened a gate and let some fans in.

While I waited for them to reach me, I made small talk with Shawn and smiled at the waiting fans. One girl in a floral print kimono and jet-black hair waved frantically at me.

"Maddy! You and Shawn are my OTP!" She screamed, and my jaw dropped slightly. I turned to Shawn and saw he was smirking.

"Yeah! I ship Shaddy!" Another girl shouted. I felt my cheeks redden as Shawn just laughed.

Luckily, a fan ran up to me just in time to draw my attention away from all this Shawn nonsense.

"Hi beautiful!" I smiled as the small, red-headed girl about my age wrapped her arms around me.

"Oh my god, I'm so happy to finally meet you!" The girl gushed, her eyes slightly glossy with tears.

"You too! I love your hair, it's gorgeous," I said, and she giggled.

"I've got something for you," The girl pulled two sheets of paper out from behind her back and handed them to me.

"This is incredible!" I awed as I admired the drawing she'd given me-- it was one of my selfies from Instagram, drawn in perfect detail and fully colored. The other paper was the girl's Twitter username.

"I'm glad you like it," The girl beamed, and hugged me again, this time, her arms around my neck. Then, she whispered something in my ear that I'd never expected from such a seemingly-sweet girl:

"Break up with Jacob. We all know you love Shawn."

I stiffened and quickly pulled the girl off of me.

"Excuse me?" I asked, my tone no longer friendly and bubbly. The girl grinned like nothing had happened.

"Nice meeting you!" She chimed before skipping over to Shawn. With distaste, I tossed the drawing and other paper to the ground behind me.

Maybe meeting fans wouldn't be as fun as I'd thought.

* * * * *

Later that night, Grant, Jacob, Shawn and I had decided to chill in the tour bus's living room while we chowed down on some KFC. I'd practically flown onto the bus after the concert and thrown on some sweats and one of Jacob's shirts. Today's meet and greet experience had left me shaken, and I was exhausted, but I was always up for hanging out with the boys.

"So, anything crazy happen at the meet and greet today?" Jacob asked, sipping his soda.

"Oh, this one girl asked me to sign her butt and-" Grant cracked up, nearly dropping his chicken wing.

"And?" Shawn asked.

"I was about to do it, but Boss Lady Lisa snapped at me," Grant snickered. "What about you guys?"

Grant and Jacob looked and Shawn and I expectantly. I glanced at Shawn and gave him a say-anything-and-kill-you-in-your-sleep look. He opened his mouth slightly, but I wasn't taking any chances of him spilling anything.

"Nothing. Nothing at all," I smiled, popping a french fry into my mouth and chewing slowly. Shawn nodded in agreement. Jacob just dunked his chicken in some honey mustard and didn't make eye contact.

He could tell I was lying, and it hurt worse than a slap across the face to me.