Page 60 of Omega Rock

“Exit Fate!” one girl shrieks at the top of her lungs as she whips out her phone. “It’s Mia!”

Mia’s eyes go wide. “Uh, hi.” She waves a little.

Noah starts collecting their napkin notes and Mr. Frosty.

The other concert-goers let out gasps of surprise. A few take steps toward us, others also take out their phones. There are phones everywhere these days, I swear. And worse, it’s hard to get the temperature of this crowd. Is it just excitement or is this going to turn into a problem?

Leo’s brow is creased. The worry in his eyes is evident, too. We’ve both had the problem of unexpected recognition in public it seems.

“Mia!” a girl probably no more than seventeen shouts. She’s in black shorts with a Lost Time t-shirt and has bright blue hair. “You’re amazing—all of you are! Can we take a selfie together?”

Mia climbs over the back of the booth seat into the booth behind us and hurries toward her. Noah’s hands clench like he’s going to reach for, but he stops short of actually doing it. Leo, who’s sitting next to him, stands to get out of his way. I stand, too, as Mia happily trots over.

“Of course!” Mia exclaims, a PR-winning and genuine smile spread across her face. She poses with that girl and then three more sets of people before waving the rest of the band over. “Come on, guys, get in here.”

Maybe it’s the flashbacks to that time we had to rescue Mia from a bar, but something keeps me from wanting to jump right in. Leo sort of hangs on the edges, but Noah joins Mia inside the crowd.

We meet fans, take pictures with them, and sign autographs for a good twenty minutes before someone asks the fated question: “When’s your first album dropping?”

We all kind of awkwardly look at each other and stop just short of shrugging.

“We’re working on it,” I offer as the best answer I can give. It’s also the only honest one. Just because we hand in all the tracks to Wes at the end of Knotty Tour doesn’t mean the album will be released quickly thereafter.

A chorus of excited responses follow, which actually makes me feel good. Like the gut feeling we all had that wecouldmake this work wasn’t just a gut feeling anymore, but a reality.

“Designation Outsider said they’re working on a new album too,” one of the men in the crowd says. “Are you going to feature on it at all?”

The question stops me in my tracks. I suppose it’s a fair ask, but it digs up things I’ve spent the last few weeks trying to bury for good. “Nah, man. That chapter’s over. But I appreciate you supporting Exit Fate.”

The fan accepts the answer. Another half hour goes by before the crowd dies down and we’re able to leave.

“That was wild,” Mia exclaims as we hop back into a taxi to return to our tour bus. Mr. Frosty sits proudly in her lap.

“Means this is going well, I think,” Leo says. His eyes are tight, but I can tell he’s trying to keep on the positive end of things. I can’t imagine the mental obstacle course of wanting to jump into crowds and meet fans but knowing doing so risks your health the way it does for him.

“It does,” I say, then nod to Noah. “Can’t wait to see what you two are working on, too.”

Noah elbows Mia in the side. “She’s an endless fountain of inspiration. It’s insane, actually.”

The conversation carries on much the same on the way back to our tour bus. I spend most of it looking out the taxi’s window and smiling.

What’s insane is that Wes’s absolute Hail Mary is working.

How did he know we’d create something this…wonderful?

ChapterNineteen

MIA

A monthof touring has passed since that night at the diner. Organically meeting and hanging out with fans has since become a regular occurrence to the point that Wes schedules some meet and greets at a few stops along the way, including tonight.

We’ve just pulled into our spot at the first Maine tour stop and are starting to get ready for the night when my phone rings. I set down my eyeliner and look at my phone. Surprise has me cursing. I expect it to be Sable checking in, so my stomach drops to the floor when I see Mom’s name on the screen.

I did not exactly tell my parents about Knotty Tour.

I pick up the call with shaky fingers. “Hi, Mom!”

“Hi, honey!” She and Dad are on speaker together and speak at the same time. “How’s the tour going?”

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