Page 40 of Rocking Cedarwood

“More than I wanted,” Michael said. “I’m just pissed.” He rested his head on Niall’s shoulder. “I had control of this. I had the story in hand…not now.”

“Nope.”

“It’s a fucking mess,” Michael murmured.

“You still have control. The narrative is yours. I don’t see how you can be fired or forced to resign because you’re in a band or because you’re gay,” Niall said. “That’s discrimination.”

“I know.” But he couldn’t hide his hopelessness.

“Don’t sweat it.” Niall rubbed Michael’s shoulder. “The coalition wants you—us—to crack. If we give, then they win. Screw that. I’ll stay strong and you should, too. Let the district decide what they will, but don’t give in.”

“I’ve got you beside me and that’s enough.” He’d handle whatever was thrown at him because he wasn’t on his own any longer.

Niall continued to caress Michael’s shoulder. If he never had to deal with another reporter, he’d be happy. A knock at the door startled him. Dex entered the bedroom and a blush swept across his cheeks.

“Hi,” Michael said. He sat up. “What’s wrong?”

“We have some new fan reactions,” Dex said. “It’s interesting.”

“How?” Michael pinched the bridge of his nose. “About the album?”

Niall tensed. He’d read up on the band. There were discussion boards concerning everything from Michael coming out as Bandit, his coming out, what the set lists would be for each concert, what the band would be wearing, which woman Michael would marry because being gay was just a front, who’d been with Michael and when the next song would drop.

At first, he’d read the posts and largely ignored the content. The fans had things to say and he didn’t have to pay attention. But two of the threads annoyed him more than he wanted to admit. One thread involved women and some men who wanted to be with Bandit. Some didn’t care if Michael was Bandit. They just wanted to fuck the celebrity. Some disliked Michael being gay. What did it matter?

Niall wasn’t jealous of Michael or his alter ego. He also doubted the folks on the message board would turn Michael’s head enough for him to leave the relationship. But the posters on the board weren’t thrilled Michael was with Niall. The comments on that thread and another remained fresh in Niall’s mind. The second set of posts were a conversation revolving around removing Niall from the picture. Fans were split on Niall. Half liked him, but the other half hated his guts. What unnerved Niall the most was how angry the anti-Niall group was. They didn’t seem to care who was with Bandit—anyone who wasn’t them would be bad—but they particularly disliked Niall. He was too plain for their fearless musician.

He tried to contain his worry, but the niggling concern that the fan reactions weren’t isolated kept coming to the surface in his mind. He focused on Dex and Michael.

“Well, the news from the fans could be better, but not about the album. Preorders are through the roof and the two songs already available are selling better than the last record.” Dex sat on the armchair opposite the bed. “I love the new album and the fans agree.”

“But not on…what?” Michael palmed Niall’s thigh. “Tell me. I hate suspense.” He met Niall’s gaze. “Don’t be tense. We’ll get through this.”

“I know the answer. They want me gone,” Niall murmured. “Gone, gone.”

“What?” Michael frowned. “When we were at the meet-n-greet, they embraced you.”

“Some did.” Niall picked at the hem of his shirt. “Most of the fans don’t like me.”

“Do they matter or do I?” Michael asked. “Be honest.”

“You do.” A dull ache formed behind Niall’s eyes.

“Then there you go,” Michael said.

“But Niall’s right.” Dex rested his elbows on his knees. “Quite a few of the fans are enamored with Niall. They love that you’re out and in the role of champion for the gay community. They think you two are adorable together.”

“But?” Niall’s stomach churned. “Just say it.” He knew what was coming.

“Wait.” Michael shifted in his seat. “Niall? Babe?”

“I’ve seen the message boards. I read the blogs. You have a huge following.” Niall left the bed and resumed pacing. “Jesus. Those people watch every move Bandit makes.”

“Yeah,” Michael said. “Bandit. Not Michael Jepsen.”

“But they don’t see the difference.” The ache increased. Niall wanted to hide.

“He’s right.” Dex sighed. “I hate sighing, but I seem to be doing it more often. The thing is, there are plenty of official, administered boards with lots of threads, posts and whatnot. But for every message board we have control over, there are plenty more that we don’t. Most of the posts involve love for you and the band. They follow what you do, wear and play. Hell, there are whole sites of fan fiction written about Bandit and the band. Most of those stories involve you riding into the sunset with the writer of the fiction.”

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