Page 131 of The Reboot
‘Look, we don’t like it either,’ Liam said to him.
‘You don’t?’ He looked around at the four of them. ‘None of you?’
‘No.’ They all shook their heads.
‘Of course not.’
‘You’re not the only one who thinks Boo has his head up his arse, you know.’
Roly was astonished.
‘You really think you’re the only one with taste?’ Zack asked. ‘You think you’re above all this now just because you sang one song with Walking Wounded?’ He flopped onto a sofa and uncapped a bottle of water. ‘Suck it up. It’s just one video.’
‘But it’s not, is it?’ Roly sat down beside him. ‘It’s one video, one single, then it’s just one album, just one tour. And then it’s interviews and chat shows, and concert after concert singing the same old stuff, doing these stupid dance routines.’
‘Come on, it’s not that bad. It’s not exactly working down the mines.’
‘Yeah, that’s the only other option.’ Roly laughed, rolling his eyes.
‘All this because you don’t want to snog me?’ Zack pouted. ‘I’m hurt.’
‘It’s not even about that. I don’t mind kissing you for one video.’
‘Course you don’t. It’s your dream come true. We all know that.’
‘But I don’t want to make it my career.’
‘Beats working down the mines.’ Zack grinned.
Roly laughed. ‘And it’s all the crap that’ll come with it – all the rumours and gossip, and people writing stuff about our sex lives.’
‘You could get another novel out of it. Pen a bestselling sequel toBlue for a Boy.’
Roly laughed, then shook his head. ‘I don’t think I can do this.’
‘You mean…’
‘I mean the whole reunion.’
‘But the song—’
‘You can have the song. I don’t care. I’ll even do the single with you if you want – if Vince will allow that. But I’m not going on the tour.’
‘But you can’t quit.’ Charlie was wide-eyed, horrified.
‘Ah, but that’s the beauty of it. I can.’
‘You can’t pull out.’ Vince’s eyes were chilling, his jaw set.
‘I can, though.’ Vince was one intimidating dude, but Roly was determined not to be cowed by him. ‘I haven’t signed anything.’
Vince was almost trembling with rage now, his jaw clenched, his hands balled into fists on top of his desk. It had been his idea to keep Roly’s involvement hush-hush for now. They were rehearsing behind closed doors, Roly under strict instructions not to let anyone see him coming and going to the studio or hanging out with the other guys. There had been rumours of course, but nothing had been announced yet. And Roly still didn’t have a contract.
That had been Vince’s idea too. He’d kept stringing him along, saying they’d wait and see how it was working out first, if he gelled with the band, if he could handle the pressure, if he could keep his nose clean – basically making him audition like some wannabe. Roly knew the idea had been to humiliate him. Vince was making him pay for screwing things up all those years ago. But now it had shot him in the foot.
‘I don’t have a contract. I can quit whenever I like.’
Vince eyeballed him, his mouth a hard line. Roly suppressed a shiver, and tried to enjoy the moment. He had the upper hand now, and Vince knew it.
