"Go! Go! Go! Bruno!"
"Go! Go! Go! Bruno!"
Watching Ronan leap around and cheer with unrestrained excitement, his boundless energy seemed to pour out endlessly. In an instant, the lounge transformed into the standing-room-only rock zone of a concert. Allen and John exchanged a glance and both broke into smiles.
Allen chuckled, "Looks like there's still plenty of fuel left in the tank."
John shook his head. "We underestimated them, huh? Even if they sang for another four hours, took a ten-minute break, downed a couple of burgers, they'd be ready for round two. That tank's not emptying anytime soon."
Allen's jaw dropped in mock disbelief.
"Yeah! Yeah, yeah, yeah!"
Maxim and Ollie's voices chimed in from behind, joining Ronan in pumping up the energy. But their thick, nasal tones betrayed the embarrassment they were trying to hide. No matter how loud or wild their shouts got, they couldn't quite erase the lingering traces in their voices.
Then Maxim bolted toward Cliff, shaking him relentlessly. Cliff, who'd been struggling to keep his emotions in check, was visibly annoyed but couldn't fend off Maxim's preemptive strike. With exaggerated, terrible acting, Maxim yelled, "Cliff! Cliff! This is Bruno's concert! You ready? Come on, get hyped with us!"
Flustered, Cliff swatted Maxim's arm away, but before he could shake him off completely, Ollie—who'd just finished tidying up—charged over, joining the chaos. He kept shouting "Cliff, Cliff!" in an ear-piercing chant that was impossible to ignore.
Then, out of the corner of his eye, Cliff caught Ronan stepping forward. Alarm bells rang in his head. One versus three? He'd be toast. Forgetting his disheveled state, he shook off Maxim and Ollie before Ronan could close in, darting toward the door while muttering loudly, "The concert! The concert! Bruno's concert! If we're any slower, we'll miss the opening! You don't want to miss the opening, trust me!"
In a frantic blur, Cliff made his escape. Ollie and Maxim chased after him, relentless. Were they rushing to join the concert frenzy or just trying to shift attention and cover their own awkwardness? Either way, their figures vanished through the doorway, finally slipping out of the spotlight for a moment.
One by one, the others trickled out of the lounge too.
Ronan called out to stop Alice just as she was about to leave. His eyes still sparkled with excitement—clearly hyped for the concert—but his emotions settled a bit. With a glance, he signaled for her to turn off the camera. His expression turned slightly serious.
Alice didn't get it but switched off the camera anyway.
"About that agent thing earlier…" Ronan barely started before Alice caught on. She shook her head to show she wasn't bothered, but Ronan shook his head too. "Let me finish. I haven't talked to Cliff yet, so I don't know what's up, but I think he might still be worried about the agent situation."
Tristan's agent contract had been officially terminated. Ronan's brother, Max, had handled it all, ensuring every loose end was tied up. But the process hadn't been smooth sailing.
If Max hadn't stepped in to sever the partnership completely, Tristan could've left some messy threads behind—dodging the band's claims for compensation while still demanding a cut of future tour profits. In short, Tristan was a leech.
Ronan had laid it all out for the band, downplaying it a little, but they'd all been shaken by it.
Tristan was just an average music agent, but tonight's Allen was a big shot. Cliff couldn't help but worry about history repeating itself. If Allen wanted to steamroll the band, it'd be as easy as crushing an ant.
Ronan figured that's why Cliff had jumped in earlier, claiming they already had an agent.
To most people, catching the eye of a top-tier agent would be a golden opportunity—a chance to break through. A big name meant connections, and sharing an agent with Bruno came with credibility and trust. But after being burned once, Cliff was too scarred to take the risk.
Ronan didn't feel it as deeply as Cliff did. To him, accepting Allen's offer made sense. But he could understand where Cliff was coming from. So instead of confronting Cliff right away, Ronan decided to wait until after tonight, when they could talk it out properly.
Maybe he'd misread it, and Cliff had other reasons. Or maybe he was right, and Cliff was wary of Allen's eagerness at their first meeting. Either way, Ronan was willing to cool off and not rush into anything impulsively.
But while he could empathize with Cliff as a bandmate, Alice didn't have to.
That's why Ronan wanted to explain it to her.
"Clearly, Cliff's still got some hang-ups. Whatever his reasons, he shouldn't have blurted out a lie to John like that without checking with you first," Ronan said calmly, though his expression was earnest.
Alice listened quietly, then gave him a smile. "It's fine. After the initial panic, I kind of got the gist of it. I get it." Truthfully, she didn't mind, but since Ronan was apologizing so seriously, she figured a serious acceptance was the right response.
Sure enough, the tension in Ronan's brow eased a little. "So, what's the plan? You sure about what's next? When are you heading back to school?"
Originally, Alice was supposed to head back to L.A. with the band, then return to school to finish her senior year. But now, with the band crisscrossing North America from west to east again, and the schedule up in the air, Ronan had to ask.
Alice waved it off casually. "Don't worry about it. There's nothing pressing at school anyway. Since the tour's still going, I'll stick with you guys and keep playing the agent role!"
That made Ronan chuckle.
Alice rocked her head side to side smugly. "What? Got a problem with your agent?" Her squinted eyes glinted mischievously, like a little fox, hinting: Answer carefully.
"No, no, no! No complaints here!" Ronan threw up his hands in surrender.
Satisfied, Alice grinned. "Relax, I'll figure out when I need to head back to school. You don't need to stress about it." Then she patted Ronan's back. "Come on, let's go! The concert's waiting—you've been pumped for this forever!"
With that, Alice nudged Ronan along, and the two of them left the lounge, chattering excitedly as they headed toward the Verizon Center's main floor.
"Ahhh! Ahhh!"
The wave of heat hit them like a wall, practically setting their skin on fire.
Fifteenth update.
(End of chapter)