"Thanks for coming you guys! We'll see you at the next show! Goodnight!" I shouted. The crowd cheered as Wesley, Keaton, and I ran off stage. We handed our mics to the stage hand and slapped around high fives as we headed backstage to cool off.

"That was an awesome show!" Keaton cried, bouncing up and down.

"Heck yeah, man!" Wesley agreed, doing a fist pump. "Now let's go cool down for a little bit and then meet our Emblems." We grabbed bottles of water and towels, wiping our faces free of all the sweat we'd worked up on stage. We even had a little extra time to head to the changing room and change shirts.

"Dude, why are you putting on deodorant and cologne again?" Wesley asked, quirking an eyebrow at me.

"You wanna smell like a foot in front of the Emblems? Be my guest," I said, spraying the fragrance against my neck. They both quickly grabbed the nearest bottles of cologne and deodorant, and I couldn't help but laugh.

"Wesley, Keaton, Drew, time for the meet and greet," a stage hand told us, poking her head around the corner. We nodded and followed her down the hallway and out to the area where we'd be meeting our fans. As soon as we came through the door, they started screaming. We smiled and waved at them, stepping in front of the Emblem3 logo backdrop.

"First victim please!" Keaton said. Wesley and I laughed at his joke as the first girl came up. She hugged each one of us and had us sign her shirt, then took a picture with us, said thank you, and left. This was pretty much the same routine for a while. I was talking to Wes about the next show and if we should do anything special when he nudged me.

"Dude, new girl," he whispered. I turned and smiled, and then felt my jaw fall open. Holy mother of God this girl was hot. She had shoulder length dark brown hair and hazel eyes. She was smiling at us nervously, her hands twisting together in front of her. I quickly cleared my head and opened my arms.

"Someone want a hug?" I asked, smirking. She nodded and ran forward into my arms, hers flying around my neck. I squeezed her to me, laughing at her eagerness. "What's your name, beautiful?" I asked her, letting her go and placing a hand on the small of her back, directing her to Wesley.

"Karen," she smiled. She hugged Wesley and Keaton, then reached into her bag. "I brought you guys presents."

"Aww, thanks!" we said. She handed Keaton a stuffed cat, Wesley a stuffed dog that looked a lot like Sampson, and me a necklace with a peace sign dangling from it.

"Did you make this?" I asked her, holding the beads in my hand. She nodded, and I looked at it more closely. It was made of brown wooden beads, with a silver peace charm attached to it. "Thanks, Karen," I said, leaning forward and giving her another hug. "We gotta give you a present in return."

"Oh you don't have to do that," Karen said quickly, shaking her head.

"I insist," I grinned, placing my hand over my heart. I gestured over to one of the stage hands and whispered in his ear. He nodded and left down the hallway. "He'll be right back. Now do you have anything you want us to sign?" She pulled out her poster, which we gladly signed, and she also had us sign the back of her shirt and hat.

"Thank you guys so much!" she cried, placing her hat back on her head. She turned to leave, and I quickly grabbed her wrist.

"Hey, don't leave!" She looked at me, startled, and I swallowed. "I, uh, what I mean is, your present isn't here yet."

"Oh, I forgot," she giggled. "So where should I wait?"

"Just off to the side of the backdrop should be fine," Wesley smiled, gesturing to the side. "We gotta give the other Emblems a turn too, right?"

"Of course," she nodded. She stepped to the side, and I reluctantly turned to sign stuff and greet the other fans. Every now and then, I glanced over at her and smiled or winked. She would grin back, and I felt a million butterflies in my stomach every time she did.

"Sorry I took so long," the stagehand puffed, jogging up to me. "Here are those tickets and passes you asked for." He handed me two front row tickets and backstage passes, and I turned to Karen.

"Come here, Karen." She walked back towards us, and I saw her eyes widen.

"Oh, Drew, I couldn't!" she protested. "This is worth much more than giving you guys stuffed animals and a necklace!"

"So?" I laughed. "You're a pretty chill girl, and we appreciate the gifts. It's the least we could do."

"Well, it is my birthday," she said slowly.

"Now you have to take them!" I laughed, holding them forward. She laughed too, and took the tickets and passes from me, placing them in her purse. "Just come to the show a couple hours early. The passes will get you in to sound check, and afterwards you can chill with us backstage until show time."

"Thank you again." She hugged each one of us again, hesitating a little bit with me when she was about to let go. She looked at me, then kissed my cheek and ran off. "Bye guys!"

"Happy Birthday!" we called after her. I laughed at her shyness. It was adorable. We continued on with the meet and greet for another hour and a half, then headed backstage again. I found the stagehand again and asked him if he could do me a favor.

"Of course," he said.

"Can you ask the ticket booth for the information on all girls named Karen who bought tickets for the show?" He nodded and ran off. We ate dinner backstage with our band and crew, munching on fries and burgers. Just as we were about to head outside to get on the bus, the stagehand showed up again.

"Here you go, Drew. There weren't that many girls named Karen, mostly moms." I laughed and thanked him, taking the list. It had the names, birthdays, and contact info for everyone who bought tickets. They had to be at least eighteen, and the contact info was needed in case the show had problems and needed to be rescheduled. I read through it as we walked to the bus and climbed on.

"Yo, Wes, what's today?"
"Thursday?"

"No, man. Like the number."

"Oh, the ninth." I scanned through the birthdays, and finally found her. Karen Jacobs. Next to her name and birthday was her phone number. I smiled and saved it in my phone, then quickly got ready for bed.

"Dudes, I found her number," I told Keaton and Wesley.

"Who?" they asked together.

"Karen, the girl from the meet and greet," I explained. They both looked at each other and burst out laughing. "What's so funny?"

"Drew, it was so obvious you liked her," Wesley laughed. "Your jaw 'bout hit the floor when you turned around." I stuck my tongue out at him and pulled out my phone, dialing.

"Well, I'm calling her, so don't say anything stupid." I climbed into my bunk and pulled the curtain shut. Just as I got under the blanket, I heard the phone pick up.

"Hello?"

"Is this Karen?"

"Yes. Who is this?"

"It's Drew," I laughed.

"Drew who?"

"Drew Chadwick."

"No you're not!" she protested. "You can't be! There's no way Drew Chadwick would call me."

"I can prove it."

"I'd like to see you try."

"You came to the show tonight wearing jean shorts, converse, and one of our shirts, which you had us sign, as well as your hat. You gave Keaton a stuffed cat, Wesley a stuffed dog, and me a peace necklace that you made yourself, which I am currently wearing." I fingered the charm hanging around my neck. I heard a squeal and laughed.

"It is you!" she cried. "How on Earth did you get my number?"

"I have my sources," I said mysteriously, which she laughed at.

"Well, Mr. Chadwick, why did you call me?"

"A dude can't call one of his fans?"

"Well, they typically don't," she laughed.

"Well, I'm not typical."

"This is true. But seriously, why did you?"

"Like I told you earlier, you're a pretty chill girl, and you seem pretty awesome, someone Wes, Keat, and I would hang out with if we lived here, so I thought I'd call to talk before bed."

"Thank you, I appreciate that. I'm always alone, so it's nice to have someone to talk to."

"Don't you live with your parents?"

"No, not anymore. I'm in college and live in an apartment off campus."

"Well doesn't your boyfriend live with you?"

"I don't have a boyfriend," she laughed.

"Girlfriend?"

"Don't roll that way," she laughed again. "I usually just go to class, eat, work, and sleep. This is the first week I've had off in a while. I mean, it's summer now, so I don't have class, but work has been killing me lately."

"Well thanks for spending it with us tonight."

"No problem!" She yawned, and I frowned.

"You want me to let you go? You sound tired."

"I am, but I don't wanna hang up," she whined.

"How about I text you tomorrow? That sound good?"

"Sounds great. Thanks, Drew."

"No problem. Goodnight, Karen."

"Night, Drew." I hung up and put my phone in the little cubby hole in the wall. I flicked off the lamp above my head, then turned over on my pillow and curled up, falling asleep in a matter of minutes.