The Height of Fame

Chapter 9

"Kevin's on his way here now and James is meeting us with the van. He already picked everyone else up. Just keep walking," Julia says.

We make it another ten paces down the sidewalk before we're stopped again.

"Lauren! Lauren Cimorelli? Is that you? And Katherine! Holy crap! Guys! It's Lauren and Katherine Cimorelli!" a guy calls out to his group of friends. They're a few feet ahead of us. I hear Julia mutter a swear under her breath.

"Can we get some pictures?" he asks.

"Actually guys, we're on a schedule right now and we're running late. Sorry," Julia says pushing us forward.

"Aw come on! It's just one picture!" he whines.

I look at Kath and sigh as I anxiously agree. I don't see what choice we have unless we want to come across as rude. 

"One photo," Julia warns.

As we pose for the picture with the groups of guys, someone else comes up.

"Can I get one too?"

"Quickly," Julia says through gritted teeth. She checks her phone. "They're three minutes out." 

I take a deep breath, trying to calm the anxious fire flaring up inside of my chest. 

Three minutes, I think to myself. Just have to make it through three more minutes. 

We take the photo and try walking again but there are more people now. I don't even know where they are coming from at this point. But they are starting to surround us now. 

"Katherine! Katherine, can we get a photo too?" 

"It's the freaking Cimorelli sisters." 

"Oh my gosh!" 

They're starting to get closer and bigger in numbers. I look at Julia and Katherine wide eyed, frozen in place, not knowing what to do. Julia grabs us both and starts pushing her way through the crowd. 

"Sorry guys, we're running late. Excuse us!" she tries to shout through the chaos. It's no use though. Either they don't hear her or they don't care. 

"Where the hell is Kevin?!" she shouts angrily. 

"I'm right here!" 

I turn around and see Kevin behind us now. He starts pushing people away from us too but it only seems to draw them closer. 

"James is at the corner up ahead. He can't get the van any closer because of the crowd," he tells us. 

"Dammit!" Julia shouts. She adds a sorry when she sees Kath's look of disapproval. 

Someone grabs my shoulder and I'm yanked backwards a few steps. Kevin steps forward towards the guy and he quickly backs off as I rush back to Katherine's side. The anxiety is taking over my body to the point where I'm almost shaking. It feels like I can't breathe. 

"Make a path!" 

I look up ahead and see Isaac and Greg fighting from the opposite end of the crowd to get to us. I grab onto my sisters' shirt as tightly as I can, terrified of getting lost in the confusion. Isaac gets to us first and wraps his arm around me, Kevin doing the same to Katherine. 

"Just stick to me!" he shouts. 

"Don't worry about that!" I shout back. 

Cameras are now flashing brightly, blinding me as we fight through the people. I squint and keep my head down, desperately trying to focus on staying on my feet. 

"Lauren this way! Over here girls!" one of the camera man demands. 

Isaac puts his hand in front of the guy's lens as we barrel past them. Julia has made it to the van and is standing by the door, yelling at everyone to back up. Kath and Kevin get to the van next and he bundles her inside before turning around to help Isaac and I. 

Ten feet to go. Five feet. Three feet. I reach the van and Isaac shoves me forward while Kevin grabs my arms and hauls me into the van. He jumps in behind me as Greg slams the door shut and turns around to help Isaac clear a path for James to drive away. 

I collapse into the seat as people start to pound on the windows. Thank God for dark tint. 

"Are you guys okay? What happened?" Amy asks. 

"Some girls came into the store and recognized us and when we left someone else did and it kind of just snowballed," Kath explains. 

I ignore my sisters, trying to calm myself. I bounce my leg up and down and bite my lip, taking a deep breath. It feels like my entire chest is on fire. Air is still hard to come by. My face feels wet and I realize I'm crying. 

Isaac and Greg have finally cleared enough room and James slowly maneuvers through the people before slamming on the accelerator once we've broken free.  

"Laur, take a deep breath," Christina says. She reaches forward from the seat behind me and tries to put her arm around me. I jump forward as her hand makes contact with my shoulder. 

"Don't touch me!" I snap. 

Now Christina is the one that jumps. 

"Woah, calm down. I'm just trying to help," she says lightly. 

"Well don't," I say back. I pull my knees to my chest and rest my head against the window, not even bothering to wipe my tears away. 

The van goes uncomfortably silent for a few seconds. 

"What about Greg and Isaac?" Lisa asks, trying to change the topic. 

"They'll meet us back at the hotel once they've lost the crowd," Julia says from the front. 

James takes a corner a bit too fast, hitting the curb. 

"Sorry!" he calls out.