I spend the rest of the concert in a complete daze.
The music washes over me, but I’m barely processing it. Every time Anthony moves on stage, all I can think isthat’s the guy I’m supposed to meet in just over an hour.
It’s like my brain is stuck on that point.
“That was incredible!” Teddie shouts as the house lights come up. “You need to get going, right? I can’t believe it really is Anthony Devine you’ve been messaging. You can’t keep him waiting.”
“I’m just going to go to the restroom,” I mutter.
Leaving behind their confused face, I head to the restroom, which unfortunately has a line.
It’s okay. I don’t actually need the restroom. I just need to sit down and put my head between my legs for a while.
So I do that on a chair in the hallway.
It doesn’t help.
When I sit back upright, I’m still the ordinary guy who is supposed to meet up with a Grammy Award-winning international superstar.
I check my phone.
Nothing from AntD. From Anthony. From Anthony fucking Devine. Who will soon be making his way to a café on Houston Street, expecting I’ll be waiting there to meet him.
Okay. Okay, okay, okay. This is fine. Everything is fine. I just spent a month pouring my heart out to one of the most famous people on the planet.
It turns out that instead of getting catfished, I got reverse catfished? Is that a thing? When someone tells you exactly who they are and you’re too stupid to believe them?
What are we going to talk about? “Hey, remember when I told you about my crushing student debt while you were flying private jets between continents? Good times.”
Finally, I make myself stand, and I’m immediately swept up in the crowd. All these people paid a small fortune just to be in the same building as Anthony Devine for two hours. I’ve been getting his undivided attention every night for free.
It’s unbelievable.
“Nick?” Teddie appears out of nowhere. “Where have you been? Don’t you have to hurry? I thought you had to meet Anthony.”
“I’m not going.”
Teddie stops dead in the middle of the crowd trying to exit MSG. Several people bump into us, muttering curses.
“Excuse me?”
“I can’t meet him. This is insane. He’s Anthony Devine. Do you know what this means?” My voice is getting higher with each word. “I told Anthony Devine about my inability to grow facial hair! I sent him photos of my dying plant. I ranked my top five most embarrassing moments for him, including the time I called my professor Mom!”
“Nick—”
“He probably thinks this is hilarious. Some broke college kid, thinking he was talking to a regular person. He’s probably been laughing at me this whole time with his celebrity friends.”
“Nick!” Teddie grabs my shoulders. “Breathe.”
I take a shaky breath.
“Okay, now listen to me,” Teddie continues. “That man just got Madison Square Garden to scream your name. Does that seem like someone who’s been laughing at you?”
“But—”
“No buts. You’ve been talking to this guy for over a month. You know him. The fact that he’s famous doesn’t change who he is.”
“It changes everything!”
