Author note: The Worst Kind of Fans is a Flirting With Fame prequel. It is available for free to my newsletter subscribers. Once upon a time, Julia Murphy lived and breathed live music. That was before her musician ex-boyfriend ran off with a talent scout to chase his own stardom, leaving her broke, alone, and bitter at the industry as a whole. It took a cathartic angsty anthem from an up-and-coming rock band to help her scream out all her anger. When that band’s tour arrives in her hometown, Julia drives to the stadium to wait by the tour busses. She knows it’s silly, but she just wants to tell the lead songwriter how his music saved her. If only she could swing a ticket to the show as well. Ozzy Kwan would rather be reading books than hanging out behind the stage at a rock concert, but since his mom owns a big agency, he’s become a reluctant talent scout. When a reclusive, sought-after band is announced as the opening act at a show in Virginia, Ozzy’s mom sees an opportunity to snatch them up. Without much information about the anonymous musicians, Ozzy could use the help of a real fan. Maybe the pink-haired girl waiting out by the tour busses would make the perfect sidekick. Who could say no to free tickets and a backstage pass? The mission is simple. They’ll attend the show, get backstage, meet the musicians, and go their separate ways. But when their backstage passes are revoked by an overly authoritarian bouncer, they have to get creative. Searching for back doors, corruptible roadies, or any other means to reach the musicians, the pair get increasingly desperate, and their risky behavior goes from bad to worse. God forbid anyone in the fandom finds out they broke into the band’s bus. Even as their screwball adventures escalate and they fear their poor decisions could land them in jail, they’re fast becoming fans of the two people they haven’t been shamelessly stalking: each other.