“What the heck?”

“Seriously, B, don’t you have a life?” Naomi asks. “Why don’t you open your social accounts to know what’s going on?”

“Actually, I have a life,” I say. “I’m busy living so I don’t open my social accounts anymore.”

What’s the point of opening the web when I’m already living with Infinite Chase? They’re the only reason why I made social accounts in the first place.

Now I know full well what’s going on without needing to depend on other fangirls.

Let’s get back to the reason why Yumi called in the first place. She told me that Nate posted a photo on his Instagram account.

Not just any photo, but a picture of us. Together.

I quickly open my Instagram app, and quickly check Nate’s account.

It was a photo of Nate and me when we were in the laundry room yesterday. It was posted six hours ago, at about one in the morning.

Nate has a huge grin on his face, while I’m laughing at something; half of my face is hidden in bubbles. I didn’t even notice that he took a photo; it was kind of blurry.

At first I felt overwhelmed because he posted a picture of us, but when I realized and saw the comments, I shrieked.

I forgot that Nate is a famous person. What if my parents see this post? Or my sister? What am I going to do?

The caption is:

Well spent day. :)

I remember a few months back, the paparazzi went crazy when they caught Lance kissing a girl after their concert.

I don’t want them to know who I am. I’m going to be busted, and my parents will know that I dropped out. The band will find out the truth about me.

“No way,” I mutter.

“I take it you already saw the photo?” Naomi says.

“Is it obvious?” I ask biting my lip. “I mean, do I look like her?”

“Are you kidding?” she says incredulously. “Of course you look like her because you’re her!”

“You know what I mean.”

She sighs. “If they really know you, they will think that it’s you.”

“You knew it was me!”

“Duh,” she says. “I’m your best friend. The moment I saw it, I quickly called you.”

“What about a stranger?” I ask hesitantly. “Will they know it’s me?”

She hesitates.

“Shoot. You hesitated!” I say. “I’m screwed!”

“Chill!” she says quickly. “I don’t think they will make the connection, except. Holy—“

“What?” I panic.

I can feel my heart beating furiously in my chest. The longer I’m pretending to be the band manager, the harder it gets.

“Nate posted the video of you singing with them, right?” Naomi asks.

I nod. And then I remember that she can’t see me. “Yes,” I say.

When she doesn’t respond, I ask, “Do you think they can put two and two together?”

“Don’t sweat it,” she says. “Some people are dumb.”

You might be thinking that I’m over reacting with this, but THIS is a big deal. I don’t want anyone I know to find out that I’m the girl in the photo.

“Yumi, what am I going to do?” I ask. I just want to earth to swallow me whole.

“Don’t worry about it too much,” she says. “What other people think of you is none of your business.”

“Yes, but—“

“Sorry, babe,” she says in a rush. “Prof’s here, and we have this wicked exam. Gotta go!”

Before I can respond, she ends the call.

Maybe I’m getting paranoid. It feels like I’m living two different lives.

The college student me: good daughter with a scholarship.

The band manager me: reckless and a liar.

Am I becoming a bipolar? I sure hope not.

I want to go to Nate and ask him to delete his post, but it’s too early, and I have no doubt he’s still sleeping.

Because I don’t have anything better to do, I decide to read the comments.

@1nf1n1t3Ch4s3 Who the fck is she?!

@NathanielsgirlIC Why’d you hide her face? Is she ugly?

Um, excuse me. I’m not ugly. Yes, I may not be hot, but I don’t have anything to hide.

@Prettylicious Nate, baby, don’t cheat on me! </3

Excuse me? As far as I know, Nate is single.

I keep on scrolling the comments. I know I should stop, but I’m mad, I think  I’m going crazy.

These people don’t have a single idea about what they’re talking about. They’re even accusing me of ridiculous things.

Fortunately, there are a few comments that make sense.

@FanGirl_00001 Lucky girl, I wish I was her!!

@preciousmiya as long as ur happy, i can deal with my green envy.

@f0llow4f0llow wHo Is SHe? Are u out of the market now babe?

I’m almost at the bottom when I realize I used to be one of these girls. Whenever the guys post a photo with an unfamiliar girl, I get jealous.

I know exactly what they feel. I’ve been there. I want to know everything about the person in the photo with them. I’m quite good in stalking so I easily get information.

I hope their other fans are not into stalking as I am. As I was.

But their speculations are wrong. There’s nothing going on between Nate and me.

 I want to assure them, but replying to them one by one will only make me tired and they probably won’t even believe me.

And I can’t have these fangirls pointing knives at my back.

I love my life, thank you very much. I enjoy walking out and about. And if someone finds out the real person behind that photo, I’m doomed for the rest of my life.

Just thinking about that possibility makes me cringe. That was a scary thought.

The ringing of my phone snaps me from my reverie. Fortunately, I have the sense to look at the caller ID before answering it.

Stella calling.

Oh, the witchy little sister.

She probably saw the photo. I’m surprise she didn’t call sooner, knowing that she’s obsessed with Nate.

No, I’m not in the mood to listen to her annoying voice. And I already figured out why she’s calling— to blackmail me; to accuse me that I’m taking Nate away from her.

“Brielle?” Lance calls from outside my room, followed by a few knocks at my door.

“Brielle, are you awake?” he asks in a loud voice. “Can I come in?”

Before I can answer, he opens the door. “Good, you’re awake,” he says, walking inside.

I’m too stunned to respond. Next time, I need to lock the door. I’m not even wearing a bra. Ugh, this is so embarrassing. I quickly pull the covers over me.

“What?” I ask.

Lance seems oblivious with my action. “We have an emergency meeting. Mr. Handsome is in the living room. We’ll wait for you there,” he says. “The guys are already awake. Make it quick.”

I’m about to ask him what it’s all about when he leaves the room.

I quickly stand up and wear my bra. Why do I always ignore the fact that I’m living with male creatures? It’s not the same in the dorm, when I can sleep without underwear because it’s comfortable.

When I’m done changing my clothes, and washing my face in the bathroom, I follow Lance in the living room.

I’m still a few feet away, but I can hear their voices already. Sounds like they’re talking about something serious. Besides, Mr. Handsome is here, he just doesn’t visit without a particular reason.

“It’s not a big deal.”

“It is.”

“Good, Brielle is here,” Mr. Handsome says when I enter the room. “I brought breakfast.”

“Thanks,” I say, getting the coffee he offers.

The guys are sitting around Mr. Handsome. They all look like they just woke up; Zeke is even yawning at this moment.

“I take it you already know what this meeting is about?” Mr. Handsome says, giving me a meaningful look.

I glance at Nate, and finds that he’s watching me.

“It’s okay,” he mouths, giving me a small smile.

“Can we begin?” Mr. Handsome says.

“Sure,” Zeke says. “I want to go back to sleep after this.”

“As you know, celebrities—“

“We’re not celebrities,” Nate interrupts.

 Mr. Handsome continues, as if Nate didn’t speak. “Don’t just post anything on social media because thousands of eyes are following their every move. You may not be celebrities, but you are artists.” He pauses and takes a bite of his egg muffin.

Maybe he’s not mad, because he can still eat in this kind of situation?

“But you are a brand,” Mr. Handsome continues.

“What?” asks Nate incredulously, “This is my life. I can do whatever I want!”

Mr. Handsome sighs. “But this is your career,” he says in a tone like he’s talking to a child. “We talked about this before.” He glances at Kyle, and then turns his attention back at Nate. “I advise you to delete the photo.”

Nate is about to respond when Zeke raises his hand. “I think it will cause a riot if he suddenly deleted the photo,” he says. “The fans will think he’s guilty or something. Let them think what they want, as long as Nate will not reply to their comments. Besides, I’m sure the fans already got a copy of the photo.”

“I agree with Zeke,” Lance says. “There’s no point. They will just assume there’s more to it, and will speculate what you’re hiding.”

I frown. All I thought about was my personal problem when I saw the photo, I didn’t even realize it will cause havoc in the guys’ status as a band.

“Next time, think twice before you post something,” Kyle says.

“I’m sorry,” I say automatically.

Nate looks at me as if I said something dumb. “Why are you saying sorry?” he asks. “You didn’t do anything wrong.”

I shrug.

I feel guilty for thinking only about myself. I promise to think of others before me. Mr. Handsome even went here to fix this chaos.

I forgot that artists’ reputations are important. And of course, their fans' opinions.

“It doesn’t mean anything, right?” Lance says, interrupting my thoughts.

“What?” I ask. I didn’t catch his first few words.

“Nathaniel’s post.”

“Yeah, it doesn’t mean anything” I say, “it was just a picture.”

I leave the guys and Mr. Handsome in the living room because they have to discuss something private, not even I, their band manager, can know.

I hope I didn’t ruin their trust in me.

And I’m glad Kyle didn’t shove the rules earlier when we were talking. I waited for it, knowing that he values his rules. And he likes to remind me about them.

You can’t fall in love with any member of the band.

With nothing else to do, I decide to clean the house. It’s better than moping around.

I can’t help but wonder what they’re talking about. Is there another reason, apart from the photo, why Mr. Handsome is here? Is there something wrong with Infinite Chase’s—

Wait, my phone is vibrating. Someone’s calling.

I lean the mop on the cabinet and get my phone from my pocket. Stella probably has something better to do because she stopped calling an hour ago.

Bettina calling.

I frown.

Why is my sister calling?

She doesn’t call, unless—

Did she see the picture?

I’m contemplating if I’ll answer my phone or just put her call in the voicemail when I accidentally swipe the answer button.

Shoot!

“Finally,” she says, her voice impatient.

“Hi, Betty.”

“Was that you?”

She knows!

“What do you mean?” I ask, pretending to be confused.

“You are infinite Chase’s number one fan—“

“I’m glad you know—“

“So I’m perfectly sure you know what I’m talking about.”

“What?” I ask.

“Nate’s IG account.”

“You’re following IC now?” I ask incredulously.

“Don’t change the subject,” she says dryly. “As for your question, they grew on me.”

“Ah.”

What am I going to do now? I’m quietly freaking out. I may be safe with Infinite Chase’s fangirls, but my sister. . . it’s definitely worse.

“So?”

“So?” I repeat.

She sighs. “Was that you?”

“The girl beside Nate on the photo?” There’s no point in playing ignorant. “No, it was not me.”

“But you look exactly like her,” she insists.

“I’m in the uni, so how was that possible?” I challenge.

My annoying little sister still pretends to be Nancy Drew. She became fascinated with her during her junior years, and ever since, she thought everything is a mystery. And she believes it’s up to her to save the hints and clues to solve the puzzle.

She’s even mature for her age.

There are times when people mistakenly think she’s older than me.

“Brielle?”

“Yeah?”

“I hope you’re telling the truth.”

I gulp.

One thing I forgot to mention about my sister is that she’s a freaking walking lie detector machine.

“I am,” I say, as firmly as I can. “I need to go, I still have classes.”

“It’s Saturday.”

“We have remedial classes,” I quickly supply. “Say hi to Mom for me. I’ll see you on Christmas!”

“You better.”

I frown. Was that a threat?

Before I can say anything else, she already ends the call.

Nate calls me after their meeting with Mr. Handsome. Maybe he wants to settle the issue once and for all.

I don't want the guys to know that there's something going on, especially now that they think something’s up, so I follow Nate inside his room.

"Hey, are you okay?" he asks as soon as he locks the door.

Better safe than sorry, we don't want the guys barging in incase Nate and I are talking about my secret.

"I'm fine," I say.

"Then stop freaking out!"

I blink. "I'm not freaking out!"

He puts his arms on my shoulder. "See?" he says. "You're shaking."

I sigh. I didn’t even realize how weary I became because of what happened.
 “I’m just afraid,” I finally admit. “I don’t know what to do if they—“

“Bri,” he interrupts, his green eyes staring straight at me. “Stop being afraid.”

“But I almost got caught.”

He puts his forefinger on my lips. "Don't worry, I will protect you."

Before I can respond, Nate puts his arms around me. I’m tired of fighting. I don’t want to push him away, when all he does is make me feel better. I lean my head on his shoulder and accept his comfort.

Friends comfort each other, right?

We talk for a couple of minutes more, when exhaustion finally takes over.
Nate needs to rest as well. They will start their tour tomorrow.

I say my goodbye, and silently creep out of his room.

"Sneaking out?"

"Shoot!"

My heart almost leaps out of my throat. It's beating loudly in my chest.

Turning around, I find Kyle staring at me with unreadable eyes.

Oh, no.

I'm busted.

He caught me leaving Nate's room. He might think-

Wait.

Why am I worried?

I don't care what he thinks anymore. I'm done with him. He can think whatever he wants; I'm not doing anything wrong.

I’m about to ignore him when he calls my name.

“Yes?” I ask.

No, I don’t want to look in his eyes. I’m moving on, remember?

When he doesn’t respond, I have no choice but to face him.

He’s staring at me fiercely. His blue eyes appear darker, and it seems like they’re trying to convey something.

And this was what I was talking about; the reason why I don’t want to look directly at him. I seriously need to stop putting meaning into his action.

I clear my throat. This is getting awkward. “Kyle, do you need something?” I ask to get it over with.

“I hope you know what you’re doing.”

I open my mouth to ask what he means, but he already continues on his way to his room.

I hate how he always gets to say the last word.

*****

I’ve had a difficult time writing this. I-know-what-I-want-to-happen-but-I-can’t-find-the-right-words-to-complete-the-story.

I hope you understand <3 Thank you so much for your patience in me.

The song is Tell Me Why by Taylor Swift.

Till next time :)