Hola! I hope you’ll like this chapter! Happy new year <3

Song: Somebody To You by The Vamps ft. Demi Lovato

Thank you so much! I appreciate each and every one of you. :)

*****

So there she is.

Apparently, Charlie is a girl.

Of course, what did I expect?

Charlie is a fine young lady. Her blonde hair falls softly on her back, and she has this pretty green eyes.

How did I know?

Let me tell you what happened after Kyle stopped singing in front of the crowd.

Mr. Handsome quickly took notice of the situation. He grabbed Kyle’s attention, and asked him what’s wrong.

Kyle snapped out of his trance and said, “Charlie, it was nice seeing you again.” And the way he smiled, it made me forget that he even smiled at me before their concert.

How he saw her in the middle of a crowd was beyond me. There were thousands of people here, and yet, he saw her.

“Leslie, please don’t leave,” Kyle continued.

Leslie?

I was afraid to look at where he’s staring. It’s stupid, but I’ve never seen him so. . . happy.

“I’m sorry for the sudden pause,” he said, addressing the crowd. “Please enjoy our next song, Charles.”

My God. Charles. Charlie. Leslie.

How didn’t I put two and two together? It was obvious. I should have known. I call myself their number one fan when I didn’t even have an idea about their song.

She’s seventeen and thinks she knows it all

My love, my girl

Let’s travel the world together

Forget about their rules

And create our own

I wonder what it would feel like when the person you love composed a song for you.

I need to know what’s going on. I get anxious being in the dark. Nate and I didn’t get a nice chat after he saw me talking with Kyle. But he understood, right?

As soon as they’re done playing for the night, I grabbed Nate’s arm and took him to one of the vacant rooms backstage. I didn’t even let him rest. When we entered the room, I locked the door behind us.

Nate raised his eyebrow. “Are you going to seduce me?” he asked. “You should have said so. I would gladly come with you.”

“Um, actually, I want to ask you about Charlie.”

“Ah.” Something flickered in his eyes, but before I could say something about it, he said, “Of course, of course.”

“Nate, is this okay with you?” I said hesitantly. “Me asking about Kyle?”

He shrugged. “I don’t mind. Besides, I’m the one who said we should be honest with each other.”

I breathed a sigh of relief. “Thanks for understanding.”

“Will this help you move on?”

“I think so.”

“Okay then,” he said, rubbing his hands together. “Charlie is Kyle’s ex-girlfriend.”

“How long were they together?”

“I’m not sure,” he said. “They started dating junior year, and they broke up about two years ago.”

“Why?”

“Miscommunication, long distance, tight schedule. Name it,” he said. “It’s not easy dating a member of the band. You barely see each other, the time difference sucks, and when you do talk, it’s only to fight.”

“You said it like you’ve experienced it,” I observed.

He smiled faintly and said, “I’ve had my fair share of girlfriends.”

I looked down so he won’t see the surprise expression on my face. This is Nate. I can’t be—

“Are you jealous?” he said amusedly. Grinning, he reached out and ruffled my hair. “Don’t worry. Now, you don’t have any reason to be jealous.”

My stomach was twisting into knots. Maybe I was hungry. I haven’t eaten since breakfast. Bury these feelings.

I shook my head to clear my thoughts. “How did they break up?”

“I don’t know the specifics,” he said. “But before they cut off their communication, they’ve been having fights.”

“Didn’t they get back together?”

“They did, multiple times,” he said. “But they always fought about the same thing. Charlie wanted more time with Kyle.”

That’s selfish. How can she ask more of Kyle’s presence when she knew he’s living his dreams?

“Didn’t she understand him? He’s touring, and making people happy.”

“Actually, Charlie was the one who pushed Kyle to form a band,” he said, staring off into space. “We go way back in high school. She was his number one fan. Wherever we played, she would go with us. Even the time when she started in college, she visited us on tour. But I guess people get tired, they fall in and out of love. The saddest part is when you realized you’re not part of your loved one’s dream.”

“What happened to Kyle?”

“I’m not sure if he actually moved on.”

“You mean despite everything, he still loves her?”

“How can you stop loving someone you loved for a very long time?”

“Do you think he’s still in love with her?”

Nate pursed his lips, and when he spoke, his voice was serious. “You saw the way he looked at her. Now tell me, is he over her?”

I swallowed the lump in my throat. I glanced at Nate and saw him watching me, waiting for my answer. “Maybe,” I said finally. “Or maybe not. But how did Seth enter the picture?”

“Seth is friends with Charlie,” he said. “They’re both attending the same university.”

“Why does Kyle hate Seth if that’s the only reason?”

“Hate is a strong word.” He crossed his arms over his chest and said, “Now I’m getting frustrated. You’ve been asking too many questions about Kyle. They say competition is healthy but I’ll be damned if I say I like it.”

“Sorry,” I said sheepishly.

“Come on,” Nate said, standing up from his seat. “I’ll introduce you to her.”

I followed him reluctantly to one of the rooms where the guys are resting. When we came in, she’s the first person I noticed. Lance and Zeke were talking to her, while Kyle was watching them on the other side of the room.

Have they talked?

“Charlie, my buddy,” Nate said.

Charlie turned around and gave Nate a hug. “How is my country boy?” she asked, pulling away from him.

“Great, as always,” Nate responded.

“Where were you two?” Lance asked. “You just suddenly disappeared after the last song.”

Nate ignored Lance’s question and said, “Charlie, I want you to meet Brielle, our band manager. Brielle, this is Charlie Leslie.”

Charlie extended her hand, and I shook it.

So here I am, finally meeting Charlie.

Hooray. Cue fireworks in the background.

“Hi, Brielle,” she says.

It takes me a second to respond. “Hello.”

“I hope they’re not giving you a hard time taking care of them,” she says, giving the guys a wink.

Oh, of course, she met too many band managers before. This is normal for her.

“Charlie, did you know that Brielle is our first band manager who knows how to cook delicious meal?” Lance says.

“Really?” She sounds surprised.

“She’s awesome!” Zeke says.

“With the amount of food she cooks for us, I have to exercise to maintain my body,” Lance says.

These guys, why are they making me blush?

“Bri is more than just our band manager,” Nate says, giving me a wink.

Charlie tilts her head and looks at me and Nate. “Are you two together?”

Lance snickers. “You know the rules.”

She glances anxiously at Kyle. “All is fair in love and war,” she says thoughtfully.

Zeke nods. “Tell that to him.”

I look at Kyle, but he’s purposely ignoring us. What’s up with him? Earlier he was happy to see Charlie. Now, he’s moping.

When will he stop being bipolar?

“Will you stay for dinner?” Lance asks. “We can catch up. And you can introduce us to your lovely friends.”

She rolls her eyes, but she’s smiling. “You haven’t changed!”

Charlie is a nice person.

I wish she wasn’t.

Wait. Why am I wishing that she’s a bitch?

At least I can easily hate her that way.

But my goodness, she’s such a sweet girl. No, I mean, a sweet lady. Whatever. I hate how I’m already comparing myself to her.

Of course, she’s classy.

I hate this feeling. I don’t even have the right to be jealous. I mean, why would I be jealous when I don’t even like Kyle anymore? He can get back together with Charlie for all I care.

“Excuse me.”

I turn around and see Juliane standing outside the room.

“Brielle, can I talk to you for a second?”

“Sure,” I say.

Before I can leave the room, Charlie says, “It was nice meeting you, Brielle. If these guys give you a hard time, give me a call, and I’ll kick them for you.”

I’m surprise at what she said, so I just nod.

I walk out of the room and follow Juliane in the HR room. She sits behind a desk, and I take the chair across from her.

“So I take you finally met Charlie,” she says.

I nod.

She sighs and slumps on her chair. “I hope she’ll not ruin Kyle again.”

I frown. “What do you mean?”

“The last time they saw each other, he became a mess,” she says. “It was not a healthy relationship. Hiding their status did him no good.”

I don’t understand. “Hiding?”

“The early few years when Infinite Chase was just starting, we told them to remain single.”

So that’s the reason why I didn’t know he has a girlfriend at the time. They were told to keep it a secret from the media. From their fans.

“Why?”

“He has to. It’s work.”

“When did work and love become related?”

She gives me a look and says, “When you’re in the music industry, you need to know what’s best for your career. Remember the photo Nate posted online? It caused a raucous.”

“Sorry about that,” I say.

She waves her hand. “If the artist is single, he’ll be more likeable.”

“Are there any artists who lied about their relationship status?”

“About seventy percent.”

“That’s a high percentage!” I exclaim.

She shrugs. “If they want to remain in the industry, they need to make sacrifices.”

Suddenly, even though I don’t know them personally, I feel bad for them.

Did Kyle sacrifice his relationship with Charlie?

I doubt it. He’s not that kind of person.

But do I really know him?

When Juliane dismisses me, I return to the room.

But there’s no one inside. They’re all gone. I have no idea where they are.

Maybe they already left to have dinner with Charlie. You know, to have a mini reunion.

I go to the restroom and lock myself inside. I feel drained from the concert and my chat with Juliane. She gave me the dates of the tour next year, the release of Infinite Chase’s new album, the press conference, and other media interviews.

While she was talking, I was thinking about Charlie and Kyle.

This is so confusing.

I’m on my way to moving on, but he’s always blocking my path. And when he’s starting to really see me, his ex came back.

Oh, the irony.

It feels like I’m living in a novel, and the author is having fun twisting fate and intertwining my life with her other characters.

I splash water on my face.

I need to wake up and face this reality.

I take a deep breath and face the mirror.

No, I am not affected at Charlie’s sudden appearance.

I don’t like Kyle. I don’t like Kyle. I don’t like Kyle.

If I keep repeating it, I will believe it. Maybe I can finally convince myself. And maybe it will eventually happen.

Okay, I’m going to leave the restroom, and I will act as if it’s normal to see Kyle and Charlie together.

I twist the doorknob and am about to walk out when I hear soft voice from the main room.

“We’re finally alone.”

I know that voice.

“It’s good to see you again.” Charlie. “I mean it.”

Oh, right. They didn’t leave yet. They only went out for the meet and greet session. I probably talked longer with Juliane than I thought.

“Charles, I missed you. I thought I will never see you again.”

“It’s been a long time,” she says.

“Can we talk?”

“Kyle, you know that—“

“Please.” His voice. . . I’ve never heard it like that before. It sounded soft. “Can we catch up? I want to know everything that happened to you.”

“I’m not sure it’s a good idea.”

I can sense her hesitation. I so want to see Kyle’s expression.

“Are you free tomorrow?” he asks. Don’t sound so eager.

We don’t have a concert tomorrow. It’s a free day, but the day after, we’ll travel to another city.

“Kyle. . .”

“Charlie, please. Just this once.”

I really want to go out. I have no plan in listening to their reunion, but it’ll be awkward when I walk in on them. It’s not my fault they think they’re alone.

“Okay,” she says finally. “Let’s meet at Central park at noon. Please wear a disguise. I don’t want to run to paparazzi again.”

“Thank you,” he says.

I can see him giving her a smile.

I shake my head to erase him from my mind.

I didn’t mean to eavesdrop. I just heard them accidentally. I can’t unknow what I know now.

And being a certified stalker, or should I say someone-who-wants-to-move-on, I’ll follow them.