~{Chapter 21}~

I go to work the next day and ignore the nagging feeling I have. I keep telling myself that Matt is just busy and that I should not worry. I also keep telling myself that he is a grown man who knows what he is doing.

"There is a young lady here to see you," my secretary says.

I look up from my work. "Name?"

"Claire Tyler."

"Send her in."

That began my very busy day. The rest of the day consists of meeting and meeting and more meetings. I hardly get any editing done. Luckily, my thoughts are off Matt for the whole day, allowing me to focus.

I am packing up my things when my phone rings. I do not bother to look at who is calling when I pick the phone up.

"Hello?" I say.

"I got your message," Matt's voice says.

I do not miss the hint of dread in his tone, along with a bored tone that is very unfamiliar to me. It sounds like he does not want to talk to me, and it makes me feel nervous and slightly confused.

"Um, yeah. It's no big deal. I shouldn't have sent that," I say nervously.

"Oh. Well, if that's all, I have stuff I need to do," he says in a bored tone.

I am about to say something when I hear a female voice in the background. Matt hangs up on me, and I almost slam the phone down. I keep myself from doing that and just gather all my things to go home.

On my way home, I stop at Mrs. Tucker's Diner where I order something, and I also run into Josh. I chat with him while I wait for my food.

I can tell that while he was away from South Hart, he changed. He is kinder, quieter, and more alert. He is gradually gaining my trust again, and I am happy to say that I can start calling him a friend.

When my food comes, I take it with me and get in my car to drive home. My phone rings again, and it is Matt.

I take a deep breath and answer with, "Yes?"

"Sorry, something important came up. Is there anything you needed to tell me?" he says as though he is already desperate to end the call, making me wonder why he called me in the first place after he already had hung up on my once.

I sigh. "What's going on, Matt? Both times you've called me, I've felt like you really don't want to talk to me. If you don't, then don't call at all."

He sighs. "I'm a busy person, Kate. My single is releasing tomorrow. I don't have time to talk about unimportant things."

My face goes dark. "Talking to me is that unimportant? Thanks for the heads up."

"Look, Kate, I didn't say anything against you. I'm just busy with my music and new friendships," he says.

I smirk. "What kind of friendships?"

"You don't need to know all about my life. I never asked anything of you, and I expect the same," he says, clearly irritated.

I say in an equally irritated tone, "You never asked anything of me? I beg to differ. You know what? I don't even care anymore. Go back to whatever you were doing earlier. Call me when you actually care."

I hang up before he can say anything. I want him to call me back, but he does not. I do not know what has happened, but I do not care at this point. I just can not deal with this right now.

I drive home and sit on my couch to eat my food when I get inside my house. I turn the TV on and flip to a channel where Harper Wilson happens to be having an interview. I stay on the channel and watch the interview.

"Well, you've been in the news lately. Have anything you want to tell us?" the host asks.

She lets out the the most fake laugh I have ever heard. "Well, I'm working on my new movie and trying to live my life."

"C'mon Harper. Stop messing with us. Are you really dating Matthew Parker?" the host asks.

She gives another extremely fake smile. "Well, I'm not a liar. Yes, I'm dating him. He's the best. He's so kind and real. I only like real people, and he's the most genuine person out there, besides me of course!"

She laughs like it is the funniest joke she has ever heard. I roll my eyes and turn the TV off.

"What is wrong with you, Matt?" I ask myself quietly.

I sigh and wonder to myself how he got himself tangled up into that mess. How could he choose someone like her? Can he not see through her facade? I fall asleep with all these questions running though my head.

~-~-~-~
"Hey, are you okay? You've been looking depressed today," Beth says to me the next day at work.

I sigh. "I'm fine. At least, I hope I'll be okay."

She raises her eyebrow and sits down across from me. "You don't expect me to believe that, do you?"

"What do you want me to say? Do you want me to say how upset I am because of Matt? Do you want me to say how I don't think I know him anymore and how he's dating some movie star who isn't good enough for him?" I say in one one breath, upset with Beth's question.

"Wow, that's a lot of new information. What happened?" she says while ignoring my irritated tone.

"He called me back last night, but it sounded like he thought it was an obligation, not a pleasure. You know, he called me for the first time in probably more than a couple of weeks. I thought we had a good friendship going for us, but he didn't sound like himself," I explain.

"Miss Garner! There's something on the news you need to see!" my secretary says as she bursts into my office.

I give her a small smile and follow her. She leads me to the TV in the conference room and shows me what is on the TV. I sigh when I see who it is.

"Matthew Parker has released his new single today, and it is already beginning to climb the charts. Today, we are being joined by Matthew himself!" the hosts says.

I hold my breath as Matt comes on the screen. He almost looks like the Matt I remember. The only difference is his face. His face used to carry a small smile on his lips and warm welcoming brown eyes. Now, his eyes no longer look welcoming, and his smile is seemingly forced.

"Thank you very much," he says in a flat tone.

I lean on the table and watch the interview.

"What is it like to have your single doing this well in this short amount of time?"

He laughs. "It's surreal and definitely amazing. I'm so grateful to my fans and family. They've helped me get to where I am."

"Now, it must've been difficult to step outside of your father's business. Was he upset at all or worried?"

"He was extremely supportive, and I've even started considering helping him out here and there with it. Though, music is definitely what I'm pursuing right now," Matt replies.

"Now, to your single, what was the inspiration behind this song and your album?" the hosts asks.

"This album is me. My inspiration was being real and sharing my experiences. I decided to not just put a song out there that had no meaning behind it. I needed to really connect with the song, and I think I did that."

"Did someone push you to do so, or did you just come up with this idea?"

He looks straight at the camera, "I'd like to say I came up with it on my own."

My heart sinks at his answer. I did not expect a shoutout, but I expected to get a little bit of credit.

"What do you mean you'd like to say that you came up with the idea?"

"Well, someone very special in my life helped me see my full potential." A smile begins to form on my lips, but then he says, "My girlfriend, Harper really encouraged me."

My mouth drops open, and Beth pats my shoulder comfortingly with a dark glare forming on her face.

"Anything you'd like to say to your fans before you go to perform?"

He smiles straight at the camera. "My fans are so amazing! Thank you to all of you who are supporting me! Without you guys, I would not be here!"

The program goes to commercial and Beth and my secretary turn to look at me. I give the best convincing smile I can.

"Are you alright?" they both say.

"Of course. I want to see him perform the song. What's the title?" I say quickly, trying to sound overjoyed and excited.

Beth sees through it but just says, "The song is Dreamer."

I raise an eyebrow. "Dreamer?"

She nods. "He says it's about him and how he dreamed about becoming an influence through his music and personal life dreams."

"Okay. Oh, it's back on. Let's watch," I say.

We turn our attention back to the TV where Matt is on a stage preparing to sing.

"Thank you all! This song was written to describe what I felt like when I was trying to write. I actually wrote this song recently and was surprised how quickly I was able to release it. Here is my new single, Dreamer!"

He begins to play the song, and I am impressed. It is everything a hit should be made out of, but I can not help but feel disappointed in him. In just a short amount of time, he managed to become different person. I have no idea who he is.

When his performance ends, I quickly walk out of the conference room and go back to my office where I drown myself in work. I have to avoid thinking about Matt, and I only think work can help me with that.

By the end of the day, I have managed to finish more work than I needed to. Beth comes back into my office and waits for me to say something. I do not.

"You like him," she says.

I roll my eyes at her. "Really? I didn't realize that. Anything else captain obvious?"

She rolls my eyes at my response and says, "No, I mean you like him more than a friend. You have a crush."

I sigh. "I know. I guess that's why it's this hard for me to deal with this."

She bites her lip. "Well then, I'm guessing don't want to see what he said in anther interview he had today?"

I raise an eyebrow. "What did he say?"

She hands me her phone, and I look down at the article.

Matthew Parker Tells Us His Type of Woman. It May Surprise You.

"Why would this make me upset?" I ask her, clearly confused.

"Read the article-- the whole thing."

I do as she asks and find myself angry. His "type" has been classified as a natural beauty with no dye or highlights in her eye. I touch my hair with my blonde highlights as I read. Oh, and he also does not date brunettes apparently. Plus, the girl must be thoughtful, kind, and generous like Harper.

I set her phone down on my desk. "Is he serious? What has happened to him? Why did he ask me out if he doesn't like a girl with blonde highlights or is a natural brunette?"

Beth gives me a sad smile. "He's just turned into a crappy version of himself."

I shake my head. "No, I don't even know him anymore. This isn't a crappy version of himself; it's a completely different Matt. He's not the kind and gentle Matt I remember. I'm not sure if I want to see him like this."

She sighs. "I have to go, but can I do anything for you?"

I shake my head and say goodbye to her. I stay at the office and look out my window.

How could my good and kind friend turn into this fake person who has lost sight of what is important? I found comfort in him when I was going through something tough, and I do not even see him as approachable anymore.

I do not even care about his comments that have seemingly been pointed towards me. In fact, I have decided to turn my hair back to its natural color; dark brown. I am not even going to try anymore to talk to him. He obviously does not want to talk to me, so I will not bother him.

I will just pray for him. I can not let him go, but I can not do much for him. I will let go and let God. I sigh and find myself dozing off as I come to this resolution.

"People change people," I whisper as I fall asleep and think about this new Matt.

______________________
Please do not kill me! *hides behind a piece of furniture*

Well, we all knew it had to get a little ugly at some point. Alright, I realize Matt's new fame might be quite unrealistic, but I needed to move the story forward so this book doesn't just drag along. I hope you enjoyed it.

Thanks for reading!

P.S. If you managed to catch the Girl Meets World quote, hats off to you :)