At six in the evening, Azlin is finally all packed up and ready. Well, she could've finished packing as early as 3 p.m, but because Ben could help his cheekiness and kept bugging her for cuddles all afternoon, it took her longer than usual. She'd also taken care of the social media issue--well, temporarily--by contacting Cher, in which she advised that she disable her notifications and stay away from social media for the meantime until the issue dies down. So thankfully, Azlin's phone is now peaceful and quiet, although she's slightly regretful that she won't be able to access her account for a while.

Cher promised to keep tabs on the issue for her and update her whenever necessary, at the same time apologizing that she couldn't see her off. Azlin doesn't mind this at all; in fact, she's already so thankful to Cher for willing to help and guide her through this mess.

As Azlin finishes checking out of the hotel, she glances at Ben who's standing a few feet away from her, busy talking to someone on the phone. Fortunately, Ben is well disguised with his favorite black beanie and shades, so he's able to accompany her at checkout without grabbing unwanted attention. Although the checkout staff did keep glancing at him, as if trying to remember where she'd seen him before.

"We're in the lobby. Yeah, okay. Thanks." Ben says through the phone, coming closer to her as the call ends. He nods towards the entrance, and Azlin turns to see a black van waiting just outside.

"My manager's here. He'll drive us to the airport." Ben picks up Azlin's luggage and starts walking.

"Your manager?" Azlin gulps nervously as she shuffles next to him. "Isn't he like... mad at me? For you know... for what's happening?"

Ben chuckles. "Don't worry, he knew I'll be going to the exhibit. And he already knew something like this would happen."

"But does he know about me? About... us?" She carefully asks, but before Ben could answer, a man walks around the hood of the car and towards Ben.

"Hey man," Ben exchanges bro hugs with him, who looks to be around his early or mid-thirties. He's casually dressed in a simple button up shirt, blue jeans, and loafers, giving him an all in all friendly vibe. Ben taps the man on the shoulder and motions towards Azlin. "Jason, this is Azlin, and Azlin, this is Jason, my manager."

"Hello Azlin, nice to finally meet you." He smiles and offers her a handshake. Although surprised, Azlin manages to accept it. She didn't expected Ben's manager to be a young, down-to-earth looking guy. To be completely honest, she actually had imagined him to be a grumpy old man always dressed uptight in a suit.

"Nice meeting you too, sir." Azlin timidly greets, in which he waves his hand dismissively.

"Nah, just call me Jason. Come on, we don't want you to be late for your flights, you lovebirds." He proceeds to lug Azlin's things into the back of the car, together with other more luggage which Azlin assumes are Ben's. Meanwhile, Azlin's eyes widen at the newfound knowledge that Ben's manager, in fact, knows about their relationship. She looks at Ben in confusion, in which he just smiles cheekily and shrugs.

Once they're all settled in the van, they're immediately on their way to the airport, and there's not a single moment of silence as Jason immediately rants at Ben.

"Ben, you crazy ass." He exclaims. "You didn't tell me you brought Joe along last night!"

"He said he wanted to come!" he defends. "I couldn't just say no to him, could I?"

"I didn't come with you because you said the attention would be manageable. But then you bring Joe, so there's now two of you. So based on how many articles appeared about you both, I'm kinda guessing that you were, you know," Jason shrugs sarcastically. "Flocked by dozens of people or so?"

Azlin gives Ben a nagging stare, in which he just shrugs.

"If something had happened to the two of you, my God. I don't even know where to start."

"We were just bombarded with questions, that's all, nothing serious happened." He reassures. "Although I am sorry, I did have the wrong expectations."

Jason just clucks his tongue and shakes his head, but judging by the way Ben smiles triumphantly, it must mean his apology is accepted.

"Wait, hold on." Azlin finally speaks. "So does that mean you've read the articles about the exhibit?"

Jason hums in response.

"So have you read the ones about um... you know... us?" She cringes as she waits for his reply, unsure if it's a good idea that she even asked that. But much to her surprise, Jason just laughs heartily.

"Impressive huh? I don't know how they do it, but they could always guess which ones are dating even just by a glimpse. Must be some journalist sixth sense or something."

Azlin looks at him in confusion. "So you're not bothered by it at all?"

"Nah," he shrugs. "Ben's a big boy. We let him do whatever he wants because he knows how to act responsibly. People will talk one way or another anyway. It'll pass."

Ben winks and smiles smugly at her, proud of himself after getting complimented.

"I mean you can hug, kiss, or hold hands in public; it's up to you lovebirds long as you can handle how the public responds." Jason chuckles, but then stops. "Although on second thought, maybe not something too inappropriate. I mean, PDA is cute and all, but we'll still want to keep things media-friendly."

"Noted. Thanks man." Ben casually acknowledges, while Azlin just gawks at him in utter surprise.

The rest of the ride goes on with Jason reminding Ben of his list of schedules in London, and every once in a while they bicker like good old friends. Azlin just watches them in amusement, glad to know that Ben's relationship with his manager is more like a brotherhood than just purely professional, and that he understands and respects Ben and who he really is.

After twenty minutes or so they finally arrive at the airport, but instead of the usual drop-off area, they slip into a smaller, more private-looking entrance that by the looks of it, not many people knows about. This is probably where they drop off celebrities to avoid large crowds waiting for them at the front. Jason helps unload all of their things and together, they enter the tinted double doors. Azlin gawks at how luxurious and VIP looking this side of the airport is, completely with its own security check and staff idly waiting to assist them. They are guided to proceed to the check-in process and baggage check all located in the same area, and Azlin couldn't believe that they're done in just ten minutes.

As they reach what seems to be an adjacent hallway leading to the rest of the airport, Jason hands Azlin her plane ticket.

"It's nice meeting you, Azlin. Too bad we didn't have much time." Jason smiles regretfully, but then hands out a calling card to her. "Now that you're part of the family, here. Call me when you need anything. Also please call me if Ben is planning to do some crazy shit he clearly didn't tell me."

"Man, are you seriously turning my girlfriend against me right now?"

"I will, Jason. Thank you." Azlin laughs, ignoring Ben's complaint. She reaches out to give him a hug. "It was nice meeting you too."

"Alright, I'll let you two lovebirds talk," he taps Ben's shoulder before walking away to give them space. Now that they're alone, Ben and Azlin looks at each other with regretful eyes.

"As much as I want to stay with you and wait, I have to go." Ben lets out a huge sigh.

"I know," Azlin softly says. She pauses as she remembers something, then opens her luggage to fumble for something. She eventually pulls out a neatly folded black coat and hands it to him.

"I think it's time to return this to you." She smiles. "Everything started because of this, but I think you don't need it as a reason to come to me anymore."

Ben smiles at the sight of it, remembering the time he wrapped it around her that one night at the parking lot because she was shivering with the cold. He had given it to her in purpose just so he could have the excuse to see her again. But Azlin is right. Now, he already has her heart, and she has his; there's no greater reason for them to see each other again.

"I wanted to thank you, Ben. For everything." Azlin starts. "For always being there for me when I was freaking out about the exhibit and for believing in what I can do. I wouldn't have been able to do it if it wasn't for you, Ben. You made this trip far more memorable than it could've been."

She reaches out to hold his other hand and intertwine their fingers. She looks up adoringly at his beautiful green eyes, etching them deep into her memories as she doesn't know when she'll be able to see them like this again.

"You're the most wonderful thing that ever happened to me, Benjamin Jones." She says softly. This makes him soften and he suddenly squeezes her in a tight hug.

"I swear to God, if only I could pocket you and take you to London with me, I definitely would."

"Someday Ben. Someday I'll be able to come with you." Azlin whispers, and at this point, she just couldn't hold back her tears anymore. She just couldn't block out the fact that he won't be back until four months later, and even then, she won't be in L.A. anymore.

"I'll work hard--so hard--so I can save up and buy my own studio in L.A. Then I'll fulfill the deal and come with you to London, okay?"

"Okay," Ben nods and pulls back to wipe away her tears as he holds back his own. "You promise that, alright?"

"I promise," Azlin sniffs, snuggling against the warmth of his hand resting on her cheek.

"And I promise when I get the time, I'll come to you, no matter where you are in the world." He says firmly and looks her deep in the eyes, his way of saying that he means it. Azlin smiles and nods. Sighing, Ben kisses her forehead, then her tear strained cheeks, then finally, her lips.

He wraps his hand around her waist and cups her cheek with the other, and she wraps her arms tightly around her neck as if afraid to let go. He kisses her like it's the last time he'll ever could. They almost wish that they could just melt into each other, if that means they won't have to part ways any moment from now.

An automated voice announcing Ben's flight forces them to end the kiss, and they rest their foreheads against each other, catching their breaths and hearts painfully pounding in their chests.

"I'll miss you," Ben whispers. "I'll miss you so much."

"I'll miss you too," Azlin whispers back. After one last peck, they pull away from each other, looking through mournful eyes as they start to take their steps apart. Ben starts heading towards the VIP boarding gate, while Azlin steps into the hallway, and inevitably, they turn around and start heading into their own paths. Azlin wipes her face against her sleeve to dry her tears, then takes a deep breath and straightens her back as she goes into the general waiting area of the airport. She takes a seat and decides to think of positive things rather than mourn over her separation from Ben.

She can do this. She will work hard and sell as much of her work as she could so she can afford to come to Ben whenever she wants to. She'll work her ass off and make the best sculptures, even if that means working day and night, and eventually, she'll be able to afford her own apartment in L.A. Here, she'll start her career as a professional artist and find the means to work her way up in the field.

Satisfied at her resolution, she smiles down at Ben's picture in her phone, still that same wallpaper that he made her change into just weeks ago.

All of a sudden, her phone vibrates in her hand, displaying an unknown number calling.

She hesitates answering it first, unsure if it's actually an angry fan that was somehow able to acquire her personal number. But then she thought that it might be Jason calling to tell her something about Ben, so in the end, she just risks it and decides to answer.

"Hello?"

"Good evening. May I speak to Miss Azlin?" A man's voice questions, but definitely not Jason.

"I'm sorry, but who is this?"

"Ingor Patizor," he says, and Azlin's forehead creases as she tries to remember where she heard that name. "I believe we met last night at the exhibit?"

"Oh, yes, yes. Right. I remember." Her eyes widen as she remembers the man in the suit, and she nervously laughs in an attempt to cover her surprise. "Yes it's me, Azlin. How can I help you?"

"I'm sorry for not properly introducing myself to you yesterday, but it was necessary to keep our observations discreet." Azlin couldn't quite understand him yet, but she lets him continue. "Anyway, I called you to let you know that I've shown some of your works to my associates, and they were actually pretty impressed with your talent."

"Wow, thank you. That means a lot to me, sir." Azlin smiles, her heart warming up at the idea that more and more people are knowing about her art. Ingor continues.

"In fact, we've decided to review some of our upcoming projects and realized that there's a thing or two that we might need your help with."

"Yes, definitely. Anything I can do to help."

"Wonderful," He exclaims. "By any chance, Miss Azlin, are you interested in working for Universal Studios?"

Azlin's eyes almost pops out of their sockets. Her jaw hangs open as she stammers for a few seconds in disbelief, but as soon as she recovers, her eyes starts to sparkle at the visions of possibilities now starting to lay across her path.

Her heart starting to thump livelier in her chest, she tightens her grip on the phone, a wide smile forming across her face.

*****

END