Award shows had never really been her thing. Sure, she'd been to her fair few in her life but that didn't mean it was something she particularly enjoyed. The shows were always the same, repetitive thing and the afterparties all tended to blend into one.

She'd chosen to skip the show this time, opting to simply turning up at the afterparty with a drink in hand and an already bad attitude. Taylor had informed her that she was skipping the party, and would be heading home to spend some time with Tom. The thought of it made Leia feel sick to the core.

The afterparty was in full swing when Leia had arrived, the sound of music pulsating through the crowded venue. After Taylor decided to back down from the party, Leia found that most of their group of friends did too. The girl was disappointed in all of their lack of efforts, especially since they didn't break the news until she was already on the way but she respected that Gigi had offered to stay to keep her company.

It was the first time Leia had attended one of the big celebrity blowouts without any of he friends directly by her side, and it felt strange to be navigating this strange vibe by herself. Her eyes scanned around the room, trying to spot the blonde model that had convinced her to still come inside, knowing that she would have ended up just going home and sitting by herself with Tate (who was currently being dog-sat by Riven, who had seemingly became Tate's new favourite person).

As she made my way towards the bar, Leia couldn't help but notice the glances and whispers that followed her. It came with the territory, being in the spotlight, but tonight it felt different. They weren't just recognising her as Leia Hudson, the rising star. No, they were associating her with Taylor Swift, and with that came a weighty expectation to live up to her level of success and artistry.

Taylor and Adrian had been right when they said that people in the industry wouldn't like how she'd put Calvin on blast and dropped from his single. Apparently, that wasn't the 'respected' thing in the circles that most people here seemed to run in. Leia couldn't imagine why.

She ordered a vodka coke from the bartender, trying to drown out her racing thoughts with the clinking of glasses and laughter around the venue. Her eyes flickered around as she tried to stop Gigi once more, instead she ended up grimacing slightly as she noticed a familiar Scottish DJ in the back corner with a group of models hanging over him. She continued her search in the hopes that she would at least know someone other than Calvin Harris at this party.

No sign of Gigi at all.

A short tap on her shoulder had her turning her heard, a soft but confused smile falling on to her lips as she looked at the figure that had approached her. He held himself high, almost as if he was untouchable compared to the rest of them, as he studied the singer with a lopsided smile.

"Leia, right?"

Leia nodded, her hand still holding on to her drink as she slipped her free palm into his outstretched hand. He was still smiling widely at her and the girl was beginning to feel a little uncomfortable at the interaction with him.

She didn't know the full story of what had happened between Justin Bieber and Selena, but she knew it didn't feel right to be talking to him when Selena was one of her closest friends.

When Leia was younger, her and Georgie had been obsessed with the man holding her hand. They had fantasised about what it would be like to meet him, even read fan stories about falling in love with him on the midst of a sold out world tour. But as Leia got older, he got more problematic. And as she become more famous, she had heard many a story about the man to make her weary about even being seen standing with him.

Where was Gigi when she needed her?

Her eyes flickered down to the phone in her hand, not bothering to even hide to Justin that she wasn't really that interested in talking to him. The familiar green text bubble of Gigi stared straight back at her, a frustrated sigh resting on her lips as she read the words.

'sorry, heading back. Z got in a fight with some shitty YouTuber and we had to get out of here. lmk when you get home!'

Great.

"Look, I know it's weird me of all people coming over to talk to you, but eh..." Justin started, rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly. "My friend really wants to speak to you but he's too scared to come talk to you himself."

Justin was right - this was weird.

But there was something inside her that was so full of emotions that wanted out, that she thought she might as well entertain the thought and see who he was talking about. So instead, she raised an eyebrow, hoped no one was filming this and let her curiosity be piqued.

"Who's your friend?" she asked, taking a sip of her drink. She scanned the room, searching for someone who seemed nervous or intimidated by her presence.

A mischievous grin danced across Justin's face as he gestured towards a secluded corner of the party. Justin hollered over his shoulder to a group of people standing only a little bit behind the duo, trying to play it cool and as if they hadn't been watching the interaction play out. Leia smiled friendly at the man that waved in their direction, a grin spread across his face as he tried to play it cool with the starlet in front of him.

Unlike Justin's usual crowd of friends, the man standing in front of her was someone she'd never seen before. His tousled sun-kissed blonde hair was short and looked soft, and his green eyes seemed to shine under the harsh lighting around them. He was tall, maybe just taller than what Leia reckoned Taylor was. She could see the potential group of tattoos poking out from under his left sleeve as his hand hovered in the air.

Georgie's words from before the BBMAs all those weeks ago rang in her head.

"Tell him to come over," she said to Justin, her voice leaving her mouth before she could even really think about it.

Justin nodded and waved at the guy, signaling for him to join them. He almost hesitated for a moment before gathering his courage and making his way towards them. As he got closer, Leia could see how much more relaxed and calm he appeared, contrasting with Justin's outgoing nature. She shook his hand, turning to say something to Justin, only to find her best friend's ex had ran off and left her with the mysterious man that had apparently wanted to speak to her.

What a weird guy, she thought.

"Dylan Redcrown," he smoothly spoke, a slight smirk on his face as he let go of the girl's hand and leaned against the bar, his lips resting closer to her ears despite the fact she knew they both could hear each other perfectly fine. "I'm a huge fan of your music, and your face."

Leia laughed at his fake awkwardness, sitting her empty glass down on the bar surface as she turned around to face him fully. She was wary about him being friends with someone who had hurt people close to her, but the alcohol in her system was clouding her judgement slightly.

"Your face isn't too bad either," she chimed, a sparkle in her eye as she smiled back at him. His eyes trailed down to the bar where her empty glass rested before he spun on the spot, flagging down the bartender.

As he began to order her another drink from the bar, Leia began to wonder if this was the universe's way of telling her that she needed to get over Taylor. Her eyes slowly trailed over the man, noticing the defined body underneath the dress shirt that he wore. He took one grinning look back at her and her mind was made: it was time she stopped chasing after someone who would never love her back.

Besides, one-night never hurt anybody. Right?

____

"I don't understand," Selena said, her eyebrows furrowed as she passed the phone across the table. "She knows me and him have a bad history."

Cara shrugged as she stared down at the photo too, before reaching over and passing it to her right. The blonde girl was also confused but she knew her friend, and she knew there was surely a perfectly normal explanation for the reason the four girls were sitting around the coffee table in confusion.

Selena had turned up at Taylor's almost at the crack of dawn, tears streaming down her face as she showed Taylor the photos that had been plastered all over social media throughout the night. Leia, was seemingly standing almost chest-to-chest with Justin Bieber, her manipulative ex that had made it no secret that he not only despised Selena now, but her friends too. Taylor had been quick to text Gigi and Cara, hoping they'd have some more insight and would help to keep Selena company while she panic baked some scones for them all.

Gigi, wearing her comfiest tracksuit and clutching a warm mug of coffee, sighed as she studied the photo.

"Leia is young and naive," she said, her voice filled with concern. "She may not fully understand the consequences of being photographed with someone like Justin."

"That's bullshit, Gi," Cara replied, not standing up for Leia at all for a change. "She's the same age as us, firstly, and secondly, she knows enough about this industry now to know that articles and photographs can spread like wildfire."

That was true - their newest friend had been nothing but constantly featured in tabloids since she had first bumped into Nick Jonas. It seemed like the tabloids had found their new plaything, and her constant head-line worthy actions had been stirring up a storm. Sure, she wasn't number one in the charts anymore, but they all knew that the press (good and bad) was partially the reason she was still sitting in the top 10 chart almost two months since the song dropped.

"I just wish she would have talked to me first. I've been through so much with Justin, and I thought she knew that."

"Maybe she was just caught up in the moment, Sel," Cara interjected gently, placing a comforting hand on Selena's shoulder as she backtracked on her previous sentence after seeing how upset it made the girl. "We all make mistakes sometimes. But it doesn't mean she doesn't care about you."

Gigi nodded in support of Cara's words as she took the phone from Selena once more, the third of them to study the news article that had been splashed across everyone's Twitter feeds when they had woken up that morning.

"That must have been after I left," Gigi noted, scrolling through the pictures that accompanied the article.

"Wait, you left her by herself?" Taylor's voice entered the mix as she carried the tray of scones into the room. She had been mostly listening in to the gossip from the adjoining room as she finished her baking, a soft scowl on her face as the story unfolded.

Gigi shrugged, waving a hand to bat off all of their disappointed looks that they sent her. It wasn't as big a deal as they were making out.

"Not technically," Gigi said before slumping a little at their hard gazes. "I didn't really see her to begin with... I was gone with Z before she actually arrived. She'd texted me back saying she was going to just enjoy her drink and then leave, I didn't think she was that bothered."

"Looks like she got more than just a drink," Cara muttered, causing Selena to lean over and smack her arm in annoyance.

Taylor finally took the phone off her friends, looking once again at the first photo that had upset Selena. It was clearly Leia, they'd all recognise the girl's side profile from anywhere. But that wasn't the issue, the issue was that her hand was lightly touching Justin Bieber's shoulder as she appeared to listen to something he was telling her.

Of course Selena wasn't wanting to accuse her friend of anything. But it was becoming harder and harder for her mind to not jump to conclusions when they had been messaging the groupchat all morning and hadn't heard a single peep from the usually social media vocal Leia Hudson.

"Has she been active?" Cara voiced, trying to keep tensions to a minimum as they all started to worry that Leia and Justin had done more than just shake hands and exchange pleasantries.

Gigi shook her head, her own phone now resting in her hand as she scrolled through all the different platforms to see if their friend was even alive. She paused on an Instagram post that wasn't even a minute old, turning the screen to face the others with furrowed eyebrows as they all read the caption.

"'When Huds asks you to look after their dog for an extra day, how do you say no to this cute face?'. What's that supposed to mean?" Selena read out, looking at the selfie of Riven in his bed with the thick black fur ball licking his cheek.

It was unusual for Leia to leave Tate, her unofficial child, along for longer than absolutely necessary. So for Riven to suddenly have been given the dog for an extra day was rather suspicious to them all.

Taylor had a sinking feeling at the bottom of her stomach. She felt sick at the thought of Justin and Leia having potentially spent the night together. The thought of him running his hands all over her best friend made her stomach churn, an image in her mind that she wished so desperately to erase.

She took a deep breath, trying to steady her racing heart. Taylor knew she couldn't jump to conclusions without concrete evidence, but the doubt lingered in her mind like a stubborn stain. Maybe Leia had innocently bumped into Justin at the party, and the photo was nothing more than an unfortunate coincidence.

It wasn't just the thought of Leia and Justin together that bothered her; it was the fear of losing her best friend to the manipulative grasp of someone as toxic as Justin Bieber. She had seen firsthand the damage he could cause, and she didn't want Leia to fall victim to his web of deceit.

"I think we need to find Leia and talk to her directly," Taylor suggested, her voice steady despite the turmoil inside her. "We can't jump to conclusions based on some photographs and a vague Instagram caption."

"Justin just posted a photo," Gigi interrupted her thoughts, turning her phone back around so that they could all see the newest post from the Canadian. "And it gives us no answers."

Cara furrowed her eyebrows as she clicked on the man tagged in the photo with Justin. She'd heard that name before, but it wasn't someone she could recall. They all watched as she clicked on the purple circle surrounding the unfamiliar guy's profile picture, the insta story springing onto the screen before them.

"Hold on... go back," Taylor spoke as the sceen flickered to the next video. Cara did as she asked, and their eyes all widened once they noticed what Taylor had thought she had seen previously. "That's my jacket."

"Which Leia borrowed," Selena finished, their eyes all wide as they looked back at the video that was playing.

"Our girl has a lot of explaining to do."

____

"So, I'm thinking dinner tomorrow night?"

Leia smiled in surprise as she pulled on the hoodie that Dylan had let her borrow while she waited on Cara picking her up. The girl had messaged her asking if she needed a ride - which seemed too good a coincidence to be true - and Leia had jumped at the opportunity to avoid an awkward Uber ride home.

"In your dreams, Redcrown," she teased, watching as he playfully rolled his eyes.

"Oh you best believe I'll dream of you, and the way you moved last night..." he murmured huskily, watching a blush spread across her cheeks as she gathered up the rest of her things. "Besides, you'll need to return my hoodie at some point."

Rolling her eyes, she couldn't help but smile as the attractive man propped himself up with one arm, the sheets of his bed bunched at his waist. Leia bit the side of her cheek as she felt her cheeks heat up, a grin breaking out on her face outside of her own control.

"Seven PM."

"Deal."

Leia stepped out of Dylan's apartment building, her mind a whirlwind of thoughts. She couldn't believe what had just transpired between her and Dylan the previous night. It had started as a harmless conversation at the party, but then things escalated quickly, and now here she was, sneaking out of his apartment early in the morning.

As she walked towards Cara's car parked a few blocks away, Leia couldn't help but feel a sense of guilt creeping up on her. Justin Bieber's face flashed across her mind, reminding her of the rumors she had a gut feeling were going to be swirling around the internet about their supposed encounter at the party. She knew how these things worked in the music industry—scandals spread like wildfire, and reputations could be destroyed in an instant.

One look at Cara's face told her all she needed to know. If only Leia had know the downhill journey that one stupid deal was going to lead her on, then she definitely wouldn't have agreed to it.

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originally published: october 2019

rewritten: february 2024