Song of the Chapter: You Need to Calm Down by Taylor Swift

• Quick note, this chapter does have a curse word in it, but it's been censored. Enjoy!

*******************************After sitting down with their pancakes at the small wooden kitchen table, Belinda pulled out her phone and held it out for her and Amias to look at like a TV. She opened the YouTube app on her phone and went to the Trending page. She turned to Amias.

"Jennifer must really care about you a lot, Ami. She's never had a YouTube channel before. She literally just created it today, I think."

Amias already had pancakes stuffed into his mouth, which made Belinda laugh. He decided to not answer verbally and opted instead to nod his head violently. In an instant, he swallowed the food in his mouth and added words to his nonverbal response.

He grinned happily, and Belinda almost sighed in relief. Another sign that he was back to normal. "She actually told me that she thinks of me as a little brother, and she really shows it, too! She teases me about you all the time and always like to ruffle my hair. It doesn't matter whether or not we're in public; she won't hesitate to do it."

Belinda laughed again and wiped off a bit of syrup smeared on Amias' cheek with her thumb.

"You need to stop refusing to use napkins, Ami." she teased, licking off the syrup on her finger.

"No, I think I should do it all the time, and leave something on my lips so you'll have to kiss me next time." he winked and Belinda immediately shoved his shoulder in embarrassment.

Belinda turned back to her phone and clicked the first video on the Trending page.

It was titled, "Hey, Are You Okay?"

The first thing they saw was Jennifer. Except, she didn't look like her usual, bubbly self. Her blonde hair was limp and wasn't as shiny and full of color as it would be on a normal day. Her skin had lost its beautiful, healthy glow and was instead very pasty. Her blue eyes were red rimmed and lost the mischievous glint they had always possessed. Underneath her eyes were dark bags, signifying many nights without sleep.

Amias quickly glanced at Belinda to see that she also had bags under eyes — bags that looked worse than Jennifer's — and guilt made a nest in his chest and a knot in his stomach. He couldn't believe that his actions had affected Jennifer and Belinda so drastically. And if they, his friend and possible girlfriend, looked like that, then how did Vivaan and Prisha look? Or Marcus? Or his parents?

Almost as if she knew what Amias was thinking, Belinda held his hand and squeezed reassuringly. Her eyes never left the screen, but she did rest her head on his shoulder. With those two gestures, Amias couldn't find it in himself to worry as much anymore and he smiled softly.

Then, Jennifer started talking.

She sniffled. "If you're watching this video, then you've probably already figured out what this will be about. This video is going to address everything that has happened to Amias Beaumont, but with proof and honesty. I am not a person who hates Belinda and wants to see her and Amias in pain — yeah, I'm talking directly to you, Sarah Stone; I know about your grudge and that photographer you have under your thumb. I am speaking from the point of view of a person who has become close friends with Amias and will kill and/or die for him. He's like a little brother to me.

"The picture of Belinda Shrike and Amias Beaumont in the park is nothing but an innocent one. The two have been friends since before elementary school and stayed together as best friends until 9th grade. They were each other's polar opposites but they worked well together and always remained friends. After 9th grade, Belinda moved away from their home state, New Jersey. They never got to speak to one another until Amias was discovered by Ms. Sybil Underhill at a college production of In the Heights and he had to attend his first interview."

Somehow, Jennifer had gotten her hands on pictures of Amias and Belinda from when they were kids. Looking at the pictures and being able to take a trip down memory lane, the couple smiled.

"Then," she chuckled, her blue eyes regaining some of the life they've had in the past. "After that interview, which Amias totally rocked, I had asked him if he wanted to go out and eat somewhere. Little did I know that that was the same day Belinda's editor had fired her. The same day that stupid viral picture was taken. I was talking to Ami on video chat when he got a phone call. Making some silly comment about him and Belinda, I hung up and let him go about his business. Throughout that whole day, though, I wondered if he was okay, if Belinda was okay.

"And, hours later that same day, Amias and I went out to a diner to celebrate. That's where he told me what was going on. He told me everything that has happened and asked if he handled the situation properly. I told him that he did; he consoled Belinda, then told her that garbage editor — Franco Hewn, send him my hate — wasn't worth her time and tears and helped her believe in her skills again. And afterwards, he brightened up her mood even more by confessing his feelings for her in an oh so adorable way. He even texted me about it after we ate, freaking out over how, after all these years, he's finally told the girl of his dreams how he feels about her."

Belinda giggled at the statement and paused the video to read all the text messages Jennifer had put up on the screen. "You are too cute, Ami."

Amias rolled his eyes, embarrassed, and read some of the messages with a shy smile. "Wow, she pulled out all the stops and the receipts."

After reading the messages in amusement and embarrassing Amias a few times, Belinda resumed the video.

Jennifer took on a more serious look and stared unwaveringly at the camera. Belinda shuddered at the intensity in the actress' eyes.

"And now, for all you people criticizing Amias when you don't a damn thing about his private affairs and don't even bother to read other articles with other viewpoints — you make me sick. You truly are the people who make America seem awful because," — she showed a picture of Amias grinning with his younger sister on his back and his younger brother latched onto his leg and pointed to his frozen face — "How the f**k can you hate on an adorable, innocent guy like this?! How could you possibly get it into your sick heads that he deserves to be hurt? Maybe I shouldn't be complaining about this because we're celebrities in the spotlight, this is how it works, but dammit, this really hurt Amias. He didn't expect this to happen. No one expected it to happen. . .

"But really, to all you haters out there — are you okay? Do you need help because your life isn't all that amazing, and because of that, you decide to go online and break the heart of a kid who hasn't done anything at all? So what if he might be dating Belinda Shrike? That's their business and their business only. So piss off." she dragged a hand down her face and groaned tiredly. "This might be horrible publicity for both me and Amias, but I really don't care. Amias has gone MIA for a few days, which has obviously," — she gestured to her face — "messed with me. I'm just tired and worried for my new little brother and I'm really only running on coffee right now." She gave a tired, pretty smile to the camera.

"Oh crap, is that true?" asked a deep masculine voice tinged with a Hispanic accent from behind the camera. Jennifer nodded, her attention no longer on the audience she had been reprimanding. "We've gotta get you to bed, then. Say goodbye to your fans, love."

Jennifer waved, and said, "Bye, guys. Oh, and all you guys who supported Ami throughout everything — you're the true superstars here. Don't think I didn't notice you protecting my little Amias and creating an Amias Protection Squad hashtag. I'm totally the head of that squad; I will support you all supporting Amias. I appreciate it, and so will Amias once he's better."

And with those words, the video ended.

Belinda's jaw dropped and, after her initial shock, she grinned widely. "Jennifer is the best."

"She definitely is." Amias agreed. "Can we look at the comment section?"

Belinda gave Amias a hard look and raised a naturally perfectly sculpted eyebrow. "Amias, honey, remind me what happened the last time you looked at a comment section?"

"Oh. . . Yeah, that's true."

"Ami," she looked at him, her eyes dancing and a smile tugging on her lips. "How about I'll look at the comment section and show you what I read? You'll be able to do this easily by yourself once you've been in the business for a longer amount of time. You'll have thicker skin for this stuff then."

"Okay. That's a good compromise, I'll take it." Amias nodded dejectedly, but smiled anyway. "So, now that we have finished our pancakes. . . what do you want to do?"

"It's a tie between watch something with you or kiss you." When Amias started to stutter out a response, Belinda pressed a hand to his forehead and another to his cheek and laughed. "Ami, you are so warm right now. I guess I brought up kissing too soon, huh?"

Instead of answering her, Amias moved closer to her and captured her lips with his.

**********************************************

And that was chapter 7! 

Only one more chapter left until the end!

What did you think of what Jennifer said in her video? Was it too aggressive to you, or aggressive enough? Did you like what she said? Could she have phrased anything better, in your opinion?

And Belinda and Amias aren't together, but they are getting rather used to kissing each other. What do you think of their relationship and their dynamic?

Tell me your thoughts about it here!! 👉👉

The next chapter is the last chapter of this book and will just put a big, pretty now on top of the whole story.

Thanks for reading, and remember to not be a silent reader! Vote and comment! Constructive criticism is an author's best friend! ❤❤

Word count: 1,643