Love, Loathing, and Limelight

Chapter Six

 There are five main attractions in Lana. The art museum, the aquarium, the year-round ice skating rink, the bridge, and Chord Street. Chord Street was for sure my favorite. It was a street of the coolest shops. I thought I would save the best for last. I thought about a local amusement park about forty minutes away from Lana. But then I remembered that he wanted to see the city, not the surrounding attractions.

"Okay, I have a question," I announced as I got to his hotel.

"What's that?" he asked, struggling to climb down the fire escape once again.

"So, what exactly do you want out of this week?" I pondered. I got that he wanted a break from the lights and cameras, but it didn't make any sense that I was so essential to that plan.

"I want to see the city," he said. "I've never heard of Lana before I was told we were coming here. It's probably underrated. I wanna know the little things that make it."

"Is that it?" I asked. He laughed.

"Well, you know I just want to be normal again. I wanna do a simple thing like take a walk in the park," he said.

"So let me ask you this," I inquired. "Why do you really for that?"

"Because," he said. His voice trailed off like he couldn't find an answer. "Well, I guess there's no reason I can't do it alone," he finally said. "But that's boring, and quite frankly, I find you very interesting."

"Me?" I asked. An international star found me interesting? I wasn't necessarily happy with this news. Maybe slightly flattered, but mostly confused. "How so?" I asked.

"Well," he said. "You're the only girl I've ever met who didn't care about everything."

"I didn't think that would make you happy," I said. "That to me, you're just like everybody else."

"You didn't think it'd make me happy that at least one person sees me as a normal person?"

"Honestly, no," I said. "I always thought people became famous because they need love and attention from millions of strangers."

"I never wanted to be famous; I wanted to act," he said. "Fame is the price I pay for doing what I love." I could tell he was being honest with me. "I mean, there are times when it's great," he said. "But if I could be a normal person again, I would." We sat in silence for a moment before I interrupted it with my previous question.

"So back to my question," I said. "What do you want out of this week?" He stared at me for a second.

"I want to be normal again, I want to see a beautiful city, and I want to make a friend," he said.

"Oh, we're friends now?" I laughed.

"Of course we are," he said. I let the silence sit.

"I need chai," I said as he hopped on the back of the bike. "We're getting chai."

"What's chai?" he asked. I rolled my eyes.

When we got to the coffee club, I parked behind the building and took a look at him. Something was off. I just felt like he was missing something. It took me a minute, and then I realized he wasn't wearing sunglasses. Or a hoodie. Or even a hat.

"Oh my god, Noah!" I exclaimed.

"What!?" he said. He was oblivious.

"Did you even look in the mirror before leaving your hotel this morning?"

"Well yeah," he said. "What's wrong with what I'm wearing?"

"I don't know. Do you think your plain white t-shirt and jeans are enough to hide you?" I asked sarcastically. I saw the lightbulb go off in his head. "Well, this is perfect," I said. It wasn't just that he wasn't wearing a disguise. He was wearing a plain white T-shirt and jeans. All his features were just out in the open. His face was utterly exposed, and you could tell his body type. Half the girls at my school would look at his mostly slim, tall figure and know instantly. They'd see that it was him, and then they'd see me. And then they'd know it's him and me- there is no way this can end well.