Love, Loathing, and Limelight

Chapter Nine

"So," I said as we sat down for brunch. "This is it." I had a sad smirk, but he just looked sad. "I have to say it's certainly been an experience."

"Don't talk like that," he interrupted sarcastically. "It's not over yet." He was hunched over, playing with his hoodie string, staring down at it.

"Aww. Are you going to miss me?" I asked playfully while laughing. He chuckled slightly.

"Maybe a little bit," he said.

"You won't," I reassured him. "You'll miss the city, though. Girls like me are a dime a dozen, but cities like this are a different kind of hidden treasure." I continued to eat, but he stopped and looked directly at me.

"You don't mean that. Right?" he asked.

"Of course I do. This city is-"

"No, the city is fine. It's you, Sara. You are not a dime a dozen."

I scoffed.

"If you say so," I said.

"No, I'm serious." He took my hand and rested it on the table. "You are the most amazing and unique girl I have ever met." I sat confused, trying to figure out why he would say I'm amazing and unique and why he would need to hold my hand to tell me. "You know what," he said as he let go of my hand and sat up straight. "I am gonna miss you."

"Are you now?" I said humorously.

"I am," he repeated. "And you're going to miss me." I laughed. "Laugh if you want," he said jokingly. "You're going to miss me. You kind of like me now, don't you?"

I laughed even more. I hadn't really thought of how I would feel when he finally left, and five days ago, I would have done anything to make sure we never had to speak again. There he was, accusing me of liking him now, and he was absolutely right. I genuinely enjoyed his company, and if he went to school with me and were an average teenager, we would probably become close friends. But I could never let him know that, or maybe I could.

"I never thought I'd say this," I said. He looked at me like he was eager to hear. "I like you. I really do. I wish you lived here. We'd be great friends."

"Well, we can still be friends even if I don't live here," he said.

"We'll keep in touch," I said. He smiled.

"Maybe I can visit," he said. I laughed.

"You want to do this again?" I asked, surprised.

"Of course," he said. "We can make it a game. Let's see how many times Noah Lancaster can visit his special friend in Lana before the tabloids find out," he said jokingly.

"Sounds fun," I said.

"You know, I think the biggest thing that I've realized is that maybe I need to change my lifestyle." I was shocked, but at the same time, I knew he was probably just acting on impulse.

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"I love acting," he said. "But I have no reasons not to quit and settle down. I have everything I could ever want right here."

"Yeah. This place is the perfect combination of small-town life and city life." I said as I stood up. "Well, I have an enjoyable day planned. I wanted to end your back-to-normal week with something awesome."

Chord Street was a street entirely dedicated to the love of arts and music. There were stores filled wall to wall with instruments, stores with stage models, and even a store where you could record your own songs and get them on an album. The arts were important to me, but also him. Before we left the coffee club, he got a phone call. Interestingly, he looked like he couldn't be happier before he got this call. But after he saw who it was from, he looked like he had lost everything.

"Dad?" he said as he answered. "No, I'm fine," he sounded confused. "What do you mean you're back early?" Oh no. "I'm-I'm out, I- with nobody, by myself... Well, because I-" My heart sank as I caught on to what was happening. "No! Don't call the police. Are you crazy? Whatever, fine. Don't do anything. I'm coming back right now."

How could this be happening? I start enjoying something, and it has to end so soon? I wasn't expecting to be this disappointed when I had to say goodbye, but I was. He put his phone away and looked at me.

"That was my dad," he said, defeated.

"I figured," I said with the same tone.

"I really hate to do this," he said. "But I have to go back." I sighed and led him out of the coffee club and around to where I had parked. As I drove him back to his hotel, a million thoughts and memories crossed my mind. I thought about all those fun things we did together. I'd only known him for a week, and somehow I felt like he was just as close to me as Chris or Ari. I parked around the back to give him a proper goodbye.

"Well," I said. "We'll have to do it again sometime."

"Agreed," he said. We stood there for a second in a strange silence before I couldn't force a smile anymore, and I hugged him for a very long few seconds. It wasn't only sad because he was leaving and I would miss him. It was also sad because I knew he was returning to a life he didn't love. And I felt terrible for him.

As I drove home and settled in, I thought, "What am I supposed to do now?" I couldn't believe that I hated him when I first met him, and now he hadn't even been gone a day, and I already wanted to see him again. Why? Later as I was getting ready for bed, I remembered that we had promised to keep in touch, and I decided to swallow my pride and video chat with him to see what had happened, hoping I could make some light of the situation. I wasn't expecting him to answer so quickly. He was lying in bed, and I could tell his TV was on, but he had paused it just for me. His eyes were red. He had been crying.

"Hey," he said, happy to see me, but you could tell something was wrong.

"Hi," I said, laughing. "Am I interrupting?"

"Oh, no," he said. "What's up?"

"Oh, well, I just wanted to check on you and see what happened," I said. He laughed a little bit.

"Oh, ok. Well, I'm in trouble. We'll put it that way," he said, laughing, but it was the kind of laugh someone does to hide the seriousness of the situation.

"Oh, I'm sorry," I said.

"Oh, don't blame yourself," he said. "But basically, I told them that I was never really sick and went out a couple of times to escape. So they don't know most of the story, but I did what I had to do."

"Do they know about me?" I asked.

"No, thank God," he said. "No, if anybody ever found out about you, it would be - I don't even know- it would be madness. I mean absolute madness. No, I wouldn't let that happen. I made sure to clarify that I didn't speak to anybody." He let the silence sit for a second. "Can I be honest with you?" he asked.

"Yeah," I said.

"I don't think I'll be okay If I don't see you every day," he said. "I'm sorry if that's a little weird, but the past week has been so much fun, and I don't like the life I'm returning to. You know what I mean?"

"Oh yeah, of course," I said. "How about this," I suggested. "We text every day."

"Every day," he repeated.

"We video chat twice a week."

"At least."

"And if you ever find some time to stop by, I'll clear my schedule for you," I said, surprising both him and myself.

"Really," he said. "I thought you're a very busy woman."

"I am," I reassured. "But I honestly don't think I've ever made such a good friend this quickly before, so you can have my time whenever you want." He smiled. "Well," I said, breaking the silence. "I have to go to bed. I'll talk to you tomorrow?"

"Sounds good," he said. "Good night." 

Hello, lovelies! This is where things start turning in the story! What do you think is going to happen? LMK and don't forget to vote! Or don't. Live your life. Have a good day :)