You, Minus the Fame

Chapter 21

       "I can't believe this is happening!" Britney squealed. "I'm actually going to meet ReezyTube!"  

       I smiled at my sister as my grip tightened on the pole I was holding onto. As the bus rocked, I thought about Reece. Today would have been the day I would find out his secret. Regret began to consume my mind as I thought abut how I spent the last few days thinking about what his secret could be.

       "Are you okay?" Britney suddenly asked, frowning.

       "Yeah." I shot her a smile.

       "You seem down." Her eyebrows furrowed. "Did something happen?"

       I shook my head and looked away. I hoped Britney would drop the topic. Today was supposed to be a great day for her, not a day to worry about her anxious sister.

        "Cara, are you excited to meet the most incredible human being on earth?" Britney then asked.

       I looked at her and laughed lightly, glad she changed the subject. Slowly, my sister was maturing.

       "Yeah," I said honestly. "He's singing right? I have to hear his beautiful voice."

        "He is." She grinned, eyes dreamy. "If I faint you have to catch me, okay?"

       I laughed. "Okay. I-"

       The bus suddenly made an abrupt stop. I flew forward and gasped, and Britney screamed. Luckily the both of us had a strong grip on the poles we were holding, so we didn't fall over. I couldn't say the same for others.

       "Sorry guys," the bus driver suddenly said. "The battery of the bus seemed to have stop."

        Everyone groaned, but I jumped as Britney screamed. Looking at her with wide eyes, I wondered if she got hurt.

       "Cara!" she said the second our eyes met. "The meet up starts in thirty minutes! We're going to be late!"

       I didn't know what to say as I saw genuine fear in her eyes. She really wanted this. I could see it in her wide, animated eyes. My heart sunk a bit, knowing I had no plan to fix this.

        "We should get off the bus," I said. "Another one will come soon. We'll be a little late, but we'll see him. Okay?"

        Britney stared at me and the worry remained in her eyes, but she nodded. Wanting to comfort her, I then took her hand and led her outside. I felt my heart pounding as I hoped we would make it to the meet up. If not, I knew Britney would be a wreck.

*****

        Britney and I were sprinting. The bus came later than I expected and we were half an hour late. Seeing my sister looking so worried, I had offered that we should sprint. She agreed, so here we were running as fast as the wind, hoping we hadn't missed anything important.

        My lungs hurt as we ran down the street, dodging civilians who shot us dirty looks. A part of me wanted to quit running and just walk the rest of the way, but staring at my sister meters ahead of me, I knew I couldn't do that. After seeing how heartbroken she looked as we waited for the bus, this was the least I could do.

       The end of the street soon appeared and we made a quick turn to the right. I heard Britney gasp and I smiled as she began to run faster towards the centre the meet up was held in. Finally we had made it.

       Britney went inside and I followed in soon after. We were now walking quickly inside, panting as we looked for the room it was held in. My heart was pounding as I wondered why the place was so quiet.

       Following Britney, I watched as she opened the doors of a hallway and rushed down it. We were running again and as she made an abrupt stop, I jumped as I nearly crashed into her. Frowning, I stared at her with a questioning expression.        

       Britney didn't say anything. She stepped towards the door next to her and pushed it open, stepping inside quickly. I followed her, confused.

       But the second I stepped in, I heard a voice. I heard the voice of an angel in the silence that surrounded the gymnasium-like room. Only then did my heart calm down, knowing we made it.

       I looked around and became amazed as I noticed there was at least two hundred people here. To my bigger surprise, they were all quiet too. Everyone's attention was on the boy on stage, who I couldn't quite see because of the tall boys standing in front of me.

       Looking at Britney next, my heart melted as I saw her grinning, looking completely in love as she swayed to his lovely voice. I could tell she couldn't see anything, but being this near to him must have been good enough for her. I felt incredibly happy suddenly, seeing her like this.

       "We made it," Britney said breathlessly, grinning. "I can finally meet ReezyTube."

       "Yes." I smiled. "You can."

       "Can we move closer?" she asked. "I can't see him from back here."

       "Good idea."

       Britney grabbed my hand and pulled me forward. She pushed passed people and I found myself still smiling. I was almost excited too, knowing I could finally see whoever this incredible guy was.

       ReezyTube's song soon came to an end as we pushed passed people. People cheered and we kept pushing through the crowd. Our heads were down and I knew Britney's plan was to make it near the front of the crowd. I didn't mind, even though usually I preferred the back of crowds.

        Suddenly, ReezyTube spoke. He spoke the moment we broke through a large group of people, and I stopped in my spot at the sound. My heart stopped as well. Britney got pulled back by the abrupt stop and she was about to glare at me, but she stopped when she saw the expression on my face. Worry soon filled her eyes.

        "Thank you for coming here today," said ReezyTube, making my eyes go wide. "Your support means the world to me, so here's one last song."

       My eyes flew to the boy on stage. We were ten meters away from each other now, and even with the screaming girls in front of me, I could see him perfectly. Reece. ReezyTube was Reece. I couldn't believe this. I couldn't believe my Reece was here before me. Before a crowd of people who adored him.

       "Cara, are you okay?" Britney asked, sounding concerned.    

        I didn't reply as I stared at Reece, stunned. Everything made sense suddenly. This was Reece's secret. This was why he was so scared because he knew how I would feel. He knew I would feel the way I felt right now.

       Reece had started singing his next song, a cover of The Sound of Your Heart. His eyes were wandering the crowd and to my surprise, his eyes landed on me. His jaw was now left opened too, and no words came out. I wasn't sure who was more surprised as we stared at each other.

        Eyes began to fly towards me as we stared at each other stunned, and I was suddenly awoken from my trance. Looking at the people around me, I realized this was Reece's life. This was his life and I had to make a decision about it. Feeling insecure suddenly, I knew deep inside I already had an answer.

       So without a second thought, I turned around and ran off. I pushed passed people and I could tell every eye was on me, but I was already too horrified to worry about them. I knew Reece's secret would be bad, but this was not what I had expected. This was my worst nightmare.