The Anatomy of Emotion

Chapter Twelve

October—Los Angeles

"OH MY GOD, YOU'RE CORIN OLIVIER!"

Corin jumps and yanks his earbuds out. The smell of coffee and the sound of elevator music and a group of bright-eyed teens materialize around him. They are dressed in the typical light colors and thin layers of an LA fall. He almost frowns, but catches it just in time to smile. Since the band had played iHeartRadio, the types of people approaching him have been decidedly more mixed. He still isn't quite used to it, even as he signs phone cases and discusses the authenticity of the shop's espresso.

"I saw you guys at iHeartRadio," one of the boys talks with his hands, "all the other acts were so mainstream, your sound was such a breath of fresh air."

Corin loves watching him, "Thank you, we had such a great time at that show. I love pop music."

"Oh, and you're dating a pop star, that's so perfect!" A girl with a lopsided blonde bun.

Corin's brows shoot up, "I what?"

"You know, Rhea Luviano. I saw the cutest picture of you guys in Star magazine."

"I'm...nevermind," Corin decides to let it go, "yeah, Rhea's great. I've been listening to a lot of her music lately."

They oh and ah a little bit more, he answers a few questions about his music, and then they are thanking him and saying how nice it was to meet him. He appreciates their efficiency. When they are gone, he puts his earbuds back in—ironically, Rhea's "Heart Attack" floats through his ears—and Googles himself. The top hit is his Wikipedia, followed by his Twitter and his Instagram. The fourth hit is Star magazine: Rhea Luviano steps out with rock star Corin Olivier. Hot new romance!

Both of his eyebrows crawl up his forehead. He taps the headline. A sun-drenched photo of him and Rhea fills the screen. He has an arm slung around her slim shoulders as they walk down the street. They are both grinning.

Corin frowns, "are my teeth really that white? No..."

He looks at the picture a little closer and realizes the entire thing has been lightened. Rhea's skin has been paled from it's dark golden color, her ómbre is blonder, his skin is more tan than brown. Both sets of teeth are blinding. His mouth tenses a little bit. He lets himself stew about it for precisely the amount of time it takes for his coffee to be refilled, and then he tucks the irritation away for later. Scrolling down, he finds the rest of the article:

After a long hiatus from the dating scene, pop artist Rhea Luviano is heating things up again. She has been seen several times in past two weeks on the arm of Corin Olivier, lead vocalist of French metalcore band Eurydice.

According to sources, Corin and Rhea met at the iHeartRadio music festival, and have been inseparable ever since. The two are shown above strolling after a coffee date, but they have also been seen partying together on the strip, hanging out in the studio where Eurydice is currently recording, and even leaving one an other's hotel rooms! Is it just a fling? Or has Rhea finally found the one who will give her a heart attack?

Says a close friend of Rhea's, "They're getting to know each other, and she's really hopeful."

Corin's inner circle seems on board as well, sources say, "Corr's just this whirlwind of emotions...I'm looking forward to seeing him finally give all that passion to someone...They're very lucky."

Sounds promising to us! What do you think of Rhea's new man? Tweet us your thoughts @Star_News.

Corin is frowning by the time he scrolls to the end. For starters, Rhea doesn't have a hotel room—she lives in LA. Secondly, he has never been there. Lastly, that quote. He racks his brain for who might have said that. Finally, he copies it and texts it to Alex: This look familiar?