We All Fall Down •An Aidan Gallagher Fic•

•Recognition and Reuinuion•

Betsy promised I wouldn't have to stress about school and the process. She claimed it was "up to her". So I sat in my room, waiting for her to get everything sorted.
    
I checked my Instagram and saw I had reached one thousand followers. The post had blown up because of my viral singing, and I decided to shoot another one.

I went into my bathroom and locked the door before leaning my camera against the toothpaste. I opened my camera and started talking.

"Hello there. You may know me as the weird girl who went Viral last week because she sang on YouTube. I know I look like trash right now but I thought I'd give it another shot."

I took a deep breath and sang Hey Soul Sister by Train. I knew the song by heart because it was my dad's favorite. I poured all my feelings into the song, good and bad, which all turned into magic. I sang more emotionally than I ever had. By the time the song was done I was panting.

"Thanks for watching. I don't know how to edit this, so I won't. I hope you enjoyed the crappy quality of this video- bye!"

I stopped the recording and sent it to Aidan. Post it ASAP. I texted him.
   
Betsy came crashing in with a grin on her face. "I did it! You are officially enrolled!" I smiled.

"How do I start?" I asked, to which she left the room.
    
She brought back the laptop and showed me how to do everything. I got the hang of it after a while and I even took a "period" of English.
    
I checked my phone and saw Aidan responded back. Done.
    
While I was on the computer I looked up "open auditions." I found a few, but none of them were looking for an amateur.
    
When I found one that fit me, I read about it quickly. It was for a show, not yet released, who needed a "teenage nerd" to make a quick cameo. I called Betsy into the room and got the information.

"Three on Sunday." I Said. "I have six days to get ready.
    
Betsy scoffed. "Oh please, you could do it in one."
    
I hugged her tightly. "I'm going to finish a school day, then see if Aidan is free ok?"

"Sure."
    
I started completing a period of Algebra, finding myself doing better than I ever had in real school.
    
Real school.
    
Real friends.
   
I jumped out of my seat at the ridiculous realization. I have friends!
    
I went onto my personal Instagram to find 30 messages. People who I barely talked to back at home were asking if I was ok. Apparently, teachers said I had "to leave quickly."
    
I teared up when I saw Zoe sent me over a hundred messages. As my best friend since third grade, we told each-other everything... she was my rock. My  favorite human.
    
I felt mad at myself for forgetting about these people. Suppressing the memories of my parents and dealing with a new life had been stressful, and clearly it had taken a toll on me.

Hey. I typed to Zoe.

HOLY SHIT CECELIA ARE YOU OK??!! IVE BEEN WORRIED SICK YOU CANT SCARE ME LIKE THAT !!!

B I'm so sorry. I have one crazy story to tell you.

    
So I forced myself to relive my situation, explaining everything from my first day in New York. Zoe was shocked and upset.

Ok. A few things. She said. One- Do you mean I'll never see you again? Two- YES!!! SING!!!! Three- I'm so sorry about your parents Idek know what to say it's just awful. Four- AIDAN. Fucking. GALLAGHER?!!

Lmaooo. Yeah I'm seeing him. I'm kinda famous I have like three thousand followers on insta. Plus I went viral on YouTube.

She didn't respond for a while but she finally added. Bitch. Your like the luckiest and unluckiest girl I know.
    
I let out a genuine laugh. You can tell people about my situation, but not Aidan. We aren't public yet. I'll send ur number to him tho... ur welcome ;)
    
I finally shut off my phone and sighed. I felt normal, talking to my closest friend. I tried to focus on school though, and completed a days work.
    
At four Betsy knocked on my door with lunch. "You seemed busy so I didn't interrupt you when I made it. It's soup, reheated because it's a tad on the old side."
    
I gave her a warm smile. "Thanks."
    
Just as I was doing a final science question, Aidan FaceTimed me. I answered quickly and leaned the phone against the computer screen, still eating my soup.

"Hey Leah." He said smirking. "I've missed you."

"I started school!" I Said with a mouthful. "And I remembered I had friends back home, so caught up with my closest one."
     
Aidan chuckled. "Did you have fun?"

"Yeah, it was good. Oh, I'm  doing an  audition next Sunday."

"That's great! For what?"

"Just a small part. But it's something."

"You know what else is something?" He asked. I cocked my head. "Your talent. Guess how many views your video got?"
    
I shrugged. "Fifty thousand." He said.
    
Choking on my soup, I said, "Shit, you have a magic touch!"

"You have a magic voice."
    
I recalled my father saying that to me when I was little. My face fell and I felt a wave of grief, not unlike any other. But Aidan said, "Hey, hey. It's ok. Can I come over?"

"I think so. Who cares anyway."

"I'll be over soon."
    
He hung up and I switched back to my public Instagram. The singing video gave me a second, larger round of about ten thousand followers. I had over 600 DMs.
  
I opened the first one and sent a heart. I did this for the first few before responding with a few words. "Thank you ❤️" and "made my day :)" The Love was overwhelming but kind, and I felt, for the first time, famous.
    
I took a crude mirror selfie and posted it on my story with a questions sticker, hoping fans would say fun things. I also liked all the comments on my only post a made a mental note the have Aidan take more photos of me.
    
I got a bunch of responses back like "OMG U ANSWERED MWKWKWK" to which I sent ":)". I wanted to be a friendly celebrity, a fan-centered celebrity. Like how I dreamed my old famous crushes would be.
   
I responded to some sweet comments people left to my story and decided to check out if I had a hashtag yet. I searched #ceceliaJC and found a few posts, mostly people reposting my responses. I liked them quickly.
    
When the doorbell rang I ran to get it, but Craig got there first.
    
"Oh I see Betsy, so this boy just comes over any time now?" He shouted into their room.
    
Betsy emerged and said, "He can come when he likes. Aidan is important."
    
"Yeah but no warning? Control the house Cecelia, isn't it your job?" Craig Said angrily before stomping into the bathroom.

"I'm sorry." Saud Aidan with a grimace, but Betsy waved it away.

"Its not you. It's never you." She said sadly before leaving.
    
Aidan gave me a sympathetic look and I frowned.
    
Was this life going to work out?