*NATE*
"Emergency! Entertainment room! Now!"
"Why?" I ask. "What's the problem?"
Lance shoves his phone at me. "Have you seen this?" he asked.
In a bold lettering on a famous website, there is a headline:
Vocalist of Infinite Chase, in a wild race with— WHO'S THAT GIRL?
"It's Kyle!" Zeke said obviously, while peering over my shoulder to read the article. "Who's that girl?"
Yeah, it's definitely Kyle. We've been living together for years, so even if he's wearing a helmet, we are sure that it's him.
"But you can't even see his whole face!" Zeke continued, "It's covered!
"I know," Lance replied, "but our fans would definitely know that it was him."
"Who's that girl he's with?" Zeke repeated. "Is that Charles?"
"I'm not sure," Lance said hesitantly. "Remember Nate's fiasco with Brielle, how our fans reacted to it? Let's look at the comments!"
Zeke took his phone and open the same article. He and Lance were reading the already hundreds of comments on the site.
But I was still looking at the photo. My eyes were glued on it.
It was taken in a haze by a paparazzi— Kyle was riding on a motorcycle, while a woman's hands were holding on to his shoulder.
The back figure, the hair, the body... I knew it was her.
I could never be wrong. If I were a painter, I could paint her even if my eyes were closed.
What was she doing with Kyle?
"Where are you going?" asked Lance as I handed him his phone back.
"I'll call Bri!"
As soon as I entered my room, I quickly dialed Bri's number.
Why?
I need to know. Did you lie? Again?
"Nate!"
Why did you have to lie?
"Nate! Wake up!"
Why is it so loud? I turn over and put a pillow over my head.
"Nate!"
Someone pulls the pillow out of my face.
"Nate! Come on, you're the only one still asleep!"
She starts shaking my shoulder.
I slowly open my eyes, and even with a blurry vision, I know it's my most favorite person in the world. Suddenly, I can't even remember what was my dream about.
"Hello, beautiful."
She rolls her eyes, but actually smiles right after. "You're late, sleepyhead!"
She's standing beside my bed, her right hand still on my shoulder from shaking me earlier. I pull her to me, not meaning to put force into it, so she topples over me.
"Nate!" she yells, surprised at my action.
Did I mention how I love the sound of my name on her lips?
Her face quickly reddens— one of the things I'm fascinated about her. You can read her like an open book, but sometimes, she's a mystery to me.
Oh, Brielle, if you only knew how deeply I've fallen into you.
"It's time to go!" she says, trying to get away from me. I'm holding her arms, so she's locked in my arms.
Do we have a plan? What did I forget? I'm not a morning person. I don't even remember what time I slept last night. The last thing I remember was I was writing lyrics for a new song.
I don't mind waking up early when we can be so close, like this.
"Let's stay here for a while," I murmur on her hair. It's still wet. She probably just finished taking a shower. She smells so nice.
It's always hard in the beginning. Writing songs, finding inspiration. Trying to imagine scenarios in your head, thinking about chords and rhythm and everything in between.
But ever since I met her, no matter how cliché it sounds, everything became easier. How the words flow and the melody comes right after.
She is music to the soul. Even my band mates changed because of her.
If I knew falling in love would give me inspiration, I would have gladly taken it, years back. But I also know that it's not the same without her.
"Nate, come on!" Brielle squirms over me.
"Aren't you comfortable?"
Because I am. I don't even want to move. I can stay like this the whole day.
"We're gonna be late," she says, finally breaking free from my arms. She scrambles from my bed and stands up.
Annoying her is one of my favorite past times. I know she'll never really get angry at me for my antics. Because that's the only thing I can do right now so she won't draw away from me. To be her friend. For now.
As she straightens her clothes, she shoots daggers at me.
Cute.
"Where are we going?"
"Meeting with Mr. Handsome," she answers.
Yawning, I stretch my arms over my head. "Boring," I say. "Can we just sleep in?"
She sighs and crosses her arms over her chest. "You know it's my responsibility to bring you all there in time." She looks at her watch and asks, "What can I do to make you get up?"
"Kiss me," I say without thinking.
She thinks I'm kidding. I'm not.
"Nate, come on!" She looks at me, her beautiful eyes pleading. "Please don't make this job hard on me." She ends her sentence with a pout.
I groan. How can I resist that?
Sometimes, I think she knows how I truly feel about her. I don't know if it's a good thing that she has become my weakness.
My parents always told me that love is the greatest feeling of all. Of course, I didn't believe them. I've had my fair share of heartaches. When I was in high school, I was voted as the heartbreaker. They didn't know, even the heartbreaker sometimes gets his heart broken.
My parents found love when they were still young. There were times when I envied them. How could it be easy for them? How could they just know it was love?
I look at Bri, still waiting for me.
Truth be told, I'm the one lost in this setup. I'm the one who's really waiting.
I'm just hoping that soon, the tables will turn in my favor.
It is not possible today, given our status. But I hope that someday, we'll be more than what we are right now. Bri is the kind of girl you'll take risk for. The girl you'll willingly lose everything for. I know she won't ask me that, but if I have to face that, I won't think twice. I will never hesitate when it comes to her. I'm all in.
