Publicity

Chapter 14: Bad News

I woke up and took my time before getting out of bed. The sun was barely rising as a result of how early it was. Seriously, was it necessary for Claire to make these tour rehearsals start at the ungodly hours of the day?

I got out of bed and stretched, stiffling a yawn. I'm such a terrible person if I'm woken up too early. If the sun's not up why should I be? I made my way downstairs, not caring about how dead I look. I heard the sound of dishes in the kitchen and knew my mom was already awake.

"Good morning sweetie." My mom greeted me.

I stopped dead in my tracks as soon as I spotted Ray sitting on my kitchen counter enjoying a class of orange juice. I narrowed my eyes at him. What is he doing at my house this early?

"Ray spent the night." My mom answered my thoughts. "And Claire called. Practice has been canceled. You're free for the day."

"Awesome. I'm going back to sleep." I muttered, turning on my heel and attempting to leave the kitchen.

"Nique, just because it's your day off doesn't mean you can sleep all day." She said sternly.

"But I'm tired." I whined, stomping my foot like a 5 year old.

I heard Ray chuckle and I shot him a glare.

"It's gonna be a beautiful day. You should go out and do something." She encouraged, handing me my own glass of orange juice.  I rolled my eyes, feeling annoyed. The only thing I wanted to do right now is sleep. But obviously that's not gonna happen. I set my glass of orange juice back on the counter and walked out of the kitchen.

"Where are you going?" My mom called after me. "To get dressed." I called back.

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After styling my hair so that it fell in big loose curls past my shoulders and applying my make up, I stood in front of my closet trying to find something to wear. Since today was an unexpected day off I was thinking I could go see my grandparents. When I go on tour they won't be able to see me as often which is a bummer... I'm leaving a lot of people behind when I go on tour.... Bahja, my dad, my grandparents, Ray. They all had their own lives and couldn't travel with me 24/7. I'm sure they will come visit as often as they can but that isn't enough for me. Especially since I don't handle being alone very well. I shook my head, trying to clear the negative thoughts, and reached for my outfit. I grabbed decided on jean shorts, a yellow vneck, jean jacket, yellow vans and my yellow beanie. I grabbed my purse looking in the mirror taking a few pics to post on Instagram and Twitter.

As soon as I was done making sure I got everything when there was a light knock on my door.

"Come in." I called out. 

Ray walked in and shut the door behind him before jumping on my bed face first. "What are you doing today?" I asked, trying to make up for my slight bitchy attitude this morning.

He lifted his head to look at me. "I have a radio interview in a little bit with Power 106."

"Ooh sounds fun!" I laughed. "They never asks annoying questions."

"Yeah." Ray chuckled. "Do you wanna come with me?" I thought about it for a moment.  "Please." He pouted.

"Fine." I rolled my eyes playfully. "What are you doing after that?"

"Studio." He answered, sitting up. I noticed him take in my entire appearance for the first time since he's been in my room. "You look really pretty today." He commented. It wasn't in a Flirty way... it was almost as if he was observing me. As if he just said, 'you're wearing yellow today.' He didn't mean anything by it but I still felt the urge to blush.