Meeting Matthias

Chapter 8: Musika

Author's Note:To Youth Ablaze members reading this story, remember that some of the behavior depicted here are NOT to be followed. You know right from wrong. If you're not sure, ask me. LOL. Oh well, read on...

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Light was already streaming past the wide windows of the bungalow's gym. Sitting on a cushioned bench, Matthias laid the heavy weights on the ground before wiping the sweat from his brow. He checked the clock on the wall. It was already nine o'clock in the morning – about two hours since he woke up and began his workout, an hour since JM left him in a rush to "go get Ava".

Ava. A mischievous smile crept on Matthias' lips. If she finds me terrifying, then she's in for the scare of her life. Since their last encounter, Matthias mainly steered clear of Ava and he could tell that she was trying to do the same. However, he was really just biding his time. In the weeks to follow, he was determined to use all the charisma he had in him. He set it in his mind to charm Ava and get her to open up to him. He had yet to encounter a girl who could resist his charms. I doubt Ava would be much of an exception.

He picked up his phone from where he left it and frowned when he found about a dozen messages from Simone and five missed calls. What does she want now?

As he browsed through his girlfriend's frantic messages, Matthias toyed with the idea of breaking up with Simone. The more he thought about it, the more he wanted to do it. There were times when he was even excited by the prospect of getting rid of his girlfriend and all the emotional baggage that came with her.

Memories flooded through his mind about the past five years and everything he and Simone had been through together. He began to weigh the consequences of staying with her and breaking up with her. He was well-aware that their fans would not be very happy about the break-up. Their manager, Kip, would definitely blow a fuse over the whole thing.

But who cares if they get mad? It was obvious to him that his career didn't matter to him as much as he thought it did. I'm willing to lose my career if only to find myself – whatever that even means. And Simone... she's just a part of my career.

However, it was a single memory that reminded him why it was so hard for him to let go of his relationship with the beautiful young woman. It was the first night that they slept together. She wasn't his first time and he definitely wasn't hers. He honestly thought that it meant nothing. He was wrong, because Simone made it very clear that to her, it meant everything.

When Matthias opened his eyes, she found her sitting on the edge of the bed, wearing his shirt, sobbing. "Babe? What's wrong?" he asked, running a hand along her soft, brown hair.

Simone didn't respond. She merely continued to cry.

Matthias was shaken. Over the past three years that they'd been working together, he'd always seen Simone as this self-confident, independent and a little bit too flirty young woman. He never saw her cry unless her role in a show or movie called for it. He always perceived her as strong. He didn't know how to handle her tears, so he simply tried to recall what one of his characters in a show would do in this type of situation. He pulled himself to sit next to her and ran his hand over her back before pulling her into an embrace.

"Everything's going to be okay," he said in as soothing a voice as he could manage. "Tell me what happened."

Simone didn't respond once again, but simply snuggled against him, sobbing into his chest. After she was able to get a hold of herself, she looked up at him, her almond-shaped brown eyes tear-stricken and hopeful. "I love you, Matthias."