i hate you, i love you // cody ko // noel miller

chapter six // the interview

It's a quiet morning on the tour bus, with Noel and Cody eating a quick breakfast while I knock back a cup of black coffee. I hate black coffee, always have, but I'm desperate for the caffeine. It had been yet another sleepless night up editing, and I wanted nothing more than to crawl back into bed. Cody's video schedule was demanding, but I was completely determined not to fall behind. After barely sleeping for a few nights in a row, I was finding it hard to look forward to what was in store for the day -- an interview for some YouTube channel, a meet-and-greet, and a show. It shouldn't be too daunting, but I was absolutely exhausted.

Cody looks up from his laptop to beam at me. "Already more than 700,000 views on the vlog from two days ago, Chlo! You're on fire."

Even through my fatigue, I muster a smile. "All those hours are paying off."

Noel looks up from his piece of toast to shoot me a pointed look. "You work too hard."

"And you worry too much," Cody quips back, aiming for a laugh but receiving only a shrug in response. "She's doing just fine. Right, Chlo?"

"Right," I try to insist, but the bags under my eyes and weak voice reveal otherwise.

Noel just shakes his head. "We should go, guys. I don't want to be late."

Cody stands up and pushes his hair off his forehead. He extends a hand to me. "Are you ready, babe?"

I stand up automatically. "Yep."

"I've always wanted to see Madrid," Noel muses, leading the way to the street with some excitement in his step. "I've heard it's beautiful."

And it is beautiful -- maybe even more than Paris was. I forget my weariness as I gape around at the gorgeous streets, marked with classical marble architecture and illuminated by the bright morning sun. The air is sweet and refreshing, and all around we hear chatter in Spanish from people already bustling about.

Noel looks at me with a smile. "You got us by in France, Chloe. You don't happen to know any Spanish, do you?"

"Unfortunately, no." I turn to Cody. "Didn't you take Spanish in high school?"

"Barely," he smirks. "It's lucky the people interviewing Noel and I today speak English. Otherwise, we'd be in trouble."

We wander about the streets, marveling like tourists and capturing the occasional clip for the vlog. As repetitive as it's starting to feel to record videos of Noel and Cody messing around in various European tourist hotspots, Cody's right in saying that the videos are widely popular. From what I've seen, the fans love them, so I keep them coming as well as I can. As Cody has reminded me many, many times, this isn't a vacation. I'm here to do my job, and that's the most important part of this trip. So, even though I'd much rather explore a museum or wander the city a bit more, I obediently follow Cody and Noel towards where the interview is. I'm not terribly excited to spend another hour sitting backstage, watching them have yet another repetitive conversation that I won't be included in, but Cody wants me there, and I've learned it's best not to disagree with him.

It's not long before we're exploring a very cute little TV studio. I'm used to bland radio stations and tiny, cramped rooms for the interviews, so I'm pleasantly surprised by the studio we find ourselves in today. A chic white couch is in front of a huge backdrop that advertises the channel name -- SnapTV -- on an artistic background. There's a matching white chair, presumably for whomever will be interviewing Cody and Noel, and the man behind the camera is all smiles as he shows us around.

"I'm Mika," he says, ruddy cheeks dimpling as he shakes our hands enthusiastically. "And we're so excited to have you here at Snap today. Please, make yourselves comfortable! Your interviewer, Jaina, should be ready in just a moment."