Love Musical: The Tour

Chapter 26: Girls' Gossip Night

"So...? Is the real Jax not up to your mark? Did he disappoint you?" Aurora inquired, trying to hide a teasing smile.

"Absolutely not! The real Jax is..." Tiana sighed happily, "even more amazing. I thought I used to love his on-screen personality and his songs and his looks. But now... I think I like his personality the best. He has an aura that can light up any gloomy room. He is like a real star to me."

"Wow, someone sounds like they are in love," Aurora said in a sing-song voice.

"Love is in the air," Ariel chimed in, "but someone has yet to realize their own feelings."

Tiana covered her face with her hands, blushing. "You guys are embarrassing me."

"Why don't you confess to Jax? I'm pretty sure he has feelings for you too, Tiana," Aurora encouraged.

"Aura, are you crazy?" Tiana looked at her as if she had gone nuts. "Me confessing to Jaxon? Not in a million years! I will die!"

"You seemed to have no problem gushing over Jax all the time, even in front of him," Aurora mentioned. "So why would it be crazy for you to confess as well?"

"First of all, Jaxon would never see me that way," Tiana started rambling. "I mean, you guys heard him say we are only friends today, right? Secondly, we belong to two different worlds. He and I would never work out, with him attending The Love Musical in LA and me attending my very normal high school in Nashville. Thirdly, Cillian just forbade us from dating. I don't want LM to have any issues with Jaxon, not after what happened with the soda incident."

Aurora and Ariel were stunned.

"Wow, seems like someone put in a lot of thoughts into confessing," Aurora commented.

"No kidding," Ariel let out.

Tiana once again covered her face with her palms. "Sorry, I said too much!"

Aurora burst out laughing and placed her hands on Tiana's shoulders.

"You have been overthinking this way too much," Aurora reprimanded. "We can handle LM and Cillian as long as you and Jax are on the same boat, so don't worry. Just try to figure out what Jax feels for you, okay? And when the opportunity seems right, pour out your heart to him, okay?"

Tiana was hesitant.

"Come on, Tiana, this is the twenty-first century. Belonging to two different worlds? That's bullshit. If you and Jax decide to go out, it's nobody else's business, not even LM's," Ariel added. "Besides, didn't Cillian subtly mention that 'the fans can't know' even if you and Jax date?"

"See, there's a loophole." Aurora grinned. "So the only thing you need to worry about is Jax, nothing else," she assured.

Tiana finally nodded, feeling a little better and relieved. She had been going crazy for the past few days, wondering what to do with her growing, overwhelming feelings for Jaxon. She kept denying that she liked him that way because it would make the reality that she and Jaxon can't be together seem harsher.

But deep down, she knew that she had fallen for him for real—not just as her celebrity crush, but as a person whom she wanted to spend eternity with. How could she not know her own feelings until now when every time she was with him, he made her stomach tie into knots with butterflies swirling inside and her toes curling?

Finally, she had a goal now—assess Jaxon's feelings for her and confess to him.

"Speaking of confessions," Aurora turned to Ariel and asked, "did Dee say something to you today?" She didn't want to expose Declan, just in case he lost the nerve and didn't ask Ariel out in the end.

Ariel understood what Aurora was asking and gave her a wry smile. "Yes. He asked me out."

Tiana gasped loudly. "What? Why?"

Aurora gave Tiana a weird look. "What do you mean why? Didn't you notice Dee likes Ariel?"

Tiana's eyes grew wide as she vehemently shook her head. "I had no idea Dee likes Ariel..."

"You never noticed at all?" Aurora was sure everyone who had seen Declan and Ariel in the same room would take no longer than a minute to figure out Declan was head over heels for Ariel. But who knew dense people like Tiana existed too? No wonder why she felt it was impossible that Jaxon liked her.

"Oh, my God!" Tiana squealed. "We should celebrate. This is big news!" She happily ran to hug Ariel. "I'm so happy for you, Ariel!"

Ariel laughed awkwardly and stopped Tiana from hugging her as she broke the news, "It's not. Because I turned Dee down."

"What?" It was now Aurora's turn to gasp loudly. "You turned down Dee? What? Why?"

"Oh, no. Whyyyy?" Tiana cried out.

"Because I want to focus on my professional life only. I don't want any distractions like having a relationship and all," Ariel explained. "I told the same thing to Dee, and he seemed to understand my point of view, which was very sweet of him, actually." There was a faint smile on her face, which didn't go unnoticed by Aurora.

"Is that so?" Aurora plopped down beside Ariel and asked, "Don't you like Dee even a little bit?"

"I mean, not like that—"

"Really?" Aurora arched a playful eyebrow. "Dee is a really good guy, you know? He is very hard-working and smart. And not just bookish-smart, he can read people well and is very perceptive. In fact, I would say he's the one who is emotionally most stable out of the B4U boys. He may seem quiet at first, but underneath that, he's just hiding a lot of—"

"Sarcastic remarks," Ariel completed, smiling.

Aurora laughed lightly. "You do know him, then. So why did you reject our poor Dee?"

Ariel sighed. "Like I told you guys, I just don't want to have a relationship at this stage of my life. I am too focused on my career. Plus..." She hesitated to say it but decided to go for it. "Plus, I have attachment issues," she confessed. "I don't want to string along Dee because of that. My attachment issues will make our relationship way harder than Dee deserves, and I don't want that."

"Ariel..." Aurora murmured.

Ariel shook her head and smiled at Aurora. "Thank you for trying to encourage me, Aura. But I think Dee and I are better off as friends." She glanced outside the dark window and whispered, "If fate would let us, maybe Dee and I can meet again a few years later and then... something might be possible." She smiled bitterly and sighed once again. "Now is not the right now, though."

Aurora nodded her head, feeling sad for Declan as she knew how much he liked her.

I hope one way or the other Dee and Ariel can work out because I know Dee can be perfect for Ariel. I am sure that nobody will be as supportive of her career as him. I just hope Ariel realizes that soon enough herself and gives him a chance, Aurora thought.

Although she hoped for Ariel and Declan's union in her heart, she couldn't disagree with the part of wanting to concentrate on her career. Aurora wanted to do that as well.

She wanted to become a person who no longer needed somebody else's support to stand on her own. She was enough herself. She could shine all on her own.

As much as she still loved and cherished Davian, she wanted to become a strong individual who would help B4U reach new heights and boost her career to the point she would be left with no regrets.

She thought she had upgraded herself with her new hairstyle and confidence, but now, she could feel it in her bones—Aurora Eugene was just getting started. She had so much more to show to the world.