Back at Rehearsal (Isadora’s POV)
“Okay but like… where were you yesterday?” Nina asked, tuning her bass with one hand and sipping orange Fanta with the other. “You straight-up vanished after soundcheck.”
Isadora casually shrugged, setting her guitar on her lap. “Just... out.”
“Out where?” Luca pressed, raising a brow. “Did you sneak off with that guy from the merch tent again?”
“Ugh, no,” she said, rolling her eyes. “That guy had a Nickelback tattoo, remember?”
Nina choked on her soda. “Right! Ew.”
But before she could steer the conversation away, Luca squinted at her. “Wait. You weren’t with that dude from Tokio Hotel, were you? What’s his name—Tom?”
Isadora froze for half a second too long.
Nina’s jaw dropped. “Shut. Up. You were!”
Isadora blinked. “I mean… maybe.”
“You went on a date with Tom freaking Kaulitz and didn’t tell us?” Nina tossed her pick at her. “Betrayal, bro.”
Isadora laughed, a little red in the cheeks. “It wasn’t a big deal. We just talked. Hung out.”
“Yeah, and I ‘just talked’ with a guy once and ended up at his cousin’s wedding in Wuppertal,” Nina shot back.
Luca crossed his arms. “You know this is gonna get out eventually, right?”
“I know.” Isadora sighed, fingers idly strumming a chord. “I just wanted one day without all the noise.”
---
Band Van Confessions (Tom’s POV)
Tom sprawled in the back of the van, his hoodie pulled low and headphones halfway on. Bill glanced at him through the rearview mirror.
“You’ve been real quiet since yesterday,” his twin said.
“Mm.”
“You went out with her, didn’t you?”
Tom didn’t answer.
Georg turned around from the passenger seat, grinning. “Dude. You did. I saw her message pop up on your phone last night. ‘Thanks for the mix.’”
“Y’all are nosy,” Tom mumbled.
“We’re concerned,” Gustav said with mock-seriousness. “You’re out here making burned CDs for girls. That’s practically a marriage proposal in 2004.”
Bill twisted in his seat to face him directly. “So? Was it good?”
Tom finally looked up, a slow smile creeping onto his face. “Yeah. It was.”
Georg snorted. “Look at this fool. He’s gone.”
“Okay, but listen,” Bill cut in. “This is gonna be messy if people find out. She’s in another band. There’s press following everything now. You can’t keep it under wraps forever.”
“I know,” Tom muttered.
“You ready for that?”
He paused. Thought about her laugh. Her music. The way she didn’t care who he was — just saw him.
“Yeah,” he said. “I think I am.”
---
Scene Three: The Buzz Begins
Backstage at a local club the next night, two girls were chatting by the soda machine.
“Did you hear?”
“What?”
“Somebody saw Tom Kaulitz and that Brazilian girl together at the skate park.”
“No way. Like… together together?”
“Yup. My cousin’s friend said she kissed him.”
“I knew it! He always goes for the emo-looking ones.”
And just like that, the first whisper made its way through the scene — a soft hum that would soon get louder.
YOU ARE READING
"Strings Between Us
Romance2004. Germany. Tom Kaulitz is used to getting what he wants - the stage, the crowd, the girls. As Tokio Hotel begins to rise, so does his ego... until she shows up. She's the Brazilian guitarist in a rival band - quiet, sharp-tongued, and completely...
