Secret Diaries (Heartlake Cliche #1)

Chapter Five

     “First off, Rachelle seemed to have been photographed kissing Keith Hartman,” he revealed in as casual a tone as possible.

     “What?” Matt roared. “Hartman? Full Volume’s vocalist? That Hartman?” He had stopped in his tracks and was either running his hand through his hair or waving his hands all over in agitation. Gray clouds started to form in the skies of Heartlake City.

     Nick had stopped as well. He stared at Matt gravely and answered, “One and the same.”

     “Shit!”

     The vocalist had a famous temper and it was starting to reveal itself as he began to pace.

     “Chill, Matt. It may not be true. I haven’t seen any picture.”

     “This is not something to ‘chill’ about and you know it,” Matt snapped, hands on his hips. “Ha! My sister and that son of a bitch. Lovely,” he said derisively.

     “Maybe we should talk this through in the studio,” Nick suggested, trying to push Matt to get going. If they continued this conversation in the middle of the sidewalk, Matt’s upset tirade would surely get them arrested for public disturbances.  The people in the Financial District rather liked to keep their “serious business” kind of peace and left all the wild activities to the Leisure and Cultural districts. Matt’s outburst didn’t have anything to do with “serious business”. And then there was that soon-to-be rain shower.

     “Damn! Sometimes I want to strangle my sister for being so reckless.” He shook his head. “No, make that ‘most of the time’.”

     Nick gave a small laugh. “Believe me, sometimes, I do too.”

     “What are we going to do with her?” Matt asked exasperatedly.

     “Don’t ask me, you’re the brother.”

     “And you’re the best friend.”

     “Damn.”

     They both grinned then laughed at the incredible situation Rachelle had dropped them into. Full Volume and Quarter To Five had been rival bands since both were just starting years ago—when Matt was still in middle school. Complicated events had led the band leaders to hate each other’s guts for the longest time. This kind of news was sure to create uproar among both bands’ fans—especially now that they were all hoping for both of the bands’ debuts. Rachelle sure knew how to make an already complicated situation worse.

     “Maybe it wasn’t Rachelle,” Matt said hopefully once they stopped laughing at themselves.

     “Let’s hope so.”

     They continued their way to Nick’s place and were discussing their plans for today’s practice when Nick felt that familiar sensation of being followed. It was starting to become a nuisance. That stalker. They were almost at the RCL when at the last turn, he told Matt in a soft voice: “That person’s at it again.”

     “The guy you told me about?” Matt clarified, although his expression showed that he already knew that they had someone trailing them. As indifferently as they could, they tried to walk slowly and stopped. Their pursuer did the same.

     Nick’s lips thinned before he answered, “Yeah. He hasn’t done anything dangerous, but he’s getting on my nerves.”

     They started walking again.

     “Are you handling it alone or do you need my help?”

     “He’ll get suspicious if we do something seemingly unnecessary,” Nick said, conceptualizing a plan in his head. After a few seconds, “Here’s what we’re going to do.”