Colliding with Fate (Published under Pop Fiction)

False Hope

I forgot that she can scream. Ugh, my right ear is vibrating. Naomi can have a speech in front of a large crowd without needing a microphone. Her voice alone is already loud.

“Hello?”

“Don’t do it again,” I chastise, scowling at the ceiling.

“Sorry,” she says sheepishly. I can picture her eyes lighting in amusement. “But pretty please, do something so that I can meet them?”

I sigh. “I’ll try. But their rules are getting in the way.”

“Rules?”

I decide to tell her everything that happened yesterday. Talking to my best friend is so ordinary, so normal; we can talk about anything without getting bored. I don’t know how many minutes have passed when suddenly there’s a knock at my door.

“Wait,” I whisper to the phone. “There’s someone outside, I’ll call you later.”

“You better,” she says, “and Brielle?”

“What?”

“You know that if they found out that you’re lying, they can report you to the police, right?” she reminds me.

“They won’t,” I say confidently. “They don’t even have an idea about my real age.”

“Be careful.”

“I always am.”

I swipe the end button and then I stand up and open the door.

Nate is in the hallway, a huge grin on his face. “Going to sleep already?” he asks amusedly.

I glance down and realize that I’m already wearing my pajamas.

“Cute bears.”

I can feel the heat rushing to my cheeks.

Nate chuckles. “I’m here to ask what you want for dinner, since it’s your first night here, let’s celebrate. The guys like pizza, by the way. What about you?”

I wonder if they celebrated the first night of their previous managers as well.

“Pizza’s okay,” I say.

“Any particular flavor in mind?” he asks, cocking his head to the side, and flicking his hair away from his eyes.

I freeze. That’s his famous move. I open my mouth to reply, but I forget how to speak.

Nate smirks. “I’ll call the delivery hotline then.” He winks at me and then goes on his way.

Thirty minutes later, I hear the sound of the doorbell. Opening my bedroom door, I find Nate leaning on the wall across from me.

He hands me cash and tells me that it’s for the pizza. I make my way towards the living room. When I open the door, I find a guy who looks about my age, holding four pizza boxes in his hands.

“Pizza delivery! Is this the Chase residence?”

Chase?

And then I realize that they got it from their band name. “Yes,” I say. I give him the money and take the boxes of pizza from him.

"What time is it?"

Twisting my wrist and glancing at my watch, I say, "Fifteen minutes before ten."

"Thank you," he says, smiling at me. He is cute, and his smile is adorable. “By the way, I’m Felix.”

Do all the delivery guys introduce their selves? Oh well, I don’t want to be rude. I return his smile and say, “I’m Brielle. Nice to meet you.”