Someone like you

Chapter twenty one

"She bought the album, I think it's working" he said excitedly to her.

"That's great, but I'm still not sure how to get her to go to the concert" she said nervously.

"Please, just figure something out" he practically begged. She sighed.

"Fiiine, but this will probably mean a 4-hour train journey for me" she groaned.

"But it will be worth it" he said trying to sound as cheery as he could.

"It better be" she said before hanging up. She went over to her desk and booked a train ticket from London to Edinburgh for the 1st November 2022.

Over the next few days Alex seems to be noticing more and more eyes on her. More loud conversations about the R5 concert. More people stopping her and asking her questions. Slowly but surely its driving her insane. She came to Edinburgh for a fresh start, to forget her troubles, but one seems to be following her where ever she goes. As she walks to the train station she feels like she is surrounded by whispering and staring eyes. She stands at the end of the platform and stars around paranoid as people pass her and whisper to each other. Finally, she sees Emily get off the train. She is about to wave when a group of people with cameras surrounds her. They are asking questions about Ross and R5 and everything that has happened between them in the years. Alex feels as though she is suffocating in the crowd and only just fully understands why Ross feels the way he does about the life he leads.

Just when Alex thinks she can't take it anymore, a friendly face pushes though the crowd and pulls Alex out of it. She is about to struggle against the arm but then realizes its Emily. The hurry out of the train station in silence. Thankfully once they are on the main street they have managed to lose them in the crowd. Alex definitely didn't want them knowing where she lived.

"Emily, I don't understand what's going on" Alex says as they walk through the Meadows towards her apartment. Emily sighs.

"Well, have you listened to the new album?" she asks. Alex doesn't quite understand.

"What new album?" she asks, Emily turns to her and gives her a stern look.

"R5's new album, you know the one called 'the story', the one with a picture of you on the cover" she says irritably. Alex turns her gaze back on the path.

"No, no I haven't" she says quietly.

"What?!" Emily almost shouts "you listened to all their other albums as soon as they came out, but this one you didn't. The one with you fucking face on, you decided to give a miss" Alex keeps quite in shame.

"Well isn't it kind of creepy he put my face on the cover?" she asks shyly.

"Creepy? Really Alex? That is fucking romantic. Just give it a shot" she lets out a puff of air "what are you so afraid of?" Alex thinks of her answer for a minute.

"I'm afraid that these songs will be real, show his real emotion like I always told him. I'm afraid of what he's thinking. I'm afraid that it will hurt me more" Alex admits without taking her eyes off the path. Emily takes a deep breath.

"Grow some fucking balls" she laughs at the end. Alex can't help but laugh too.

It's just before 9pm and Alex sits in the kitchen scrolling through her Facebook feed which is full of R5. She can't seem to escape them. The knowledge that he is in the same city as her, only a few miles away is eating away at her. But she can't forget what he said, how it made her feel. Eventually, she gets to a point where she can't even bare to be in the confines of the apartment anymore. She puts her phone in her bag and walks into the kitchen where Emily sits at the table watching movie on her laptop. Alex puts her bag on the table. She goes over to Emily and takes one of her earphones out.