Breaking Point

Chapter 05 // Chantelle

[BEFORE - 1 Year and 10 Months Ago]

Jesse was attending the award ceremony Lewis had mentioned on the release day of his first album tonight.

Lewis had been insistent upon hiring a stylist for Jesse when the Star Awards was looming which Jesse would present an award with female child-actress-turned-singer-who-still-acts. Lewis had finally mentioned a name a month before the show and Jesse said they should meet beforehand so it wasn't awkward on the night, nodding ardently at Lewis as we were all sat around the table in the meeting room, minus Oliver and the band. Tyler was a lot more present in Jesse's life now as his bodyguard since the release of his debut album, multitude of interviews and the success that had ensued.

Honestly, I think Jesse only wanted to meet Kennedy Harper because she was exceedingly beautiful and he didn't want to miss out on any opportunities to flirt with her. What guy wouldn't? She had fair skin and dyed blonde hair down to her waist almost. She was short, slim, and wore shorts with boots, a style that seemed to fit seamlessly with Jesse's vibe. Her eyes were hazel and she had enviously plump lips.

Her hair honestly made me miss my dip-dyed ends, though I had now cordoned off that part of me in the past. It wasn't something I was inclined to revisit.

When Kennedy had arrived at the studio upon her initial visit, she hugged everyone, including me. She spoke with Jesse the most and soon their conversation turned to music and they began to bounce ideas off one another, Jesse having already confessed that he had a second album coming out in two months, which seemed like an awful close time considering he had virtually nothing prepared, but that was just my opinion.

"Maybe we should do a song together one day," Kennedy suggested at one point in an offhand manner.

I swear Jesse's eyes lit up immediately.

Jesse continued to mention me and post photos of us at the studio, including one where he had his arms around my shoulders from behind and pretended to kiss my cheek, me smiling dazzlingly at the camera on his phone which I was holding. He posted it immediately without a caption to his Instagram. But he had also made it public knowledge that he had met Kennedy and something was perhaps brewing between them, though he wouldn't tell me anything more except, "I really like her".

That was a few weeks ago and Jesse and Kennedy had been spotted by local paparazzi on casual outings. I was happy if he was, at the end of the day. Jesse was a massive flirt so it was difficult to decipher whether anything would spark between the two, especially with him being new to the music industry, but his career was taking off and Lewis was already setting a small tour in place following his second album.

But for now, we had all agreed to meet at the studio prior to him gallivanting off to the Star Awards. Just before Jesse left, I leaned in for a quick hug, something we only did when congratulating him. Due to how nervous he was looking with paling cheeks, I thought he could do with the booster. "Good luck. You'll be great. I'll be watching from home with Natasha," I said, pulling back.