Heart of Stone

Chapter Five: Sliding into the DMs

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The next morning, I woke to more Twitter messages from Teddy: a photo taken during our walk of a view over the rolling hills and a suggestion of non-romantic things for us to do next.

Teddy: I've been thinking of friendly things for us to do

Me: Do you not have many friends?

Teddy: I feel like you're trying to tease, but I actually don't... I hope you now feel guilty about your insensitive joke

Me: Yes, too embarrassed to see you again. Guess you're back to zero friends...

Teddy: Okay, you win. On a serious note, you like to keep reminding me of how much you don't know, so what about a crash course in my life tomorrow?

I considered making another joke about his appeal lying in the fact I didn't know him, but I refrained, remembering Gabby's advice from the previous night.

Me: Sounds good. Do I need to prepare anything? Bring a notepad and pen?

Teddy: No. Just bring your beautiful self

Teddy: And I of course mean beautiful purely in a friendly way... 😊

The speed with which he'd sent the follow-up message suggested he'd second-guessed my reaction to it. That reassured me. At least we were both treading carefully in this 'relationship'...

Once again, he arranged for me to be picked up and dropped off. Being chauffeured around seemed unnecessary on the surface, but the alternative was public transport and I'd take a posh car over that any day.

Although I'd been joking about preparing for a crash course in Teddy's life, I undertook a little bit of research anyway. I couldn't go in completely blind in case I made an idiot of myself, and the more time I spent with him, the more curious I became.

Typing Teddy Stone into Google brought up 200,000,000 results, led by his website, Wikipedia page and social media. I clicked through onto Wikipedia and read the basic biography about him—his age (26), where he grew up (Surrey), his awards (lots).

The juiciest part—Relationships—had barely any information, though. Just one sentence about the up-and-coming Hollywood actress, Lacey Holland.

Notoriously private, Teddy Stone has kept his romantic life under wraps but has been repeatedly linked to Hollywood actress Lacey Holland since his music featured in her debut movie, Blinding Lights.

Interesting. I'd spent more time watching Lacey Holland's films than I'd spent listening to Teddy Stone's music. In fact, her older brother had often appeared in my fantasies as a teenager. Aaron Holland had been to me what Teddy Stone had been to Becca.

Clicking back a page, I amended my search to Teddy Stone and Lacey Holland. The top results were news articles from various media sources, all commenting on a potential romance between the pair.

Will they, won't they? Leddy keep us guessing.

Pop sensation Teddy Stone and Hollywood's sweetheart Lacey Holland were spotted having a cosy lunch together in Los Angeles, just hours before the singer was due to hit the stage and perform his sell-out tour at Staples Center. While no relationship has been confirmed, the two have made no secret of their affection for one another and regularly share teasing messages publicly on social media.

My head spun, trying to work out what this meant. Was it the media making a story out of nothing? Were Teddy and Lacey deliberately baiting the press for publicity? Did either of them even need the publicity? Or was it genuine? Could Teddy be using me to divert attention from his secret romance with Lacey?

Shuffling off my bed, I padded into the living room, my eyes falling on Gabby stretched across the sofa and cradling a cup of tea as she watched TV.

"Aren't you going to be late for work?" I asked, flicking on the kettle.

"Not in 'till ten," she said. "Working late tonight to meet a client who wants to check out the venue."

"Is the client famous?"

"Mine isn't, but theirs might be."

Gabby's job at the arena brought her into close contact with a lot of singers, comedians, and actors, but she rarely got to meet the person behind the manager. Nevertheless, it still came with certain benefits—VIP tickets to concerts, for example.

The ad break kicked in and Gabby sat up, extending her legs and stifling a yawn. "What are your plans today? Anything from Teddy?"

"I'm getting a crash course in his life tomorrow." I leaned back against the kitchen table and scratched at my shoulder.

She raised an eyebrow. "A crash course in his life?"

"Yeah. 'Cause I know fuck all about him."

She snorted. "Right. You won't know much more tomorrow. He's only gonna tell you the good bits."

"Probably. What's the situation with Lacey Holland?"

That piqued her interest, her pointy eyebrows shooting upwards. "He talked to you about Lacey Holland?"

"No. I Googled him, and she cropped up."

"'Course she did. They've been playing the part of a lovesick couple for years."

"It's not real, then?"

"Doubt it. If it were real then there'd be genuine photos of them together. Like actually together, going on dates, holding hands, kissing... No such thing as a private relationship when you're both celebrities."

We both seemed to have the same idea at the same time, as if the cogs in our brains clicked into place simultaneously.

"If you can get inside info on the pair of them, the media would go nuts for it."

"But how can I get inside info on a relationship with her if he's trying so hard to get into one with me?"

Gabby shrugged and took a sip from her mug. "You're just friends at the moment. If he does have something going on with her then he'll probably keep a hand in it while trying to win you over. Let's face it, he's hardly proven himself to be a beacon of morality when it comes to girls."

"True."

Downing the rest of her tea, she headed over to the sink to wash up the mug, just as loud music from our upstairs neighbours started to seep into our flat.

"Really?" she asked with a groan, tilting her head up towards the ceiling. "At this time?"

"At least you're going to work," I said.

"Hm. Have fun," she said with a dry drawl. "Inconsiderate bastards."

In retaliation, she slammed her bedroom door shut—but I doubted upstairs would have heard it over the sound of their thumping bass. As for me, between the piercing thoughts inside my head and the loud music outside it, I didn't hold much hope for a productive day.

Already all I could think about was my next encounter with Teddy Stone. 

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Thank you for reading :) xx

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So what's the deal between Teddy and Lacey? Secret romance, publicity stunt or just friends?