SLIDING HER KEYCARD through the automated door of her apartment, Foressa closed the door behind her with an affirming click! Only then, alone within the four walls did she let out a weary sigh.
It wasn't anyone's fault. The unassuming internet user had made a — arguably innocent —tweet that had trapped her in an inexorable fate.
Three years ago, it had been her on the losing end. Now, it would appear she was back to that same immovable position. "Joke's on me — again." She mused bitterly.
Shuffling towards the couch, she dragged one plush pillow over to her. Simultaneously, she used her free-hand to swipe at her phone screen, dialling the one person she knew could give her objective advice towards her dilemma.
Following this was an interim of repetitive beeps before the call connected with an abrupt click.
"Hello?" A soft voice echoed from the other hand, a small yawn unveiling the hints of sleep infused within the tone. Glancing at the clock, Foressa instantly felt a wash of shame roll over her. In her haste, she had completely neglected the differences in time zone.
"Oh my god, I'm so sorry Lara. It completely slipped my mind to check the time before ringing you," contriteness was evident in Foressa's tone.
Lara Tang was a Chinese-descendant who hailed from Malaysia, a small country located in the south east of Asia. She had immigrated to Oaksville at the tender age of twelve, meeting Foressa at their esteemed boarding school. The pair were still tightly-knit eight years down the road, more so after Foressa's debut had seen an eruption of artificial friends and fracturing of others.
For the last three years, Lara had been studying in New Zealand. Though it may have been the morning for Foressa, it was almost close to midnight for Lara. It was highly probable the former had inadvertently woken her up.
"Go back to sleep, I'll call you later." She rushed out the words, preparing herself to end the call.
"Hey, it's not a problem at all. I'll accept any call from my favourite music artist, no matter the time." Lara reassured in a firmer voice, the sleepiness present in her voice earlier slowly but surely dissipating.
"How's New Zealand treating you?" Foressa engaged in idle chatter, not wanting to immediately commence forth with a rather sensitive topic for the both of them. Lara indulged her.
"For one, freakishly cold. At this rate, even Los Angeles weather would be better than this."
"Careful what you wish for," Foressa warned. "It's equally as frigid here. Temperatures are around the range of single digits."
"Essa, mine's predicted to drop to the negatives. I'm quite expectant of myself to come out as an ice-block by the end of winter!" Lara exclaimed indignantly, eliciting bursts of laughter from Foressa.
"How's Mr Morris?" Foressa asked once she had recovered from her fitful of laughter.
'Mr Morris' was the oldest Kiwi in New Zealand —not to be confused with the fruit. He was one of Lara's favourites at the laboratory that she often volunteered at.
"He's his usual demanding self, I swear he's more pampered than most humans are," she lamented.
Lara paused, shifting her jovial tone to one of wariness. "And you? How are things?"
"Things are... good," Foressa said slowly.
"I sense a but on the way," Lara mused.
Foressa exhaled a breath. "You'd be right about that."
"Candance offered me a proposal today," Foressa began carefully. "The proposal was sent by Blake Tan. As in, the manager of Chaos Ensues."
There was a pregnant pause after her statement. Foressa shifted in her position uncomfortably at Lara's lack of response.
"Lara? Did you hear me?" She wondered if the line got cut off.
"Ah, yes, I'm still here. Just buffering. Though, I feel as though I missed a chapter. Care to explain from the beginning?"
Foressa obliged her request, beginning to explain the entire predicament in intricate detail, initiating from when Candance had dialled her in the morning and finishing with her abrupt departure from Brewer's.
Lara hummed in a bid to buy time to articulate a breve response.
"That's... interesting," she said lamely, internally wincing at her sub-par reply.
"Interesting is one way to put it," Foressa commented wryly. "My internal choice of words were far more colourful."
"Candance has a point though," Lara pointed out pragmatically. "She's looking out for your future."
"I know, I know." Foressa sighed, "but this is a big deal. It's not merely a one-day situation that can be accomplished and done with, it's an entire year."
Lara expelled out a breath of weariness.
"Well, let's weigh out the pros and cons. Rejecting this proposition would result in : breaches of privacy, potentially falling sales but avoidance of the band. Accepting this proposition would result in : satiated fans, retained privacy but constant interaction with the band," she enumerated.
"Both options aren't particularly attractive at the moment." Foressa deadpanned, running her fingers through her ebony locks and fisting them in a painfully tight grip. The cross-road she was at served no desirable destination at its end.
No matter which direction one looked at, Foressa was as good as a sitting duck.
"Yes well, it's the set of cards fate's dealt you with. Either forgo your privacy or forgo your contempt for them."
"You say that as if my feelings are akin to a switch; something that I can easily flick on and off on command." The sarcasm was evident in Foressa's tone but a layer of hurt simmered beneath.
"How about I bury myself underneath my blankets and avoid my problems in hopes that they'll resolve themselves?" She suggested instead.
Lara muttered something that sounded eerily similar to 'don't we all' but over the line, the sound was muffled, causing the words to be indiscernible.
"Not exactly the most feasible solution."
"Let's re-evaluate this again," she instructed. "Firstly, let's look at the duration: one year. At the end of the day, 365 days isn't that long of a stretch — it'll be over before you know it."
Lara was quick to continue, not letting up for even a smidge of a second. "Additionally, you won't even have to interact with one another again after this given your fans will be succinctly satiated. Most importantly, if the proposal is as detrimental to your privacy as Candance predicts, then frankly, it would be a wise decision to accept."
Lara knew how much Foressa valued her privacy, especially valuing to keep everything that had occurred to her before she shot to fame in the dark, buried underneath a pile of rubble.
Foressa contemplated what Lara had said.
"I hate that you're right," she said glumly. "May the lord give me strength to power through alone; four against one isn't exactly positive numerical odds."
An epiphany struck Lara, like lightning to a tree. Before even she could comprehend what she was about to offer, her mouth was already forming the words and spitting them out.
"I can come with you, then."
Foressa's eyes widened comically to the size of saucers. Now she contributed to a deafening silence.
She was quick to add on, "I'm not forcing it on you or anything. The idea simply popped up in my head that if I were to accompany you, you wouldn't be have to go through it alone as you fear."
Lara needn't have worried for the idea was slowly consolidating itself in Foressa's mind.
"That's not that bad of an idea, Lara."
She was underselling Lara's suggestion. It was a most brilliant idea.
"How about university?" She inquired curiously. Lara's studies were nowhere near finished, surely accompanying her would prolong her graduation.
"It will only take me a week more to complete my dissertation." Lara reassured, "After receiving advice from a few of my professors, I was already planning to take a gap year after its' completion before I continued my studies."
Foressa made a 'ooh' sound of acknowledgement.
Bringing Lara along would not only save her from engaging with the male members of the band, it would also be a perfect opportunity for them to spend some time together — a department which they had been lacking severely in.
"You're certain, then?" She treaded cautiously, "I don't mind sacrificing myself but you and Kayden..." her voice trailed off at the end, reminding Lara of the unpleasant break-up between Kayden Zhen and herself three years prior.
"I don't want to put you in an uncomfortable position." Foressa finished.
"It's fine," she dismissed her concerns gently. "I've gotten over it. Besides, I'm going to support you, not anyone else."
Foressa blew out a suspire, strands of her hair flying upwards with the motion. It was decided, then.
"Right. Then I'll call Candance now and text you the details after."
"Alright," Lara yawned. "I'm going back to bed now. Take care, Essa." Her best-friend bade her a farewell right before the pair hung up.
Foressa immediately dialled another number.
"Well isn't this a surprise," was the greeting Candance chose to give to Foressa when she picked up the call."After your melodramatic performance at Brewer's, I wasn't expecting a call from you until the end of this week at least."
Foressa didn't bother with an equally teasing response, instead cutting straight to the point. "I'll agree to the proposal but on one condition."
"Name it."
"I get to bring a friend."
"Who is this friend of yours?" Candance inquired. Foressa wasn't the most social-butterfly of musicians, Candance could list off of one hand the number of people she kept in touch with and none were exactly musically-inclined.
"Lara Tang. You've met her, once, during the meeting when I initially signed with you."
Foressa could hear Candance tapping a finger against her chin as she contemplated the request. Tap. Tap. Tap.
Her heart rate began to escalate in uncertainty as the sound was prolonged for a disconcerting amount of time, to the point where Foressa briefly pondered if Candance would end up refuting her wish.
"That can be arranged." Candance said at last, caving in. Foressa let out a relieved suspire.
"Good. Send me the details, and let me know when you need me to come by your office."
Akin to her conversation with Lara, Foressa exchanged minuscule farewell pleasantries with her manager before she hung up.
Only when she did hang up, did it dawn on Foressa the implications of what she had agreed to moments before.
Touring with the four boys that had abandoned her three years ago.
Worst of all, she would be facing the boy who had broken her heart into pieces on a daily basis.
She rubbed her thumb and forefinger against her forehead. Ruefully, she ruminated that for better or worse, this next year was certainly going to be -- as Lara put it -- interesting.