Flowers, Fame and Unforeseen Facades

Chapter 4

Yellow Rose: Friendship
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*Trigger Warning. A panic attack takes place between these symbols: ᯾ ᯾

Zoe's POV

As we sat there, waiting for our coffee's, Levi kept staring at me. I was confused by his constant gaze on my face. For some reason, it didn't seem like he was staring in a weird, creepy or stalker type of way. More like he was curious about me. I couldn't help but feel the same way for him. I mean, he was a superstar. Automatically, in my eyes, that made him have an interesting life. So, that's exactly what I asked him about.

"So, what is it like being a super star? Are you always busy?"

His head moved downwards, and I could see a soft smile on his face.

Looking back up, he said, "It's not what most people think. I don't have a luxurious life style and everything I could ever want. In fact, to feel like a normal person, I like to live in a normal apartment. It's in the buildings of Oaksville."

My eyes widened. He lived in the same area as I did. I lived in Oaksville, building number 4.

Looking at him excitedly, I said, "Really?! I live in Oaksville's apartments too!"

He smiled at me, but didn't seem very shocked at all.

"Yeah, I know. I've seen you around a couple of times."

Ok, that sounded way too stalker-like. Nonetheless, I continued to make light hearted conversation with him, and answered most of his questions about me. Any time that he would ask me about my past, I would steer away from the topic after giving a vague response. I didn't know if it was just my imagination, but he seemed to be doing the same.

Every time I would ask him about anything related to his past, he would give a vague reply and turn the conversation towards me. Of course, I knew exactly what it felt like when people decided to stick their nose into other's businesses, so I stopped asking him such questions.

I was surprised to find that Levi was actually quite similar to a normal human being. I expected him to be stuck up and bratty. I was stereotyping him, and I soon realized that it was wrong of me. We laughed, talked and had a fun time. I learnt that Levi comes to his home town whenever he's not on tour, and tries to stay as hidden as possible from his fans. He loves what he does, and his fan base, but he still needs some alone time.

I gave away the same amount of information, telling him about my flower shop, best friend and funny stories about customers who came to my shop. Surprisingly, I had a lot of fun, and didn't spend the entire time blushing like a goof.

Once we had paid the bill, and got up to leave, we decided to exchange phone numbers. I asked him if he wanted a ride back to his place, because he clearly hadn't brought a car to the shop. He agreed, and we spent the entire ride talking, laughing and exchanging funny stories.

As we pulled up outside his building, he took off his sunglasses and turned towards me before saying,"I know I might sound like a three year old by saying this, but friends?"

I looked into his eyes, trying to dive into his mind and see his intentions. Once I came back up, I found nothing but genuineness in what he was asking. So, I uttered the words back at him.

His soft expression morphed into a huge grin, and he said, "Well then, I'll be seeing you around Zoe. Hopefully. Can't wait until we do this again."

Smiling at him, I waved goodbye, and drove back to my apartment, using the twenty second ride to process what had just happened. Although I still didn't trust Levi fully, I found myself happy at the fact that we were friends. He seemed like a good person. Sure he was cocky and flirty, but he seemed modest and humble enough for such a hit superstar.

As I made my way inside the house, I felt someone jump on me. My eyes widened, and I quickly tried to pry the person of off me. I didn't want a repeat of what had happened five years ago.

᯾The body instantly walked away from mine. As I looked up, I saw Harley looking at me with worry. Only then did I realize that I was breathing heavily, and the feeling of my lungs twisting into knots was overtaking me. Oh no, another panic attack! And I thought I was doing so well.

I felt my chest heaving up and down, the nauseous feeling soon coming, and the lightheadedness overtaking me. Thankfully, Harley knew what to do. She gave me some space, and started to ground me, asking me to name things that I could see, hear and touch. In five minutes, my breathing was back to normal, and I was wrapped up in Harley's warm embrace. ᯾

(AN: Harley jumped on Zoe to surprise her, but Zoe ended up having a panic attack. Harley calmed her down by giving her some space and grounding her.)

"I am so sorry, Zoe. I swear to god, that was a complete accident. Are you okay?"

I nodded at her and smiled, knowing that it probably came out as a grimace.

"Don't worry, I know it was an accident. And yeah, I'm okay."

Breathing a sigh of relief, she said, "Well, after that, there is no way that you're sleeping alone, only making me worry about you. We're gonna have a sleep over. Okay?"

Smiling, I nodded at her and went to grab my pj's, thinking about the fact that I needed to tell Harley about my newfound friendship. But would Levi allow me to?

Thank you SO much for reading! If you liked the chapter, please vote and comment. It would really mean a lot to me! Love you guys!