Half a World Away

19 - Zack

Cassidy just left. She got in a taxi and left Zack standing on the footpath watching her leave. There was nothing he could do. He had no idea where she was staying. She left him thinking he wanted her for the night and that was all. Zack never got his chance to tell her who he was. That he was Solo_Track.

"Zack! What are you doing?" Janice screamed at him, running over to his side and grabbing his arm to pull him back towards the green room. Jason stood close by, monitoring the situation. "You need to be inside, now!"

"I'm coming," Zack huffed, pulling his arm from her grasp.

In the corridor, outside the green room door, Janice turned to face Zack, her eyes burning with frustration.

"I don't know what you think you're doing with that girl," Janice scolded him like he was a little boy, "But it has got to stop, now!"

"Why? Why does it have to stop?" Zack argued.

"The media..." Janice started, but Zack cut her off.

"The media can go to hell! What I do in my private life, the choices I make, are exactly that; my choices!"

Taken aback from his tone, Janice backed down, "Zack, I only meant that..."

"If the media want to throw around stories about me, let them. Your job is to worry about that, that's what I pay you for. My job is to entertain. But at the end of the day, I choose my private life and me alone. Not you, not the media or anyone else. Are we clear?"

"O- Of course," Janice stammered. "Um, I guess I will wait for you inside, but please don't wait too long Zack."

Janice disappeared back inside the green room, while Jason kept his distance monitoring the corridor.

Zack pulled out his phone and started to message Cassidy. He still didn't want to tell her everything over messages. How would he convince her to see him as Zack once more? Messaging back and forth, Cassidy just became upset and agitated. He tried as Solo_Track to help her see reason, but at the end of the day she only had eyes for him as Solo_Track. In some weird way, it just made Zack like her even more. It proved to him more than ever that she was the one for him and he would do anything to be with her.

Cassidy stopped replying. Zack tried to get her to reply but she wouldn't. Was she even reading them?

"Damn it!" Zack yelled and hit the wall.

Trying to calm himself and slow his breathing, Zack knew he needed to think of a different way once more. This would be his last chance. He knew what he was going to do, but he couldn't figure out how to get her to come to him.

Rereading back through his messages, Zack came up with a plan.

Barging into back into the green room, he was quickly surrounded by fans wanting a piece of him. He spoke briefly with each one, all the while his eyes wandered the backstage area. It didn't take long before Zack saw the one person who could help him now. Politely excusing himself from those surrounding him, he made a bee line to Jasmine.

Jasmine sat in the lap of one of the Zipline band members' laps. He was yet to learn their names. Their arms were entwined around one another so tight it was hard to tell where one of them started and the other ended.

"Um, excuse me," Zack interrupted, "Jasmine?"

Jasmine suddenly pulled herself away and turned to see Zack standing awkwardly beside them.

"Zack," Jasmine replied with surprise. "You remembered my name."

Jasmine's eyes smiled brightly along with her mouth. Zack could see the appeal of Jasmine from her looks. She was beautiful. Stunning even. But she wasn't Cassidy.

"You're Cassidy's friend," Zack continued. "I need your help with something."

Jasmine stood up, coming to eye level with Zack.

"Of course," she agreed, "Anything."

Zack nodded his head towards a private corner away from all the watching eyes. After promising to return right after, Jasmine followed Zack.

"Here's the thing," Zack started, unsure of himself and how much to tell Jasmine. The last thing he wanted was Jasmine telling Cassidy he was Solo_Track. That was something Cassidy needed to hear from him. "Cassidy left suddenly and I have no way of reaching out to her. It's very important that I see her again. I can't explain everything right now, but I need you to bring her to the radio station performance tomorrow. Can you do that for me?"

"Okay, not that I'm complaining, because, I mean, you're Zack Masters!" Jasmine explained, "But what's your obsession with my friend? You only just met her."

"I know asking you to trust me uses all of my celebrity status points, but I promise you, it will all become clear tomorrow at my radio interview."

"I guess there's no harm in coming and watching your interview. However, if for any reason Cassidy gets hurt by you, I will hunt you down and you will forever be singing in falsetto."

Zack laughed at her threat, "Understood."

"Now, I'm going back to Daryl," Jasmine winked at Zack, "And I will make sure Cassidy is there tomorrow."

"Thank you," Zack expressed his gratitude, as Jasmine gave him a wave of her fingers and walked back towards the Zipline band member.

Zack texted Janice stating he wanted to leave. He thanked his fans for coming and started towards the door. Zack wasn't tired, but he wanted to leave. He needed to fine tune his song for Cassidy. It needed to be perfect.

The following morning, Zack waited out of view from the audience. He could hear the screams and chanting of his name. That wasn't what was making him nervous though. The anxiety, once more, came from wanting to do the best he could for Cassidy. This was it. He was going to let her know who he truly was. That he was Solo_Track.