North Star Boys

Chapter Seven- Losing A Member

It feels good to be home. New York was crazy. I met so many people and reconnected with some former friends. Dylan and I are starting out slow now. We are going to hang out later. "Hey, Seb. Come try this," Darren is making another concoction in the kitchen. I've become his taste tester because he says the chef is automatically biased. Regie and Oli are making a Tiktok in the living room. I walk over to where Darren is and take a bite. It is so good.

"I hate everyone here," Ryan shouts. No one looks up though because they are so used to hearing this by now. He left the area, went upstairs, slammed his bedroom door, and stayed there for the rest of the night. Justin kept trying to get into their room but Ryan wouldn't let him in.

"Guys, Ryan's still in his room. He won't let me in," JP informs. This is weird. Usually, Darren is the only one that Ryan doesn't let in. Oliver and I exchanged a glance of confusion. Oli goes to check on him but came back with no such luck. 

"I don't know what's going with him, right now. I have never seen him like this," Oliver says. I haven't either. "It's not fair to Justin. It's his room too. He was asking for you, Sebastian." Darren hands me a plate of food to take to Ryan while the rest of them keep eating. I went down the dark hall to Ryan and Justin's bedroom. The door is shut but the light from inside makes it glow. I knock on the door a few times.

"Yo, Ryan. Darren made you some food," I said. No resp-

"Bro, get the hell away from me."

"Oliver said that you wanted to talk to me," I tried to reason. "Why won't you let Justin in? It's his room too. What's going on?" The door flings open. 

"Oh, so now you're interested in my life," Ryan says loud enough for all the boys to stop what they are doing. Where is this coming from? This is not like Ryan. "I came all the way out here for you and for what? Another one of your stupid ideas. One of my roommates wants to kiss me. I don't have any privacy. We've turned into BTS which was not our intended goal. Kane is always pranking me. Regie is just- don't get me started on him. Darren thinks he's a bird. Justin thinks he's a cat. Oliver is so obsessed with music, he and Regie keep me up until 3 am and then you get us all us by 5 am. Bae and I always get into an argument now at least once a day-" I point out that Kane and Darren also do that. The 5 am thing was only one time. "I bet Manager Ty is the one that comes up with the ridiculous video ideas that make us all look like idiots." He keeps going. "I hate that we are always moving. This is the longest we have ever stayed in a house and now we are moving again." I stop him long enough to ask what this really is about. "You! We're best friends. I moved across the country for you for another one of your crazy ideas and you don't even give me the time of day. You are always hanging around Darren who is more sus to me than anyone else in the group." I try to point out that he and Justin have become best friends lately since they became roommates but once again he didn't let me get a word in.

By this time, Ty and Oli have come up. Ty was able to get him to sleep on it before saying more things that might be regretting later. Justin ended up rooming with Kane and Regie that night.

Oli, Ty, and I have an 8 am meeting the next morning before our 9 am one with all of the NorthStar Boys. I can't seem to stay focused in the meeting at all. My mind keeps repeating Ryan's words from last night. I just don't understand. Manager Ty is talking about what all we have to do for the upcoming Gulag. We have interviews soon for the second cameraman. "Sebastian?" There's a pause. "Sebastian?" I turn back to Ty. 

"Got it. Interviews tomorrow starting at ten. Gulag planning starts today at three," I say with confidence. I follow them into the living room ready for the meeting. Justin is already on the couch sleeping. Regie and Kane trudge down the stairs next. Darren is finally on time today by 8:59 but Ryan still is not down here yet which is weird. He is usually there by 8:52 on the dot. Kane is scrolling through his phone. 

"Guys, look at the group chat," he says.

NSB Group Chat

Ryan Nguyen has left the chat.

Regie pulls up Snapchat. Darren goes onto Instagram. Justin goes onto Twitter. Oli checks Twitch. I pull up YouTube even though he is never on it. Ryan is inactive on all of them. He has two recent story posts on Instagram and Snapchat though. 

23 hours ago. 10K views.

azngami Got an offer from DK E-Sports Gaming to go pro.

3 hours ago. 2K views.

azngami Met some little stars at the airport. I'm going home, guys.

We are all so confused. Manager Ty pulls up all flights from Palm Springs to Minnesota. It leaves in an hour. We can't all go, can we? No, I should go. I caused this mess and I have to fix it. I don't know how but I have to go. I grab my keys and get in my car, then I race out of the driveway and down the street towards PSP. Why did I not notice any of the signs that he was giving? Why didn't I just talk to him last night? We could've worked it all out without all of this. "Call Ryan Nguyen." It goes straight to voicemail. I know for a fact that it isn't dead because Ryan always makes sure that he has a full charge on all trips which means that he turned on his in-flight mode. I quickly pull into a parking spot and park. I am literally running into PSP towards the Minneapolis, Minnesota gate. "Sorry, I got to go stop my friend from getting on that plane," I say to some guards. There's a line at the gate. They're boarding. I see him though. He is standing in line with his backpack and suitcase. He has his neck pillow and his headphones on. I know that he is not going to be able to hear me. I start maneuvering through the line. "Sorry, excuse me. I'm trying to stop my friend." When I finally reach him, he takes a second before removing his headphones. "Ryan, please don't do this. Don't get on this plane. Don't leave. I'm sorry, okay? Can we please talk?" He has no expression on his face. "I should've noticed the signs before last night and I am sorry for not handling it. It was not fair to you or any of the other members." I can hear whispers from other passengers saying to their friends that 'it's Sebastian Moy' or 'that's Ryan'. "You are my best friend and we've been friends for years. That is why I asked you to be a part of North Star Boys. I didn't want to do it without you. I don't want to do it without you. Please come back."

"Please Ryan," We turn to see the rest of NSB including Ty and Bao behind us. 

"Sir, are you boarding today," a flight attendant asks Ryan. We've reached the front of the line. I look back at Ryan who looks from us to the flight attendant. Ryan quietly apologizes to me before walking past the flight attendant. I hear those same girls gasp. I felt my stomach drop but it wasn't like any roller coaster I've ever been on. Justin's phone dings...

Hey, guys! Sorry about the wait but I hope that it was worth it. I really hate that Ryan is hurting and Seb is having so many speeches! I love them all and I won't let the suffer for much longer. I will explain everything in the next chapter. Go check out my other story A SONG FOR A NORTH STAR if you haven't already.