Star Treatment | Alex turner

11

Alexander.

Alex was staring at the screen. His mind was blown. He couldn't believe what he was seeing.

Cori. His Coralie. Smiling proudly while cutting the line, symbolizing the opening of her Hotel. Her Face on the Forbes front page. Multiple customer reviews. The Four out of Five Star ratio.

Alex's phone still lay there, the screen still on. He just talked to Cori. He took a closer look at her recent images, seeing how she aged a bit. The wrinkles on her forehead were visible in the photo, as well as her frown lines. She aged a bit, looking more mature. Based on the photo, her style changed as well. She was now rocking a tailored suit, and some photos showed her in silk dresses.

She wasn't that sweet, innocent-looking girl anymore. She was professional-looking, strong, and independent-looking, but still an alluring woman.

"Did you get your rooms?"

Miles walked into the living room where Alex sat, still glued to the floor behind his laptop.

"Alex?" Miles asked again after getting no reaction from him. "Look a this" Alex mumbled, leaning to the side so that Miles could get a glimpse of the website.

"You got to be bloody kidding me!" He shouted in excitement, taking the Laptop from him and examining the page.

"And you got a room there? It's almost booked up all the time." Alex shook his head rapidly. "Not that you wanker, look who the owner is!" He insisted and stood up, opening the gallery the page provided. "Wot?" Miles mumbled, quickly skipping through the photos. "That's Cori" He stated the obvious and Alex let out a dramatic sigh, nodding. "Yes, I was just on the phone with her."

"So, what are you going to do? Surely she's married by now" Miles started, noticing how with every word he said Alex's face fell a little more. "Thinking about it, I don't see a band around her finger, so you may be lucky" He tried to save the situation, quickly backtracking.

Alex just shook his head. He wasn't sure how to feel about the fact that he would stay at the hotel, that the woman his daydreams were about, owned. Since the day she left him, his mind would drift back now and then to the moments they shared, how they laughed and cried together. How she made him feel back then.

It would come to nothing. The cycle would repeat itself. He would fall for her again. But this time he would be the one to leave. His stomach turned just now realizing that she would see her again in not even a week. He wasn't prepared to see her again.

Stressed, he ran his hand through his hair, groaning.

Why is doing this to himself?

Why is he staying at that hotel? There are various other Hotels in Las Vegas, but no, the Monkeys choose this particular hotel.

"Come on Alex, just let it be how it is. Go with the flow. I know you're whacking your brain about this right now." Miles piped in. Alex turned his head toward his friend. "Yeah, yeah you're right mate."

Alex sat in his black Range Rover outside of the Airport in Los Angeles. He nervously tapped his fingers on the steering wheel, waiting for his British best friends to finally exit the Airport. After another excruciating fifteen minutes, he finally saw them and he left his car, welcoming them.

"Alex!" Matt shouted, and Alex laughed at him and waved. Nick, Jamie, and Matt power-walked toward him with their suitcases. "Hey mate," Alex chuckled into Matt's bone-crushing hug. "Good to see you, I missed that moody face of yours!" Matt laughed and patted his shoulder. Next up was Nick. They hugged and exchanged their greetings when Jamie tackled him into a hug. "Hell, I missed our group!" He fake cried to which they all laughed.

After storing their stuff in the trunk, they started their road trip to Las Vegas.

"Alex, stop tapping your finger unrthymicly! It's driving me bonkers! Why are you so nervous?" Matt spoke up. He listens to his wild tipping for half an hour now, and not even the radio could cover it.

They were halfway there, and Nick and Jamie fell asleep in the back, the jet leg showing its effect. "Nervous, me? Never" He chuckled, unbeknown to him, nervous evident in his voice. His leg was lightly bouncing up and down and his fingers were tapping the steering wheel.

"Who are bloody kidding mate? I know you since we've been 16." He deadpanned, looking at him with a serious expression. Alex sighed and caved in. He answered him truthfully.

"Remember the woman from snap out of it?" He asked, gripping the steering wheel so hard his knuckles turned white. He watched the video at least a million and one times in the past years.

Ironically, always he felt like she was supposed to act in the video- heartbroken, angry, sad, and longing for a person.

"C...Connie?" Matt asked. "Coralie. Cori." Alex snapped at him. Matt held up his hands in surrender, wondering why he was so defensive and worked up about her. "What about her?"

"She owns the hotel" Alex mumbled, still finding it surreal that he would stay in her hotel- seeing her again.

"Really? That's crazy. Small ol' world we live in, ain't it? But why are you so worked up about that?" Matt asked but suddenly, as if the scales fell from his eyes, he knew what was up. 

"You're into her" Matt drily said and Alex answered with a subtle nod.

"Man! That's great! Rekindle you're relationship with her and get to it, Alex. I don't want to pressure you or anything, but the clock is ticking man. Time to find someone" He shrugged and Alex just nodded. "I know, I know. But I don't know if she wants that too. I don't know if I want it. You know, the heartbreak and everything if it turns out bad." He said.

To be frank, Alex was shitless scared to get his heart broken again. Especially by her. A woman so kind and intelligent.

"You don't know it until you try it, Alex. It has always been like that. We were scared to start the monkeys, scared to be some low-rated band. And now, look at us"

Alex considered Matt's words for a minute, rubbing his hand over his stubble.

"You're right, Matt. Thanks mate"