Superstar | | ACOTAR AU

21

Azriel had not initially realized how much staying over at someone's apartment actually entailed. It wasn't like he had ever done something like this before.

His security team passed the information along to Amren, who selected a rotation of security to be outside of Gwyn's door through the entire night. Security would also be reporting to Amren any time anyone came or left from the apartment while he was there. The car would be on standby through the entire night with an alternate driver to allow their usual driver to get some sleep. Amren had also wanted a security guard to do a search of Gwyn's apartment, but Azriel drew a hard line there and refused, which he was surprised actually worked considering it was Amren he was arguing the point with.

Now that security was all settled, they could finally go to her apartment. He thought it would be simple after that, with everything settled. But it wasn't, of course it wasn't.

All it took was one photo being snapped of him and Gwyn going into the building. One photo taken and posted on social media, and it did not matter that it was the middle of the night. Aelin was utterly delighted by the absurdity of it, of their building surrounded by crazed fans. The band's entire security team closed in around the building with the help of the apartment's manager to ensure only residents got in.

"This is so fun," Aelin said as she peeked out the window, "there are at least a thousand people out there."

"Getting back to my place is going to be garbage," Dorian groaned, "I hate traffic."

"Just sleep over," Aelin said before glancing towards Azriel, "does your hot security man need to approve him sleeping here or is it fine?"

"It's fine," Azriel answered awkwardly, "they can't not let you have someone stay over at your own apartment."

"I know," Aelin conceded, "I just wanted to talk to the hot security man."

"You're starting to hurt my feelings," Dorian teases, a pout set on his lips, "aren't I pretty enough for you, Aelin?"

Azriel tuned out of the ensuing flirting, his eyes on Gwyn. He gently brushed his knuckles down her arm, a worried frown on his face.

"You okay?" he murmured, and Gwyn was a little startled by how entirely his focus was set on her. He always did that—gave her his full attention, as if the rest of the world ceased to exist when he looked at her.

"I'm okay," she assured him, "it's just...different in reality than in theory, I guess."

"It takes some getting used to," he told her before letting out a sigh, "that's a lie. You don't ever get used to it. Or maybe I just haven't reached the used to it point yet either."

"Do you think they'll be out there all night?" she inquired, glancing towards the window and then looking back at him.

"Not the entire crowd," Azriel answered, "most will clear out when they realize I'm not coming outside again tonight. Some might try to stay overnight, but if the crowd gets manageable enough, cops might come clear them away. Some might come back first thing in the morning."

"For what? A chance to see you for five seconds before your hot bodyguard shoves you into your car?" Aelin joined the conversation with a laugh. "I don't understand the logic."

"I don't get it," Azriel admitted, "we don't...encourage this aspect of things. If it's outside a venue before or after a show, then we might go out and meet some people if we have a big enough security team and the crowd isn't too crazy, but in settings like this, we never do anything to encourage them."

Dorian began to chime in, but Azriel's phone ringing cut him off.

"I've gotta get this, sorry," he said apologetically, frowning at his screen.

"It's fine," Gwyn assured him, "you can take it in my room if you want some privacy."

Azriel murmured a thank you and picked up the call as he slipped out of the living room.

"Hey, Amren," he greeted as he shut Gwyn's bedroom door behind himself. "Is everything okay?"

"How serious are you about Gwyn?" Amren asked.

"I've known her for less than a week," Azriel pointed out, glancing briefly towards the door.

"And you don't get the luxury of time, in case you didn't notice the crowd surrounding the building to see you and the first woman you've ever been publicly seeing. This whole situation is trending worldwide online. So, I'll ask you again, how serious are you about Gwyn?"

Azriel took in a long deep breath as he walked over to the bedroom window and looked outside at the crowd. The numbers had dwindled since this began, but there was still a large number of people.

"I want this to work. I like her," he answered, "it's too early to know if it will work out. We still have to get to know each other, but I am serious about trying with her."

"Okay," Amren replied, "she'll need to move then. Soon. That apartment building is a security nightmare. It's way too easy to break in. What's the budget we're looking at?"

"I'll have to talk to her about it," he said, "but, if she agrees to it, we can pull whatever is necessary from my savings for the deposit and rent. No budget, just whatever she wants. You know what's in my accounts and what we can get, so you know what we can get. Something local, I don't want her to have to go far. And I don't know if she'll want her roommate to join. I'll call you back tomorrow with whatever we land on."

"I assume you've already discussed the possibility of this to her."

"Yeah. About potentially moving and needing a security team of her own and some other stuff. I don't think either of us thought it would be this soon, but we did have that conversation. We'll have to...we'll figure it out. Is there anything else you want to discuss?"

A long pause. A hesitation, and Amren was not often one to hesitate.

"Your father has been sending emails since you blocked his and his wife's phone numbers. He's demanding a meeting with you. We've been ignoring him. Do want us to keep doing that?"

"Yes," he answered, his voice far colder now, "keep ignoring him. I won't see him. Ever."