Superstar (boyxboy)

Chapter 16: Million Words

The night was still young, but the darkness that loomed the skies felt like it was a longer night than usual. The weather was great—it wasn't cloudy as the stars brightened up the dark skies, but the breeze of air was a little chilly in the middle of July.

Carl was hanging out alone on the rooftop after exhausting himself with socializing with other people. He snuck out earlier after meeting some of their co-actors and was a little anxious about it for a while until it died down when he saw how marvelous the view was up here.

He sat on the wooden hanging swing, a can of beer in hand, and he looked over the bright city lights of Times Square. It was a great view—it overlooked the skyscrapers of the city and the brightest stars of the night complimented everything in the landscape, and he wished he could stay here in this city forever.

The dinner party was still ongoing downstairs, and he could hear the music playing—it was one of his songs from his debut album. He let out a small chuckle as he heard people singing along to it, and he was glad that they seemed to love it.

Heaving a big sigh, Carl still couldn't get off the feeling of shame when his mind went back to the scene earlier when the CEO dismissed and disrespected him. His words cut deep, and it hurt. Though he tried not to show it on his face, everyone knew it and he was thankful that they didn't talk about it anymore after it happened.

The look on everyone's face was of pure shock—Matthew's smile turned into a frown, Cole's laughter died down, and Jermaine's nonchalance turned into a scowl. He understood that he wasn't as famous as Matthew—that he had room to grow and learn from everything in the industry.

Sure, he has only released one album, but that album was a hit. It topped the charts, and to Carl, it was more than enough. People loved it, the critiques loved it, and his family loved it. The articles that the critiques had posted said that he was a fast, rising star, and sometimes words spoke louder than actions. That was enough for him.

But most of the times, words could also cut deep and hurt. That was something he had yet to overcome.

There was a sound of footsteps approaching, thudding against the wooden floor. Carl took a swig of his beer before he shifted his gaze to where he heard the sound, frowning a little bit and staring at the entrance of the rooftop. He could see a mop of black hair, and when the lighting by the entrance hit the person, it revealed Prince.

The assistant manager had his eyebrows furrowed into a scowl, and he kept on turning his head from left to right as if he was looking for someone.

"Carl?" he called out in the open rooftop, his voice tinted with a little worry.

Carl's frown turned into a small smile. He waved his hand up high from where he sat on the swings, and said loudly, "Over here!"

"What are you doing here, man? Matt has been looking for you," Prince told him as he walked over in front of him, his shoes squeaking softly against the floor.

He looked at the young musician for a moment, observing him as he felt indifferent towards the smile directed at him. It didn't quite reach his eyes, and it wasn't the same smile he was used to seeing when he was with them. He might be a little slow, but he knew there was something going on with him and Matthew.

So, he forced himself to ask the young musician a brutal question.

"Do you have something you want to say?"

"I," Carl started to say, shaking his head a little bit as he let out a deep chuckle. "I have a lot on my mind, honestly. I d-don't even know where to start."