Star-Crossed ✔️

33

- 33 -

Noah was going to go public with admitting to being in the video. I wasn't sure how he came to that conclusion, but I was going to support him.

He said it was something about not wanting to lie anymore, or let other people take claim on his mistakes. Joey suggested putting out a formal—and loosely scripted by my team—video telling his side of the story after we spoke to lawyers about what we can do about MacNeil. They didn't want him to post his testimony on Youtube for it to come back to bite him in the trial, so he needed to make lists and plans and find receipts and proof before proceeding.

It was stressing him out. I could tell. He was smoking a lot of weed and admitted to wishing he could have a drink, but wouldn't touch the bottle. Between nights spent at my place or his place, he was meeting with his sponsor, Jack, frequently. I met him. He was a cool guy, a lot older than us but other than his looks, you wouldn't be able to tell.

Dustin and Kelsi hard launched their relationship, so he was thriving. He'd bagged the hottest upcoming actress in Hollywood, as he so eloquently put it.

That piece of shit gossip Youtuber, Gio Leopaldi, was trying desperately to get Noah on his channel to 'clear the air' which really meant, tell his side of the story and get edited the fuck out of to be made out to be the bad guy. The worst part was that Noah considered it, wanting to get the show on the road. My team discouraged it, but they didn't need to. I wasn't letting that clout chasing monger near him.

Ultimately, it was going to be the longest, most stretched out process known to man. Noah knew that. I knew that. And eventually I'd have to start my European leg of the tour, which meant Noah had the choice of joining me again or staying back and trying out long distance. I think I knew his choice, but I wasn't pressuring him.

Chester wasn't doing well. He was so old, probably past his expiration date. But Noah was surprisingly okay with it. He'd had him since Chester was a kitten and he knew his time was coming. We lamented that he lived a full life, even traveled the country, which is more than most cats could say about themselves.

I stayed true to my word. No matter what obstacle was thrown at us in the coming weeks, I was there with open arms for Noah. My boyfriend, as it turned out. I finally grew a pair and inquired about what this was, what we were, and he flicked me in the nose and said, "You're my boyfriend. Duh."

Joey insisted we keep our relationship on the low for now. Maybe even until after my tour was over. And then possible until after the trial was over. We both hated the idea of that. It could take years. But after some bribes and promises and heavy manipulation on Joey's part, we agreed to stay secret until after Europe. Then we'd talk. I was okay with it so long as Noah was.

With everything going on, the most consistent thing in my life was Noah's smile. He may not have been happy in general, but he was with me. We cooked together, watched movies, swam in my pool, put on disguises and snuck around LA like a couple of teenagers—much to Joey's distaste, had sleepovers nearly every night, hung out with various company ranging from Dustin, Kailey, a surprise visit from Lina and Ryan and my mom? We wrote and recorded songs, found new hobbies that didn't require leaving the house, played video games, had loads and loads of sex. I'm talking hella sex. It was a dream.

It didn't matter what we did. I just loved being with him and I was certain he felt the same way.

Halloween was coming up. Noah and I were invited to some celebrity party thrown by a designer brand that had a massive costume contest. I scored Dustin a plus-one and Noah got Kailey's. Fortunately, Kelsi landed a big enough side role in some Netflix series that dropped in July so she was invited on her own accord. Dustin was so proud of her.