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chapter TWENTY NINE the press tour .
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the atmosphere in the waiting room was thick with unspoken words as starr, mason, and ahliya sat side by side on the small couch. the silence between them buzzed with tension, only the faint murmur of voices from behind the set breaking it. ahliya sat cross-legged, scrolling through her phone, her expression carefully blank. mason kept glancing between them, his mouth pressing into a tight line as if debating whether to say something or just let the silence swallow him whole.
starr, meanwhile, was leaning back, arms folded across her chest as she stared at a spot on the wall. her jaw clenched slightly, and her gaze flickered occasionally to ahliya's hand resting on the armrest, fingers drumming lightly. it was the first time they were all together like this since the wrap party, and the memory of that night—their near-kiss, ahliya's too-sweet smile—hung between them like a ghost.
"so," ahliya finally broke the silence, not looking up from her phone. "first press tour stop. we should probably figure out what we're all going to say, yeah? try not to step on each other's toes."
"oh, like we haven't been doing that already," starr muttered under her breath, her gaze hardening as she glanced at mason. she regretted it the moment the words left her mouth, but she didn't take them back. it was true, after all—everything felt like a balancing act lately, and she was tired of pretending.
mason shifted uncomfortably, his shoulders tensing. "let's just get through this, okay? no drama. just... do what we need to do."
ahliya's lips curved into a smile that didn't reach her eyes as she slipped her phone into her pocket. "of course. after all, we're all friends here," she said, the words dripping with insincerity as she glanced at starr.
starr forced a tight smile, barely managing to hold back the urge to roll her eyes. "right. friends," she echoed, her voice flat. the word tasted bitter on her tongue.
before the tension could escalate any further, a crew member poked their head into the room. "you guys ready? we're about to start filming."
all three of them straightened, pasting on their most camera-ready smiles. mason took a deep breath, his gaze lingering on starr's for a moment before he turned towards the set. ahliya's smile widened, bright and radiant as if she hadn't just been pretending to like the girl sitting next to her.
