You, Minus the Fame

Chapter 7

     The day Reece would try to get me to burst out of my bubble came out of nowhere. When I finally thought he had forgotten about it after spending weeks with him, one day he suddenly told me we were going somewhere and that I needed to prepare. I had gulped nervously, but agreed for some reason.  

      So here we were in his car, driving on the highway. I was trying to keep my breathing calm as we drove, wondering where we were going. Knowing I needed to keep myself distracted, I decided to ask him some questions.

       "What happened to Ross?" I asked. "I haven't seen him in a while."

       "He's with his owner," he replied. "My cousin, James."

      "Wait." My eyes widened. "Ross isn't your dog?"

       "No, not officially."

       My jaw dropped. The connection Reece and Ross had was something genuine. It was clear that they loved each other and that they would do anything for each other. It was so adorable that I couldn't believe this.

       "Yeah." Reece smiled. "Ross and I just get along well. He's five years old and I got to see him grow up in those five years."

       I smiled as my heart warmed up. "That's sounds nice."

       "It is."

       Reece turned right and we were now off of the highway. As I looked around, I realized we were downtown - in the city of Toronto. It was Sunday and crowded, so I frowned. I didn't know what he had planned.

       "Are we almost there yet?" I asked.

       "Yeah, ten more minutes," he replied. "Are you nervous?"

       "Yeah," I admitted. "Who knows what you have in store for me."

        The corner of his mouth turned up. "What do you think?"

       "Throwing me into a crowd of people who will try to socialize with me."

       He chuckled. "I'm not that cruel Cara."

       I raised an eyebrow, actually sure that, that was his plan. Reece wasn't cruel, but I had a feeling he wanted me out of my comfort zone fast. For what reason, I wasn't sure.

        "Be patient," Reece said, glancing at me as I frowned. "You won't hate it. I promise."

        I sighed tiredly and looked out the window. I really hoped he was right. Otherwise, I had a feeling our friendship would be going downhill from now on.

*****

       "A concert," I said, surprised. "For who?"

       "Shawn Hook," he answered. "I'm not sure if you're a fan, but I am. And he was the only person nearby with tickets I could still buy."

        I just nodded at that, still surprised. A concert was the last thing I would have expected, which left me both pleasantly surprised and nervous. I wasn't sure how this would help me get out of my comfort zone though.

        Reece led me through a hall after we gave in the tickets, and we were soon in an open area of crowded people. We were late, I could tell from how packed the place was. Now I just felt nervous, seeing the thousand of people here.

       "Relax, Cara," Reece said, putting a hand on my upper arm gently.

       "Now I understand," I muttered, hearing nothing but the crowd of people making noise. "You're trying to help me get over my fear of crowds."