The One: Collateral Damage (The One Series-Book9) (ORIGINAL DRAFT)

Chapter8: Blackmailed

Chapter8-Blackmailed

January 13th, 2012

  It’s now January of 2012. In late November, Bailey was released from rehab. She still needed to go to meetings and talk with a counselor, but she was able to back on tour. She was able to perform in the Asian/Australian/Latin American leg of the tour. She, along with Justin, were able to dance since they’ve almost fully recovered from their injuries.

 While Bailey was in rehab, she was contacted by Alyson that Justin was now dating Brandon. Bailey wasn’t too happy with this, but she was able to not let this affect her. Once she was reunited with the band, she told Justin that she was okay with whoever they’re dating.

 Now that it was 2012, 7th Anthem were getting ready to release a brand new single from the up-coming re-release of their international album, The Anthem. The single is called Do You Feel Me? The promotions were slated to begin in March, as the single will be released around April.

 At the same time, they’re also getting ready to release the final single from their North American album, 7th Anthem. That single was a song they released in 2010, titled High Voltage.

 Ever since Andrew and Natalie reunited after he moved to Boston almost twenty years ago, Natalie had been following Andrew to almost every city during the tour. Now, 7A would have a few groupies following them, but they would always ignore them. But they were just die-hard fans, not people that they had connections with years earlier.

 Currently, 7A were at their last stop on the Asian/Australian/Latin American leg of their tour. The city was Mexico City, and the two-day concert was sold out. And of course, Natalie showed up to the final concert.

 By now, both Andrew and Alyson were more than annoyed of her constant presence. After seeing Natalie backstage, Alyson took Andrew into his dressing room to talk to him. She asked him in an irritated tone, “Andrew, why does she keep following us? Doesn’t she have a poetry book to publish?”

 He told her, “Your guess is good as mine. It’s like she’s trying to hold onto me.”

 “I think she’s in love with you.”

 Andrew sighed as he said, “I’m not surprised, but I think it’s more than that. She’s obsessed with me. I mean, I get we shared a kindergarten class together, and that we were friends. But we don’t know each other. She should know that I’m not the same person anymore, and I haven’t been for years.”

 “You need to talk to her.”

 Andrew agreed, and then he left the dressing room. He saw Natalie standing around, obviously waiting for Andrew. She grinned as he approached her.

 She was about to give him a hug, but he pushed her away. She asked, “What’s wrong, Andrew? You used to give free hugs.”

 Andrew replied sternly, “Yeah, I used to. I haven’t been doing that since I moved to Boston.”

 Natalie pouted, “C’mon, Andy! You used to be the sweetest, most sensitive guy I’ve ever met.”

 “I still am, I just don’t show it in public. I’m a Hawthorne. I’m really a badass. Besides, I’m not 5. I’m 22. You still treat me like I’m a little kid. I’m not.”

 Natalie then asked shyly, “Can we meet for a coffee date? Please?”

 Andrew was growing more irritable with Natalie. He told her grudgingly, “Let me talk to Alyson first.”

 Then Natalie asked in a disgusted tone, “Why would want to ask her?”

 Andrew could hear in her voice that she didn’t like Alyson. He told her off, saying, “Alyson is my girlfriend. She’s the love of my life. I’ve known her all my life. I don’t know you. So you got no right to disrespect her. You know what? The supposed ‘coffee date’ is canceled.”