I sat on my bed, eyes transfixed on the computer screen in front of me. I couldn’t stop reading the first sentence on that results page over and over almost unable to take it all in.
“Jessica Ellen Cornish, better known by her stage name Jessie J, is an English singer and songwriter.”
I mean, Jess told me that she sang for a living but never elaborated beyond that. I didn’t know she was famous or anything like that. The thought never even crossed my mind but now that I think on it, everything started to make sense. The people staring, her wearing hoods constantly when we’re outside, the way she always rushes to get in somewhere, especially her house.
I clicked on the Wikipedia link just out of curiosity. A lot of the information there seemed to line up with the things Jess told me, where she was from, her immediate family, and a few other things.
Everything else I saw was just a bunch of random tabloid articles and just based on what some of them said I could see why Jess didn’t go out much. The press is actually lethal here and it made me wonder what exactly about her was true and what wasn’t. I mean some of these were actually mean.
I shut my laptop and sprawled across the bed in mild frustration. I didn’t want to read anything else about Jess simply because I didn’t want to form any opinions of her based on what are probably lies. It makes me wonder why she wanted to keep all this away from me in the first place. I’m not the type of person to really want to pry but didn’t she think I would find out eventually considering the amount of time we spend together? Then again, I’ve been pretty blind to the obvious this entire time.
I sighed and rested my arm across my face as I closed my eyes, attempting to relax. I guess me and Jess really did have a lot to talk about.
---
“Elena… Elena wake up,” An all too familiar sing-song voice filled my ears suddenly as I woke up from my unplanned slumber. I opened my eyes to see Jess hovering above me with an amused look on her face. I definitely did not expect her to be that close and it startled me slightly.
“You know you should really start locking your door, babe. I could have been a crazed murderer for all you know,” she said with a laugh.
I rolled my eyes at her and playfully shoved her off of me so I could sit up, resulting from a pout from her. I couldn’t help but laugh a bit at the childish look on her face. I suddenly remembered what happened earlier and my face fell serious as I turned on my side to face her where she lay on the bed.
“Jess, can we talk about earlier?” I asked.
Her face fell noticeably and I watched as she sat up slowly, resting her back against the wall whilst crossing her legs. I copied her actions and sat next to her but this time taking it upon myself to grasp her hand in mine in an attempt to comfort her.
“You know you can trust me right?” I said quietly.
I saw her nod silently and soon enough, she started to speak.
“Look, I was going to tell you. I really was. I just…”
She trailed off seemingly at a loss for words but I simply squeezed her hand encouragingly and waited for her to continue. I was going to let her explain at her own pace. There was no reason for anything to be rushed right now.
“…I’m a bit famous,” she finally admitted. “My stage name is Jessie J and that’s the reason why those people were acting the way they were today.”
“I know,” I whispered slightly.
“Wait. You do?” Jess looked at me in shock.
“Yeah, erm, I kind of googled you today after you left,” I admitted. “I would never look at you any different though, Jess. What you do for a job doesn’t change what I think of you and it never will.”
