UNBREAKABLE ↠ BRANDON ARREAGA

TWENTY-FOUR - THE ONE WHO LEARNS ABOUT THE FIRST LOVE

short chapter but very eventful

word count: [2045]

After their performance, there was a meet-and-greet. Actually, the meet-and-greet was more like a hang-out with their fans; it wasn't formal or anything.

Brandon had asked me to hang-out with them earlier today, but I wasn't really in the mood for that. Besides, how was that even supposed to work? I'm only supposed to be their publicist, so I'm not really needed there. Also, I didn't really want to be there because he had to act all couply with Melanie for their fans to promote their relationship, which goes hand-in-hand with the tour, even more.

It's troublesome. I've always known that, but I had understood it. It was just a business thing, and I could act professionally. Brandon pretending to be in love with Corinna had always made me a tad jealous, but I was never as bothered with that as I was with his new fake girlfriend. This was something else, and this bothered me more than normal.

I also couldn't believe that he'd use his song with me as the song to sing with her. I had always thought that song was ours. Now, to everyone else in the world, it was a song shared between him and her. That tasted bitter to me.

Of course, with all of that going on, I wasn't surprised when Brandon came running backstage. His eyes searched frantically for me. I cast my eyes elsewhere as if me not being able to see him would mean that he wouldn't be able to spot me.

"Eliana, baby girl," I flinched at the pet name; nothing felt alright right now, "let me explain."

I knew he was closer to me now because I could feel his breath touch the back of my neck. "Brandon, please, I do not want to argue with you right now, especially not here. Plus, you have somewhere to be. We can talk about this later."

"Babe," he said desperately. I finally turned, and I knew he was sorry immediately. I just needed time, though. I needed time to process my thoughts, in order to fully give him the benefit of the doubt when he was to explain things to me.

I placed my hand on his shoulder and leaned up to give him a nice peck, to reassure him that he didn't lose me. "We can talk later." Even though I didn't say the exact word, it was a promise.

He looked at me as if he wanted to say more, but somebody called for him. He hung his head down low and sighed a defeated sigh. "I'll hold you to that."

He left, and unbeknownst to him, I followed him seconds later. I watched him interact with people from the comfort of the backstage area. I was holding on to a wall, watching as he met fans--fans who asked for cute pictures of him and Melanie together.

Melanie is actually a pretty great actress. I don't know why she just didn't stick with that, instead of venturing into music because she is a much better actress than she is a singer. She played this role of Brandon's sweet girlfriend perfectly. She politely declined the photo-op, probably making it seem like she had respect for their relationship so she'd seem down-to-earth to the fans. It really rubbed me the wrong way.