Sing For Me

Chapter Six: It's Who??

I almost fall off my seat as I lean in to look closer at the big brown eyes that are lighting up the projector screens. Although he is wearing layers of stage make-up, I can still make out the outline of a fresh, tender bruise hanging to the tip of an elegantly proportioned nose.

"It's Tim!" I announce, though there is no doubt in my mind that not even Abbey can hear me over the deafening screams. In fact, it's a wonder anyone can hear them singing at all.

And here I was, naively thinking that people come to concerts like these for the music.

The five members of Babel pull out all of their best moves, strutting around the stage and eyeing up the audience from every angle, each one blowing kisses in a different direction. Still, I can't take my eyes off Tim. There is no doubt in my mind that it is him – minus the prosthetic nose, which I now remember is still nestled inside my work bag.

If only I had thought to bring it with me...

Every little jigsaw piece in my head comes together to make perfect sense. The weird prosthetic nose and the devilish over-confidence. Even the way he so quickly disappeared after Aaron caused such a fuss. I frown. Why the heck would someone like that go to Rob's Coffee Express? It made no sense.

Still, you see it all the time on those celebrity channels, famous people who just want to live a normal life. Or who just want to be able to grab a cup of coffee without being stalked by crazy, zombie-girl fans or the media.

But then I remember. I was singing You're the One to myself when he parked up at my table. When I look to the stage again, all I can see is those big brown eyes being used to their best advantage. He's lapping up the attention like a lovesick puppy. Questions bounce around my head like little refracting bullets, and I sink down lower in my seat with each painful ricochet.

What type of normality-seeking celebrity would purposefully sit at a table with someone who would more than likely know who they are? 

Was it all just kind of some sick way to generate publicity, or to promote their gig tonight? I can see the headline now: Babel Superstar Surprises Fan in Quiet Café Ha! Well, I guess it all went badly wrong for him when I didn't recognize him... 

I smile to myself, smugly. At least I'm one girl he'll never be able to use for a publicity stunt. Or maybe he was just stalking around to pick up someone to fall immediately into his lap? Sometimes some of those famous types coerce susceptible young women into their beds. At least, that's what I've heard in The Goss magazine. Not that they phrase it that way. With them, it's usually 'Luckiest Girl in the World with Average-Sized Thighs and No Boobs Coerces Singer into Bed – You'll Never Guess How She Did it!'

This new perspective manifests in my head as a gentle ache, which trembles right down to rest in the soles of my feet. It only gets worse as I watch Tim schmoozing his way from woman to woman in that 'butter wouldn't melt' kind of way. He seems to be pretty enthralled by the whole thing, his face is lit up with a frivolous smile.

"It was all an act," I say aloud to myself so that it seems far more real than if it was just a thought in my head.

Everything was an act... the whole thing. Coming into the café in a lame disguise, finding someone to mess with... it was all just a set up so some arrogant, self-involved moron could get his end away without attracting headlines.

And for a second, I had almost fallen for it.

My disappointment snowballs. Of all the things I swore I'd never be, naive was at the top of the list. If you could so easily be manipulated by someone, if you put all of your trust in them and let your heart make stupid decisions, then you weren't even a real person anymore. You were just someone else's puppet. 

Or at least, that's the philosophy I had adopted since high school. And at the time, I had sworn that I would never let anyone or anything do that to me again.

Barely a few hours ago, Tim had almost broken that philosophy when I was stopped short by his stupid big brown eyes. And now there he was, up on stage, flaunting. The person up there on stage who had seemed so charming when he was my 'mystery man' was actually just another self-centered celebrity who was currently driving a thousand girls into a frenzied lust - all for kicks and a massive paycheck.

And even being momentarily sucked down by that level of insta-fakeness... Believing that our momentary connection was real and not just about his own fame... that he actually cared when he pushed Aaron out the door, instead of hoping to somehow turn it into some viral trending Twitter Moment? 

Well. 

Falling for that again really scares the shit out of me.

~~~ A/N ~~~

Thank you for reading!

I'll be honest... I think this chapter needs some work :/ This'll be one of my major revisions when re-editing once the story is finished. Is there anything you'd like to see changed? Let me know in the comments - It would really help me out!

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Have a fabulous day!

Emxx

~~~ <3 ~~~