Follow Me Back Alternative Ending

Chapter 3

          Eric sent Tessa a look that he hoped that she got the right message from, and headed inside. He heard the opening and closing of a car door, and soon heard the footsteps of the two following after him.
          Inside, Maury was yapping off on his cellphone. He gave Eric a quick smile before leaving the room, not wanting to talk about business around the fan and therapist trailing behind Eric.
          Eric walked up to the tiny stage where his guitar was resting on a stand. Climbing up, he grabbed the guitar and walked back to the edge of the stage. He sat down and made himself comfortable in front of where Tessa and her therapist were sitting.
          "You said that you wanted me to sing 'Snowflake'?" Eric asked, strumming the strings of the guitar, checking to see if they were in tune. Tessa silently nodded. He could still see the fear in her big almond eyes when she nodded. It was slightly comforting to know that she was feeling the same way as him.
          Eric tried to calm himself down, but he still felt the cool trickle going down his spine. Eric hoped it was just the nervous jitters of meeting his beautiful Tessa for the first time, but he knew better than to second guess his senses. Dorian Cromwell crept into Eric's mind.
          Dorian Cromwell. The celebrity who followed an obsessed fan on Twitter who convinced herself that Dorian loved her and killed him when he rejected her. It wasn't pretty to say the least, but the media had a field trip with it. Everyone ignored the major red flags and precautions that should have been put in place.
          Eric was always aware of his fans that went a little too far with their obsessions. Especially MET. She had been obsessed with him from day one. Eric involuntarily shivered, remembering one certain picture that she had posted of him. Out of every fan who was on board with the #EricThornObsessed trend, MET was the one with the most unhealthy obsession with him, and he could only hope that he wouldn't become the next Dorian Cromwell.
          He tried to calm his racing heart. Whoever was out there wouldn't be able to get in, not without alerting security of their presence. He and Tessa were safe. Nothing was going to happen. The concert would go well, and Eric would patch things up with Tessa.
          Sucking in a deep breath, Eric began singing.

          When Eric started singing, it almost startled Tessa. His rich tenor voice didn't echo throughout the empty pub, but it sounded different. Different from how he usually sounded when Tessa blasted his music in her ears.

    The wind, it started whipping.
    It slammed my window shut.
    My snowflake left a teardrop.
    I guess she'd had enough.

    But I won't forget my snowflake.
    Can't melt her from my mind.
    I'll watch here from this window.
    For the love she left behind.

          He seemed so relaxed. A few minutes ago, he was a bundle of nerves and anxiety, and now he sounded like his problems had dissipated. At least, that's what she could make out of his voice. Her eyes were glued to the table. She refused to look at the liar's face.
          Tessa still hated him to an extent. As Taylor, he swore that he had no secrets other than being a boy instead of a girl.
          For the past few months, she talked to him, she let down her guard, she told him her weaknesses and things that she never told her mom or Dr. Regan, and she even let him convince her to leave her bedroom. He had been the best thing that had ever happened to her.
          And then it turns out that he was actually a supermodel and a celebrity. She told him everything, even what had happened on that June night, and he hid his biggest secret from her. She had blindly trusted him, but he didn't trust her.
          And who's to say that Eric himself had texted her for those past few months? It could have very well have been an employee that Eric had told to text her every day. This could all be a publicity stunt to get a popularity boost, and she would be the victim of it all.
          Despite all of that, she still understood why he didn't tell her of his celebrity status in the first place. She was a stranger that he had never seen in person and had no idea how she acted in the real world. She could have easily threatened to publicize every secret he told her, no matter how small, to get whatever she wanted out of him if she knew his identity. Heck, if she didn't have more self control that those fans who were freakishly obsessed with him, she might have even threatened him into being in a relationship with her.
          Some people would do whatever they needed to do to have their wildest fantasies come to life. Tessa knew that from experience.
          She always saw that glimmer of fear in his eyes whenever Eric was on camera, but when she was finally face to face with him, she could sense the paranoia oozing from him. He truly was terrified of the thought of leading a psychopath into believing that he loved them. In fact, he seemed terrified of even interacting with an obsessed fan.
          Tessa knew that she couldn't just flat out refuse to forgive him, but it felt impossible to forgive him right away. He showed that he didn't trust her when he kept his identity a secret, but would she have trusted an online stranger with her identity if she was an idol? The hypocrite in her said yes, but deep down she knew she couldn't do it. She couldn't even send a picture of her face to him even though they knew each other for five months.
          "Snowflake" in itself was another mess to sort out. Eric wrote that song about her specifically. The song about her was the first song that he ever said "love" in. He loved her. Not every single one of his fans, he certainly made that clear when they used to just DM, but only her. It was incredible and unbelievable at the same time.
          But Tessa loved Taylor, and that's where the problem lies. She may be obsessed with Eric, sure, but she felt a deep connection with Taylor. Taylor was always there for Tessa to talk to, and they both had their fair share of late nights from back and forth texting. Taylor and Eric being the same person completely twisted up the emotions that Tessa felt inside of her.
          If Tessa couldn't handle being with Eric, she had to at least be able to make peace with Taylor, she decided. Taylor had become an emotional crutch for her, and she couldn't lose that just because he was actually some hot guy with a ton of popularity. Deep down, she also knew that Eric needed her, too. He needed someone to vent his frustrations to and talk with him like a normal friend.
          Finally, Tessa decided to look up. Eric was looking at her with an expression that she'd never seen on him before. His cheeks were dusted pink, and there was a look of devotion on his face. He really was in love with her, and although she was too confused and torn to love him, the least she could do was not disappear on him.
          Eric slowly neared the end of the song. He kept his blue eyes on her. He seemed dorkishly happy that she was finally looking at him. Tessa could feel connection, the same one she felt with Taylor. Tessa no longer doubted that Taylor and Eric were the same person.

    Just one snowflake.
    She thought that no one cared.

          Eric seemed so passionate about Tessa, it was almost overwhelming. He seemed to barely register that Dr. Regan was also sitting right in front of him. He was focused solely on her.

    Perfect snowflake,
    I'll catch you, don't be...

          Eric broke eye contact with Tessa, and the connection immediately vanished. His face paled, and the pink that dusted his cheeks disappeared. He looked terrified and frozen in place. He stopped singing and strumming altogether. His gaze was focused on something behind Dr. Regan and Tessa.
          Tessa heard a sickening thunk beside her, and turned to see Dr. Regan sprawled out on the ground, her chair laying right next to her. She was seemingly unconscious, and there was a trickle of blood starting to form on the back of her head.
          Tessa quickly turned to see what had attacked her therapist, but a sudden force hit her shoulder. Her clavicle made a loud "pop!" and a fierce pain entered her right shoulder. The force of impact tipped Tessa over until she fell onto the floor.  She looked up and saw the same girl who had attacked Eric during his concert in Seattle. Her long brown hair and her impressive height gave her away. She didn't look happy or excited, but she definitely looked mad, like someone went into her room without permission.
If I hadn't turned, she would've hit my head Tessa realized, simultaneously cradling her shoulder and trying to scoot away.
          The girl brought the metal baseball bat over her head again and was ready to swing it down. Before she could, Eric grabbed the end of the baseball bath from behind her.