When I entered the conference room that was filled with a few people that I recognize, I gulped hard as I took my seat on one of the slick black chairs. Taylor shuffled right behind me, sitting next to me as she nodded in recognition to the business people.

I knew this meeting is going to be a serious one.

"How are you, Heart?" one of the ladies greeted, taking a sip from her mug, "I've been hearing quite a lot news about you lately."

"Isn't that good?" I remarked, "A bit of publicity, don't you think?"

She cracked a smile and opened the folder that was placed in front of her. She carefully slid off a piece of paper and cleared out the throat to read it, "Heart Valentine is requesting for an indefinite period of hiatus due to stress."

My lips pressed into a tight line as I fiddled with my thumbs on top of the table, staring intently at her. Taylor stayed composed as ever, her eyes going through the folder that she had.

"You know we love you, Heart," she said, gingerly putting the paper down, "But we can't grant you this out of the blue."

I knew this would be too flawless to be true.

"But we also can't deny you rest," another man piped in, "Your health is very important as well."

So where are we going with this.

"Since Taylor said that most of this stress is coming from Hollywood itself, we decided that we should compensate," the woman told me as somebody handed her another folder. She rested it on the table and smoothly slid it to me, "How about you go through it and tell us what you think."

With my trembling hands, I opened the folder and my gaze fell on the neatly stapled contract. I took it and as I read over the words, I believe my mouth was hanging wider and wider with each paragraph and page.

Slamming it back down on the table, I looked back at them with my eyes wide, "A world tour?"

"Correct," she nodded, "Taylor seems to approve of it, so all we need now are your thoughts."

I turned to Taylor and she gave me a small nod, telling me to think it over. The temporary list of dates and venues were already printed as well as a few more additional gigs and plans.

"We have actually been planning this for a while now," the man said, offering me a respectable smile, "We know that you've been asking for another world tour since you really enjoyed your last one, so we thought that it would be an amazing surprise."

"We never thought that you would be asking for a way out in the end," she laughed, shaking her head, "You're not going to be in Hollywood for months and since tour dates are not very near to each other, you may return to England in between concerts."

Contrary to popular belief, my management aren't actually the snobbiest people. They're friendly for the most part, but they're just doing their job when they make most of the big decisions like this. Even though I just wanted to stay out of being a celebrity for now, they were right when they claimed that it was Hollywood making me a mess.

Plus, they even mentioned that they started planning this world tour for me. How could I even say no to that?

Taylor clicked her tongue when she saw how long I was staring at blank space. She turned to the other people inside the room, "We'll let you know after the concert."

My head snapped towards her direction, she grabbed the folder and handed it to me. I wanted to ask her why she made that decision, but with the look on her face, she implied that she was done with this conversation.

"So how about I order us a batch of pastries," the woman suggested, reaching out for her phone, "I would love to hear about how Heart's been doing."

I forced a smile at her words as the tension inside the room disappeared and was replaced with relaxed chit chats.

*

*

*

The heavily tinted car that I was riding on passed by the long line that was getting longer and longer outside the venue. They were wearing shirts and holding up random goods that either showed my name or face. A small smile crept to my lips and Adam laughed at the scene he was seeing through the window.

"I sometimes forget how famous you are," he spoke. The vehicle zoomed pass the unassuming people, thinking that this was just some random van.

We entered discreetly at the back of the building where I was escorted to my dressing room. My outfit was already there along with a few flowers and snacks that I can munch on while I was getting ready.

While I was in the middle of doing my makeup, a knock on the door sounded in the room. Taylor poked her head in and gave me a nod of approval before entering. She waved the folder in the air before setting it down on one of the chairs.

"I thought I was going to sign that after the concert," I muttered, putting the brush that I was using to apply my eyeshadow with, "Why are you bring it in now?"

"You might never know," she shrugged, taking a piece of candy from my bowl, "But I'll come back when you're done getting ready, I want to show you something."

She left and I turned to Adam who was watching the whole scene from his spot on the couch, "What do you think?"

"About your makeup or Taylor?" he joked and I picked up a brush and chucked it towards his direction. It barely hit him and he laughed at this, leaning back against his seat, "That reminds me, I want to show you something as well."

Is there some wonderful universe out there that people suddenly wants to show me? What are we going to do, ride on a magic carpet and sing A Whole New World?

This world ain't shining, shimmering, splendid.

I continued on with working on my appearance. I've decided to leave the lipstick for now and I pulled my hair into a high ponytail before curling the ends of it. I turned to Adam, silently telling him to get out so I could change my clothes.

When he opened the door, he slightly jumped in surprise to see Taylor with her fist in the air, ready to knock on my door.

"Perfect," she said, marching past Adam and towards me, "Let's go."

"But my clothes..." I trailed off as she grabbed my hand and pulled me with her. I gave Adam and a pleading look, but the only thing I got from him was a smile of encouragement.

She led me to what may perhaps be the biggest bouquet of flower I have ever seen, with it is a huge gift basket filled with different goods. Next to it was a stack of magazines that ranges from the past months to this day, all of which featured my face as the cover.

I stared down at it and she handed me a small note. I was half expecting that this was another sweet gesture from Axel, well, more like I was hoping for it, a sign that he had forgiven me. But in fact, it was a present from my management.

"They're willing to let you go," she explained, "But they hoped these will change your mind."

I bit my lip and before I opened my mouth, somebody tapped me on the shoulder. I whipped around and I saw Marcus there, smiling brightly towards me. Taylor found her spot to his side and she whispered something into his ear, which he responded with a nod.

Wait, if Marcus is here, then that means Axel must be close.

"I rounded him right up for you," he chuckled as he shifted a little bit to the side to reveal a very grumpy Axel.

His hands were jammed inside his pockets as he avoided as much eye contact as he can. Taking a deep breath, I slowly approached him, my steps getting heavier with each one I took.

Oh fuck, this is going to be difficult.

"So you made it," I pointed out awkwardly, shifting from one foot to another.

"Marcus dragged me here," he mumbled under his breath.

And silence. That's it, ladies and gentlemen. From hateful words directed towards each other, to a courtship that's going nowhere, and finally, this. I don't even know how define out situation right now!

My dear Axel, I regret everything, the guilt is eating me up and I am filled with outmost hatred to myself. At the same time, I'm glad. I'm glad that you walked away from me that night at the restaurant, because that led me to having a stronger friendship with Adam.

If you ask me who I will choose between these two, it's going to be Adam, forever and always. He's my best friend and he's like a brother, but the man standing from me is a running second.

Who says I'm not going to work for it?

Adam appeared in between us and gave each of us a smile, "There you are, Soph, come on."

Before I could even protest, he took my hand and made me follow him. I turned back to Axel who was now staring at us. I showed him a small smile, which he didn't return.

"Adam!" I groaned when we stopped when we were out of sight and earshot, "Why did you do that?"

"Because as your best friend, I had to save you from that awkward situation," he grinned like a proud child, "Plus, you're on in a few minutes."

He raised his wrist watch and I gaped at the time. He was right, I had to perform onstage in a few minutes and I had yet to fix my clothes. When I turned to go back to my dressing room, he wound his arm around my waist to stop me from going anywhere.

I was pulled back with an oof and I glared at him from the corner of my eye, "Hey!"

"I told you that I had to show you something, didn't I?"

"Can't that wait until later?" I huffed, struggling in his hold. He shook his as he started to drag me to the direction of the stairs.

"No," he replied, "Because you're going to say your decision during the concert, I want you to see something."

When I heard his reason, I stopped my attempts to break free. He let go of me and he helped me up the narrow metal staircase. There was a small balcony on top and he told me to get down, seeing the amount of lights that was hanging near the ceiling.

"Where are we going?" I questioned as I crawled after him, finding difficulty when we had to do the sharp turns.

Gradually, I could hear more sounds entering my ears. He made me look down and I gasped that we were now directly above the stage. What mesmerized me wasn't how we somewhat ended up here, but the amount of people currently piling below us.

The place was packed, a lot of them were chatting with each other, some had their earphones jammed into their ears, a few were busy with their phones, but they all had something in common, all of their attention was set on the stage in front of them, as if I would suddenly poof myself there.

Adam shifted his position so he was now sitting cross-legged next to me, "Look at them," he told me, gesturing to the whole venue, "They're waiting for you."

"What's the point of this?" I asked though my eyes were still twinkling as I scanned the place.

"I can't deny the fact that you've had so much drama in your life recently," he muttered, holding onto the metal railings, "But look at them, never mind the fact that this concert was so sudden or thousands of pictures of you running away from the crowds appeared on magazines, they're still here."

"I forgot about my fans," I concluded silently, "I was about to make a decision to leave Hollywood because of the pressure, but..." I stopped with a sigh.

He reached out and took my hand in his, "You know I'm always here for you, Soph, but I think you should know that they are too."

As a celebrity, the fans are the worst thing known to man. They bust your eardrums, leave you temporarily blind due to the lights of their cameras or whatnot, and barely give you an ounce of privacy. At the same time, they're the greatest blessing you can have. They'll support even if you're crawling and as oblivious as they are, they're the most entertaining crowd to be with.

I perform for myself and for them, and that's what being an entertainer is all about.

"Don't you want me as your flat mate so that's why you're trying to change my mind?" I pouted in a kidding manner. He chuckled under his breath, shaking his head with an amused expression.

"Of course, it's highly distracting to have a girl inside my apartment, I can never concentrate when I have to study," he teased and we shared a look before laughing heartily.

"There you are!" somebody yelled, causing our heads to snap to the direction of the voice. One of the crew members was puffing for air as he spoke to his headphone mic, "I found her."

We blinked at him and he tried to catch his breath, "Heart, please get ready, the show needs to start soon."

I nodded and dismissed the poor guy. I turned to Adam and nudge my head back to the direction of where the crew member disappeared into, "Let's go."

"I'll stay here for a while," he smiled, "Go ahead and break a leg."

"I'll miss you, Adam," I whispered.

I wasn't being melodramatic about going down without him, but it was more of like I made my decision clear. I choose my career over anything. He knows this, we're going to be separated once again for a long time while I go on tour.

He grabbed my cheeks and placed a kiss on the top of my head, "That's my Sophia."

I crawled out of the balcony and went down the stairs. I rushed to my dressing room and changed into my outfit. With a trembling hand, I managed to apply the red lipstick and with one final look on the mirror, I ran out.

The technician handed me a microphone and I nodded that I was ready. He said some words and the beats of the first song on the set list started, accompanying it was a thousand screams from the spectators on the other side of the black curtain that was blocking the view of the backstage.

Alright, time to fix everything.

I stepped out and the spotlight instantly greeted me. I smiled to the crowd as I sung the first lines of the song. My eyes were subtly scanning the VIP section until they landed at Axel who was watching me carefully.

Pointing towards him, I was determined to turn as the way before. That could be when we're butting heads or each of us were running for each other, but one thing's for sure, I'll finish this concert with us speaking without the awkward air.

But first thing's first, I have a huge amount of people to sing to.

"Welcome everybody!"

--------------------------------------

Can you feel it? That's the end approaching.

So how have you guys been? Are you all well? I hope so, but on the side note, no question for now because I seriously can't think of anything.

Dedicated to @Im_Not_Sure for the cover at the side, thank you so much, it looks fabulous!

I love you guys, don't ever forget that, and follow, vote and comment as well. Mwah!