| CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN
| a good romance

ᴏᴀᴋʟᴇʏ ᴄᴀʀʀɪʟʟᴏ

I talked to Hanna that week as promised. we met up at my dad's—just to ensure some privacy.

"Hi," she said, smiling at me with a broad smile. Unlike me, she had a full set of dimples.

"Hey," I said. "Thank you for coming."

"No worries," she said. "How have you been?"

"Oh, you know. I've been okay." I wanted to skip the small talk if possible, but I wasn't sure how to approach that without being rude. "How has your new contract been?" I asked carefully. Maybe she had been running into problems with Stellar as well.

"I figured that was what you wanted to talk about," she said. "They keep rejecting the songs I write."

Honestly, I was shocked she even wrote her own music. Not only didn't she have any experience as far as I was aware, but with artists like her, they typically wouldn't even consider her writing her own lyrics.

"I hope you have a good lawyer if you want to leave," I told her.

"I might not have a lawyer for a mom, but unlike you, I have a good manager," she said, smiling smugly.

"Ouch," I said, my hands crossed over my chest. We could laugh about it. It's how we became friends in the first place. Telling each other how horribly we were doing. "How is Dahlia anyway?"

"She would absolutely kill me if she heard I was here, but she's good. She's already trying to find me some new label for when this contract ends."

"What's wrong with being here?" I asked her. "Is it me?"

"She doesn't exactly like you anymore," Hanna said, smiling awkwardly. "I might've told her some horrible things about you."

I always sort of got the idea that woman didn't like me from the start.

"Well, she's probably going to hate me even more, because I need you to do me a favor," I said.

She furrowed her brows. "What is it?"

"I'm trying to get out of my current contract. They have me trapped, and they say I can sorta buy myself out if I help you gain a better following with your music," I explained to her. "I think they want someone that generates equally as much money as me, and they do think you have the potential."

"You think so?" she asked, her blue eyes slightly widened at the request. "Oh, wow."

"Except I do think they have a bit of an agenda behind it, but I can't quite figure it out." Wanting us to date again so far seemed the most logical explanation, because that way I wouldn't stop supporting her music after that agreement ends, and there would be a lot for fans to talk about, keeping both of us relevant. However, every interaction between us was already very much talked about, and speculation still fueled the conversation. And I could still support her for years on end even if we weren't dating.

"Sounds like a win-win to me," she said. "I get some promotion out of it, you can get out of your contract, and Stellar doesn't lose any more money."

"Right, but it almost sounds too good to be true."

"We'll wait for them to set up a contract, then we'll let both my manager and your mom read them, alright?"

I nodded. It really seemed to be the only solution.

The following week, not much happened. I received the contract, that was all. I didn't get to see Nolan, but on the weekend I knew I would. I had to prepare a date, but my mind blacked out. It was so difficult, so I decided I needed a distraction.

"Oakley, what are you doing? It's the middle of the night," my dad asked as I was finishing setting up my fixed-up telescope. He rubbed his eyes. Maybe I woke him up from the swearing just five minutes ago. Dad had always been a light sleeper.

"What does it look like I'm doing?" I asked with a smile on my face. Things were looking up again. I was starting to regain control over my life, with the possibility of leaving Stellar. I somehow, despite personally thinking my last EP was of low quality, been nominated for a voters award. And lastly and most importantly, I now had a boyfriend. I was seeing everything through rose-colored glasses. Nothing could break me anymore.

"Is that your tío's telescope?" he asked, squinting as his eyes were adjusting to the dark. For my birthday, my family got the telescope my uncle had once given me fixed—which I thought was impossible.

"Yeah." I turned back around and looked up at the stars. It was a perfectly clear sky.

My dad sighed.

"Alright. Don't make it too late." He walked back inside and I sat down in one of our lawn chairs.

"Love you, Dad!" I called after him, earning me a 'yeah yeah, you too'.

I was outside for a few hours before I decided to go to sleep. Saturday was boyfriend-day and I was getting impatient. I hadn't seen Nolan in almost a week and it felt like I was starving.

"I'm dying," I told Gen over the phone on Friday morning. Her knowing about us turned out the be the biggest relief. During the day, when Nolan was working, I'd spend my lonely hours bothering Gen about him, about my newfound freedom, about anything, honestly.

"I know, Oakley. But it's Friday. Just be a little patient."

"I've been patient for what feels like years, Gen. I'm losing it. He got home pretty late last night and then he texted me saying good night and I just couldn't stop thinking so I ended up not sleeping at all because I was thinking about what all of this meant and all because what if we're just fucking soulmates, you know? I just want the entire fucking world to know I'm his like, forever." The words came out at train's speed, because I had so much to say and didn't want to leave anything out in the fear of forgetting.

"Damn, Oakley. Take a breather," she said as she giggled. "You'll get to see him. And I know you like him, but you're gonna have to be together for a little longer than a week to call him your soulmate."

"I could feel it before we were together. He's amazing, Gen. You talk about him like you can't see it for yourself." It wasn't like she didn't know him at all. She knew him. She should be able to see it.

"I think you two are cute," she said. "How is the Stellar thing going?" she asked me.

"I talked to Hanna. Stellar just set up a contract, my mom's reading through it and suggesting some changes, but she says there's nothing suspicious so far."

"It sounds good. Maybe you should talk about it with Ziya. You remember him?"

He was once a very quickly growing artist with a very good prospect, but he was also signed with Stellar. He was very vocal about his problems with the record label, but in their defense, his growth had staggered a lot since he left them.

"I might, thanks."

"I sort of have a photo shoot now, so I gotta go. Will you survive out there without me?"

"Without you I can survive, without Nolan, however..."

She laughed. "I didn't think you'd become a sap when you're with someone."

"A good romance changes a man, Gen." I sighed and closed my eyes, in full contentment. "But we'll speak later."

"Bye," she said. When she was gone, I was left with my thoughts, and the perfect date idea came to me.

•••

You:
You want me to pick you up?

I was bored, and I figured my sister would appreciate spending some time with me. She did say she wanted that after all.

Trisha:
Since when do u pick me up?

You:
Come on, just let me pick you up?

Trisha:
Fine

Trisha:
But you're gonna buy me food because I'm hungry af

You:
Okay im omw

•••

She smiled as she walked out of the school with a group of girls I hadn't seen before, laughing and hugging them goodbye. I was glad she was doing better and making friends again.

"What's up, Loser?"

"I thought you said that no one likes you."

"They don't, I'm just trying to survive high school."

"They seemed alright," I told her. "You ever talked to Molly again?"

"She's kinda a loner now. When I tried to talk to her she didn't say anything. She was just crying out of nowhere."

"Did you ask her what's wrong?" That didn't seem like a normal reaction. I'd never seen the girl cry, even when she used to come over nearly every day.

"I had to get to class," Trisha said with a shrug.

"Your new friends, are they nice?" For all I knew, they could've been horrible, worse than what Trisha described Molly was like.

"I wouldn't consider them my friends," she said. "Let's just go get greasy hamburgers and shitty fries."

"If that's what you ask for, that is what you'll get. Last chance to change your mind."

Trisha scoffed. "Like I would."

We got out at the nearest fast food place I knew. Both of us knew we were getting way more food than we could finish. It didn't matter. It was about the idea.

"You're eating like you haven't in days," Trisha noted. It felt like I hadn't.

"Do you have homework?" I asked my sister as I looked out the window, catching a glimpse of a dude with a camera pointed at me. We didn't even sit at the window, so he must've had a ridiculous set of lenses.

Paid stalkers. That's what they are.

"I mean, yeah. Why?" Trisha also noticed the paparazzi now. She just rolled her eyes before looking back at me.

This was why I never went anywhere with her. They'd start following her around everywhere too. I didn't need a bunch of adult men following my fifteen-year-old sister around.

"Awesome! Let me help you," I said, pushing past my other thoughts.

"Uhm, why?"

"Because I'm fucking bored. My job has been put on hold for god knows how long. Yeah, sure I could write, but that's it? That's all? And everyone else is busy. Mom and dad are working, Nolan is working, Gen is working. And you're supposed to do homework. At least if I can help you with it, we'll get to spend time together. That's what you wanted, isn't it?"

She stared at me blankly. "Has anyone ever told you you talk almost incoherently?"

"So you're gonna let me help you do your homework?"

"Sure, why not."

I smiled as I picked up another handful of fries.

"What's that?" she asked, looking at my hand.

"Fries?" I said, my mouth still half full.

"I mean the bracelet. You usually throw on whatever shirt and jeans you can find first. You don't put any effort into what you're wearing, yet you're wearing that," she said.

"It's just a thing I got," I said after swallowing the fries down.

"Can I see? Because it looks like it came from someone who knows how to dress." She reached out, but I pulled my hand away.

"Don't touch it with your greasy fingers."

"Says you." She rolled her eyes. "Did your boyfriend give it to you?" she whispered with a smirk.

I couldn't exactly deny he was my boyfriend anymore. My lack of reply as I shoved another few fries down my throat turned her smirk into a grin.

"Oh my god, no 'he's not my boyfriend'? Little kids grow up so fast," she said, wiping away a fake tear.

"Shut up," I said, looking at the paparazzi right outside the window. They'd now pooled up just outside the parking lot like a swarm of flies. I was used to the constant flashes by now.

"I'm proud of you, big brother," she said. I threw a fry at her, which got stuck in her hair, and I laughed, knowing this would end up online in a few minutes.

She gave me the finger after pulling the fry out of her hair, and then we continued eating.

•••

"So x just has no value? This entire damn equation just doesn't exist?" she asked, frowning at her worksheet as though that would make the right answer appear. "Why would they ask me to find something non-existing?"

"Yeah. What the hell have you been doing this past year, Trisha? These are the basics!" She was solving quadratic equations, but with the amount of teaching I had to do, I wondered how she even passed eighth grade.

"Yeah well, I just don't understand why it can't be the square root of -24." I physically planted my palm to my forehead.

"Try to put that in your calculator." She did that and then frowned.

"It says math error."

"You can't take the square root of a negative value because—"

"I don't care about why, Oakley. No square roots of negatives. Got it." She finally wrote it down.

I pulled my phone out of my pocket as she continued working on her problems.

Gen:
did you talk to your mom?

I ignored it.

Nolan:
Don't worry. You'll have all day tomorrow ;)

I smiled at the message. Tomorrow I would get to see him again.

You:
Be early. Like, before paparazzi early.

You:
It's essential.

You:
Like seriously. We need early.

It only took a few seconds before he replied, which meant he must've been on a break or in between takes.

Nolan:
Oakley, I kinda need my sleep

You:
Fuck that.

You:
I need you.

You:
Please :(

Nolan:
Fine. Don't be mad when I'm an unresponsive zombie though.

That's when I noticed a hushed yelling coming from next to me. I couldn't make out any of the words, but it didn't sound pretty.

"Trish? You okay?"

"I'm fine. Just... working on the wrong material," she mumbled. "I need a break."

She picked up her phone and called someone as she went up the stairs. I went right back texting Nolan with the biggest existing grin on my face.

Trisha was on the phone for nearly half an hour before she sat down at the kitchen table again. She started working on math again without a word. The same material, too.

"What?" she asked, still focused on her work.

"You wanna talk or something?"

"No?"

"Okay."

A smile spread on her face anyway.