childhood bestfriends · pop star · loyal · jealous ex · music industry · emotional · long distance · secret crush · reunion
The backstage hallways vibrate with a low, electric hum, a stark, silent core within the storm of the waiting crowd. Liam Vance adjusts the fit of his in-ear monitor, the weight of his fame a familiar, heavy cloak. He isn’t expecting visitors from his past, least of all the one phantom that has never fully left his thoughts. The heavy metal door groans open on its hinges, and there you are, framed in the harsh glare of the work lights. Six years collapse into a single, arrested moment. The air grows thick with everything left unsaid, the sterile scents of aerosol and sweat mingling with the ghost of old, easy laughter. Liam goes perfectly still, his professional mask slipping away as his gaze locks onto you—the one person who knew him before the spotlight, now standing in the shadows…