Chapter 5

Chapter 1

The barbecue ended around midnight.

By then everyone had gone home.

The backyard was quiet.

The laughter was gone.

The music had stopped.

And Daniela was finally in her apartment.

Thank God.

She kicked off her shoes the second she walked through the door.

What a night.

A weird night.

An incredibly weird night.

And for reasons she absolutely refused to examine, she blamed Nevaeh.

Naturally.

Daniela dropped onto her couch.

The silence felt nice after hours of Nolan talking.

Her phone buzzed.

A message from Kai.

KAI:
Thanks for coming tonight.

DANIELA:
Tell Nolan if he flirts with me again I’m suing.

KAI:
He flirts with everybody.

DANIELA:
That’s not comforting.

KAI:
😂

Daniela smiled.

Then tossed her phone aside.

For a moment she just sat there.

Thinking.

Or trying not to think.

Because every time she did…

Somehow Nevaeh ended up in her head.

Which was annoying.

Very annoying.

She stood up.

Kitchen.

Water.

Distraction.

Perfect.

Daniela opened the fridge.

Grabbed a bottle.

Took a drink.

And immediately remembered Nevaeh fixing the table.

Seriously?

Her brain couldn’t even let her drink water in peace?

She groaned.

“No.”

The memory refused to leave.

The way Nevaeh had walked over.

Taken one look at the disaster the boys created.

And immediately started fixing it.

Daniela could practically hear her voice.

“If I leave this table alone somebody’s going to put ketchup next to the brownies.”

Daniela laughed.

Then immediately frowned.

Why was she laughing?

The joke happened hours ago.

Move on.

She opened TikTok.

A distraction.

Finally.

Thirty seconds later—

A girl appeared on her screen wearing an oversized shirt.

Daniela froze.

Because for half a second she’d thought it was Nevaeh.

What was wrong with her?

She immediately closed the app.

Nope.

Not happening.

She needed sleep.

That was the answer.

Sleep.

Definitely sleep.

The next morning didn’t help.

At all.

Daniela was at rehearsal.

The studio was crowded.

Dancers.

Managers.

Producers.

People everywhere.

Normally she loved it.

Today she couldn’t focus.

“Daniela.”

“Hm?”

“You missed your cue.”

Daniela blinked.

“Oh.”

The choreographer sighed.

Again.

“What is going on with you today?”

Good question.

She’d love to know too.

The music started again.

Daniela tried focusing.

One.

Two.

Three.

Turn.

Step.

Step—

Someone laughed.

Not even a familiar laugh.

Just a random person’s laugh.

And somehow it reminded her of Nevaeh.

Daniela nearly walked into another dancer.

“Sorry.”

Manon stared.

“You okay?”

“Yep.”

Lie.

Big lie.

Huge lie.

During lunch she sat by herself scrolling through her phone.

And there it was again.

Nevaeh.

Not literally.

Just…

Thoughts.

Random thoughts.

Uninvited thoughts.

The kind that appeared out of nowhere.

She wondered what Nevaeh was doing.

Then immediately got mad at herself.

Why would she wonder that?

Why would she care?

She didn’t.

Obviously.

Then why had the question popped into her head?

Daniela groaned and buried her face in the table.

This was embarrassing.

Across the room one of the girls sat down.

“You look stressed.”

“I’m being haunted.”

Manon blinked.

“What?”

“Nothing.”

“Are you possessed?”

“Maybe.”

Manon laughed slowly got up and moved away.

Probably a wise decision.

Meanwhile—

Across town—

Nevaeh was completely unaware she was accidentally ruining Daniela’s week.

She was working at a small bookstore café.

One of her favorite places in the world.

Quiet.

Peaceful.

No Nolan.

No James.

No chaos.

Just books.

Exactly how she liked it.

A customer approached the counter.

Nevaeh smiled politely.

“What can I get started for you?”

The woman ordered.

Nevaeh prepared the drink.

Easy.

Normal.

Simple.

Unlike whatever Daniela had going on.

Three days passed.

Then four.

Then five.

And somehow…

It got worse.

Daniela was sitting in the studio listening to Sophia talk about a new song.

She should’ve been paying attention.

Instead she noticed a lyric.

A single lyric.

One line.

That’s all it took.

The lyric mentioned dark eyes.

Immediately—

Nevaeh.

Daniela closed her eyes.

Absolutely not.

This was becoming ridiculous.

Actually ridiculous.

A week ago she would’ve gone days without thinking about Nevaeh.

Now somehow everything reminded her of her.

A joke.

A shirt.

A sarcastic comment.

A laugh.

A song lyric.

The worst part?

She still found Nevaeh annoying.

That hadn’t changed.

At all.

Yet somehow…

Now there were other things too.

Things she didn’t know what to do with.

Things she wasn’t ready to think about.

Which meant she definitely wasn’t ready for what was about to happen.

Because the following Saturday morning—

Kai called.

And one innocent phone call was about to make everything significantly worse.

Saturday morning.

Daniela was enjoying one of the rare things she didn’t get often anymore.

Peace.

No interviews.

No rehearsals.

No content shoots.

No flights.

No meetings.

Just peace.

She was curled up on her couch in an oversized hoodie, scrolling through her phone while half-listening to a voice note from one of the KATSEYE girls.

Her phone suddenly lit up.

KAI CALLING.

Daniela narrowed her eyes.

That was never a good sign.

She answered.

“What did you break?”

“First of all, rude.”

“So something did break.”

“That’s not important.”

Daniela sat up.

“Kai.”

“Can you do me a favor?”

There it was.

The favor.

The reason for the call.

“What favor?”

“I need supplies.”

“No.”

“What?”

“No.”

“You don’t even know what it is.”

“I don’t need to.”

Kai groaned.

“Please.”

Daniela laughed.

“No.”

“Please.”

“No.”

“Daniela.”

“Kai.”

“Daniela.”

“Kai.”

A pause.

Then—

“I already asked Nevaeh.”

Daniela froze.

“…What?”

Kai sounded entirely too pleased with himself.

“She’s helping.”

A horrible feeling settled in Daniela’s stomach.

No.

Absolutely not.

“No.”

“Why not?”

“You know why.”

“I actually don’t.”

“You do.”

“I don’t.”

“You do.”

“I really don’t.”

Daniela stared at the ceiling.

This man was impossible.

“What exactly are we getting?”

“Food.”

“No.”

“Drinks.”

“No.”

“Decorations.”

“No.”

Kai sighed dramatically.

“Please.”

“No.”

“I’ll buy you lunch.”

“No.”

“I’ll buy you two lunches.”

Daniela hesitated.

“Keep talking.”

“Three lunches.”

“…”

“I knew it.”

“You’re annoying.”

“So that’s a yes?”

Daniela groaned.

“Fine.”

“YES.”

“I regret this already.”

“You’ll pick up Nevaeh at noon.”

The smile instantly disappeared from Daniela’s face.

“I’m sorry?”

“You’ll pick up Nevaeh at noon.”

“No I won’t.”

“Yes you will.”

“No.”

“Yes.”

“No.”

“Daniela.”

“Kai.”

“Stop acting like a child.”

Daniela gasped.

“The audacity.”

The call ended before she could argue more.

She stared at her phone.

Then immediately texted him.

DANIELA:
I hate you.

KAI:
❤️

DANIELA:
Don’t send me hearts.

KAI:
❤️❤️❤️

DANIELA:
Blocked.

At exactly 11:58, Daniela pulled up outside Nevaeh’s apartment building.

She considered driving away.

Briefly.

Very briefly.

Then the passenger door opened.

And every coherent thought immediately left her body.

Oh.

Oh no.

Nevaeh climbed into the car.

Simple jeans.

Simple fitted top.

Hair down.

Nothing dramatic.

Nothing special.

Nothing that should’ve caused Daniela’s brain to completely malfunction.

Yet here they were.

Daniela quickly looked away.

Focus.

Focus.

Road.

Trees.

Literally anything else.

Nevaeh buckled her seatbelt.

The silence stretched.

Awkward.

Painfully awkward.

Then—

“Kai tricked you too?”

Daniela glanced over.

Nevaeh was already looking at her.

The corner of her mouth twitched slightly.

Like she was trying not to laugh.

Daniela immediately felt something weird happen in her chest.

Which was becoming a problem.

“A little.”

Nevaeh snorted.

“A little?”

“He practically held me hostage.”

That earned an actual laugh.

A real one.

Daniela’s stomach immediately betrayed her.

Again.

Fantastic.

“Same.”

The silence returned.

But somehow it wasn’t as bad this time.

Still awkward.

Just…

Less awkward.

Daniela hated that.

They drove for another minute.

Then two.

Then three.

Until Nevaeh suddenly pointed out the window.

“You’re in the wrong lane.”

“What?”

“The store entrance.”

Daniela looked.

And immediately realized she was right.

“Oh.”

Nevaeh laughed.

“You would’ve missed it.”

“I would’ve figured it out.”

“Eventually.”

Daniela rolled her eyes.

“Thanks.”

“You’re welcome.”

A beat.

Then—

“I can’t believe I’m saying this.”

Daniela frowned.

“Saying what?”

“You’re actually being tolerable today.”

The gasp that left Daniela’s mouth was immediate.

“Tolerable?”

Nevaeh nodded.

“Tolerable.”

“That’s the nicest thing you’ve ever said to me.”

“Don’t get used to it.”

Daniela laughed despite herself.

And for a split second—

A tiny one—

Nevaeh smiled back.

Not the sarcastic smile.

Not the annoyed one.

A genuine smile.

The kind Daniela had only seen from a distance.

The kind most people probably never noticed.

And suddenly Daniela understood why people kept talking about Nevaeh’s eyes.

Because when she smiled like that—

They lit up.

Daniela looked away first.

Fast.

Too fast.

Because something about that moment felt dangerous.

Something about it felt important.

And she wasn’t ready for that.

Not yet.

Luckily for her—

Or maybe unfortunately—

The day was only getting started.

And before the shopping trip was over, Nevaeh was about to see a side of Daniela she’d never seen before.

A side that didn’t match the loud, confident singer she thought she knew.

The grocery store was chaos.

Absolutely chaos.

Which Nevaeh should’ve expected.

It was Saturday.

The parking lot was packed.

The aisles were crowded.

And somehow every shopping cart in existence seemed determined to block her path.

“This was a mistake.”

Daniela grabbed a cart.

“We’ve been here thirty seconds.”

“Exactly.”

Daniela laughed.

The sound caught Nevaeh off guard.

Not because she’d never heard Daniela laugh before.

She had.

A thousand times.

But usually it was from across a room.

Surrounded by people.

Loud.

Big.

Attention-grabbing.

This one was different.

Smaller.

Softer.

More genuine.

Nevaeh immediately looked away.

Nope.

Not analyzing that.

The two of them headed inside.

Kai had texted a list.

A very long list.

Naturally.

KAI:
Don’t forget drinks.

KAI:
And chips.

KAI:
And ice.

KAI:
And burgers.

KAI:
And—

DANIELA:
I’m blocking you.

Nevaeh snorted.

Daniela looked over.

“You saw that?”

“You literally read it out loud.”

“Oh.”

Nevaeh rolled her eyes.

The first few minutes went surprisingly smoothly.

Which should’ve worried them.

Because whenever things went smoothly around Kai’s friend group…

Disaster was usually waiting around the corner.

Daniela was pushing the cart while Nevaeh checked the list.

Neither was arguing.

Neither was annoyed.

It was unsettling.

Then they turned into the drinks aisle.

And everything changed.

Not because of Nevaeh.

Not because of Daniela.

Because of the teenage girl who suddenly gasped.

“Oh my God.”

Daniela froze.

The girl looked about sixteen.

Standing beside her friend.

Eyes wide.

“Oh my God.”

Daniela immediately recognized that look.

The fan look.

The one she saw everywhere now.

The girl grabbed her friend’s arm.

“That’s Daniela.”

Nevaeh looked up.

The girls looked nervous.

Excited.

Terrified.

Like they wanted to approach but weren’t sure if they should.

And before Nevaeh could process it—

Daniela smiled.

A real smile.

Warm.

Gentle.

Completely different from the sarcastic grin she usually wore around friends.

“Hi.”

The girls immediately lit up.

And for the next few minutes—

Nevaeh just watched.

Because she’d never seen this before.

Not really.

Sure.

She knew Daniela was famous.

Everybody did.

She knew KATSEYE was huge.

She knew Daniela had fans.

Millions of them.

But knowing something and seeing it were completely different things.

The girls were practically shaking.

Yet Daniela never seemed annoyed.

Never seemed impatient.

She asked their names.

Complimented one girl’s bracelet.

Took pictures.

Made conversation.

Actually conversation.

Like she genuinely cared.

And maybe she did.

One of the girls looked close to tears.

“I love you so much.”

The words were so sincere it made Nevaeh’s chest ache.

Daniela’s smile softened.

“Thank you.”

The girl wiped her eyes.

“You helped me through a really hard year.”

Something changed in Daniela’s expression.

Just slightly.

Not enough for most people to notice.

But Nevaeh did.

For a moment Daniela looked emotional.

Like she carried those words with her.

Like they mattered.

Really mattered.

Then the girls left.

Still smiling.

Still excited.

And suddenly it was quiet again.

Daniela exhaled.

The smile faded.

Not completely.

Just enough.

Nevaeh stared.

Daniela noticed.

“What?”

Nevaeh looked away.

“Nothing.”

“That wasn’t nothing.”

“It was.”

Daniela raised an eyebrow.

It was annoyingly effective.

Nevaeh sighed.

“You were nice.”

The second the words left her mouth she regretted them.

Daniela blinked.

Then laughed.

“What does that mean?”

“It means…”

Nevaeh groaned.

She hated explaining herself.

“It means I expected you to be different.”

Daniela looked at her for a second.

Longer than usual.

“What kind of different?”

Nevaeh opened her mouth.

Then paused.

Because suddenly the answer sounded rude.

Which was unfortunate.

Since it was true.

“I thought you’d get annoyed.”

Daniela’s expression changed.

Just slightly.

The amusement disappeared.

Not completely.

Just enough.

“Oh.”

The response was quiet.

Too quiet.

And for some reason Nevaeh felt guilty.

Which was weird.

She never felt guilty around Daniela.

Ever.

Daniela looked down at the shopping cart.

“Yeah.”

Nevaeh frowned.

Something about her voice felt off.

Different.

Not angry.

Not defensive.

Just…

Tired.

“You okay?”

The question slipped out before she could stop it.

Daniela looked genuinely surprised she’d asked.

For a second neither spoke.

Then Daniela shrugged.

“I’m fine.”

Lie.

Nevaeh knew it was a lie immediately.

Not because she knew Daniela well.

She didn’t.

But because she’d spent her whole life around people pretending to be okay.

And Daniela suddenly looked exactly like one of them.

The loud singer.

The confident performer.

The girl who always seemed completely fearless.

For the first time—

Nevaeh saw a crack.

Just a small one.

But enough.

Enough to realize there might be more underneath.

Enough to make her wonder.

And honestly?

That scared her more than hating Daniela ever had.

Because hating someone was easy.

Understanding them?

That was dangerous.

Very dangerous.

Daniela cleared her throat.

“We still need ice.”

The moment disappeared.

Just like that.

Back to normal.

Back to arguing.

Back to pretending.

But as they continued through the store—

Nevaeh found herself looking at Daniela differently.

And for the first time in years…

She wasn’t entirely sure she wanted to.