The weekend sunlight streamed through Aria's curtains, warm and golden, but it did nothing to calm the storm inside her. She sat on the edge of her bed, staring at her phone like it was a ticking bomb.
Three new messages blinked across the screen:
Unknown Number: Morning, Star.
Unknown Number: Thinking about you.
Unknown Number: Call me if you can.
Her cheeks warmed at the nickname. Star. He'd chosen it because of her name, Aria, like a melody carried under the stars. But the sweetness came laced with danger. Every vibration of her phone reminded her that she was dancing on glass one wrong step, and everything would shatter.
She shoved the phone under her pillow just as her mom's voice carried up the stairs.
"Aria! Breakfast!"
"I'll be down!" she called, trying to steady her voice.
At the table, her mom poured tea while her dad scanned the newspaper. The smell of fried eggs filled the room. Everything looked so normal, so ordinary, yet Aria's insides buzzed with secrets.
Her dad's voice broke her thoughts. "There's been a lot of talk in the papers about that singer boy Adrian Knight. Apparently, he's gone off the grid. You know him?"
Aria nearly choked on her toast. "I mean everyone knows of him."
Her dad chuckled. "True. These celebrities, always hiding from cameras. Fame must be exhausting."
Her mom sighed. "Well, I hope he's staying out of trouble. His fans are too young to be mixed up in scandals."
The words stung like a hidden blade. If they knew she was already caught in the shadows of his scandal, breakfast would be over.
She kept her head down, eating quickly, pretending she wasn't shaking inside.
Later that day, Aria found herself at Mia's house. Her best friend had been sulking ever since Aria dodged her questions at school.
"Are you seriously going to keep shutting me out?" Mia demanded, arms folded as they sat cross legged on her bedroom floor. Posters of K pop idols and fairy lights lined the walls.
"I'm not shutting you out," Aria said carefully. "I just… can't talk about it."
Mia narrowed her eyes. "Can't, or won't? Because it feels like you're hiding something."
Aria's phone buzzed in her hoodie pocket. Panic shot through her, and she quickly pressed it silent, but Mia's sharp gaze caught everything.
"Who's texting you?!" she pressed.
"No one," Aria said too fast.
"Liar."
Aria's cheeks burned. If she admitted it was Adrian Knight, Mia would lose her mind and possibly spill it everywhere. But lying to her best friend hurt too.
Before she could answer, Mia's mom called them down for snacks, and the moment broke. Relief flooded Aria, but guilt clung to her chest like glue.
That evening, when she was finally alone in her room, Aria dared to answer Adrian's texts.
Aria: Sorry. I couldn't talk earlier.
Adrian: Busy with your secret double life?
Aria: More like my best friend breathing down my neck.
Adrian: Ah. The jealous type?
Aria: More like the suspicious type.
Adrian: Don't blame her. If I were her, I'd be suspicious too.
Aria hesitated. Does he realize how dangerous this is?
Aria: Adrian… what if someone finds out?
Adrian: Then we fight back. Together.
Her heart flipped. She wanted to believe him. But she wasn't sure if she was strong enough to face the spotlight.
The next week at school, the tension followed her like a shadow. Students still whispered about the blurry photo of Adrian. Some claimed he was in their city, others dismissed it as fake.
But Aria knew the truth.
"Earth to Aria," Mia said one afternoon as they left class. "You've been spaced out all week. Seriously, what's going on?"
Aria opened her mouth, but a sudden shriek interrupted.
"Oh my God!" a girl yelled, waving her phone. "Adrian Knight's manager just posted on Instagram. He's canceling his next show because of health issues! Can you believe it?"
A crowd formed instantly, buzzing with theories.
Aria's chest tightened. She knew it wasn't health it was because Adrian was in hiding. But now the world was watching even closer.
That night, her phone rang. Not a text this time a call.
She answered in a whisper. "Adrian?"
His voice was low, urgent. "Aria, I need to see you."
Her breath caught. "Now? Where?"
"There's a café on Main Street. Midnight. The back entrance. Can you come?"
Her pulse quickened. Midnight? A secret meeting? If her parents found out, she'd be grounded for life.
But the thought of saying no of letting him face everything alone was unbearable.
"I'll be there," she whispered.
The café was dark except for the glow of streetlights outside. Aria slipped in through the back, her hood pulled low. Her heart raced with every step.
And then she saw him. Adrian sat in the corner booth, cap pulled low, hoodie hiding his face. Even like this, he radiated a quiet intensity that made her chest ache.
"You came," he said softly.
"How could I not?"
He smiled faintly, but it faded quickly. "Things are getting worse. My manager's furious. He wants me back in the spotlight immediately, but if I do, they'll sniff out what happened last week. And if they dig far enough…"
"They'll find me," Aria finished.
He nodded, his hand brushing against hers across the table. "I don't want you hurt."
Her throat tightened. "But you already pulled me in."
Silence fell, heavy with truths neither of them wanted to say out loud.
Finally, Adrian whispered, "Then maybe the only choice is to pull you closer."
Her breath hitched as his fingers intertwined with hers under the table. The world outside might be filled with cameras and danger, but here in this hidden corner there was only them.
For the first time, Aria stopped running from the truth. She was falling for him.
And she wasn't sure she wanted to stop.