Chapter Sixteen

  Ah-Ri

  Showcase Day

  It’s been two weeks.

  I’m terrified.

  Everything that could go wrong, down to our soundcheck, has gone wrong. On top of that, Ryan’s parents are in the audience, and when our label announced our debut, the world basically lost its mind.

  We were trending worldwide on Twitter.

  Sookie didn’t exactly help since he started tweeting about it.

  And, as promised, I didn’t go look at comments, but I know it’s going to be equally bad and good on social media.

  Everyone’s watching.

  To make matters worse, CEO Siu is at the Showcase, backstage. They’re all there to support us, but my nerves are stretched to the point where I wonder if I’m going to just pass out when the lights hit me onstage.

  We’re all wearing white. Part of the concept with this song from Ryan’s sister was a second chance. Heaven. Hope.

  I’m in a tight crop top, a white skirt, and boots. Jisoo has on a similar outfit, but she’s wearing tight pants.

  The guys are both in nearly see-through white shirts, which I’m sure will make the world go wild since they’re so good-looking. Both of them even bleached their hair—Haneul went lighter, and Ryan took his as light as it would go. I’m still trying to get used to it.

  I have grayish-white extensions in my hair, and Jisoo decided to just go with it and wear a blond wig.

  All in all, we look like angels.

  Though the guys still look fallen. And if Ryan keeps sending me those smirks, I’m going to lose it.

  He comes up behind me after I’m done with makeup. I stare at him through the mirror, my nerves clearly apparent as he hugs me from behind. “Someone could see.”

  “Let them.” He kisses the side of my neck. “Let them know that I found someone.”

  Tears start to form in my eyes, burning them. “Don’t. Don’t make me cry right now.”

  He laughs. “Sorry, I just saw you standing here and really think that maybe you’re my angel. Maybe when we die, we leave someone other than a memory. Maybe we leave a blessing or a gift for the people we leave behind. Maybe we leave a treasure.” His eyes meet mine. “My treasure’s you.”

  I swipe my cheeks and cling to him. “And here I thought I was just your anti-fan.”

  “Well, then I guess I’ll spend all my time convincing you to become part of my fan club. I heard we have openings.”

  I burst out laughing. “You’re too charming, TD.”

  “Take it back.” He laughs and spins me around.

  “What? The charming part?”

  He looks around and then presses a kiss to my mouth. “You know what part.”

  I hold up my fingers. “Is it a small part? I’m confused.”

  “If we didn’t have to perform in the next twenty minutes, you’d be so dead right now.”

  “From TD?”

  He starts tickling me.

  Haneul comes around the corner and makes a gagging noise. “You guys need to lay off the PDA before someone snaps a picture.”

  We touch foreheads and break apart.

  “Sorry,” I say.

  “Oh, I already have a billion. So just in case you were thinking of bailing on us today…” Haneul winks.

  “Ah, once a bully, always a bully.” I grin.

  Jisoo suddenly comes around the corner and holds up her phone. “It’s okay. I totally got him farting in his sleep.”

  “WHAT?” Haneul yells.

  “Kidding.” She winks. “I just wanted to see your…wait for it.” She snaps a photo with her phone. “Yeah, probably going to save that for the grandkids.”

  “The hell?” Haneul yells.

  “Oh, yeah, we’re probably going to get married. You’re my type.” She winks. “Are we ready to do this?”

  Haneul’s jaw drops.

  Instead of crying, I can’t stop laughing.

  Ryan slaps a shocked Haneul on the back. “Let’s do this.”

  “I don’t even like you!” he yells.

  Jisoo nods her head. “Okay, sure.”

  He does a double-take. “I do like a woman who takes charge, though. Think you could handle me now that the shyness is gone after sweating by my side?”

  “Duh.” She keeps walking next to him, then reaches for his hand.

  I smile again.

  Craziest debut I could possibly imagine, but here we are, getting ready to stream worldwide on the stage.

  We all hold hands.

  The lights lower.

  The music starts.

  And I see it.

  A girl with brown hair and red highlights, sitting near the stage, smiling up at us.

  She looks exactly like Ryan.

  I perform as if my life depends on it, maybe because I know hers ended because of the pressure and stress. This is, after all, not just for Ryan. Or for the rest of us. It’s for her, too.

  When we end our first song, I open my eyes and find the seat empty.

  I look over at Ryan. He smiles at the seat and holds his microphone close before starting her song.

  By the time we’re done, people are openly crying.

  We move onto the next song.

  Hours later, after our live performances, we’re all at the apartment, and I’m keeping my promise to not look at the comments online. I feel like we did good. I feel like we did the best we could.

  Sookie’s been blowing up my phone.

  I finally answer it. “Hey, what’s up?”

  “I’m so proud to be your friend.” That’s all he says, then freaking hangs up and sends me a text message.

  With it is a picture of him.

  And Ryan’s sister.

  Kissing.

  I gasp.

  Ryan looks over and then falls off the couch. “What the hell?”

  “They were dating!” I shriek.

  Ryan scrambles to his knees and calls Sookie over and over again until he finally answers.

  Apparently, Sari and Sookie were close or got close. He tried to help her, and this whole time, he blamed himself for not seeing the signs.

  Ryan starts to cry.

  And I sit and hold him.

  Then the rest of the group surrounds him, and I realize that this was how I was supposed to debut all along.

  With love.

  With family.

  With my MXD group.

  Because life is too short not to accept something different, something scary. Something that may change your life forever.

  Ryan grips my hand.

  I squeeze it back.

  And I swear I see her face again, smiling down at us.

  Mission accomplished.

  Epilogue

  Ryan

  One year later…

  Had someone told me a year ago that I’d be dating my best friend, my once sworn enemy, and also looking at our newest music video hit over two hundred million views on YouTube, I would have laughed.

  And yet, here we are.

  I’m holding Ah-Ri’s hand as we make dinner with Jisoo and Haneul. It seems the video gets more and more hits every few minutes.

  “We did it.” Haneul throws his fist into the air and then grabs Jisoo and starts kissing her. “And who really knew that people would love that we’re all dating rather than creating a scandal of the century?”

  Ah-Ri snorts.

  Jisoo follows and raises her hand.

  “Nope, I rebuke this,” I add in. “We took a risk. You girls nearly gave us heart attacks when you did that live!”

  Ah-Ri just shrugs and sips her red wine. “There will always be people who hate it, fans that hate it. But I think more and more idols are coming out with details about their private lives. It’s too stressful to keep that kind of secret. I refuse to live that way.”

  Jisoo taps her glass against Ah-Ri’s.

  How did we get so lucky?

  Haneul looks at me. I look at him. We share similar smiles, and I know he’s thinking the same thing I am.

  Our label is supportive of us and our decision since it’s best to get ahead of the gossip and drama rather than behind it, and while it did send shockwaves through the industry, it’s nice to know that we don’t have to sneak around anymore.

  I don’t know what the future holds for MXD, but I do know what it holds for me, and she’s currently holding Slytherin as he glares across the table. He’s been treating me like I’ve done him dirty. Of course, Ah-Ri treats him like a king…

  I glare at him as if to say he has to sleep in his bed tonight.

  He hisses as if he can hear me.

  I suddenly realize that while my life may not be perfect or normal, and I may have let my dad down countless times and will probably let Ah-Ri, myself, my friends, and my cat down more and fail at some things, I’ll always come back from it stronger. Because I have MXD, and I have my sister’s dream in the palm of my hand.

  I swear I can hear Sari whisper, “We did it.”

  And we did.

  Together.

  * * * *

  Also from 1001 Dark Nights and Rachel Van Dyken, discover Mafia King, Provoke, Abandon, All Stars Fall, and Envy.

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  One of the first rules they give you when you're undercover—never fall for the enemy.

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  I live a double life, and both sides know it's only a matter of time before I'm forced to choose.

  Rebirth through mafia blood.

  Or death at the hands of the very government I swore to protect.

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  And stop kissing her.

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  The music industry called me a savant at age sixteen when I uploaded my first video and gained instant fame. And then Drew Amherst of Adrenaline became my mentor, and my career took off.

  Everything was great.

  Until tragedy struck, and I wondered if I’d ever be able to perform again. I fought back, but all it took was a falling light to bring it all back to the fore. So, I walked away. Because I knew it wasn’t just stage fright. It was so much more.

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  She was given twenty-one days to fix me. To make me see what’s important. What’s real. The problem is, all I can see now is her. The sexy woman who pushes me. Provokes me.

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  It’s not every day you're slapped on stage by two different women you've been dating for the last year.

  I know what you're thinking. What sort of ballsy woman gets on stage and slaps a rockstar? Does nobody have self-control anymore? It may have been the talk of the Grammys.

  Oh, yeah, forgot to mention that. I, Ty Cuban, was taken down by two psychotic women in front of the entire world. Lucky for us the audience thought it was part of the breakup song my band and I had just finished performing. I was thirty-three, hardly ready to settle down.

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  Sixty days of hell.

  It doesn't help that the other volunteer is a past flame that literally looks at me as if I've sold my soul to the devil. She has the voice of an angel and looks to kill—I would know, because she looks ready to kill me every second of every day. I broke her heart when we were on tour together a decade ago.

  I'm ready to put the past behind us. She's ready to run me over with her car then stand on top of it and strum her guitar with glee.

  Sixty days. I can do anything for sixty days. Including making the sexy Von Abigail fall for me all over again. This time for good.

  Damn, maybe there’s something in the water.

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  She left.

  Two words I can't really get out of my head.

  She left us.

  Three more words that make it that much worse.

  Three being another word I can't seem to wrap my mind around.

  Three kids under the age of six, and she left because she missed it. Because her dream had never been to have a family, no, her dream had been to marry a rockstar and live the high life.

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