April 2005, London

  The ride bae was tense and filled with silence. I wao say so muily, but the words wouldn't e. What could I even say to her? I had no idea. From the way she kept gng at me out of the er of her eye, I knew she had sehat something had shifted between us.

  When the car finally stopped at our destination, I got out as quickly as I could. I wao head straight to my room to avoid any unfortable versations, but fate had other pns.

  BARK

  My dearest Loki came bounding toward me before I could even step inside.

  "Hey, boy," I crouched down and ran my hands over his head and back, hugging him tightly. No matter how good or bad my day had been, holding Loki always made it better. He licked my cheek affeately iurn.

  "Hi, Loki," Emily said, croug down beside me to pat his head. He barked happily at her as I let him go. Over the st month, Loki had gotteo having her around as well.

  I g her face, so i aiful, and couldn't help but think about the circumstahat had brought her here. Emily's parents were uandably hesitant to seo another ti all alone. She wasn't eveee and had never lived on her own. It was an easy fix—one versation with my parents, and they'd agreed to house her for a few months. With our abundance of rooms and staff, it hadn't been an issue.

  And now, in just a week or so, filming would be over. In that moment, I khat I had to say something or I will regret this moment forever.

  "I don't think you should go out with Rob tomorrow," I blurted out before I could think this through.

  Emily looked up from petting Loki, fusion written all over her face. "Why?"

  "Because he—" I hesitated, searg for the words. I'd wao say something mean, but I couldn't. Rob was many things, but he wasn't a bad guy. In fact, he was one of the most straightforeople my age I'd ever met. Uhers who acted differently in front of girls as pared to guys, Rob was hohrough and through irrespective of his audience.

  I shifted my approach. "Because I like you."

  We sat there silently, petting Loki, the words hangiween us.

  "I'm not kidding," I said, breaking the quiet. "I really like you. I never said it out loud because I didn't think there was anyone else to pete with. I know you like me as well, but if you go on that date tomorrow, I don't think something ever happeween us."

  "It's not a date," Emily replied quickly.

  I raised an eyebrow, skeptical. "You really think he needs ag lessons from you? Something he prefers getting from a 'pretty girl' over me? If you believe that, you're more han I thought."

  Emily looked away, her expression flicted. For a few moments, she seemed to wrestle with something internally. Then, she turo me and said something that left me pletely shaken.

  "I don't wanna end up the same way as Emma Watson," she said softly but clearly.

  "What?" I asked reflexively, utterly taken aback.

  "You heard me," she said with quiet fidence. "You're a great guy, Troy. My best friend, and someorust more than anyone else in the world besides my family. If you'd asked me a year ago, I would've beehe moon and said yes without a sed thought. But now…"

  "Now?" I prompted.

  She took a deep breath before tinuing, "Even if we were to get together now, keep in mind that most teeionships don't st forever. What if we break up tomorrow? I'd lose my best friend too."

  I opened my mouth to say, 'You won't,' but I couldn't. The words felt hollow. Years ago, I'd said something simir to Emma when she fessed her feelings for me. We'd made a pact to stay friends even if we broke up. But when the breakup came, I hadn't kept my word because it hurt too muain friends.

  And now, the memory made me feel like absolute shit.

  Seeing my somber expression, Emily added with a small smile, "Just so you know, my gold-digger self is furious at me for not accepting your proposal."

  Despite myself, I s her terrible attempt at a joke. Her sense of humor was a little unventional, but something I loved about her.

  I stood up and offered her my hand to help her stand, which she took. As I looked at her resolute expression, I realized I'd lost this battle before it even started. It felt awful being relegated to the friend zone by su incredible girl, but some things couldn't be forced.

  "Why don't you head inside?" I suggested, motioning toward the house. "Loki and I o burn off some calories with a run."

  "Are you okay?" Emily asked, softenione.

  "I will be," I reassured her. "Just o clear my head. You gave me a lot to think about." I turo Loki. "e on, boy."

  Loki barked happily and trotted after me as I left Emily standing on the driveway.

  (Break)

  "Cut!"

  Evan had lost track of how many times he'd shouted that word today. Frustratioched deep lines into his forehead as he rubbed his temples. He turoward Troy, who, bafflingly, had delivered the worst performance of the day—even worse than the new girl shooting her first music video.

  "Everybody take five," Evan called out to the crew, exhaling deeply as he walked toward his brother.

  "What happened?" Troy asked, feigning nonce. "Is everything okay?"

  "You're askihat?" Evan shot bacredulously. "What's wrong with you? Are you purposefully trying to sabotage my music video? Because if you are, then you're a shitty person."

  Troy avoided his gaze, his eyes darting everywhere except at Evan.

  "Listen, Troy," Evan said, his tone hardening. "This is my fug career on the line here. You've already got your life figured out, but I don't. If you mess this up, no one's going to bme you—they'll judge me. If you 't take this seriously, just say so now, and I'll call Daldry to take over this job. He was relut to let me do it as is."

  Troy closed his eyes for a few seds, seemingly tering himself, before meeting Evan's gaze. "I'm sorry. It won't happen again."

  "You sure?" Evan pressed. "If you o talk about something, let's get it out of the way now so we move forward."

  "No," Troy shook his head firmly. "It's fine. I had something on my mind and hadn't realized that it was affeg my performanow I know better."

  Evan wasirely reassured, but he had no choice but to wait for everyoo return so they could restart the se.

  "Is… everything okay?" asked a beautiful girl standing nearby, her toant. Her dark skin, paired with striking hazel eyes, gave her ahereal, exotic beauty.

  "Yes, Ri," Troy smiled warmly at her. "The problem was mine. I had my head elsewhere. I'm sorry for that."

  Robyer known as Rihanna trowing fanbase—was Troy's co-star for this music video. When Steve Kloves and Stephen Daldry had sought out a fresh female vocal talent for Troy's duet, it was Jay-Z who reached out, reending Rihanna. Though she was signed exclusively to him for six albums, an exception was made for this project since her presen the film would skyrocket her visibility. Among all the singers who submitted audition tapes, Rihanna had stood out for her vocal range and stage presence. She'd already recorded the studio version of the duet with Troy, leaving only the video shoot for the weekend when Evan could take the reins as director between his school itments.

  "Alright, everyone," Evan called out again, raising his voice t the team back to focus. "Take your positions."

  (Break)

  Rihanna walked to the bed where her se was to be filmed. She y down, wearing a long white t-shirt that skimmed her thighs, with no trousers. I sat on the edge of the bed beside her, my upper body bare, dressed only in a pair of jeans.

  I turo her with a teasing grin. "Wanna mess with them?"

  Her hazel eyes lit up with mischief. "How?"

  "Let's make out during the song. I'm pretty sure Evan will lose his shit if we break his flow."

  She gave me a skeptical look, one brow arched. "Are you sure this isn't just an excuse for you to make out with me?"

  I shrugged, pying it cool. "Does it matter? We'll have to do it eventually anyway. Also, he's way too uptight."

  Rihanna sidered it for a moment before shrugging iurn. "Alright, but only when it feels right."

  I nodded in agreement.

  Just then, Evan pressed a button on his remote, starting the music pyback. We'd decided early on that pying the track was smoother and more effective than saying "a." As the instrumental swelled, I began lip-syng to ensure my mouth matched the lyrics perfectly for the final cut.

  (Closer - smokers)

  ~: Hey, I was doing just fine before I met you

  I think too mud that's an issue, but I'm okay :~

  I sang the soed on the edge of the bed, my voice syng effortlessly with the pyback as Rihanna y in the background, her figure bathed in soft, ambient lighting. She moved with deliberate grace, crawling toward me until her arms ed around my bare shoulders.

  Her movements exuded sedu, her touch light yet deliberate, but I kept my posure. Ign her attempts to fluster me, I remained cool and fident, my gaze focused forward as I tinued singing as though utterly ued.

  ~: Hey, you tell your friends it was o meet them

  But I hope I never see them again :~

  Suddenly, Rihanna pulled me closer, her hazel eyes log onto mine in a heated, magic stare. For a brief moment, the iy between us made me fet my cue to sing along to the track. Unfortunately, the music system didn't share my pse in tration, and the song tinued pying in the background.

  ~: I know it breaks your heart

  Moved to the city in a broke-down car

  And… four years, no calls

  Now you're lookin' pretty despite that scar :~

  I reached up aly traced the faint scar painted on Rihanna's cheek by the makeup team, my thumb brushing over it with care. I had ged the lyrics a little to emove all refereo alcohol and bar, ging it for scar.

  Rihanna gnced downward shyly, only to look back up, her gaze filled with aion that matched the crag energy between us. The chemistry was undeniable, and before we realized it, our movements synized, drawing us closer until we met in the middle for our first kiss.

  ~: And I-I-I 't stop

  No, I-I-I 't stop :~

  It started with soft, teasing pecks, growing in iy with each passing moment. Soon, I found myself leaning over her, my body pressing hers against the bed as our lips danced in a fiery rhythm. The cameras, the crew, and the e faded into irrelevance. All that mattered was the magic pull of the moment, her warmth grounding me as everything else in my life felt like chaos.

  Maybe, it was an escape from all the other drama happening in my life, but I didn't care much about it. All I wanted was to enjoy that moment.

  "Are you kidding me!?" Evan's voice cut through the haze, sharp and incredulous. "Couldn't you two trol your hormones for just a few hours?"

  Mission aplished.

  I pulled away from Rihanna, and before long, the both of us were ughing hysterically.

  "Oh my God!" Rihanna said between her fits of giggles. "That was, hands down, the best kiss I've ever had. You're a very good kisser, Troy."

  "Why, thank you," I replied with a mock bow. "You're my best as well."

  And it wasn't just fttery. There was a teique to her kiss that I couldn't quite put into words. She was simply much better than any irl I had ever kissed.

  "Are you guys done?" Evan's exasperation alpable. " we move on now?"

  I rolled my eyes at him. "Lighten up, will you? We were just having some fun. And hey, you got the kissing shots, so two birds with oone."

  "Please don't deviate from the pn like that again," Evan said, his tone b on pleading. "We still o shoot the video for 'We Found Love', and we're on a tight schedule."

  I sighed, realizing I might have pushed too far. This project meant everything to Evan, and my carefree attitude wasn't helping.

  "Alright," I said with genuine seriousness, before turning to Rihanna. "No more jokes until we filming."

  "Aye aye, captain," Rihanna teased, tossing a pyful salute. Her joke made me smile despite myself, though I quickly suppressed it.

  "Okay," Evan said, regaining trol of the set. "For the se, Rihanna, you'll be behind Troy again, and Troy, you'll…"

  The rest of the shoot was grueling, and I quickly learhat Evan erfeist. He wasn't rude or unreasonable, just relentlessly focused. Every shot had to be precise, every expression on point. His seriousness didn't waver once, and though his iy was a bit much, I couldn't fault him. This was his first ercial project, and he clearly wa to be fwless.

  Maybe with more experience, he'd find a way to lighten up. Until then, all I could do was respect his determination and give him my best.

  "Yood," Rihanna remarked idly from beside me as we reviewed the raw footage from the video we'd just shot. Though it still needed extensive editing, the shots were striking, showg Rihanna's beauty in a way that elevated the visuals to another level.

  "If I'm good, then yoing to set theaters on fire when this film is out," I said with utmost siy. "Be ready to bee the crush of millions of boys across the world ht. Not that you'd his film to succeed. Your voice alone is magical enough to make you a superstar."

  "Definitely," Evan chimed in from the other side, nodding in agreement.

  Rihanna didn't reply immediately, iilting her head to the side in thought. She looked effortlessly cute when she did that.

  "Troy," she said suddenly, her tone more serious now, " we talk alone?"

  Evan and I exged a gnce before he gave me a small nod and walked away, leaving me aloh the Barbadian star.

  "What's up?" I asked, my curiosity piqued.

  "It's something Jay-Z suggested," she begaoter-of-fact. "Please don't judge me too harshly."

  Her words fused me even more.

  "What exactly did he say?"

  She hesitated for a moment before answering, "He suggested that, if possible, I should try to initiate a retionship with you. He thought it would boost my career a lot. But I'm not the type of girl who would deceive someone like that. So I was thinking, if you agree, we could try going out for a while. If we like each other, we move forward with it. If we don't, we could just say we were dating and maybe make some public appearaogether."

  I blirying to process her words. It wasn't unheard of iertai world—retionships orchestrated to gee buzz and elevate public profiles. But this was the first time someone had directly proposed the idea to me.

  "If I were to agree, how would it even work?" I asked, my toral. "I'll be shooting the [Harry Potter] in a few months here in London, while you'll be iates, promoting your debut album."

  "You could e to L.A. when you're not shooting," she suggested. "And when I'm free, I'd e here to see you."

  Hearing it id out so pinly, it sounded more like a strategic arrahan a geionship. A, I wasirely put off by the idea.

  "I'll have to think about it," I said after a pause. "I 't make this decision on a whim."

  "Okay," she agreed easily. "Let me know when you do."

  Her words lingered in my mind as I watched her walk away. Before I could sider starting something new—real or not—I had something much more pressing to address.

  Emily's words from earlier repyed in my head, reminding me of how much I'd failed Emma. I couldn't move forward without making things right with her first. Only then could I figure out what to do about Rihanna's proposition.

  ___________________________________________

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