The Star Crossed Collection
The Star Crossed Collection
Jamie Campbell
In the Star Crossed Collection:
Book 1: Star Crossed
Book 2: StarDUST
Book 3: starLET
book 4: star FALL
Star Crossed
Chapter One
Sunflowers were one of my favorites and Cole knew it. A huge bunch arrived that morning just as I was packing for the trip. I was flying to some capital city, it didn’t matter which one. The main thing was that Cole would be meeting me at the airport and we would have the whole weekend together.
I missed him. So, so much.
The last time I had seen the lead singer of the most successful boy band in the world, Two Dimension, was over two months ago. His schedule had been crazy and I was busy with school.
My world was so ordinary compared with his. He was used to all the glitz, glamour, and hard work of his life in the spotlight. My life was filled with homework, school, and taking care of my little sister.
Cole and I had been together for almost a year now. We Skyped and texted all the time but it was never enough. I wanted to see him, kiss him, and spend time with him. It was all I ever wanted from him.
But the flowers were very nice. They came with a card that said:
Can’t wait to see you. C xxoo
I could not wait to see him either. I was practically jumping out of my skin watching the seconds tick by. I was going to see him today and I wasn’t going to let him out of my sight until I stepped back on the plane to return home.
The clothes I packed were carefully chosen. I wanted to look good for Cole, remind him what he was missing when I wasn’t around. I was always scared he would stop missing me.
All the boys of Two Dimension had millions of girls throwing themselves at them on a daily basis. I still had to pinch myself sometimes that Cole had chosen me over all of them.
Dallas kept telling me it was Cole that was the lucky one because not many girls would accept a boyfriend that travelled so much. My best friend always made me smile when she put it like that. I guess we’d both made sacrifices to be together.
A limo arrived right on time at eight a.m. and took me to the airport. Cole sent his private jet for me, like he always did. It technically belonged to his record label but it was solely for the use of the band.
My heart rate kicked up a few notches as we took off. The flying part was never fun. I could never get used to it, no matter how many times I flew in the jet.
Landing was always a relief and this time was no exception. A bazillion butterflies flew around in my stomach. As soon as the plane came to a standstill and I was allowed out, I was going to see him. He was going to be standing on the runway with his perfect smile and his arms outstretched for me to run into.
I could not wait.
I stared at the seatbelt sign like my life depended on it, waiting for it to go dark so I could jump off the jet and go running into my boyfriend’s arms.
Finally, it flicked off.
Unfastening my seatbelt, I was then left to wait for the door to open. I would have pushed it out and ridden down the emergency slide if I thought it would get me there faster.
My foot tapped on the floor impatiently. Every nerve in my body was standing on end with the sweet anticipation of seeing Cole. I needed to be in his arms more than I needed to breathe.
The stairs were pushed over to the door and the flight attendant finally opened it for me. I ran down the stairs, even when she called out a warning not to do that. I knew if I fell, Cole would catch me.
Every step was taking me closer to him, I would run as fast as I could to reach my wonderful boyfriend.
Frantically, I looked around the runway. A car was waiting for me, black and shiny. But no boyfriend. I approached the driver. “Is Cole here?”
He shook his head, sympathy written in his wrinkles. “Mr. Newton has been held up at the arena. He sends his apologies.”
My body sagged with disappointment. Cole always came to the airport to pick me up, he never let anything get in his way. I’d seen him argue with his manager over it before and he always won.
Something was wrong.
Very wrong.
Chapter Two
Cole had given instructions to my driver to take me straight to our hotel. I sent him a text message, letting him know that I had arrived and was looking forward to seeing him in person.
Hopefully he got the hint.
There were so many people surrounding our hotel that the driver couldn’t get through them all. It was like half the town had decided to camp out around the place.
“This might take some time, Miss Morgan,” the driver warned.
“It’s okay, I can just walk.” Two feet were definitely going to be easier to get through the people rather than four wheels.
“We’ll get there eventually.”
“No, I’ll walk. Thank you for picking me up.” I was out the door before he could stop me, my luggage being dragged behind. My grumpiness was threatening to take me over, frustrated at not seeing Cole yet and everything that could mean.
Did the breaking up part start when he stopped meeting me at the airport? Was that the first sign that he’d lost interest in me? All those horrible questions swirled around in my head and they were only making my anxiety worse.
I tugged my luggage through the crowd, earning myself elbows to my back as I did. Nobody wanted to give up their place in the crowd to let me through. I was going to be incredibly bruised by the time I reached the foyer.
“Excuse me,” I muttered as I moved. I tried for a zigzag pattern which seemed to work a little better rather than trying to go straight for the doors.
Eventually I made it to the barrier the hotel had set up around the foyer entrance. I had to wave to get the beefy security guard’s attention.
He stomped over, not because he was angry but because I think he could only stomp with his massive form. “What’s up, little lady?”
“I need to get inside the hotel,” I replied.
He looked me up and down. “Just like every other person standing around. The band aren’t here, I keep telling everyone the same thing.”
My grumpiness was only growing. “You don’t understand, I’m Cole Newton’s girlfriend. I have a reservation here. My name is Melrose Morgan.”
The guard rolled his eyes, he actually rolled his eyes at me. “Yeah, sure you are. Who else here is Cole Newton’s girlfriend?” A whole bunch of girls screamed until my eardrums were about to pop. He looked at me again pointedly, shrugging his shoulders.
“No, really, I am,” I insisted. I had no clue how to convince him otherwise. The only thing I could think of was to pull my cell phone out of my handbag and show him the pictures of Cole and me together. I held up the screen and flicked through them. “See? We’re a couple.”
He took my phone from my hand and stomped off with it. He showed it to the other guard, flipping through the photographs together before the other guy nodded.
Mr. Stompy returned to me and handed back the phone. “Fine, come in.” He opened the barrier for me and I scurried inside. He had to hold all the other girls back before they made a run for it.
The lady at the reception desk was much nicer, giving me a key to my room and then directions up to the tenth floor. I thanked her before hurrying along. There were too many eyes watching me to stick around.
The room was the same as in any hotel, it contained a big bed, a desk, a few lamps, and a television. It was comfortable enough but I couldn’t keep still. I needed to see Cole so he could tell me everything was okay. I needed to hear the words from his lips.
I watched the clock
while the television played some movie I’d seen a hundred times before. My cell phone was always next to me, still showing no texts or calls from Cole.
If he was planning on breaking up with me, why not do it over the phone? Why make me come all the way to see him if he was only going to send me on my way home again? My life wasn’t a joke to be messed with, I had feelings that needed protecting.
It didn’t make much sense, but something was going on. Something big enough to keep him from meeting me at the airport. Something big enough to keep him from me at all.
The sun went down outside, making the room full of dark shadows. I pulled the curtains closed and turned on all the lamps. It only helped a little to keep the scary things at bay.
A knock on the door tore my attention away from my worrying. I practically ran to the door, checking the peephole before swinging it open.
The famous Cole Newton stood before me.
“Hey,” I said. My breath was caught in my throat, threatening to choke me. I couldn’t handle the suspense of not knowing what was going on.
His face was grim before breaking into a beaming smile. “I’ve missed you so much.” He stepped toward me, closing the gap between us completely as I was pulled into a tight hug. “I’m so sorry I wasn’t at the airport to meet you.”
“It’s okay,” I replied, my head buried in his chest. Everything was okay right at the moment. Nothing else mattered except his warm body pressed against mine and his strong arms around me.
He let me go long enough to pick me up. He stepped into the room, closing the door with his foot before taking me over to the bed and gently placing me there.
“It’s not okay,” he said as he settled onto the mattress beside me. We didn’t have anywhere else to sit but I didn’t mind. Being next to Cole was exactly where I needed to be. He held my hand, our fingers twined together.
“Why didn’t you?” I asked, it seemed like something he wanted to talk about. And, to be honest, it would have been nice to have an answer.
“We had a band meeting. Luke is thinking of leaving.”
“Leaving? As in quitting the band?”
Cole nodded sadly. The stress of his day was etched all over his face. “He’s not sure yet but he’s thinking about it. We’re trying to convince him to stay.”
“Why would he want to leave?”
“He’s tired of the whole fame thing and our schedule is ridiculous. You know how difficult it is for any of us to maintain a normal lifestyle.”
Leaving the most popular boy band in history right when their fame was peaking seemed like a really bad idea. But I wasn’t part of the band so I didn’t know everything they went through. All I knew was that there were millions of people who would be all too happy to take his place.
I guessed if Luke wasn’t happy, then he had a right to change things. It was just such a pity. And I was speaking from the point of view of Cole’s girlfriend and a huge fan of their music. I didn’t want to see the band broken apart.
“Will you all continue on with Two Dimension if he leaves?” I asked, hanging out for the answer more than I wanted to admit.
“Yeah, of course. The rest of us can still perform without him, it just won’t be the same. We’ll miss him.” Cole took a deep breath, brightening a bit. “But enough about my problems, I want to hear everything that’s going on in your life. How’s Jemma?”
I told Cole everything, including the fact my nine-year-old sister Jemma was jealous that I got to fly in a private jet. My updates were nothing as dramatic as his, but he listened anyway.
Cole always listened to the details of my boring, ordinary life like he was incredibly interested. I loved him all the more for it.
He eventually left my room at close to midnight after we were all talked out. I went to sleep with a big smile on my face, knowing we were still as strong as ever.
Chapter Three
I was becoming quite the expert at concert venues. I knew the layout of most of the big ones around the country – not to mention Europe, thanks to touring with the band last summer.
This one was no different. It held thousands of people in the main arena and the backstage was a maze of corridors and small rooms.
Cole was in another band meeting, trying to talk some sense into Luke and convince him to stay. The stress was eating away at all the boys, tension rippled through all of them that morning when I had seen their weary faces.
Waiting around for Cole had to be one of the most boring things on the planet. I made a mental note to bring a book next time I visited him, I would probably get through it by the time I went home.
My idle wandering led me to the stage. It was all set up for the night’s performance. The band’s logo was hanging at the back, unable to be missed even in the back rows.
I stood in the middle of the stage, looking out at all the empty seats and pit area. I tried to picture what it would look like full, what Cole would see when he stood in that same spot.
It would be amazing to see a crowd of people, all so happy to be there hearing you sing and perform for them. Cole had told me once before that it was like a shot of energy that he received from the crowd. I believed him.
Double checking nobody was around, I grabbed the microphone and started pretending I was the huge rock star. I did all the moves as I started singing one of the band’s songs.
I was only goofing around but the sound echoed around the room like I was a professional. It was silly, but so much fun. I got right into it, copying some of the dance moves I’d seen Cole do a thousand times before.
I imagined all the seats were filled with screaming fans, all cheering for me. It would have been amazing feeling all the positive energy coming toward me.
Something crashed just off stage and I immediately shut up. Moving away from the microphone, it still teetered in place when Scott, the band’s manager, stepped out.
He looked around, his eyes darting everywhere. “Who was just singing out here?”
I shrugged. Scott and I didn’t exactly get along. I wasn’t about to admit to something that would get me into trouble. Especially not to him.
He was still looking around when he continued. “So you saw nobody? This is a closed area, no-one is supposed to be out here.”
“I didn’t see anyone.” Not technically a lie, I didn’t see anyone besides me. “Maybe it was the radio or something.”
“I don’t hear a radio, do you?”
“Not now. Maybe someone turned it off.”
He eyed me suspiciously, assuming I was lying. He never believed a word I said, which made lying to him like a sport. If he didn’t trust me anyway, what was the point in being honest?
The rest of the band rumbled down the corridor to join us. They broke our staring contest, distracting Scott from my interrogation.
Cole slid his arm around me to rub my back before he kissed my forehead. “Everything okay?”
“Just peachy,” I replied. Now Cole was there, everything was better.
“We’re going to rehearse the set and check the sound. Can you hang around for a little bit?”
I gave him a kiss on the lips. “Of course. Can I watch?”
“Sure can, cutie.”
I found a seat in all the thousands of empty ones – front row, of course. The boys took their positions, moving in perfect synchronicity, like they’d done it a million times before.
Scott took to the audience too, sitting a few rows behind me. He would never have sat next to me, he despised me too much. I never really understood what his problem was.
Two Dimension started playing, running through their set for tonight. I loved watching them perform. Even though I’d seen them so many times before, it never got old.
Cole was absolutely outstanding, a rock star that glittered with magic. He was beautiful and hot, everything about him came to life as he sang and played the guitar. I was so lucky to have him in my life.
The whole band were doing great, except for Luke. He see
med to be a beat behind everyone else for most of the set. He wasn’t playing with as much heart as the others.
If what Cole said was true, and he was trying to leave the band, it seemed he wasn’t going to be around for much longer. It was like he’d already mentally separated himself from the others.
It was so sad to see.
Luke had everything being a member of Two Dimension. The world was at his feet and he was throwing it all away. A part of me was angry at him but another part had nothing but sympathy. He was obviously struggling with something.
Scott stood up mid-song. “Take this song from the start again. Luke, get your head in the game or get off my stage.”
Luke shot him daggers but didn’t move. They obediently started the song again. He was a bit better this time around, keeping up with the others for the most part.
Later on, I was watching them again. This time from the edge of the stage. All the seats were full now, thousands of screaming fans having the time of their lives in the audience.
The band always performed better when they had an audience. Even Luke was doing his part to entertain the fans into a frenzy. Their screams were deafening.
I watched the whole concert and waited patiently for the boys backstage when they finished. Cole emerged from his dressing room in his regular clothes and made a beeline for me.
He wrapped me up into a hug. “Do you feel like doing something naughty?”
“Okay,” I replied. His version of what constituted naughty could have been anything.
He twined his fingers with mine and led me down the corridor. There were two cars waiting to take them back to the hotel. He jumped into one and pulled me in after him.
Cole said something quietly to the driver who then started the car. He drove straight through all the traffic of the venue and headed into the city.
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