....
NOVA POV
I wasn't sure if it was nerves or excitement, but something fluttered in my chest the whole ride to Kalaya's private studio.
Yes. Studio. As in… her personal space for filming, recording, creating.
She called it her "world of light."
I was still trying to find mine.
I'd barely stepped in when I saw him.
Leaning against the wall like a shadow that belonged in every photo.
Black jeans. White shirt. Silver chain. Headphones around his neck.
Eyes like he'd seen too much and decided to care less.
Daniel.
Kalaya's cousin.
The one she told me about.
The musician.
The mystery.
He looked up when Kalaya waved him over. His gaze swept across me — slow, curious, intense.
"Nova, meet my favorite human," Kalaya beamed. "And Daniel, this is Nova. She's a bit of a star-in-the-making. Don't be shy, Nova."
I smiled — careful not to grin too hard.
"Nice to meet you," I said.
He didn't smile. He just tilted his head. "You're the one she talks about. The girl who wants to be famous."
Heat crawled up my neck.
"Guilty," I muttered.
Daniel smirked, finally. "Better than being invisible, right?"
I blinked.
Did he just…?
Kalaya snorted. "Told you she'd like you."
I looked at her. She looked between us. Smiling like she knew what she'd done.
We stayed in that studio a while. Kalaya filmed some clips for her story. I stood in the background, pretending not to exist but hoping someone would notice me.
Daniel picked up his guitar and strummed a few chords. Kalaya danced around the mic like she was born with stage lights in her eyes.
And me?
I watched.
Waited.
Absorbed everything like it was air and I hadn't breathed in weeks.
---
When the shoot ended, Kalaya dragged me to her room. It was white and gold and smelled like vanilla and roses.
"I need to shower before the dinner," she said. "Chill. Daniel will drive us there. You can wait here."
I nodded, pretending I belonged.
Five minutes later, I got a message.
Kiara.
> Kiara: "We need to talk. I mean it."
Then another.
> Kiara: "If I don't matter to you anymore, just say it."
My throat closed. I locked the screen and shoved the phone under a pillow.
No.
Not now.
I couldn't deal with that now.
I walked to the mirror. Checked my gloss. Fixed my lashes.
I looked like someone worth following.
Worth envying.
Right?
---
Later, in Daniel's car
It was quiet. Kalaya was on a call, laughing. Daniel drove like someone who didn't need permission to own the road.
"Do you ever get tired of pretending?" he asked suddenly.
I turned to him. "Pretending what?"
He glanced at me. "That you're okay."
I didn't answer.
I couldn't.
---
The dinner was fancy. Crystal lights. Velvet seats. Waiters in gloves.
Kalaya introduced me to a girl named Marli — one of her influencer friends.
"So this is the new bestie," Marli said, sipping wine like she was born on a yacht.
"She's not new," Kalaya said, looping an arm around me. "She's real."
Marli gave me a side-eye smile. "Real's rare."
Somewhere inside, I felt it again. That flicker.
That hunger.
---
Back home, late
I didn't even change out of my clothes. I collapsed on the bed. Opened my phone.
Text from Jade.
> Jade: "Kiara's been crying. She thinks you're done with her."
Text from Tessa.
> Tessa: "Nova, this isn't you. This… world? It's changing you."
.....
They didn't get it.
They couldn't.
I was changing because I had to.
Because the version of me they loved was going nowhere.
And this version — this elevated, polished, connected version — was finally arriving.
I scrolled to Kalaya's story.
There I was — laughing, clinking drinks, flipping hair.
The comment section was insane.
> "Who's the girl with Kalaya? She's cute af."
"Omg new duo alert???"
"Nova is lowkey slaying."
I liked every comment.
Twice.
---
Later that night
I got a voice note. From Kiara.
Her voice was shaky.
> "You said you wanted to be seen, Nova. But I don't think you meant like this.
I miss you. But I don't even know who I'm missing anymore."
....
I played it twice.
Three times.
Then I opened the camera. Recorded one of me smiling faintly and mouthing "real ones only" with a filter.
Posted it.
Caption: just vibes. stay tuned.
My inbox exploded.
More DMs. More follows. More everything.
But somewhere between the likes and the clout…
I forgot to reply.
And just like that, I lost a friend...
But gained an audience.
Was that worth it?
I didn't know.
But it sure felt like it.
---