Page 114 of Shy Girls Can't Date Celebrities
The adrenaline hits me, and I shiver as Wyatt greets the hyped crowd. I really thought he might shy away from all this. I remember all those late night phone calls where he’d need a pep talk to film the next day’s episode of Talent Quest. It made sense he’d be scared of the limelight when he’s suffering from short-term amnesia.
But he clearly loves this. And now, with the thought of his memory coming back, he’s ecstatic. There’s nothing more I want than him being one-hundred percent healthy.Ugh. I just got the old Wyatt back and I’m terrified of losing him. He’s already intoxicated by the fame, and I don’t have the stomach to follow him into the spotlight.
My stomach cramps as I slink out of the store. I shimmy myself behind the security and want to hurl as Wyatt listens to his fans gushabout how much they love him. This isn’t anything new. I’ve seen footage of these interactions online. My heart melts for him, knowing his music and his performances have moved people. I want everyone to experience his talent. But...
The dry heaves won’t stop.
“We heard you had some kind of memory loss,” says one girl in the crowd.
“Yeah, is it true?” another girl asks. “Did you forget that you’re famous?”
The question makes Wyatt smile and he murmurs a laugh. “I’ll tell ya,” he says, scribbling his name on a piece of paper, “after being cooped up in, in a hospital room for weeks, th-th-this all sure feels new to me.”
The crowd is circling him and I swear they’re sucking up all the oxygen in the street.Gah. Is something tied around my throat?Ouch. I’m being strangled from the inside out. I press my sweaty palms against the wall behind me, propping myself up before I mutate into a ghostly white puddle on the pavement.
One girl collapses in tears. “Oh my gosh,” she wails at Wyatt. “I can’t believe you’ve been so sick. I hate this. It’s not fair. I never want you to be sick!”
“Hey, hey,” Wyatt coos, rubbing the girl’s shoulder. “I’m good. See? Don’t cry. I’m okay.”
The girl sniffs hard and smiles as tears streak her face. “I just love you so much,” she sobs. “I don’t ever want you to be hurt. I’d full-on die.”
Wyatt recoils. “No, no you won’t.”
She smears wet mascara across her cheeks. “Yes, I will.”
“I’m so glad you enjoy my music, but no one’s dying over me.”
The crowd pushes in tighter and I gasp for air. I trip backwards, as the shopfront wall ends, leaving nothing for me to lean on. I shrink, hunching forward and hugging my cramping belly. A rush of girls raceinto the crowd, knocking into me so hard I almost fall forward.
“We need you to finish your movie,” another girl blurts. “I need to see it, like, yesterday.”
Wyatt turns to this girl. “You like the movies better than the music?”
She shrinks under his eye contact. “Umm, yeah. I mean, I replay your first album, like, everyday, but I live for the movies.”
Wyatt tilts his head thoughtfully. “Huh.”
I stumble backward, teary-eyed and shaken from the mass of voices and lack of space. I keep moving backward, feeling my heart being ripped away from the guy of my dreams.
“Okay, everybody,” one of the security guards says in a no-nonsense tone, “time to back it up. You’ve occupied enough of Wyatt’s time.”
A collective “Aww,” whines from the group.
Wyatt waves to them as he ducks behind his security. “Thank you so much for reaching out to me. This was really fun.”
Local police officers join the scene, and the crowd disperses as Wyatt and his security make their way toward me, three shop fronts away.
Wyatt moves with a spring in his step. “What a rush.”
I quickly wipe under my eyes and blink a few times before he can take me in.
“Maybe I should stop giving Lexy the brush off and actually do something to publicly address my fans,” he says, his gaze off to the side as his thoughts carry him away. “That was such a rush. Like, addictively good.”
“That’s so good to hear.”
Wyatt catches the tremor in my tone, and his eyes finally meet mine. “Crap. You’re not okay.”
“What? No, I’m...”
