Scattered Stars
i'll catch you when you fall
Even in a crowded plane forty thousand feet over Las Vegas, Kandi Jenkins couldn’t have felt more alone.
Surrounded by her entourage, the young up-and-coming starlet felt trapped, the pace of her breathing quickening in her chest as she buried the set of earbuds deeper into her ears, but even the music couldn’t block out the incessant sound of her agent’s voice coming from the seat beside her. The woman’s strict, business-only demeanor never seemed to falter, and as she continued to list off the multitude of events on Kandi’s schedule, her fingers jabbing at the iPad in her lap, Kandi couldn’t keep the stress from tugging at her posture.
With a sigh, her honey brown eyes glanced to the phone balanced on her armrest, and she found reassurance in the smiling face that stared back at her.
Those soulful espresso eyes, the childlike dimples that dug into his cheeks. She couldn’t stop the hints of a smile from forming on her lips at the thought of her best friend and the excitement that came along with knowing that she’d see that face again in less than an hour worked to block out the chaos around her.
She’d felt so isolated these past few weeks, walled away from all her friends while she did shooting for a film on location in Vancouver. Though Kandi loved her career, she hated the way that it was beginning to seep into every aspect of her life. She was slowly beginning to lose herself to it all, constantly trying to grasp at what little quirks of her personality she had left as if they were going to float away in the wind.
The young Hollywood scene had taken over her life, and she felt utterly helpless, but somehow, Logan still had a way of keeping her grounded, of reminding her who she was. She was so desperate not to let him down, not to let him become some boy that she used to know. A boy that used to be her best friend.
As soon as the thought passed through her mind, she shook it away. No. Logan would always be there for her, no matter what. Even though things were a little strained between them, she couldn’t imagine her life without him.
For the past few weeks, her life had been a mess, and now, the time that she needed him the most, he wasn’t there. Things with Dak had spiraled out of control, though the two of them tried to keep up appearances in front of the paparazzi until their respective publicists came up with a story surrounding their inevitable break-up that wouldn’t tarnish either party involved. In all honesty, she always thought the chemistry between her and Dak felt too forced, but she still couldn’t believe that her so-called boyfriend had bailed on her. He was supposed to pick her up at LAX and drive her back to her apartment building, but while she was biding time at a layover in Chicago, he’d called to tell her he couldn’t make it.
As her relationship was crumbling down around her, Kandi called the only person who had been there since the beginning.
Though she could tell from the groggy slur of his voice that he’d been asleep, Logan still leapt at the chance to spend time with her, volunteering without hesitation to be her ride home. This wasn’t right, the way she took advantage of him. Even though she was terrible at detecting these sort of things, even Kandi knew that Logan had feelings for her, but because he never voiced them, she continued to push it to the back of her mind. If they both ignored it, it didn’t exist. After all, ignorance was bliss.
But there was that glimmer in his coffee-colored irises as soon as he saw her, the way his face lit up like she was his favorite person in the world, that she couldn’t deny.
“Hey,” he greeted her, wrapping his arms around her shoulders as he pulled her into a warm embrace. “How was your flight?”
“Horrible,” she admitted with a roll of her eyes. She couldn’t keep the fleeting thought from drifting to the forefront of her mind: but it’s better with you here…
The tension was apparent, and even Logan’s lopsided grin couldn’t mask the anxiety in his eyes. Distance and time had changed their dynamic, both of them had been coming to terms with how they felt about each other, but they were both at a loss for words.
“Anyways, how have the guys been? You haven’t gotten into too much trouble without me around, have you?” Kandi joked as they walked together to his car. The fingers of her free hand brushed against his as she shifted the weight of her duffle bag on her shoulders.
“Oh, you know, nothing ever really changes.” There was a stuttered chuckle in his voice that made her suspicious. “But seriously, how was your trip?”
A soft smile flickered across her lips as he held open the car door for her, and she refrained from answering his question until they were both strapped into their seats.
“It was nice, traveling and seeing places I’d never seen before, but at the same time, I don’t know, something was missing. Don’t get me wrong, I loved being a part of the project, and I can’t wait to see the finished product, but it was kind of all work and no play, if you catch my drift.”
Logan’s teeth dug into his lower lip as he nodded, eyes refusing to stray from the road. He remained silent, and though Kandi didn’t want to break his heart, she couldn’t keep the words ensnared any longer.
“I missed you, Logan.”
Her safe place to fall, his lips curved into a soft smile, stealing a glance at her before saying, “You know I missed you too, K.”
And that was the moment that she realized she’d never truly be alone.
Surrounded by her entourage, the young up-and-coming starlet felt trapped, the pace of her breathing quickening in her chest as she buried the set of earbuds deeper into her ears, but even the music couldn’t block out the incessant sound of her agent’s voice coming from the seat beside her. The woman’s strict, business-only demeanor never seemed to falter, and as she continued to list off the multitude of events on Kandi’s schedule, her fingers jabbing at the iPad in her lap, Kandi couldn’t keep the stress from tugging at her posture.
With a sigh, her honey brown eyes glanced to the phone balanced on her armrest, and she found reassurance in the smiling face that stared back at her.
Those soulful espresso eyes, the childlike dimples that dug into his cheeks. She couldn’t stop the hints of a smile from forming on her lips at the thought of her best friend and the excitement that came along with knowing that she’d see that face again in less than an hour worked to block out the chaos around her.
She’d felt so isolated these past few weeks, walled away from all her friends while she did shooting for a film on location in Vancouver. Though Kandi loved her career, she hated the way that it was beginning to seep into every aspect of her life. She was slowly beginning to lose herself to it all, constantly trying to grasp at what little quirks of her personality she had left as if they were going to float away in the wind.
The young Hollywood scene had taken over her life, and she felt utterly helpless, but somehow, Logan still had a way of keeping her grounded, of reminding her who she was. She was so desperate not to let him down, not to let him become some boy that she used to know. A boy that used to be her best friend.
As soon as the thought passed through her mind, she shook it away. No. Logan would always be there for her, no matter what. Even though things were a little strained between them, she couldn’t imagine her life without him.
For the past few weeks, her life had been a mess, and now, the time that she needed him the most, he wasn’t there. Things with Dak had spiraled out of control, though the two of them tried to keep up appearances in front of the paparazzi until their respective publicists came up with a story surrounding their inevitable break-up that wouldn’t tarnish either party involved. In all honesty, she always thought the chemistry between her and Dak felt too forced, but she still couldn’t believe that her so-called boyfriend had bailed on her. He was supposed to pick her up at LAX and drive her back to her apartment building, but while she was biding time at a layover in Chicago, he’d called to tell her he couldn’t make it.
As her relationship was crumbling down around her, Kandi called the only person who had been there since the beginning.
Though she could tell from the groggy slur of his voice that he’d been asleep, Logan still leapt at the chance to spend time with her, volunteering without hesitation to be her ride home. This wasn’t right, the way she took advantage of him. Even though she was terrible at detecting these sort of things, even Kandi knew that Logan had feelings for her, but because he never voiced them, she continued to push it to the back of her mind. If they both ignored it, it didn’t exist. After all, ignorance was bliss.
But there was that glimmer in his coffee-colored irises as soon as he saw her, the way his face lit up like she was his favorite person in the world, that she couldn’t deny.
“Hey,” he greeted her, wrapping his arms around her shoulders as he pulled her into a warm embrace. “How was your flight?”
“Horrible,” she admitted with a roll of her eyes. She couldn’t keep the fleeting thought from drifting to the forefront of her mind: but it’s better with you here…
The tension was apparent, and even Logan’s lopsided grin couldn’t mask the anxiety in his eyes. Distance and time had changed their dynamic, both of them had been coming to terms with how they felt about each other, but they were both at a loss for words.
“Anyways, how have the guys been? You haven’t gotten into too much trouble without me around, have you?” Kandi joked as they walked together to his car. The fingers of her free hand brushed against his as she shifted the weight of her duffle bag on her shoulders.
“Oh, you know, nothing ever really changes.” There was a stuttered chuckle in his voice that made her suspicious. “But seriously, how was your trip?”
A soft smile flickered across her lips as he held open the car door for her, and she refrained from answering his question until they were both strapped into their seats.
“It was nice, traveling and seeing places I’d never seen before, but at the same time, I don’t know, something was missing. Don’t get me wrong, I loved being a part of the project, and I can’t wait to see the finished product, but it was kind of all work and no play, if you catch my drift.”
Logan’s teeth dug into his lower lip as he nodded, eyes refusing to stray from the road. He remained silent, and though Kandi didn’t want to break his heart, she couldn’t keep the words ensnared any longer.
“I missed you, Logan.”
Her safe place to fall, his lips curved into a soft smile, stealing a glance at her before saying, “You know I missed you too, K.”
And that was the moment that she realized she’d never truly be alone.
♠ ♠ ♠
This was written as part of my Elevate collection for "You're Not Alone." The quote that inspired this piece was "good friends are like stars. you don't always see them, but you know they're always there."Comments are always appreciated.
This is set in the universe of this story.