Genre: Angst & fluff

Word Count: 2,135 words

~•~•~•~

Eyes blinded with tears, my hands fumbled for my phone. Tapping Selia's number, my heart sank as I was immediately directed to her voicemail. Belatedly I remembered that she was going away for a week to attend a workshop. She was probably on a plane right now, which explained why her phone had been turned off. This realisation did nothing to calm me down. Ransacking my tumultuous brain for someone else to confide in, only one name came to mind: Gabriel.

My thumb hovered over his number. This is a bad idea, I thought, but before I could discourage myself further, I tapped on the screen to call him. Pressing the phone to my ear, I listened to the dial tone with anticipation. It rang and rang, my heart growing heavier with each passing ring that heightened my fears that he wouldn't answer. He might not even be using the same number anymore. I didn't even know when was the last time I had called or sent him a message.

I was about to give up, resigned to wallow in my misery alone when I heard a click signalling that someone had answered the phone. "Hello?" I said tentatively.

"Rainie?" Gabriel's voice on the other end of the line sounded shocked, but relief flooded me.

"Yeah, it's me," I said, hardly believing my luck. "I can't believe you're still using this number!"

Shy laughter sounded over the phone. "Yeah, only close friends and family know this number." His chuckles died when he recalled the fact that it was me on the line. "What's up? Not that I'm not happy you called, but it has been a while..."

"Yeah," I agreed awkwardly. Perhaps this was not such a good idea after all. "It's nothing," I lied.

Too busy thinking of what to say, I didn't notice that Gabriel was quiet as well, until he said, "You're not still at the restaurant, are you? Are you with Selia?"

"No, I'm home," I answered. "Selia is attending a workshop in Rome."

"I see," Gabriel drew out long and thoughtfully, before continuing. "I won't force you to tell me anything, but if you ever need to talk, you know that I'll always be here for you."

For some reason, his kind words broke the dam that had held the drying tears. I felt bad about it when I heard him panicking at the other end, but once it started, I couldn't stop. The whole story came pouring out of me between so much sobbing that I wasn't sure if he could make sense of anything.

As I talked, I slowly remembered that Gabriel was a good listener. He didn't interject but made the appropriate sounds and comments in all the right places. By the time I'd finished I felt a little better until my eyes strayed to the clock and saw that it was way past midnight.

"Oh my God, it's so late!" Guilt creeping up my chest upon realising how much of his time I'd wasted bawling my eyes out. "I'm so sorry."

The chuckle that reverberated into my ear was low and reassuring. "Don't worry. You should get some sleep though, isn't the restaurant open tomorrow?"

"Yeah," I agreed. "Thank you for listening to me, even if I didn't make much sense."

"I caught most of it," he said half-jokingly.

After thanking him again, I hung up and shifted to lie down on the sofa, wiping the remnants of my tears. Tired from the emotional stress and lack of rest, sleep quickly took over and I fell asleep on the couch with my phone clutched in my hand.

The next day reminded me why I hated crying. No amount of make-up could mask my puffy, red eyes and I spent most of the day holed up in my office, away from the customers. There was no way I could have avoided my employees though, and by the end of the day everyone had learnt of my breakup with Charles. Luckily they all sympathised with me and left me to my devices unless they needed to consult me on something.

Even though the day had been better than I could ever have hoped, given the circumstances, I was glad for it to be over and go home. It was already dark when I traipsed inside, but I had barely changed into comfortable clothes when there was a knock on the door. For a split second, I wondered if it was Charles, but then I opened the door to an even greater surprise.

"Gabriel?!"

I couldn't believe that the golden-haired idol, the friend that I'd only gotten to talk to again recently, was at my door with only a backpack and a grin. "Can I come in?"

"Yes, of course!" I exclaimed, moving back so he could enter. Instead of taking my invitation to sit, he stepped closer and enveloped me in a hug instead.

"I'm sorry that you had to go through that," he said softly into my ear. "Are you feeling better now?"

I nodded, but for some reason tears pricked the corner of my eyes. There was something in the way that he held me. It felt warm, safe and comforting. All the things I didn't know I needed until they were given to me. Turning my head so he wouldn't hear me cry, I sobbed into the front of his sweater. There was no doubt that he knew I was crying, but he didn't acknowledge it with words, only his hand down my hair softly. We stood like that for a while, with him holding me tight as I cried tears that I didn't even know I had anymore.

Eventually the sobs died down, and I shamelessly wiped my cheeks on the soft material of his sweater before I pulled away. Looking up at him, I finally addressed my surprise at his sudden arrival. "Where did you come from? Is it okay for you to be here?"

At my questions, his concerned expression turned into one of a sheepish child. "I was in Japan. We're promoting our new album. It's okay though, I just need to leave in the morning to catch a flight back."

Gaping at him, I was rendered speechless. He had flown at least half a day just to see me? "Aren't you going to get in trouble? I'm okay really, you didn't have to go through so much trouble."

He shrugged indifferently. "I'll probably get a lecture from our manager, but it's fine, I'll still make it for our next program. I just thought you need someone right now."

I opened my mouth to argue, then decided that it wasn't worth it. He was already here, so the best I could do was show him how thankful I was that he'd done this for me. Despite his protests, I made him a simple dinner, and we sat down while he finished his food. Although I felt bad for causing him to fly halfway across the world to see me, I couldn't deny that it made me happy. The conversation flowed as easily as it had before he became famous, with me asking him about his life now instead of keeping the focus on myself.

It was only after the dishes had been cleaned and put away, and Gabriel and I were sitting on the opposite ends of the couch, each hugging a cup of tea that Gabriel breached the subject of my distress. "Are you really feeling better?"

"Yeah," I said, quite surprised to find that I meant it. "It's upsetting, of course, but if I'm being honest, at some point I knew there's just no chemistry between us. I don't know why I held on for so long."

"It's easy and more comfortable to stick with what you're used to," he said understandingly. "But the easy thing doesn't necessarily mean the right thing. If you know he's not the one for you, I'm glad that you're not wasting your time on him anymore."

"You're right." My small smile was returned by his happy grin. The conversation continued in a similar vein, with him assuring me that it was all for the best, putting any worries and doubts I had to rest. He was so convincing that it didn't take long for me to feel that the breakup really was the best thing that could have happened, and since I was determined not to keep him up late again, I made sure that he was safely tucked into my spare bedroom around midnight.

I wished that Gabriel could have stayed longer, even though I knew that was really selfish on my part. The increased contact and chats reminded me how much I'd missed him. However, he was cutting it close on his tight schedule as it was, so breakfast was a rushed affair and all too soon I was bidding him goodbye before heading to the restaurant in a complete turn of mood from the day before.

Although Gabriel had to leave after the very short visit, it was as though the trip had broken the invisible wall that had been constructed between us. We kept in contact, exchanging messages every day, and I realised that I hadn't been this happy for a long time. It had been a while since someone I liked and cared about this much paid so much attention to me. Even Selia was surprised by the abrupt change in me when she got back the following week.

"You look so cheerful," she remarked, grinning over the counter at me after the last patrons that came to the restaurant for lunch had departed. "Did breaking up with Charles make you this happy?"

Shaking my head as I tried to keep my lips from stretching from ear to ear, I dropped the second bomb after telling her that I was now a single woman. "Gabriel came to see me."

"What?!" Selia practically shouted. "Isn't he supposed to be somewhere in Asia now?"

"Yeah, he came back overnight to see me," I answered. "Everything is so much better between us now. I don't know why, but it makes me so happy."

"I'm glad that he makes you happy," she said, patting my hand, and I didn't notice that her tone had grown more reserved.

~•~•~•~

"Dude, your phone," Chris pointed out the vibrating device on one of the chairs with his guitar pick.

I quickly glanced around to make sure our manager wasn't around before reaching for it. After the impromptu return to Venice last week, I'd been given a sound lecture about responsibilities and causing a panic and she'd been looking for more reasons to give me the stink eye ever since.

"Hey, Selia," I muttered quietly as Chris got up to get his water bottle.

"Gabriel," she said. "I heard you came back here last week."

It was only a matter of time before she found out, yet I found that I had to brace myself against her tirade that I knew was going to come. "Yeah, I did. You know how upset she was after Charles broke up with her."

The laughter that tinkled in response gave me hope that this was not a reprimanding call after all. "She's right as rain, Gabriel. Really happy that you came to see her." Then she paused, before saying, "But I bet you didn't tell her about your feelings, did you?"

I knew that she would ask this and had my answer ready. "She just broke up, Selia. I don't want to be the rebound guy."

"Don't you think it's fairer to let her make the decision herself?" Selia countered. "People go through breakups differently, although she was upset at first, she's had months to think about her relationship with Charles. She knew that it was going to end sooner or later, it was obvious, she told me herself."

"Maybe that's true," I conceded. "You forget who I am now, though. Even if she says yes, being in a relationship with a celebrity isn't something that's good for her. All the stress, the pressure if people find out, with me not being around most of the time... She wouldn't be happy."

"You're always thinking about doing what you think is right for others," her voice sounded exasperated now. "Be selfish for once. She isn't stupid and she can think through her own emotions. If you really love her, and she returns your feelings, she has a right to decide if she wants to be with you or not."

I didn't reply because I hated it when Selia was right.

"Just think about how hard it was for you to see her with someone else. Maybe that will convince you not to lose the opportunity to be with her again."

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