“Are you sure?”

“Well, they’ve been going out for like four years now,” Chris interjected before I could answer Selia’s question.

“Three years and nine months,” I corrected, then ignored Chris’ eye roll.

“Same difference,” Chris scoffed.

“Anyway,” I continued before Chris could go further off tangent, “I’m serious about her, so—“

“So you want to marry her?!”

“Well,” I stuttered, a little taken aback by Selia’s sudden exclamation. “Well, yes, eventually. But the first step to that is making our relationship public,” I said, bringing their focus back to the matter at hand. “Besides, I’m tired of sneaking around and keeping secrets. I want people to know that she’s my girlfriend.”

“What’s stopping you then?”

“It’s not that simple.” Sighing, I stirred my cup of coffee with a small spoon, making the contents as muddled as my mind. “Idols don’t date, or at least make it public, normally. Many fans don’t like it, some even stop supporting you, and worse of all, your girlfriend might even get targeted.”

“Rainie can take care of herself. Besides, we’ll always be there for her.” Selia countered confidently. “To be honest, she and I have talked about this before. She’s more concerned that she would jeopardise your career, but I don’t think it should be a reason to keep your relationship in the dark, not when you’re this serious about each other.”

Nodding in agreement, Chris added, “There will be fans who will stop supporting us, but there are also ones that are encouraging us to be in relationship if we find someone we want to be with.”

“I think if they’re truly your fans, they’d want you to be happy and support you even if you have a girlfriend,” Selia concluded.

My heart felt better after hearing their arguments. My mind was pretty much made up either way, but it was very reassuring to have their support.

~•~•~•~

Amusement filled me as I held up the dress. It was pretty, white with sunflowers lining the hem of the dress, which stopped just above my knees. However, what tickled me was Selia’s insistence that I wore it to Storm’s concert that night. “Is this because sunflowers are my favourite flower?”

Giggling, Selia nodded enthusiastically and added, “Plus, Gabriel likes sunflowers too. Don’t you think he’ll like the dress?”

“I don’t think he’ll see me in the crowd.” Storm had gotten more and more successful over the years, and the concert at the large venue had been sold out at lightning speed.
Selia looked at me like I was an idiot. “We will be seeing them afterwards, won’t we?”
That was true. It didn’t matter if he couldn’t see me while performing. I just couldn’t wait to see him again. So I put the dress on and paired it with comfortable shoes that would get me through the night.

It was a good thing I did; hours of standing and jumping in excitement at a concert surrounded by so many people was really tiring. Still, Selia and I, as well as Charles, who had tagged along, had a lot of fun, and butterflies filled my stomach every time I remembered that one of the people performing on that stage was my boyfriend. However, when the end of the concert drew near, I started to feel relief and renewed excitement to be close to Gabriel again. To have his attention solely on me again.

As the last strains of the song they were playing died down, the lights dimmed a little. Cheers rang throughout the concert hall, eventually dying down a while after Gabriel signalled for silence with a huge smile at the reception. “I’ve written a special song that none of you have heard yet. It’s for someone very special, but I want to share it with all of you as well.” He waited for the exhilarated screams to decrease in volume, then continued, “I’ve known this person for a long time, and she has been with me through thick and thin. People nicknamed her after rainy days, but I think she’s as cheerful and bright as the sun. A few years ago, I was lucky enough to become her boyfriend. This has been kept a secret long enough, and I want to let you all know. I hope all of you will support us as well as Storm.”

A loud buzz filled the hall as the concert-goers murmured amongst each other about the sudden announcement. I myself was floored by it, barely registering Selia’s hand gripping my own. Gabriel had brought up the topic of making our relationship public before. I understood the difficulties of having such a relationship; he was a celebrity after all, but I was reluctant as I knew it would affect his popularity. However it seemed that Gabriel had decided that it was a price worth paying. I only hoped that he talked to Chris about it beforehand. Looking at the man with light brown hair grinning at my boyfriend, I suspected that he did. That me feel a little relieved, although my head was still spinning from the unexpected turn of events. Did he say something about a song?

Before I could spare it any more thought, the faint tune of the piano started taking over the place, growing in volume, then joined by other instruments. A slow ballad, made even more beautiful by Gabriel’s angelic voice, told the audience of his tale, of our tale, imbued with all the hardships and sadness that we had to go through, and the joy that we found in each other. I was overwhelmed by the intense feelings he had put into the song, my heart felt so full that I didn’t notice Charles nudging me at first.

Finally successful in gaining my attention, he ed a light stick into my hand. It was similar to the ones the fans had, the ones that were lighting up the dark venue in blue orbs of light. However, Selia warned, nodding to the light stick, “Only if you’re okay with telling the world about you and Gabriel.”

I looked down at it, piecing everything together. This one must be different than the others somehow. Did I want people to know about me and Gabriel? Strangely, now that he had announced it, I wanted nothing more. I wanted to take one step further with him. Hopefully that step will lead to another, then another, to a happy future ahead of us. Together.

So, raising the stick up in the air, I turned it on. It shone with a yellow glow, standing out like the sun in the calm blue sky of the blue light sticks. Immediately whispers started like leaves brushing against each other under the might of the wind, growing as more and more people stared at me, the volume trying to compete with Gabriel’s crooning on stage. Being in the spotlight for the first time made my confidence falter, but only a moment, until Gabriel shifted his eyes towards me and smiled.

Just like that, I knew that everything would be okay. It always did, when Gabriel was around. And it always will be. Always.