I really want to talk to Georgia. We haven’t talked in forever. But I already left her a message this morning. She’s still mad at me. I guess we’re officially in a fight. She’s been avoiding me at school, she won’t return my calls, and she won’t respond to my texts.

This has been the most whirlwind week of my life. Flying out to California with Ethan. The show. Sneaking into his connecting room at night. Having yesterday almost all to ourselves. Ethan has a surprise planned for me tonight.

And it’s Valentine’s Day.

When I woke up this morning and snuck back to my room, I found two boxes on my bed. One was big. The other was a shoe box. They were both wrapped in shiny fuchsia paper with red hearts. The big box had a big red bow. I ripped them open to find the most gorgeous dress and shoes with a note from Ethan saying I should wear them tonight. Ethan told me that he had Aixa buy them for me. She already has jewelry set aside for me on loan from Swarovski. I couldn’t believe I’d actually be wearing the pieces she showed me: a beautiful crystal necklace and matching crystal earrings. Which will go perfectly with the crystal-encrusted clutch I’m carrying. It was a gift from Stella McCartney.

Whatever Ethan has planned, it’s obviously going to be epic. I’ve been picturing the two of us alone in some exclusive restaurant he rented out, having the most romantic dinner ever. Then maybe I’d get to go back to the kitchen and meet the executive chef. He’d reveal his most coveted pastry secrets. I cannot freaking wait to find out where we’re going.

I take one last look in the mirror before leaving my room. Ethan and I are going down to the lobby together. A limo is waiting to take us to the surprise. My heart races when I think about how good we’ll look together.

The dress Aixa selected is exquisite. Aixa is always saying how little and cute I am, how she can dress me up in the most adorable outfits that every girl wants. Tonight I’m rocking superhigh heels and a tiny, floaty dress. Aixa says that superhigh heels and tiny, floaty dresses are my signature look. I kind of have to agree. I don’t know how she did it, but she’s managed to make me shine. The Swarovski necklace and earrings are throwing light everywhere. I’m nervous something will happen to them. How do people accessorize like this every day? Aren’t they afraid of ruining such beautiful jewelry?

I knock on our connecting door.

“Come in,” Ethan says.

I swing the door open and step into his room. He turns from the mirror to look at me. His mouth drops open. He just stands there, staring. “You look . . .” He comes over to me. “You’re the most beautiful girl I’ve ever seen.”

The way Ethan’s looking at me, I can tell he really means it. There are tears in his eyes. Which of course makes me want to burst out crying. But it took me half an hour to get my eyeliner perfect. I blink my tears away.

People in the lobby start noticing us the second we emerge from the elevator. Ethan keeps looking at me.

“I can’t take my eyes off you,” he says.

Melting. In. The lobby.

The limo ride to our mystery destination is ridiculously fun. We blast the music. It’s wild how quickly I’ve gotten used to limos. Now I expect to have the familiar tricked-out amenities waiting for me every time I ride in one. This ride doesn’t disappoint with its killer sound system, video screen, and tons of snacks and drinks.

The limo pulls up to a red carpet.

“Surprise,” Ethan says.

I look out the window. We’re in front of a movie theater. Throngs of fans are screaming.

“What . . . why are we here?” I say.

“This is the surprise. Didn’t you say you wanted to go to a movie premiere in LA?”

Yeah. But not on Valentine’s Day. Not when all I wanted was a romantic night alone with my boyfriend.

“Totally.” I force a smile. “You’re awesome. Thank you.”

“I knew you’d love it.” Ethan gives me a quick kiss. Then he opens the door.

The screaming gets even louder. Ethan gets out and reaches down for my hand.

Snapsnapsnap! go the paparazzi’s flashes.

I’m temporarily blinded after looking directly at an outrageously bright light. A bunch of reporters are filming us. The paparazzi are stacked deep behind the velvet ropes lining the red carpet. I put my hand in Ethan’s, swing one leg out of the limo. My four-inch Manolo makes contact with the ground. I propel myself up.

Snapsnapsnap!

We take a few steps onto the red carpet.

“Ethaaaaan! Ethaaaaaan! Sterling! To your left! Your leeeeeeft!”

I try to look left so whoever is yelling at me can get their picture. The wall of bursting light in front of us makes it impossible to see much of anything. I’m blinded by a thousand flashes.

Snapsnapsnap!

Ethan puts his arm around my waist. I press up against him. We smile and look at the cameras. Fangirls are screaming Ethan’s name from behind barriers across the street. We’re surrounded by hundreds of people trying to capture this moment, trying to take a piece of Ethan away with them.

Snapsnapsnap!

Ethan kisses my cheek. He’s looking at me with the same intensity as before. When he couldn’t take his eyes off me. He can’t even tell that I’m disappointed.

“Happy Valentine’s Day,” he says.

34

[15,873,525 FOLLOWERS]


“Sterling! Hey, Sterling!”

I could pretend I don’t hear her. I could keep walking from my car to the grocery store. There’s a chance she won’t follow me in.

“Sterling!”

My body wants to leap into a sprint. But my mind tells me to be careful. There’s a serious lack of privacy in my life. You never know who’s watching. Who’s filming. Who’s talking.

I turn around. A girl I recognize from school runs up to me. I think she’s a freshman.

“Hey!” she pants. “I was shouting your name!”

Ethan’s fans shout my name a lot these days. They approach me all the time with everything ranging from sweet compliments to wildly inappropriate demands. One girl wanted me to sign her back. Another girl came up to me in the drugstore. She would not stop ranting about how she needed to meet Ethan because she swears they were married in a past life. Then there was the crazy stalker who kept following me around the Notch, insisting that I should give her tickets to Ethan’s Madison Square Garden show because she’s his number one fan. She would not leave me alone. I tried to tell her that I didn’t have any extra tickets. She wasn’t hearing that. When I asked her to please leave me alone, she got angry. She called me a spoiled bitch who didn’t deserve to be with Ethan. It was mad nasty. And those weren’t the only encounters I’ve had with stalker girls. So I’m hesitant about talking to random girls who come up to me.

“Sorry,” I say. I don’t try making an excuse for not hearing her. They probably heard her three towns over.

“Have you talked to Ethan lately?” she asks.

I nod.

“He’s in the Midwest now, right?”

I nod again. He’s finishing up the Midwest leg of his tour. Next he has a bunch of shows down south. I don’t know why she’s bothering to ask me where he is. She probably has Ethan’s entire tour schedule memorized.

“Do you miss him?” she asks.

“Of course.”

“But you get to see him sometimes, right?”

I start walking toward the grocery store. If she wants to walk and talk, that’s cool. Gram and I are cooking dinner at her house. We’re making eggplant parmesan, portobello salad, and garlic bread. We need ingredients.

“Yeah,” I say.

“I saw a clip of you guys at that premiere in LA. You looked so beautiful!”

“Thanks.” Photos and videos of us were everywhere right after the Valentine’s Day movie premiere. That was over a month ago. People are still asking me where I got my dress.

“Where did you get your dress?” she asks.

“Ethan’s stylist picked it out. She’s amazing.”

“OMG want. You looked so cute in it.”

I smile at her. This girl is harmless. She’s obviously nervous talking to me. If she were going to attack me, it would have happened by now.

We get to the front doors. “Are you going in?” I ask.

“No, we were just leaving. I told my mom to wait.”

“It was good talking to you.”

“You, too! Say hi to Ethan for me!”

Even though she was sweet, I’m relieved to go into the grocery store alone. People tend to enjoy scrutinizing what I buy. Which is hilarious. Why is what I eat remotely interesting? Anyway, it was refreshing to meet a sincere fan who just wanted to connect with me without asking for anything.

At home, I unpack the groceries. I separate the things I’m bringing to Gram’s house. Then I check Ethan’s fan page. Tons of new comments on our Valentine’s Day pics are still coming in. Lots of people said how pretty I looked. Reading those comments made me feel like less of an impostor. Some of the girls made fan art from our pictures. They added watercolor frames, flowers and hearts, and text like ETHAN + STERLING = TLF. Maybe I should relax more when fans approach me. Most of Ethan’s fans really are sweethearts.

I go to the most recent comments on the red carpet video Ethan posted. A new comment has been flagged as spam. I open it.


Sterling is a nasty bitch. She makes fun of Ethan’s fans behind their backs. A source was bowling one night when Sterling and Ethan were there. Sterling was making fun of a girl who got a picture with Ethan. Right in front of her and everything. Who does that? Ethan’s fans have been nothing but respectful of his girlfriend out of respect for Ethan. We’re supportive of their relationship. We could be a lot worse to her. This is how she thanks us? Nasty. BITCH.