SHINE FOREVER
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
❝ONE AND ONLY, LIKE A HOLY, I'M FASCINATED BY THE BRIGHT LIGHT OF YOUR BEAUTY, I SUBSTITUTE YOU IN MY DARK DAYS, PLEASE DYE ME WHITE AND BRIGHT.❞

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      She's gorgeous, is the first thing that came to mind as Rosé stared at Camille Abbott. She had long forgotten about her best friend on the private plane, about his girlfriend, about the ache in her chest, and it was all thanks to Seth who made sure she thought of nothing but good memories and joyous thoughts.

      But all that came crashing down as her coffee eyes laid on the sight of the tall, skinny, beautiful model standing not too far from her. She was excited to see Noah again, to meet up with Chris and Sebastian, but all those thoughts left her mind the minute she saw them together. However, she was met with this unexpected sight of Tom's girlfriend.

      They're so cute together, was another bitter thing that came to mind as she continued to stare. She couldn't help it. It was as if every insecurity she had about herself was bubbling underneath her skin and this sinking pit in her stomach expanded. Every flaw she had growing up suddenly became a larger issue, every thing wrong with her suddenly stuck out to her, and it was all because of this beautiful girl standing in front of her.

      "Don't look at her, Annie. You're beautiful the way you are," she heard Seth murmur from behind. He shifted his shoulder bag before he settled his hands on her shoulders delicately. It was as if he was scared to break this fiery person's hard shell. "Come on, let's go find Noah, yeah?"

      She numbly nodded as she followed Seth's guidance. But no matter how hard she tried her eyes refused to let go of its gaze on the lovely couple. Rosé wrapped her arms around her small waist as she tried to calm herself down. She had this sudden itch in her skin, as if she wanted to claw at the soft flesh until it was red and gone.

      She needed to leave, but she couldn't. Because at the end of the day there will always be something tying her back to him. Always.

      "Hey, Rosie! Wait up!" Fuck.

      Rosé squeezed her eyes shut as her grip around her body tightened painfully, until her nails dug through her brother's blue sweater and into her hips. This is real, very much real, and she knew by the way Seth's hands would tighten its hold on her shoulders.

      I'm so stupid.

      Shakily inhaling and exhaling she turned around and faced her friend. Tom was subtly dressed to hide his appearance as well as Camille whose face was covered by her sunglasses, a surgical mask over her lower face, and casual clothing that didn't stand out too much. But Rosé was still in awe that she could dress so casually and yet, she still looks like a goddess and nothing less of one.

      And then there's her right across. Roseanne Chaewon Cha, an online college student who could barely keep up with her studies, daughter of divorced parents, and one of the many forgotten children of her large family. She was nothing special, nothing made her stood out like Camille did.

      No, no, don't do this to yourself, Rosé's subconscious scolded herself. You're beautiful, you're worthy, you're amazing. You didn't need Tom's love then and you don't need it now. You don't need his approval or hers. You're in fucking Germany on a MARVEL internship, you're with world class actors and actresses, you're with your mum and brother and best friend. Don't ruin this because of your jealousy.

     And so Rosé surprised Seth as she stepped out of his grip and walked towards Tom's girlfriend. He half expected her to slap the girl across the face — Rosé has always been known to be unapologetically violent for no reason — or walk past both Tom and Camille. 

      But she did none of that.

      No, Rosé Cha reached out her hand for Camille to shake with a small smile on her own face. And with a confident aura suddenly shrouding her it was as if Seth got a glimpse of the girl he always loved. "Hi, it's so nice to meet you, love. I'm Rosé, or rather Rosie."

      Tom let out a breath of relief that he didn't know he was holding in as his girlfriend hugged his best friend. He wasn't sure why he was so nervous or worried in the first place. Everything was going to run smoothly, Rosie would never let him down like that. 

      Maybe it's because deep down he wanted his best friend to approve of Camille, he wanted to feel like he had done something right, make her proud in a way. Because he couldn't count the endless amount of times where Rosé picked up after him, made sure he was okay, protected him, took care of him. She was always there for him even when he couldn't be there for her.

      And he was tired of having her always save the day. Tom was beyond grateful, don't forget that, but he couldn't help but feel that Rosé always deserved better. And there have been countless times where he wondered how his life would've been if Rosé hadn't stuck up for him, if she decided that sitting with the cool kids during lunch — they were like eight — would've been better than sitting with lonely, younger Tom.

      Underneath the mask, Camille smiled brightly at Rosé who was smiling just as happily, the only difference was that Rosé wasn't really smiling, not when her heart was breaking into several pieces.

      Here I am hating her for no reason, and she's so perfectly nice, she thought to herself as Camille held her hands. Rosé couldn't be at her, not when she did absolutely nothing wrong. It was she who had done wrong, she for letting her insecurities get the best of her and judge this girl who has done nothing wrong to her.

      "It's so lovely to meet you," Camille said excitedly as she stepped away from Tom who watched the two like a proud father. Her British accent was addicting and rich, it practically oozed out the celebrity's elegance. The model took the sight of Rosé in and stared in awe, "You're so beautiful, I'm actually surprised no man has snatched you up yet, from what Tom has told me."

      "That's because Rosie scares away the opposite sex," Tom chimed in with a chuckle. The actor finally tore his attention away from his two girls and finally noticed the male standing behind Rosé. He smiled and stuck his hand out, "I'm Tom."

       "Seth," the male responded as he shook Tom's hand. His expression worried Tom, because despite the happiness on his face it vanished the minute Tom spoke to him. "Annie, I'll see you later, yeah? I'll text you."

      Rosé nodded and pulled away as Seth leaned down to give her a hug. Tom's smile instantly washed away as Seth pressed a kiss on his best friend's cheek before she did the same. "I'll see you later. Noah and I will meet up with you before you leave."

      Seth chuckled, "Got it. Behave, okay? If you need me just call."

      Tom couldn't help but stare at the interaction between the two. He tried to ignore the rage that boiled inside of him as he watched the two have their conversation. He didn't like this Seth guy, not one bit. He didn't mind that he had a crush on Rosé, I mean who wouldn't, but he didn't enjoy the fact that he treated him with such coldness.

      What did he ever do to Seth in the first place? He's never met him before today.

      Camille squeezed Tom's hand to recapture his attention. She leaned closer and smiled as she too stared at the sight of Seth and Rosé. "They're pretty cute together, aren't they?"

      "Yeah, yeah, I guess."

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A/N;

A bit of a slower, anti climatic chapter which I apologize for.

Dedicated to ezekielfiguero for her funny comments!

Much Love Guys.

( written: august 11, 2017 )
( published: august 13, 2017 )