The headlines streamed in one after another. The phones didn't stop ringing. There were shouts of confusion. Shouts of panic.

I left them all behind.

Leaving management's building, my mind whirls with terror after what I just witnessed.

The video of Alex talking to a group of fans began innocent and made me smile. But when the sound of confusion rippled through the crowd, it was audible through the video. A man in black shoved his way through the crowd and punched my living breathing angel.

She feel to the floor in an instant, my heart failing to stay steady as my eyes rapidly took in the video. She lay unconscious on the cold, dirty street as people stood in shock. The man who will haunt my dreams made a B-line and that's all I saw before I threw myself out of my door and ran down to get a taxi.

It's sudden and I don't have time to call Mr Walden to make him come over. Realizing I have no other choice, I step out into the bright daylight.

The shouts of paparazzi surround me, shouting and flashing the camera's at me as I try to reach the end of the sidewalk. Shoving a reporter's arm off me, their incessant questions pass through my head.

"Where are you going?"

"Why are you in such a rush, Mr Williams?"

"Relationship problems?"

"Have you heard about your fellow cast member?"

The last one made me scoff and send a dirty glare at him. Was this a joke? Did I know?

Of course I knew. She was my happiness and I always want to make sure she's safe. The thought of not looking out for her is a foreign concept in my mind and the memory of not loving her has become just that. A memory.

But the paused video on my phone reminds me of how even if we follow her constantly, she'll never be safe. The thought of it makes me want to be sick as my stomach rolls with the possibilities of what has happened to her.

Yes, it was a punch. One punch. But she crumpled like a piece of paper and I know that's not a good sign. What if she's hurt her head? Memory loss is now a possibility and where she is in her career, she can't afford that type of set-back.

After literally shoving my way past five more members of the paparazzi, my breathing is labored as I haul a taxi. Getting in one, I rush to tell them to take me to the hospital as I check my phone again.

The video remains where I paused it and it's a crystal clear image of her on the floor. Her body is slightly curled, as if trying to protect herself even when she's unconscious. The image makes me want to be there with her, to protect her with my own body. But I'm not and the thought of it makes me bite my knuckle in an attempt to keep my tears at bay.

The breaking-news headlines continue to flow in and I follow them, no matter how much it hurts me to see the screenshots taken from the viral video that went up a mere twenty minutes ago.

They all report that she's been taken by an ambulance and the thought makes me sigh a breath of relief that she's now with trained professionals.

My taxi weaves in and out of the traffic and I watch it pass as my leg bobs under me. My phone blares with a ringtone and I snatch it from the seat beside me, hoping its someone with information. Noticing it's Noah, I answer immediately.

"She's going to be fine, man." He says, his voice calm.

"I'm so fucking scared." I admit, my voice shaking as my mind has continual flashbacks to the video. I mentally will the taxi to go faster.

"I know, but she's at the hospital according to management. I'll meet you there." He says.

"Yeah, okay." I mutter distractedly.

"Don't loose it." He says.

I don't answer, I just hang up.

The taxi pulls up at the towering building and I throw some money at the driver before running out. My legs nearly buckle underneath me as my heart pounds. Swerving a group of paparazzi, I nearly make it into the building before on of them spots me.

Letting out a call of anguish, they all sprint towards me. Making a run for it myself, I practically fall into the building as they follow on behind. Realizing they can't exactly barge into the hospital with no reason, they fall behind the doors with disgruntled looks on their faces.

Walking over to the reception desk, I send a silent thank you to whoever's looking out for me up there when I realise there's no queue.

Approaching the desk, the receptionist looks startled at my appearance. Early twenties with brown hair, she looks like our exact target audience for the show. Seeing her reaction I know that management have succeeded in reaching the audience, because her eyes become wide at my appearance.

Great, totally what I need right now.

"Hi, I need to know where Alexandria Woods is." I say, trying to keep my voice calm despite my body trembling with terror and anticipation.

"Um, of course, Mr Williams." She says before typing.

I silently curse for Alex's long name wishing she could be called Ally or something to speed this process up. But no, her name has fifteen characters in it and the receptionist seems to be typing a letter a minute.

I tap my finger against the desk as I wait, biting my bottom. After what feels like an eternity, she looks at me with a frown.

"She is here, but unfortunately, it's family members only due to her status." She looks at me apologetically.

Not having an other choice, I use my celebrity status to get what I want because I'm really out of options here.

"Yeah, I understand. But you know, we're close friends and it would really mean a lot if I could get through. You know, for the show's sake." I lie through my teeth.

She nods her head before handing me a laminated card. "Of course, just take this." She says.

Easy as taking candy from a baby.

"Thank you." I say, relief flooding through my system as I realise this is my green light to go see her.

"She's in room 318." She nods.

Not even bothering to reply, I find a staircase and start running. Getting to the third floor, I push myself faster as I sprint down the hallway. The area opens out into a square waiting room and against each wall, is a door.

And one of the doors will lead me to Alex.

My whole body shakes with my terror and I felt light-headed at the adrenaline coursing through me due to this whole situation. Unable to contain myself anymore, I let my emotions run free as I burst into the opening.

My eyes zeroed in on Alex's parents and I had a brief moment of regret, as this would surely break our cover. But the constant thrum of anticipation that runs through my body cancels out these thoughts.

Making eye cntact with her Dad, Mike, my words come out breathless as I frantically ask, "Where is she? Is she okay?"

They both sit in stunned silence, looking at me questioningly. Alex's Mom's resolve breaks first and her eyes become kind as she nods. Not saying anything, she merely points at the wooden door to my right before nodding once more.

I almost break-down the door with how fast I fly through it.

My thundering heart seems to draw back to its steady speed as I take in the sight before me. Sitting upright, looking aware, Alex has a bandage round her ankle and paperwork beside her. Her right cheekbone has a nasty bruise on it, but the fact that she's here and breathing is something I've never been so grateful for.

The sight sends raining sparks of relief through me and I'm beside her before I can even get a word out. Crouching to her height, I remain conscious of her bruise as I take her face delicately in my hands, and kiss her with more emotion than I've ever done before.

Weak with relief, I barely keep myself upright. Her lips move against mine in sync and I thank God that they do that, my brain trashing the scenarios that it had created where her lips no longer responded to my own.

"I was so fucking worried about you." I breathe as we break for air.

Keeping my forehead against hers, she grasps my wrist as my hands remain cradling her face.

Alex smiles up at me, her eyes glassy as she says, "You came."

"I'll always come and find you." I say, honesty in every word.

Drawing back from her face, I reach for a chair and bring it to her bedside and sit down as close a possible to her. Reaching for her hand again, I clasp it between my own and give it a reassuring squeeze. My panic is slowly dissipating and now I'm focused on Alex. As always.

"I don't know what happened, I was so scared, T." Ale whispers, shutting her eyes as a tear slips out.

"Hey, you're okay now." I reassure, my heart-breaking inside of my chest. "Look at me Alex, you're safe."

"I don't feel like it. A swarm of them are waiting outside and what if there's another attacker out there?" She asks, her voice raising in pitch.

I kiss her hand that's between my own before saying, "I've already fought through them - if anything they'll take a step back in intimidation when they see me again."

Alex's eyes remain glassy with tears, but a small giggle escaped her lips and I feel myself relax at the sound and grin back at her.

"Yeah right. You can never be intimating." She says softly as I internally beg for the small smile on her face to stay there.

"I can when I want to be." I say truthfully. Silence surrounds the room and for a while, we sit with our thoughts. My mind doesn't ease with the thought of her for the whole time. I break the silence by voicing my thoughts, "I'll always protect you, you know that right?"

"I know." Alex murmurs, her eyes soft as she nods in understanding.

Alex's Mom texts Alex saying that she and her dad were going back to get clothes for her tomorrow morning. Alex reassured them and told them to relax for a while. Eventually agreeing on resting for a few hours, the coast was finally clear for me.

But our moment of rare peace is interrupted by the door opening. A tall, male doctor walks in and his expression causes my chest to clench tight. Feeling like an idiot for not asking for the true extent of her injuries, I sit on the edge of my seat as I wait for the verdict.

"So, Miss Woods, how are we feeling now?" He asks, standing at the foot of her bed.

His disregard to me and Alex's status makes my chest feel light. It's obvious we're dealing with a true professional and the thought makes my uptight mind ease just a little.

"I'm okay, not great, though." Alex says truthfully and I squeeze her hand that's still clasped in mine a little tighter.

"That is to be expected. Due to the angle that you fell, your ankle seems to be experiencing some significant swelling which I expect will become bruised. The good news is that nothing is broken or sprained, however, so this will lead to a quicker recovery."

"Great." Alex says and I can almost feel the relief radiating off of her in waves.

"You're head is also very lucky, you hit it very hard but it seems that you got off lightly. You were unconscious due to impact of falling as well as your body trying to cope with the shock of the punch. The bruise that has formed because of that punch has bruised - but it looks as though there's no harm to your eye-sight since the main area that's been hit is your cheekbone."

"Thank you. Can I go home today?" She asks.

"Unfortunately, we're going to hold you in over night. Just to monitor your head as the injury is still fresh and due to the flashes and shouts outside - we don't want anything hurting your health further if you were to leave." The doctor instructs, finally breaking his silence on the situation outside.

He nods at us both, saying that he'll come back in two hours before walking out of the door. Alex and I murmur a quiet thank you as he leaves and the click of the door allows us to relax at our solitude.

Which is broken once again when Clara and Noah walk in. Which I'm just so happy about. Clara lets out a sound of relief and rushes over to hug Alex and I can only imagine I looked the same when I first walked in.

Noah comes to stand beside me and places a hand on my shoulder. "All good?" He asks.

"Kind of. Swollen ankle, black eye and a bad hit to the head but nothing's broken. Thank god." I say, as Clara and Alex watch us.

Clara's eyes become watery at my explanation and she looks back at Alex. Hooking her arms around Alex's frame in the bed as far as they can go, she hugs her. Simply holding her, I see Alex relax into her hold.

They break apart and Noah and I change the subject, not wanting to dwell on the sadness of today for the sake of all of our emotions.

They stay for another hour, chatting and talking. We manage to get our security to bring in some Taco Bell and we eat it happily, relieved that we're getting some sustenance after a day of adrenaline.

After finishing our meal, Noah and Clara begin to head out. Noah's phone goes and we continue as normal, before he comes back with a frown on his previously happy face. My stomach drops.

"So, there's paps everywhere outside. They know you've been in here for two hours Theo, so you're gonna have to leave with us or stay the night. If not, I think you leaving yourself would look a bit suspicious.

I don't answer, instead I just look at Alex. Sensing my eyes on hers, her blue eyes draw me in as she turns to look at me. The bruise on her face acts as a remainder of what happened and reminds me of the easiest choice Noah just asked me to make.

"I'm staying with you." I say, still looking at her.

"Thank you." She murmurs, reaching over and squeezing my hand.

"Okay, we'll see you guys tomorrow morning." Clara says, smiling.

Nodding in agreement, they both leave and for the first time in what feels like days, our time is our own. The hours pass by as we talk, make up games and read some crappy hotel magazines. The light fades before I know it and Alex's yawn makes our afternoon together come to a stop.

"You should get some sleep." I say, smiling as my own tiredness sets in.

"I want you up here." Alex pouts, crossing her arms in determination.

"I'm fine here, that bed is too small for us both. Plus, it's only one night." I say.

"Okay," She sighs. "I love you."

"I love you too." I whisper back as I turn off the lights and settle beside her.

The chair was uncomfortable and my back was killing me. But she slept soundly beside me and after this afternoon, that was all that mattered.

~~~~~
Author's Note:

I want a Theo! Who else?

Also, this chapter took a swift turn! What did we think of it?

Plus, the parents still have to return, do we think Alex and Theo are gonna keep their cover?

I'll see you next Friday to find out!

Much love,

Jade x