Page 92 of Bastian

The bitch.

“Here.” Sebastian’s voice breaks through my torturous thoughts. He hands me a white envelope, which I immediately take. Curiosity gets the best of me.

“What is this?” I look at the envelope, and it’s addressed to me.

“A very unique young man with an odd name and an atrocious sense of style left it for you at the front desk,” Sebastian says cheekily. Frowning, I think to myself. Wizz? As if reading my mind, Sebastian continues. “I must admit I acted impulsively, which I am finding myself doing a lot lately.” I almost laugh at his annoyed face. He looks like a child. “I introduced myself this afternoon when he was being escorted by his security, and we got to talking.”

You and… Wizz got to talking? What about?” I sit back and wait for whatever he’s going to say as I drink my third glass of wine of the night.

“You, of course, and your business with him. I must say your magazine could do better.” The pompous bastard says with a smirk.

“Seba—”

He chuckles, “It was just an observation.”

“One I don’t care for. Now, what did you want with the guy?”

“Just wanted to get to know him better. Benjamin says his music is pretty good. I might give him a listen.”

“Oh, please spare me, Sebastian.” I try to hold back the laugh that threatens to slip from my lips. The man is a nuisance, a completely obnoxious menace when he wants to be.

Sighing, “The little fucker was around you, so of course, I was curious. That’s it all.”

“Uh-huh.” Tyrant.

“What?” He asks, then takes another sip of his wine.

“You turned out to be quite the liar, Sebastian.” His eyes flash with fury before he quickly conceals it. I hit a nerve. Good. At least I’ve not lost all control.

“I needed a way to get you to meet me, and that kid served as the perfect opportunity. I knew if I asked, you would refuse, so I used him, knowing you wouldn’t refuse his invitation.” He shrugs like it’s no big deal. Of course, for him, lying and manipulating it’s nothing big. “Open it.” He points to the envelope in my hands.

Trading the envelope, I open the letter inside to find a written statement from Wizz with the tracklist of his upcoming album. What the hell? I was expecting to have him on the cover, and that would be more than enough for my newbie magazine, but this will put us above all others. No one has yet to obtain the tracklist or the name of his next album, and he chose to announce it through us.

This is major. This is just…

“I really am so fucking proud of you.” Sebastian looks at me with pride and a wide smile. “What you have done and created on your own in such a short amount of time is incredible. You were meant for great things.”

Gulping, I shrug. I still don’t know how to handle compliments. I shrug them off like it’s nothing, but deep down, it warms me.

It makes something in my chest ache.

Thank you.

No one believed in me before you.

Thank you for giving me the tools I needed to progress in life.

I wanted to say that, but I stopped myself.

Instead, I do what I always do.

I deflect.

“I don’t care,” I say childishly, like a petulant brat. Playing with the glass of wine, I look up at the sky. God, it’s so peaceful here, and how ironic it is that there’s a war inside of me.

One side tells me I should give the man in front of me hell for hurting my heart, and the other tells me that I won’t ever fully be whole if I’m away from him.

“How is it that we always meet under the stars?” Sebastian’s voice cuts through the agony inside of my head.

---