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—
Cindy was the type of popstar who was instantly recognisable despite only going by her first name.
Despite the way she bragged about her fame, she was not the most popular musician in the world, but she wasn't an underground artist only known by twenty dedicated fans. Her online following was pretty sizable, having around 500,000 monthly listeners on Spotify, with two particularly popular songs that most people would know her from. Overall, she lived comfortably in the middle ground.
This did not mean she wasn't willing to grow her audience out further – it was actually one of her biggest goals with her music. Every milestone was actually just a front for a new, bigger milestone, and her current goal was 750,000 monthly listeners by the end of the year. In her fame-obsessed mind, this was doable for her in that seven month time frame.
When she receives an invite for a party in the local area for all musicians, big or small, she doesn't just see a party. She sees opportunities, connections, numbers. As well as a place crawling with cute indie boys. A boyfriend would do good for her brand.
Of course, she accepts immediately.
Even if the musician industry was known for people showing up late, Cindy will always be on time. To her, it was simply good manners, and she was not about to disrespect anybody who she considered to be a goldmine of potential. That couldn't do. She will show up on time, dressed nicely and on-brand, and talk to everyone else who showed up on-time – she had the most respect for those people.
The first twenty minutes was occupied mostly by smaller musicians recognising her, and she gladly talked to them, even if it was for the selfish reason of inflating her ego. As much as they were potential for good conversation, she did not exactly come her to make small talk with people who wouldn't benefit her. Her eyes practically lit up when she spots somebody across the room she did recognise. Teddy, leaning against the wall, just to the side of the doorway that lead to the kitchen.
They had never met before, but Cindy knew of her, and she was honestly shocked that Teddy didn't seem to be getting the same attention that was she was. Teddy was slightly less popular than Cindy was, but that fanbase came for a specific niche that she provided, and that made them a considerably more loyal following. Without missing a beat, she cuts the conversation she was having short – the person she was talking to hadn't even released a song yet, so they truly were no use to her – and pushes through the small crowd to greet her.
"Hey! Teddy, right?" Cindy says, friendly smile on her face. The other girl looks up from staring into the drink she was swishing around slowly.
"I recognise you! You're Cindy!" she grins back, then gives a short nod at Cindy's previous question. "You can just call me Ted, though."
"Ted! Nice to meet you, I'm a huge fan!" she outstretches a hand for Ted to shake. Her voice was bubbly, and for the first time since the party started, was was telling the truth about enjoying somebody's work. Her and Ted were just on a higher calibre then everyone else at this party. Maybe the better musicians would show up later.
"No way, I love your music too!" Ted shakes her hand, her smile never dropping. "Honestly, a part of me was hoping you'd turn up, 'cause I know you're based in the same area. I'm really glad I ran into you!"
That piques Cindy's interest. This already successful musician was not only a fan of hers, but was actively hoping to see her at this party? Her smile only grows, this time into something more hopeful, and she lets go off the handshake. She takes a step closer to Ted and, with the same hand she shook hers with, she starts to trail her finger up the sleeve of Ted's mesh shirt.
With her life entirely dictated by the things she was comfortable posting on social media, and with a cute, popular girl standing in front of her, any fears of coming out almost immediately disappear from her head. This would, overall, be a net-good. And she wasn't even queerbaiting for attention! Being a genuine bisexual popstar would surely gain her some new eyes.
"What a lucky turn of events," she says softly, that flirtatious tone easily slipping into her voice as her finger trails from the back of Ted's hand and up to her mid-arm, "that a pretty girl is already so interested in me?"
Ted's cheeks blush a light pink, and she tugs her arm away with an awkward chuckle
"Ha– I'm glad to see you too, but I, uh… I actually have a boyfriend..!"
Ah. So much for a spectacle of a coming out post.
Cindy's arms return back to being neatly folder in front of her dress, "you do? I've never seen you talk about this mystery man."
"He, uh…" Ted scratches the back of her neck, "we only started dating a few months ago. Neither of us are exactly ready to announce it yet, y'know?"
A few months? If all went well, Cindy was prepared to announce everything the day after. Well, to each their own.
"Oh, that's understandable," she lies. It was strange, though, because Ted turning her down did not make her instantly disinterested in any other connection they could have with each other. Even outside of the business opportunities that came with Ted being popular, Cindy was enjoying speaking to her. It came naturally to talk like this, to somebody who understood her.
The conversation ends up continuing from there, the energy between them was now strictly platonic. The topic of a collaboration comes up, and they bounce ideas back and forth – genres, concepts, all of the fun pre-production stuff. Numbers were exchanged, and before Cindy could walk away, noticing how more people were arriving to the party, somebody approaches Ted. He darts straight to her side, mumbling something that Cindy can't quite hear.
There was something about him that made Cindy grin as soon as she started to take in his appearance, because he was very cute. dressed in a button-up and slacks, with shaggy blond hair and two scars either side of the corner of his lips, forcing his otherwise neutral expression to look like a smile. He was a walking untold story that she couldn't wait to read. Once Ted murmurs something back – something Cindy could catch if she was paying attention, but she wasn't paying attention – she greets the blond.
He turns towards her, and upon meeting eyes, Cindy notices how behind his square-rimmed glasses his right eye remained half-lidded. Despite this, he does a twice-over on Cindy's outfit. She notices how his eyes move up, then down, then up again. That gets a chuckle out of her, endeared by the way he was acting like gentleman that was at least putting effort into making eye contact with a pretty girl, even if he was blushing a deep red at her simply saying hello.
"Greetings," he returns quietly, voice already breathy. Now it was Ted's turn to grin.
"I'll leave you two to it," she smirks as she goes to leave, but leans in close at the last second, and mutters to the man she assumedly know that she would be in the lounge.
"I'm Cindy," her hand outstretches again, though she had romantic intentions from the start this time.
"Felix. Pleasure to meet you," Felix barely stumbles through, clumsily shaking Cindy's hand, before shoving both hands into his pockets. She giggles teasingly.
"How do you know Ted?"
Felix swallows, and tries his absolute best to compose himself. God, did he never talk to woman, or was Cindy really just that beautiful? She chooses to believe the latter.
"She's my little sister– well, uhm, we're twins. She's only a couple minutes younger than me."
Cindy giggles again. He was certainly pathetic, but that just drew her closer towards him, his lack of charisma giving him a certain charm she didn't even realise was her exact type.
"Do you do the whole music thing too?" she asks, gently running her hand up Felix's arm, stopping on his bicep.
"No– no, uhm," he darts between looking at her hand and the smirk on her face. "No. I don't really like the attention. I do help Teddy, though. I used to take violin lessons."
"Oh, that's so thoughtful of you! And the violin? That's a difficult instrument!" she practically coos, and his face reddens. He was too easy.
Despite the flirting, Cindy was curious about Felix's reasoning to not being a public figure.
"So you don't like attention?" she questions, before chuckling softly, stroking over Felix's arm. "You seem to be enjoying this a lot."
Felix makes a little squeaking sound, then swallows back any other embarrassing noises he could make, "I moreso meant… a lot of attention at once."
"And you're at a party?" Cindy's eyebrows raise. Felix lets out another awkward laugh.
"Teddy practically dragged me here with her. She said I should get out of the house more. It's… different than being online."
"Why do you hate the attention anyway?" she questions. That makes Felix's face drop from his shy smile to a more solemn expression. Was that a touchy subject?
"Father was, uhm… he soured the experience for me. I haven't been active on social media since," he murmurs, and it was Cindy's turn to frown. Oh, yeah. Ted was pretty outspoken about the abuse that she faced from her father in her music, and she was able to piece together it was almost entirely due to her being forced into child acting. It makes sense her twin would experience that too, even if they went down different routes in how they reacted to future fame.
"Ah, sorry to hear that," she says, and it felt appropriate to pull her hand away from his arm. It didn't feel right to flirt with somebody opening up about their abuse, especially when she pried for it.
"It's quite alright," he says, in the tone that implies it was not quite alright. Before Cindy can say anything else, her hand is tugged, and somebody she doesn't recognise is talking to her excitedly. They certainly recognised her.
Before she's dragged away too far, she gives a wink to Felix, and he can only stare back flustered.
—
Maybe a part of Cindy was getting close with Ted, just so she could get to Felix.
It wasn't as if she was completely using Ted! She enjoyed Ted's company, of course. How could she not? She was sweet and caring and funny, all the traits that Cindy looked for in her friends. It just so happened that she shared an apartment with a cute boy she had a very obvious crush on.
The first time Cindy visits the Huxley's little apartment, it's a week after the party. Neither of them had particularly busy schedules that month, so Cindy is quickly invited over to start on production. It was a pleasant surprise that she would even be seeing Felix in the first place, because she was expecting to receive the address to an actual production studio, not Ted's two-bedroom apartment.
Ted, Cindy soon finds out, still refused to sign with a record company, because she wanted to have complete control of her music without fears of big-name producers telling her what experiences she can and can't sing about. Plus, the homemade vibe of her sound just appealed to her aesthetics. Cindy respected that, and the more casual nature of sitting on Ted's bed while scribbling ideas into a notebook was more appealing, and far less stressful, then sitting in booths and tables surrounded by micro-managing executives.
Felix is only spotted on visit three, when Cindy becomes comfortable enough in this environment to leave Ted's bedroom without asking first. She only left the room in the first place because Ted was particularly focused on the current melody of a potential song, so she politely asks Cindy to refill their wine glasses. She grins when she enters the living room and she sees him lying on the couch, head pressed against the armrest, lazily watching a reality show she didn't quite recognise.
"Fancy seeing you here," her voice is smooth as she greets him, placing the empty wine glasses on the table that sat behind the couch. Her goal of refilling them almost instantly vanishes from her mind. She laughs softly, endeared, by the way Felix scrambles to sit up straight.
"Oh! Cindy! Hello!" Felix looks to her, then to the the clothes he was wearing – a stained shirt and oversized sweatpants – and then back to her. "I usually dress a lot better than this. I apologise that you have to see me in such a state."
"Your sister's in the other room wearing a tanktop and boxers. I don't really care," she chuckles,
"Yes, but…" Felix looks away, his words a mumble. "It is improper to not be dressed for a lady."
"A lady? You flatter me," her voice stays in that buttery tone, slinking her way closer, until she sits right beside him on the couch.
Upon closer inspection, Cindy notices jagged scars covering Felix's left arm. That catches her interest, taking his arm in her hands without much of a second thought.
"Woah, those are cool"
He doesn't meet her eyes, but doesn't pull his arm away either.
"I tend to hide them," he admits.
"Why?" Cindy pouts a little, "you shouldn't. They make you look badass."
Felix laughs slightly, "I would not personally describe them as such, but thank you."
There was a noticeable shake to his voice. It wasn't as bad as when they first met, he could barely string a sentence together then, but it was still present. Cindy couldn't tell if it was because of how close she was to him, or because her fingers were delicately stroking along the lines of his scars as she talked about them.
"How'd you get 'em?"
That makes Felix awkward demeanour turn uncomfortable, and Cindy mentally slaps herself for making the cute boy she was trying to get close to uneasy once again. She doesn't pull her hands away, because Felix doesn't pull his arm away.
"Oh, you know how fathers are," is the vague response she gets in reply, and that makes her frown. Painfully, she understood well.
"Yeah. Sorry, I wasn't thinking."
"No, it's quite alright. I cannot pretend you never saw them, so there isn't much point hiding them."
She pauses. Maybe this was stupid and inappropriate and she'd end up pushing Felix away, but there was a curiosity in her that had to be satiated. A question she wondered since they met.
"Is that why you're mouth is like that?" comes out of her before she can even process what it means to ask that, and how you definitely shouldn't ask someone that the second time you meet them. She just couldn't help it, the smile carved into Felix's face always being on her mind every time she thought of the boy. She only gets a nod in reply.
"Well…" God, what do you say to that? She pauses. She had spent this entire conversation saying wildly socially unacceptable things – but Felix didn't seem the most well-adjusted, so maybe he wouldn't mind. "Honestly? I think it's cute. Gives you mystery."
Felix blushes again, and Cindy's honestly glad to see it. At least he wasn't sitting in the discomfort of a near-stranger interrogating his scars anymore, and she loved the look of flusteredness on him. She was determined to keep this conversation going in this direction, rather than dwelling on her questions.
"Do you really think that, or are you just trying to flatter me?"
"Maybe a bit of both," she chuckles, leaning her face in closer. "Would you complain about me giving you a little flattery?"
He swallows, and silently shakes his head. His blush returns stronger than it has ever been.
"Would you complain if I kissed you?" her voice was hushed, barely a whisper. The fact Ted was in the other room was a thought far from her brain.
"This is, uhm… very sudden," he whispers back, and maybe it was. Cindy moved fast, it was just time to see if Felix could catch up.
"Do you have a problem with that?"
He shakes his head again, but this time he comments.
"I would actually… quite like that," he admits. That was all Cindy needed to close to gap between them, catching his lips in a gentle kiss, her arms moving to wrap around his shoulders. His own hands come to her hips, and he kisses back, maybe a little too desperately given how little they know each other, but Cindy had come to understand that Felix didn't have the most vibrant love life.
A silent moment passes, the only sounds heard being Felix's shaking breathes and the slight wetness of kisses being shared. Another sound enters the room – the sound of the door being pushed open.
"Cindy, did you get the–" Ted looks up from her phone, nearly dropping it when she sees her brother making out with a girl he just met, "Felix!"
That's enough to not only startle Felix, but makes him nearly fall off the couch and drop to the floor. He just about catches himself before he does, looking to Ted with a frazzled expression.
"She kissed me!" he quickly defends, like he was a teenager caught making out with the girl he insisted was just a friend.
"I don't care that you're kissing, I care about the fact you're distracting her!" Ted sighs when she sees the empty glasses on the table behind them. "You didn't even get the wine? Really, Cindy?"
She turns around, grinning playfully at Ted, her red lipstick now a little smeared, "I'm sorry! I got distracted!"
Ted groans, but she wasn't really mad. Her and Cindy had gotten close enough in the few weeks weeks they'd known each other that their playfighting was never real fighting.
"I guess I'll refill them myself. But I want you back in my bedroom! I finally got a melody that sounds half-decent, and I want your opinion."
With that, Ted takes the wine glasses in her hands, walking to the kitchen that was only a couple steps away. Felix and Cindy look back to each other, Felix considerably more embarrassed than Cindy. There wasn't even a trace of shyness nor regret on her face.
"I guess I should get back to her room," she coos, gently taking Felix's face in her hands and wiping at the lipsticked smeared onto his face with her thumb.
"I guess you should," he whispers back.
Cindy gives him a short peck on the lips as she lets go of his face, standing and waltzing back to Ted's room like nothing ever happened.
Once out of sight, back in the safety of Ted's room, she giggles to herself giddily. The train was officially on the tracks.
—
Cindy visiting the Huxley's became a common occurrence in the following months.
With production of their collaboration wrapped up, she didn't have much of an excuse to show up anymore, but she still did. It was fun to hang out with Ted, to be able to discuss their music and their personal lives with somebody who would understand. She was becoming more than just a simple collaboration, but an actual friend.
And maybe, Felix was becoming more than somebody she just pursued for attention online.
He was still absolute eye-candy, of course, and to plaster him all over her social media would undoubtedly bring attention to the both of them. The only issue being that bringing attention to the both of them brought the exact type of attention Felix mentioned despising, and she started to care about him too much to think about doing that to him. She really, really cared about him. It was almost embarrassing.
With every visit to Ted, she spent more and more time getting closer to Felix, oftentimes draping herself around their little apartment and flirting with him at every opportunity – Ted didn't seem to mind, because she kept inviting Cindy back. Maybe a part of her was letting Cindy do this on purpose. It had gotten to the point where Cindy was asking Ted if they could hang out, and then spending the entire time kissing Felix in his room.
On this specific day, however, she came over for a very specific reason. It was clear that she has certain intentions, because for the first time, she directly asked Felix if she could visit. She gained his phone number a few weeks into knowing each other, but that was mostly reserved for late-night texting, not for organising a date and time for them to talk. There was a certain air of seriousness this time.
As soon as she enters their apartment – Felix left the front door unlocked knowing she was coming over – she makes no time heading to his room, not even bothering to greet Ted. It had to be just her and Felix. Two knocks on his door is all it takes for him to invite her inside.
When she pushes the door open, she sees Felix sitting on the edge of his bed, hands folded in his lap as he waits for her. She grins at the obedience.
"It's good to see you again," she says softly, and he gives her a small smile back. Cindy had missed him, even if it had only been three days.
"I could say the same to you."
Over the months, Felix had become slightly more put-together when interacting with Cindy, but he was quick to pick up on what this conversation may entail, and there was a slight nervousness to him because of that. Cindy sits beside him on the bed, their outer thighs pressing together. They exchange the typical small talk, but each word was hanging with something unsaid.
It doesn't take long before Cindy leans in close, catching his lips in an all-too familiar kiss. He reciprocates instantly, his hands coming to hold the back of her neck as her own arms snake around his waist. They're like that, in silence, for several moments, before Cindy breaks the kiss. Her forehead stays pressed against his, their lips inches apart.
"I did come to talk about something," she finally admits. He chuckles a little.
"I could tell. And by the way you're kissing me, I can hope it is something good..?"
Cindy gives a short nod, pulling away a little further, her hands moving to pull his away from her head and down between them, holding them.
"I wanna make things official, between us."
Felix pauses, and Cindy frowns a little at the silence it takes for him to think about the question she assumed he knew she was going to ask. Before she could speak again, he asks in a small voice.
"Are we not official?"
She laughs a little, "I mean, we never talked about it."
"Have you been seeing other people then..?"
Cindy's quick to shake her head, "I haven't. Just you. But we never, like, talked about if we're boyfriend girlfriend."
Felix sighs softly, "okay… good… I would like that then, yes."
Cindy grins, and before Felix can lean in for another kiss, she stills him by pressing a hand to his shoulder.
"What did you think I was going to ask then, if not that?"
It was Felix's turn to laugh now, though his noise came out a little more awkwardly than Cindy's. "I don't know, honestly. I just thought it would be something good." He meets her eyes, warm smile on his face, "and it was."
—
Cindy was enjoying dating Felix.
It was a near-perfect relationship; they got along well, Ted was supportive of their relationship, Felix was a big stickler for communication because of how little he was able to pick up on social cues so they never fought for long. Plus, Felix was pretty reserved, so Cindy never had to worry about him talking to any other girls.
That was the one issue though, how utterly reserved Felix was.
It had been a week since they had gotten together, and there was one topic that was never addressed but lingered in every corner of Cindy's brain., the first thing she ever learned about the boy. He hates being perceived. This did not exactly mesh well with the fact that Cindy loved to post every inch of her life online, and she was practically buzzing for the day that Felix told her all was okay. A relationship announcement was the biggest and most obvious thing to post, and she couldn't even allude to it!
"We need to talk."
Cindy is broken out of her thoughts by the softness of Felix's voice. They had been sitting together on his bed, watching a show on his laptop, with neither of them talking for the last thirty minute. Her head immediately swivels to face him.
"Yeah?"
Felix swallows, and then sighs, preparing himself for the conversation he had thought about just as much as Cindy had.
"I know how much you like your following online," he starts, trying to keep his words steady. "And you know that I am… less favourable of the internet."
Cindy nods silently, and Felix continues.
"You may have gathered by now, but I do my best to avoid my Father. I don't want him to find me. I don't like leaving the house in fear of running into him, and putting myself online would run that risk tenfold."
She frowns. Ah. She had always assumed he was running from fans, not… his own father. That was kind of a bummer.
"But," he continues, "I do understand that this is something important to you. And I would like to come to a compromise, because if I had a following online, I would want to brag about you too."
Cindy's eyes practically lit up. She wasn't selfish enough to tell Felix to suck up his trauma, but there was always the hope shed be able to post him.
"Yeah?"
Felix can sense the yearning in her voice, and a gentle smile spreads onto his face, gently taking her hands in his.
"Yeah," he confirms, and Cindy practically squeals in response. "I've been thinking about it and… maybe having my face online is a little too much for my paranoia to handle, but I would not mind smaller, less identifiable parts of me."
Cindy's smile grows, wrapping her arms around him.
"Thank you! Oh, this is amazing! I've been so excited about this!"
Less than five minutes later, a notification goes out to all of Cindy's following. It's a simple photo, posted to her Instagram, of her and Felix holding hands. Just their hands. Their palms press together with their fingers interlocked, resting against the soft sheets of Felix's bed – sheets that are noticeably not hers. The caption is simply a pale pink heart, followed by a blue heart.