Faded (Rock Star Trilogy)

and I’m wondering what is going on with the two of them.
    “I feel emotions just fine,” she smarts back.
    “Right. You just suck at showing them.”
    I stop them. “Whoa, guys. What is up with the two of you? Did you have a fight?”
    “Sorry,” they both say in unison, but don’t explain.
    I start to say something else but stop. “You know what? I’m not even going to ask.” I probably don’t want to know, anyway.
    I pull out my phone and text Stephan.
     
    Scarlett: Meeting is over. We came to an agreement with the label, but there are conditions. I’ll explain later. – S
     
    He responds immediately.
     
    Stephan: Sounds like it went good! Can’t wait to see you. School sucks even worse without you here. Mona is on bitch patrol today.
     
    Mona. Oh no. I have to tell Stephan what she told me. I probably should tell him tonight. The longer I put it off, the worse it’s going to be.
    Yep. I’m definitely going to tell him.
     
    4:21 PM
    Bowling.
     
    Stephan comes over after school, and I explain to him the details as best as I can. We obviously won’t know everything until I get the contract from Barry. Until then, I will be anxiously awaiting it.
    “I am having mixed feelings about it,” I tell him. I like talking to Stephan about this, because he isn’t just going to tell me what I want to hear. He will tell me what I need to hear.
    “Well, you obviously can’t make up your mind until you hear all of the details, so really there is no need to worry about it now.” He shrugs. “It is all going to come down to if the risk is worth it. I love your music and have no doubts, but my opinion doesn’t matter… Everybody else’s does though. I’m biased.”
    If only everybody likes me as much as Stephan does. “Bridgett thinks I need to do a Bieber and go to the Internet for help. YouTube, Twitter… You know, for insurance.”
    “That’s probably a good idea, honestly. I don’t think you need it, but it couldn’t hurt. It may take people a little while to get used to your new sound,” he says the same thing that Alec did.
    I need to talk about something else. I’ve had enough music industry talk for one day. I need Stephan to be my escape.
    “Let’s go bowling,” I blurt out.
    “Bowling?” he questions.
    “Yes. I’ve never been before, and I need to do something normal,” I explain.
    “You’ve never been bowling? Yes, we are definitely going to go now.” He looks down at my heels. “You will want to bring socks. But don’t change out of this dress. I like this dress.”
    “I was going to wear jeans…” I protest. “I’m going to be bending over, right?”
    “Exactly.” He pouts. “Please?”
    I laugh. “Fine. Look all you want, but you can’t touch.”
    “You will cave eventually,” he says, pulling me into his arms. “And when you do, it is going to be the best damn night of your life.”
    I shiver against him. How can just his words turn me on so much?
    “I have no doubt about that,” I agree, and back away. “But I told you, we have to be in love first.”
    Stephan looks a little hurt by my words. “Just go grab some socks, and we’ll get out of here.”
    Our bowling date turns into an outing for everybody. Stephan invites Alec, Bridgett, and Ethan. He says the more people there are, the more fun it is.
    I was feeling bad for my earlier comment. I shouldn’t keep bringing up the “ love ” thing. I know it bothers Stephan, and it really upset him. I’m such a terrible girlfriend. When we are getting our shoes, I decide to apologize to him.
    “I’m sorry about what I said earlier,” I say. “About the love thing. I know that it bothers you.”
    “What size?” the guy behind the counter asks.
    “Seven.”
    He hands me my shoes, and I take them. Stephan gets his, and we walk over to where everybody else is sitting. He remains silent. Maybe he’s not going to say anything? We sit down to put on our shoes.
    “It’s not love that bothers me, Scar.” He shakes his head. “That isn’t the part of what you said that hurt me.”
    “What was it?” I ask, feeling half an inch tall. I hurt Stephan, and I don’t even know how I hurt him.
    He shakes his head. “Let’s just drop it for now.”
    I hang my head. “Okay. But just so you know, I’m really sorry. I didn’t mean to hurt you.”
    He puts his finger under my chin, and pushes my face up so I’m looking at him. “It’s okay, Scarlett. I promise. Let’s have fun.”
    He leans in