THE ROCKSTAR AND THE GAY (BXB ENGLISH)

Chapter4

“What the hell was wrong with you, man? Why was your voice completely off during our set?” Anthony asked, his irritation cutting through the air like a blade.

“I was just not in the mood, okay? Couldn’t we reschedule this practice?” I shot back, half-heartedly. Normally, if this were any other practice session, I would’ve been all smiles. I would’ve waved at the crowd, and flashed poses for the random people with cameras because, let’s be real, I knew most of them were there for me. But that day? I wasn’t feeling it. Not even a little bit.

Why? Because I had a plan, and my friends completely ruined it.

I was supposed to finish my classes, make a beeline to the Arts and Sciences building, and track down Kennan Chen. Of course, I wasn’t going to just bump into him casually. No, this was all meticulously planned out. I wanted to see what would happen when we were in the same space again. Would my heart start pounding like a jackhammer? Would my palms get sweaty like I was back in middle school?

And most importantly, would he remember that kiss? The one he planted on me the other night. Would he be embarrassed? Would he apologize? Or better yet, would he find me irresistible and want to kiss me again?

And... yeah, maybe he’d admit that he kissed me because he liked me. There was a thought.

Damn it. Why did I keep thinking about this guy like I was starring in some cheesy rom-com?

But deep down, I really wanted to see him again, and this time sober, no alcohol excuses involved. Maybe we could get to know each other properly, and who knew? Maybe we'll become friends, or... more than friends. What could I say? There was something about him, like there was this invisible force pulling me toward him. And I couldn’t rest until I saw him again.

But, of course, my genius friends had to drag me to the gym for band practice. Band practice, of all things! I mean, seriously? Talk about ruining a perfect opportunity! Now, instead of staring into Kennan’s soul like I had planned, I was here, trying to sing, but my voice was wobbling like a goat doing karaoke. And as Anthony oh-so-kindly pointed out, I was totally off my game.

“Hey, Wayne. Was that Kennan Chen?” Lenard’s voice cut through my mental breakdown like a flash of lightning.

“What?!” I snapped, whipping my head toward him. My brain latched onto the name like a lifeline. Kennan Chen. That was all I needed to hear.

“There,” Lenard said, pointing toward the gym entrance.

My eyes followed his finger, and... Holy s**t. It was him. Kennan Chen, right there, with the same group of friends that dragged him away after he kissed me at the bar.

Oh. My. God.

OH. MY. GOD!!!

I couldn’t believe it. The guy I’d been obsessing over, the one who kissed me and then disappeared into the night like some mysterious heartthrob, was right there. This is it! My chance! The stars had aligned. The universe was giving me another shot!

Dude, I was losing it. I sound so gay right now. Argh!

“Dude, slap me. Please,” I begged, turning to my side. But when I saw that it was Anthony standing there, I quickly pivoted to Timmy, who was just staring at me with this expression that said, What the hell is wrong with you?

Ignoring the judgment, I turned back toward the gym doors, my heart pounding in my chest like I was about to face some epic final boss battle. My emotions were all over the place, like a blender set to “chaos.” I felt like I was going to puke. My heart raced like I was about to have a heart attack.

And then it got worse. Kennan’s friends started whispering and pointing at me. They giggled, and suddenly, I was a nervous wreck. Do I look good? Am I sweating too much? Oh God, do I still smell nice? What if my outfit looked totally lame?

Wait a minute. What the hell was I thinking? I was Wayne freaking Ralbovsky! Of course, I looked good. I am the frontman of Chico’s Band. I was basically the king of cool. Kennan had to be impressed. He had to be.

“Guys, we’re doing that old Styx song! ‘You Know It’s You, Babe’ or whatever,” I shouted, desperately trying to get my bandmates to cooperate.

“What?! Old song? Dude...” Timmy groaned, clearly not on board with my sudden musical choice.

“Wayne, we hadn’t even practiced that one!” Shin chimed in, and oh boy, here came the rebellion. “Plus, weren’t you the one who said old songs were cheesy last time someone requested one?”

“I never said that!” I snapped back, my voice rising in frustration. I can’t deal with this right now. Not with Kennan in the room.

“Uh, yeah, you did,” Shin said, standing his ground.

“Yeah, I remembered,” Anthony added, nodding like a sage of truth.

“Fine! Maybe I said it, but I was taking it back. We were doing the song. NOW. MOVE IT!” I gave them all my best “don’t test me” look before stomping over to the front of the stage.

The audience, who had been waiting for us to perform again, started cheering, but I couldn’t care less. My focus was solely on Kennan Chen. My heart pounded like a drum solo, and my mind spun with a million thoughts, but one thing was crystal clear. I had one shot. And I was gonna make it count.

I was going to impress him. And he was going to fall for me. Hard.

“Are you serious, Wayne?” Shin’s voice snapped me out of my internal pep talk. “The music festival was in a few months! We couldn’t just throw away practice like this! Get your act together. People were watching us, and you were embarrassing us!”

I rolled my eyes. “What did you want me to do, Shin? I was just not in the mood!”

“What? You can't be in the mood!” Shin’s rant went on, but I was already tuning him out. His voice faded into the background as I locked eyes on my target.

Kennan.

I took a deep breath and stepped up to the mic. The crowd was getting louder, but all I could think about was impressing him. I started belting out the first line of the song, throwing every bit of energy I had into it. My voice shook a little, but I pushed through. I was Wayne Ralbovsky, damn it. I had this.

The music kicked in, and my bandmates followed my lead, even though they were probably cursing my name under their breath. I could see Timmy giving me the side-eye, but I ignored it. The crowd loved it. They swayed and clapped along. But none of them mattered. The only person I cared about right then was standing near the entrance, watching me.

I poured everything into the performance. My voice rose and fell with the music, and for a moment, I felt like I was soaring. My heart raced, and adrenaline pumped through my veins. Kennan’s eyes were on me, and I could feel the weight of his gaze.

This was it. This was the moment. I was going to blow him away.

As I hit the final note, the gym erupted in applause. My bandmates looked relieved that I didn’t completely bomb the performance. I stood there, panting, a grin spreading across my face as I looked directly at Kennan.

His eyes met mine, and for a split second, I thought I saw something there. Something more than just casual interest. Maybe... just maybe he was impressed.

I smirked, feeling a rush of confidence. Yeah, I was Wayne Ralbovsky. I am the star of this show.

And Kennan Chen? He was definitely going to fall for me now.

After all, who could resist a rock star with charm, good looks, and a voice that could make hearts skip a beat?

Definitely not him….

Right?