Chapter Text
Daniela's POV
People always say there is a specific moment when you fall for someone. I don't think that's true. At least, it wasn't true for me. Because if someone had asked me that morning if I liked Megan, I would've laughed in their face.
Megan?
My friend?
The girl who constantly stole my hoodies and forgot where she left her phone three times a day?
No.
Absolutely not.
The Beautiful Chaos Tour had only been running for a few weeks, and everything already felt insane.
Interviews, flights, hotels, soundchecks, rehearsals and fans waiting outside every building. It felt like every day blurred into the next.
That morning we had finished a radio interview and were heading toward the rehearsal studio.
As usual, paparazzi had somehow appeared out of nowhere. The moment we stepped outside, cameras started flashing.
"Daniela! Daniela! Look this way!"
"Are you dating anyone?"
"What happened with your ex?"
One photographer pushed closer than the others.I felt his camera almost hit my shoulder.
"Daniela, answer the question!"
I frowned.
"Can you back up a little?"
He didn't. Instead, he moved even closer. Then suddenly someone stepped between us.
Megan.
"That's enough."
The man looked surprised.
"I'm just doing my job."
"And she's trying to get to work. You're standing practically on top of her."
The paparazzi laughed awkwardly.
"I'm not hurting anybody."
"Maybe not, but you're making her uncomfortable."
The man finally backed away then she grabbed my wrist and started walking toward the entrance.
"You okay?"
I stared at her.
"Yeah."
"Good."
Later during rehearsal, I found myself watching her. Not intentionally, it just kept happening.
We were learning a new choreography, everyone looked focused. Except Megan because Megan was secretly trying to balance a water bottle on her head.
I watched the bottle fall three times.
She looked around to see if anyone noticed.
Unfortunately for her, I had and our eyes met.
"You saw nothing."
I laughed.
"I saw everything."
"Then keep it to yourself."
"Why?"
"Because I'm trying to maintain an image."
"What image?"
"The image that I'm cool."
I looked at the bottle rolling across the floor.
"You lost that battle years ago."
She gasped dramatically.
"You wound me."
The weird thing was...the rest of the day I kept noticing things. Little things I had probably seen before but suddenly they stood out.
Like how she always tucked loose hair behind her ear when she was concentrating or how she bounced slightly on her feet whenever she got excited. Or how she always thanked every crew member individually.
Even the grumpiest security guards smiled around Megan. It was annoying, nobody should be that likable.
During lunch, she sat across from me.
Halfway through eating, she suddenly stopped.
"Wait."
"What?"
"I think I forgot to feed my fish."
I blinked.
"You have fish?"
"Three. Have I told you their names?"
"No."
Then she spent the next ten minutes telling me the names and personalities of all three fish like they were celebrities. I laughed so hard I nearly dropped my fork.
She looked happy about that. Happy because I was laughing not because she was funny.
That night, back at the hotel, I collapsed onto my bed. My entire body hurt.
I grabbed my phone and almost immediately a notification appeared.
"Did your shoulder survive the paparazzi attack?"
I smiled.
"Barely."
Three dots appeared.
"Good. Because if somebody breaks you, I'm not learning your dance parts."
"That's your biggest concern?😒"
"Obviously."
A pause, then another message.
"Seriously though. Hope you're okay."
For some reason, I stared at that text longer than I should have. My chest felt strangely warm.
I placed the phone beside me, still smiling. And before falling asleep, one thought crossed my mind. A very simple thought.
Maybe Megan was becoming my favorite person on tour.
I didn't know it then.
But looking back now...
That was the day everything started.