The flames licked the walls as the building groaned and crumbled, sending embers flying through the smoky sky like falling stars. Sirens wailed in the distance, but they were too late. The city was counting on him now.
Ethan crouched low against a steel beam, ash streaked across his face, muscles flexed under a dark, tactical suit that looked like it had been ripped straight off a Marvel movie set. His jaw clenched as he peered through the smoke.
And then he saw her.
A woman, coughing, trapped beneath a fallen beam—blonde hair tousled, eyes wide, a crimson red dress clinging to her like it had no business surviving the fire. Time slowed. Their eyes met. Destiny clicked into place.
"I've got you," Ethan said, cool and calm like it was just another Tuesday.
With a superhuman grunt, he lifted the beam effortlessly and scooped her into his arms just as the floor beneath them gave way. The building exploded in a massive fireball, hurling debris into the sky as Ethan flew through the flames, clutching the woman tightly.
"AAAAAAHHHHH!" she screamed, clinging to him like a koala with a fear of heights.
"Don't worry," Ethan said, voice deep and sultry. "I just got my powers."
The wind whipped around them as they soared through the sky, the fireball glowing behind them like an action movie poster. Somewhere in the distance, an electric guitar riff played—probably from a conveniently located rooftop band.
As the smoke faded behind them, the woman pressed herself against his chest.
"Oooh, my hero," she sighed dreamily, wrapping her arms around his neck.
Ethan smirked and tapped the side of his earpiece. "Doctor Lectavia is down for the count. I've secured the Emerald Jade Crystal. Returning to base," he said in the most serious fake-agent voice possible.
Then he looked at her—really looked at her. Her hair flowed like golden silk, and her sparkling blue eyes blinked up at him like two sapphires caught in a Disney spotlight.
"And as for you, my damsel…" he said, tilting his head suavely. "You are safe now, my lady."
The woman's lips curled into a sweet smile.
"Ooo, Ethan… you are my hero," Sydney Sweeney said, her red dress fluttering dramatically in the wind like it had its own agent.
Ethan's face turned bright red for a moment. "You… wanna see something cool?"
Without waiting for an answer, he shot upward into the night sky, looping and twisting with Sydney squealing in delight, clutching his shirt like they were on the world's most exclusive rollercoaster. The city sparkled below them. They flipped over clouds, soared through starlight, and finally slowed… just above the moonlit skyline.
Now they floated midair, bathed in silver light, the moon rising behind them like a spotlight made for romance. Ethan hovered with Sydney in front of him, her hands resting against his chest, their feet dangling above the world.
Her blue eyes locked with his.
His heart thudded. His face was serious, his voice softer now—like a lovesick poet who'd watched The Notebook too many times.
"Sydney," he said dramatically. "You're like gravity… except I don't want to come down."
She blinked. "That's… so cheesy."
He grinned. "You must be made of stardust… because every time I look at you, the universe stands still."
Sydney giggled, the wind catching her hair perfectly. "Ethan…"
He took her hand. "If kisses were stars, I'd give you the whole sky."
"Ooo, Ethan…" she whispered, eyes half-lidded.
They leaned in, slowly. The wind hushed. The moon shimmered. Their lips were inches apart.
"Ethan…" she whispered again, voice echoing gently.
"Ethan…"
"Ethan!"
"Ethan."
"ETHAN!"
He paused. Their faces were still close, but something was wrong.
Sydney was no longer gazing at him dreamily. Her eyes were now narrowed. Her mouth no longer whispering sweet nothings—it was yelling.
"WAKE. UP. ETHAN!"
He blinked. "Wait… what?"
She crossed her arms, clearly furious now. "WAKE UP!"
"AHHH!" Ethan shrieked—and then—
BAM!
He jolted upright with a gasp, tangled in a blanket, hair sticking up like he'd been struck by lightning.
His dream melted away like cotton candy in the rain.
Standing over him—in real life—was Rebecca. Arms crossed. Eyebrows raised to the ceiling. The definition of unimpressed.
"AHHHHHHHH!" he shouted again, flailing backward on the couch and nearly kicking over his water bottle. "You?!! What—Where's Sydney?"
"Ethan Jones has broken my heart. How dare he do this?!"
"No way. That's Ethan, right guys? No way he did this to us."
"Why is no one talking about the song? I mean, yeah, Ethan just betrayed us all, but that song is beautiful—like, actually beautiful. It's so catchy."
"That stupid bitch girl that stole him... I hope she—"
"Okay, okay, that's enough," came Jessica's voice from the phone speaker, slicing through the rising tension like a knife through birthday cake.
Rebecca's eyes flicked up from her phone. She had been reading the chaotic fan comments out loud in the war room of the tour bus. At Jessica's stern command, she locked her screen and dropped her phone on the couch beside her with a dull thud.
Ethan sat nearby, brows slightly furrowed. "Wow... that's awful. People actually said that?"
Bella, who'd been quiet in the corner, chimed in with a shrug, "Well, some fans can be... intense, you know."
The room went dead silent. Even Jessica, still on speaker, stopped mid-sentence. All eyes turned to Bella like she'd just confessed to arson.
Bella blinked, slowly realizing the level of judgment radiating off everyone's stares. "Okay, okay, I wasn't like that," she said, hands raised in defense. "I mean... maybe I was a little like that. But I would never insult a celebrity!"
The stares didn't budge.
"Alright! I won't insult one I support! Jeez!"
Rebecca cleared her throat and spoke over her assistant's sputtering. "Anyway. This was bound to happen. Some fans don't want celebrities to have a dating life. Heck, they don't want them to have a life at all."
She leaned forward, her tone turning clinical and sharp. "They'd prefer you existed in a little perfect bubble—singing their favorite songs, posting thirst traps, attending events—but always alone. Mysterious. Available. Like you exist for them. No love life. No downtime. Just... a product on a shelf they think they own."
Ethan exhaled slowly. "That's... creepy."
Jessica's voice returned to the line. "Ethan, don't overthink this. This kind of fan is always a loud minority. The real ones are still here. And we can turn this around. Rebecca, any ideas?"
Rebecca nodded quickly, her inner PR engine already revving. "Plenty. First, Ethan needs to record that song ASAP. We capitalize on the hype. We release a surprise drop. While the net is buzzing, we roll out limited-edition merch—maybe a 'Are you a beautiful girl Tour' capsule or something playful, ironic."
Bella added with a spark in her eyes, "And maybe stickers or shirts that say 'Ethan broke my heart and all I got was this stupid hoodie.'"
Rebecca pointed at her. "See, she gets it."
Then Rebecca continued, "And if we drop some official photos of Ethan and Sydney—not too staged, not too PDA—we could tap into her fanbase too. Expand the reach. Make this whole moment work in our favor."
Ethan sat up straight. "Whoa, whoa—no. That part, absolutely not."
The room paused.
Rebecca tilted her head. "What, the recording? You can use the booth on the bus. And for a producer, Jessica—?"
Jessica's voice piped in, cheerful and confident, "Oh, producers are literally dying to work with him. We can get anyone. Even on short notice. They'd camp on the bus if needed."
Ethan shook his head. "No, not that. Recording's fine. It's just..." He hesitated, rubbing the back of his neck. "Me and Sydney aren't exactly... dating. At least not yet. And I don't think I want that part of my life out there. Not now."
Rebecca stared at him for a second, then crossed her arms. "Well, maybe you should've thought of that before you serenaded her to an entire city and made TikTok explode."
"Even still," Ethan said, his voice firm this time, "I'm not doing it."
The air tensed like someone had sucked all the oxygen out of the room. Then—
Jessica's calm, composed voice broke the silence. "Alright, alright, Ethan. No problem. We don't need to push that angle. We can work around it."
She continued, her PR instincts kicking in, "We'll keep your private life private. Instead, we market the song. Build a narrative around the emotion, the music. The mystery. We lean into the heartbreak, not the relationship. People love to feel like they're reading between the lines."
Ethan sighed in relief, already standing. "I need some air. I'm still groggy from sleep."
He stepped out of the bus. The air outside was cool, crisp. He tilted his head back, eyes closed, inhaling deeply—letting the noise fade for a second.
"Hey, you," a soft voice called beside him.
He turned.
There she was—Sydney. Standing casually near the bus, wearing a white tank tucked into light-washed jeans, her golden hair bouncing softly in the breeze. Her red lips curled into a half-smile. The way the sunlight caught in her blue eyes made his chest hitch for a moment.
Ethan's face broke into a smile. "Hey, you."
Sydney walked up to him, looking slightly sheepish. "Um... sorry. I wasn't eavesdropping, I swear. I was coming to see you and heard voices, and then... well, it felt weird to walk away."
Ethan chuckled. "It's fine. You're good."
She raised a brow. "Hmm."
Then she folded her arms. "So... why didn't you tell them it was me that didn't want to go public yet?"
He rubbed the back of his head again, bashful. "No reason. Just didn't think it mattered."
"Mmmhmm."
Ethan gave her a lopsided grin. "And about the comments... I just wanted to say sorry. It's not your fault, but still."
Sydney laughed gently. "Why are you apologizing? They're your fans, not your clones. You can't control what they say."
"Yeah, but they're still my responsibility... in a way."
She tilted her head, her voice dropping slightly. "Look, Ethan... worse things have been said about me. Trust me. Besides, they don't even know it's me, right?"
"Right," Ethan agreed, though his chest felt a bit tight.
Sydney gave him a half-smile. "This is the life we chose, right? The public life. You give them art, and they think they own you."
That hit harder than she probably intended.
Ethan looked away, up at the slowly shifting clouds above.
They stood there in silence for a moment, both lost in their own thoughts—until she nudged his arm.
"And one more thing," she said, a twinkle in her voice.
He turned to her. "Yeah?"
"So we are not dating, eh?"