The following Wednesday came quickly and Noelle was in Abby's studio, trying on outfits.
"This is the one!" Abby declared excitedly.
"No! I'm not wearing this outside. People will stare at my butt!" Noelle complained.
She was wearing a tight black leather skirt that traced every curve she normally kept hidden from the world. Above it, a fitted green top offered some comfort, covering her cleavage well enough. Still, that was tight enough to make her uncomfortable. A pair of stilettos on her feet made matters even worse.
Abby and Lexi exchanged a mischievous glance and both laughed.
"She's a professional stylist. You are not going to ignore her decision," Lexi said.
"But…"
"No buts, or butts… Your body is yours and you can do with it whatever you like," Abby stated, leaving no room for arguments.
Noelle's mother had taught her there were only two kinds of garments: those for respectable women, and those for women seeking attention. She had been trained to select pieces that were never too tight, never too revealing, and certainly never too colourful.
Her resistance to the outfit -beautiful as it was- came from the fact that she was not used to this kind of clothes. Or maybe her mother had brainwashed her.
"I don't have what it takes to pull this off…"
"Oh, sweetie, you do," Lexi said, looking at her from head to toe with a surprised gaze.
"Time for makeup!" Abby commanded.
In less than thirty minutes a stranger was looking back at her from the mirror. She was impressed.
Look what some clothes and a bit of makeup can do!
"You're smoking hot!" Abby confirmed.
"I don't feel like myself at all."
"You don't feel like your usual self. Accept that you have other versions that you still haven't explored."
Could that be another version? The feminine version that she kept under the loose and colourless apparel?
Soon they were at the entrance of the Empress Diamond Hotel rooftop lounge.
"Bill, will you take a picture of us?" Abby asked the guy at the reception, who greeted her with a friendly nod.
The three of them posed below the bright sign: 'Celestial'.
Noelle was surprised when she saw the photos. There was a woman that looked confident. Her eyes were hungry. Hungry for more. Noelle wasn't sure if she wanted to meet her yet.
"I am posting this now! What is your name on social media Noelle?" Abby asked.
"I'm not really using them. Please don't tag me!" Noelle said in despair.
"Then how are people going to connect with you?"
"I don't want to connect with strangers…" Why didn't she understand?
"They won't stop sending messages, asking who that girl is…" Abby said and Bill led them to their table.
_______________________________
The place was opulent. The view was dizzying, the city below flickering like the nervous energy pulsing through Noelle's veins. The music wasn't very loud, but the tunes the DJ was playing were sweeping her away. She felt her body pulsing, ready to surrender to the alluring rhythm. Of course, she didn't.
The people around her seemed all related to the entertainment world. Half of them were stunning - probably actors, singers, performers. The other half exuded power - the decision makers. And she was right. Many of them were checking her out.
She felt uncomfortable. Then strangely flattered. Eventually, she stopped scanning the room.
Let them look…
Noelle couldn't handle alcohol. One drink and her head was spinning. She didn't want to embarrass herself, and had only wine. Lexi joined her for wine tasting, but Abby had just ordered her fourth cocktail.
As promised, she had already shared stories of Luca and Noah, from their early years. How these two had hit it off the moment they met. How they were teasing her the whole time when they were setting up Prime 5. How they were also pissing off the other members, all three of them already adults and fully committed in making the group work.
"But wasn't Luca the group leader?" Lexi asked, surprised by his irresponsible behaviour back then.
"Yes, he was! A talented kid. He thought it was a game. Only when the lights were on did he behave. When they turned off, he was again a boy that looked much older," Abby said.
"Why did they make him their frontman? Wasn't that reckless?" Noelle asked. From a business perspective, talent doesn't matter; you shouldn't be in the spotlight if you lack maturity.
"They were an experiment. And he fitted the role according to their analysis. He did well, but he couldn't bring the group together. And he had Noah on his side, Noah who didn't want to be there," Abby continued, taking a sip from her new drink.
"He didn't want to?" the other two asked almost simultaneously.
"Oh, no. It was his parents' decision to join Fisher Academy. He is talented, but he didn't want to do that for a living. What a sweet kid he was! He used to come to me, with a shy smile, and telling me of his dreams to become a lawyer. 'But my mother tells me I'm too handsome for a lawyer' he was saying. In the end he managed to go to college, even if he didn't study law in the end."
Two words from what she had described didn't fit.
"Sweet? Shy? Noah Griffin, sweet and shy?" Noelle asked.
"It's hard to imagine, but yes he was. There are only a handful of moments he lets that old self appear. That self that disappeared the same day that the controlling and paranoid Luca West emerged…" Abby's eyes were a bit gloomy, and she looked at the empty space, probably recalling old events that changed those boys.
"I've never heard of that before," Lexi said, intrigued by what she was hearing.
Noelle was also curious. Very curious.
Abby's laughter died down, replaced by a vacant stare.
"Maybe I shouldn't be saying these things to you, but I don't want other people to misunderstand these two. One day they had a photoshoot. For Prime 5. They came in early. And they were both strangers to me. Neither spoke a word, neither smiled like they used to. And Luca couldn't stand straight. And there was a bruise on his lip that we tried so hard to cover. He had to change clothes and asked for Noah's help. I caught a glimpse. That's how worried I was. And his whole body was bruised and swollen. Not only his face."
She stopped talking and her face was a mask of regret. Like she was wishing she could go back in time and stop that from happening.
"I don't know what they got themselves into. But ever since that day Noah became serious and cold, dropping everything soon after. And Luca? He became a control freak pushing the rest of the group to their limits. Never satisfied with their performance. That group was doomed. I'm glad he had Chloe next to him, to help him out. And that Noah returned to work with him. He would be lost without them."
Noelle and Lexi were speechless. Nothing resembled the guys they knew and worked with.
"Abby, you're a mess. I'll take you home." It was Bill, the guy from the reception.
"Oh, Bill, no need to! I have to take care of the girls here," Abby protested.
"It's ok Abby. I'll share a cab with Noelle," Lexi said.
Bill gently guided Abby out.
"Do you trust him?" Noelle asked.
"Yeah, they're friends. I think talking about the past made Abby drink a lot. What she said… Do you think it could be connected to…"
Lexi didn't dare to finish the sentence. A shared chill ran through Noelle at the mere thought. She frowned, hesitating for a heartbeat, but she knew she had to say it.
"The envelopes? I guess we're thinking of the same thing."
The same awful and scary thing. Whatever happened back then, haunted them still.
___________________________
Both of them discussed the possibilities, the scenario. When they parted, they agreed not to discuss it in front of the others, as it seemed dangerous.
The next day at work, when they met with Abby again, they pretended that they didn't remember a thing.
"Sorry girls! I had too much yesterday! But it was a lovely night!" Abby said.
Then, she slipped next to Noelle, a conspiratorial look spread across her face: "I told you people would ask…"
She showed her a long list of messages, containing comments like 'What a hottie!', 'Set me up for a date!', 'Her number now'.
Noelle's cheeks were on fire. She had never imagined.
"But take a look at this…" Abby said, opening a specific message.
The account picture was a goofy bulldog. Its head was tilted to the right, making its drooling tongue loll out even more ridiculously. It looked like it was laughing, the way all bulldogs do. 'Bull Dog' was the account name. How original!
But when she read the message, her heart raced.
'It took me a few moments to realize that was Christmas, Ab. Nice job!'
"That is his personal account. Getting a comment from Luca? We definitely chose the right clothes!" Abby said.
Noelle forced a smile. What was there to say anyway? And why exactly had his comment affected her?
She focused on her writing and the whole day went by uneventfully.
That was until the time they were about to get off work.
"Hey sweetie! I need a huge favour. I know I'm asking a lot, so please tell me if you are okay. If you are not, forget I asked you anything," Lexi said with these huge eyes that were magically becoming even bigger when she was acting cute.
"Anything for you Lexi. Shoot!"
The last time she did her a favour was the ultimate disaster. But she couldn't say no to those eyes.
"Anything? You'll change your mind when you hear me out. Well... For the filming tomorrow morning, Luca's costume was delivered here. There was some sort of misunderstanding and the company mixed up the addresses. You heard me complaining to them over the phone earlier, didn't you? The filming begins at five AM!"
"So you want me to go to the set that early?" Noelle briefly calculated what time she had to wake up.
So long, dear sleep...
"No, no need to wake up in the middle of the night! The thing is, I'm supposed to deliver it to his apartment," Lexi said, pausing.
Noelle's jaw dropped. "Are you kidding me?" Her eyes widened in disbelief.
"Please... My boyfriend just called. He got us tickets for that show I was telling you the other day. And they are for today! It starts at eight. And Luca is expecting me at nine... Noah is out of town, Chloe left… You're my only hope..." Lexi desperately explained.
Damn you Lexi…
She couldn't say no, but she hated so much what she was being asked to do. "Can I at least leave it at the reception or something?"
"There is no front desk in his building, and the security never accepts packages. You'll have to ring his doorbell personally. I'll send you the QR Code for entering the building. Just scan it, go up to the eleventh floor and he'll just open the door. I would have done the same thing."
"I will... do it."
But I really hoped I wouldn't have to face him.
After being caught in the studio, she hadn't seen him. She was certain he would easily lose any sense of politeness once they were to meet again.
"You're a treasure! You'll get a taxi. Tell the driver to wait for you downstairs and go home, or anywhere else you want afterward. The taxi's on me!" Lexi said.
Afterwards Lexi gave her detailed instructions about the address and how she would find his apartment. Noelle had to stay at the office until late. There was no point going home; she could write here.
At eight o'clock she was downstairs, waiting for the taxi and holding a huge bag containing what turned out to be a rather heavy costume - probably an armor… She cursed Lexi with every step as the heavy bag dug into her shoulder.
I hope he doesn't kill me the moment he sees me on his doorstep…