- 2.
Mom picked me up from the airport. The arrival hall was packed with fans holding signs with Jason’s name. Watching the crowd through the VIP exit, Mom asked, “Did you
hear Jason’s getting married?” I nodded. She sighed, “Don’t blame me, honey. I was just looking out for you. Jason was really
struggling back then.” I smiled. “Mom, I went to Europe because I wanted to. I’ve never blamed you.”
Suddenly, the fans outside started screaming.
<
“Jason!!!” I turned and locked eyes with a pair
of deep, familiar eyes. Even with a mask on,
even after five years, I recognized him
instantly. He held my gaze for a beat before
striding past. “Thanks for coming, everyone.
Looks like rain, so head home safe.” He
accepted letters and signed autographs.
“Jason! Is it true about you getting married?”
a fan shouted. I heard him reply, “It’s true.”
The fans shrieked. “Who is she? Do we know
her?” Jason chuckled, “That’s a secret.” I
stared at his retreating figure, my heart
pounding. He was still the same captivating
guy. The boy who was once the subject of
gossip because of his family’s financial
struggles was now a shining star, his future
bright. A future without me.
く
Back home, I googled Jason, as usual. A
video of him at the airport popped up. The
title read: [OMG I THINK I JUST DISCOVERED
SOMETHING HUGE]. It showed me talking to
my mom, with Jason lingering nearby, then
our brief but intense eye contact, slowed
down and edited to look like a scene from a
romantic movie. The comments were wild.
[@No way they don’t know each other!]
[@Ten seconds, I need this girl’s entire life story!] [@He’s never looked at anyone with such intensity, not even in his movies!] In the time it took me to read the comments, my name was out. [@Guys, her name is Lynn. She went to high school with Jason.]
. .. ..
<
I couldn’t entirely blame them. How could they
find me based on a blurry side profile? Then,
someone claiming to be Jason’s high school classmate commented: [@Lynn, you’re back?].
Fans went into overdrive, searching for
anyone who’d attended the same high school.
Jason’s fanbase was enormous. Some fans
had even worked their butts off to get into
the same high school as him. I remembered a
story a couple of years ago about a fan who
went from the bottom of her class to the top ten, just to get into our school. It had been a viral sensation. #UltimateFangirl. Jason had even left a comment for her.
Now, this same fan was posting about me.
<
[@Guys, Lynn was a total badass. Always in
the top two of our class. And why top two?
Our homeroom teacher said she and Jason used to trade off the number one spot every exam. The teachers thought they were in cahoots! Their legend still lives on at school, but then Lynn went abroad.] I knew exactly which teacher that was – our homeroom teacher, Mrs. Davis. She loved telling stories about her former students‘ achievements, usually eating up half the class time.
The comments poured in. [@Taking turns being number one? Couple goals!!!] [@This is straight out of a fanfiction!] [@Does anyone know why Lynn went abroad?] [@Coming from the eye contact video, is no one
く
shipping them?! Reunion romance anyone?!]
The post blew up, trending in no time. People
started online polls. #Should ThisStory
#ContinueOrEnd. “Continue” led the polls all
evening… until a rising actress, Ashley
Brooks, tweeted: [@Lynn how dare you come
back? Haven’t you hurt him enough?]
