[Eddie's POV]

I pace back and forth around my apartment. I call Loren again. No one picks up. I want to run over to her house as fast as I can, but common sense stops me. If she wanted to talk to me, she would answer her phone. A groan slides out of my mouth when I realize that I really can't do anything. I run my fingers through my hair and settle down on the couch to wait out the storm, wanting more than anything for the calm to come as quickly as possible.

[Loren's POV]

An insistent beeping sound shakes me out of my short slumber. I groan and stretch out my arms, trying to focus on the screen in front of me.

mel0drama_ wants to chat with you. My mouth is stretched open by a yawn while I click on the 'accept' button. My best friend's face immediately fills the screen.

"LOREN!" I barely react to the greeting - I've kind of gotten used to the whole always-talking-above-normal-volume thing. What gets my attention is her next sentence.

"Please tell me you've talked to Eddie. I know boys and there's no chance he hasn't called you yet."

I look away sheepishly and purposely slide my currently-ringing phone out of the view of the screen. "Why should I? If he really wanted to talk, he knows where I live." I pause. "Wait, no, that sounded creepy. Either way, he would come over, wouldn't he? And I'm really tired and I don't want to deal with more drama today…" I trail off, hoping Mel will let me off the hook for today.

She glares at me, then shakes her head. "You're not totally free. I'm not going to run over there and force you to call him, but I'm certainly not letting you skip the entire talk. You have two options: A, call Eddie and talk about whatever it is you two lovebirds are thinking."

I open my mouth to protest, but she silences me with another glare. I swear that girl's face is pure evil sometimes.

Melissa continues, "Option B: sit here and tell me exactly why you won't call him. And since I'm fully aware of the situation and know you better than yourself, Miss Loren Tate, I can tell you right now that none of your excuses are going to help. But you can try anyway." Her voice turns from intimidating to falsely sweet with the last sentence.

My head tells me she's probably right, but my heart really does not want to deal with Eddie right now. I'm not mad at him; I just think that trying to talk it out would lead to a heap of emotional drama that I honestly am not capable of handling right now. Remember what happened last time you kept ignoring your problems. I push the invading thought away. That's not the focus.

Mel is still staring at me. I decide that it would be in my best interest to respond as quickly as possible. "Um. I'm tired?"

She throws her hands up in frustration. "Really? You're tired? That's the best you could come up with?"

"Mel, come on. You know better than anyone that today just hasn't been the best day, okay?"

She looks at me for a little longer before deciding how to respond. "Sorry, Lo. I know the past few weeks have been a whirlwind for you. And I guess you have had a rough day."

I scoff at the understatement, replaying the day in my head... Cameron, Eddie and his stupid jealousy, Chloe, more Eddie… I shake my head and look up at the screen. Melissa clearly sees the exhaustion in my eyes and lets it go.

"Alright, I give up for now. But I'm trusting you to make the right decision, okay?" She asks me pointedly.

I nod and we both shut off the chat. I flop onto my bed for the second time that afternoon.

I want to sleep but it won't even come close. Despite my best efforts against it, my head instinctively turns to the side and my eyes flicker towards my cell phone laying on the bed. Aghhh. I give up. I reach out a hand, my fingertips closing around the soft rubber phone case. My back rests against the soft blankets, arms stretched out, hands holding the screen in front of, or rather above, my face.

I'm about to tap on Eddie's name, ready to talk it out, when suddenly my phone rings. I stare confusedly at the unknown number.

"Um, hello?"

"Hey, this is Loren right?" A slightly familiar female voice asks.

"Correct - may I ask who's speaking?"

A light laugh greets me. "Oh, sorry. It's Kelly, remember me?"

A wave of relief passes through my mind. "Of course; you're pretty hard to forget."

She laughs again. "Thanks, you're a sweetheart. Anyway, I called because I have some big news for you!" She sounds excited, which passes on the happy emotion to me. "I just scheduled an interview for you, and you'll never guess who."

I wait, but she doesn't continue. "Um, who?"

"No, you have to guess. It'll make it so much better."

"You're worse than Melissa," I comment fondly. Another laugh is the response. "Uh, I have absolutely no idea."

"Fine, fine. I can't wait for your reaction… you're going to be the next star on the Lily Park Show!" A squeal punctuates her announcement.

I'm not quite sure how to respond.

Kelly takes note of my silence. "Loren? Aren't you excited? If we play this interview right, it could launch you farther than you've ever imagined."

"I know, which is why I'm a bit nervous. She's a great interviewer - that's the point. If I can barely perform something I've rehearsed over and over without feeling like I'm about to faint, how am I going to be able to answer questions on the spot? Especially when questions that any 'great interviewer' asks are sure to be just a bit invasive?"

She sighs. "Loren, I know you're nervous about things like this. But it's all just a part of the business. And something as big as this could really jump start your career even more than Eddie has." She pauses for a moment. "And speaking of Eddie Duran…"

I listen a bit more carefully. "Yes?"

"There's just one condition for you to be on the show - Eddie has to come with you."

A/N: So I kinda disappeared for a very, very long time and I'm not even sure if people read HH fanfictions even more. But I had a bit of time and figured it couldn't hurt. I can't thank you enough for all the support!
- shimmeruponwishes