Our flight from Heathrow Airport to Nashville was a lengthy nine-hour journey, and we arrived at our hotel in the early hours of the morning. I'm still suffering harshly from jet lag, even three days later, but I don't allow the fatigue to distract me as I effortlessly move around the stage with my microphone in hand.

Serotonin consumes me, and I grin wildly as I repeat my last lyrics of tonight, "'I'll fuck your life up as a blonde, I'll fuck your life up as a blonde.' Thank you, Nashville!"

Before the lights dim, I exit the stage to my left with a rush and let out a triumphant sigh of relief. Not only did I sing well tonight, but the crowd was incredible and very supportive. All the worrying I had done previously over his fans hating me had been for nothing.

Music technicians start unplugging me and as soon as my in-ears are out, the curtain, which displays 'Grayson Reed, Redemption Tour', drops, announcing he is next. I wince at the sheer volume of the screams that echo around the arena, regretting the choice to take them out right at that moment.

Rhiannon and Alex walk off the stage, joining me and in an instant, I pull my best friends into a group hug.

"You killed it!" Rhiannon exclaims, pulling away with a large smile, "That was incredible, oh my God."

"Did that seriously happen?" Alex points to the stage behind them, where their drums still stand.

"I'm just, wow," I'm truly speechless. I don't think it could have gone better.

Adrenaline spirals around my body at a drastic speed and I revel in the high, accepting the shot of tequila that is offered to us by my manager Carl.

"You all played flawlessly, guys," Carl says, resting his hand on my shoulder in a supportive manner, "Cornelia, your vocals have never sounded better, that was amazing."

"Aww, Carl, you old softie," I grin at the middle-aged man who I've always looked up to like a parental figure.

"Oh, don't start with the old crap again, Lia, I'm only forty-nine," he crosses his arms over his beer belly.

With a giggle, I grin, "You know I love you."

"Yeah, yeah, I know," he rolls his eyes, "Come with me, I'll escort you guys back to the dressing rooms."

With a spring in my step, I'm glad to be retreating to somewhere quiet and comfortable after such a great show. Not only is the fatigue from the jet lag creeping back up on me, I can't wait to be alone, so I can decompress. Being on my own, just for a few minutes after a show, is something I've always craved and needed. I'm fortunate that no one takes it to heart and allows me to do just that.

After a hug, my best friends head into their dressing room next door to mine, and Carl leaves as soon as I reach the black door with my name on it. I push it open, expecting the room to be empty like I had left it, but I scream at the sight of a man already in there. And he's not alone.

The man's head turns at the sudden interruption from me, and only when he does, do I realise it's not just any man.

Grayson Reed is inside of someone, on the couch in my dressing room, with no sense of shame.

"What the fuck? Shut the door and get out!" he yells at me, throwing me completely off guard.

"I get out?!" I yell back, pointing to the door, "That is my name on the door, is it not?"

"Can you not fucking see I'm in the middle of something here?"

Unfortunately, I can; that and the crack of his arse, "Yeah, you're in my dressing room."

"Bitch, if you don't-"

With a dry laugh, I cut him off, "Call me a bitch again, I dare you."

He sighs, "Can you just please fucking get out?"

"If only you used your manners earlier, dickhead," I slam the door behind me on the way out.

With fury overtaking every part of me, I march down the hall, finding the only room that won't be occupied. If he wants to use my dressing room as he pleases, then I'm going to use his. As expected, the room is empty and with a frustrated growl, I throw myself down on the leather couch.

"That arsehole," I mutter to myself, "How dare he?"

Never did I imagine he'd talk that way to someone, especially not a person he hired personally. I'm far more angry about the way he spoke to me than anything else because until now, I was led to believe Grayson was a nice man. Everything I've heard and read about him online were only lovely things, but after meeting him, I wonder how anyone could think that?

All that I had previously learnt about Grayson could not be further from the truth.

I feel suddenly conscious of the fact this is the man I'm touring the world with for the next seven months.

With a groan, I pull out my phone to send a message to Alex and Rhiannon, but when the home screen flickers on, I'm faced with yet another man I'd rather not hear from.

Jack:

'good luck tonight, love.'

"Oh, you can piss the fuck off too!" I yell, throwing my phone at the chair in front of me.

Another level of anger overwhelms me upon reading Jack's message. It's been four days since he walked out on me, I've not heard from him until now and that is the message he sends me. No apology? No explanation? Nothing?

I shouldn't be surprised, it's not uncommon of him to do something like this, but even so, I thought he'd offer more than a lousy four-word message. He didn't even ask if I had made it to America safely.

He doesn't care.

At the harsh conclusion of my thoughts, I take a deep breath and pick my phone up from the floor. I ignore his lousy message, leaving him on opened, and instead, click on the group chat with my best friends.

Me:

'I met Grayson, it's safe to say I hate him.'

As soon as I hit send, the door swings open and there he stands tall, my new enemy.

"What the fuck are you doing in here?" he snaps, looking around, probably checking if I've stolen anything.

"Well, considering you were in mine," I glare at him.

"I'm not any more," he tells me, "So, you can get out."

"You're having a laugh if you think I'm sitting on that couch after I saw what you just did on it," I find myself laughing, "You're a funny one, Grayson."

He stares blankly at me, "Get out now, Lia. I have to be on stage in ten minutes."

"And that's my business, how?" I pout at him, "Also, my name is Cornelia, not Lia; only my friends call me that."

He slams the door, walking further into the room with a huff, "I don't want you in here when I get off the stage. I'm only allowing this because I need to get changed, and you are making this impossible."

"Allowing this?" I scoff, shaking my head, "How is it that you think I'm the problem here? You have a perfectly fine dressing room, why did you have to use mine with that slut of yours? We'd have no issues if you had used your own."

He spins around to face me, "You are so..."

"I am so, what?" I cross my arms.

His gaze drops to my cleavage at the action, and a smirk replaces his scowl, "Well, your tits look great like that."

"You are a pig," I glare at him, standing from the sofa.

There's only so much I can put up with today, and being sexually harassed by my boss is not one of those things.

"Oh, you're leaving so soon?" he smiles my way.

With a roll of my eyes, I swing open the door, but I don't leave before having the last word, "And, Grayson, for your information, my tits always look great!"

When the door closes behind me, Rhiannon is standing at the other end of the hall, holding back a laugh.

"Don't even," I hold up my hand, walking over.

"You weren't lying; is he really that bad?"

"Worse," I grunt, walking into their dressing room.

"What even happened?" Alex asks, sitting up.

"He was fucking someone in my dressing room!"

"No!" Alex gasps, bringing their hand to their mouth.

Rhiannon laughs, "You're kidding, right?"

"Oh, how I wish I was," I sit down next to Alex, "I walked in, and he was on top of this brunette on my sofa."

"Doesn't he have his own dressing room?" Alex asks.

"Yes, he does, and it's much bigger!" I fear I will never get over this, not any time soon, "Not only did I walk in on that, but he was a total prick to me."

"Really?" Alex frowns, "Everyone says he's nice."

"Yeah, all I've ever seen online is how he's the most perfect guy," Rhiannon adds.

I dryly laugh, "Yeah, that's what I thought too before he called me a bitch."

"What a dick," she scowls, "Shall we fuck him up?"

"Yeah, I throw a mean punch," Alex perks up.

"No, we can't, he's still our employer, unfortunately."

Rhiannon sighs at my denial, "Let's just stay the hell away from him, I'm sure it won't be difficult."

"Yeah, when he's not using my dressing room, that is," I scoff, "I can't believe him."

"Weren't you in his dressing room just a second ago?"

I cross my arms with a nod, "Yeah, but that was more so to prove a point than anything else; if he gets to use mine, I get to use his kind of thing. He wasn't happy with that logic, though. Honestly, guys, he must have been dropped as a kid."

They both laugh at my conclusion, and Alex adds, "I share that opinion for the entire male species, so it's likely."

"Do we even watch him after that?" Rhiannon asks, looking at the clock, "He should be on any minute now."

A battle of whether we do or not gnaws at me because as angry as I am at him, I'm not a girl to turn down a concert.

"What's the likelihood he falls over on stage?" I ask with a hum, "I would hate to miss something like that."

"So, we're going to go watch?" Alex asks.

"Yeah, why not? It'll be better than sitting in here," I hate to admit so. I may hate the dude, but his music is good.

Before we make our way to the stage, I quickly run into my dressing room to grab my jacket. I ignore the shiver that possesses me when I see a pillow lying on the floor next to the couch, where it must have fallen from.

"Now, we can go," I zip up my jacket.

My friends and I walk to the right side of the stage, just in time, too, because as soon as we get there, the house lights turn off, and the crowd goes wild, eager for Grayson.

My eyes flicker to the back of the stage and I watch in awe when he picks up a burgundy Gibson Les Paul. Once the strap is comfortable on his shoulder, he walks to centre stage, stopping a meter behind the curtain, and oozing with confidence.

"Smug bastard," I utter under my breath.

As if he hears what I say, he glances in my direction, and he shoots me a wink. With a scowl, I go to throw up my middle finger, but I stop myself because a spotlight suddenly shines down on him. The arena fills with screams at the action, and unwanted excitement hits me when he begins to play the melody of the song, 'Sex'.

Seconds later, the curtain drops, and he grabs the mic, singing the first lyrics of tonight, "'And this is how it starts...'"

As much as I wish I could say he sounds terrible live, there's no denying how incredible Grayson is. He owns the stage in a way I've never seen anyone do so before, and it's admirable. He knows he's good, though; he doesn't even try to hide his ego when the crowd goes wild at his fingertips.

An hour or so into the show, he stops to speak to the crowd and have some water, "Wow, thank you for such an unbelievable opening show, Nashville, you've been a fantastic crowd. I like to take this section of the show to introduce my band, so, without further ado, make some noise for my best mate Nick on the drums!"

A round of applause rings out for every band member; Nick, his drummer, Reese, his bass guitarist, Ben, his pianist, and Connor, his lead guitarist.

"Now, that's what they love to hear," he laughs, lifting the mic from the stand, "Before we get onto our next song, I'd also like to this time to thank Cornelia Star for opening up the show for me, wasn't she just incredible?!"

The crowd cheers at the mention of my name in his speech, but my jaw drops, bewildered by it. I could have sung horrendously tonight for all he knew, considering he was too busy having sex with someone in my dressing room to even watch.

He grins my way, but I shake my head with a scoff, and only when his attention is off me, do I walk away without looking back, not even when my friends call my name.

~~~~~

A/N

The first chapter is here... and I hope you are ready for this journey because I am!

Songs mentioned in this chapter:

Blonde - Maisie Peters

Sex - The 1975

I would love to preface here that they're both from England, so you'll see a lot of English slang being thrown around!

Also, I'm not sure how many chapters this will be, but it'll be over 40 defo!

If you're enjoying this, don't forget to leave some comments and vote! Mwah <3