- Andrea
OH NO, HE'S HOT

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ANDREA WAS PRETTY DAMN SURE SHE WAS DREAMING.

Everything still felt like a dream- The Voice, blowing up on TikTok, going on her first tour just a year after signing a record deal, being invited to perform at Lollapalooza at all places. Andrea never wanted to wake up.

It'd been less than a year and a half since she'd debuted on the Voice, being immediately stolen by Nick Jonas for his team. It'd been a dream, working with him. And even though she hadn't won, she had still been picked up by Universal Music Group. And at the same time, her Tiktok cover of 'Four Minutes' by Madonna had absolutely blown up. Since then, she'd gone on a tour around the US; and had now been invited to Lolapalooza to perform.

The early chicago air was chilly. Dark grey clouds swirled menacingly in the distance, as if preparing for a storm. Andrea blinked blearily up at the ceiling of the hotel room she'd been given, her alarm forcing her awake.

She could see at least ten texts from her manager, and at least thirty from her mom. Andrea groaned, clicking her phone off and dropping it onto the bed and rolling over. She'd been up late the night before practicing her set; and here she was- waking up at the ass crack of dawn to do more practicing.

Andrea groaned again when her phone began to ring incessantly, her manager's ringtone bouncing off the walls. She glowered at it as it began ringing again. And again. And again. And again.

Finally, she snatched her phone up off the bed, a sigh escaping her mouth. "Logan, it's too early," She whined into the phone, rolling over onto her side. A scoff came from the other end of the phone.

"Oh please, Andy. I gave you an extra hour and a half of sleep." He retorted. "You have two days until your set, Andy. You need to practice."

Andrea huffed as she pulled herself up into a seated position, yawning behind her hand. "Fine- let me get coffee first. Please?"

Andrea had slipped out of the hotel bed, stumbling over to the floor-to-ceiling windows, squinting at the window. "I can see a starbucks from here. I need it, Logan. Need. it." She rubbed her eyes, longingly staring at the starbucks less than a block away.

Logan was silent on the other side of the phone for a good minute and a half. "Fine. But be damn quick about it, okay?" He said. "If you are not here at eight thirty I will set an amber alert for you."

"I'm not five!" Andrea yelped into the phone. "And I will! I promise!" She whined.

Logan snorted. "Good. remember- eight thirty, or an amber alert."

Andrea groaned as he hung up, tossing her phone onto the bed again, glowering at it. She licked her lips as she padded over to the mirror on the vanity, bindly grabbing her bottle of Prozac abnd downing two of them without water.

She leaned down, blinking at herself in the mirror. "God, I am hot," She murmured, running a hand through her black-and-blonde dyed hair. "You've got this. You're successful, you're hot, you're mom is proud of you."

It'd been Logan to recommend she self-affirm herself. To let them be ridiculous, to let them be raw. After he'd helped her through a panic attack right before her first ever show on tour; he had sent her a list of affirmations to boost her confidence.

She ran her fingers through her hair again, trying to tame it down. Andrea had always been on the curvier side- not the sexy model kind of curvy, but the real kind. She had stretchmarks, fat on her back that she hated looking at in the mirror. Her skin was pasty, freckles spattered across her body like an unfinished connect-the-dots picture. She loved herself though.

"You're so sexy, and you're going to make Lollapalooza your bitch."

---

Andrea shivered as a light drizzle fell from the sky, the ever-classic wind of Chicago brushing past her as she walked towards the Starbucks.

Her black-and-blonde dyed hair had been pulled into a low ponytail, her bangs framing her face. Her dark brown eyes were covered by a pair of dark sunglasses. She'd thrown on a pair of red sweatpants and a black tube top on, an oversized black hoodie covering her up. It wasn't much- especially not enough to keep the paparazzi from spotting her.

The starbucks was packed as Andrea entered. She could see both normal people and other performers in the line, everyone greedy for caffeine.

Andrea bit her lip as she stepped into line. Her heart was jackrabbitting in her chest, blood rushing into her ears. There were so many big names in the building- and Andrea was nothing but an ant compared to them.

Relax, Andy. She told herself, tapping her thumb against her pointer finger. She tapped it to her middle finger, then her pinky. You're not nothing. You're fucking playing at Lollapalooza. Sure, it's not coachella, but it's still pretty fucking big.

Her eyes flicked up to the menu as she continued tapping her fingers together. Her eyes passed over the back of the guy in front of her's head- not that it was a challenge. Andrea wasn't the tallest girl in the world, but the guy in front of her also wasn't the tallest ever.

Which was a shame, because he was kind of cute. Not that Andrea would ever judge.

Andrea narrowed her eyes as she continued staring at the back of his head, squinting. He also looked familiar. Like. way familiar. But she couldn't put her finger on it no matter how hard she thought.

Maybe he's a performer? She thought to herself. I must've seen him before on TV. That's gotta be it.

The mask and baseball cap he wore didn't help her recognition skills. But she couldn't deny it- she knew this man. There was no doubt about it. But from where, she had no clue.

She continued to squint at the back of his head as the line moved; staring at him until he was next in line.

The starbucks employee didn't give any signifier if she knew who he was, staring blankly at him as he pulled his phone out to read out an order.

"- I get a caramel frappe, two iced americanos, a hot chocolate, a flat white, and a strawberry creme frappe-" The Man ordered, his Australian accent thick and prominent.

And that's when it hit Andrea.

"Chris?" She asked, interrupting The Man. He froze, turning to look at her. Their eyes locked, his eyes.

"Holy shit, Andrea?" None other than Christopher fucking Bahng asked, his eyes wide as he stared at her.

Christopher Bahng. Aka her best friend Hannah's older brother. Christopher, aka her childhood neighbor up until her family moved to the States. Chris, aka the first boy she'd ever had a crush on.

"Yeah!" Andrea squeaked, her heart pouding in her chest. Not from anxiety, but from something different. Something she hadn't experienced in ten years. "Oh my god! It's literally been years," She gaped at him. "How've you been?" She asked him.

"Ah- I've been good! Busy." Chris said, a smile having broken out on his face. "I thought you guys moved to LA. what're you doing in Chicago of all places?"

Andrea perked up. "I'm here for Lollapalooza! I- I'm actually performing," She scratched the back of her neck, embarrassment creeping up her chest and neck. She could feel a flush coming over her face as she spoke to him.

Oh my god, when did he get fucking hot? When they'd been kids, Chris had been kind of dorky, a little bit awkward looking. But cute nonetheless. But now? Holy. Shit. He looked like he could be a model. He'd gotten buff- not so much so that it was bulky and awkward, but it was definitely noticeable.

Chris looked a little stunned when she explained her being in Chicago. "Oh, no way! My group is too!" He said. "I had no idea that you'd become a singer."

Andrea laughed. "Ditto, this is honestly kinda crazy!"

The barista cleared her throat, causing the both of them to pause. "While this it touching, if you do not mind paying for the order it would be much appreciated."

Chris made a little 'ah'. "Right, sorry mate." He pulled his black card out, quickly swiping it to finish the transaction. He turned back to Andrea. "Here, let's talk once you're done ordering."

"Of course- of course." Andrea smiled giddily as Chris exited the line. Andrea gave the barista a sheepish smile before ordering.

She was only half paying attention as she paid, trying her best not to run over to Chris like a puppy. He was leaning against one of the walls, a look that Andrea wasn't familiar with on his face.

"So, wait- you said you're apart of a group?" Andrea asked, unzipping her hoodie. God, it's hot in here. Why is it so hot?

Chris gave an awkward laugh. "I- yeah. My family told you how I went to South Korea, right?" When Andrea nodded, he continued. "Well... I was training to become an idol."

Andrea made an 'oh' noise. "I'm the leader of my group- Stray Kids. I'm not sure if you'd ever heard of it."

Andrea shook her head. "Sorry, but I haven't. But I'm definitely checking your guy's music out now."

Chris gave a nod at her statement. "So how'd you come about performing at a music festival?"

Andrea laughed again. "Well... you know the show The Voice? Well. I went on it, got second place, and my singing blew up. One tour later and here I am!" She gave a little jazz hands to finish her short story.

"Wow, that's impressive! Congrats!" Chris cheered, is voice bright. Andrea flushed, looking away from him. "Same with you, I'm going to have to check you're music out too."

Andrea bit back a squeak, nodding. "I mean- you don't have to. It's not that good, ahah-"

"Oh, don't be like that. I'm pretty damn sure that it's good, considering you're at Lollapalooza." Chris admonished. "Besides, I remember when you and Hannah were in choir together. You were good then, and you're clearly good now."

Andrea's face burned at his compliments, biting her lip. "Thanks..." She croaked, her face hidden in her hands.

Chris gave a confused look, but before he could speak, one of the other Barista's called out his name.

"Ah, bummer. Hopefully we'll see each other again." Chris said, his face fallen. "It was great seeing you, Andy."

"Wait!" Andrea called before he could walk away. She stuck her hand out to him. "Here, gimme your phone. I want to give you my number so we don't lose touch again."

Chris gave a half smile, handing over his phone. "Don't be a stranger, Chris. I mean it." She handed his phone back, waving as he walked off.

Oh, how Andrea hated seeing him leave. Her eyes trailed downward, her eyes widening. But damn, did she love watching him go.

As soon as Chris was gone, though, Andrea whipped her own phone out.

Me

Hannah

Hannah

HANNAH

Hannah Banana

WHAT

Me

WHY DIDNT YOU TELL ME HE WAS HOT

Hannah Banana

WHO'S HOT

Me

YOUR BROTHER

OH MY GOD

Hannah Banana

Wait, you guys saw each other?

Me

YEAH

AT STARBUCKS OF ALL PLACES

YOU ALSO DIDN'T TELL ME HE'S FUCKING FAMOUS???

Hannah Banana

It never properly came up???

I mean, we're all technically famous, Andy.

Andrea groaned into her hands again as her own name is called. She stumbled over to the counter, grabbing her own coffee. She whispered a 'thanks' to the barista, her face shellshocked from the whole interaction.

Andrea had stumbled awy from the barista to one of the tables, taking a breath to calm her frantically beating heart.

She licked her teeth as she pulled her phone out, her drink perched on the counter. She popped one airpod in, going into spotify. She typed for a moment, pulling up the 'Stray Kids' page on spotify. She scrolled, before clicking one of the songs randomly.

Red Lights, the title read. She grinned, pocketing her phone again. Her heart was still pounding in her chest, giddy with affection for the first time in a long time.

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AN: is this realistic to celebrities and their lives? I don't know. But this is my world and my fic and you're just living in it. 

Thank you so so much for reading, and please do vote for this and add this to your reading lists! It helps boost my fic to others so they can read it, so I'd seriously appreciate it.

Chapter two comes out next week on monday!

Ty so much once again for reading :)