Night Changes

Ten Days

The next day

I tossed and turned throughout the night, barely getting any sleep as I couldn't stop thinking about Hero; aside from the fact that I had a raging headache.

I hated that we kept doing this to ourselves.

The second we let our emotions get the best of us, something always ends up happening that changes our relationship.

As much as I wanted him, I knew that we couldn't keep going around and around with the whole "keeping things professional" game we were playing.

Either we were going to play by the rules or lose the game.

Hero and I had an obligation to ourselves and to our fans to give them the best performance they could possibly ask for, and by getting caught up in adolescent games wasn't necessary to fulfill that obligation.

I knew that Hero wasn't going to be happy, especially because I practically forced myself on him at the club. But we needed time to think, and these ten days were going to be a good time to do so.

Whether we actually thought everything through or not, it was worth getting away from each other for a while.

Things had gotten off to a rocky start, and we needed to pull through during the second half.

I'm just starting to drift off before Maria's alarm goes off.

I lift the pillow from beneath my head and cover my face with it, letting out a groan.

"Come on, Jo." Maria says, lifting the pillow. "Get up."

"We're not even doing anything today."

"Yes you are, Anna texted me last night and said the three of you have some tour of a football stadium before your flight back to Los Angeles."

I feel my stomach drop. "What?"

"The film distributors set up a tour for you guys so you can be seen out and about doing some sightseeing." She explains slowly, as if I didn't understand her the first time.

Hero and I were in no position to be putting on an act for the cameras right now. Given everything that's been happening the past few days, we needed to be away from each other.

"I don't know, Maria." I sigh.

"You don't have a choice. This is your job, remember?"

"I know." I snap at her, causing her eyes to widen.

I throw the covers off and storm into the bathroom. I look at myself in the mirror, my eyes completely sunken in with exhaustion.

"Come on, Jo." I say to myself. "One more day isn't going to hurt. Then you don't have to see him for ten days."

Who was I kidding?

Seeing how Hero and I's relationship has been playing out, every day seems to change for us, bringing a new set of obstacles to overcome.

Pushing my thoughts aside, I convince myself that everything was going to be okay, even though everything was far from it, and take a quick shower.

Tara is waiting for me when I finish, my outfit for the day sprawled out on my now made bed, curtesy of Maria I'm sure.

"Where's Quinn?" I ask Tara.

"Packing. He's flying out this afternoon. He landed some movie gig, so he won't be joining us on the rest of the tour."

"Oh," I say with a frown. "Well, I'll have to thank him before he goes."

Tara helps me into my outfit for the day, which consisted of a sky-blue fitted tank top with ruffled off-shoulder sleeves, navy blue pleated trousers, and white trainers.