Phoebe

“Hello?”

“Hey Helia.”

“Phoe-? Wait, I’m at the estate right now, let me just lock the door.”

“Lock the door? What?”

“So no-one walks in and hears me talking to you, idiot! Dad is furious.”

“What? What’d I do?”

“I mean…”

“What?”

“He hasn’t been able to go out in public for the last two weeks without someone asking him about you. Mom called me back here to try to calm him down a bit, but he nearly bit my head off the second I walked through the door.”

“Sounds like he needs to get over himself, Helia. That sounds like it shouldn’t be anyone’s problem but his.”

“Easy for you to say. Anyway, if you were hoping that I’d be able to help patch things up, you’re out of luck.”

“What? No, I… can’t I just want to talk to my big sister?”

“You? What do you want, Phoebe?”

“I, uh, I need advice.”

“About what? What could I possibly offer you advice on?”

“Uh, a, uh… girl.”

“WHAT? Oh my god, are you serious?”

“Don’t laugh at me, I don’t know what I’m doing, this is scary.”

“Is it actually Mynah Darling? Did you seriously hit it off with her?”

“What? No! I mean, I met her at this party, she seemed… nice. But it’s not her.”

“It’s all over the tabloids, you’d better be careful not to get photographed with her again if it’s not a thing for you.”

“Um. She’s coming to see Soot at Ligustina next week.”

“What?”

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“Yeah, she was talking about how she doesn’t have any pets and she seemed sad so I invited her. Next thing I know I got a call from her management, they’re also offering to handle my media… presence? Is that the word? Anyway, Petunia set it all up with them.”

“Oh my god, Phoebe, that’s only going to make the rumours worse.”

“Really? Teams host celebrity visits all the time.”

“They also host wives and girlfriends all the time.”

“She’s not my girlfriend!”

“Okay, fine. Tell me about the girl who is, then.”

“She’s not… I dunno.”

“Oh?”

“I mean I like her, I think we get on really well, she’s been really supportive…”

“But?”

“She got asked about her celebrity crush in an interview and said it was me.”

“Wait, an interview? What does she do?”

“She’s a singer, an idol.”

“Another-? Okay, playgirl.”

“It’s not like that!”

“Isn’t it?”

“I didn’t know she was an idol when I met her, it was before… everything.”

“Before?”

“Before the race season started. And, like, her single only came out like a month ago.”

“What’s it called? I’ll look it up.”

“Perfect Storm.”

“Perfect Storm by Thessaly Pantelleria? You’re dating Thessaly Pantelleria?”

“We’re not dating! We’re just… friends…”

“Phoebe you’re going to start a war if you keep this up. Dating one idol would be bad enough, if you get linked to two…”

“It’s not like that, Helia, I keep saying.”

“You might not have any choice in the matter. But ok. You like her, she has a crush on you, what’s the problem?”

“I don’t know, does she? She said it, but before that she was helping me prep for my first interview and she said a lot about how her manager tells her what she has to say in interviews. Like, lists of endorsements and stuff.”

“Oh. You’re worried her manager put her up to it? They’re trying to take advantage of you?”

“Yeah. The interview was right after I got my first win, so…”

“Well, have you asked her about it?”

“I don’t know what to say.”

“Have you talked to her at all?”

“No. I keep trying, but I just… I don’t know what to…”

“Have you seriously not talked to her at all for two weeks?”

“…no.”

“Has she messaged you or anything?”

“Yeah.”

“Phoebe have you been ghosting the girl you like for TWO WEEKS?”

“It’s not ghosting, I just don’t know what to say!”

“If you haven’t replied for two weeks, that’s ghosting.”

“It’s not-! …what should I do?”

“Message her! Anything! Just say hi! She probably thinks you met Mynah Darling and completely forgot about her!”

“That’s not- really?”

“PHOEBE! Okay, I gotta stop, if I shout your name any louder round here I might get disowned. You need to go and message your girl before this gets any more out of hand.”

“She’s not my-“

“Well not with that attitude she won’t be! Get moving. And Phoebe?”

“Yeah?”

“Good luck, I love you.”

Phoebe swiped the phone app aside and went over to her messages. Thessaly’s name stared back at her, a long string of unanswered texts. They were getting less frequent.

> Hey, sorry I’ve been quiet, I’ve been really busy|

That felt like making an excuse. It wasn’t untrue, but she hadn’t been that much busier than before, when she’d been messaging Thessaly basically every day.

> Hey, sorry I haven’t messaged, I was just|

Just what? Worrying that you might be trying to use me as a prop to your fame. That felt even less honest than the thing about being busy.

> Hey, sorry I suck|

Too self-pitying? Phoebe rolled over in bed and put the phone face-down on her pillow. Maybe she’d find it easier to face the message tomorrow.