Chapter 25: She Was Mesmerized

When Akira came out of the dressing room, Pearl and Ava were already standing at the far-end corner of the store hidden behind by some of the clothing hanging on display.

They were trying hard to be inconspicuous. Except it was hard for Pearl to do so. She was shaking to the core of her being and wanted to get close to her idol if she could.

Akira, seeing them thought they were funny. She slowly crept behind them and jokingly scared the two.

"Booo!" The two girls jumped up while Akira just laughed. "What are you guys doing? Why don't we go and say hi to them? What could we lose if they ignore us? At least we tried." She was coaxing them, knowing her brother wouldn't ignore them.

"Nah, we can wait for before and after the concert," replied pearl, but deep inside of her, she really wanted to approach them and ask for an autograph. So instead, Ava only stood beside Pearl, quietly surveying five young boys of about 16 to 18 years of age.

One by one, she assessed them, and when her eyes landed on a blond-haired boy, she was mesmerized by his look. He could topple a city with just his smile alone. His left cheek would show a dimple every time he smiled. Ava found him really good-looking, which said a lot because she wasn't usually easy to impress, but she liked him for some odd reason.

Then the boy seemed to feel that someone was watching him and turned around to look, and his eyes found Ava staring back at him. Their eyes locked, and they started a staring competition. No one blinked an eye as they continued. Then, not realizing that everyone's eyes were on them, everyone wondered what was going on.

Ashton was dumbfounded because he knew who Ava was. He saw her in many commercials and movies, and he had a crush on her. But, he couldn't believe his eyes and had to make sure. So he walked over to check.

"Oh, no! the lead singer is coming over!!!" Exclaimed Pearl loud enough for Ashton to hear.

He smiled.

Pearl was about to pass out after seeing Ashton smile, even though it was not directed towards her.

Just as Ashton was about to reach them, Prince Edmund showed up from behind along with Chupsy, who briskly blocked his way.

"Excuse me! Please refrain from this area of the store until they move to another area." Chupsy said while her two arms were spread out and blocking his view of the three girls and the boy behind them.

It got him thinking; he must be right! That girl is Ava, the child actress from the Philippines and a friend of his sister. Ashton was going to say something, but Akira beat him to it.

"Chupsy, please let him go through. We want to get his autograph, please!!!" Akira pleaded earnestly.

To top it off, Pearl seconds Akira's request and holds on to Chupsy's arms. Therefore, there was nothing that Chupsy could do but to make way and let Ashton come closer to the three girls and Prince Edmund.

"Hello! I'm Ashton! Lead singer of EXODUS, I would like to invite you to watch our concert tonight if you have time." He extended his hand for a handshake.

Akira swiftly took his hands and pulled him in a bear hug. "I hope you don't mind, I'm a fan, and I don't do handshakes. If we go and watch your concert, will you give us an autograph and let us take pictures with the whole group?" But, of course, she was only teasing him since they already had tickets, and that was the whole reason why they were shopping right now.

"Don't overdo it, little sister, or I will announce to them that we're siblings," Ashton whispered only for Akira to hear but returning her bear hug as tight as he could. He missed her so much.

Akira pinched Ashton on his side but made sure no one saw her do it. "Just try, and I will tell mom if you do." She warned him before releasing him and standing right by his side.

Ava was surprised with how friendly the lead singer was with Akira and allowed her to give him a bear hug.

'That's odd... But then maybe he thinks Akira's cute and likes her in return.' Ave thought. She felt kind of disappointed for some bizarre reason, knowing that the blond boy might like Akira.

She kept on surveying him so she could make her report to big brother accurately. Big brother said that they were close, but how close, she didn't know. Also, big brother insisted that she watched them perform for some reason. That she would do, but what she didn't understand was the reason behind his request.

Pearl shyly introduced herself and took Ashton's hand to shake. Then she retreated quickly and let Ava introduce herself. However, when Ashton was about to extend his hand out to Ava, Prince Edmund blocked him, stood in front of Ava, and glared at Ashton.

That irritated Ashton, and his brows almost collided with each other. He was about to say something when the front door opened, and EXODUS Manager President Kai Hanada of THJ Entertainment walked in with someone.

They were happily chatting when the person with Kai laid his eyes on Akira. He joyfully exclaimed.

"My baby!!!! Why didn't you tell me that you were coming into the store today!" He then went towards where all the youngsters were. Everyone thought he was speaking of Ashton, but when he passed Ashton and went straight to Akira, almost everyone gawked except Ava and Ashton.

Ava knew who he was. She met him a couple of times when they came to visit Queen Alexa. Ashton knew him, of course, since he was the company's fashion designer for all their talents.

Akira swiftly embraced Sato and pulled him a little further away to warn him about her relationship with Ashton.

"Please, it is for my sanity that you don't divulge that Ashton and I are related. One of the girls that I room with is a massive fan of EXODUS, and if she finds out, I'm dead meat. She will never let me live in peace." Akira discreetly whispered to Sato.

Sato nodded in agreement and gave Akira a peck on both her cheeks before turning his attention to the other girls.

"Miss Go, and…?" He was looking at Pearl since he didn't recognize her from any of Akira's friends.

"Hello, my name is Pearl Grant." She introduced herself shyly before bending her head down and looked at the ground. She didn't add that she's the first daughter of the United States of America and niece of the Queen of Stonasia. Sato will soon finds out…