Stardust & Scars

Lyy_Villegas YA&Teenfiction

The lights were blinding.Thousands of them.White. Silver. Gold.They filled the arena like a second sky, stretching endlessly beyond the stage.And somewhere beneath all that light, four girls were supposed to be smiling.They had dreamed about this moment for years.The screaming crowd.The cameras.Their names echoing through the arena.The feeling of finally making it.But dreams were always prettier before they came true.“VÉRA!”The crowd screamed their name.Aira smiled.Mika waved.Sienna lifted her hand toward the audience.And Luna—Luna wasn't there.No one in the crowd seemed to notice.Not yet.The music continued.The lights continued to dance.And the three girls kept smiling as if nothing had happened.Because that was what they had been taught to do.Smile.Even when it hurt.Especially when it hurt.Four years ago, they had been nobody.Four girls standing in a long audition line, carrying nothing but cheap bags, nervous smiles, and a dream that seemed too big for them.They had no connections.No famous surnames.No one waiting backstage.Just four strangers who happened to want the same impossible thing.To become stars.They promised each other they would reach the top together.And for a while...they did.But somewhere between the first audition and the biggest stage of their lives, something changed.Something they never talked about.Something that left a scar none of them could hide forever.The audience screamed louder as the final song began.Aira looked toward the empty space beside her.For a split second, she imagined Luna standing there.Smiling.Beautiful.Untouchable.Then the lights went out.And in the darkness, Aira heard a voice behind her.A whisper.So faint that she almost convinced herself it wasn't real.“You promised.”Her breath caught.The lights came back on.There was no one behind her.Only thirty thousand people screaming for four girls who had once dreamed of being famous.Three girls who were still standing on the stage.And one name that had quietly disappeared from the spotlight.Luna.Some dreams turn into stars.Some leave scars.And some...never really disappear.

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