It had been a few weeks since the incident at Juicy and my brush with Stone. We hadn’t spoken since the day he found out, but I still thought about him every single day.

“Where do you think you’re going?” the bouncer at the concert asked.

Naz and I held up our press passes. The bouncer nodded his approval and waved us through.

“This is so cool!” she cried. “I can’t believe we scored backstage VIP passes to one of the greatest music concerts in South Africa.”

“Me neither,” I said, pleased.

“Well, when you work for a magazine like Juicy, anything is possible, right?”

I spun around at the sound of the voice. I’d know it anywhere.

“Stone,” I said, my emotions all over the place. “It’s nice to see you.”

“I’ll give you two some privacy,” Naz said, and hurried away.

“I told you that I quit my job at Juicy,” I said to Stone.

“Then how did you get press passes?”

“Naz and I have started our own news blog. We publish facts and hard-hitting stories that actually are helpful and informative.”

Stone smiled. “That’s amazing! I’m really happy for you, Renielwe.”

It was true. When I quit, Naz didn’t want to continue working there either. She thought I was incredibly brave for finally standing up for myself, and followed suit. We thought long and hard about the people we wanted to be. That’s when we got our blog idea. We actually have a lot of hits.

“Thank you, Stone,” I said, wanting to hug him. “I miss you, you know, Mr Bump and Go.”

His face turned sad. “I was wondering, why wasn’t the story published?”

“I told Jones that if he published it, I would reveal all the dark secrets that I had discovered while I was working there, including how all the lawsuits against them ‘magically’ disappeared with some dirty money. Now, Naz and I have been doing a bunch of exposés, as well. It feels good to be working on the side of truth and justice.”

“I’m really glad things worked out.”

“Not everything worked out,” I said. “I’m really, really sorry for what happened between us. If I could take it all back, I would.”

“I … have to go.”

And just like that, I knew what he must have felt like when he bared his feelings to me and I just ran away. I deserved all of this pain and heartache.

I enjoyed the concert from backstage, but only half-heartedly. When it was Fast Whip’s time to perform, the crowd cheered uncontrollably. I was sore, but incredibly enthusiastic to see him perform live.

He got through a few songs then he stopped, mid show, and looked at me – who was standing about five metres away.

“What are you doing?” I mouthed to him.

He sprinted off stage, headed straight to me and kissed me. My world was turned upside down. The people backstage with me whistled and applauded.

I gently nudged him. “You have to get back on stage,” I told him, not wanting him to go. But I knew that this was for a good cause and that came first.

“I’ll see you after my set?” he asked, grinning.

“I’ll be right here, waiting,” I beamed. Stone went back on stage, the crowd oblivious to what had just happened.

“Sorry, guys,” he announced. “I had to take care of something very important. And now, I’m taking you guys on a trip down memory lane.”

He cued the DJ to play some of his old songs, back when he first started out in the business. I was so proud of him. The audience loved it, too.

Naz stood by my side and I rested my head on her shoulder.

“I don’t recall a time when I was ever happier,” I told her.

“Just you wait,” she said. “Greater things are coming.”

And I daresay, she was right.

*****

Tell us: Has this story changed your attitude to gossip mags? Why or why not?