match under the spotlight

Prologue – Before the Match And if I had known what was about to happen to me with the most famous singer in the country… I think I would have closed my eyes. Or maybe… I would have looked even longer. --- Before him, my life was simple. Not perfect. Not exciting. But simple. My name is Léna, a makeup artist student, and at that point in my life, everything revolved around one thing: finding an internship. Without it, no validation. Without validation, no diploma. And without a diploma… everything I had worked for would fall apart. It was that simple. Every morning, I woke up with the same routine. Check my emails. Hope for an answer. And face the same silence. Or worse… Rejections. “We have selected another candidate.” “Thank you for your application.” “Good luck.” Good luck. I hated those words. Because they meant: you’re on your own. So I kept going anyway. I applied everywhere. Studios, events, small projects, clubs… anything. I wasn’t even looking for the perfect internship anymore. I just wanted a chance. Makeup was the only thing that made me feel like I truly belonged somewhere. Not to hide. Not to impress. But to reveal. A look. A confidence. A version of someone they were too afraid to show. I loved that moment when they looked at themselves in the mirror… and saw something new. Because me… no one had ever really looked at me like that. I had always been the quiet one. Not invisible… but close. The one people forget. The one who’s there, but never really seen. And with time… I got used to it. When it came to love, it was the same. Nothing real. Conversations that faded. Almost-stories that never began. Feelings that went nowhere. So I stopped expecting anything. Not love. But the idea that it could happen to me. --- While I was trying to find my place… he was trying to escape his. Noé. Before becoming the singer everyone knew, he had been no one. Just a guy with a guitar, a notebook full of lyrics, and dreams way bigger than reality. He had played in small venues. Sung in front of half-empty rooms. Been ignored. Rejected. Doubted. Lost. But he kept going. Again. And again. Until one day… everything changed. One song. That was all it took. Everything exploded. Views. Followers. Messages. Suddenly, everyone knew his name. He became someone. Too fast. Since then, he lived in a world where everything was amplified. The looks. The expectations. The emotions. But the more people saw him… the less they truly looked at him. They admired him. Desired him. Followed him. But they didn’t know him. They saw the artist. Not the man. Not his silence. Not his doubts. Not the nights he spent writing just to feel something real. So he learned how to play the part. To smile when needed. To say the right things. To be exactly what people expected. Without ever really showing who he was. Because deep down… he wondered if anyone could ever love him without knowing who he was. --- The night before we met… we were both alone. Me, lying on my bed, exhausted after another day without answers. Him, somewhere between rehearsals, surrounded by noise… yet completely alone. I opened Tinder. Out of habit. Out of boredom. Faces. More faces. All the same. Then my finger slowed down. A profile. No picture. Just black. Name: N. I frowned. Who does that? I read the description. Once. Then again. “I’d rather we discover each other without an image. If you’re reading this, it already means you’re different.” I stayed there for a few seconds. It was stupid. But… it felt different. For once, I wasn’t looking at a face. I was reading. Feeling something. A small shift. Like there was actually someone behind that black screen. I could have swiped left. Like always. But I didn’t. I hesitated. Then… I swiped right. --- At the same moment, Noé’s phone vibrated. A match. He stared at the screen for a second. Almost surprised. Then he opened the conversation. Léna. A slight smile appeared on his lips. He started typing. --- A few seconds later… my phone lit up. A message. I saw it. But I didn’t open it. I was too tired. I placed my phone next to me. “I’ll answer tomorrow…” And I fell asleep. Without knowing… that everything had just begun. --- The next morning… I’m late. Of course. My phone had died during the night. No alarm. I get ready in a rush, grab my things, and run to my internship. Because yes… I had finally found one. A small artistic club. Not my dream. But enough. And most importantly… mandatory. I arrive breathless. Late. Perfect first impression. As soon as I step inside, someone calls me. “Léna? Finally. Come on.” No time to breathe. They hand me a makeup kit. “You take the next one.” The next one? I don’t even have time to ask. A door opens. I walk in. And everything stops. Noé. Sitting there. Calm. Like it’s nothing. But it’s not nothing. Because I recognize him instantly. Because everyone knows him. And especially… because he looks up at me. Directly. Our eyes meet. And in that exact moment… I feel seen. Really seen. My heart starts racing. My hands tremble slightly. I walk closer. Trying to stay professional. Trying to focus. But it’s impossible. Because he doesn’t look away. Not even once. Like he already knows me. Like something has already started… before this moment. And me… without understanding why… I fall. --- Without knowing that the night before… he was the one I liked.