Page 37 of I Fell for an Alien Popstar

“I know who you are,” I said, beaming and barely containing my excitement. “I have every issue of Star Girlz Magazine. My favorite one is the issue with you and Yuki on the cover from last year’s Try’layla tour. I have the mini poster of you two that came inside pinned above my desk at work.”

Lyn smiled. “Oh, so you’re a big fan?”

“Mhm.” I smiled and nodded, trying not to completely fangirl.

I glanced at Yuki, who was standing near her, and gave him a small smile. He was a Borinthian from Planet Borin. He was blue and tall, with ocean-colored eyes like Zhari’s.

“Well, welcome, Vada. Glad you’re here,” Yuki said as he flashed me two finger guns before walking away.

My eyes trailed down to his hands, where he held a small, colorful creature.

“This is Nova,” Yuki gushed, holding his hands out to me. “She is my Anori Sea Slug from Neptune.”

I leaned in a little closer, examining the beautiful markings and colors across her body.

“She may not look it,” Yuki whispered, leaning close to my ear, “but Nova is spicy. She likes to escape her tank to eat all our snacks and get into mischief. So watch your food.”

He winked at me, then brought his hands to his face to blow her a kiss.

“Oh, well, hi, Nova,” I giggled. “You are so cute!”

Nova looked at me and slowly blinked. I wasn’t sure if she was unimpressed or what, but she definitely seemed spicy.

Sira cleared her throat.

“Okay, let’s keep this moving. Vada will be traveling with us for this leg as a cultural guest,” Sira went on. “That means she has limited access to crew areas and events, and unlimited access to being polite to you while you are working. If she asks you questions about your work,” Sira continued, “answer them unless you’re about to crash a shuttle or blow a speaker. If the media asks you questions about her, you say no comment or send them to me. Understood?”

A chorus of “yeah” and “sure” answered her, along with one “What media?” that earned its speaker a smack on the arm.

Sira’s gaze landed on me.

“That goes for you as well. No streaming from restricted areas, no accidental leaks about set changes or anything else, and if someone from a tabloid waves credits at you, you pretend you don’t understand numbers.”

“I genuinely don’t understand numbers, and I work as a data-entry clerk,” I said. “So we’re good.”

A few more laughs echoed through the room. Sira pinched the bridge of her nose, but there was less exasperation in it this time. It was more like she had accepted that I was a thing that was happening now and she was going to have to deal with it.

“All right,” she said. “Lyn, Yuki—wait, where did Yuki go?”

Sira looked around the room, but Yuki was gone.

“Okay, Lyn, show her the basics. Zhari, you can show Vada where she will be sleeping after your quick live interview.”

Sira’s eyes landed back on me, narrowing.

“Don’t break anything in the meantime. I know humans are clumsy.”

I nervously chuckled as the crowd dissolved into smaller groups. Lyn walked over to me with a smirk and gently touched my arm.

Up close, she was tall and sharp-featured. Her magenta hair was braided tightly against her skull, with glittered extensions woven through it. She had the kind of energy that made you feel like something fun was about to happen, whether you wanted it to or not.

“Come on, human. Let me give you a tour.”

“Lead the way,” I said, falling into step with her. I glanced back at Zhari. “You coming?”

“In a bit,” she said. “I have to tell my followers on Orbit Palz where we’re going next.”

She tapped her wristband, where a hologram of notifications was stacking up like tiny hungry mouths.