The next morning, Nevaeh woke up feeling like she had made a smart decision. If her friends wanted autographs so badly, they could ask Mordred themselves. It wasn't like she was his personal assistant, after all.
At breakfast, she handed them a small slip of paper with an address.
"Go here at noon," she instructed. "I'll meet you and lead you to Mordred. That way, you can get your autographs yourselves."
Donna, Lilly, and Teresa practically bounced in their seats.
"Yes! We're finally meeting him!" Donna squealed.
"This is the best day of my life," Teresa said dramatically.
Lilly smirked. "And you, Nevaeh, are a queen."
Nevaeh chuckled, shaking her head. "Don't embarrass me, okay?"
They all nodded eagerly, but she had a feeling they would do exactly that.
---
At work, things moved faster than expected. She had barely settled in when her supervisor sent her on a last-minute assignment to cover another story across town. In the rush, she completely forgot about the plan she made with her friends.
Meanwhile, Donna, Lilly, and Teresa arrived at the address exactly on time, expecting to see Nevaeh.
"Where is she?" Donna frowned, checking her phone. "She said she'd be here."
Teresa looked around. "Maybe she's inside?"
Lilly crossed her arms. "You know what? Who cares? We came to see Mordred, and we know he's here."
The three girls exchanged looks before nodding in agreement. If Nevaeh wasn't going to lead them, they'd just take matters into their own hands.
And that's when they saw him.
Mordred, in all his intimidating celebrity glory, was standing near the entrance of the building, talking to a crew member. He was dressed in a fitted black shirt and dark jeans, his signature silver rings glinting under the sunlight. His presence was effortlessly commanding, his expression unreadable as he glanced at his phone.
The three girls froze.
"Oh. My. God," Donna whispered.
Teresa clutched Lilly's arm. "He's even hotter in person."
Lilly swallowed. "Okay, act normal. We can't freak out."
"Right, normal," Donna repeated.
But then, instead of being normal, they rushed toward him in an uncoordinated, overly excited frenzy.
"Mordred!"
He turned his head slightly, his cold gaze landing on them.
Donna was the first to speak—rather, to ramble.
"Hi! Omg, okay, this is crazy, but I've been your fan since high school! Your voice literally saved my life, and I know every song by heart! Like, literally every single one! And you know that one time you sang at that charity event? I cried! No joke!"
Lilly wasn't any better. "And also, your fashion? Insane. No one wears rings like you do. You could literally sell them, and I'd buy ten!"
Teresa just stood there giggling nervously, nodding along with everything they were saying.
Mordred blinked, clearly thrown off. He wasn't new to fans approaching him, but the sheer chaos of these three left him momentarily speechless.
"Uh… okay?" he finally said.
"Sorry!" Lilly gasped. "We just—we really wanted to meet you! And also… could we, um, get an autograph?"
Lilly nodded eagerly. "Just a small one! Please?"
Mordred sighed, rubbing his temple. "You guys are friends of Nevaeh, aren't you?"
Their jaws dropped.
"You know Nevaeh?" Donna asked.
Mordred gave a dry chuckle. "Apparently, she's been talking about me enough for you guys to find me."
Teresa gasped. "Wait… does that mean you guys are close?"
Mordred didn't answer. He just stared at them for a moment, debating whether he should entertain this or walk away.
And then, before he could decide, Donna suddenly blurted out—
"Are you single?"
Lilly and Teresa gasped.
Mordred sighed again. This was going to be a long conversation.
Mordred stood there, his patience thinning by the second. He had been expecting the usual questions—requests for photos, autographs, maybe even a dramatic love confession. But this?
He stared at Donna, who looked far too eager for his answer.
"Am I… what?" he asked, his voice flat.
"Single," Donna repeated, as if it was the most normal thing in the world to ask a stranger—let alone a famous celebrity—about his relationship status out of nowhere.
Teresa nudged her. "Donna, you can't just ask him that!"
"Why not?!" Donna argued. "If he says yes, then it means I have a chance!"
Mordred exhaled slowly, pinching the bridge of his nose. This was exactly why he avoided casual interactions.
"No," he finally said.
Lilly gasped. "Wait, you're dating someone?!"
Donna dramatically placed a hand over her heart. "You just broke me."
Mordred rolled his eyes. "No. I meant no, as in, I'm not answering that question."
Lilly grinned. "So that means there's still a chance—"
"Do you want the autographs or not?" he interrupted, cutting the conversation short.
The girls instantly perked up.
"YES!" all three of them shouted at once.
Mordred sighed again, pulling out a pen from his back pocket. He grabbed a small notebook from the table nearby—probably belonging to one of the crew members, but he didn't care at this point. He scribbled his name on three separate pages and ripped them out, handing each of them their signed paper.
"Here," he said. "Now, if you don't mind—"
Before he could finish, Donna grabbed his hand.
"Oh my God, your hands are so soft!" she exclaimed, completely ignoring the way Mordred tensed at the sudden contact.
Teresa leaned closer. "Do you moisturize?"
Lilly, meanwhile, was too busy staring at his face like she had just seen an angel descend from the heavens.
Mordred had had enough.
"Alright, that's it," he muttered, taking a step back. "You got your autographs. Now, please—"
"Can we take a picture?" Donna asked, already pulling out her phone.
Mordred shot her an unimpressed look. "No."
Donna pouted. "Not even a group picture?"
Mordred folded his arms. "I said no."
The girls exchanged glances, finally realizing that maybe—just maybe—they had overstepped a little.
Lilly cleared her throat. "Okay, okay. We get it. You're busy and all that."
Teresa smiled awkwardly. "Thank you so much for the autographs!"
Donna, however, wasn't ready to leave without making one final statement.
She stepped closer and grinned up at him. "For the record, you'd be a lot more fun if you actually dated someone."
Mordred arched a brow. "I'll keep that in mind," he deadpanned.
With that, the three girls finally walked away, giggling amongst themselves as they admired their autographs.
Mordred shook his head, watching them go.
Then, as if the universe had perfect timing, he turned his head—and saw Nevaeh.
She was standing a few feet away, clearly having just arrived. The moment their eyes met, she tilted her head slightly, confusion written all over her face.
"Why do you look so annoyed?" she asked, stepping closer.
Mordred scoffed, running a hand down his face. "Your friends just happened."
Nevaeh blinked. "Wait… they were here?"
Mordred shot her a dry look. "Oh yeah. And they were a lot."
Nevaeh sighed. "Oh no… what did they do?"
"They ambushed me with weird questions, grabbed my hand, and almost forced me to take a picture with them."
Nevaeh groaned, rubbing her temple. "I told them to behave!"
Mordred smiled slightly. "They didn't."
Nevaeh sighed again, shaking her head. "I'm sorry about that. They can be a little… extra when they're excited."
Mordred leaned against the table behind him, arms crossed. "They also asked me if I was single."
Nevaeh's eyes widened. "What?"
"And when I didn't answer, they just assumed I was."
She covered her face with her hands. "I swear I had nothing to do with that."
Mordred chuckled lowly. "I figured."
Nevaeh peeked at him through her fingers, then dropped her hands with an apologetic smile. "I'll talk to them later. I hope they didn't ruin your day."
Mordred shrugged. "It wasn't that bad."
Then, after a pause, he added, "You could make it better, though."
Nevaeh froze. "What?"
Mordred smirked, standing up straight. "Come with me. I need a break from all the chaos, and you seem like the only person here who doesn't want something from me."
Nevaeh blinked, processing his words.
Was he… asking to spend time with her?
"Unless you're busy," Mordred added, tilting his head.
Nevaeh hesitated, then slowly shook her head. "No… I guess I can spare some time."
Mordred smiled slightly. "Good."
Without another word, he turned and started walking.
Nevaeh followed, her mind racing.
This was new. Unexpected.
And maybe… just maybe… the beginning of something else entirely.