Behind the Spotlight

(A Celebrity x Non-Celebrity BL Romance – Slow Burn, Angst, 18+ Themes)

Ethan Hayes needed to disappear.

The flashing cameras, the suffocating swarm of reporters shouting his name, the endless cycle of interviews—it was too much. The weight of being Hollywood’s golden boy felt heavier than ever tonight.

Ducking his head under his hoodie, he slipped through a side street, rain slicking the pavement beneath his sneakers. His manager, Mason, would throw a fit if he knew Ethan had vanished without security, but for once, he didn’t care. He just needed silence—a break from the deafening roar of his own fame.

That’s when he spotted the small, tucked-away bookstore on the corner. Its warm glow and quiet presence called to him like an escape hatch from his own reality. He didn’t think. He just stepped inside.

---

Noah Carter barely glanced up when the bell above the door jingled. The last thing he expected was a customer this late—especially one who moved with the nervous energy of someone running from something.

He finished noting inventory in the log before finally looking up. The man in the hoodie had his hands stuffed in his pockets, his posture tense. Something about him seemed familiar, but Noah couldn’t quite place it.

“Need help finding something?” Noah asked, adjusting his glasses.

The man hesitated. “Just looking.”

His voice was smooth, deep, but carried a rough edge—like someone who hadn’t had a moment of real rest in a long time.

Noah nodded, going back to his book, respecting the stranger’s space. It wasn’t unusual for people to wander in just to get out of the rain. If anything, he found a strange comfort in the quiet presence of another person who didn’t expect anything from him.

Minutes passed.

Ethan browsed, fingers trailing over book spines, but his gaze kept drifting toward the man behind the counter. He had that look—the kind of quiet confidence that came from being completely at ease in his own world. His dark curls were slightly unruly, glasses resting on his nose, and he had the softest brown eyes Ethan had ever seen.

For the first time in weeks, Ethan felt his pulse slow.

He didn’t have to perform here.

Didn’t have to be Ethan Hayes, movie star, Hollywood’s heartthrob, tabloid magnet.

Here, he was just a tired man looking for peace.

And this guy had no idea who he was.

Something about that was intoxicating.

---

A Name Without Fame

After a while, Noah cleared his throat. “We’re closing soon.”

Ethan turned, caught off guard. He wasn’t used to people brushing him off so casually. In Hollywood, he was never just some guy. But this man… he hadn’t even asked his name.

A slow smirk tugged at Ethan’s lips. Interesting.

“What’s your name?” Ethan asked.

Noah raised a brow at the sudden question. “Noah.”

Simple. Direct. No frills.

Ethan rolled the name over in his mind, liking the way it sounded. “Nice place, Noah.”

Noah leaned on the counter. “You a big reader?”

Ethan hesitated. He used to be. Before scripts and schedules devoured his time. Before every part of his life became public property.

“Not as much as I’d like.”

Noah nodded, studying him a moment longer. Then, as if deciding something, he grabbed a book from the shelf behind him and slid it across the counter.

“Here. On the house.”

Ethan frowned. “You don’t even know me.”

“You look like you need it,” Noah said simply, not elaborating.

Ethan turned the book over in his hands. The Stranger by Albert Camus.

A chuckle escaped him. “So, you think I’m some existential mess?”

Noah gave the barest hint of a smirk. “You walked into a bookstore at almost midnight, alone, looking like you were being hunted by ghosts. If the shoe fits…”

Ethan let out a surprised laugh. A real one.

God, when was the last time he laughed like that?

“Alright, Noah,” Ethan said, tucking the book under his arm. “You win. I’ll read it.”

As he turned to leave, Noah’s voice followed him.

“If you actually finish it, come back and tell me what you think.”

Ethan paused at the door, looking back at Noah one last time.

Maybe it was the way the warm bookstore lights framed him. Maybe it was the fact that, for the first time in years, someone wasn’t treating him like a celebrity—just a man.

Either way, Ethan knew one thing for certain.

He was coming back.

And this time, it wouldn’t just be for the book.

---

To Be Continued…

It had been a week since Ethan had first walked into the bookstore. Every night, he found himself returning, a quiet anticipation pulling him back to that little corner of the world where no one knew who he was.

Noah wasn’t like the others. There was no pressure to be anything other than what he was. A man who read, who existed in the world with the same kind of quiet intensity that Ethan hadn’t realized he missed so much.

Each evening, they’d exchange little bits of conversation—books, life, the weather. Noah would recommend something new, sometimes with a sly grin, and Ethan would take it, always coming back for more. Each visit felt like the slow peeling of a layer, a strip of the armor Ethan had built over the years.

Ethan, for his part, couldn’t shake the feeling that Noah was something different—something more real—than anyone he’d met in Hollywood. It wasn’t just the way he was unaffected by fame, though that played a part. It was the way Noah seemed so comfortable in his own skin. So sure of who he was, even if he wasn’t quite aware of how much that drew Ethan in.

On the eighth night, Ethan showed up a little later than usual, the rain coming down harder than ever. As he stepped inside, the familiar bell jingled, and for a moment, everything outside faded into the hum of the warm space.

Noah was at the counter, as usual, but this time, there was something different in his gaze. Something hesitant, almost uncertain.

Ethan walked up to him, the soft tapping of his sneakers on the floor the only sound between them. “You alright?”

Noah didn’t immediately respond, only nodded, but Ethan could see the faint tightness in his shoulders. “Just tired,” Noah said quietly, almost apologetic.

Ethan stood there for a moment, weighing the decision. Normally, he’d keep things light, maybe make a joke. But tonight, something in Noah’s eyes made him want to offer more.

“Can I… help with anything? If you need to talk or something.”

The words felt awkward as they left his mouth, but they were real. Genuine. He meant it, even if he didn’t know why.

Noah studied him for a moment, the silence stretching longer than usual. Then, slowly, he shook his head. “It’s not that simple,” he said, voice soft.

Ethan frowned. “You know, you’re allowed to let people in. Doesn’t have to be all on you.”

For a second, Noah’s gaze flickered to the floor, and Ethan wasn’t sure what that meant. He didn’t push, though. Instead, he just reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out the book Noah had given him the first night.

“I finished it,” Ethan said, sliding the book onto the counter.

Noah’s brow raised. “You finished The Stranger?”

Ethan nodded, giving him a half-smile. “It was… a little heavy. But I think I got it. Life’s absurd, and we’re all just wandering through it, trying to make sense of it.”

Noah’s lips twitched, the first hint of a smile Ethan had seen in days. “You actually read it. Didn’t expect that.”

Ethan shrugged. “I told you I would.” He paused, watching Noah carefully. “You’re a little different from most people I know. You know that?”

Noah blinked, caught off guard. “What do you mean?”

Ethan took a breath, feeling a bit exposed for the first time since he’d met him. “You don’t act like… like everyone else. Like you’re constantly looking for something from me. Or anyone.”

Noah didn’t respond right away. Instead, he leaned on the counter, his expression unreadable. “Maybe I’ve just learned that sometimes, being around people who expect nothing is the only way to figure out who you really are.”

Ethan’s chest tightened at the quiet intensity in Noah’s words. It was a truth that resonated deep within him, and for the first time in weeks, he felt like maybe—just maybe—he was starting to figure out who he was again, too.

“I like that,” Ethan said softly.

Noah finally met his gaze, the faintest flicker of something unreadable in his eyes. “Maybe you’ll like the next one too,” he said, sliding another book across the counter to him.

Ethan’s fingers brushed against Noah’s as he picked it up. The contact was brief, but it sent a jolt of something sharp through him.

He stared at Noah for a moment, his mind spinning with questions he hadn’t allowed himself to ask. He wasn’t used to being vulnerable—not in his public life, and certainly not in private. But standing here, looking at Noah, something inside him longed to let the walls come down.

He didn’t say anything else. Instead, he just nodded, tucking the new book under his arm.

“I’ll be back,” Ethan said, voice lower than usual, something in it unspoken, lingering between them.

Noah gave a small smile, but it didn’t quite reach his eyes. Still, there was something in the way he looked at Ethan that felt like an invitation—an unspoken promise that there was more to come.

As Ethan stepped back into the rain, he felt a shift inside him, something he hadn’t felt in years: the sense that, for once, he wasn’t running away from something.

He was running toward it.

---

To Be Continued…

The days blurred together for Ethan. He still came by the bookstore every night, as if something inside him had shifted and now, this small, quiet place was the only refuge he truly craved. There was something magnetic about Noah, something that kept pulling him back even though he wasn’t sure what it was.

Noah, for his part, hadn’t said much more about his own life. He was a man of few words, especially when it came to himself. Ethan didn’t ask. Not yet. He wasn’t ready to force any kind of conversation that could disrupt the fragile peace they had built in the small corner of the bookstore.

The conversations continued to be simple—books, the weather, random musings about life—but each word felt heavier than the last, as if they were both testing the waters, wondering if they could dive deeper without scaring each other away.

One particularly quiet evening, Ethan stood near the counter, flipping through a new book Noah had recommended, but his mind wasn’t on the pages. It was on Noah.

The way Noah’s fingers brushed the edge of a book as he adjusted it on the shelf. The quiet hum of his voice when he spoke, like every word was carefully chosen, measured. There was a softness about him, a gentleness that made Ethan feel like an intruder in his own skin.

He didn’t know what he wanted from Noah. Maybe it was just the company. Maybe it was something more.

Noah glanced up from the register, catching Ethan’s gaze. The moment stretched between them. Ethan swallowed, unsure if he should say something or if the silence was enough.

Noah broke the stillness first. “You ever think about why we do this?” he asked, his voice quiet, almost contemplative.

Ethan blinked, surprised by the question. “Do what?”

Noah gestured vaguely around the room. “Come here. Over and over. I mean, you’re not a regular. You could go anywhere. But you keep coming back to this place.”

Ethan hadn’t expected that. The question felt like an invitation, but also a challenge. He paused, letting the words settle before answering. “I guess I… I feel like I can breathe here. For the first time in a long while.”

Noah’s gaze softened, his expression unreadable. “Breathe, huh?”

Ethan nodded, his eyes dropping to the book in his hands. “Yeah. I don’t have to be anyone here. Just… me.”

There was a pause, an awkwardness that hung in the air before Noah spoke again, his voice quieter than before. “Maybe that’s why I keep doing it, too.”

Ethan looked up, meeting Noah’s eyes. His heart skipped a beat at the vulnerability in his voice. Noah was always so guarded, so careful. And yet, in this moment, he was opening up in a way that made Ethan feel exposed, as though he were being let in on something rare, fragile.

“What’s that?” Ethan asked, his voice barely above a whisper.

Noah didn’t immediately answer. Instead, he took a step closer to the counter, his hands resting lightly on the edge as if gathering the courage to say something more. His eyes never left Ethan’s, though the intensity of his gaze seemed to shift.

“I think I’m afraid of needing someone,” Noah said, almost too quietly to hear, the words heavy with something Ethan couldn’t quite place. “Afraid that if I let someone in, they’ll just leave. Or that I’ll end up needing them more than they need me.”

Ethan’s chest tightened. He wasn’t sure what had caused this sudden shift in Noah, but it felt important—vulnerable in a way that made Ethan want to protect him.

“Noah,” Ethan started, his voice gentle but firm, “you’re not alone.”

There it was—his heart speaking before his mind could catch up. He hadn’t intended to say it, but now that the words were out, they felt right. They felt true.

Noah looked at him then, eyes wide, as if Ethan had just shattered some silent barrier between them. For a moment, the space between them seemed to disappear, leaving only the weight of that unspoken understanding.

Neither of them moved.

Ethan could feel the pull, the subtle current between them, but he didn’t push. He stayed where he was, waiting, not sure what would come next.

After what felt like an eternity, Noah exhaled a shaky breath, the corner of his mouth lifting in a small, bittersweet smile. “You’re not what I expected, you know that?”

Ethan chuckled softly, the tension easing just a little. “Yeah, I get that a lot.”

Noah’s smile widened ever so slightly. It was brief, but it was enough.

“I’m glad you keep coming back,” Noah said, his voice quieter now, more sincere. “Even if you’re not exactly sure why.”

Ethan met his gaze, something stirring inside him, a quiet acknowledgment that perhaps—just maybe—he was starting to understand exactly why.

“Yeah,” Ethan said softly. “Me too.”

---

To Be Continued…