Chapter 11 Why Do I Always Fall for Fictional Men?
Why Do I Always Fall for Fictional Men?
HARMONY
Over the next week, the internet has plenty to talk about.
Carlton Park did a piece on us, just like Jared said he would.
“Okay, so …” Carlton says to kick off his one-minute video, “It looks like things are getting real between Harmony Sonora and Riff Hurley. A lot of people have been speculating that the pop singer and country artist are now a couple, or at the very least are seeing each other privately while they ‘figure things out.’ It’s not uncommon for celebrities to hold back details until they’re on solid ground, so I can’t say I’m surprised at their discretion.
Especially since Harmony, as you know, has a high-profile dating history, from musicians to actors to athletes, relationships that all ended under the spotlight and resulted in new music that dealt with the raw emotions of moving on.
Riff has received much less attention when it comes to whomever he’s dating at the moment; as far as the internet is aware, he had a brief relationship with the owner of a record store right around the time he got his first record deal, then went on to date graphic designer Mikayla Niffenbacher, who worked on his second album cover, but he’s never hinted at any details about either of them in his music.
Now, after several months of trading digs in the lyrics of targeted songs, it seems Harmony and Riff have finally kissed and made up—I mean, we can only assume.
After a surprise romantic duet, the pair attended Glo Radio’s Spring Session together and were even spotted walking hand in hand and getting cozy in the cabanas.
Some attendees say it seemed like Riff and Harmony may have been arguing, while others insist they were just trying to play it cool.
Hard to say, but either way, I’m looking forward to seeing what’s next for these two, and you can bet I’ll let you know what I find out.
With that, I’m Carlton Park. If you were infotained by this video, please like and subscribe and I’ll see you in the next one. ”
Around the same time, Glo posts footage of the event on their socials.
Riff and I are seen chatting with other attendees and, indeed, walking hand in hand.
Thank God the disdain I felt in that moment isn’t visible on my face, I just look stoic.
There’s also a brief flash of us on the cabana sofa, the sight of which makes my skin prickle—in both a good and bad way.
It was absolute torture trying to hide how much he was affecting me.
The way he touched me, his body right next to mine.
I kept thinking what it would be like if he were to slip his hand under the hem of my dress, wondering what his guitar calluses would feel like against my bare skin in more … sensitive places.
At the same time, I was trying to remember why I hate him—the fake cowboy persona he would put on every time someone came to talk to us, the way he must have been eating up the attention he got from all the women that introduced themselves to him, the fact that he wasn’t upfront with me the night we met, and of course all the things he’s said about me in his songs.
I’m a danger zone? There’s a demon hiding underneath my smile?
I’ve built a brand around putting my exes on blast?
And yet, when he pulled away from me afterward, I felt the chill of his absence, the cool shadow of his touch.
The worst part is, I still want to talk to that guy—the guy he seemed to be before I found out who he really was. Is that part of him really in there? Or was it all just to seem relatable so I’d let him get further with me?
Meanwhile online, some people have taken screenshots of the video clip and posted them with their thoughts.
“Don’t tell me it’s nothing ??” one user says.
“Mr. Five-Foot Ten … Miss Five-Foot-Three … what IS this?!” says another.
Someone else says, “Well well well …”
There are articles about it and some influencers have opinions, all repeating the same scant information but using it to squeeze out as many views possible.
All of that is to be expected, and it’s exactly what the label is going for.
What I don’t expect is what I see when I glance over at Jenna’s laptop while we’re having a casual PR meeting at The Sconey Express.
The website header says Archive of Our Own and below that is a list of items, each of which has a title, author, a few to a dozen tags, a brief synopsis, and some stats. And my name is all over every single one.
“What are those?” I demand.
“Oh …” Jenna sets down her coffee and angles her laptop away from me but I grab her wrist.
“Jenna. What are those?”
She grimaces. “I’m sorry. I heard this was a thing and I wanted to see if it was true. It’s …” she reluctantly turns the screen back to where I can see it. “Fan fiction.”
I scan the titles, most of which are puns on my songs. Then the tags show my name in several formats: Harmony Sonora, Harmony Sonora (Musician), Harmony Sonora romance, Harmony Sonora fanfic, and Harmony Sonora/Riff Hurley or Riff Vs Harm.
“What do you mean ‘fan fiction’? I thought that was for book and movie characters, not real people.” My stomach lurches.
“I know. It usually is, I think. I don’t know. I’m not really into this sort of thing but some of my friends are, so I’ve heard about it.”
“People write stories that reimagine the events of popular fiction,” I state, as though this is law. “Right? Like for Twilight. Fans who were Team Jacob can write their own version of the story and make Bella end up with the werewolf instead?”
“Well, yes, but sometimes they’ll change the setting too.
That’s how we got Fifty Shades of Grey, because E.L.
James was like, ‘What if Bella and Edward were adults, and instead of living in a small town they lived in Seattle, and instead of Edward being a vampire he was a wealthy businessman who liked BDSM?’ Or you’ll see something like Star Wars characters, but in our world, with jobs in academia—which is how we got The Love Hypothesis.
I don’t know if either of those were ever on AO3, but the majority aren’t very good.
It’s just writers messing around, mostly. ”
I get my own laptop and go to the site and search my own name. When I see the number of results that come up, my jaw drops.
With eager and fearful eyes, I scan them, read the synopses, click into a few to see the extent of these stories.
Some of them are fairly innocent, like this one that takes place at a high school:
Brightly Yearning by sonorific123
TEEN+ | M/F ROMANCE | CONTENT WARNINGS: NO | COMPLETED WORK
Harmony Sonora (Musician), Riff Hurley (Musician), Real Person Fiction, Hate to Love, Alternate Universe, Sweet Romance, Harmony Sonora/Riff Hurley, Glee
When high school senior rodeo champ Riff Hurley breaks his wrist during a routine, he gets sidelined from the rodeo club for the rest of the season.
Still in need of extracurriculars for his college application—and with an unlikely knack for music—he’s forced to join the glee club, where his uptight classmate Harmony Sonora is always the star of the show.
At first there is nothing but tension between them, especially as the glee club advisor makes them perform duets and becomes aware of their undeniable vocal chemistry.
But Harmony doesn’t want to share the spotlight, and Riff doesn’t want to be there in the first place.
Will they learn to *harmonize*—and perhaps fall for each other in the process?
Language: English Words: 12,712 Chapters: 22 Comments: 4 Kudos: 65 Bookmarks: 5 Hits: 2,123
It’s kind of a fun concept and not written well enough to truly remind me of Riff or myself—other than the use of our actual names, of course.
But other fics take even more liberties with our backstories and personalities, and are much less innocent.
Before I Can Blink by NikkiWritesFikkies
MATURE | M/F ROMANCE | CONTENT WARNINGS: YES | COMPLETED WORK
Riff Hurley (Musician), Harmony Sonora (Musician), Alternate Universe, Spicy Romance, Real Person Fiction, Flapper Era, 1920s, Romantic Rivalry, Open-Door Scenes
In 1920s NYC, night club singer Harmony Sonora seems to have it all: glitz and glamor, loyal fans, and men vying for her attention—until another performer, Riff Hurley, takes the stage and wows patrons with his charming presence and smooth voice, drawing new crowds.
Harmony and Riff become bitter rivals. Week after week they fight for the right to headline.
But loathing turns to tense desire, and before they can get their wits about them, they find themselves tangled up in a torrid romance, pleasuring each other wherever they can: in the dressing rooms, backstage, behind parked town cars.
Hatred makes the sex hotter, and these two are on fire.
Language: English Words: 9,432 Chapters: 15 Comments: 87 Kudos: 121 Bookmarks: 75 Hits: 10,444
There are others that imply similar levels of spice, but in different settings, as Jenna mentioned.
Like with a suburban single-dad version of Riff who, after some good old fashioned pride and prejudice, falls for “me” (his daughter’s voice coach) and shows his affection by going down on me after an argument turns into an abrupt confession of feelings.
Or with me and Riff as co-workers at a corporate office competing for the same promotion, only to end up having sex on the desk while working late after everyone else has gone home.
Then, there’s this:
*Grinding* My Gears by Heather_Madingle
EXPLICIT | M/F ROMANCE | CONTENT WARNINGS: YES | COMPLETED WORK
Harmony Sonora & Riff Hurley, Harmony Sonora (Musician), Riff Hurley (Musician), Luke Onstenk (Actor), Andy Gaccione (MLB), Josh Villefort (Musician), Smut, Fluff and Smut, Real Person Fiction, Explicit Scenes