Summary: You loved her but she acted too late
Pairings: Manon x Fem!Reader
Warnings: Major Angst, Little Romance
A/N: Manon Nation, how we feeling? How do we like that ending? :)
The results of Dream Academy replayed in your head for months afterward.
Not because you couldn’t remember them.
Because you couldn’t forget them.
The stage had been beautiful that night. Bright white lights washed over every finalist while cameras floated through the air, capturing every smile, every shaky breath, every hopeful face. You stood shoulder-to-shoulder with the girls you’d spent nearly two years training beside, hands clasped so tightly in front of you that your fingers had gone numb.
Your heart pounded every time another name was announced.
Each announcement was followed by applause, tears, hugs, and congratulations.
You clapped for every single one of them.
But with every name that wasn’t yours, a quiet part of your own dream slipped away.
Eventually there were no names left to call.
The applause around you became muffled.
Your smile stayed exactly where it was because there were still cameras pointed at your face.
You hugged the debut members one by one, whispering congratulations into their ears. They all cried with you, promising they’d stay close, promising this wasn’t goodbye.
Once the cameras finally stopped rolling, the emotions you’d forced down came rushing back.
The backstage hallway was nearly empty when you slipped away.
You found a quiet corner behind a stack of equipment cases and finally let yourself cry.
Not the kind that looked pretty on camera.
Your shoulders shook as months—years—of exhaustion poured out all at once.
“I figured you’d be here.”
You looked up through blurred vision.
Manon stood a few feet away, still wearing the outfit she’d just debuted in.
Mascara had begun to smudge beneath her own eyes.
Without another word, she walked over and sat beside you on the floor.
Neither of you spoke for a while.
Eventually, you laughed weakly through your tears.
“You do,” Manon teased softly.
That earned her a watery glare.
You wiped your face with your sleeve.
“I wanted to stand next to you.”
Manon’s smile disappeared.
You leaned your head against her shoulder.
She simply rested her head against yours.
“You know…” she murmured, “everyone keeps talking about Katseye.”
“But that’s not my biggest accomplishment.”
Your eyes welled up again.
“Don’t say things like that.”
“I think you’re already crying.”
A laugh escaped you despite yourself.
She bumped your shoulder playfully.
“No matter where life takes us…”
You hooked yours around hers without hesitation.
Life, however, had a cruel habit of testing promises.
Their schedules exploded almost immediately.
Meanwhile, you quietly disappeared from the public eye.
You couldn’t bring yourself to audition again.
You couldn’t watch survival shows.
You couldn’t even listen to the songs you’d practiced during Dream Academy without remembering what almost happened.
Instead, you started writing.
At first they were just journal entries.
Your tiny apartment slowly filled with notebooks and voice memos.
Songs about dreams changing shape.
Every now and then, your phone would buzz.
“Saw your Instagram story. Proud of you ❤️”
Sometimes you’d spend hours talking like nothing had changed.
Other times months would pass before either of you reached out.
Life was simply moving too fast.
Then something unexpected happened.
A producer heard one of your demos.
Small artists began recording music you’d written.
People started recognizing your name in songwriting credits.
Eventually someone asked the question that terrified you.
“Have you ever thought about releasing your own music?”
Two years after Katseye’s debut…
Your debut single was released with almost no expectations.
The song was called “Constellations.”
No expensive music video.
Just a photograph of you looking toward a cloudy night sky.
Within forty-eight hours it had spread everywhere.
People couldn’t stop talking about the lyrics.
“You called me home before I knew I was lost.”
“You smiled at me like friendship couldn’t hurt.”
“If timing is everything… why did mine arrive too late?”
Then someone remembered Dream Academy.
Old clips resurfaced overnight.
Compilations flooded social media.
Videos of you and Manon laughing during rehearsals.
The way she’d instinctively reached for your hand whenever eliminations happened.
The way you always looked for each other after performances.
The matching bracelets you’d exchanged during training.
An old interview where you’d both answered the same question.
“Who’s your biggest comfort here?”
Neither of you had hesitated.
People started connecting the dots.
Then another detail resurfaced.
The discussions became endless.
“Wait… this actually lines up.”
“She literally says she loved someone she couldn’t have.”
“Guys… I think it’s Manon.”
Late one evening, after another long rehearsal, Manon sat in the home she shared with her friends while David was visiting her.
The opening piano filled the room.
She wasn’t prepared for recognition.
Every verse described moments only the two of you had shared.
Sneaking snacks after evaluations.
Holding hands before performances.
Talking until sunrise in the dorm because both of you were terrified of failing.
The lyric that finally broke her wasn’t even the chorus.
“You became home without ever knowing I was alone.”
The realization hit all at once.
The countless moments where you’d looked at her a second too long.
The songs you’d quietly shared years ago.
The way you’d never dated anyone.
The way you’d slowly drifted away after Katseye debuted—not out of resentment, but because staying close had become too painful.
She whispered into the empty apartment,
David looked over from the kitchen.
She quickly removed her headphones.
Months later, Katseye sat together for another promotional interview.
The interviewer smiled mischievously.
Daniela immediately laughed.
“The internet has been obsessed with one question.”
Sophia already knew where this was going.
The interviewer leaned forward.
“Who do you think ‘Constellations’ is about?”
Sophia slowly turned toward Manon.
Five silent pairs of eyes settled on her.
“…Why are you all looking at me?”
Manon folded her hands in her lap, her expression calm enough that no one watching would suspect the storm inside her.
She offered a tiny shrug.
“We honestly don’t know.”
“You don’t have any guesses?”
Her smile never faltered.
None of the members challenged her.
News quietly spread that Manon and David had ended their relationship.
There were no dramatic statements.
Fans were sad, but understanding.
Manon kept smiling through schedules.
But every now and then, when no one was looking…
She found herself opening your Spotify profile.
Just to see if you’d released anything new.
Everyone expected another heartbreak song.
The first lyric stunned listeners.
“I stopped waiting for doors that were never locked.”
You thanked someone for changing your life.
You admitted loving them had made you into a better woman.
You admitted that leaving had been the hardest decision you’d ever made.
Then came the line that spread across social media within hours.
“Some people aren’t meant to stay forever. They’re meant to teach you that forever isn’t the only kind of love worth having.”
By the final chorus, your voice sounded lighter than it ever had before.
“I’m not looking back anymore.
Not because I hate where I’ve been.
Because I finally love where I’m going.”
By the fifth time, she realized something that frightened her more than she thought it would.
You weren’t waiting anymore.
The hope she’d unknowingly kept alive for years…
For the first time since Dream Academy…
your songs no longer reached for her.
The next morning, Manon walked into a small flower shop.
The florist smiled warmly.
“Picking up for someone special?”
Manon stared at the rows of flowers.
She chose white lilies and pale blue hydrangeas.
The kind of bouquet that said everything she couldn’t.
The drive to your apartment felt impossibly long.
She rehearsed a hundred different apologies.
None of them sounded right.
When she finally stood outside your front door, her hands had begun to shake.
She almost turned around.
She lifted one trembling hand and rang the doorbell.
A few moments later, footsteps echoed from inside.
You stood there wearing an oversized hoodie and sweatpants, your hair still messy from sleep.
For a second, neither of you spoke.
It had been years since you’d seen each other in person.
She looked exactly as you remembered.
And somehow, impossibly distant.
Her grip tightened around the bouquet.
Tears had already begun gathering in her eyes.
“I know I don’t deserve your time.”
“I know I’m years too late.”
“But before you decide whether to shut this door…”
A tear slipped down her cheek.
“…please let me apologize.”
