A New Song [mxm]

12. Day One

As they left, Alex was surprised by how easy it was for Jaxon to slip in and out unnoticed. As Preston, he always wanted to go out, eat at a simple restaurant, or just go shopping.  Later in his life, Charles and Remy would discourage him from going out.  They always claimed it was too risky and that even the most elaborate disguises would not be enough to keep him safe.  He had messed up too much in the past as an addict that anything could set off a storm of poor publicity.

Then they would encourage him to stay in his room, write music, and repeat. He needed to be perfect so no one could see the stain in his past. This was what was told repeatedly by Charles and Remy, and he trusted them.

But Jaxon was a star with more fans than Preston ever had. Yet he went to a pizza parlor, and no one paid attention.

As they were driving, Jaxon turned to him and smiled. "You seem to have a question on your mind."

Alex laughed after getting caught being so obvious. "Did no one notice you, or did they just keep their distance out of respect?"

"Did you expect a mob?" He asked with a chuckle.

Alex looked a little embarrassed and rubbed the back of his neck. "Kind of, yeah."

Jaxon laughed heartily. "You really don't know much about this life."

Alex smirked a little. "Or perhaps I overestimated your popularity."

Jaxon slapped his hand over his heart and had a wounded expression on his face. "Alex! That was a low blow! Even you must like at least one of my movies."

Alex smiled awkwardly. Preston and Alexander shared many personality traits, including their obsession with music.  That's what they spent most of their time on and never had an interest in watching movies.  Therefore, he had no memories of any of Jaxon's films. 

"Well..." he stalled and tried to remember something. He recalled listening to movie scores, and there was one that impressed him immensely. He remembered that the cover of the album has Jaxon's picture on it.

"Ah! The movie with the opening song like this -" he started to hum the song he remembered. He thought that it was a beautiful melody.

When he sang a little, he stopped and turned towards Jaxon. He was surprised to see that Jaxon was pouting.

"Did I get it wrong?" Alex asked.

Jaxon clicked his tongue. "You seriously know my movie's musical score, but not the movie itself?"

"It was a good score." Alex mumbled.

Jaxon groaned. "Am I really that unpopular?"

"I've been busy!"  Alex tried to defend himself.

Jaxon let out an exasperated sigh. "The movie is called Heart's Phantoms and was a blockbuster.  I won an Oscar for Best Actor for that film."

Alex snorted. "You're not going to let this go, are you?"

"Never."  He chuckled.

"Alright, so you're a big deal.  You even have an Oscar-"

"Multiple Oscars, for your information."  Jaxon interrupted.

Alex rolled his eyes. "Multiple Oscars.  So why are you so relaxed going out?"

Jaxon smiled when he heard the correction and gave Alex a shrug.  "People recognize me all the time, but the fans are normally respectful, so it's fine to go out and just live my life. A mask goes a long way to deter people, as long as I am not overly obvious.  I'm conscious of what I do, so I try to be courteous.  If you're a celebrity, you don't have to live in isolation like Preston Green."