𝐑𝐈𝐕𝐀𝐋𝐑𝐘 𝐎𝐍 𝐓𝐎𝐔𝐑

𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝐓𝐇𝐈𝐑𝐓𝐘 𝐒𝐄𝐕𝐄𝐍

The thud of a stack of papers hitting his chest awakens Ezra from his deep sleep. It's a feeling he knows all too well, and it takes a moment for his eyes to adjust on a familiar pink haired woman. Oh god, he really fucking did it now. Faye had flown all the way from California just to yell at him in person.

She rarely makes visits during tours, and his decision to save Billie's reputation last night must've set her over the edge. "Morning to you too, Faye," he groans, fingertips reaching for the papers, "Did you catch a red eye just to do that?"

"Very funny," she retorts before dramatically sipping on her coffee, "I would laugh if I wasn't running on three hours of sleep."

"Welcome to my world," he replies neutrally before allowing himself to get out of his bunk and move towards the seating in the front of the bus.

"What were you thinking, Ezra?" She questions in a tone he is also very familiar with. This is not an uncommon interaction between the two. In fact, he can count on both hands the amount of times he's been asked that question.

"How bad is it?" He questions, still unable to look at the articles quite yet. 

"Look for yourself," she encourages, arms crossed over her chest.

Ezra takes a moment to look at his publicist and offer her a pleading gaze to skip whatever punishment she's trying to inflict. Of course, it's to no avail. He reluctantly looks at the printouts of all the stories on his night out, and Ezra's heart sinks.

"EZRA MOORE BRINGS HOME MYSTERY GIRL TOO DRUNK TO WALK" ... "WOMANIZER STRIKES AGAIN: EZRA MOORE AND MYSTERY GIRL" ... "WHO IS THE INTOXICATED GIRL EZRA MOORE TOOK HOME LAST NIGHT?"

At the very most, he hoped the media would fixate on the anonymity of the girl rather than her clear intoxication, but these headlines are ruthless. "You know who's under that coat," he states dryly, his fingertip lightly running over the image of Billie and him. 

"Yes, and it's not your job to protect Billie's career," she dictates, "that's for her manager to figure out."

"If you want an apology, you're not going to get one," he states matter of factly before clenching the papers. Ezra couldn't be sorry for the choice he made last night or things he said. If given the choice to do it again, he would. Though the headlines are somewhat disturbing, he's far more preoccupied with seeing Billie again and deciphering how much of their conversation she remembered.

"What I want is for you to get your head out of the clouds and realize that we are reaching territory where I cannot help you or your image anymore. Madison is almost budging on the song, and now we've got buzz around potential assault allegations from the media."

"That didn't happen," Ezra immediately interjects, "You know I'd never do something like that."

"You think I don't know you?" Faye questions with a worried look, "Of course you wouldn't, but look at those photos. She can barely keep herself up, and the tabloids are having a field day with it."