The Scholar and the Star

Ch 3: Skyler

"Looks like your fake date is now our fake relationship."

"Shit." My breath comes out in a rush.

Mitchel starts typing into his phone. "My manager saw it and sent it. It's kind of impressive how fast it got out."

"Impressive?" I look at him, bewildered. Mother has very specific rules in which her children appear in the media. She chooses the place, time and publication. Once she sees this there might actually be blood. "It's reckless."

Then again, I had been more reckless than whoever posted this photo. I hadn't been thinking that I'd be putting Mitchel on display, I only thought about my own situation. And only a little bit about how, without a beard covering his face, Mitchel's lips look very full and inviting.

Still caught in the sway of the dance floor, I grab Mitchel's shoulders and turn him to face me, bracing us against the bustle.

"I'm sorry," I say above the music.

Mitchel gives me a confused look. "Why? It's not your fault. Besides, what's one more photo really going to do to me?"

"I'm the reason there was something to photograph. You wouldn't even have been here tonight if it wasn't for me, and I doubt a photo of us standing side by side would have hit the internet so fast."

"Probably. But where's the fun in that?" Mitchel winks at me. Even in a situation like this there is humor glinting in his eyes. His phone buzzes again. "My manager says I should get out of here."

"I thought you had to stay for a while?"

Mitchel rolls his eyes at me. "I'd like to escape the reporters that are going to swarm here."

"They'll do that?" A frown begins to form.

Mitchel leans his face close to me and whispers conspiringly. "You have so much to learn about dating me."

"Be serious, Mitchel, what are we going to-"

Mitchel's phone buzzes in his hand again. He holds it up, mouthing the words 'hold on'. He turns and starts navigating out of the crowd, already typing out a response.

I follow behind him when my own phone starts vibrating in my jacket. I know who it is before I see the screen but reading the name still fills me with dread.

"Mother." I answer.

"You're on the goddamn internet, Skyler."

"Yeah, we were just looking at it."

"Oh! You were just looking at it?" The outrage in her voice is loud over the noise of the ballroom. "Let's just get this taken care of, bring him up here. The reporters already know about it. Mr. Hollywood can straighten out this misunderstanding."

I open my mouth to agree. After all, it's Mitchel's career and his life that's going to be disrupted. Just as I'm about to answer, a familiar dress standing at the lobby balcony catches my attention. I can see Mother's phone lifted to her ear from here, her eyes drilling into us across the distance.

If I tell her now, I'll never hear the end of it. Uncertainly, I look over at Mitchel. He had just said 'What's one more photo going to do?' History books aren't written by quitters.

Swallowing my concerns, I speak with more confidence than I have. "Sorry, Mother, but what misunderstanding?"

"Skyler-"

"I have to go, I've got to get Mitchel out before the reporters swarm. Please take care of his car, I'm going to take him home."

I end the call and the terror of what I said keeps me from looking up again. I hot-step over to Mitchel and snag an arm around his shoulders. Ignoring his startled look, I begin to pull him in the opposite direction of the lobby stairs.