𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐋𝐈𝐌𝐄𝐋𝐈𝐆𝐇𝐓-- (𝕍𝕖𝕝𝕧𝕖𝕥 𝕒𝕟𝕕 𝕍𝕖𝕟𝕖𝕖𝕣 𝕩 ℝ𝕖𝕒𝕕𝕖𝕣)

IV

"You're joking."

Charlene stares at you. You stare back at her.

"I told you to make friends. What part of that translates to stirring up drama with the most famous popstars in Mt. Rageous!" She hisses, and you slump your shoulders.

"I don't get their problem with me! I gave them coffee, for fucks sake!" You throw your hands up.

She sighs, adjusting her glasses. "And you said who had witnessed the whole thing?"

"Whole thing is an exaggeration," you grumble, before you think back on it. "Ritz was there, but I don't think he'd say anything about it to the public. And then there were a few employees, and then..."

You trail off. Your manager gives you an unimpressed look, and you shift uncomfortably.

You and her were currently sat down outside on the patio of a small café, the sun shining down on you both. You had taken her out here to explain what had happened a few days ago, because you knew she couldn't just yell at you in public.

Though, now that you think about it, maybe it would've been better to let her get her frustrations out in one go. You lean your head against your hand, observing her clench her fist under the table, letting out a heavy sigh.

The day after the whole disaster of your attempt at making friends, Charlene had come rushing to you once you had gotten to your studio. You still remember the intense look in her eyes as she grabbed your shoulders and shoved her phone in your face.

"What is this?" She had demanded as if she just caught you cheating, showing you a news article she had pulled up.

The Top Three Pop Sensations Have A Massive Argument After A Shared Interview At The Bop On Top Company, According To Employees, you read at the top of the screen.

It had taken every ounce of goodwill in you that day not to just throw her phone against the cold floor of the studio— thinking back on it, you don't get why you didn't. You had enough money to buy her a new one, anyway.

But here you were in the present. The same news article was pulled up on your phone instead now, which made the whole urge to smash it against the pavement a little more bearable. It was flat on the table you two were sharing, so every time you looked down at your hands sheepishly, you would have to see the consequence of your actions laid out right there for you.

This isn't how you wanted your afternoon to go— not with an empty stomach, anxiety pooling in your chest, and a very, very upset manager.

You read over the article countless times, so much that you had to force yourself to tear your gaze away from it now. In it, it had featured a video of you snapping at the siblings, and some things that happened shortly after. It made you look like the one that started it. How ironic.

If only they had caught video proof of me giving them coffee and attempting to make friends with them, you think bitterly.

The video was low quality, but it could still catch the angry expressions of you three while arguing. You could only assume it was taken from someone in the back, because the camera was shaking and moving as if trying to find the perfect angle.

You had paused the video when the camera finally managed to focus for a few seconds, and it painted a not so pretty picture for your career, nor Velvet and Veneers careers either. They both had tense looks on their faces, something dark flashing behind those eyes as you were glaring them down. Luckily, the video ended before anything else could be caught on camera.