Glee: Race to the Finish (the fifth book in the Glee series)

Chapter 79: Rise Up

Paparazzi swarmed Blackbird as Travis tried to make it into the building, surrounded by his bodyguards. Sebastian was waiting in the lobby with Blaine and Travis was reminded of the day he arrived, only this time he was being chased with shame and humiliation, not with wonder and excitement.

"You alright?" Sebastian asked, immediately leading Travis towards the elevator.

"I've been better," Travis told him. 

"You'll be fine," Blaine said, getting into the elevator with them and hitting the fourth button. "It'll take some time for this storm to calm but it will calm. For now, we just need to keep you hidden."

"I don't have to make a public statement?" Travis asked, relieved.

"You will eventually," Sebastian said. "With those photos proving that you're gay, you really can't run away from that truth anymore. So yes, at some point you will have to hold a press conference and release an official statement admitting that you're gay. But that's not the problem here."

"Then what is?" Travis asked.

The doors opened and the three men stepped out one by one. They walked towards the board room and Blaine explained, "The public thinks you're a liar. You had the opportunity to come out and you lied to everyone. You lied to your fans. And some of them understand you and have forgiven you for it, but others haven't and are pretty angry."

"That's the storm," Sebastian said. "Until this shakes out, though, we can't have you out and about. All your future shows will be canceled for the next couple of weeks and you can't make any public appearances. Not until we know it'll be okay for you to go out and talk. The public needs some time to cool off."

Travis groaned and sat down on one of the two couches in the room. "So what? I'm just supposed to stay locked in here like some sort of prisoner? Maybe it's not as bad as it seems."

"Did you not see all that press out there just now?" Sebastian asked him. "Travis, the only times we've had that much paparazzi physically come to Lima were when you arrived and when Sam Evans announced that he was the one who knocked up Juliet Vasquez. So you need to get on board with this temporary situation. You have really bad publicity and if we don't find a way to salvage your image, the label will pressure me to drop you."

Travis looked at him, surprised and in distress. Two labels in one year? That would ruin his career for good. He hadn't had a chance to talk to Whitney or Luke and now it would probably be a while until he was able to talk to anyone at all.

***

When Julie walked into the Lima Bean, she immediately spotted Ryder, Kitty, Bree, Stefan and Jake gathered in a table at the back. She rushed over to join them and said, "I'm sorry I'm late. Izzy decided that this morning I was going to be her favorite and she would not stop clinging on to me."

"That's part of the reason I have this little guy with me right now," Ryder said, drawing her attention to the stroller that was sitting next to him. Ben was inside, half-asleep with a fallen bottle dripping milk on his cheek drop by drop. 

Julie smiled at the sight of the infant and then gave Ryder a kiss as she sat down beside him. "Good morning," she told him.

"Did you drive here?" he asked teasingly. 

"I did," she said proudly. "On Saturday I'm going to get my license! And I owe it all to you!" 

Before Ryder could respond, Kitty said, "Ok, you love birds can do this whole vomit-inducing greeting later. I called you here to talk about something very serious and important."