Disharmony

A Beautiful Mess

She finished her box of chocolate covered raisins before the movie even began, though she shouldn't have been surprised, seeing as it wasn't as though she'd ever made movie theater candy last through an entire film. Xavier, on the other hand, was having no such problem, mostly because he'd gotten the largest tub of popcorn imaginable and was currently washing down all that salty, buttery goodness with sips of his jumbo sized root beer.

"Aren't we going to dinner after this?" She asked, leaning over the arm of her chair to whisper into his ear because all of the house lights had just dimmed and she wasn't in the mood to be on the receiving end of a whole bunch of angry stares. It was date night, which meant the plan for the evening was a spy movie and a Korean barbeque restaurant afterwards, except that Xavier seemed to be determined to ruin his appetite.

"Yep," he mumbled through a mouthful of popcorn. "I'm just hungry. Don't worry, though, I'll still be able to eat dinner."

"I wasn't worried," she lied, letting out a soft laugh and wishing she had his metabolism, unable to keep from smiling as she watched him shove as much popcorn in his mouth as could realistically fit.

Thus far, dating Xavier was so surreal that she felt as though everything they did needed to be set against a background of sweet, romantic music. But she was starting to wonder if that was only the case because they were never really out in public. They would hang out together in the dressing room and spend the nights in each other's hotel rooms, but they didn't have much time off to do normal couple things.

Date night had been Xavier's idea. He thought that they could use some time away from the tour and he was itching to get out of the hotel, so when they arrived to the next concert city a day early, he suggested they go out on the town. She had agreed because she loved the childish glint of excitement and his eyes and because she loved him, which meant that she would do pretty much anything to make him smile, but it made her nervous. Because all that raced through her mind was one terrifying thought: that after all they had been through to get to this point, they would discover that the reality of their relationship didn't live up to the fantasy in their heads.

She let herself enjoy the movie. It was action packed and hilarious and allowed her to get her mind off of all the questions rattling around in her brain for a couple hours, but when it was over, that weight came rushing back.

"Shit," Xavier muttered as they exited the theater, stopping in the center of the cinema lobby and reaching out to touch Kasia's wrist with his finger.

She furrowed her brow, squinting through to figure out what he'd seen. "What?"

"Paparazzi," he sighed, moving his hand to press against hers and intertwining their fingers.

"Unbelievable," she said, smoothing back her hair from her forehead in frustration. "We specifically chose a movie theater nowhere near our hotel and they still found us."

Pressing his lips together, he nodded, squeezing her hand and turning his head towards her to whisper in her ear. "It's okay. I'm right here. I'll keep you safe. Just stay close to me."

So she did. She clung to his side as they stepped through the theater's front door, squeezing his hand with more force than necessary and using her free hand to hold on to his bicep as he guided her through the swarm of flashing lights and yelling.

It wasn't as though she'd never been in this situation before and didn't know how to react. She was a celebrity; there were paparazzi following her constantly. Usually, she hid behind dark sunglasses or a completely blank expression because, despite having been the subject of tabloid fodder for years, the cameras still terrified her. She wished she could be one of those famous people who always looked put together and friendly and smiled at the paparazzi as though having dozens of people snap pictures of her while she did her grocery shopping was completely normal. But she was scared, and the only way she knew how to mask that fear was to remain stone cold.