"Ah, good morning Zane!"
Gene's face brightened as he caught sight of Zane. Zane was both a fashion model and a writer of romance novels. The thing was... Zane never seemed to find a romance like the ones he wrote. Of course he did write the fantasy ones where the prince stops the other prince from eating a poisonous turkey, and other fantasy themes, but he mostly wrote realistic romance novels. He wrote them from all kinds of times, from the past, the present, and some of the future.
"H-Hello.... Gene...." Zane greeted softly, stuttering as he managed a small smile.
Poor Zane, Gene thought.
When Gene caught sight of Zane's agent, who was really just his older brother, he somehow managed to keep his calm. The thing was that Garroth, Zane's agent, was literally always by the raven haired male's side. He was always so overprotective of him and controlling, Gene didn't understand how Zane hadn't lost his cool yet with him.
Garroth was always hogging Zane. He kept him so busy that he almost never had time to see his biggest fans anymore. This was one of the scarce moments when he did get the chance to, but he could just feel that blonde agent making up believable excuses for why they should leave. Garroth always took his sweet, sweet Zane away.
I hope he drops dead, Gene thought darkly, imagining slicing the blonde's throat open.
Almost as soon as the thought came it left, willingly. Gene wanted so badly to just get rid of Zane's older brother in the quickest yet most painful way possible, but only one thing was stopping him the most. What would that do to Zane?
"Oh dear, you have some milk above your lip.." Gene noticed as Zane sat the glass down, blushing a bit.
Before Zane could say anything, Garroth wiped the milk mustache away with a cloth he was always carrying. Gene bit the inside of his cheek, struggling to keep his calm. That had been his chance to kiss Zane! Or just wipe away the milk, but a kiss would have been so much better. Why did Garroth have to ruin everything?
"Your outfit looks really cool.... I wish I could pull it off..." He complimented the older male, taking interest in his outfit.
What are you gonna do? Gene thought, grinning slightly as Garroth was staring at him like Death itself.
"Go ahead~." Gene whispered in reply, marking another satisfaction in his mind, seeing Garroth get so ticked off.
"Huh....?" He trailed off, tilting his head slightly.
"I mean you are a fashion model, you look good in everything." He quickly said, laughing nervously. "But even if you weren't a model you'd still look hood in everything!"
"Aw... thanks Gene." Zane smiled slightly, before facing Garroth. "See? My fans love me!"
"Yes, baby brother, I can see that." Garroth replied, glaring at Gene. "I do feel that some of them love you a bit too much."
"Mm..... when can I have a social media?" He asked, changing the subject.
He doesn't even let Zane have social media? Gene thought, glaring daggers at the blonde agent.
"When mother and father say that you can." Garroth answered, patting Zane's head. "We don't know if you can handle the media yet."
"Garroth, I am twenty one years old." Zane reminded his older brother, crossing his arms. "I don't have to listen to their rules anymore."
"Perhaps, but they can easily destroy the pedestal you stand on." He shrugged, giving a small smile.
"Um.... can you give me a translation?" He asked, blinking.
"He means they can take away your fame and any respect you have among the world." Gene translated, cutting Garroth off before he could even start. "Well, almost everyone's respect. They can't take the respect away from your fan club!"
"You really take your support seriously..." Zane whistled, looking out at the rest of the club.
Gene looked out at the other members as well, feeling a sense of relief. He could just feel Garroth's glare burning into the back of his skull, but he didn't care. As long as he got to stand by his sweet, sweet Zane. The other members were doing the club activities, like drawing fan art or writing fanfics. Gene's hobby both inside and outside the club was drawing Zane, but in very.... suggestive ways.
"Zane, I'll be just outside if you need me. I have to take this call." Garroth said to Zane, before leaving.
"How can you stand him?" Gene asked him after Garroth had left. "I don't mean to be rude, but he controls your life and never leaves you alone."
"You don't know how many he's asked me if I actually wanted him there, but every time he does I always say yes." Zane answered after a moment, his voice quiet. "When.... when Garroth's husband died.... I was the only one who could support him. Our parents were always too busy with work and our brother almost never knows what's going on in the family... Garroth was the one who got me started on this path, he always supported me.... this is how I'm returning the favor..."
"I..... I didn't...." He trailed off, suddenly feeling a bit guilty for hating the blonde so much.
"Know? Not a lot of people do...." He sighed, facing him again. "That's why Garroth is so overprotective, and doesn't let me get close to people very often... he doesn't want me to go through the same pain he did..."
Gene gasped a bit when he saw the small tears forming in Zane's eye. He quickly handed him a box of tissues, which the raven haired celebrity took with a small smile. But Gene could see past that mask of happiness. It was fake, all of Zane's happiness was fake. As much as he hated to admit that, siince he was the fan club leader, there was no lie that Zane had severe depression.
"Laurance was one of the best people we knew... why did he have to get sick.....?" Zane cried silently, thinking about the brunette.
"I'm..... I'm so sorry, Zane...." He whispered, hugging the celebrity.
"He's in a better place now...." He said, wiping away his tears. "Hey, Gene?"
"Yeah, Zane?" He asked, looking down at him.
"Maybe this club isn't as dumb as my parents thought it was..." He responded, giving him a small kiss.
