Aster and The Leopards

Over the counter

Here I am again! I decided I'd post every Friday or Saturday, depending on how the week goes, so here's this week's chapter (not Big Sur yet, but we're almost there). I hope you like it!

***

By the time Aster sat down on her bed with a cup of tea for comfort, she had already been through every emotion in the book. Something about the white lights in her bathroom and her reflection in the mirror grounded her stray thoughts and brought her back to some sort of resignation. So Aster grabbed pen and paper, let her body sink to the wooden floor, and reluctantly searched Maxine's name. She swallowed dryly at the confirmation that the girl she was falling for was her research subject.

The results were innocent enough at first. Reviews of The Leopard's last album, articles from journalists that worked with Aster before and were mainly interested in the indie phenomena born in Jesse's apartment years ago. It was only a few pages in that Aster realized there was something else lurking around Maxine's persona, and it was not silly satanic panic like she predicted: multiple pages dedicated to interpreting lyrics and tying them to various men in the music industry (when they were not trying to prove Jesse was the genius behind the songs), timelines of her dating life that always came to a sudden halt at the beginning of 2019, the drama surrounding her relationship with her brother, and the gay rumors buried under a pile of pictures of Maxine and Desmond Styles.

Of course, Aster was aware of how the media outlets treated women, but it seemed like with Maxine they were always taking it a step too far. She was body-shamed frequently, her love life dissected in every possible magazine, the gay rumors popping up like mean jokes, fake quotes from Austin calling her a bitch – when Aster knew very well that would never happen. She also supposedly held grudges with half the people Aster saw partying in her house, including Mandy Gomez, declared Maxine's main nemesis by TMZ. It felt like watching an alternate universe, one where Maxine was a completely different person.

Aster did not expect to feel protective, but it was burning through her as she started drafting her article, writing down all the lies she wanted to erase from Maxine's reputation, all the rumors she knew had no foundation, and all the mean comments she felt the bitter need to answer. It was not going to be the article Wendy was hoping for, but then again, she should've chosen someone else to write it.

***

It was 9 a.m. when Maxine entered the pastry shop, eyes searching for her friend and softening when they fell over Aster's big signature grin. The girl stood up without thinking and greeted her with a hug, wrapping her arms loosely around Maxine's shoulders and holding back laughter when she felt the tentativeness of Maxine's hands on her back. Aster could not help but notice how her coat smelled like apples and pretzels. For the first time that year, she cared about the fact that they were entering the Fall season.

"You're happier today," Maxine stated as a fact instead of asking. "I'm guessing that means we're keeping our plans...?"

"Oh, definitely keeping our plans."

Aster's grin did not slip for a second.

"You wanted to get away from your boss that bad, huh?" Maxine asked with an amused frown before the waitress, a pretty brunette in a pink apron and menus in hand, approached their table. While Maxine asked for coffee and waffles, Aster decided she felt like a cup of tea and apple pie.

"You can't blame me for wanting to get rid of Wendy."

"Shame... I thought you just wanted my adorable companionship."

"That too, but I can't go around sharing my secrets, can I?"

"I certainly hope you can't." There was a tinge of sadness in Maxine's voice that Aster decided was best to ignore.