"Hey, look at me," Joel tipped Stephanie's chin with his fingers and forced her to look him in the eye. She leaned back against the side of their vehicle while he pressed his torso into Stephanie's and rested the very tip of his nose against hers. "You've gotta tell me what's wrong at some point, babe."

"Nothing," she answered flatly before breaking eye contact with him.

The rapidly sinking sun cast an effervescent mixture of violet, orange, and blue across the California sky and set the tone for what Joel had expected to be an exciting evening. Being the bold photographers they were, the plan had been to drop in at the Whisky a Go-Go to enjoy the concert, after which they would sneak back to the car to retrieve their cameras and snap some shots of the guys exiting the building at the conclusion of the show. The plan was pure brilliance in Joel's mind, because it would kill two birds with one stone, which were to have a rocking night with great music and to further their status in the photography world by capturing winning pictures. Some huge stars were in the house, and they would undoubtedly make a killing off the guys whose picture they were lucky enough to snap.

The difficulty set in where it concerned the melancholy storm cloud that had wandered over Stephanie's head and began pelting her with rain droplets. Ever since she had left the car outside the hotel to take pictures of one of the guys earlier that day, her mood had shifted to one Joel wasn't easily able to understand. His best guess was that someone had made a comment towards Stephanie that she hadn't taken so well, because he recognized her to be quite sensitive with regard to her job. It was an occupation that made her unsure of herself, but he strived to make her see it didn't have to be that way.

The only person who had the power to stop Stephanie from living up to her full potential in life was herself, and Joel was positive she would continue to do great things as long as she kept her head on straight. It occasionally grew difficult to ignore the hateful comments they received while being a part of the frowned upon paparazzi clan, but for every person who shunned their line of work, there was another who understood their role in Hollywood and supported their ventures. As Joel stood spying Stephanie's downtrodden face, he felt for her but also reminded himself he couldn't help if she wouldn't let him in. He had been asking her what was wrong all day and, each time, she turned him away.

"You know, Steph, there's only so much I can do if you won't talk to me," he pointed out.

Joel followed that up by nuzzling her nose, and she reached up and ran her fingers over the sides of his close-cut, raven hair. He shifted against her and his keys jangled on the chain hanging from his jean pocket before coming to an abrupt halt. The kindling sunset added an extra splash to his forest green eyes and danced off Stephanie's oppositely blue ones. She leaned forward the extra inch and captured his lips, in a move that instantly drained her body of its tension. Sometimes all she needed was to be close to someone she loved and trusted.

Joel let out a low purr as he leaned further in and slipped his left arm around her back while his right hand reached up for the end of her ponytail, which he twisted around his index finger to tug her head in a backward motion. He did that long enough to expose her neck before giving her lips a rest and raining tender kisses on her skin. Her heavy eyelids slipped down over her pupils as she tossed her head back and held Joel around his waist. It was only a short while later that he pulled away, and she groaned her disenchantment with the sudden loss of contact.

"Can you tell me what's wrong now?" Joel inquired. His eyes were hopeful when Stephanie met his gaze, and she couldn't deny him any longer.

"When I told you I was getting out of the car to shoot pictures of Chris Jericho at the hotel, I didn't tell you this before, but he got mad at me."

"What do you mean?" Joel scrunched his nose.

"I was taking pictures and trying to make small talk with him. I thought he knew who I was, since we've met before when I was backstage at my dad's shows, but he either didn't recognize me or didn't care," Stephanie paused and pursed her lips as wrinkles formed in her chin and it began to quiver just the tiniest bit. "All I was trying to do was get pictures, but he told me to hurry up and finish taking the shots and then he said..."

"Then he said what?" Joel asked defensively, his chest instinctively thrusting itself forward. Nobody messed with Stephanie and got away with it, and if he found out Chris had been out of line, some definite fighting words would be exchanged before the conclusion of the night. Stephanie was much more of a lover than a fighter and wouldn't approve of his plans to duke it out with anyone, but he wasn't prepared to let some guy disrespect his girlfriend and live to tell about it. "I'll whoop that guy's ass, I don't care how much of a badass wrestler or rock star he's supposed to be. Tell me what he said to you."

"No, never mind, because you're just gonna go crazy," Stephanie tucked some windblown hair behind her ear and crossed her arms. Joel grabbed them and brought them back down to her sides before persisting.

"I want to know what he said to you. He's the reason your entire day was ruined, and if I find out he was out of line, shit's gonna go down."

"Joel, no!" Stephanie scolded as she leaned her forehead against his chest. He stroked her back and sheltered her from the wind that was picking up, quite noticeably, since the sun began lowering. The parking lot was alive with people from all walks of life, coming together to watch live sets from some of their favorite bands. Everyone was headed in the direction of the building, and Stephanie couldn't help but think if they didn't get in there soon, they wouldn't be able to find a decent seat. "I don't want to talk about this anymore. I just want you to make me feel better like you always do when I'm bummed out."

"You tell me what he said or else I'll wait out here all night until he leaves and confront him myself."

"I don't want you to do that!" Stephanie cried again as she picked her head up and ran a hand across her cheek in frustration. "Don't you get it, Joel? I don't want you to say anything to him, okay? I wasn't telling you about this so you could start a fight, I just wanted to talk. I want you to make me feel better by talking to me, not going and fighting him. Can't you just listen and understand?"

Joel, not typically one to back down, relented with a simple nod in order to please Stephanie, "I won't do anything you don't want me to do, but I really wish you would tell me what he said that's got you so upset."

"He told me I need to...he said I need to get a real job," she admitted.

Stephanie bobbed her head multiple times following her words, albeit involuntarily, as she pressed her lips together and willed herself not to fall apart. Her greatest fears had been confirmed by someone whose opinion she actually valued, oddly enough. While she didn't know Chris well, all the WWE wrestlers had a soft spot in her heart, whether it be from her own personal experiences with them or funny stories her family had relayed. Deep down, she craved their acceptance for reasons she wasn't entirely able to understand, but Chris's words had cut a lot more deeply than they would have if they came from someone else's mouth.

"Oh, baby..." Joel cringed, her pain resonating deep within him as he held her in his arms and kissed the top of her head repeatedly. "You can't let a jackass like that hurt you. Who gives a shit what he thinks, huh?"

"I do," she whispered, silently berating herself for allowing a tear to slip past the invisible barrier around her eyes.

Stephanie was in a tough business and couldn't afford to have such thin skin and still expect to succeed in the vicious world of the paparazzi. Outside opinions touched her on a deeper level than she would have liked, and Chris's words were just another bullet point on the expanding list of reasons Stephanie was rethinking her lifestyle. She was growing older, and chasing after celebrities had been an adventure when she first began, but the time had long since come to settle down, and possibly even start a family. She didn't see a way she could realistically accomplish that while continuing with the job she currently held, and for the first time since before entering high school, Stephanie considered asking her dad for a job.

Regardless of how dire situations appeared, there was always a back up plan with regard to her family's company. The WWE was a monstrous corporation constantly seeking help in the day-to-day operations, so there was no reason she couldn't convince her dad to hire her. In that moment, it seemed so simple to just dial his number, say the word, and enter a stable and respectable position no later than the following Monday. It would break Joel's heart if she left him behind and, at the current point, he was the sole driving force that restrained her from making a sudden move, but the time had come for change.

"Why the hell would you care what he thinks?" Joel asked as she rested her head against his shoulder and stuck to him like a leech. Being in his arms made her feel protected from all the wrongdoing in the world, and she never wanted to lose that.

"I don't know, I just do," she answered before reaching up to wipe at her face.

"Please tell me you're not crying."

"I'm not."

"Look at me," he requested.

"No."

"Stephanie..."

"Fine, I am a little bit, but it's not a big deal," Stephanie responded. "I'm just emotional because of everything. I want to be happy, and I'm so glad to be with you, but I've always felt like something was missing from my life. I came to L.A to be a model, you know? Not to run around chasing stupid celebrities and taking pictures of them. I don't want to do this anymore, it's degrading to my character."

"You're just upset, that's all this is. It's the depression talking."

"No," she pulled away just enough to make out his face, which remained half-lit under the glow of the crescent moon, mixed with the backdrop of the final remnants of a glowing, quickly disappearing sun. "I know what I want, and it isn't this. I love you, and I don't want us to be apart, but I think I need to see what else is out there. I want to go home to visit my family and then I can go from there and decide what my goals are. I'm so sick of this."

"You weren't sick of it before. You only feel that way because some guy who doesn't know shit about your life told you to do something else. Are you really gonna take orders from a random person who doesn't even matter in your life?"

"No, it's not about that."

"Then stop being this way. We agreed this was what we wanted to do, and now we're living the dream. If you have any doubts about that, just go look at our big ass house, or go look at our nice cars, or go look at the expensive clothes in our closet," Joel pointed out.

"Yeah, but you're naming all material things, and life is about so much more than that," Stephanie said. "I can have the biggest house, car, and wardrobe in the world, but if I'm not happy inside, none of those things are gonna be enough to change the way I feel. I'm trying to tell you, from the bottom of my heart, I've been hurting for a long time. This is only coming out for the first time, but it's not about Chris. What he said brought it to the surface and made it come spilling out, but these are worries I've had for a super long time. I wish you would at least try to understand me."

Joel scoffed and rolled his eyes, "I would try if you weren't allowing some guy to control your life. He doesn't have anything to do with us, yet you're ready to tuck tail and run just because he doesn't approve of what you do for a living. Who the hell cares if you have his approval or not?"

"You're not listening to me, Joel. You're just not getting me," Stephanie covered her face with her hands while Joel slapped the side of their vehicle in anger with the palm of his hand.

He was fed up, and Stephanie could feel the tension, but it had gotten to the point that she was equally as riled up. The only person she had to please was herself, and Joel could be along for the ride or not, but there was no backing out of searching for her destiny. It would hurt a great deal not to have Joel by her side for the remainder of the journey, but she wasn't walking away from him. If they broke up, it would be the result of him giving up on Stephanie instead of helping elevate her in the fight to reach her real dreams.

"You're right, I don't get a single thing you do or say. Are you comin' in with me to watch the show or not?" he asked, rather coldly, and as easily as he was able to make Stephanie feel on top of the world, he held the same power to bring her crashing right back down to the unforgiving ground. All she craved was his support, but he was behaving like a typical, emotionally-withdrawn man, and she wanted no part of it.

"I don't feel like going in there anymore."

"Thanks a lot," Joel shook his head as he pinched the bridge of his nose with his right hand. "Can you at least come in with me so I can keep an eye on you and make sure you're okay, if nothing else?"

"I'll be fine. I'm just gonna get back in the car and wait until the show is over."

"And do what?" he quizzed.

"Call my mom since I miss her, and maybe catch a nap. I don't know, I'll figure it out," she waved his question off. Her hope was that he would empathize with her position and stick around to comfort her. She willed him to hold her in his arms and rock her for as long as it took to chase her worries away. Instead, the jingle of his keys sounded once more as he grabbed at the hook and unattached the ring from his keychain.

"Stay in the car if you want, but I'm going inside," he said before handing the keys off to her and waiting while she stood beside the vehicle.

Stephanie hit the power lock button and climbed into the passenger seat before shutting the door and locking it. Once Joel saw she was safely inside, he turned on his heel and strode towards the club without even a backward glance. If ever there was a time when Stephanie had morphed into a small child who needed her mother all over again, it was then. She picked up her cell phone and scrolled through her list of contacts before locating Linda's number and pressing the call button. They spoke at least once every day, usually in the mornings, but this was one of the rare occasions that once wasn't enough.

Stephanie breathed a sigh of relief when the call was picked up and she was awarded Linda's placating voice from the other end of the line, "Hello, my darling. Is everything okay?"

"No, I wish it was, but it's not. I'm so ridiculously sad, and I talked to Joel just now, but he doesn't understand me."

"I'm sorry, honey. Sometimes men are like that and nothing you say gets through to them. Tell me what's wrong," Linda encouraged.

"I think I want to come home."

"To visit?" Linda asked, although there was a hopeful hitch at the end of her question that implied she hoped for the opposite. Her parents made no secret of their desire for her to make a permanent return home and had been begging her to do that ever since her initial move, over a decade earlier. Stephanie was beginning to think there was something to her parents instincts and that maybe they hadn't wanted her in Los Angeles because they knew it wouldn't work out the way she needed in order to find true happiness. In that moment, her parents hopes and dreams for her were at one with everything she so desired, and Stephanie no longer cared to make a secret of it.

"No. I think I want to come home for good."