Max
Young Blood- The Naked & Famous
"The Oscars are next week, and you need some publicity. Nick's up for two nominations, best actor and best supporting actor. You're going to be there, but you need some good publicity before that."
I stared at Total, feeling absolutely ridiculous. Nudge had put me in a pair of black heels, skinny jeans, a long black coat, and a scarf that looked a lot like a cat I'd had in the second grade. She's coated me in makeup that somehow made me look happy, even if I was pissed off, curled my hair, and put a knit headband on my head. I looked better than my usual sweatpants-wavy-hair-no-makeup look.
Fang was sitting on a chair in the kitchen, and Nudge was fixing his hair. Angel was sitting on the table, legs swinging back and forth. She was absentmindedly flicking her thumb across her IPhone, occasionally laughing and turning the phone around to show him a picture. He'd crack a small smile and nod like whatever she said had a valid point. As much as I wasn't attracted to him, sort of, I was getting jealous of the attention he was giving her. I mean, we were supposed to be fake dating. Not them. She was flirting the pants off of him right in front of me! Like, sorry Max I know that your-
"Max?"
I zoned back in. Total was watching me with a confused look in his eye.
"What's wrong?" I asked. He shrugged.
"I was gonna ask you the same question."
"Nothing. Just tired." I lied. He nodded and went back to his rant about how I needed to flirt, and act innocent, and most definitely not talk to reporters. The usual. I zoned out and thought about college.
After another twenty minutes of discussing what not to do, Total made me swear to act like I liked him. I rolled my eyes and nodded.
"This is it, kid." He'd told me. "This is your last shot."
He was right.
He left, and told me to leave after twenty minutes. Nudge and Angel were supposed to stay at the apartment until that night.
"Ange, where's my phone?" I asked, walking into the kitchen. She smiled, all cutesy like, and jumped off of the table.
"Oh my god, Max, you look amazing!" She giggled. Actually giggled.
I faked a smile- which I was starting to get good at- and thanked her. She pointed to the counter opposite of her and I found my phone there. Once I had turned around, she had went back to flirting with Nick, which made me puke a little inside of my mouth. I mean, really? It wasn't like I liked him or anything, but it was weird.
"Fifteen minutes." Nudge said, coming into the kitchen with us.
"Yeah, I bet you do work out." I overheard Angel saying. "There's no way that you can be that fit without working out."
I rolled my eyes and turned back around to face everyone.
"Where are we even supposed to go?" I asked Nudge. She sighed, obnoxiously loud, gaining the attention of dumb and dumber.
"Did you listen to Scott?" She asked. I glanced at Nick. He was smirking.
God, really?
"Not really." I said, standing up taller. Nudge pressed a hand against her forehead.
"Well then, you're going to have to follow Nick around for the most part. You'll walk around LA for a while, go to dinner, and then you're going to a play."
"A play?"
"A musical, actually. Wicked. You'll love it."
I looked at Nick at made a gun with my hand, stuck the point in my mouth and pretended to pull the trigger. He smiled.
"Enough of that, Max. Be classy."
I jumped off the counter and moved towards the living room. I swayed my hips a little as I went, knowing that Nick's eyes were on me.
"What's not classy about killing yourself?" I said, just loud enough for Nudge to hear.
I swayed my hips a little more.
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Fang
Out of My League- Fitz and the Tantrums
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"We're going to go in here for a minute."
I looked to my right. Max was walking beside me, acting happy when I knew she wasn't. She'd been fine for the first two hours, but once it hit 7:00 and she still hadn't eaten anything, she got fed up and called her manager, Total, who made her even more mad by explaining our dinner reservation wasn't scheduled until 8:00.
"Sure." I said, following her into a store.
She took a few steps inside, then stopped. I moved around to the front of her and couldn't help but smile. She had this look in her face that was just perfect. The corners of her mouth were turned up, revealing her dimple. Her eyes were closed and she looked so relaxed, and much happier than I'd seen her before.
"What're you-"
"Sh." She said, interrupting me. I watched her for a few more seconds before realizing she was deep in some thought, and wasn't going to move.
We were inside of a music store. Box after box of records were on tables, and record players were all over with headphones attached to them. CD's, cassettes, and 8tracks were scattered along the window ledges, tables, and chair. Old guitars were hung up on the walls, and pianos were scattered around. The store was relatively small, only about 30 feet by 15, but there was a lot in the store. Max had moved around to the back, where an guy was sitting at the counter, smiling. I stared at for a minute, trying to figure out where I'd seen him. I knew him from somewhere.
He stood up and caught her when she threw her arms around him.
"I missed you so much." She said, with her face buried in the guys neck. He had closed his eyes and let his head rest on her shoulder. I felt awkward standing there watching them, so I moved to the other side of the store, sitting at a piano and opening the covered. I glanced at Max and the guy, who I knew I recognized from somewhere. They weren't hugging anymore, but Max was touching his arms and smiling at him like he was giving her his 100M lottery winnings.
I touched a few keys on the piano, and realized that despite its old looks, it was in perfect tuning condition. I pressed down on the foot pedal and lifted, listening to the note echo out into the quiet store. Only a few people walked around in it, and none seemed to recognize me. Would I risk that and draw attention to myself, or walk away?
I pressed down on the keys.
I let out a few notes absentmindedly before realizing what I was playing. My mom had used to sing it around the house. I'd auditioned with it when I went to my first performing arts school. Nothing is Too Wonderful to be True, by the Dirty Rotten Scoundrels. I started to press on the keys and let it flow, humming quietly. It instantly relaxed me and made me forget where I was.
"I didn't know you played."
I jumped, standing up. Max had a small look of alarm in her eyes, but was relatively unsurprised.
"Jesus, Max. Don't sneak up on me." I said harshly. She took a deep breath.
"Sorry. How'd you learn?"
I shook my head. "Just forget it."
She moved backwards as I walked past her, leaving the store. I stood outside for a minute, leaning against the brick wall. Max came outside a few minutes later with her arms crossed.
"Sorry." I said, quietly. "I didn't mean-"
"Whatever." She said, plastering a fake smile to her face. "Happy couple, remember?"
I nodded and walked with her down the street. We walked five or six blocks without saying anything but short sentences, trying to find the restaurant. It was half past seven, and we were still at least 5 blocks away, but neither of us had cash to pay the driver, and we weren't allowed to use our credit cards until we got to the restaurant. Weird manager rules, I guess.
"Paps, three o' clock." Max said through closed teeth, looking up at me like I'd just said something cute.
I nodded and tried to avoid eye contact. Two photographers saw us, though, and crossed the street. He was at the end of the block, taking pictures.
"Ready to give them a show?" I whispered as a few more photographers and Max fans approached us. She nodded. I took her hand and kissed it, letting our intertwined fingers swing back and forth in between us.
"Max!" We turned around and saw\ a few twelve year old girls running up to us. Max turned around, which meant I had to turn around, and she smiled.
"Max, oh my gosh, it's so great to meet you." One said, her face matching the red colored braces on her teeth. Max hugged them and talked to them for a few minutes before a man and a woman came up behind them, smiling.
"You're Nicolas Fang, right? I'm such a huge fan!" The woman gushed. "I'm in love with The Remembrance."
I smiled and hugged her, letting go of Max's hand to do so. She looked up at me and gave me a quick smile before going back to talking to the girls. The dad shook my hand and spoke with me about my last movie, Dusk till Dawn. It was my favorite film, because it was more stunt work. It got me a respected position in Hollywood, and opened up a bunch more opportunities because of it.
"Would you mind taking a picture with us?" The girls mom asked Max. She said of course, and took the IPhone, snapping a picture of me in between the parents, which was both incredibly awkward and flattering. After that, I took a picture of the girls with Max, we said goodbye, and went towards the restaurant hand in hand, already a few minutes late to our reservation.
You know what though? It was okay.
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"We're on our way to drop Max off at her apartment."
We were in a taxi, because Max's feet couldn't physically handle walking another seven blocks in heels. We'd eaten an awkward dinner, walked awkwardly hand in hand to the theater, and gotten awkwardly into the cab. It was an sufficiently awkward night that I was glad to be done with.
"No, no, no." My manager, Brigid, said. "I want you to go to your apartment. The photos of you two leaked an hour ago. There is a mob of paparazzi outside of the lobby."
"We're only a block away, though."
"Then drive past and see for yourself. You can't go there, they're brutal. She's going to have to stay at your place tonight."
I sighed and rubbed my temple, pulling the phone away from my ear for a minute.
"Change of plans. We're going to my place."
I told him the address and said a few words to Brigid.
Max turned in her seat. "What are you-"
I pointed out the window as we drove past. Brigid was right. Outside of her apartment complex, there were at least a dozen reporters and a ton of fans standing with cameras, and autograph books. She sunk back in her seat and cursed.
"We're on my way." I said into the phone.
"Good. Stay there tonight and make her comfortable. Have some ice cream, or something. Just don't make her feel unwelcomed, Fang."
"I won't."
"Total and I'll be there in the morning."
She hung up the phone.
"They'll be at my place in the morning to take you home." I said. She had a confused look on her face.
"Wait, how do you know there won't be people at your apartment?"
"Gate entrance to the street. Fingerprint scanner as a code, actually."
She nodded and turned back in her seat. It was a fifteen minute drive to the gates, where I had to get out to move to the front and press my thumb against the screen. The gates opened and the driver drove in, moving slowly down the street. I pointed out my house and he pulled into the driveway, probably wishing he was as lucky as I was. Because I didn't have an apartment, I had a mansion.
"This is…" Max began. "Wow."
I smiled and got out of the taxi, watching it drive back out of the gates. Max had taken off her shoes and was standing by the front door, looking around the neighborhood.
"Is that Ellen's house?"She asked drowsily. I nodded and took out my key, unlocking the front door.
"Whoa, this place is… Wow."
I nodded and moved upstairs without saying a word. I was exhausted and didn't want to have to deal with another person right now.
"This is my room." I said, point to a door while walking down the hall. I moved two doors down and opened a door. "This is yours."
She stepped inside, a little in awe. I showed her the bathroom and then left, ready to get into my own bed.
I fell asleep once my head hit the pillow, but my mind was awake and gave me nightmares all night.
