Disharmony

Demons

Xavier started missing Dylan a few hours after his little brother left. It wasn’t surprising, really. He always missed Dylan, even when he didn’t acknowledge it. Since the beginning of his career, he’s learned to turn that yearning into passion. It allowed him to channel that extra emotion into his performing and songwriting.

Most people thought he was either heartbroken or extremely in love. The truth was that he was constantly homesick.

Distractions did help, though. This week, that distraction came in the form of Annie Masters, Kari’s best friend.

She was tall and willowy, with white blonde hair chopped into a pixie cut and the palest blue eyes Xavier had ever seen. Personality wise, he understood why she and Kari got along so well. They both shared the same sense of humor, where an extremely wide range of scenarios made them laugh.

Annie is more refined, however, gentler and more mild mannered. She has a sort of calming effect over the petite brunette, a characteristic Xavier hoped would work wonders when he woke up three days after Dylan’s departure and read the front page headlines in the celebrity news section.

Under normal circumstances, he would avoid that section of any news website, simply because he’d learned from his time in the entertainment industry that very little of what was reported was actually true.

But this particular morning, he’d received a text from his manager with the link to a news article and a caption that read ‘Something you forgot to tell me?’

Confused, he’d clicked on the link, which had taken him to the celebrity gossip site that he was currently staring at blankly.

Kari and Xavier’s amusement park date.

The headline itself wasn’t what bothered him; pretty much anytime he and Kari were in public together, people assumed they were on a date. No, what was sending his heart into a beating frenzy was the picture inserted at the bottom of the article. Judging by the graininess of the photograph, it must have been taken by a phone, but there was no denying what was happening in the picture.

It featured two figures, one carrying a boy on his back, locking lips beside a dumpster. Someone had taken a picture of him kissing Kari.

Cursing to himself, he tossed the phone on his bed and ran a hand through his hair. Neither he nor Kari wanted this kind of media coverage. He preferred to keep his personal life out of the media in general and the whole point of this tour was for Kari to prove that she was reliable and stable.

With a single kiss, they had managed shoot that to hell.

Groaning in frustration, he leaned back against the headboard and wondered if Kari knew yet. If not, it was only a matter of time.

His phone buzzed and he winced when he glanced down and saw his manager’s name flash across the screen. He picked it up slowly, taking a deep breath as he slid a finger across the screen to answer the call.

“Good morning, Jack,” Xavier said lightly, hoping to start the conversation on a positive note because it was no doubt going to spiral into ugliness as it continued.

“What the hell were you thinking?”

Apparently Jack was eager to jump into the yelling portion of the phone call.

“I was thinking that there weren’t cameras around,” Xavier muttered. As soon as he spoke, he realized how idiotic that sounded.

“There’s always cameras around, Xavier,” Jack sighed. “Kari Stevens is always being watched. Always.”

“I know,” he sighed, tugging at his hair. “That’s just not really the type of moment where you do a ton of preplanning.”

There was a pause and then Jack sighed heavily. “I understand that, but your lack of foresight has the potential to be disastrous.”

“Because you think a relationship between me and Kari wouldn’t work out?”

“Because now I have to figure out what the hell to tell the press.”

“Right,” Xavier whispered, leaning backwards and rolling onto his stomach.

That actually was a problem, because Xavier himself had no idea what was happening. They couldn’t say it was just random because he and Kari were touring together, and saying that they weren’t together would just make the press want to be around all the time to see if things were awkward between them. Unfortunately, saying they were dating would cause the same effect. Either way, they really couldn’t win.

“Speaking of Kari, have you spoken to her yet?”

“Nope,” Xavier replied. “I’m not sure she even knows about this.”

He could practically see Jack rolling his eyes. “I’m sure she does. And I’m sure she’s having a similar conversation with Henry right now.”

“Probably,” Xavier muttered.

“Look,” Jack said slowly, “You and Kari figure out what’s going on between you two so that I have something to tell the press. In the meantime, I’m going to talk to Henry and see if we can stop that picture from spreading. It was posted less than an hour ago, so it’s possible the bigger gossip sites haven’t yet gotten ahold of it.”

“Alright,” Xavier replied. “I’ll go find her now.”

“Thank you.”

There was a pause and then Jack spoke again. “Xavier, man, you know I don’t like to get involved in your personal life.” There was a ‘but’ coming. There had to be. The delivery, however, was less of a scolding and more of a warning. “But I feel like I need to tell you to be careful here. Kari is an internationally famous superstar. Dating someone like that is going to be unlike anything you’ve ever experienced before.”

“I’m a big boy, Jack,” Xavier sighed. “I can take care of myself.”

“I know. I just want to make sure you know the consequences.”

“I do,” Xavier smiled softly. “I promise.”

“Alright. I’ll text you updates.”

The click of the phone signaled the end of the conversation and Xavier chewed on his bottom lip as he pushed back the covers and swung his legs over the side of the bed. This conversation should probably take place sooner rather than later, before either of them could be hounded by paparazzi and press.

So he splashed water on his face, brushed his teeth, pulled on a worn gray t-shirt and the jeans he’d tossed aside from the night before, grabbed his room key, and left the room. He padded softly down the hallway, his bare rubbing against the rough carpeting until he came to a stop outside Kari’s door.

He inhaled deeply before knocking, his eyebrows rising in surprise when the door swung open to reveal not a short brunette, but a tall blonde.

“Annie,” he stuttered slightly, “Uh, what are you doing here?”

Her arms crossed over her chest and an eyebrow quirked upwards. “I’m staying here.”

“Of course,” Xavier replied automatically, “Yeah, I knew that. That’s not what I meant. I didn’t mean why are you here in this hotel, I meant why are you here in Kari’s room.”

The corners of her lips twisted into a smirk, her gleaming because she was apparently amused by his ramblings. No wonder she and Kari were friends. They both reveled in his embarrassment.

“We’re staying in the same room,” she laughed. “We figured we barely see each other as it is, so we might as well stay in the same room while I’m here to make the most of our time together.”

“Makes sense,” Xavier nodded, standing on his toes to peer around Annie. “Is she here?”

“Need to talk to her about the picture?”

His eyes met Annie’s. “Maybe. Yes. How did she react when she saw it?”

Annie shrugged, stepping to the side and gesturing for him to enter. “She left. You can wait for her if you like. She should be back soon.”

“That bad?” he asked softly, plopping down on the couch and watching as she shut the door and settled herself at the other end.

“She’s processing,” Annie waved a hand, telling him not to worry. “She just needs to figure out how to handle this.”

“Where’d she go?”

“To process,” Annie blinked.

Xavier pursed his lips, his heart rate spiking to an unnecessarily high rate. “She didn’t go outside did she? The reporters and paparazzi will be all over her.”

Annie rolled her eyes. “She’s not an i***t. She went to the hotel pool to do some laps. You know how tight security is here. She’ll be fine.”

It was his turn to blink. “But she hates swimming.”

“She also hates the treadmill,” Annie countered. “It’s the lesser of two evils.”

He supposed that made sense, so he sank into the back of the couch, stretching out his legs and resting his feet on the center table. There was silence for a few moments, but Annie broke it with a blunt statement.

“You’ve really got it bad, don’t you?”

Furrowing his brow, he turned his head to look at his, his lips parting to protest before he realized there really wasn’t anything he could say in defense. Instead, he sighed and nodded slowly. “I really need to work on being less obvious.”

“Probably a good idea,” she laughed in response.

Xavier relaxed a little. Annie was one of those people who could make you feel instantly comfortable. She also seemed like she was easy to talk to, so he decided to make the most of the opportunity. If Kari refused to be communicative, maybe talking to Annie would help.

“You’ve known Kari for a long time,” he began slowly, continuing when she nodded. “Can you tell me why she keeps pushing me away?”

“Oh, Xavier,” Annie smirked. “Straight to the tough questions.”

“Well…”

“You’re right,” she sighed, pulling her legs beneath her and leaning forward as though getting ready to tell some sort of epic tale. “I have known her for a long time. Kari can be impulsive and wild and immature and hotheaded, but she’s also the most compassionate person I know. If she’s pushing you away, it’s because she thinks it’s what is best for you.”

He rolled his eyes. “Don’t you think I know what’s best for me better than she does?”

“Maybe,” Annie nodded. “But maybe her perspective on relationships is different than yours and she thinks you deserve better.”

“That’s ridiculous,” he scoffed before furrowing his brow in confusion. “What does that even mean?”

She let out a small laugh, turning her body and leaning back against the arm of the couch. “You’re a nice guy, Xavier. That’s the first thing Kari told me about you: that you’re pure. And you have to know by now that she is far from angelic. Which unfortunately means that the men she falls for are sometimes of the same variety. Do you remember who Kari was dating three years ago?”

He racked his memory, but came up short. Honestly, he didn’t pay much attention to celebrity gossip now, so it was even further off his radar when he wasn’t part of this world. He shook his head.

Annie inhaled deeply and nodded. “Ok, let me try explaining it a different way. Every love song that Kari has ever written is about one of two people. The sweet, sentimental ones that look back fondly on the relationship, those are about Cody. He was her first…well, everything. He was the one she broke up with when she made it big, and that was hard for her. It took some time, but I think she finally came to terms with the fact that it was for the best. Cody shaped her teenage years and now, all she remembers of him are the good things.”

Xavier nodded, but kept quiet, allowing her to continue.

“The other kinds of songs,” she said, “The ones that reek of heartbreak and pain and confusion and anger, those ones are about Noah. Noah Hastings.”

His eyebrows shot up when he recognized the name. “The guy who plays the action hero in all those action hero movies?”

He realized he sounded completely inarticulate, but he was a little taken aback. Though, as he pondered this new information, he realized he probably shouldn’t be. Noah Hastings was Hollywood’s bad boy, according to few headlines Xavier had read. Exactly the kind of guy he should have expected Kari to fall for.

“I didn’t know they dated,” he muttered.

Annie shrugged. “It wasn’t highly publicized. Of course, people knew, because the press finds out everything, but they were never extremely public about it. He did a real number on her.”

His eyes lifted to meet Annie’s and he noticed the shift in her expression. Her gaze softened, her eyes sad as though they were remembering sleepless nights of staying up to comfort her brokenhearted best friend.

“It ended badly?” he whispered.

Annie flinched as though broken from a trance and wrinkled her nose with guilt. “I think I should probably let Kari tell you the details of that relationship, if she wants to. What you should know, is that her relationship with Noah has come to define her view of love and if she’s pushing you away, it’s because she thinks that a relationship with you will eventually end and you deserve more than that.”

“But all relationships end,” he protested, “until the one that doesn’t.”

Annie’s eyes darted towards the doorway and she raised her chin slightly as if acknowledging someone there. “You’ll have to take that up with her.”

He turned his head to find that Kari had entered the room, wearing a purple string bikini with a towel tossed over her shoulder. As she stepped towards them, she reached up to pull her hair out of its wet bun atop her head and let it fall into stringy waves by her shoulders.

“What’s going on here?” she asked, snapping her hair tie around her wrist.

“I’m gonna leave you guys alone,” Annie grinned, jumping up from the couch. “It’s been way too long since my last dose of caffeine.”

Before either Kari or Xavier could protest, she had grabbed her purse and disappeared out the door.

“We need to talk,” Xavier blurted out.

“I suppose we do,” she sighed. Raising a finger to tell him to wait a minute, she walked into her bedroom, returning a few moments later with a pair of black yoga pants and an oversized t-shirt pulled over her swimsuit. She settled herself on the couch in a similar position to the one Annie had been in just minutes before and laced her fingers together in her lap.

“So how do we fix this?” she asked matter of factly.

He raised his eyebrows. “What?”

“Well,” she went on, “The media fallout if that picture spreads is going to be crazy. You know they’re going to ask us about our relationship, so we need to decide now what we’re going to say. I suppose we could say it was just friendly.”

“Do you normally kiss your friends on the lips?” he asked pointedly.

“No,” she shrugged nonchalantly, “But they don’t know how long it lasted or the intensity of it. It could have been a peck for all they know.”

As he watched her list off various courses of action, he felt slightly disheartened because he realized that the kiss did not have an impact on her, or at least not the one he intended. He’d meant it as a show of support, a way to tell her that he was there for her if she ever needed him. Apparently she just thought he enjoyed randomly kissing her. Not that she was entirely wrong, but it did have deeper meaning to him.

And he was going to drive himself insane if he kept contemplating her feelings, so he decided to just be direct.

“I know that kiss meant something to you,” he spat out, though his voice sounded much more confident than he actually felt.

“You know how I felt about it doesn’t matter right now,” she sighed.

“Doesn’t it?” he quirked an eyebrow.

She shook her head just slightly, pressing her lips into a thin line before parting them to respond. “You still don’t get it, do you? I’m saving you from the chaos. Getting involved with me would just make everything worse for you.”

“You don’t know that,” he insisted, dropping his feet to the floor and turning his torso to face her more fully.

“Xavier,” she let out an exasperated sigh, “This isn’t just about you and me. Dylan was in that picture too. If it spreads, it means he’ll be dragged into all of this as well. You can be annoyed with me as you like, but I know you don’t want your brother to be involved.”

She was right, of course. Thus far, he’d done a pretty good job of keeping himself out of the papers. Mostly, this was due to the fact that he wasn’t interesting enough to warrant being followed by paparazzi. And he managed to keep most of his relationships pretty low profile. But dating Kari would cause all hell to break loose. There was enough speculation about them just being friends. Any indication that they were more than that would send the presses buzzing.

“Alright,” he finally agreed, rising to his feet. “Go with the ‘friendly kiss’ story. Hopefully Henry and Jack can stop that photo from reaching any more news outlets.”

She nodded and stood as well. “If we’re lucky, they might even get it pulled from the one it’s on, which means very few people will have seen it.”

“Sounds good,” he replied as he turned towards the door, feeling utterly drained from their interaction.

“Hey, Xavier?”

He hummed as he turned his back to face her, finding that she was twisting her fingers nervously. “Yeah?”

“You should know that it did mean something to me,” she spoke softly, “I’m just not ready to be that person yet.”

The response was vague, but he understood what she meant. “One of these days, you’re going to have to let me in, Kar. One of these days you’re going to run out of excuses.”

She met his gaze, her lips kinking upwards into a smile. “One of these days, I won’t feel the need to make them anymore.”

Even though he felt like they were speaking in code, it was the first time since they met that he felt a glimmer of hope. Perhaps their story was still being told.

“I can’t wait,” he smirked.

She returned the kinked smile, walking him to the doorway and waving goodbye as he wandered back down the hallway. There was a slight spring in his step as he made his way to his room.