Dysphoria (Showbiz-SI) Ch. 38 (Patreon)

Chapter 38

Olivia was young, but she was no fool. She was not so naive as to miss the signals coming from the driver’s seat, nor was she so innocent that she would let just anyone take her out—not after the heartbreak she had just suffered.

She was not even sure that she wanted to date anyone right now, but she had an inkling that the boy beside her was determined to test her resolve.

Well, despite all that, she would be lying if she said that the way his eyes would search for her again and again did not fill her with butterflies. Remus Bennet was not a craze for her, though he was a massive craze for millions of girls around the world.

Initially, her mother had been a bit hesitant about letting her go off with another boy. In the end, Olivia had been able to force her hand, though she’d had to promise she would be back at the studio by eight at the latest. With that permission secured, the day had begun anew.

Despite his fame and his stardom, Remus Bennet was entirely oblivious to the high life of LA. As a senior—though only in stardom, and even then he was now far more famous than her—it was her duty to corrupt him, and so the tour began as she showed him all of the popular local spots. She even had him use his status to get them a table at a two-star restaurant, which turned out to be his very first fine dining experience.

Afterward, they went to an antique record shop and scoured through rows of vinyl records, the scent of aged paper and old wax heavy in the air.

By the evening, they were both tired and weary of the world, but not of each other. Not at all. He was not the stuck-up star she had expected him to be. Over the course of the day, she had learned much about the boy wonder who had taken over the Billboard charts, and she would be lying if she said that she was not surprised.

Remus was a bit older than her and had two younger sisters. His father had been the one to introduce him to music, though he had given up on the industry after falling ill. Remus also told her about the accident and how it had changed his entire life—how it felt like a second chance to pursue a long-forgotten dream. After that, well, the entire world knew what came next.

Remus Bennet had not just jumped. He had leaped.

Singers spent decades chasing after records and accolades he had obtained in a matter of months. Not only that, but he was putting out a full album soon—an album that, by many predictions, was going to shatter records. His talents as a vocalist were unmatched; he could pull off the most intricate techniques and sounds with a single command, never afraid of pushing the boundaries.

She also learned that he was single.

YAY!

His last real relationship had been a year ago, though that could very well change within the next few minutes.

The car came to a stop in the parking lot, the asphalt still radiating the leftover heat of the afternoon sun. Above them, the LA sky was bleeding into a deep violet twilight, the first city lights beginning to flicker alive like scattered embers against the hills.

Remus glanced at her one last time.

“So, this is it,” he began.

She shrugged, waiting to see if her intuition was right.

“I hope you had fun?” he asked.

She nodded. “I did.”

Then, she saw him look deep into her eyes, the dim dashboard lights casting soft shadows across his face.

“And would you be willing to do this again?” he finally asked. Her intuition was right.

“That will depend on the bribe,” she teased.

He frowned playfully.

“What tribute do you require, my lady?”

She pretended to think it over before answering.

“What do you have to offer?” She left the decision to him.

The game was afoot. He rubbed his chin before his eyes suddenly lit up.

“You want to be a singer, right...?” he began.

“...so, I will write you a song.”

She couldn’t help but smile at the offer as she opened the car door and stepped out into the cool evening air, leaving him with a cryptic answer.

“Well then, my answer will depend on the song.”

She had only taken a few steps when she heard the car door click open behind her. He jumped out and, much to her surprise, began to hum a tune that cut softly through the quiet of the parking lot.

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~I threw a wish in the well

Don't ask me, I'll never tell

I looked to you as it fell

And now you're in my way~

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She slowed down as she heard the music in his voice. Turning around, she saw him walking toward her, his silhouette framed against the warm glow of the flickering lights.

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~Your stare was holdin'

Sun-dress, your smile was showin'

Hot night, wind was blowin'

Where you think you're goin', baby?~

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This was a genuine surprise. She found herself smiling at the verse as he grabbed her hand and gently pulled her in close, and she let him.

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~Hey, I wasn't lookin' for this

But now you're in my head

And I just can't resist

Where you think you're goin', baby~

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Even without a guitar or a piano, his vocals sounded beautiful, echoing slightly off the stucco walls of the empty lot. She could not help but let herself be caught up in his hook.

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~Hey, I just met you, and this is crazy

But here's my number, so call me, maybe?

It's hard to look right at you, baby

But here's my number, so call me, maybe?~

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He sang the chorus twice, making her chuckle until their faces were only inches apart.

“So, how was the song?” he asked. It was good. It was very good.

“How many girls before me have you swindled with that tune?” she probed sharply.

He shook his head.

“You are the first person to hear it.” He wasn’t lying. She could tell.

“So, you want me to believe that you came up with it on the spot?”

He shook his head again as he revealed the truth a bit awkwardly.

“No, not on the spot. Though the idea has been brewing in my head ever since I saw you.”

Olivia couldn’t help but blush at that, and so this was exactly what she had thought it to be. A date.

“Answer now?” he asked again.

“That was only half a song,” Olivia countered playfully, inching even closer until she could smell the clean, crisp scent of his cologne mixed with the night air.

“Well, I am afraid the other part is not mine to sing.” He was playing with her now.

“Well then, let me give you a reward for your part.” With that, she pushed herself onto her toes and leaned in as he did the same.

She crashed her lips onto his. His lips tasted like mint chocolate. Unlike her prior experiences, he was neither nervous nor rushing; he patiently let her savor the kiss under the darkening sky before they finally parted.

They separated, and he looked at her.

“Tomorrow?” he asked.

She wished that she could nod, but she could not. “I am afraid I already have plans with some old friends.”

His face fell, and she saw his mind racing as he looked into her eyes and began slowly. “I am flying out to Australia on Sunday,” he told her. She already knew that much.

“The tour’s a new experience, but I will come find you. I promise. So, you better have the second part ready by then.” And that was a promise.

“I'll hold you to that,” she replied, and they finally parted ways as she headed toward the glass-fronted lobby of the building where her mother was waiting for her.

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They were fifteen minutes into the ride back home, the car gliding down a highway flanked by a blur of neon storefronts and glowing billboards. Her mother turned toward her for the dozenth time. That was quite enough.

“Why do you keep looking at me?” Olivia asked.

Her mother just smirked, the passing streetlights casting rhythmic shadows across her face. “Why do you keep smiling?”

She was caught.  “I am not smiling.” She quickly schooled her features, making her mother laugh.

“I know that smile,” her mother said, as she glanced towards her. “He asked you out, didn’t he?”

Olivia groaned and pinched her eyes shut in embarrassment. “How did you know?”

Her mother laughed at her antics. “Ah, a mother can always tell,” she repeated like a sage, but the expected warnings never came, making Olivia frown.

“You are not going to warn me?” She had warned Olivia about her last boyfriend, and she had been right to.

“He seems like a good kid.”

That was strange.

“He is... good,” Olivia finished before her head snapped toward her mother. “But how do you know that?”

Her mother sighed.

“I had an inkling that this might happen, so I interrogated Amy about him.” While Olivia had spent the entire day with Remus, her mother had spent it with Amy, Remus’s agent.

“And she told you everything about him?” Olivia asked.

Her mother smirked. “She saw what was happening as well.”

That bummed her out. “Shit...”

“Language,” her mother warned, as mothers always did.

“Was it really that obvious?” Olivia asked.

“To us? Yes.”

With that, they pulled into the familiar gravel driveway of their suburban home, the headlights sweeping across the dark lawn.

“So, how much do you know about him?” Olivia asked.

“Definitely more than you.” Her mother answered confidently as she stepped out of the car.

They walked into the warmth of the house, and she saw her father setting the dinner table for them, the savory aroma of a home-cooked meal filling the room.

“Ahh, you two are back,” he greeted them warmly. Olivia ran into his arms; she had always been a papa’s princess.

“Yes, we are,” she repeated. He tousled her hair with his flour-dusted hands.

“Dad!” she groaned.

“She seems rather energetic,” he noted as her mother sat down at the wooden table.

“Of course she is,” her mother answered.

“No. No...” Olivia's protests fell on deaf ears as her mother continued.

“She has found herself a new Prince Charming after all.”

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REMUS BENNET

With Lexie away, Remus decided to spend his last day back home rather productively, emptying his room for the move. There was not much that he had to pick up, as Amy had deemed his fashion sense to be abysmal and had taken full charge of his wardrobe along with Renee, who had already filled the wardrobe at his new place with what she deemed ‘appropriate’ clothes.

Apart from his personal belongings, there was not much that he needed to take, but that was a whole thing of its own, and so early in the morning he sat on the floor of his room with old pictures and awards placed all around him.

He grabbed a picture of him from when he was five years old, with his father sitting beside him and teaching him how to play the piano, and that very piano now sat in the corner of his room.

Elliot had helped him tune up and restore the thing, and while it wasn’t anything expensive, really, the thing carried some of his most treasured memories.

“Remus, Remus.” His mother’s voice broke him out of his reverie.

“Yeah, come in.” She slid the doors open.

“I just wanted to know...” But she stopped as she saw the pictures and memories scattered across the floor. She did not say anything and crouched down as she picked up a few pictures.

“Where did you find all this?” she asked after a minute of silence.

“I have been looking for them for years,” she added.

“The album had fallen behind the drawer. I found these after I pulled out the whole drawer,” Remus answered as he pointed towards the side of the room where a few drawers had been pulled out.

She spotted the picture in his hand and smiled.

“This is from when we bought you your first piano,” she added, and he knew that.

“Yeah.” She grabbed the picture. In the corner, one could spot a toddler crawling towards them.

“This is Gia.” His mother chuckled as she spotted his sister in the picture while tears welled up in her eyes.

“This was around the time he realized that you had perfect pitch, and he was so excited that he spent an entire week bragging about it to his friends and colleagues.” He did not remember that much.

“He was the artsy one between us, and he was so proud that his son had picked up his talents.” Then she looked up at him.

“Even though he was a pretty lousy singer himself.” Remus shook his head.

“Really?” he asked.

“Yeah, like, he knew about music and had a good ear, but he couldn’t sing. He just couldn’t.” And, well, she would know more.

“You should take them,” she finished as she wiped away a tear from her eyes.

“But what about you? You have been searching for these for years,” he reminded her, but she shook her head.

“I will be fine,” she insisted and placed it back.

“I just wanted to know if I should call in the movers.” He shook his head.

“There is no need for that.” Even with these pictures and the other stuff, he only had like two boxes.

“This will easily fit within two cars.” He looked at the piano.

“We will put the piano in the backseat of my car and then divide up the rest between our cars.” So, movers were not really needed.

“As you wish.” She stood up.

“Breakfast will be ready in five. Your sisters are already awake,” she said, and he would be finished here by then.

“I will be down in five.” With that, he began putting the stuff back into the boxes, and some ten minutes later, he slid down the stairs for breakfast. An hour later, Elliot biked to their driveway, and before noon, they were off.

Elliot drove with him while Gia and Rue rode with his mother.

“I didn’t know we were flying first class,” Elliot said. Amy had already sent the tickets, and they were flying out tomorrow at two.

“Our days of traveling economy are over, man,” Remus teased.

“It’s all first class from here on out.” Elliot’s eyes lit up.

“That’s sick,” Elliot added excitedly.

“So, Amy wants to wrap up the album by the tour’s end.” That was sensible enough, given that the label was eyeing a mid-2020 release for his album. It often took artists years to put out their first album, and his own trajectory had been a true anomaly. The only other artists who had blown up the way he had could actually be counted on one’s fingers.

“So?” he asked, for he didn’t miss the worry in his tone.

“I have a few songs for the album, but she wants me to do a few singles as well. I don’t wanna mess up the album, but I need to put out a single soon enough.” And so that was troubling him.

This was a bit of an oversight on his part.

“Don’t worry, I have a few ideas that we can work on during the tour.” Elliot turned towards him.

“You want to write a song for me?” Elliot asked.

“Wrong.” The answer made his face stiff.

“I want to write a few songs with you.” Elliot punched his shoulder at his antics.

“Damn bastard.” Remus chuckled as they drove into the driveway of his new place. Amy’s car was already there, and she was leaning against it.

“Amy’s already here.” Honestly, hiring her was perhaps the best decision he had ever made.

“You should have gone in,” Remus added as he walked up to the woman who had taken control of his life.

“I didn’t want to ruin the surprise.” A minute later, Leslie, Rue, and Gia joined them as well, completing the whole unit.

“So, I hope you are all ready for the tour.” Then she led them into the house, and this was his first time seeing the place for himself. The house was built in the Spanish style and had six bedrooms, though one of them had been transformed into a makeshift studio.

“Whoa,” Gia gasped as she looked around the place and then turned towards their mother.

“Can I change my mind about moving?” she asked playfully, and her mother simply slapped her head.

“I am afraid it’s too late now.” Then Amy began to lead them around the place. The ground floor had two rooms, along with the dining room. He was not really interested in the place, and once they moved up, it was Elliot’s room that came up first.

“This is mine,” the boy beside him said, and the room had been prepared to his taste.

“Much to my trouble, yes,” Amy told him, and the boy turned towards him and then wrapped his arm around him.

“Now we have an entire house to crash,” Elliot smirked.

“Oh, we are gonna have so much fun. We can have a party every month, and we can...” Remus tuned out his plans as he turned towards Amy, who was rolling her eyes.

“I am already regretting this,” she answered back.

It was all fairly simple after that, though the main attraction of the place was the basement, and Elliot gasped as he saw the full high-end studio that had been built into the basement.

“Holy shit,” Elliot gasped as he saw the state-of-the-art equipment, though Remus did not miss a strange gift-wrapped box sitting there in the center of the room.

“What’s that?” he asked, turning towards Amy, who smiled.

“That is my housewarming gift for you.” He was not expecting that.

“You didn’t have to get me anything,” he added, and she shook her head.

“I want you to go open it up,” she encouraged him, and the shape made it obvious that this was a guitar. He removed the wrap to reveal a guitar box, and once he unzipped the thing, his eyes widened as he saw it for himself.

“How the hell did you get this?” Elliot’s reaction was insane as he turned towards Amy with a maniacal expression.

“I have my ways,” she added, and in the box was an original Fender Custom guitar. This was like a thing of beauty and one of the most prized and sought-after possessions for a singer.

From what he knew, the store had a wait time of four to five years for one such piece, and yet she had gotten it for him. Remus grabbed the thing and couldn’t believe it.

“Thank you.” He would have to make it up to her somehow.

“No worries,” Amy responded.

“Just promise me you won’t give me any more headaches,” she added, and he shook his head.

“I am afraid I can’t quite do that.” Elliot turned towards the woman.

“Hey, if I buy a house, will you get me one as well?” he asked, and her smile vanished.

“Give me a full album, and I might get you one.” Elliot nodded.

“Deal,” he said, and they were interrupted by the sound of the bell, which was strange.

“Who could it be?” Amy opened her phone to check the camera.

“I don’t recognize them,” she added, and he was by her side now, and unlike her, he recognized them easily.

“It’s Jimmy.” She had forgotten about him.

“My therapist.” Now she remembered.

“I remember now. He lives a few houses away.” It seemed to him that they had come to welcome him to the neighborhood.

Remus walked up to the door and opened it to find the familiar faces of Jimmy and his family.

“There’s my rockstar.” The greeting had become kind of a thing now, as the tall man came in and gave him a hug while Alice and Summer waved at him from behind.

“Welcome to the neighborhood,” he said, and Remus nodded.

“Thanks.” His wife, Tia, stepped forward, and it had been some time since he had seen them all.

“This is a little gift from us.” But Jimmy had not come alone, and he introduced him to two more people.

“This is Liz and Derek. They are our neighbours,” Jimmy introduced them. They were an older couple, though they seemed polite enough.

“Hi, it’s good to see you.” He shook their hands as the woman named Liz turned towards Jimmy.

“You really weren’t lying.” Jimmy nodded.

“Of course I wasn’t.” He welcomed them to the place and showed them around. By tradition, as host, it was his responsibility to offer them all food and drinks, but Liz had graciously brought them her home-cooked food in celebration of his moving in.

The adults mingled with one another as Remus and Elliot formed their own unit with Alice and Summer. The guests stayed for about an hour or so before they left, and there was not much to do afterward, as Leslie and his sisters decided to stay the night to help him unpack while Amy dropped Elliot off at his house.

He found himself lying in his new bed, busy texting the girl who had made a home for herself in his heart. He sent her a picture of his home.

‘R: You owe me a gift, and half a song.’‘O: Is this the house???’‘R: Yup!’

And then he sent her a few pictures that they had taken throughout the day, of the house, of himself holding Amy’s gift, and so forth.‘O: Seems fun!’‘R: Not as fun as it would have been with you!’‘O: Ugh! U are so corny’

The messages lasted late into the night and only ended when he fell asleep. Thankfully, he woke up on his own, for his phone had died in his sleep. He glanced at the clock and saw that it was only eight as he quickly plugged in his phone.

A few hours later, he stood in the private terminal with his family as his mother gave him a hug.

“Go break a leg,” she told him.

“That’s the plan...”

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