Caleb

For two days, I had been able to ignore the replaying sound of her voice and that damn nickname slipping through her lips.

I have been able to ignore the lightness I'd felt every time she turned down an offer to dance, just to sit and drink with my teammates and I.

For two days I have been able to ignore the memory running through my mind, of the way she looked in that dress, and the way her perfect lips rose into a smile that lit her face up. The type of smile that made her eyes dissappear and face hurt.

Now though? Scrolling through my phone, we are everywhere. Across any and all gossip sites and accounts, pictures of us laughing, and dancing. Ones of us looking too close despite the distance I had known she fought to keep all night. She was worried about being in such a public eye, I know she was. For one, she hates when too many eyes are on her, and two, she does to a degree have a reputation to uphold with her line of work. I would understand if she didn't want to be seen with me. Aside from that, she was well aware of the rumors that could be started hence why I shut down any inkling of that idea.

Yet, staring at my screen, here she was being labeled my new fling, my mystery woman, and a fucking home wrecker.

She was none of those. She wasn't my anything, and if she was it would be a hell of a lot more than a fucking fling.

It's something my fiancée is rightfully, pissed about.

"Caleb what the fuck?"

"Babe I know I'm working on it," I'm patient with her, of course I am.

I'd be beyond pissed if posts came out insinuating she cheated on me. Even knowing she didn't, I'd hate how our relationship was being publicized as some fucked up soap opera. I wouldn't be her fault, but the situation alone would be enough to set me off.

"You need to get this shit taken down. Why would you even take her with in the first place? You knew this was a possibility," Her voice was quiet, she was doing that seething yell thing when you couldn't openly yell. She was in public most likely, otherwise she'd have no apprehension to yelling.

"Why wouldn't I invite her Liv? I cant invite the entirety of my family, including her brothers, and exclude her," there was no way in hell I'd do that. Besides, I wanted Bailey there.

"Whatever, just get this fucking fixed Caleb." And without saying another word she hangs up on me.

Great. Love you too.

That was the perfect way to wake up.

Before I can even pull a pair of sweatpants on, there's a knock on my door.

"What?" I may have snapped a little too harshly considering, the voice in the opposite side snorted.

"Good morning to you sunshine," I could practically hear the grin in her voice, "Can I come in? Or you come out?"

"Hold on," slipping a pair of sweatpants on, I throw the door open. Her eyes were wide, she looked stressed and she hadn't even closed out the Instagram tab on her phone.

Perfect.

"Can I have five minutes before we talk about the shitstorm?"

"Sure," her voice was shaky as she followed me down the stairs "Can I have coffee?"

"How about we go get some?" I should have given her some sort of further warning to my abrupt stop but I didn't and in and instant she's running into my chest. Way closer than I needed her to be.

Despite what I might want.

"Sorry," she steps out of my hands that had instinctively gone to steady her at her waist. I shouldn't have done that. "Should we be seen in public right now? Together?"

"Belle I don't give two fucks about online bullshit. We are still us, you're my friend and this doesn't change that," I guess we are talking about this right now then.

"I do," she says quietly. It didn't take much to know she'd been reading the comments.

Sure there were a lot supporting her, complementing her beauty and all else about her. For every one of those comments though were three more absolutely tearing her apart.

Even then though, those somewhat positive remarks were just a comparison of her to Liv, and Baileys never been the type to get credit while other were blatantly out down, from her perspective none of this was good.

"I'm trying not to Co, I am trying my damndest but fuck, people are following me, picking apart literally everything about me. The dm's I've gotten are awful," she hasn't taken her eyes off her phone "I've been getting messages from my coworkers too, apparently people are making calls to the hospital attempting to get me fired,"

"Wait they figured out who you are?" Well that changes things. I held out hope that her name still remained anonymous, maintaining what shred of privacy she still had especially because the interview hadn't been released yet. I guess not.

"Yeah," she nods, handing me her phone without even asking. She had over a thousand follow requests on a now private account. It was public, it has been for the last eight years.

She had even more message requests, death threats, comments on everything about her, threats to her job. They went her with everything, I just about threw her phone through a wall when I got to the dick pictures and other grossly lewd comments.

"I'm going to fucking kill someone," I hand her phone back to her before I wreck the thing.

"I shouldn't have gone,"  she states yet I just shake my head.

"Bails you belonged there, do not think otherwise," I have not seen her look as at home as she did sitting beside my teammates and her family since long before we left. She just fit, and for irrelevant assholes to make her feel otherwise pisses me off even more than I already am.

"How can we fix this? What about Liv? I can talk to her if you want, I feel awful," she was genuinely stressed about my relationship while her own reputation was being torn apart by millions of people.

"Wanna go-"

"Co we can't go out in public right now, I'm sorry," she spouts quickly. I was kind of entertaining, and it shouldn't be, it's not.

But they way she just yelled at me, in that fast high pitched way, was exactly how she use to yell at me.

"Breathe Bails," I grin, I don't want her to get more spun up, she doesn't need that. "We won't go anywhere you don't want to, I was just going to suggest your house,"

"God no" she grunt and I almost laugh, I would've if it weren't for the serious distress across her face. "If I go back over there I'm gonna kill the caterer, Ace, or myself, I don't know who'd be first,"

"God what's groomzilla doing now?"

"Fucking everything. Have you ever met anyone who does the most ALL of the time?"

"Yes, your brother," if anyone was a perfectionist in her family it was Ace. He needed everything just so, but it was his wedding so he was allowed it this time.

"Exactly. He's nitpicking eveey little thing. The wedding is literally in two days and he's driving me fucking insane. And now this on top of it, I swear my head is going to explode," She drops her head onto the table. Not knowing how exactly to appropriately comfort her, I just rest my hand on her head.

Which may have not been the best course of action because she immediately mumbles without lifting her head.

"Your hand is heavy as hell, this isn't as comforting as you think it is,"

and I remove my hand, immediately.

But she just laughs , lifting her head to look at me but leaving her chin to rest on her hands. She looks young. I mean she is, she's only twenty five but life has aged her in way, it's clear in her eyes it has. But right now she looks like, life has slowly been giving her a break, something that she's needed since she was seventeen.

"Fine we'll stay her, we'll have coffee and then we'll figure this press bullshit out," I grin at her, attempting to lighten her mood. I think it's working as she releases a breath and moves to the old coffee machine that's still going strong.

She moved quietly through my kitchen, like she's never left. Mindlessly knowing where everything is and where everything goes, until she's setting two mugs down on the table. One with enough sugar in it to send anyone into cardiac arrest and the other with just enough creamer to cut the normal bitterness.

"What are you up to today?"

"We're pretending like we don't have a shit storm to deal with?" I raid a brow, I mean I was fine with it I could hide from the world in the house forever. She couldn't though, her mind has always gone a mile a minute.

"Coffee," she just taps her mug as she pulls it from her lips, "so, plans?"

"Well probably avoid your brother, relax and spend time with Liv since she is coming back tonight," I play pretend with her, just like we used to. "What are you doing Bailey-Belle?"

She smiles at the sound of her full name, well not completely as she tries to conceal it to a mere grin, but I got a smile out of her.

"We'll aside from being a hermit, I'll just be doing some last minute preparations for the bachelor party and then I need sleep,"

"Yeah you do,"

She simply snorts and mutters a 'thanks'

"I didn't mean it like that Kalanski, you just look tired,"

"Yeah well my phone was blowing up at three due to a certain article being dropped," she glared but the humor in her eyes shows anything but anger or annoyance.

"Oh so we're talking about it now?"  And just as I say this, my managers name pops up on my phone. We don't have a choice now.

"What's up Percy?" I put the phone on speaker so she could hear.

"We need to figure this shit out,"

"No shit, Bailey's been getting harassed since the article dropped," she just snorts beside me, saying hi to Percy.

"Okay this may be uncomfortable but I have to ask, is anything going on between you two?"

"No," her and I both answer simultaneously, making eye contact as well.

"Like not at all?" He pushes, and I go to shut him down but Belle beats me to it.

"Percy I would never allow myself to be the other woman and Co would never in his life cheat on someone, can we move past this now?" She states

"Okay okay, we'll good news, it hasn't been leaked that either of you have history but it may be when Earl releases his interview tonight" fuck i forgot about the interview.

"Is there anyway we can stop that from being released?"

"Unless you want to call Earl yourself and convince him, then no. I know you two are friendly Kazer but he's still a reporter and you are a profitable topic right now," he sounds like he's thinking. It's the voice he'd use when he'd negotiate my contract terms with reps. "But that interview could work in your guys favor,"

"How?"

"You guys weren't too close, you established early on you were just friends before those pictures were taken, it's worth a shot. When does Olivia get back?"

"Tonight, why?"

"Good, I've already called her, pissed at you by the way, but you're going to take her out tonight. She's on board,"

Great, glad I have a say in my life.

"Bailey what are you doing tonight?"

"Staying home," she eyes me, a silent question as to what my manager has planned for her.

"You should go out to too, are you by any chance seeing anyone? If not I could set you up just for-"

"No she's not doing that." I stop his train of thought before he can even finish. "She's not going out with a random guy none of us know, no."

"It's just one night Kazer," he attempts to reason but from the look of discomfort on Belle's face, it's a done deal. I am not going to have her be put in this position because of a friendship with me.

"Percy I said no, drop it." 

"How about one of the guys?" I swear if he is suggesting my teammates.

"Who?" Bailey questions looking from the phone to me.

"On the team, some of them are still in Dallas, I could have one of them there tonight,"

"What the fuck? No Percy we aren't doing that." I'm pissed he'd even suggest that. She's not going out with another guy period.

Unless she wants to of course. 

"Yeah why not, it would make sense then why she was around you all so much at the benefit,"  He attempts to explain further but none of us are having it.

"Yeah I don't think I'm comfortable with that Percy, can't we just release a statement or something on Calebs Instagram?" She speaks so I don't have to, probably for the best considering I'm about to hang up on a good friend for his fucking stupidity.

"You could try, that could stir up more rumors though, especially if Liv doesn't make an appearance in it,"

"Then she will. We aren't going to change our lives for some bullshit media publicity," I was pissed. This was my trip home to relax and get away from all of that, it's times like this that I genuinely regret the career choice I've made. And now that Baileys been brought into it all on such a big scale makes it even worse.

Sure I knew she'd be in the spotlight a little more, the entire family would, but not in such a defaming way. People are trying to take away all the good she has done based upon bullshit that isn't even true, and even if it were who's fucking business would that be outside of ours.

"Co calm down,"

"This is fucking bullshit." I sit back on my chair, just shaking my head looking at her. "I'll release something tonight and I'll go out with Liv, but Belle isn't doing anything she doesn't want to,"

"Fine. I'll call you if anything else comes up," and he hangs up. Leaving Belle and I there sitting in silence.

"Just another shit show Co," she tries to smile

"A bullshit one," I huff out.

I don't know why, but a huge smile breaks across her face, and she can't contain the small giggles bursting out of her.

It's hard not to laugh with one like her.

"Things haven't changed that much after all," she was still laughing but managed to get this few words out.

She wasn't completely wrong either.

"Always involved in some problem back then, the second we're friends again this pops up," I grin, "Maybe we're bad influences on each other,"

"You always were," she shrugs, "I was the good one,"

She really was honestly.

"Okay miss-jumps-off-roofs-for a dare," she didn't have to know that though.

"I swear to god we could be fuckin ninety and you will still be throwing that back at me," she rolls her eyes with a full smile on her face, and I can't help but think about her words.

Having her in my life that long wouldn't be a bad thing at all.

We both go quiet again, with content grins on our faces like two kids who just got in trouble. Just like how we used to, before she stands.

"Okay, I'm ready to face the world, want to come with me?"

By world, she means our families and friends.

But of course I do. So I stand with her, grabbing her coffee mug and mine.

"Let's go Belle,"