Perfectly Imperfect | Lippa

"You Ever See Somebody Ruin Their Own Life?" - Four

   WARNING: There will be some harsh language.

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Luckily for Pippa, when she woke up the day after the photographer incident, Steven was still asleep. She was sort of surprised to see him in their bed, because last night he didn't come home. Pippa just shrugged it off and got ready for work. She was praying that he wouldn't see the news. As she was making breakfast, she got a text:
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New Message from Lin😋

Lin😋: Vanessa kicked me out of the house.
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   Her eyes widened when she read the text. Vanessa had kicked Lin out?! But how could she..?
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Lin😋: Vanessa kicked me out of the house.
You: What?! Where are u gonna sleep??
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   Lin immediately texted back.
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Lin😋: Vanessa kicked me out of the house.
You: What?! Where are u gonna sleep??
Lin😋: A hotel, somewhere... idk what to do...
You: Are you coming to work today?
Lin😋: Idk. I guess I'll find out
Read 7:46 AM
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   Pippa sighed and put her phone down. Poor Lin.... She felt like it was all suddenly her fault. She had asked Lin to meet her at a cafe. She grabbed his other hand. From someone else's perspective, it did look like they were on a date.

   As she was about to leave, she heard Steven stir. Her stomach dropped and she quickly walked out of the door, closing the door behind her gently. She speed-walked through the hall and out of the building.

   Pippa put her hoodie on and kept her head low, trying not to attract attention from the paparazzi. But it didn't work. Some reporter stepped in front of her. "So, Pippa, tell us what you think about the incident with Lin!" she exclaimed, holding a pen and a small notepad in her hand.

   "I'm sorry to disappoint you, but there is nothing to be said. We weren't on a date, and if you don't believe the truth, then it doesn't matter to me," Pippa responded sort of harshly. She walked past the reporter, who was busy scribbling words down in her notepad, probably making it seem as if Pippa was either extremely sad or extremely mad. Reporters and paparazzi always did that.

   Pippa had a few more encounters with the press, but she didn't answer them and just kept on walking to the theatre. Once she got there, she rushed inside and shut the door. Pippa let out a small sigh, and she thought she was safe until she heard Jazzy and Rènee's voice.

   "Pippa! You have to explain this ASAP!" Jazzy yelled, not specially at her, referring to the news that was everywhere now. The news about her and Lin.

   Pippa reluctantly made her way over to her two 'sisters.' They looked shocked and stunned. "It wasn't a date," she said simply. "I promise you that it wasn't."

Rènee shrugged, believing Pippa. "Okay. Why were you two holding hands?"

"Because I was sad, and he was trying to help me," Pippa answered. "But then he was sad so I was trying to cheer him up. And so the photographer took the picture, and we tried to explain, but..." She was trying to explain it in the simplest way possible, still not wanting to believe that it was real and that this was actually happening.

Jazzy thought for a moment. "Did Steven see it yet?"

Pippa shrugged. "I don't know... he was still asleep when I woke up, but probably... I am so screwed..."

"Where's Lin?" Rènee asked, hugging Pippa tightly.

"He might not---" Pippa's phone started vibrating nonstop. Someone was calling her. She slowly took her phone out and her heart stopped. It was Steven.

"Well?" Jazzy asked, looking over Pippa's shoulder to see who was calling. "Are you going to answer him or not?" she asked her gently.

Pippa nodded and slowly swiped left, answering Steven's call. She brought the phone up to her ear. "Hey Steven," she said as calmly as she could, but her voice was still shaking.

"WHAT THE HELL, PIPPA?!" Steven yelled into the phone. "YOU'RE CHEATING ON ME?!"

Pippa winced at the anger in his voice. She moved the phone away slightly. "N-No! It's not like that! I swear that it isn't!"

"Then what is it like?! You were holding his hand in a cafe for crying out loud!"

Pippa felt tears forming in her eyes as Steven's voice echoed in the phone.

"Pippa, I'm not fucking stupid! Why would you do something like this and then outright lie about it?!"

Pippa couldn't stop the tears that began to stream down her face. She felt like he was talking to her as if she was a child.

"Steven, I'm not lying! Please..." Her voice trailed off as he continued to yell over her. He didn't trust her at all.

"Good bye, Phillipa," Steven growled and hung up.

Pippa burst into tears right then and there. While Steven had been yelling at her, Pippa hadn't noticed that Lin had walked in. The moment that she burst into tears, Lin wrapped her arms around her.

As if a reflex, she started crying into his chest hard. They both stood there, not saying a word to each other.

Rènee and Jas wanted to hug Pippa, but they had left them so they could work things out together.

Lin grabbed Pippa's chin gently and slowly tipped her head up so their eyes could meet. "Hey.... it's going to be okay, alright Pip?" he reassured her quietly, wiping away her tears with his thumb, caressing her cheek after.

Pippa nodded and gave Lin a small smile, sniffling. "Thank you, Lin," she responded softly. She desperately wanted to say 'I love you,' but she didn't, although she meant that she loved him as a friend. All she did was continue crying into Lin's chest.

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