Hailey's P.O.V.
"I'm not fucking doing that!" I screeched, the panic in my blood quickly being taken over by a sense of rage and disgust.
"You asked for my help Hailey," I heard Jimmy's annoyed but patient tone ring through the speakers, "There's not much else that can be done"
I shook my head rapidly as I paced the sidewalk outside of Karl's house. The wind whipped around me feeling as frustrated as I was. I glared at the ground, already resenting his idea.
After a moment of charged silence, I felt my hoarse voice whisper, "He'll never agree to it..." I trailed off, the tears beginning to sting my eyes.
I sat down on the freezing cement of the curb in front of me, my body becoming riddled with exhaustion from the excessive sobbing I couldn't seem to ease.
"I'll convince him." Jimmy's voice sounded final in my ear like he would force Karl to agree to this disastrous plan.
"Is there really no other way?" I whimpered into the speaker, my throat feeling scratchy and dry, a new feeling of dread spreading rapidly through my bones.
I heard Jimmy sigh tightly through the phone, "Listen, it's up to you," He prompted, "You can try to explain the situation to the millions of people already making assumptions.... but Hailey, if I'm being honest with you, those pictures don't look great"
I felt my stomach churn at his words as bile rose in my throat. Posted on every corner of the internet were dozens of photos of Karl and I smiling like idiots while getting coffee today. While it truly was just two people sipping on coffee, the internet manipulated the images into some kind of secret relationship he was hiding.
I scrolled through Twitter aimlessly, my entire timeline being filled with images of myself and questions about who I was. We still weren't sure how the photographer who sold the images knew my name, but the sudden mass amounts of attention I was receiving were overwhelming, to say the least.
"You're the one who told us to be friends Jimmy," I said a new wave of anger resurfacing through my tidal wave of confusing emotions, as I glared at another image of myself blushing.
I could practically feel Jimmy's eye roll, "If you want to blame me that's fine, but try to remember who signs your checks"
A subconscious growl laced my undertone as I mimicked, "Try to remember who signs your checks" in a high-pitched voice.
After another moment of frustrated silence, I hesitantly asked, "How am I supposed to face the judges at next month's competition...?"
I was terrified. I have worked my entire life for this season, for this opportunity. But now...now I may have just carelessly thrown it away by having coffee with a nerd.
As if my thoughts summoned him, I heard the front door behind me creak open as Karl hurriedly stepped into the driveway looking deshelved. I turned my head to glance at him, as his stare met mine his pathetic look of sympathy was obvious across his features.
I sighed, letting a cloud of hot breath take form in front of me, before rolling my eyes and reverting my vision towards the empty street in front of me, "Karl's here" I said miserably to Jimmy, stopping him before he could reply to my earlier question.
"Okay..." Jimmy said softly, taking in a sharp breath, "Hand him the phone, I'll talk to him"
I muttered a quiet "Okay"
I heard Karl's footsteps behind me, as he approached cautiously. I turned to stare up at the man who looked down in both terror and sadness at the look of despair on my face.
I sighed, as I extended my arm towards the sky and handed him the phone, "Jimmy wants to talk to you" My voice cracked as I said the words, the emotion I was working overtime to conceal shining through.
Karl's eyebrows crinkled in worry, as he hesitantly took the phone from my hand and whispered "Okay" before beginning to walk down the street holding the phone to his ear.
I was thankful Karl walked away. Thankful for the small amount of privacy he allotted me, as the tears began to freely fall down my cheeks, the frozen air crystalizing them as they fell.
I leaned back into the cement, the cold pavement a welcoming touch to the fire that radiated through my core. I glared at the clouds that loomed on this bleak day.
This isn't real. This isn't happening.
I soothed myself softly with the lies as I tried to make out shapes in the clouds above. Yet, no matter what I tried, I couldn't seem to get my mind off of this abysmal idea.
I sighed to myself, only being drawn from my thoughts by the sound of Karl's shocked voice from down the street, "Jimmy, what?!" I heard him shout.
I turned my head to stare at him a few meters away, my cheek met the cold of the pavement as my heart sunk at his words, "I'm not fucking doing that! It's never going to work!"
He was quiet for a minute more as Jimmy's lecture could be heard from my spot on the ground, "Jim- Jimmy!" Karl stuttered, attempting to cut the man off from his speech.
"Why can't we just tell the truth?" Karl finally exclaimed in a loud voice.
He was silent for a few moments as he paced up and down the street absentmindedly kicking a rock as he walked. His silence continued until he sharply looked up to meet my eyes.
We stared at each other openly as my blood ran cold.
What is Jimmy telling him...
I tore my eyes away from his stare, my fury eating me alive. I looked back towards the sky attempting to imagine a different existence for myself. Just as my lies began to lull me into a peaceful state of mind, I heard the shuffling of feet begin to make their way towards me.
I sighed to myself as I closed my eyes, the pure anger I felt manifesting through my limbs. I harshly opened my eyes only to be met with Karl's face hovering above me blocking my view of the dark sky.
I rolled my eyes at the sight of his face, before pushing myself into a sitting position to rid of the eye sore. I couldn't contain the scoff that left my lips at the sight of him, my frustration coming to a peak.
"Hailey-" Karl began.
I cut him off, "No, just don't," I said, venom lacing my tone.
"We gotta talk-" He tried once again.
"Why?!" I asked my rage evident in my voice, as I whipped my head around to stare at where he found himself a spot on the curb next to me, "Why do we have to talk about how you ruined my life?!" I shouted, not being able to control my vicious words any longer.
"I told you we can figure this out-"
My tongue was sharp as I hissed, "Figure out what exactly?! We can't undo what's been done! All we have is Jimmy's stupid fucking plan to play it off as a Youtube video! Even then, my face is still plastered on every corner of the internet! I'm going to be attached to your name for the rest of my life! Do you know how dehumanizing that is?!" I screamed, not being able to stop the free-flowing tears that dropped with my words.
I stood up, my anger propelling me from the sidewalk, begging me to escape the person causing my heart so much harm. But Karl's words stopped me dead in my tracks, "Maybe I'm just stupid, I don't know," He began, "But I just don't get why this is such a big deal?!" He questioned back in a stern tone, rising from his seated position on the curb.
"Why. this. is. such. a. big. deal...?" I repeated after him, my eyes going wide at the audacity of his words.
How does he not understand?!
A look of unease passed over Karl's eyes as he analyzed my alarmingly calm tone, yet somehow he still chose to say the stupidest thing he possibly could have, "Yes! I get that it's uncomfortable and embarrassing, but what's the harm in people knowing that you work for Mr. Beast and are associated with me in some way?!" He said, a look of confusion occupying his features, his words sounding through the dead air with an unbelieving scoff leaving his lips.
I threw my hands towards the sky, "Of course, you don't fucking get it," I seethed, running my hand through my hair in a stressed motion, "Think about someone other than yourself for once! Think about how this ruins my reputation, ruins my skating career, ruins my life!" I screamed, not caring if the whole neighborhood heard me.
"Ruins your reputation?!" Karl asked, his voice rising to meet mine, "What about mine?! I literally can't fucking curse on my streams because of my sponsors! How do you think they're going to react when my "secret girlfriend" is brought up in next week's meeting?! Do you know what kind of financial situation that could put me in?!" He screamed, his arms waving around to exuberate his point.
That was it. That was fucking it. I was going to destroy this man.
"You have got to be fucking kidding me right now," I said, genuinely shocked at his incompetence, "You want to talk about your financial situation?! Fine. Let's talk about it," I prompted, an involuntary smile coming to my face, "You live in your million-dollar house, drive your hundred-thousand-dollar car, go on exotic vacations, all the while stealing money from the people you call your fans, and receiving a hefty check from Jimmy!"
"How the fuck, can you sit there and tell me you know the first thing about a tough 'financial situation'?!" I seethed only being able to see red.
My words struck a nerve, "You don't know anything! You don't know where I came from! Or that I grew up dirt fucking poor living off food stamps! I send money home to my mom every fucking week Hailey. I am my family's sole support! If I fail, I fail everyone!" He screamed, tears beginning to prick the corners of his eyes now as his face turned beat red with the words.
I shook my head in dismay, "I know a lot more about that than you think!" I rebuttal, no longer caring to keep the secrets that have been weighing me down, "You got out of your financial burden, I'm still living it! I'm scraping pennies together just to get my fucking skates sharpened Karl! Up until this job, I was still living off of food stamps! I don't have extra money to send to my family! I wish I fucking did!" My voice cracked, as the feelings of hurt set in.
Karl was silent for a moment as he glared at me, concern fighting behind his eyes. I couldn't feel my legs. I felt like I was going to faint at any moment.
How can Karl and I revert back to our old ways so easily? Maybe this is just how we were meant to be...
"You know Jimmy can pay you more..." He trailed off, the truth in his statement ringing through the charged silence that lurked. Despite the anger lingering on his features, Karl couldn't contain the worry that he had for me.
My face softened at the realization.
When will he ever stop proving me wrong?
I shook my head, as my eyes fell to the pavement, "That's not the point," I groaned softly.
Karl took a hesitant step in my direction, his voice lowering back to his normal gentle tone, "Then can you explain to me what the point is?" His eyes were begging me for an explanation. His comforting presence cooled the rage that burned through me as he took another step closer, rapidly closing the distance between our bodies.
I was silent for a moment, my stubborn attitude refusing to let up. I heard Karl sigh in front of me, but I kept my eyes glued to the small patch of grass peeking through the crack in the sidewalk. Karl's footsteps sounded as he moved to stand even closer to me now, his chest grazing mine, the intimacy forcing my eyes to meet his.
"I want to help you Hailey," He began, "Please let me"
His face was still tinged with red from the anger that pulsated between us mere moments before. But there was no anger on his face, only concern and regret.
I felt myself sniffle, as I hurriedly glanced away from his blue orbs, "The uh-" I stuttered, "The point is, that being attached to both your name and the Mr. Beast company brings some amount of press, fame, interest..." I trailed off, the lump in my throat becoming thicker.
I could see Karl nod his head from the corner of my eye, "Yeah... but you had to be aware of that when you agreed to take the position..." He countered, a new look of skepticism dawning his features.
I nodded my head at his words, "I was," I cleared my throat, "That's why Jimmy and I agreed to keep my work completely separate from the public eye"
"Okay..." Karl said slowly, "I'm still not understanding"
I rolled my eyes at his impatient attitude, "I want to skate for the rest of my life. It has been my dream since I was five. I need to skate more than I need to breathe," The words tumbled from my mouth before I could stop myself, "In the past, skating judges have been accused of favoring 'famous' skaters. There was a huge scandal about it years ago, but it set the precedent that all skaters need to keep a low profile if they hope to score well in competition..."
Another set of tears dripped from my eyes as my words tumbled into the nearing night. I looked down at the ground, not knowing how to cope with my life's goal being ripped away from me.
I didn't even realize I was sobbing until I felt Karl's arms surround me, pressing me tightly against his body, shielding me from the cruel world that watched us.
I'm not sure how long we stayed there. I would believe you if you told me it was days or mere minutes. But as I sobbed into Karl's chest, I felt his signature circles find the exposed skin on my lower back, slowly soothing away any resentment with his touch.
As I began to become more aware of my surroundings, I felt the way our bodies slowly swayed back and forth like we were dancing to ghostly music.
I hated how his presence comforted me.
I felt my breathing slow as we pulled apart, my embarrassment returning to me, "I-I'm sorry" I choked out, desperately trying to untangle my arms from where they were tightly wrapped around his neck.
As I attempted to pull away from him, his steady hands rose to grab my arms, stopping my motion. Silently, Karl's grip on my forearms tightened as he stared torturously at my face. I was captivated by the feverish anticipation his eyes bore into mine.
Karl's stare intensified as he kept ahold of me, freezing me completely in my movements and thoughts. Slowly, he brought his warm hands up to cup my ice-cold cheeks, where he softly wiped away the remaining tears scattered across my face.
"Hailey" The way my name rolled off his tongue made my skin crawl, "I am so sorry. For everything. For yelling, for not understanding, for putting us in this situation in the first place, but mostly for not supporting you..."
My lips parted at his heartfelt words, the anger once firing my movements now long forgotten from my body, "Karl it's okay," I said softly, shaking my head as I nervously glanced towards the ground, "I'm sorry for taking out my anger on you..." I admitted, biting my lower lip as my internal disappointment weighed me down.
"Hey," Karl's hand snaked from the side of my face down towards my chin, forcing my stare up to meet his, "We're going to get through this, together" The sincerity in his voice made the hair on my arms stand up.
I couldn't speak, so I helplessly nodded my head. We sat in a comforting silence as we held each other, the weight of our words and the pressure of the outside world falling on our shoulders.
I always hated our silence. I shook my head softly as I asked, "What do we do now?" My eyes met his, desperately searching for an answer.
Karl sighed his eyes never leaving mine, "Now, we convince the world we're dating"
. . .
yeah. you're welcome. i slayed that.