"Wait, wait, wait. Let me get this straight. So, you're going out to lunch with Aron, even though the last time you two hung out, it was all over the tabloids?"
"Yeah. He said the place we're going is kind of underground-ish, so we should be free from paparazzi." You explained, switching the phone from one hand to the other as you put on your outfit for the day.
"You of all people should know that's not true. Those people are like flies. And, what does your...boyfriend...think about this?" Jessie's questioned, followed by the sounds of her flopping onto her couch. "I'm still confused on how that even happened, by the way." You rolled your eyes, putting the female on speaker to finish getting ready.
"I am too, trust me." As much as you wished to tell Jessie than the relationship was a fluke, you had basically promised Terry you wouldn't. "Nothing will go wrong, I'll make sure of it. If any press catches me today, it's going to be at Hollywood Undead's concert to get them and their appearance on the show hyped up. As for Jax, he won't care. They're friends, remember?"
"I know, but something...it just doesn't feel right, y/n." Jessie added. Thankfully, a text from Aron saying he was outside made your phone buzz, saving you from continuing the conversation.
"It's going to be fine. Look, I got to go. Bye Jess."
"Uh-huh. Bye y/n." You made sure she had hung up before stuffing the phone into your bag and doing one last sweep of your appearance in the mirror. During this time, you put on a hat and your favorite pair of sunglasses, just in case.
Thankfully, you had managed to make it into the parking lot without paparazzi causing World War III. You stood there for a second, trying to identify Aron's truck. You cocked your head to the side in confusion as a small red car rolled up next to you. You prepared to turn your head to look away on instinct, yet stopped when you realized who was in the car.
"Aron?" You questioned as he leaned over and opened the door for you from the inside.
"Hey." You climbed into the car, shutting the door behind you.
"What's with the car?" You buckled yourself into the seat as he began heading towards the exit.
"My dumbass friend borrowed my truck and crashed it."
"Are they okay? Is the car okay?" You quickly asked, concern washing over your features.
"Yeah, he's fine. The car is in the shop. So, how's work?" You shrugged, your gaze switching to the window.
"It's good, not much has happened." You didn't feel like explaining the current situation and decided to take the focus off of you, turning your head towards him. "You working on any new stuff?"
"No." He grumbled. You watched as his fingers tightened around the steering wheel, his knuckles becoming a milky white.
"You okay?" You asked, seeing the way his body tensed.
"The record label I'm with now are a bunch of douchebags and I'm in a whole fucking legal mess right now." The usual confidence you had seen Aron wish vanished for a split second, anger taking it's place. "I can't start anything new until we figure it out."
A small "oh," slipped out of your mouth as you adverted your gaze to the window once more. You could tell it wasn't a good idea to talk about this subject anymore and allowed car to slip into silence.
The two of you reached the restaurant within the next twenty minutes. When the car was turned off, you both got out and began walking towards the entrance. You hardly even made it to the lobby when a woman who looked to be in her early fifties began speaking to you.
"Welcome to Little Spice, table for tw-" She paused in the middle of her sentence and dropped the fake smile she was wearing. "Oh, it's only you, Aron." She leaned onto the podium, grabbing two menus. A light chuckle came out of your mouth at how she discarded him so quickly.
"Hey, Janet." Aron greeted. You caught him rolling his eyes slightly. 'Janet' grabbed two menus and lead you two to the table.
"Have fun, kiddos." A small smile popped onto her face before walking back to her place.
"That's Janet, the owner of the place. She's known me for awhile, my old crew and I used to come here if we got bored." You nodded, observing the area around you. The interior of Little Spice was very dimly lit, with dark wooden tables of four seats lining the right wall, and tables of two lining the left. Overall, it gave off a somewhat cozy vibe.
The two of you looked through your menus, seeing what the place had to offer. It didn't take long for a female around your age to approach the table. She looked like the typical female Californian stereotype. The kind of girls you would find in a college drama flick. Blonde hair, massive blue eyes, big breasts, and a slim frame. When she stopped at the front of the table, you could read that her name tag had 'Candy' written on it.
"Hey, Aron." Candy flashed a smile towards the male across from you, her hand touching his shoulder lightly. Aron seemed to return the smile in a less bold matter. "Long time no see. How's everything going?"
"Everything's been good." Aron responded, placing down the menu. You eyebrows furrowed, noticing some sort of tension filling the area as Candy casted you a look.
"Same, and who's this?" You let out a shaky breathe and smiled at her, glad she hadn't recognized you.
"Y/n. It's nice to meet you," You pretended to read the name tag, not wanting it to sound weird for already knowing her name. "Candy." She seemed to size you up for a moment before smiling once again. For a moment you wondering if she recognized you, before coming to the realization that you didn't care. You could already tell there was something off about her.
"You too." Her attention was turned back to Aron in a second's notice. "You know, mom's thinking about doing open mic night again. It'd be great to have you play." She bit her bottom lip. "I mean, we had so much fun last time you played here." You looked at the male questionably before reading over the menu again. In an attempt to break the conversation, and move on with your life, you spoke up.
"Could we order our drinks now?" Her blue eyes shot icy daggers at you, but she still had a smile on her face.
"Of course. What would you like?" Aron ordered some sort of energy drink and you got your favorite non-alcoholic beverage. "I'll be right out with that." She casted the male across from you one more look before walking away.
"And she was....?" You inquired, oddly curious about who she was treating Aron.
"Janet's daughter. Her and I...uh, may have hooked up a few times in the past."
"I can see that." You smirked.
"Is Miss Hollywood getting jealous?" He suddenly hummed, causing you to roll your eyes.
"Someone needs to hold me down before I start a cat fight." You joked, watching a large smile come onto Aron's face.
"I mean, well, that can be arranged-" You gave him a warning glare while slowly rising from your seat, pretending you were about to leave. "Whoa, I'm just joking." He held up his hands in mock defense. You sat back down, laughing.
"Same here." The two of you chuckled before Aron switched to another topic.
"So, has anyone harassed you lately for our supposed affair? You doing anything to stop the rumors?" You let out a deep sigh, running a hand through your hair.
"No...yes. I don't know. Before, my manger told me to deny it. Now, I guess I'm just supposed to ignore it. She has a plan, though."
"Do you know what the plan is?" He suddenly questioned.
"No," You lied. "I just know she set up an interview. I guess we'll handle it when the time comes." Aron nodded. You were sure he would have questioned it more if Candy hadn't arrived with the drinks at that exact moment.
You couldn't help but notice how she leaned down straight in front of Aron while placing his drink, allowing her loose top to slouch. You couldn't quite see Aron's reaction, due to the fact she was leaning in your line of vision.
Candy seemed to linger there for a few seconds before standing up and simply put your drink down in front of you. After giving the both of you a straw, she began to speak.
"Are you ready to order?" Aron looked over at you for confirmation, in which you nodded.
"I'll have the steak." He handed over his menu, allowing you to go next. You scanned over the menu for one last time before deciding.
"I'll have (choice of meal), please. " You handed Candy the menu before taking a sip of your drink. She opened her mouth to say something, but was infatuated by her mother letting in a family of four.
"Candy, can you seat them for me?" Janet called to her daughter, disappearing into one of the back rooms.
"Yeah, sure." Candy mumbled while walking away from your table.