Fireworks 1 and 2

Jungle: Chapter Eighty

    Trevor held up his hands in a mock-defensive gesture. "I'm sensing a little hostility here, when all I'm trying to do is have a conversation."

    Vanessa, who must have wrapped up her interview with the entertainment news reporter, strutted over wearing a smile that looked almost as artificial as her surgically-enhanced curves. She attached herself to Trevor's arm and made sure to smile at a few flashing cameras in the process. "Are the children playing nicely?" she asked, her gaze lingering on Drake. She reached out and touched his bicep. "My, my. Gain a little bit of muscle and grow your beard out, and women all over the world go a little crazy."

    Drake grabbed her wrist and removed her hand from his arm. "Only, it didn't take my beard or muscles for you to completely lose your mind. You need to shorten the leash on your dog." He glared at Trevor.

    Vanessa glanced up at Trevor. "Who, him? He's harmless."

    "I find that hard to believe," Drake muttered. "Especially when he's already trying to get at Mia again."

    Vanessa's eyes narrowed. "Really, Trevor?"

    Trevor, who hadn't taken his eyes off of Mia, shrugged. "She doesn't belong with him. She belongs with me."

    "I'm already where I belong," Mia snarled at him. "I wouldn't walk down the street with you, let alone go home with you. Ever. You can let go of that pipe dream right now."

    Drake murmured comforting words to her and pulled her closer to him.

    "You're already after her again?" Vanessa demanded, swatting at Trevor's upper arm. "Really? The first time you see her?" She turned and looked Mia over.

    Mia tilted her chin up. What did you say to the woman who attempted to sabotage your potential relationship with the love of your life?

    "What is it about you?" Vanessa demanded, and she sounded genuinely curious. "What is so special about you that you have men like Drake and Trevor pining after you? Because I'm looking at you...and I just don't see it."

    "Not everyone recognizes greatness when they see it," Mia said matter-of-factly. "Don't beat yourself up too much over it. That's Trevor's job."

    Anger flashed in Vanessa's eyes.

    "Oh, yeah," Mia said, stepping away from Drake and walking up to Vanessa. "The thing about makeup is that, no matter how high quality the brand, it can only cover up so much. So the black eye you're covering up? It's still showing a little. I doubt that's the only mark he's put on you. He's harmless? Right." She linked her arm with Drake's. "We should really get inside."

    "The new show I'm on, we've already recorded episodes where I talk about you," Vanessa told Drake.

    "Good luck with that," Drake said, leading Mia away from them and towards the movie theater entrance.

    "I'm going to tell the world about how fake you are!" Vanessa screamed. "How you lead women on and play them. How you pretend to be cool with people that you can't stand."

    "That's not being fake," Drake called over his shoulder as photographers continued flashing their cameras at him. "It's called growing up. Learning how to be cordial. Something you should brush up on."

    Mia leaned into him as they entered the theater. "He should be in jail."

    "And she should be in a mental institution," he said, courteously nodding to a few of the theater staff.

    "Jay and Bey must have gotten tired of the drama. They decided to stop waiting for us."

    Drake kept a guiding hand at her lower back. "When you're at Jay and Bey's level, you can't concern yourself with drama. Jay hung around and watched out for me for a minute, but if he'd waited any longer, people would start asking why he was so interested. He and Beyonce would have gotten involved, which is the last thing I'd want. He doesn't have anything to do with the Trevor and Vanessa drama. That is completely on me."

    Mia's brow furrowed. Sometimes, she felt like she would never understand the entertainment industry. No matter what Mia's status was, if someone attempted to start drama with Bri, she was going to stick around to make sure Bri was all right - whether or not Mia was directly involved in the drama. That's what friends did. But then again, Chubbs educated me on the fact that when it comes to this industry, most of the people in it who are friendly with you aren't your friends, she reminded herself. I applied that to Nicki without issue, but technically that would apply to Jay and Bey too, no matter how amazing they seem as people.

    "We came here to attend an event," Drake explained as he walked beside her. "The drama outside had the potential to make us late to the event. An event like this, you want to grab your seats fairly early instead of hanging around outside. I don't take it personally that Jay took Bey in. They didn't need to be involved in the mess."

    "I get it," she said quietly, even though she didn't understand completely.

    Signs pointed them into the direction of the correct theater, an expansive theater room bustling with chatter. The lights were still on, and the projection screen showed a collage of film production company logos.

    Mia remained by Drake's side as he greeted and dapped other entertainers. The audience was filled with familiar faces, faces she'd seen on her television, on the silver screen or onstage at the few concerts she'd attended in her lifetime. Even after a year of dating Drake and meeting these entertainers, it still felt surreal to be around them. Each of these entertainers had throngs of fans who were willing to sell off one of their kidneys, just for the chance to sit down and have one conversation with them. Here she was, nodding and smiling at them, waving at the few of them she'd actually met prior to tonight, and basking in their presence – all at once.

    Drake quickly found Jay and Beyonce, who were seated near the front. "I'm sorry about that."

    "It looked like a messy situation," Jay commented. "Is everything good?"

    "Yeah, everything is good," Drake said, gesturing for Mia to sit in the empty seat next to Beyonce. "I guess he just needs to be put in his place once in awhile."

    "Haven't you put him in the hospital once already?" Beyonce asked, looking concerned. "Who needs reminders after that?"

    "He's a slow learner," Drake remarked, sitting on the other side of Mia and grabbing her hand. He lifted her hand to his lips and kissed the back of it.