𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐮𝐞𝐬𝐪𝐮𝐞 | machine gun kelly

40

A/N:

A bonus chapter update as a new year present? <3 There will still be a Friday chapter! Anyways, I hope it isn't too late to wish you all a happy new year! Also, just a heads up, Statuesque act I only has a few more chapters left.

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I THINK I SWALLOWED MY TONGUE, WATCHING him push past people like that with his eyes fixed intently on me. He seemed to have nothing else on his mind but getting to me. People around him, influencers, other popstars, tiktokers—everyone with a platform to back them up was here. Some of them tried to talk to him as he pushed past, but he didn't acknowledge them.

I caught the eyes of the popstar Avril Lavigne in the crowd, as she turned to follow Machine Gun Kelly's gaze after he blatantly ignored her when she called out to him. She looked frustrated, and as those irritated eyes found mine, I felt the guilt which wasn't my due in the first place.

Maybe I shouldn't have come. I looked towards the exit, a small staircase that led out of this bustling launch party room and into a carpeted hallway. Which, I assumed, would harbor the elevator. The elevator we had come in from was being used as an entrance, and people were still arriving as its doors kept dinging open and close.

I had the urge to leave, but before I could move, my elbow was harshly gripped. My eyes met the silver blue of Machine Gun Kelly's.

"You're not leaving," He managed.

His words were clipped and his jaw was tight. It was as though he was trying his hardest to maintain a normal expression with so many people around us. I snatched my elbow away, and saw his hand reach for it again before he realized where we were and stopped himself.

"You just arrived," He continued, forcing a smile on his face. But it didn't stick. The faint smile melted away and I felt a sick feeling in my heart. When was the last time I had seen him smile? Or laugh?

"Yes, Mr Baker," I responded, suddenly cautious to address him so, as people ventured too close around us-laughing and talking wildly. This was a civil conversation, nothing more. I hope.

The music was loud, but not loud enough to make every organ inside me throb like my heart. It wasn't loud enough to not speak and not hear the other person's voice.

He shut his eyes tight and a vein throbbed visibly in his jaw before he opened his eyes again.

"What was Rook saying?" He blurted, no longer being able to keep the question to himself. "I told him to stay the fuck away from you. But that fucker approached the first opportunity he got."

I blinked, as a similar conversation flooded my memory. How many times in the past had he accused me of having something with Rook when I didn't? How many times had I begged him to believe me? I pushed the echoes and flashes of memory away. That was a long time ago. A different time, a different place.

"You should think about your party," I managed a smile, clasping my hands together at the base of my stomach. "And not trouble yourself with matters other than that."

I made to turn and walk past him, but in a matter of seconds Machine Gun Kelly had grabbed a waiter by his sleeve and shoved him in my path as I halted in my steps. Then he gripped my elbow again and forced me back to him.

His lips met my left ear, and I braced myself for anything he might say, any insult he might give. I braced myself for every dirty promise he might make to hurt me. I braced myself to hear him call me a whore again.

The waiter in front cast us a wary glance, before he shuffled away. People around us had started dancing, as the music changed and MONTERO by Lil Nas X started playing. Bodies pushed up against each other as the lights dimmed and nobody cared about anybody else except the person they were grinding on.