The Actress and The Artist

Chapter 11: 'How to be a better girlfriend'

Ever since that night, Max focused primarily on helping El get better. And so, the first step was to decrease the amount of time she was spending on social media, since that was where most of the hate originated from.

"Okay, listen to me." Max began, El's phone in hand. Eleven nodded, sitting back on the sofa. "You're an adult so it's not right if I set your screen time, it's your phone and you can go on whatever you want, whenever you want. But, I don't want you to spend as much time on Instagram, TikTok or Twitter, okay? People on there are fucked, especially Twitter. Yes you can go on them, post on them, whatever, just don't focus on reading the comments so much because as I said before those people don't know you and so they have no right saying anything."

"But-" El tried.

"No buts." Max stopped her, her voice firm. "Most of them haven't ever spoken to you, or even met you and none of them have seen your body. Yes everyone is entitled to their own opinion but the level to which they're taking it is disgusting. I won't accept it so you shouldn't either. Until they stop, we're gonna make some adjustments, do you understand?"

The younger girl nodded, knowing she needed to change some things in order to get better.

"Thank you." Max handed El her phone, "Just try, okay? If you don't think you can do it we'll think of something else."
"No, I'll do it." Eleven said, standing up. She was determined to get better, not only for herself but for the people around her. "I'll see you later." She spoke, putting her phone in her jacket pocket, about to go to the gym.

"Text me when you get there." Max reminded her, leaning up to kiss her cheek.
El assured her she would, a faint blush on her cheeks. "I love you."
"I love you too." She smiled, watching as she left the house.

———

Max sighed as she span on the chair in the small office they had. It wasn't really used for much, but El would occasionally be in there experimenting on her guitar, which is why her laptop was on the desk.

She glanced over at her electric guitar propped up on its stand, remembering watching El play it on stage, singing songs written about her.

Anger flared in her veins, El was young and at the end of the day just wrote songs for Max to listen to, songs about the love she had for her. People liked them and suddenly she was highly sought after, venues becoming sold out within days and videos about her and her music going viral in just hours. And then suddenly when she becomes an adult others come out and talk shit to the point where she couldn't even avoid it?

Suddenly an idea came into mind. Max turned around, looking at the laptop. She turned it on and put in her birthday, which was always El's passwords. She chuckled as it unlocked and El's recording software opened. Max closed the app and went on Google.

Her laptop was logged into the same accounts as her phone, and since she wasn't on Instagram or anything like that much anyway, she wanted to see what everyone was saying first hand.

First she went on Instagram, which she soon realised was shit on laptops. She clicked on El's most recent post, a picture of her and Billie when they were in Pennsylvania not that long ago. Billie was one friend that knew well how things went in the music industry, and so they spent time together occasionally, growing into personal friends too.

Nothing was wrong with the picture, Billie had a bandana on, sticking her tongue out for the picture while El grinned, leaning back against a metal bannister behind her, the room full of bright flashing lights. Someone else had obviously taken the picture, and Max remembered El calling her that night, letting her talk to Billie for a bit too.

She opened the comments, the top ones being other people at the event.

@billieeilish
Dreaming of the fries there 😋
Liked by author
^ JaneHopper
dreaming of the waffles there

@alexwolffofficial
STOP THE WAY BILLIE FELL 😭
Liked by author
^@billieeilish
STFUUUU DON'T REMIND ME
^JaneHopper
✋😣🤚

@JANEBEMYWIFEPLS632
THE AURA IS CRAZY

Max read a couple, giggling as she imagined their voices saying them. Her smile faded as she scrolled further down, the hate comments suddenly coming up that had thousands of likes, even El liking some of them.

@user87
Everyone needs to stop glazing this bitch

@janehateacc3
crazy how someone can have a glow down so suddenly 💀

@handnuanoakjd
billie is the only fucking reason for her fame

———
Max scoffed as she read them. El was 19, she was barely an adult and still growing and changing yet people were making fun of her for her looks. She looked at some of their accounts, most were either private accounts with a black profile picture or a middle aged man who seemed overly obsessed with jeeps.

Once she had had enough of Instagram, she decided to see what she was searching in case it showed who started this sudden hate. She clicked on the search bar, and before she could type anything she saw the things El had been searching up popping up.

Most of them were music related, which made sense since this laptop was mainly used for her music. For example, 'cheap guitar picks' or, 'how to increase the tempo on...' but the most recent search is the one that caught her eye.

'How to be a better girlfriend'

Max's eyes saddened and she felt a pain in her chest. El had really tried to figure out how to be a better girlfriend? She was already the best, why didn't she think the same? She clicked on the search, the ache only getting worse as she saw how many links she had clicked, every website on the first and second page were purple, meaning she had clicked on them and had tried to find something that'd tell her how to be better. Why would she search something like that up?

Max thought for a moment, shutting the laptop before turning around in the chair and pulling her phone out of her pocket. She wasn't going to let anyone make her think she was a bad person, a shitty girlfriend. If El was too afraid to defend herself, she'd do it for her.

She'd do anything for her.