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chapter FIFTEEN talk to me .
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the day had started out like any other on set, but it had quickly spiraled into chaos. starr had been in her trailer, taking a moment to herself between scenes, when she heard the commotion outside. at first, she thought it was just the usual hustle and bustle of the crew, but the sounds grew louder—shouting, the scuffle of feet, and then something that sounded like a struggle.
her heart raced as she stepped out of the trailer, following the noise. what she saw made her freeze in place. mason and dylan were in the middle of what could only be described as an all-out brawl. several crew members were desperately trying to hold mason back, but he was seething with rage, his eyes locked on dylan with an intensity that starr had never seen before.
"mason, stop!" one of the crew members shouted, but mason broke free from their grip with a force that sent them stumbling backward.
before starr could even process what was happening, mason threw a punch, hard and fast. his fist connected with dylan's jaw, sending him crashing to the ground. the sickening thud of the impact echoed in starr's ears, and for a moment, everything seemed to move in slow motion.
starr rushed forward, her heart pounding in her chest as she knelt beside dylan, who was groaning in pain, clutching his face. she couldn't believe what she had just witnessed. this wasn't like mason at all. sure, he had a temper, but this? this was something else entirely.
"what the hell is wrong with you?" she yelled, looking up at mason with a mixture of shock and anger. but instead of answering, he turned on his heel and stormed off, his shoulders tense and his fists still clenched at his sides.
starr had had enough of this. she wasn't going to let him keep running away every time something went wrong. without a second thought, she stood up and followed him, leaving dylan in the care of the crew members who had gathered around.
she caught up to mason just as he was about to disappear around the corner of one of the soundstages. "mason!" she shouted, her voice filled with frustration. "could you stop? what the fuck just happened back there?"
he didn't stop, didn't even slow down, but starr wasn't going to let him off that easily. she grabbed his arm, forcing him to turn around and face her. his eyes were blazing, filled with an anger that made her take a step back. but there was something else there too—something deeper, more painful.
"talk to me," she demanded, her voice softer now, but no less insistent. "you can't just... do that and not tell me why."
mason's jaw was clenched so tightly that she could see the muscles working under his skin. for a moment, she thought he might just push her away and leave, but then he spoke, his voice low and rough.
"he said he was using you," mason said, the words like poison on his tongue. "dylan. he said he was getting close to you because it would help him get more attention for some role."
starr's eyes widened, her mind reeling. "what?"
"i wasn't going to let him talk about you like that," mason continued, his voice trembling with barely restrained fury. "like you were just some... some pawn in his game."
starr's breath caught in her throat. she had no idea dylan felt that way—or at least, she had never suspected he could be so calculating. but even as the shock of mason's words settled in, something else gnawed at her.
"so you just... hit him?" she asked, disbelief creeping into her voice. "you couldn't have just confronted him like a normal person?"
"he deserved it," mason snapped, but the fire in his eyes was starting to fade, replaced by something that looked an awful lot like guilt. "i wasn't thinking straight, okay? i just... i couldn't stand the thought of him using you like that."
"you still can't go around punching people, mason," starr said, her tone softening. she could see the turmoil in his expression, the way his hands were still shaking slightly, and she knew this was more than just a moment of anger. this was something deeper, something he wasn't quite ready to face.
"i know," he muttered, looking down at the ground. "but he just... he made it sound like you were nothing more than a means to an end, and i... i couldn't let him get away with that."
starr sighed, her own emotions a tangled mess. she wanted to be angry at mason, wanted to tell him how reckless and stupid he'd been, but she couldn't deny the strange warmth that spread through her chest at the thought of him defending her so fiercely.
"we need to talk to mark," she said finally, her voice steady despite the storm of feelings inside her. "and dylan. we need to sort this out before it gets even more out of hand."
mason nodded, but there was a tension in his shoulders that told her this wasn't over—not by a long shot. as they walked back toward the set, starr couldn't help but wonder how much longer they could keep pretending that everything was fine when, in reality, everything was falling apart.
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naya's notes i was gonna make her stop the fight but realised that it was giving joey king when she stopped noah and lee from fighting in the kissing booth 😟
