STARRY EYES | mileven

fourteen

there was a knock on her door not even minutes after she'd seen those pictures of mike and angela.

the tentative tap snapped her back to reality, putting a halt to the swarming thoughts in her mind. she shook her head to herself as she walked out of the kitchen to open the door.

mike was standing on the other side, his hair slightly damp as if he rushed here right after a shower, a sheepish grin on his face as he lifted the cake in his hands higher. "hey. i'm not too early, am i?"

he was on a date with angela.

the thought settled in her mind again, the unwelcome pictures flashing right through her eyes.

she shoved it away, blinking at him. "no, it's fine, you're not."

"can i come in?" he asked, shaking the cake gently like it might convince her. "i made a chocolate cake but i'm not sure what it tastes like. might taste like shit actually."

she snorted despite herself, taking it from his hands as she kicked the door further open with her foot. "come in."

he stepped inside as she turned and walked the cake toward the kitchen. she heard him shut the door behind him and follow.

"where's luciana?" he asked, leaning against the counter.

"sleeping." she answered, placing the cake down gently. she didn't even bother correcting him about lu's name this time, just accepting the new christening of her cat.

silence settled thick between them, awkwardness hanging in the air.

she picked up a knife and started cutting the cake into crooked pieces, unease gnawing down on her.

she bit down her bottom lip, wanting to simply get it off her chest while trying to sound as normal as possible. "why didn't you tell me that angela and you were dating?"

phew. there, it's out. she asked it.

he frowned, visibly taken aback by her question. "we're not."

"i saw the picture of you two on a date together."

"the pictures are already out?" realization dawned on him, his eyes slightly widening. "i mean, yeah, it was a date but not how you're thinking."

he sighed, rubbing the back of his neck. "the studio wanted to stir more hype around hidden in you. you know, press, more clicks, all that shit. they figured pairing me with angela would get people speculating and cause more eyes on the movie, you know? so, yeah. we'll go on a few dinners, let the paparazzi catch us leaving together, that kind of thing. there's no official confirmation or anything. it's just meant to look suggestive."

that was not what she was expecting.

she blinked hard, halting the motions of the knife. "and you just agreed to go along with it?"

he shrugged. "i don't see any harm, it's not like we're not faking a relationship or something. it's just a few pics to keep the buzz, nothing wild."

she forgot that this side of hollywood still exists simply because she was never part of it. she never had to witness a planted publicity stunt for the sake of a project.

she's heard about it before, especially about people being in pr relationships, about people using it as a tool for marketing.

but she's never seen it happen — well up until now.

and as much as mike said that they're not faking a relationship, it felt like they kind of are though.

where's the line drawn for looking suggestive?