The Price of Fame

2:

"I'd highly recommend that you consider early retirement."

The doctor's voice rung through his head repeatedly; the painful vibrations of the thoughts jabbed at his cranium. Retire at age 27? And then do what? Go find some nice quiet place, he thought bitterly.

But the doctor was right. It would use up almost all of the money he had worked so hard to earn to repair the damage to his body, and even with that, he'd only be a second rate actor by then. Maybe retirement is the best option, he finally thought... On the bright side, with some physical therapy, he would be able to walk and do regular tasks on his own once he was released.

"Brycen?" A voice asked tentatively, blond curls flashing in his doorway. Brietta...

"Brietta, you're here," he said calmly, slightly in a surprised tone. He'd been in the hospital for nearly three weeks, then his current room in the recovery ward for over three months. During that time, he'd only seen his former co-star once, back when he was first in the hospital.

She came in and sat in the chair beside his bed. "How do you feel?"

The blue haired man sighed. "It's stuffy in here. And I could really use a nice stretch right now." He looked to his blond companion. "I'm sorry I had to miss our dinner. Rain check?" Suddenly the young woman looked away.

"Actually, I'm afraid I'll have to cancel our dinner. I don't think Ray would like that too much." Ray?

"Who's Ray?" Brycen asked quickly. Probably just another actor, maybe a relative, or maybe a friend-

"Ray's my boyfriend. He's Mr. Deoh's son. The studio replaced him for your roles and we started dating two months ago." The news hit him like a knife. Of course, he hadn't really had any romantic feelings for Brietta Bel, so it didn't really hurt that she gave up on him for the director's son, but he hadn't expected the studio to replace him so soon...

".... They replaced me?"

"Brycen, what did the doctors say about your recovery?"

"That I would recover-"

"But you'd never be capable of your old stunts," she finished for him. He stared at her harshness. "Brycen, you were taken on as a fresh actor because you could do extreme stunts. Now you can't though. Without your stunting ability, you're just a has-been; a wash-out. The studio doesn't need you anymore." Her blue eyes looked weary as she said all this and he avoided her gaze. "Please, make it easier on yourself: just go back to wherever you came from."

A has-been... A wash-out.... That's all he is now... Only rather than depression, he found anger instead.

Brycen finally lifted his head, making direct eye contact with the blond actress. Fire burned in his frosty eyes. "Thank you for visiting, Brietta. I hope you have a successful future with your Ray," he said coldly.

"Brycen, I'm sorry I was so harsh-"

"Miss Bel, please leave. And don't bother coming back to see me." Hurt flashed across her face, but she promptly turned on her heel and fled the room. Once she was gone, Brycen laid his chin in his hand and groaned. Then something red and white on his night stand caught his eye, and he reached to pick it up in his hands.

It was a pokéball. Through the transparent red top, he could see a resting Beartic within; his first pokémon, the one friend who had never left his side. Suddenly, it came to mind that once, he had another friend who would've always been by his side.... Had he not left for Pokéstar Studios.

Nieva.... He thought forlornly.

At once, he knew what he had to do. The now former actor picked up the cell phone on the table next to him and dialed the number for his personal chauffeur. Clyde was still employed by him for the time being, being that the contract between actor and driver was separate from Brycen's contract with Pokéstar Studios.

"Hello? This is Clyde," a man answered.

"Yes, hello. This is Brycen," Brycen spoke.

"Brycen! How are you? Arceus, I haven't seen you in forever since you've been in the hospital and the recovery ward."

"I'm getting there. But it seems my acting contract has been canceled-" He heard the man swear under his breath. "Relax, Clyde. The doctors here said its for the best."

"Still..." He muttered. "So, what can I do for you?" Brycen drummed his fingers against the bed slowly.

"I'm going to be released in two weeks. Do you think you could be at the Virbank City Hospital then to pick me up?" He heard the scraping of a pen against paper as his driver wrote this down.

"Where do you want to go then?"

"Just to the northwestern fringe of Icirrus City, please."

"Anything else?" Clyde asked. Brycen nodded to himself.

"Yes, please arrange for everything in my office at Pokéstar Studio to be sent to a storage facility in Icirrus City, along with everything I own from each of my apartments. You know where they're all at. Just tell the operator at the facility that the items belong to Brycen Hachiku. They know who I am."

"Alright, Brycen, I'll get right to work. See you then." With a sharp click, his chauffeur hung up. Brycen brushed his hand over his now past-the-shoulder blue hair. He'd cut it back as soon as he got released.

As he leaned back though, he found himself more relaxed than he'd felt in a decade. As he drifted off to sleep, memories of his childhood and teenage years flowed through his mind, entangling themselves with his dreams. He'd never see it himself, but as he fell asleep, a faint smile could be seen curling at the corner of his mouth.