Love over Hate

Ruthless

It was hard getting up for work that next morning. After a mostly sleepless night, you had woken up before your alarm clock, seeing more notifications and even a couple of text messages. Wanting nothing more than to ignore them, you at least checked the text messages, seeing a couple from Jared, and one from your boss. Jared was concerned about you, needing to talk to you, while your boss was expecting a meeting as soon as you got to the lot.

Sighing, you rubbed your hand over your face. Today was going to be a horrible day, you just knew it, and the horrible things you had read last night kept running through your mind. People had been ruthless, mainly towards you, even though a couple had gone after Jared as well. Insults about going after an older man, about using him to further your career. You had been called everything from a gold digger to a slut, even a home breaker. You had always considered yourself a nice girl, one who was kind and cared about others. Having people say these things about you was hard to take, and you weren't sure what you were going to do.

Slipping out of bed, you slipped on a pair of leggings, along with a sweatshirt. Throwing your hair up in a messy bun, you knew it didn't matter. Make up would fix you up before you had to do any lines. If you had to do any lines, considering they might end your contract due to the negative publicity.

As you made your way out the door, your phone buzzed again, Jared calling you this time instead of texting. Answering it, you tried to make your voice sound even, though it was a little gravely from the crying you had done earlier. "Hey Jared."

"Y/N, are you okay?" He asked, his voice loud over the phone. "I've been trying to get a hold of you as soon as I heard."

"Jared, can we talk about this later? I'm on my way to work." You tried explaining, just as a big black Suburban pulled up in front of you. The back window rolled down, and Jared stuck his head out.

"Need a ride?" He asked, and you nodded. You didn't really, but you needed his comfort, and a chance to talk to him before you had to talk to your boss. Sliding in the back seat beside him, you saw Jensen and Cliff in the front seat. Glancing at Jared, you wondered how you could talk about any of this in front of them.  "Don't worry about them. They both have your back too."

"Of course we do. Fans and media can be brutal, but hopefully we can figure out a way to get past this. They should lose interest soon." Jensen assured you, reaching back and squeezing your knee.

"Thanks Jen. But Jared, some of those comments, they were so horrible!" You exclaimed. "And now, having to talk to Jim about it, I'm nervous. What if this makes me lose my job?"

"We won't let that happen. We'll talk to Jim, and everything will work out. Trust me?" He asked you, and taking a deep breath you nodded. 

"I just never thought people would ever say those things about me." You told him, tears pooling in your eyes as you remembered them. "Why do they have to be so cruel?"

"People don't like it when other people are happy. It's a cruel world, and I'm sorry they've treated you like that. Maybe if I talk to Gen, she can send out a text or two, give her approval on your dating. She absolutely loved you by the way."

By this time you had arrived at the lot. Waving to Jensen and Cliff, you moved to head towards the offices, stealing yourself for the meeting. Jared shortened his stride to stay beside you, wrapping his fingers through yours, the touch comforting. "Don't worry. Jim's got our back." He whispered in your ear just before knocking on the office door.

Jim barked an enter, and the two of you walked inside, Jim gesturing to the chairs as he talked on the phone. "I don't care what people are saying, this stops here. It's just one set of pictures, and we will clean it up."

After hanging up the phone, Jim steepled his fingers together, looking at you, then Jared. "So, the two of you decided to make my life a lot harder."

"Jim, you know how the media is. They see something and blow it out of proportion." Jared started explaining, but Jim stopped him.

"So, you're telling me that the picture of the two of you kissing in a park while your sons played is photo shopped? Or just an accident?" Jim asked, not sounding angry, just curious.

"Jim, it's not a photo shop. Jared and I both recently started seeing each other, and it was bound to come out sooner or later." You told him. "And I'm willing to do anything you need in order to make this right." 

"Y/N..." Jared started just as Jim spoke up.

"So, if I told the two of you to stop seeing each other, you would?" He asked, and you could feel Jared tense up beside you. 

"No, of course not!" He argued. "It's our life, and the fans and the media will get used to the fact. But I'm not going to stop dating Y/N just because people think she's too young, or because they think I should still be with Gen."

"Actually, I wasn't going to suggest any of that." Jim said calmly. "I know it will be stressful for the two of you, and you will receive a lot of hate mail. But in the long run I think it could be good for our show. Publicity like this will bring more eyes our way. More eyes means higher ratings. Just don't do anything stupid." He warned, before ending the meeting.

As soon as you were out of the office, you took a deep breath, before Jared pulled you into his embrace. "Y/N, please don't take those things to heart. Jim has our back, sort of, and none of them are true."

"I know. I knew it would come to this. There's too much of an age difference, I knew people would object. But I don't care. You mean too much to me to just walk away for some unkind words." You told him, feeling his arms tightening around you.

"There's my girl. Like I always say, we just keep fighting. It's going to be hard, but together we will figure this out. The boys loved you, Gen thinks you're perfect for me, and I can't get you out of my mind."