Captivated

Mean

I warned you all about this one... dedicated to all of you who swear you don't love the drama- it loves you, hehe ;) please don't kill me guys.... have fun with this chap. Comment and vote if you'd like.
-ab

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July 3, 2025

Harper

When I wake up after my two-show day, I'm still a bit tired, just no longer sleepy. Patrick is still asleep next to me, so instead of getting out of bed, I decide to cuddle up. Grabbing my iPad off of my night stand, I open up my Instagram.

Instantly, I notice that my notifications are flooded, which is quite strange. It's typical for me to wake up to a few new followers, likes, and comments, and a tagged post or two every few days, but the myriad of notifications that I have tells me that something has to be up.

Clicking on one of my tagged photos, I see that it is of Patrick and I. The account that posted it is one which I have never heard of.

Oh god, I think. Somebody got pictures of us on our anniversary, or out with Taylor, or both.

As I go through my tagged photos, I quickly learn that it is both. Then, I start reading the captions on the pictures. That's what really hurts me.

People who call themselves Taylor's 'fans,' saying things about her brother-in-law's relationship. Things which should never be said to anybody.

"That Harper chick isn't good enough for baby Patrick."

"Patrick should ditch her and end up with me."

"Why is our bean going for somebody like her? She's not even famous; she only performs in theatre."

"There's no way that Harper and Patrick are ever going to last."

"They should just break up now and get it over with. They're not even that cute of a couple."

I feel tears welling up in my eyes as I read the harsh words that have been written. Of course, there are some kind words as well, but they are overridden by the bad ones.

I rub my eyes, trying to get the voices out of my head, but I can't shake this one off. The words are just there, echoing and haunting me.

"Patrick," I whimper. "Patrick?"

He wakes up the second time that I call him, but clearly isn't thrilled about doing so, until he sees the tears spilling down my cheeks.

"Love, what's going on?" he asks. "Is everything alright?"

"No," I whisper. "Look at this."

I hand him my tablet, pulled up to a particularly harsh post. There is a picture of the two of us on our anniversary, stealing a kiss up on Parliament Hill.

"Baby P is way too good for that girl. I don't know who she is, but she's not very pretty. She's clearly using him for his family. From what I hear, they were getting pretty cuddly on their picnic. Our boy is going to get hurt, guys. She's going to break his heart. Patrick, if you're seeing this, please confirm that you're not trapped in an abusive relationship, becuase we are all worried about that."

I see Patrick grip the iPad harder and harder as he reads through the post. His fists are clenching up.

"Love, don't you dare believe a word of this."

"Patrick, you don't think that I'm using you, do you?"

"Oh my god, Harper, absolutely not," he tells me. "I never want to hear that question come out of your mouth again. This is all something made up by some stupid teenagers on the internet. They think that they can stay anonymous because there's a screen separating them and us."

"Why are people so cruel?"

"I don't know, love. I don't know if there's anything that we can do about it, at this point, either."

I start to sob into Patrick's chest, to which he simply strokes my hair and murmurs sweet nothings in my ear.

"It's okay, love. You're beautiful and amazing. I love you. Don't listen to what they have to say. Ever."

"What if it's true?" I blurt. "What if our relationship is nothing short of star-crossed? If we are each meant to be with somebody else?"

"We aren't," he tells me, giving me a cuddle. "We were meant to be together. I'm sure of it."

I let out a sigh. "Patrick, I just don't know what to do about this."

"I don't think we necessarily have to do anything at all."

"But I just want it to stop," I state, resting my head in my hands. I continue, my voice murmured by my palms. "All of it is just too much. They're being so mean. If I was to say something like that about somebody's relationship when I was a teenager, I would have been grounded so quickly."

"I know, but you had very strict parents, love. I know that you're the first one to admit to that."

"I suppose so," I sigh. "Still..."

"I know," he replies. "This is something that Joe and Taylor have to go through so often, and it makes me quite upset to think about that, especially now that I've been in that position."

"I saw posts with pictures from Tuesday which were slamming both our relationship and theirs within a few sentences."

"Oh my god," he rolls his eyes. "I guess people just need to grow up, then?"

"Perhaps," I say. I'm trying to force myself to stop crying, but I know that Patrick is seeing right through the guard which I've put up.

"I'm going to see what I can do about this," he tells me. "Until I figure something out, I want you to promise me something."

"What?" I ask him.

"I want you to stay off of social media for a little bit. You're obviously very upset about this, and it'll take a few days before those pictures fade off into obscurity."

"But there will just be more pictures that come up," I protest.

"I'm going to do all that I can to make this get better."

"What does that mean?"

"It means that I need you to trust me," he says, squeezing my hand. "Can you do that?"

"I guess that I can try," I say. "Please do it as quickly as you can."

"I will," he assures me. "And if there is anything that I can do to make you feel better, please let me know. Until then, how about you just put the tablet down and cuddle up in the blankets. I'll go fix up some breakfast."

I do as I'm told, and pull the duvet entirely over my head. As soon as I believe that Patrick is out of earshot, I allow all of my emotions to come back to me. With tears flowing down my face, I just let everything out. I don't know how Patrick is going to deal with this, but I hope that whatever he does is successful. I'll never be able to get used to seeing comments such as the ones which appeared on my Instagram when I woke up today.