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“We thought we could facilitate some peace,” the host said, giggling like she meant well. There’d be payback for her shit, too. “So if you’d like to make a statement and explain what happened to Arthur, he’s ready to listen.”
Ready to call me out on live television, I was sure.
“Sure.” I lifted our hands into view and kissed our joined knuckles. “I don’t have an issue with Arthur or gay people. I’m bisexual.” I looked at Arthur and then the host. “It’s one of the few things we’ve held back from our fans and kept for ourselves. This job requires we give a lot of our privacy over and we know we signed up for this life. There is no going backward. It’s not an easy thing to live with, but we manage the best we can. I think it’s incredibly shitty to be forced to defend myself against lies by coming out. This isn’t the way I would have chosen, but I feel like I was trapped between outing myself and online hate because a clout-chasing actor decided to drag my name through the mud to boost his own. Not only was his story a gross misrepresentation of the truth, I think he’s trying to latch himself onto Aspen’s fame, and it’s frankly disgusting.” I looked right at Arthur as I said it, then turned to the camera. He wasn’t the only one who’d been doing press circuits and acting, and I’d been doing this way longer.
Arthur fumed, but I didn’t give him even a pause to speak.
“It’s not anyone’s business how comfortable I am or not talking about my sexuality, and I should have been given my own time and space to come out. I’ve never been comfortable talking about my personal life in public. That doesn’t mean I’m homophobic. I don’t hate Arthur because he’s gay. I don’t like him because he’s a clout-chasing little douchebag who finds fault with everyone. And to set the record straight, since I’ve been forced to do this, the reason I picked a fight with him was because he wouldn’t stop talking shit about my boyfriend’s brother and my bandmate. I went about it wrong, but I don’t regret standing up for Kingsley, and I don’t think Aspen does either.”
It took the host a full thirty seconds of dead air to try and gather her thoughts, and I took joy in every single one, slipping an arm around Aspen. He smiled and leaned into me. We looked like a cozy pair.
“How long have you been together?” she finally managed.
I glanced over at Aspen and smiled. “We’ve been in love for a long time. Probably since we were in high school.”
Aspen closed his eyes and just smiled, then nodded. “Royal was my first love.”
“Wow,” the host said. We’d really flustered her. “Arthur, do you have anything to say?”
“I—” He ground his teeth, his mask gone. “How was I to know he wasn’t being hateful? He could have told me.”
“I should have to out myself to check a box so you don’t make up things? How about you keep Kingsley’s name out of your mouth?”
Kingsley stood to the side with a grin on his face.
Lis left him there and strolled over to crash our party. “Mine too. I’m twenty-four, and I’m tired of the narrative. I’m not mature enough to make my own decisions about who I date. Not all age gaps are abuse. It can be a problem, and I am sensitive to what some people have dealt with, but my relationship was also made public against my will in a shitty power play by my former manager, trying to control me. I’m happy, and I’d like everyone to stop commenting on my private life.”
I clapped as Lis walked back to Kingsley.
“You heard it here first,” the host said, clearly so lost for direction it was better to send the show to commercial before she lost any more control.
Aspen and I walked off hand in hand while Arthur exchanged heated words with the host and producer, clearly unhappy he hadn’t gotten a final word in.
I don’t know what he expected from me. I didn’t expect that fuck to go on television and call me unhinged and all the other nasty shit he said about Aspen and me. Fucker better never find me in a dark alley. I’d show him what unhinged looked like. He couldn’t even face me. Had to go on national television and act like he hadn’t incited it. I hated people who didn’t give a full version of a story to make themselves look better. I was fine being judged, but if he was going to put it to the public, who I already had to be judged by every single day, I wanted it to be the full story. Not one he gave on an afternoon talk show for laughs and sympathy.
“Nice speech,” Kingsley muttered.
“I might have fudged the dates, but all of it is true. Ihavebeen in love with him since high school.” I don’t know why I felt like I had to defend or explain myself to King, but I did. “Having an issue with myself and struggling with how I feel doesn’t mean I hated anyone. I don’t care who you’re dating. When you put it in my face, it made me uncomfortable with myself, not with you. I didn’t understand it then, and I was a dick. I’m sorry for that.”
Kingsley took a long time to process my words. “I accept that. But I’m not sorry for giving you shit. I’m going to keep calling you and Aspen and Taylor on shit if I see a problem with it, and I would want you to do the same to me. We need to do better, and because we are in the public eye, we have to hold ourselves to a higher standard.”
“I wouldn’t want you to. I will try not to be so defensive and be more open to listening to criticism, and all I ask is that you adjust how you come at me.”
“That I will do.” Kingsley held out his hand.
I took it, and he pulled me into a one-arm hug. “Thank you.”
He turned to speak softly into my ear. “If you put one toe out of line and hurt my brother, I will put you six feet under. I know we’ve both spent a long time protecting him, and this changes nothing. He’s better than all of us, and you better be on my side with this one.”
“I fully expect you to end me if I hurt him. You know I never would on purpose.”
“I used to believe that, but these last few months have put you on fucking probation.” Kingsley pulled back, and his smile returned.
“I deserve that.”
“What do you deserve?” Aspen asked, glancing up.
“Your brother telling me he’ll end my life if I hurt you.” I smiled at King. I wasn’t about to keep secrets from Aspen. Not now, not ever.
