Chokeberry #13, Gingerbread #11, Fudge Ripple #14 with Brownie, Milkshake, and Smoothie - Invincible
Author: askingxalice and Kelly
Title: Invincible
Summary: The worst moment of Chloe’s career.
Story: Second Genesis and Polyfaceted
Timeline: September 2043 - Chastity is 25; Chloe, Kurt, Jax, Faith, Erin, and Diana are 27; Jessica is 29; Penn is 30; Oz is 57; Andy is 59.
Challenge: Chokeberry #13 (all my dreams came true, I just didn't think them through - Chloe realizing that being a top artist isn't all fun), Gingerbread #11 (magic mirror), Fudge Ripple #14 (urgency)
Toppings/Extras: Brownie, Milkshake, Smoothie
Word Count: 5,098
Rating: PG-13
Notes: Beta'd by thaizertazerll. Edited by subluxate.
Kurt was barely able to grab his cell phone before it stopped ringing, the last bars of Chloe’s ringtone nearly fading before he hit the answer button. “Yeah? Chloe? You still there?”
There was a pause that he didn’t really like before someone answered. “Kurt. It’s Chastity.”
Kurt frowned, deciding whatever errands he had to run could wait. Something was wrong. “Chas? What’s up? Why are you calling me from Chloe’s phone?”
There was a pause again, and he vaguely heard Chloe in the background. A whispered conversation that he could barely catch a few words of, something that tied his stomach in knots, and then Chastity was back. “Chloe wants to talk to you.”
“Why is that a problem?”
“Something... happened. I don’t know if I should be the one to tell you.”
“Well, someone needs to tell me!” Kurt snapped, every horrible scenario running through his mind. “Look, just put Chloe on the phone, alright?”
Chastity sighed, and Kurt could practically feel her hesitance from Detroit. “Fine. Hold on.”
Another pause, something Kurt was really beginning to hate, and then the shuffle of a transferred cell phone.
“...Kurt?” Chloe finally spoke, her voice small.
He could hear the tears, and oh God, oh Christ, what’s happened? “Chloe, baby. What’s wrong? What happened?”
“I’m sorry,” She answered, ending with a sob, “I didn’t mean to leave it out, and I guess someone from the hotel came by and saw it and now it’s gone.”
“What is? What’s gone?”
Another fucking pause, and she didn’t need to tell him, because the truth of the situation horribly crashed over him. He thought he might vomit once she actually confirmed it.
“Our movie.”
~~~
As soon as Chloe told him, Chastity snatched the phone back from her. It wasn’t a moment too late. As soon as the words left her mouth, Chloe burst into tears again. Not for the first time, Chastity wished she could have done something to prevent this from happening. Sending Penn a thankful look as he gathered Chloe into his arms to try and do what he could to calm her down, Chastity pressed the phone to her ear again.
She was met with near silence. All she could hear was tense breathing. “Kurt?”
“Is it - Has it been leaked?”
The calmness in his voice startled her. “N-no. Not yet. Faith is on the phone now, calling every lawyer she can think of to see what we can do about it, to keep it from getting out there, but...”
“You think it’s going to leak, no matter what we do.”
“Yes,” She softly admitted, hating the fact.
Kurt let out a heavy breath. “Is anyone checking online?”
“Jessica is.”
“Good. Good. I need - I’ll be there, alright? I just need to go talk to the boss and tell him that I won’t be into work for a while, but tell Chloe that I’ll be there.”
“I will.”
~~~
Snapping her cell phone shut, Faith resisted the urge to throw it at the wall with all of the strength she had. It wouldn’t have helped her anger, even if she had. Running a hand through her hair, she paced a bit more, trying to will herself calm. Or at least, calmer.
Faith knew she had a temper, but she could not remember ever being this angry. Then again, she had never had anything like this happen before. This, that was little less than evil in her eyes, because she had never seen Chloe look so panicked or so devastated or so lost. And all she could do was file a report, saying that someone in the hotel had stolen something, because they didn’t have anything else yet. They didn’t even know who the fucking thief was.
Faith felt helpless, and she hated that. She hated that she couldn’t do anything until the thieving little bastard that did this did something worse. Running a shaking hand through her hair, Faith slumped against a nearby wall. She hated that she had to go in there and ask Chloe what she wanted to do about the fucking tour, because the last thing Chloe needed right now was to stress about work.
Shoving her phone into her pocket, Faith decided to see Jessica first. If the worst had happened, she needed to make some calls.
Taking the long way around the hotel suite so she wouldn’t have to walk past the main bedroom and hear Chloe’s sobbing, Faith knocked on the door of the guest bathroom. It wasn’t a second before Jessica answered.
“Come in.”
Quickly ducking into the room and shutting the door behind her, Faith couldn’t help but ask, “Why the bathroom?”
“It’s quiet,” Jessica answered, glancing away. “I can’t hear... Well. Anything.”
“Lucky you.”
Jessica only shrugged, looking guilty that she couldn’t do more to help.
“I didn’t mean it like that, Jess. Everyone is just - You know.”
“I know.”
Sinking down to sit down next to Jessica, Faith leaned her head back against the edge of the tub. She was about to ask when Jessica beat her to the punch.
“Before you came in.”
Faith immediately straightened, sharply looking at Jessica. “What?”
“It leaked. Right before you came in.”
Faith loudly swore, and didn’t notice Jessica’s flinch as she scrambled to her feet. “Stay here, then. It’s going to get worse, and no offense, but I don’t need two people on the verge of breakdowns.”
With that, Faith left, and it took all of her willpower to not slam the door behind her.
~~~
In New York, Kurt had no qualms about slamming the door to his and Chloe’s apartment shut. The calm he had put on for Chastity was slowly disappearing, and it was all he could do to keep his hands from shaking with it. This was hell. This was pure hell. Something personal had been taken from both he and his wife, and everyone with internet access would probably have the ability to watch it within twenty four hours. To make it worse, he wasn’t even there with her to try and make it better.
Hands shoved into his pockets, he ducked his head against the camera flashes that always came with leaving his apartment building. The fact that it wasn’t any more than usual comforted him. It couldn’t have leaked yet. There’d be more paparazzi, screaming questions at him, wanting answers they had no business knowing if it had. Wouldn’t there? Kurt shook himself from those thoughts before it could lead down a path he didn’t want to wander.
He didn’t even remember walking to the firehouse. He was too busy trying to figure out how we was going to explain this without breaching Chloe’s privacy even more, knowing that the chief would need more than ‘Something’s come up and my wife needs me.’ as an excuse for an extended leave of absence from work. Scrubbing a hand across his face, he gave a halfhearted wave to the coworkers who greeted him before heading towards the chief’s office.
Just as he passed one of the bunk rooms, a familiar sound stopped him. A gasp. A moan. A whimper. Kurt felt his stomach drop to his feet, and he could not remember a time when the blood had completely drained from his face. All plans of talking to the chief forgotten, he turned and walked into the bunk room. “Benito, what the fuck are you doing?” Kurt couldn’t help but notice that his voice was calm. Shouldn’t it have been something else?
Benito only grinned, not turning off the video on his laptop screen as he turned to look at Kurt. “Your wife has some nice tits, bro.”
Kurt’s next memory was of grabbing the laptop and slamming it against Benito’s face. The one after that was of being pulled off of him, cursing and yelling threats, his knuckles sore and bleeding and blood on his shirt.
~~~
Jax frowned, worried, and gathered more of Chloe’s hair in his hands as she retched again. “M’sorry it took me so long to get back, miss,” he murmured, running his free hand up and down her back. “I got sorta lost, and I feel awful stupid for it.”
Chloe fumbled for the lever on the toilet as she sat up, trembling and pale. It took longer than she would have liked to make the toilet flush, and she spit into it afterward to try and get the taste out of her mouth.
“You think you’ll be sick anymore?”
Leaning against Jax, Chloe tried to ignore how clammy her skin was and how absolutely cold she felt. “I don’t think I have anything left to throw up,” she quietly answered, rubbing at her eyes. They felt scratchy and dry, and Chloe wondered how that was possible when she couldn’t seem to stop crying. “Why are people so mean?” She whispered, already feeling the burn of tears behind the bridge of her nose again.
Jax wrapped his arms around her and rested his chin against the top of her head. “I dunno, miss. It doesn’t seem fair at all, when you ain’t done nothing to deserve this. But it’ll get better, I promise.
“How do you know?” Chloe whimpered, clinging to him.
“Because it’s gotta.”
They stayed like that for a few long moments before Chloe pulled away and stood. “I have to go. I have to get ready,” She mumbled.
“Ready for what?” Jax asked, flabbergasted.
“The show,” Chloe answered, leaning close to the mirror and staring into it like it could magically make everything better. “People have been lined up for hours, I just can’t - I can’t take that away from them. I shouldn’t punish them just because someone was a jackass.”
“But you ain’t gotta go out there and perform like this! I mean, this sorta thing requires some rescheduling or something!”
“No. They’re my fans. They love me. I’m not letting them down.”
“If they love you, miss,” Jax told her, gently pulling her away from the mirror, “they’ll understand.”
~~~
Faith stared at the phone in her hands, still debating on whether or not to call her. On one hand, they did need lawyers. Good lawyers. On the other, Faith also wanted some people in a lot of pain, and she could help with both. Faith hoped she could help with both. Sighing, she pressed the call button and hoped for the best. It rang for what seemed like an eternity, and Faith thought her heart was going to punch its way out of her chest before anyone answered.
“Hello?”
“Diana? It’s Faith. Che - Chloe’s manager?”
“Oh. Hi.” Faith had never heard two words sound more... Well, suspicious wasn’t the right word, but it was close.
“I know I’m calling you out of the blue, and I’m sorry about that. But we have a bit of a situation, and I think you’re the only person that could help us with it.”
“Is Chloe okay?”
“Physically? Sure. Other than that, not so much.” Letting her head thunk back against the wall she was sitting against, Faith decided to just spit it out. “Someone - We think an employee of the hotel. - got into the hotel room when we were out and took a video of Chloe’s. A sex tape she made with Kurt. It was put online about half an hour ago.”
Faith didn’t understand the next words that Diana said, considering that they were in some language she didn’t know, but she got the gist. She had to agree. “The reason I’m calling you is that I honestly don’t know what to fucking do. Now that the tape is leaked, we can do more than just file a report saying that something was stolen, but past that, I’m lost. I thought someone on your end could be of more help.”
“Is that the only reason you called?”
Faith gave a grimace that was half feral grin. “No. But I’d have to talk to Chloe about that first.”
“Understood. I’ll be in touch.”
Faith snapped the cell phone shut. She felt much less inclined to throw this one against the wall.
~~~
“I wish I could do something else,” Jessica murmured.
“There’s not much anybody can do right now, babe,” Penn answered, pressing a kiss against her temple.
“No one else is holed up in a bathroom because they can’t handle the commotion.”
“Maybe not. But they all understand, and nobody is mad at you for it. Or any other negative emotion. Especially Chloe.”
Shaking her head, Jessica changed the topic. “It’s amazing how fast this thing has spread. It’s on multiple websites, and there are already so many articles, and the comments...” She trailed off, biting the inside of her lip.
Penn frowned. “Comments?”
“Just... some. There’s this gossip community on a website called Livejournal. They’re being sort of - I mean some people are talking about this was obviously a private thing, but it’s only some. Not many compared to everything else.”
“Fuckers,” Penn muttered, his frown deepening. “What do the others say?”
“About what you’d expect,” Jessica quietly answered, shrinking closer to Penn. “There are a few positive comments on, er... Chloe and Kurt’s performances,” she paused to cough, a blush lighting up her face before she continued, “and a lot speculating on how it was leaked. I think Faith needs to really work on PR before it gets too far out of hand. Someone needs to release a statement.”
“I’ll tell her. I think she’s been so focused on getting everyone here for Chloe’s sake that she’s forgotten about the media’s reaction.” Pressing another kiss against her hairline, Penn hesitated to leave. “Will you be alright? I should be back soon.”
“I’ll be fine. You go and help.”
~~~
Kurt hesitated to check the messages on his phone once he got to the airport and past the point where the fucking cameras and questions could follow him. His knuckles still hurt, and he was only glad that there wasn’t much blood on his shirt to show up in pictures. This was a nightmare. He wasn’t sure how it could get worse.
Digging his phone out of his pocket against his own wishes, he scrolled through text messages. Starr. A few guys from the fire station. And one from Erin. He frowned and opened it, before promptly wishing that he hadn’t.
Faith called me, and Andy and Oz. We’ll meet you at the airport.
Kurt didn’t disagree that Chloe needed everyone in her support system right now, but he really wished he could be selfish for a moment and leave on the next flight out. Chloe needed him, and he definitely needed her, and he did not want to wait around for anybody, fathers-in-law and close friend be damned.
Of course, he didn’t have any choice. They were Chloe’s family as much as he was, and he could only hope that it wouldn’t take them long to arrive. Falling into a seat, Kurt waited.
~~~
“Have you sent out a statement yet?” Chastity asked, sliding up next to Faith.
The horrified look on Faith’s face was enough answer for her. It was lucky for her sister that Chastity was in a more forgiving mood than everyone else. Somebody had to be.
“You need to get one sent out. Now, before the concert tonight. And you need to start thinking about whether or not Chloe should say something at the concert.”
“I know that!” Faith snapped. “I just - I got caught up in everything else.”
“Obviously.” Rubbing a hand over her eyes, Chastity reached out and yanked Faith’s phone from her pocket. “Get lost, sis. You need a break from this damn cell phone, and I think I’m a bit more eloquent than you are. I’ll handle the statements and the press, for now. You go... do something else.”
“Statements are all I can do. Other than thinking of way to maim the fucker that did this.”
“You know we can’t actually hurt them. Chloe wouldn’t like it.”
Faith sent a cool gaze towards her sister, out the corner of her eye. “You were eavesdropping.”
“It’s hard to drop eaves when you’re in the same suite as five other people.”
Faith hmphed. “Whatever. Besides, I don’t think she should say anything at the concert. If she even does the concert. I think she’s still undecided.”
“If she doesn’t decide soon, she won’t have much of a choice.”
“It’s not like she’s had much of a choice about anything today.”
“....Kurt and everyone else should be here in a few hours. It’ll get better then.”
“I hope you’re right.”
~~~
Jessica looked up when the bathroom door opened again, confused when Chloe stepped in and shut the door behind her. She had stopped crying, but she still looked like she needed someone to tell her what to do and how to make this better.
“...Hey,” Jessica greeted, for lack of anything else to say.
“Is it okay if I sit in here for a while? Faith said you said it was quiet,” Chloe answered, sliding down the door to sit against it, her legs splayed out in front of her.
“Do you want me to leave? If you need to be alone, I can -“
“No. I can... I can be alone with you. If that makes sense?”
“I don’t think I understand.”
“Everyone else is just... I know they’re trying to help. But it’s sort of overbearing, and I just want Kurt, but he won’t be here for another two hours, and I’ll have left for the stadium by then, and I know you won’t be all - you know. Smothering.”
“You’re still having the concert?”
“Of course,” Chloe answered, frowning. “I think it’s the only thing to do right now. It’s the only - normal thing to do. I mean, everything is so messed up now that I just need something that isn’t going to change, and it’s already going to be delayed even though the rest of the band kept saying they can do sound check without me and Penn, but...” She trailed off, shrugging before slumping over her legs. She opened her mouth, hesitant, before shutting it.
“...What else did you want to say?” Jessica gently prompted, closing the netbook in her lap.
“I shouldn’t have left out the DVD,” Chloe whispered. “I just thought it would be okay and I don’t know why I thought that, and now everything has - It’s all gone to hell. My privacy has been invaded, and so has Kurt’s, and if I think about it too long, I think I might start throwing up again. And I can think about is that if I had put the DVD up...”
“Stop that,” Jessica spoke up, her voice harsher than she knew it could get. It was enough to make Chloe startle and look at her with wide, confused eyes. “Did you leave it out in hopes that someone would find it, and put it online?”
“...No.”
“Did you leave it out with a note telling whoever found it to put it online?”
“No, but-“
“Then it’s not your fault. You’re the victim here, and the only person at fault is the one who did this to you!” Jessica told her, frowning.
Chloe finally seemed to realize what she had been saying, and who she had been saying it to. Clapping a hand over her mouth, she fell silent until the words seemed to spill from her. “Oh, God, Jess, I’m so sorry, I didn’t even think-“
“Stop,” she repeated, though this time was gentler. “It’s normal to feel that way. To feel shame. But I can promise you, it will pass. It might have to get worse before it does, but it will pass. Go to your concert, and show them - Your fans, the press, the people who mock you for this. - that you won’t be affected, and that you’ll stay strong, and it will pass.”
Chloe stared at her for a minute, digesting her words before she spoke again. “You know, Jessica, I’m really glad Penn started dating you.”
Jessica smiled. “So am I.”
~~~
“I’m going to kill somebody,” Oz muttered, glaring out of the airplane window like it would do any good.
“So you’ve said,” Andy replied from his seat next to his husband. “But you can’t do anything while we’re this high off the ground, so please try and calm down.”
“Calm down!? How can I, when-“
“Chloe isn’t going to need us angry,” Andy cut in, frowning. “Knowing Faith, she has enough anger in Detroit. I’m just as pissed as you are, don’t worry. But that isn’t what we need to be.”
“Then what should we do?”
Andy quieted. “I wish I knew. All I can think of is lawyers and legal repercussions, which Faith is bound to have taken care of by now, along with statements for the press.”
“Do you think she’ll still go along with the show?”
“It’s Chloe, love. Nothing is going to stop her from performing if she sets her mind to it.”
“...If she can still sing,” Oz answered, leaning back in his seat, “then it can’t be as bad as we think, right?”
Andy didn’t answer.
In another seat on the opposite side of the plane, Kurt fidgeted. He shifted in his seat. He ran a hand through his hair. He picked at the skin around his split knuckles, and wished he could just teleport right to Detroit instead of having to be on this damned plane.
“If you keep doing that, it’s going to scar.” Erin spoke up next to him, her voice as soft as always.
“This is my fault, you know.” He muttered, ignoring Erin’s advice. “It was my idea to make the stupid thing, and now look where it ended up.”
“You couldn’t have known this was going to happen.”
“Of course it was going to happen. Personal lives for celebrities never stay secret, so how could this not have happened? Besides, if it wasn’t this, it would have been something else. Sometimes, I just wish...”
“You wish what?”
“She’d kill me if I ever knew I said this. But sometimes I just wish she would have never started this life, because of things like this. The breach of privacy, and the constant cameras, and the fucking tabloids. Sometimes I just can’t stand it.”
“You talk as if Chloe enjoys it.”
“I know she doesn’t. You know I know that,” Kurt scowled.
~~~
“One of us needs to go out there and talk to the press. I can see them from the damn window, and that barely has a view of the entrance,” Penn muttered, glaring out the window as if he could make them disappear with that alone.
“Chastity is taking care of statements,” Faith answered, fingers flying over the laptop keyboard. “In person, at least. We’ve already had plenty of newspapers and tabloids calling us. I’m handling the online stuff, and that’ll have to be enough until Diana or somebody else gets back to us. What we have to worry about next is getting Chloe to the concert without any incident.”
“We can sneak her out the back, can’t we? And it shouldn’t be too hard to get into the Silverdome without any problems, as long as have enough people.”
“We can hope.”
“I’m really sick of hoping,” Penn grumbled. “I wish there was something we could actually do.”
“Well, so far, there isn’t. If you want to do something, call a car and make sure everyone is ready to go. Go tell Chastity and Jax to get everything they need, and start calling to see if everything is set up at the stadium. Then, we’ll worry about getting Chloe there. One step at a time, bro. I’m pretty sure that’s the only thing we can do right now.”
~~~
Chloe watched Jax and Chastity scurry around her bedroom, gathering everything they needed that wasn’t already waiting for them backstage. “I think I might change the set list.”
That made the other two pause, if only for a moment. “Three hours before the show has to begin? Are you nuts?” Chastity asked, zipping up her lone duffle bag while simultaneously tossing a container of foundation into Jax’s third.
“Not a huge change. Just the opening number. I know I can’t actually say anything at the concert, but I can still... make a statement in other ways,” Chloe explained, her thumb pressed against her bottom lip. Before she could explain anymore, her cell phone rang, and she dove for it.
“Kurt?”
“Diana,” the voice on the other end of the line corrected, and Chloe could almost hear her frown. “What did he do? Do I need to kick his ass?”
“Oh, Diana! Hey! No, it’s not - it’s nothing like that. It’s just taking him longer to get to Detroit than I’d like, is all,” Chloe answered, waving away Jax’s and Chastity’s curious expressions. “I guess you’ve heard?”
“Faith called me for legal help right after the whole thing started,” Diana confirmed. “I just wanted to call and see how you were doing before I got back to her.”
“I’m doing... I don’t know how I’m doing.”
“If you’re still performing tonight, you can’t be doing too badly.”
“No. I don’t know. I think I’m just trying to block it all out, for now. Earlier I was a complete mess, but I can’t be like that on stage. I’m just ignoring what I can.”
“You know you can’t ignore it forever.”
“I know. I think - Just for tonight, I will. And I’ll do the show, and Faith will handle what she can, and then tomorrow... I’ll get involved. Tomorrow.”
“You know you can call me if you need anything. Legal help, or otherwise.”
Chloe didn’t have to ask what the otherwise meant, and her lips curled into a mockery of a smile. “I don’t think I could do the otherwise. But thanks for offering, I think.”
“If it makes you feel any better, Daddy is pissed. So is Mom. If you need it, you have our support.”
Feeling some tension leave her shoulders, Chloe hadn’t even realized that she had been worried about what Liam or Nicoletta might have thought. “It does. I have to go, though. I need to head to the arena to start getting ready. I’ll call you tomorrow?”
“Do that. I’ll talk to you later, Chloe.”
“Bye.”
~~~
Standing downstairs in the lobby, Faith was glad to answer her phone once it started to ring.
“Please tell me you have good news.”
“I do,” Diana answered, sounding close to smug. “I called my dad--Liam Kilpatrick, Chloe's always called him Mr. Liam-“
“The one Oz is really freaked out by?” Faith interrupted, unable to stop a grin.
“That’s him. He is pissed about this, and he's...not to brag, but he has international power, so he'll do anything he needs to to help."
“Always good to know. Anything else?”
"Mom's really not happy. She made Uncle Leo find a good lawyer in Detroit, and then she bullied her way through her answering service to get her home number. Elizabeth Marshall. Here's her number.”
Faith hurriedly snatched a pen and piece of paper off of the front desk, jotting down the number as Diana gave it. She purposefully ignored the glare the desk clerk sent her.
“She does civil litigation and deals with the cops, and that's what you need right now."
“Got it. Thanks for all of this, by the way.”
“It’s no problem, really. Also, a couple of my mom's cousins own a few businesses in Detroit. Uncle Johnny was pretty close to them, so they'd know about Chloe. Adrianna and Anthony. If you need local power, Mom says she'll call them and have them do some strong-arming.”
Faith grinned again, though this one was more aggressive than amused. “Excellent. I don’t know if we’ll need them just yet, but I’ll more likely than not get back to you later about them. Thanks again for all of this, Diana.”
“Chloe’s a friend, and a friend of the family. What kind of childhood friend would I be if I didn’t help her?”
Faith chuckled and said goodbye before hanging up. Looking towards the front doors of the hotel, and the security that was barely able to keep the paparazzi outside, she only grinned wider. They were totally going to win this.
~~~
Kurt was really tempted to tell the driver that he’d tip him an extra hundred for every media asshole he ran over. Instead, he clenched his jaw and tried to force himself to calm down. For a moment, he almost wished Benito was there so he could have someone to punch.
“I hate that we have to meet them at the stadium,” Oz spoke up, breaking the tense silence that had fallen since they got in the car. “We should have left sooner.”
“There weren’t any sooner flights. We couldn’t have left earlier if we had tried,” Erin pointed out.
Kurt finally realized that Erin had been the one reassuring them this entire trip, and he hadn’t even bothered to ask how she was doing. He suddenly felt like a giant tool. “How are you taking all of this?”
Erin seemed surprised at the question, before her expression turned sad. “I’m sorry this happened,” she answered, “but I think everyone else has enough anger about it to make up for me. I’m more worried than anything.”
“She’ll be fine,” Andy said, not for the first time. “Everything will end up fine.”
Even with Andy’s assurances, Kurt nearly bolted from the car once they reached the back entrance to the arena. It was only the fact that they had to get clearance from security to be let in that the others were able to keep up with him at all.
“KURT!”
He barely had time to turn towards the sound of Chloe’s voice before she was practically wrapped around him. He didn’t hesitate before burying his hands in her hair and kissing her.
“NO! We just finished with her hair and make-up, you fucking fuck!”
Kurt pulled away and looked over Chloe’s shoulder to meet Chastity’s glare. “...My bad?”
“Daddy!” Disentangling herself from Kurt, Chloe threw herself at Oz and Andy simultaneously, gathering them into a hug.
“Hey, love. How are you doing?” Oz asked.
Surprisingly, Chloe beamed. “Listen,” She answered.
They did, and barely heard the roar of God knew how many fans.
“They still love me,” Chloe said, practically glowing. “They still love me.”
Title: Invincible
Summary: The worst moment of Chloe’s career.
Story: Second Genesis and Polyfaceted
Timeline: September 2043 - Chastity is 25; Chloe, Kurt, Jax, Faith, Erin, and Diana are 27; Jessica is 29; Penn is 30; Oz is 57; Andy is 59.
Challenge: Chokeberry #13 (all my dreams came true, I just didn't think them through - Chloe realizing that being a top artist isn't all fun), Gingerbread #11 (magic mirror), Fudge Ripple #14 (urgency)
Toppings/Extras: Brownie, Milkshake, Smoothie
Word Count: 5,098
Rating: PG-13
Notes: Beta'd by thaizertazerll. Edited by subluxate.
Kurt was barely able to grab his cell phone before it stopped ringing, the last bars of Chloe’s ringtone nearly fading before he hit the answer button. “Yeah? Chloe? You still there?”
There was a pause that he didn’t really like before someone answered. “Kurt. It’s Chastity.”
Kurt frowned, deciding whatever errands he had to run could wait. Something was wrong. “Chas? What’s up? Why are you calling me from Chloe’s phone?”
There was a pause again, and he vaguely heard Chloe in the background. A whispered conversation that he could barely catch a few words of, something that tied his stomach in knots, and then Chastity was back. “Chloe wants to talk to you.”
“Why is that a problem?”
“Something... happened. I don’t know if I should be the one to tell you.”
“Well, someone needs to tell me!” Kurt snapped, every horrible scenario running through his mind. “Look, just put Chloe on the phone, alright?”
Chastity sighed, and Kurt could practically feel her hesitance from Detroit. “Fine. Hold on.”
Another pause, something Kurt was really beginning to hate, and then the shuffle of a transferred cell phone.
“...Kurt?” Chloe finally spoke, her voice small.
He could hear the tears, and oh God, oh Christ, what’s happened? “Chloe, baby. What’s wrong? What happened?”
“I’m sorry,” She answered, ending with a sob, “I didn’t mean to leave it out, and I guess someone from the hotel came by and saw it and now it’s gone.”
“What is? What’s gone?”
Another fucking pause, and she didn’t need to tell him, because the truth of the situation horribly crashed over him. He thought he might vomit once she actually confirmed it.
“Our movie.”
~~~
As soon as Chloe told him, Chastity snatched the phone back from her. It wasn’t a moment too late. As soon as the words left her mouth, Chloe burst into tears again. Not for the first time, Chastity wished she could have done something to prevent this from happening. Sending Penn a thankful look as he gathered Chloe into his arms to try and do what he could to calm her down, Chastity pressed the phone to her ear again.
She was met with near silence. All she could hear was tense breathing. “Kurt?”
“Is it - Has it been leaked?”
The calmness in his voice startled her. “N-no. Not yet. Faith is on the phone now, calling every lawyer she can think of to see what we can do about it, to keep it from getting out there, but...”
“You think it’s going to leak, no matter what we do.”
“Yes,” She softly admitted, hating the fact.
Kurt let out a heavy breath. “Is anyone checking online?”
“Jessica is.”
“Good. Good. I need - I’ll be there, alright? I just need to go talk to the boss and tell him that I won’t be into work for a while, but tell Chloe that I’ll be there.”
“I will.”
~~~
Snapping her cell phone shut, Faith resisted the urge to throw it at the wall with all of the strength she had. It wouldn’t have helped her anger, even if she had. Running a hand through her hair, she paced a bit more, trying to will herself calm. Or at least, calmer.
Faith knew she had a temper, but she could not remember ever being this angry. Then again, she had never had anything like this happen before. This, that was little less than evil in her eyes, because she had never seen Chloe look so panicked or so devastated or so lost. And all she could do was file a report, saying that someone in the hotel had stolen something, because they didn’t have anything else yet. They didn’t even know who the fucking thief was.
Faith felt helpless, and she hated that. She hated that she couldn’t do anything until the thieving little bastard that did this did something worse. Running a shaking hand through her hair, Faith slumped against a nearby wall. She hated that she had to go in there and ask Chloe what she wanted to do about the fucking tour, because the last thing Chloe needed right now was to stress about work.
Shoving her phone into her pocket, Faith decided to see Jessica first. If the worst had happened, she needed to make some calls.
Taking the long way around the hotel suite so she wouldn’t have to walk past the main bedroom and hear Chloe’s sobbing, Faith knocked on the door of the guest bathroom. It wasn’t a second before Jessica answered.
“Come in.”
Quickly ducking into the room and shutting the door behind her, Faith couldn’t help but ask, “Why the bathroom?”
“It’s quiet,” Jessica answered, glancing away. “I can’t hear... Well. Anything.”
“Lucky you.”
Jessica only shrugged, looking guilty that she couldn’t do more to help.
“I didn’t mean it like that, Jess. Everyone is just - You know.”
“I know.”
Sinking down to sit down next to Jessica, Faith leaned her head back against the edge of the tub. She was about to ask when Jessica beat her to the punch.
“Before you came in.”
Faith immediately straightened, sharply looking at Jessica. “What?”
“It leaked. Right before you came in.”
Faith loudly swore, and didn’t notice Jessica’s flinch as she scrambled to her feet. “Stay here, then. It’s going to get worse, and no offense, but I don’t need two people on the verge of breakdowns.”
With that, Faith left, and it took all of her willpower to not slam the door behind her.
~~~
In New York, Kurt had no qualms about slamming the door to his and Chloe’s apartment shut. The calm he had put on for Chastity was slowly disappearing, and it was all he could do to keep his hands from shaking with it. This was hell. This was pure hell. Something personal had been taken from both he and his wife, and everyone with internet access would probably have the ability to watch it within twenty four hours. To make it worse, he wasn’t even there with her to try and make it better.
Hands shoved into his pockets, he ducked his head against the camera flashes that always came with leaving his apartment building. The fact that it wasn’t any more than usual comforted him. It couldn’t have leaked yet. There’d be more paparazzi, screaming questions at him, wanting answers they had no business knowing if it had. Wouldn’t there? Kurt shook himself from those thoughts before it could lead down a path he didn’t want to wander.
He didn’t even remember walking to the firehouse. He was too busy trying to figure out how we was going to explain this without breaching Chloe’s privacy even more, knowing that the chief would need more than ‘Something’s come up and my wife needs me.’ as an excuse for an extended leave of absence from work. Scrubbing a hand across his face, he gave a halfhearted wave to the coworkers who greeted him before heading towards the chief’s office.
Just as he passed one of the bunk rooms, a familiar sound stopped him. A gasp. A moan. A whimper. Kurt felt his stomach drop to his feet, and he could not remember a time when the blood had completely drained from his face. All plans of talking to the chief forgotten, he turned and walked into the bunk room. “Benito, what the fuck are you doing?” Kurt couldn’t help but notice that his voice was calm. Shouldn’t it have been something else?
Benito only grinned, not turning off the video on his laptop screen as he turned to look at Kurt. “Your wife has some nice tits, bro.”
Kurt’s next memory was of grabbing the laptop and slamming it against Benito’s face. The one after that was of being pulled off of him, cursing and yelling threats, his knuckles sore and bleeding and blood on his shirt.
~~~
Jax frowned, worried, and gathered more of Chloe’s hair in his hands as she retched again. “M’sorry it took me so long to get back, miss,” he murmured, running his free hand up and down her back. “I got sorta lost, and I feel awful stupid for it.”
Chloe fumbled for the lever on the toilet as she sat up, trembling and pale. It took longer than she would have liked to make the toilet flush, and she spit into it afterward to try and get the taste out of her mouth.
“You think you’ll be sick anymore?”
Leaning against Jax, Chloe tried to ignore how clammy her skin was and how absolutely cold she felt. “I don’t think I have anything left to throw up,” she quietly answered, rubbing at her eyes. They felt scratchy and dry, and Chloe wondered how that was possible when she couldn’t seem to stop crying. “Why are people so mean?” She whispered, already feeling the burn of tears behind the bridge of her nose again.
Jax wrapped his arms around her and rested his chin against the top of her head. “I dunno, miss. It doesn’t seem fair at all, when you ain’t done nothing to deserve this. But it’ll get better, I promise.
“How do you know?” Chloe whimpered, clinging to him.
“Because it’s gotta.”
They stayed like that for a few long moments before Chloe pulled away and stood. “I have to go. I have to get ready,” She mumbled.
“Ready for what?” Jax asked, flabbergasted.
“The show,” Chloe answered, leaning close to the mirror and staring into it like it could magically make everything better. “People have been lined up for hours, I just can’t - I can’t take that away from them. I shouldn’t punish them just because someone was a jackass.”
“But you ain’t gotta go out there and perform like this! I mean, this sorta thing requires some rescheduling or something!”
“No. They’re my fans. They love me. I’m not letting them down.”
“If they love you, miss,” Jax told her, gently pulling her away from the mirror, “they’ll understand.”
~~~
Faith stared at the phone in her hands, still debating on whether or not to call her. On one hand, they did need lawyers. Good lawyers. On the other, Faith also wanted some people in a lot of pain, and she could help with both. Faith hoped she could help with both. Sighing, she pressed the call button and hoped for the best. It rang for what seemed like an eternity, and Faith thought her heart was going to punch its way out of her chest before anyone answered.
“Hello?”
“Diana? It’s Faith. Che - Chloe’s manager?”
“Oh. Hi.” Faith had never heard two words sound more... Well, suspicious wasn’t the right word, but it was close.
“I know I’m calling you out of the blue, and I’m sorry about that. But we have a bit of a situation, and I think you’re the only person that could help us with it.”
“Is Chloe okay?”
“Physically? Sure. Other than that, not so much.” Letting her head thunk back against the wall she was sitting against, Faith decided to just spit it out. “Someone - We think an employee of the hotel. - got into the hotel room when we were out and took a video of Chloe’s. A sex tape she made with Kurt. It was put online about half an hour ago.”
Faith didn’t understand the next words that Diana said, considering that they were in some language she didn’t know, but she got the gist. She had to agree. “The reason I’m calling you is that I honestly don’t know what to fucking do. Now that the tape is leaked, we can do more than just file a report saying that something was stolen, but past that, I’m lost. I thought someone on your end could be of more help.”
“Is that the only reason you called?”
Faith gave a grimace that was half feral grin. “No. But I’d have to talk to Chloe about that first.”
“Understood. I’ll be in touch.”
Faith snapped the cell phone shut. She felt much less inclined to throw this one against the wall.
~~~
“I wish I could do something else,” Jessica murmured.
“There’s not much anybody can do right now, babe,” Penn answered, pressing a kiss against her temple.
“No one else is holed up in a bathroom because they can’t handle the commotion.”
“Maybe not. But they all understand, and nobody is mad at you for it. Or any other negative emotion. Especially Chloe.”
Shaking her head, Jessica changed the topic. “It’s amazing how fast this thing has spread. It’s on multiple websites, and there are already so many articles, and the comments...” She trailed off, biting the inside of her lip.
Penn frowned. “Comments?”
“Just... some. There’s this gossip community on a website called Livejournal. They’re being sort of - I mean some people are talking about this was obviously a private thing, but it’s only some. Not many compared to everything else.”
“Fuckers,” Penn muttered, his frown deepening. “What do the others say?”
“About what you’d expect,” Jessica quietly answered, shrinking closer to Penn. “There are a few positive comments on, er... Chloe and Kurt’s performances,” she paused to cough, a blush lighting up her face before she continued, “and a lot speculating on how it was leaked. I think Faith needs to really work on PR before it gets too far out of hand. Someone needs to release a statement.”
“I’ll tell her. I think she’s been so focused on getting everyone here for Chloe’s sake that she’s forgotten about the media’s reaction.” Pressing another kiss against her hairline, Penn hesitated to leave. “Will you be alright? I should be back soon.”
“I’ll be fine. You go and help.”
~~~
Kurt hesitated to check the messages on his phone once he got to the airport and past the point where the fucking cameras and questions could follow him. His knuckles still hurt, and he was only glad that there wasn’t much blood on his shirt to show up in pictures. This was a nightmare. He wasn’t sure how it could get worse.
Digging his phone out of his pocket against his own wishes, he scrolled through text messages. Starr. A few guys from the fire station. And one from Erin. He frowned and opened it, before promptly wishing that he hadn’t.
Faith called me, and Andy and Oz. We’ll meet you at the airport.
Kurt didn’t disagree that Chloe needed everyone in her support system right now, but he really wished he could be selfish for a moment and leave on the next flight out. Chloe needed him, and he definitely needed her, and he did not want to wait around for anybody, fathers-in-law and close friend be damned.
Of course, he didn’t have any choice. They were Chloe’s family as much as he was, and he could only hope that it wouldn’t take them long to arrive. Falling into a seat, Kurt waited.
~~~
“Have you sent out a statement yet?” Chastity asked, sliding up next to Faith.
The horrified look on Faith’s face was enough answer for her. It was lucky for her sister that Chastity was in a more forgiving mood than everyone else. Somebody had to be.
“You need to get one sent out. Now, before the concert tonight. And you need to start thinking about whether or not Chloe should say something at the concert.”
“I know that!” Faith snapped. “I just - I got caught up in everything else.”
“Obviously.” Rubbing a hand over her eyes, Chastity reached out and yanked Faith’s phone from her pocket. “Get lost, sis. You need a break from this damn cell phone, and I think I’m a bit more eloquent than you are. I’ll handle the statements and the press, for now. You go... do something else.”
“Statements are all I can do. Other than thinking of way to maim the fucker that did this.”
“You know we can’t actually hurt them. Chloe wouldn’t like it.”
Faith sent a cool gaze towards her sister, out the corner of her eye. “You were eavesdropping.”
“It’s hard to drop eaves when you’re in the same suite as five other people.”
Faith hmphed. “Whatever. Besides, I don’t think she should say anything at the concert. If she even does the concert. I think she’s still undecided.”
“If she doesn’t decide soon, she won’t have much of a choice.”
“It’s not like she’s had much of a choice about anything today.”
“....Kurt and everyone else should be here in a few hours. It’ll get better then.”
“I hope you’re right.”
~~~
Jessica looked up when the bathroom door opened again, confused when Chloe stepped in and shut the door behind her. She had stopped crying, but she still looked like she needed someone to tell her what to do and how to make this better.
“...Hey,” Jessica greeted, for lack of anything else to say.
“Is it okay if I sit in here for a while? Faith said you said it was quiet,” Chloe answered, sliding down the door to sit against it, her legs splayed out in front of her.
“Do you want me to leave? If you need to be alone, I can -“
“No. I can... I can be alone with you. If that makes sense?”
“I don’t think I understand.”
“Everyone else is just... I know they’re trying to help. But it’s sort of overbearing, and I just want Kurt, but he won’t be here for another two hours, and I’ll have left for the stadium by then, and I know you won’t be all - you know. Smothering.”
“You’re still having the concert?”
“Of course,” Chloe answered, frowning. “I think it’s the only thing to do right now. It’s the only - normal thing to do. I mean, everything is so messed up now that I just need something that isn’t going to change, and it’s already going to be delayed even though the rest of the band kept saying they can do sound check without me and Penn, but...” She trailed off, shrugging before slumping over her legs. She opened her mouth, hesitant, before shutting it.
“...What else did you want to say?” Jessica gently prompted, closing the netbook in her lap.
“I shouldn’t have left out the DVD,” Chloe whispered. “I just thought it would be okay and I don’t know why I thought that, and now everything has - It’s all gone to hell. My privacy has been invaded, and so has Kurt’s, and if I think about it too long, I think I might start throwing up again. And I can think about is that if I had put the DVD up...”
“Stop that,” Jessica spoke up, her voice harsher than she knew it could get. It was enough to make Chloe startle and look at her with wide, confused eyes. “Did you leave it out in hopes that someone would find it, and put it online?”
“...No.”
“Did you leave it out with a note telling whoever found it to put it online?”
“No, but-“
“Then it’s not your fault. You’re the victim here, and the only person at fault is the one who did this to you!” Jessica told her, frowning.
Chloe finally seemed to realize what she had been saying, and who she had been saying it to. Clapping a hand over her mouth, she fell silent until the words seemed to spill from her. “Oh, God, Jess, I’m so sorry, I didn’t even think-“
“Stop,” she repeated, though this time was gentler. “It’s normal to feel that way. To feel shame. But I can promise you, it will pass. It might have to get worse before it does, but it will pass. Go to your concert, and show them - Your fans, the press, the people who mock you for this. - that you won’t be affected, and that you’ll stay strong, and it will pass.”
Chloe stared at her for a minute, digesting her words before she spoke again. “You know, Jessica, I’m really glad Penn started dating you.”
Jessica smiled. “So am I.”
~~~
“I’m going to kill somebody,” Oz muttered, glaring out of the airplane window like it would do any good.
“So you’ve said,” Andy replied from his seat next to his husband. “But you can’t do anything while we’re this high off the ground, so please try and calm down.”
“Calm down!? How can I, when-“
“Chloe isn’t going to need us angry,” Andy cut in, frowning. “Knowing Faith, she has enough anger in Detroit. I’m just as pissed as you are, don’t worry. But that isn’t what we need to be.”
“Then what should we do?”
Andy quieted. “I wish I knew. All I can think of is lawyers and legal repercussions, which Faith is bound to have taken care of by now, along with statements for the press.”
“Do you think she’ll still go along with the show?”
“It’s Chloe, love. Nothing is going to stop her from performing if she sets her mind to it.”
“...If she can still sing,” Oz answered, leaning back in his seat, “then it can’t be as bad as we think, right?”
Andy didn’t answer.
In another seat on the opposite side of the plane, Kurt fidgeted. He shifted in his seat. He ran a hand through his hair. He picked at the skin around his split knuckles, and wished he could just teleport right to Detroit instead of having to be on this damned plane.
“If you keep doing that, it’s going to scar.” Erin spoke up next to him, her voice as soft as always.
“This is my fault, you know.” He muttered, ignoring Erin’s advice. “It was my idea to make the stupid thing, and now look where it ended up.”
“You couldn’t have known this was going to happen.”
“Of course it was going to happen. Personal lives for celebrities never stay secret, so how could this not have happened? Besides, if it wasn’t this, it would have been something else. Sometimes, I just wish...”
“You wish what?”
“She’d kill me if I ever knew I said this. But sometimes I just wish she would have never started this life, because of things like this. The breach of privacy, and the constant cameras, and the fucking tabloids. Sometimes I just can’t stand it.”
“You talk as if Chloe enjoys it.”
“I know she doesn’t. You know I know that,” Kurt scowled.
~~~
“One of us needs to go out there and talk to the press. I can see them from the damn window, and that barely has a view of the entrance,” Penn muttered, glaring out the window as if he could make them disappear with that alone.
“Chastity is taking care of statements,” Faith answered, fingers flying over the laptop keyboard. “In person, at least. We’ve already had plenty of newspapers and tabloids calling us. I’m handling the online stuff, and that’ll have to be enough until Diana or somebody else gets back to us. What we have to worry about next is getting Chloe to the concert without any incident.”
“We can sneak her out the back, can’t we? And it shouldn’t be too hard to get into the Silverdome without any problems, as long as have enough people.”
“We can hope.”
“I’m really sick of hoping,” Penn grumbled. “I wish there was something we could actually do.”
“Well, so far, there isn’t. If you want to do something, call a car and make sure everyone is ready to go. Go tell Chastity and Jax to get everything they need, and start calling to see if everything is set up at the stadium. Then, we’ll worry about getting Chloe there. One step at a time, bro. I’m pretty sure that’s the only thing we can do right now.”
~~~
Chloe watched Jax and Chastity scurry around her bedroom, gathering everything they needed that wasn’t already waiting for them backstage. “I think I might change the set list.”
That made the other two pause, if only for a moment. “Three hours before the show has to begin? Are you nuts?” Chastity asked, zipping up her lone duffle bag while simultaneously tossing a container of foundation into Jax’s third.
“Not a huge change. Just the opening number. I know I can’t actually say anything at the concert, but I can still... make a statement in other ways,” Chloe explained, her thumb pressed against her bottom lip. Before she could explain anymore, her cell phone rang, and she dove for it.
“Kurt?”
“Diana,” the voice on the other end of the line corrected, and Chloe could almost hear her frown. “What did he do? Do I need to kick his ass?”
“Oh, Diana! Hey! No, it’s not - it’s nothing like that. It’s just taking him longer to get to Detroit than I’d like, is all,” Chloe answered, waving away Jax’s and Chastity’s curious expressions. “I guess you’ve heard?”
“Faith called me for legal help right after the whole thing started,” Diana confirmed. “I just wanted to call and see how you were doing before I got back to her.”
“I’m doing... I don’t know how I’m doing.”
“If you’re still performing tonight, you can’t be doing too badly.”
“No. I don’t know. I think I’m just trying to block it all out, for now. Earlier I was a complete mess, but I can’t be like that on stage. I’m just ignoring what I can.”
“You know you can’t ignore it forever.”
“I know. I think - Just for tonight, I will. And I’ll do the show, and Faith will handle what she can, and then tomorrow... I’ll get involved. Tomorrow.”
“You know you can call me if you need anything. Legal help, or otherwise.”
Chloe didn’t have to ask what the otherwise meant, and her lips curled into a mockery of a smile. “I don’t think I could do the otherwise. But thanks for offering, I think.”
“If it makes you feel any better, Daddy is pissed. So is Mom. If you need it, you have our support.”
Feeling some tension leave her shoulders, Chloe hadn’t even realized that she had been worried about what Liam or Nicoletta might have thought. “It does. I have to go, though. I need to head to the arena to start getting ready. I’ll call you tomorrow?”
“Do that. I’ll talk to you later, Chloe.”
“Bye.”
~~~
Standing downstairs in the lobby, Faith was glad to answer her phone once it started to ring.
“Please tell me you have good news.”
“I do,” Diana answered, sounding close to smug. “I called my dad--Liam Kilpatrick, Chloe's always called him Mr. Liam-“
“The one Oz is really freaked out by?” Faith interrupted, unable to stop a grin.
“That’s him. He is pissed about this, and he's...not to brag, but he has international power, so he'll do anything he needs to to help."
“Always good to know. Anything else?”
"Mom's really not happy. She made Uncle Leo find a good lawyer in Detroit, and then she bullied her way through her answering service to get her home number. Elizabeth Marshall. Here's her number.”
Faith hurriedly snatched a pen and piece of paper off of the front desk, jotting down the number as Diana gave it. She purposefully ignored the glare the desk clerk sent her.
“She does civil litigation and deals with the cops, and that's what you need right now."
“Got it. Thanks for all of this, by the way.”
“It’s no problem, really. Also, a couple of my mom's cousins own a few businesses in Detroit. Uncle Johnny was pretty close to them, so they'd know about Chloe. Adrianna and Anthony. If you need local power, Mom says she'll call them and have them do some strong-arming.”
Faith grinned again, though this one was more aggressive than amused. “Excellent. I don’t know if we’ll need them just yet, but I’ll more likely than not get back to you later about them. Thanks again for all of this, Diana.”
“Chloe’s a friend, and a friend of the family. What kind of childhood friend would I be if I didn’t help her?”
Faith chuckled and said goodbye before hanging up. Looking towards the front doors of the hotel, and the security that was barely able to keep the paparazzi outside, she only grinned wider. They were totally going to win this.
~~~
Kurt was really tempted to tell the driver that he’d tip him an extra hundred for every media asshole he ran over. Instead, he clenched his jaw and tried to force himself to calm down. For a moment, he almost wished Benito was there so he could have someone to punch.
“I hate that we have to meet them at the stadium,” Oz spoke up, breaking the tense silence that had fallen since they got in the car. “We should have left sooner.”
“There weren’t any sooner flights. We couldn’t have left earlier if we had tried,” Erin pointed out.
Kurt finally realized that Erin had been the one reassuring them this entire trip, and he hadn’t even bothered to ask how she was doing. He suddenly felt like a giant tool. “How are you taking all of this?”
Erin seemed surprised at the question, before her expression turned sad. “I’m sorry this happened,” she answered, “but I think everyone else has enough anger about it to make up for me. I’m more worried than anything.”
“She’ll be fine,” Andy said, not for the first time. “Everything will end up fine.”
Even with Andy’s assurances, Kurt nearly bolted from the car once they reached the back entrance to the arena. It was only the fact that they had to get clearance from security to be let in that the others were able to keep up with him at all.
“KURT!”
He barely had time to turn towards the sound of Chloe’s voice before she was practically wrapped around him. He didn’t hesitate before burying his hands in her hair and kissing her.
“NO! We just finished with her hair and make-up, you fucking fuck!”
Kurt pulled away and looked over Chloe’s shoulder to meet Chastity’s glare. “...My bad?”
“Daddy!” Disentangling herself from Kurt, Chloe threw herself at Oz and Andy simultaneously, gathering them into a hug.
“Hey, love. How are you doing?” Oz asked.
Surprisingly, Chloe beamed. “Listen,” She answered.
They did, and barely heard the roar of God knew how many fans.
“They still love me,” Chloe said, practically glowing. “They still love me.”