Chapter Sixty-Three: Robin's Convoluted Plan

Chapter 63

Robin’s Convoluted Plot

Vanessa was just served papers by a process server regarding Jaxon's lawsuit against her for defamation of character. She wore a baby pink spaghetti strap dress with a semi-circle hemline.

Ashley was in the kitchen making a carrot cake, while Sylvia and Demetrio sat with Vanessa at the dining room table. Demetrio tightly pursed his lips and folded his hands in front of his face. Sylvia gazed at Vanessa who was sobbing.

Demetrio: “Why did you go on that talk show, Vanessa? Why didn’t you come to Sylvia or me first?”

Vanessa: “He deceived me!”

She bawled through hot tears.

Sylvia: “Vanessa, if this was true love, he wouldn’t have been so hasty to fornicate with you after knowing you for merely five minutes. He would have waited.”

She said firmly but gently. Vanessa shifted in her seat. She was instructed by Robin not to mention they didn’t have sex.

Demetrio shook his head.

Demetrio: “Mediate this. Don’t let this go to court. You blew this way out of proportion. I wish you had talked to someone before going on a talk show!”

He snapped and slammed his fist on the table. Vanessa jumped and wailed loudly. Sylvia drew a long breath.

Sylvia: “Vanessa, please… If something like this should happen again, NEVER spill your problems on national television. That does more harm than damage!”

She said, gazing at her with a beseeching look.

Vanessa: “This wouldn’t have happened if Ashley loved me instead of that fat feeder fetishist!”

She snapped through hot tears. Demetrio shook his head.

Ashley froze when they entered the room with the freshly baked carrot cake.

Ashley: “...I-I’m sorry, Vanessa.”

They knit their eyebrows.

Ashley: “...Fat feeder fetishist?”

They titled their head in confusion.

Vanessa: “THIS IS YOUR FAULT!”

She cried at them, shooting her forefinger. Ashley knit their eyebrows and the tufts of hair on their head slunk down like cat ears.

Ashley: “H-How is this my fault?! I didn’t make love to some guy I just met and go on TV about it!”

They cried.

Vanessa: “IF YOU LOVED ME INSTEAD OF THAT FAT FEEDER FETISHIST, NONE OF THIS WOULD HAPPEN!”

She bawled.

Ashley: “I-I’m sorry! I can’t force myself to feel things that I don’t for you… Love doesn’t work that way, and I feel those feelings for someone else! What do you mean fat feeder fetishist?!”

They cried. Is she talking about Lazaros?! Does he have a fetish for me?! They wondered and snuck out of the room to escape her tantrum.

Demetrio: “Vanessa, please don’t blame them for what you did.”

He muttered.

Sylvia: “Vanessa, Ashley is making a carrot cake just for you! They’re not the enemy here and are not the cause of what this young man did to you!”

She slammed her hands on the table as her voice rose.

Demetrio: “If all parties allow it, you can bring a support person to mediate. I suggest Sylvia.”

Vanessa: “STOP TELLING ME WHAT I NEED, UNCLE DEMETRIO!”

She sobbed and flailed her arms. Demetrio raised his eyebrows. Sylvia heaved a deep sigh. Dear me, she is just like her cousin, she thought as she rubbed her temples.

Vanessa: “I don’t NEED you! I don’t need anyone!”

She snapped through hot tears, ran to the door, put on her wedge sandals, and ran out of the house in tears.

Demetrio sank in his seat, burying his face into his hands and shook his head. Sylvia patted his back.

Sylvia: “Be patient, Demetrio. She made a poor choice but she is a victim of what this young man had done to her, as well as being manipulated to go on a talk show.”

She said gently.

~

Darrel was on his computer in the basement of Foxy Robin’s with Ashlee on his lap. The light from the screen illuminated his face. He bit his sub sandwich as his fingers flew over the keyboard. Debris of lettuce and sauce fell onto his shirt and Ashlee’s fur.

Darrel heard the clicking of heels growing louder behind him and inhaled the sweet aroma of Versace Crystal Noir, Robin’s perfume.

Robin hovered over him.

Robin: “What did you find?”

Darrel: “Medical records for GoldenShore Medical Clinic.”

He chuckled. Robin smiled widely and ran her forefingers over her lips.

Robin: “Print it off and sell it to the tabloids. Say it was from Jaxon.”

She commanded. Darrel used his mouse to click “print.”

As the printers spat out the papers, Robin patted Darrel’s head.

Robin: “Do you have that voice changer?”

Darrel: “I do!”

He sang and his eyes glittered.

Robin: “I need you to use it. Should Percy’s little stooge do something… terrible to Tristan’s special friend, he will have no choice but to refuse his case and Percy’s stooge is even more under siege.”

She said “special” with strain. Darrel let out a peal of giggles.

Darrel: “When you get like this, I get veeeeeery horny!”

He sang. Robin clicked her tongue and rolled her eyes. I could have gone about my day without knowing that many details, she thought.

~

Celeste was in the guest room of the Trémaux Château watching her nails dry. She looked down and smiled at her freshly painted black nails. Her cell phone rang. She reached over to pick it up.

Celeste: “Hello?”

Noah: “Celeste, thank goodness you answered!”

She raised an eyebrow.

Celeste: “Why?”

Noah: “Jaxon has been very depressed because of this case, and I think he might be suicidal. He tried to jump off the ledge today but I stopped him!”

Celeste paused. Why would he do that? When Tristan and I were seeing him the other day, he seemed fine, she thought.

Noah: “I think you should come over and cook him dinner. He would love that!”

Celeste’s eyelashes dipped. She didn’t know much about suicidal people. She knew of the Osborne family and that Ray was suicidal but she felt that was a cry for attention. Maybe this is different since his reputation has gone to shit, she thought.

Celeste: “...All right. I’ll be over.”

She hung up the phone and drew a long breath.

She pulled her toe separators from her toes and went to tell Victor she was going out and where she was going. She peeked in and saw he was napping. She got a pen and paper, and began writing a note to him to let him know where she was going and what was happening.

~

Celeste wore an off-shoulder long sleeve skin-tight leopard print dress that came to a little below her ass, a thick black belt around her waist, high heel sandals, and her leather jacket over it. She had her purse over her shoulder and opened the door for her purple Ferrari 328. She climbed in, slid her keys into the ignition, and looked over her shoulder as she backed out of the driveway. She shifted into first gear and drove down the road.

~

Celeste stood before Jaxon’s door and knocked on it. She carried bags of groceries from the Asian grocer she stopped at before she arrived. Noah answered and raised his eyebrows.

Noah: “Hello, Madame. Jaxon will be delighted you’re here!”

Celeste: “I bet…”

She said as her voice trailed off and she entered his condo.

Celeste: “I’ll start making dinner for him.”

She nodded. Noah raised an eyebrow and nodded. She went to his kitchen. She used a knife to slice open the package of boneless skinless chicken thighs and began to cut them as well as the vegetables, which were white, brown, and shitake mushrooms, snow peas, carrots, and napa cabbage, and minced the garlic and ginger.

As she cooked the meal, the aroma of the dish she made with sesame oil filled the condo.

Noah went upstairs and knocked on Jaxon’s door. He heard male moaning coming from inside.

Noah: “Sir, are you awake?”

He asked.

Jaxon: “O-Oh yes! Yes! What is it?!”

He hollered out from the other side of the door.

Noah: “Celeste is here!”

He replied. There was a moment of silence, followed by rustling, until finally the door clicked open as Jaxon came to the door, and pulled up his pants.

Jaxon: “Celeste?! Here?!”

He gaped at him and saw her over the pedway in his kitchen cooking dinner.

Noah: “Yes, she’s making dinner for you. Isn’t that lovely?”

He smiled tightly. Jaxon brightened.

Jaxon: “Oh yes, it is.”

He grinned. He turned back into his bedroom.

Jaxon: “Okay, out now! I have company!”

He clapped his hands at the teal-haired Danny Dongers employee. Satoshi sat in his bed and pouted.

Satoshi: “Oh, poo!”

He huffed and threw the sheets off himself to get dressed.

Jaxon: “We’ll pick this up again tomorrow night or something.”

He winked at him. Satsoshi giggled.

Satoshi: “I know.”

He went up to him and kissed his cheek, and left the bedroom to go downstairs.

He smiled at Celeste before he left the condo. Celeste raised an eyebrow. …Interesting, she thought. She then felt a tap on her shoulder as Jaxon entered the room to join her.

Jaxon: “Well, hello there. I didn’t expect to see you in my kitchen cooking me a meal.”

He teased. She turned to him and smiled.

Celeste: “Yeah! Surprise! How do you feel?”

She asked and knit her eyebrows.

Jaxon: “I’m great!”

He grinned widely, sitting down on the couch.

Celeste: “Do you want to talk to me about… your feelings?”

She offered. Jaxon quirked an eyebrow at her.

Jaxon: “I guess I’m feeling… confused? ‘Cause I thought you didn’t wanna hang out with me again? I know you came here the other day with Tristan, but… it wasn’t just us, you know?”

He stated.

Celeste: “Do you want me to leave?”

She asked him. Jaxon held his hand up.

Jaxon: “No, no! Please stay… let’s catch up over your tasty meal.”

He waved his hands and grinned. She had the pork and shitake mushroom gyozas steaming in the pan.

Celeste: “Look, when your shitty former ‘friend’ or whatever played that audio, I was confused and hurt. I thought you could have at least told me. But I did some thinking and Deimos said you forgot.”

She embraced herself.

Jaxon: “He’s not my former friend. He’s my enemy.”

He huffed.

Jaxon: “Of course I forgot! There was nothing memorable about Vanessa… until that TV segment.”

He groused.

Celeste: “I should know. I forget stuff, too. I’m fastidious about my hygiene, appearance, foot hygiene and so on, but it’s other stuff I forget. I forget when to eat, or buy a new box of tampons, so when my period starts, and I live in a house full of men, I have to line toilet paper on my panties while I go to the drugstore to get a box.”

She explained and shifted her eyes. Jaxon awkwardly shifted.

Jaxon: “Uhh… that’s a lot of information… but, I’m glad you don’t forget to be sexy.”

He winked at her. She giggled a bit.

Celeste: “Anyway, I forget stuff too and Ivy always got mad at me for it.”

She said bitterly.

Celeste: “I’m sorry.”

Jaxon waved his hand.

Jaxon: “It’s okay! You got nothing to apologise for.”

Celeste: “Are you sure?”

She smiled.

Jaxon: “Let’s just enjoy this meal together and have some fun.”

He smiled at her, presenting her with his crystal decanter of whiskey.

Jaxon: “Want a drink?”

She shook her head.

Celeste: “I said I didn’t drink.”

She waved her hand at him.

Jaxon: “Oh, right! I forgot.”

He chuckled and poured himself a glass of whiskey.

Celeste: “I’ll make myself a root beer float.”

She went to his fridge and got a bottle of root beer.

She dished up the moo goo gai pan over a bed of white rice and made some gyoza. She placed the meals on the table with her root beer float filled with cherries. She sat down with him.

Celeste: “What do you want to talk about?”

She asked as she reached over to steal his gyoza. Jaxon lifted his hands to let her steal it.

Jaxon: “Anything. It doesn’t have to be that deep.”

He chuckled, picking up his chopsticks and digging into her meal. She reached over to steal another gyoza and giggled.

Celeste: “You’re gonna be fine. Tristan’s a great lawyer.”

She pinned him with a half-lidded stare and stuck her little tongue out.

Jaxon: “Wow, this is amazing!”

He smiled, taking another bite. She let out a peal of giggles and bit her bottom lip.

Celeste: “Thank you! I haven’t cooked in a while. We live on take-out when Victor doesn’t cook.”

She admitted and sipped on her root beer float.

Celeste: “What makes me so special, Jaxon?”

She asked and thrust a forkful of food in her mouth.

Jaxon: “You’re sexy and badass!”

He purred. She laughed softly and reddened.

Celeste: “Am I? Am I better than Felipa? I noticed she was here the other day.”

She said and took another sip of her root beer.

Jaxon: “Are you kidding me?”

He laughed, like she just said the funniest joke.

Jaxon: “That girl has nothing on you…”

His voice trailed off. Celeste gazed at him.

Celeste: “No? Everyone else is crazy about her. I have a funny story. She fucked Maxx.”

She snorted and ate all of her gyozas.

Jaxon dropped his chopsticks to the floor.

Jaxon: “...Sh-She WHAT?!”

He choked on his food. Celeste nodded soberly.

Celeste: “Yeah, Blake and Ashley confirmed it. She fucked Maxx and Maxx came from Selene Valley to here to follow her.”

She said and pursed her lips. Jaxon gagged with disgust.

Jaxon: “...Oh god… and I fucked her…”

He froze up.

Jaxon: “Th-That means… I had his sloppy seconds and we indirectly fucked!”

He shuddered, rushing over to the sink to hurl.

Celeste: “Sorry about that! I forgot to tell you!”

She reached over to steal his gyozas and stopped when something jolted in her. She withdrew her hand and clasped her hand over her forehead. Suddenly, she felt dizzy. Jaxon turned around to Celeste.

Jaxon: “I’m sorry! I know it’s disgusting! Sorry to gross you out so much!”

He tended to her. She panted loudly and staggered to her feet, grasping the table tightly, causing it to crack. Jaxon knit his eyebrows.

Jaxon: “CELESTE?!”

He gasped, rushing over to her. She panted violently and grabbed the wall tightly, sinking her nails in and clawing the wall, as she fell.

Jaxon: “HOLY FUCKING SHIT!”

He gasped and panicked, frantically rushing over to her and pressing down on her chest.

Jaxon: “NOAH! Call the ambulance!”

He shouted.

The door swung open and Robin marched in, followed by Darrel, a camera in his hand. Jaxon froze and gaped at them.

Jaxon: “Who are you?! What are you doing here?!”

Robin: “Oh no! Jaxon has DRUGGED Tristan’s…”

She paused.

Robin: “Special friend…”

She said through clenched teeth.

Jaxon: “WHAT?! No! I just told her a gross story!”

He groused, feeling guilty.

Robin: “And now he is going to rape her! Thanks to me, he’s not!”

She said loftily.

She screamed when he saw him pressing on her chest.

Robin: “Touching a sick woman?! How dare you, fiend?!”

She pointed to him and shrieked.

Jaxon: “Rape her?! HELL NO! I’m trying to help her!”

He countered.

Robin: “Explain this!”

She slapped him with the abortion medical record. Jaxon’s heart sank.

Robin: “This woman is someone you also probably raped and you were going to do it to her until I saved her!”

She said loftily.

Jaxon: “...How did you get that?! Who are you?! What do you want?! I didn’t rape her!”

He rasped at her.

Robin: “Now Tristan will NOT accept your pathetic case and he will be impressed by moi!”

She flipped her hair. Jaxon gaped at her and laughed bitterly.

Jaxon: “Tristan turned me down, so what makes you think he’d want you then?!”

He glared at her.

Victor rushed in and screamed.

Victor: “GET AWAY FROM HER!”

He barked and rushed in to cradle Celeste. He sobbed on her.

Victor: “What did you do to her?!”

Jaxon stepped back.

Jaxon: “I-I don’t know what happened! She got really grossed out about something I told her and then she passed out!”

He cried.

Robin: “Hi, Mr. Trémaux, my father-in-law, he drugged her and was going to rape her until I saved her.”

She said softly and patted his back.

Jaxon: “WHAT?! NO, I WASN’T!”

He fired back at her.

Victor: “Thank you so much! When she left me that note, I knew it was a trap. He made his butler tell her he tried to kill himself.”

He wept as he held Celeste close. Robin’s jaw dropped. Jaxon gaped at him.

Jaxon: “...WHAT?!”

Robin: “This slimeball just preys on young women, taking advantage of their kindness. He’s nothing like your son!”

She cupped her mouth. Jaxon glared at her.

Jaxon: “HEY! I may be a casanova, but I’m NOT a rapist, lady!”

He snapped at her.

Tristan and Deimos entered.

Victor: “Deimos, heal her! HE DRUGGED HER!”

He cried.

Jaxon: “NO, I DIDN’T!”

He pleaded.

Tristan: “What are you doing here, Robin?”

He narrowed his eyes on her. Jaxon paused and turned to Robin.

Jaxon: “...Robin?! Wait?! You’re hypnochick?!”

He gaped at her. Robin rolled her eyes.

Robin: “Yes, if you say so, Maxxy.”

She said dryly and turned to Tristan.

Robin: “I was saving your little friend from the other Maxxy Malone raping her!”

She waved her hand and smirked.

Jaxon: “I’m NOT a rapist and I’m NOT like that clown!”

He glared at her.

Robin: “Tell him you’re not taking his pathetic case and you can thank me over dinner!”

She flicked her fingers. Deimos knelt and put his hands over Celeste as a purple glow emitted from them.

Tristan: “...What convenient timing, Robin. Do you honestly think this…”

He pointed to Jaxon.

Tristan: “Is capable of concocting such an elaborate scheme? He can’t read a room and got into this mess because he’s not terribly intelligent.”

He challenged her. Robin rolled her eyes.

Jaxon: “HEY!”

He pouted.

Robin: “People surprise you, Tristan! I saved your friend from being molested by this creep! I don’t deserve the interrogation!”

She replied hotly.

Jaxon: “HEY! I wasn’t gonna do shit! Didn’t you hypnotise her?!”

He huffed. Robin rolled her eyes and clicked her tongue.

Robin: “Don’t believe everything Percy tells you.”

Jaxon: “Percy? What’s he got to do with this? She told me about you!”

He nodded to Celeste.

The effects of the drug left Celeste’s body as Deimos healed her. Her eyes fluttered and she moaned in Victor’s arms. Victor cried and held her close.

Tristan: “You…”

He stepped forward.

Tristan: “Are another story. This is definitely your doing.”

He hissed. Robin jerked back as if she was slapped. She sneered at Tristan. Deimos rose.

Deimos: “Look, he’s an idiot but Tristan is right. He got involved with Vanessa AND Felipa, so I don’t think he would do this. He’s mildly retarded.”

He snapped. Robin glared at him.

Jaxon: “HEY! I’m not retarded!”

Robin: “I figured you convinced Tristan of this. Believe what you want, Deimos. Just remember, he’s sucking Percy’s dick!”

She waved her hand at him.

Robin: “Oh, and I believe he raped your bandmate.”

She thrust the abortion record in Deimos’ hand. Jaxon gaped at her.

Jaxon: “Bandmate?!”

Deimos took it and read it. Tristan looked at it. Makayla got an abortion…? He thought.

Deimos: “...Why are you showing me this? What does this prove?”

Jaxon: “Makayla is your bandmate?! I didn’t rape her!”

He huffed.

Deimos: “Yes, she is, and I know you didn’t.”

He rolled his eyes at Jaxon.

Deimos: “I don’t know what you’re trying to prove, Robin. It seems tacky to bring up a PRIVATE medical record she likely wants to forget and make erroneous accusations.”

He narrowed his eyes on her, boring his hateful glare.

Deimos: “Whatever Makayla did in the past doesn’t affect how I view her. Whatever she wanted to do was her choice.”

Jaxon: “Fuck, I had NO idea I got her knocked up! I had nothing to do with whatever she chose to do.”

Deimos gaped at him.

Deimos: “I never said you did or implied it?”

He rolled his eyes.

Jaxon: “Well, you suck, lady.”

He scoffed and laughed at Robin.

Tristan: “I am STILL taking his case.”

Jaxon grinned widely. Victor rose.

Victor: “No, Tristan, don’t! She was drugged!”

He bawled.

Tristan: “Yes, she was Papa, but I don’t believe Jaxon was behind it.”

He sighed.

Victor: “It came from his place!”

He added and sobbed. Jaxon gaped at him.

Jaxon: “I’m NOT that kind of guy! Why would I want to fuck someone who can’t consent?! We weren’t even drinking the same thing! I offered her whiskey and she said no and made her own drink!”

He huffed.

Victor: “Because you had it!”

He sobbed. Celeste’s hand rose to his cheek.

Celeste: “Victor?”

Victor: “You’re okay, hon! I’m here!”

He said tenderly. Jaxon rolled his eyes at Victor.

Tristan: “Papa, please, I don’t believe he did this to her.”

He said firmly but gently.

Victor: “It came from his house!”

Tristan: “As we established, Robin has spies! She likely had one of her spies spike the drink she had!”

He said as his voice rose. Robin’s face contorted with rage. Tristan flicked his gaze to her. Did I hit a nerve, Robin? He thought.

Victor: “Don’t yell at me, Tristan!”

He cried.

Jaxon: “Spies?!”

He laughed.

Robin: “So much for saving your friend! I see Deimos has turned you against me! I will make you see the light one of these days, Tristan! Because I love you!”

She snapped and grabbed Darrel’s shirt to drag him out. She was going to destroy Percy, Jaxon, and especially Deimos. She looked at the abortion record and smiled. Starting with his silly band, she thought.

Tristan: “Well, unless you put the drug in her root beer…”

He held up the glass of the root beer float. Jaxon gaped at him.

Jaxon: “NO!”

Tristan: “Then someone else did.”

He placed the glass on the table. Deimos ran his fingers over the cracks in the table and noticed the claw marks in the wall.

Tristan: “She left a note to Papa stating your butler called her to tell her to come over to make dinner because you’re in a depressive state due to her departure and you tried to kill yourself.”

He added.

Jaxon: “Me? Kill myself?! Hell no, I’m way too awesome!”

He laughed. Deimos rolled his eyes. Tristan looked away. Celeste gazed at him and sighed. I guess this shows how little I know him, she thought.

Celeste: “Thinking back… he seemed surprised I was here.”

She sighed. How could I miss these details? What is wrong with me? She wondered.

Tristan: “I don’t think he called you at all. Before when Robin abducted me, ‘Piper’ called me to tell me something happened to Frankie.”

He cupped his mouth.

Deimos: “The patterns align. She concocted this to ruin Jaxon, so you would drop his case and be impressed she came in to save Celeste at a convenient time.”

He added. Tristan nodded. Jaxon’s jaw dropped.

Jaxon: “WHAT?! Why do I have to be dragged into this?! How would this make you want to be with her?! That woman is batshit CRAZY!”

He exclaimed. Deimos gaped at him as if he had three heads.

Deimos: “Because genius, you’re involved with her ex. God, how braindead are you anyway?”

He sneered at him and his eyes went into a full roll. Tristan cleared his throat and smiled awkwardly.

Jaxon: “...That crazy bitch is your ex?!”

He gaped at Celeste.

Celeste: “No, Percy is!”

She replied tersely.

Jaxon: “Percy?!”

He laughed. Deimos felt his ire soar at Jaxon.

Tristan: “Deimos could have… worded it more tactfully, but yes, you’re involved with her ex, Percy. Percy gained Jarlath ‘Jonesy’ O’Hara’s fortune and she received nothing, despite being his mistress. Ergo, she has a vendetta against him and everyone in his corner.”

He explained coolly.

Deimos: “Maybe you need to dumb it down as if you’re speaking to a toddler.”

He huffed.

Jaxon: “I’m not a fucking toddler.”

He glared at him.

Deimos: “Fitting seeing how you love Varg the Viking. That show is about your comprehension level.”

Jaxon: “Don’t you dare bring up that stupid Viking!”

He fired back at him.

Deimos: “Sure, Jaxon, I won’t but Celeste smelled your feet on that claw ride and said nothing because she didn’t want to deal with your tantrums!”

He fielded scathingly at him. Celeste sighed in Victor’s arms. Tristan removed his glasses to rub his eyes.

Jaxon: “What is with you people and feet?! My feet don’t stink!”

Deimos: “Whatever. Believe what you like. Let me tell you something: YOU’RE the insult to metal, not your ex boyfriend or friend, whatever he was. People know Maxx is a joke and piece of worthless crap but you give others the illusion you’re good when you’re just a poseur and mediocre at best.”

He rasped to him. Tristan sighed and hung his head. Victor said nothing because he was relishing in Deimos bringing him down. He formed a new level of respect for his future son-in-law. Celeste heaved a deep sigh. She didn’t want to say Jaxon’s Maxx hatred confused her.

Jaxon: “You know what? Get out of my condo!”

He snapped at him, pointing to the door.

Deimos: “Gladly. Enjoy being crushed like the ant you are by Sparaktikós. Now go fuck sandpaper.”

He flipped him off and left. Jaxon flipped him off back.

Tristan: “I am sorry.”

He said with pain and followed Deimos. Victor put Celeste down.

Victor: “Are you going to be okay?”

She smiled and nodded.

Celeste: “I’ll be fine.”

She kissed his cheek. He smiled and left. Jaxon huffed and glared at Deimos and Victor as they left.

Jaxon: “What do you see in that guy?”

He asked Celeste. Celeste embraced herself.

Celeste: “Don’t start, Jaxon. Please!”

She commanded.

Celeste: “I just wanted to see if you were okay!”

She snapped.

Jaxon: “I’m fine! I’m not going to kill myself! I’m not a weakling.”

He replied.

Celeste: “I didn’t know that. When I got that call, I came over. I didn’t get to know you outside the thrill rides and you fondling me and such, or maybe I don’t know suicidal people or something.”

She said as her voice trailed off. Jaxon laughed and thought happily of when he fondled her on those rides.

Celeste: “The most I found out was from Tristan’s research and his psychiatrist diggings ‘cause you don’t tell people anything. It’s just hump, hump, hump like a rabbit.”

She said bitterly and thought of the giant rabbits she had to fight when she was a child. Jaxon laughed at her analogy.

Jaxon: “Haha, I guess it is like a rabbit.”

He chuckled.

Jaxon: “It’s better off that way, though…”

Celeste: “For whom?”

She asked and cleared her throat.

Jaxon: “For everyone. Things just get too messy and complicated.”

He waved his hand.

Celeste: “With Vic, I can be myself around him. I don’t have to pretend to be someone I’m not. Vic bares everything to me. I don’t have to pretend to be someone else.”

She stated and paused. Jaxon scoffed and gaped at her.

Jaxon: “Come on, you can do better than THAT guy.”

Celeste glared at him, and something in her snapped.

Celeste: “What, are you jealous?”

She asked acidly as she glared darkly at him.

Celeste: “Sometimes I feel I have to withhold myself to be around you.”

She declared.

Jaxon: “What are you talking about? You’re free to be sexy and badass around me! I watched you split a monster in half, and it didn’t change anything!”

She sighed and clasped her manicured hand on her forehead.

She regained her composure and bore her cold stare on him.

Celeste: “Like Deimos said about the feet, I said nothing because I wanted to have a good time and not deal with you getting nasty with me. I dealt with that bullshit from Ivy. Also, your hatred of Maxx confuses me. Everyone knows he sucks. Maybe if you focused on your lane, you would get more exposure. The reviews mention this.”

She said firmly.

Jaxon: “Why would I get nasty with you? And what’s there not to understand about my hatred of Maxx? What’s not to hate about him?”

Celeste: “You’re nasty to everyone else… and why? Maxx is getting BAD reviews. NO ONE likes his stuff.”

She threw her arms up.

Jaxon: “When have I been nasty to you? If NO ONE likes his stuff, then WHY is he getting platinum, and why is he all over the media?! Everywhere I look, I see his STUPID clown face. There are Maxx carnival games, plush dolls, sodas, Halloween costumes! His shitty songs are all over the radio and his ugly face is across every magazine cover in town! It’s everywhere and I can’t fucking escape him, no matter where I go!”

He ranted angrily to her, throwing his arms up and stamping his feet in frustration. Celeste raised her eyebrows and nodded.

Celeste: “You haven’t been nasty to me. People are buying his shit to laugh at how awful it is. He’s a joke, and people want to laugh at the funny-looking village idiot.”

Jaxon: “It’s not funny when you’ve been forced to be second to him!”

He huffed, folding his arms across his chest.

Celeste: “Your parents told you that you should be like him?”

She asked him. Jaxon paused to gape at her.

Jaxon: “...How would you know that?”

She shrugged and sat on his couch.

Celeste: “They made you wear a costume for your former fiancée of a character for something from a baby show. Why not that?”

She offered.

Jaxon: “Well, I did say you were a smart lady, Celeste.”

He pursed his lips.

Jaxon: “It's always been Maxwell this, Maxwell that! ‘Why can’t you be more like Maxwell?!’ I wanted to be a rockstar, and Maxx wanted to be a rockstar. He buzzes around me and cramps my style and I can’t get rid of the fucker ‘cause our parents are besties or whatever, so I come here to start a new life, and I STILL can’t escape him!”

He ranted, pacing around the room.

Jaxon: “I’m the second man to a man who doesn’t even give me a second thought! He’s obsessed with some chubby hippie chick who doesn’t want him! She rejected me, too. Move on, loser! Not everyone is down to fuck… NO ONE is down to fuck him… or so I thought, turns out I was second to that fucker AGAIN when I got his sloppy seconds with Felipa!”

He ranted and laughed bitterly.

Celeste knit her eyebrows and looked at him sympathetically.

Celeste: “So you spent your life living in his shadow.”

She said as her voice trailed off. Jaxon pursed his lips and nodded.

Celeste: “And he copied you. I read somewhere you used to be Axe Beest until ‘Sex Beest.’ ”

Jaxon groaned.

Jaxon: “Tell me about it. That’s why I changed it to ‘Steel Axe’. I swear, if he changes his stupid fake band name to ‘Steel Beest’ I’ll lose it!”

He fumed.

Celeste: “I think he’s stuck with ‘Sex Bees’ because he’s too lazy to get the cheap graphic design he got changed.”

She said nonchalantly.

Jaxon: “He’s not even passionate about music, so why the fuck is he in my lane, fucking shit up for me and other rockstars?!”

He laughed bitterly.

Celeste: “I know that but… no one is going to stop him.”

She said bleakly.

Jaxon: “Not unless someone kills that fucker.”

He groused.

Celeste: “That’s not going to happen.”

She looked away.

Celeste: “Someone tried. He came back to life as if nothing had happened.”

She said gravely. Jaxon gaped at her.

Jaxon: “...What? Someone else tried and couldn’t kill him?!”

Celeste: “Before you say he’s like Tristan, Deimos, Vic, or me, he’s NOT. Maxx is not human.”

She exclaimed. Jaxon blinked mutely and threw his head back with bitter laughter.

Jaxon: “Now it makes sense! Of course that fucker isn’t human!”

Celeste: “I don’t know if he was always like this or if this happened recently. No one really knows.”

She gazed at him.

Jaxon: “I always knew him to be stupid and obnoxious. There’s no way he was a straight-A student, so his parents paid for it.”

Celeste’s expression relaxed. Her frown slowly lifted and curved into a smile.

Celeste: “This has… been the most real you’ve been… and I like it.”

She said earnestly. Jaxon paused when he realized what he had just done.

Jaxon: “...Why?”

He asked, turning to her.

Celeste: “ ‘cause this is who you are and I like it. And I like that you can tell me these things. It makes sense now.”

She said earnestly.

Celeste: “I don’t like hump, hump, hump with no substance. I did this song and dance years ago and I don’t want to do it again because I don’t need that bullshit. Yeah, thrill rides are fun, but I like deeper stuff more, and my ex was an idiot. She fucked Maxx.”

She blurted. Jaxon’s eyebrows rose.

Jaxon: “...Ex? Wait, Felipa is your ex?!”

He laughed. She nodded.

Celeste: “When Blake told me, I was a bit surprised, but not. That’s Felipa for you. She just humps and has no substance. And it annoyed me.”

She said with bitterness and crossed her legs.

Jaxon: “She annoys me for other reasons.”

He grumbled.

Celeste: “She would hump an ant hill if she could. Okay, Maxx is funny and I laugh at his idiocy, but she… got in bed with him. By the way, Felipa and I dated when I was a teenager, before she met Maxx.”

She waved her hand.

Jaxon: “Oh, I see now! Well, I feel better to know I got your sloppy seconds.”

He joked and laughed. She gaped at him and laughed softly. Except Felipa and I didn’t have sex and I am still a virgin, she thought.

Celeste smiled and rose.

Celeste: “Thank you for being honest with me. I do appreciate it.”

She said softly.

Jaxon: “Really?”

She smiled and nodded.

Celeste: “As for Deimos, Tristan will talk to him. Makayla told him things, and I think it didn’t sit well with him. I’ll talk to Victor. Victor is less stubborn than Deimos.”

She tilted her head. She grabbed the bottle of root beer.

Celeste: “And this should be tested.”

Jaxon nodded and smiled at her.

Celeste: “Have a good night, Jaxon. Good luck with the case.”

She raised the bottle of root beer and left.