Page 68 of Resist

“Do you recognize this?” Po winces as he turns the iPad and shows us some images.

I lean in, and my heart stops. Fox and I are on the screen. It’s from yesterday, when our masks were down as we kissed and hugged by the arcade machine. They were taken from a distance, but it’s undeniably us. Our private moment was stolen and sold. My eyes dart up to Po’s and back down, and he sighs.

“They were published early this morning online. The news has already picked up on it and are calling you two the new ‘it’ couple of the century. Fans are confused and picking sides. We’ve had two brands already contact us to drop deals because they don’t want to be associated with any scandals.”

“Scandals?” I scoff, pushing the iPad back as Fox stays silent. “We fake being together all the time to sell your music, remember?”

“But this isn’t fake,” Mr. Atlas snarls. “This is real and has undercut everything we have been working for. We told you no more bad news, and this is bad news. Flirting for cameras is fine, but two of our biggest stars dating and sneaking around? You specifically signed a contract that says you can’t date. It puts us in a bind. What were you thinking?”

I look between them, getting angry. “I was thinking I love him,” I snap, hating how silly they are making us seem, diminishing our relationship.

“Ry,” Po begins, but I glare at him as I grab Fox’s hand. His eyes meet mine, and he nods, holding mine tightly.

“I was thinking I fell in love with my best friend and I wanted to be with him. You’re going to sit there and tell me it’s wrongthat we are in love?” I refuse to deny it any longer. Why should I? I won’t hide it. I refuse to hurt Fox like that.

“Which is fine, when you aren’t under contract,” Po admits. “You read the contract.”

“We didn’t know then,” Fox argues. “It just happened. Isn’t this a good thing? You’re always selling our supposed relationship, and now it’s real.”

“People don’t want real. They want fantasy,” Mr. Atlas sneers. “They don’t wantthis.” He pushes the iPad back at us. “We are losing numbers, not to mention breaching contracts.”

Sickness rolls through my stomach as I stare at their cold, impassive faces. Even Po looks down at the table, refusing to meet our eyes, and I spare Fox a look to see his concern as I grip his hand, in desperate need of connection and support.

“Here is what we are going to do. You are going to stick to the PR plan we have come up with. You will distance yourselves from each other until these rumors die down. Ryker, I want you seen with your usual entourage of beautiful women, the more the better?—”

“No,” I interrupt, my voice sharp. Even the idea of putting on that show makes me feel sick.

“Excuse me?” he responds, a threat in his tone.

“I won’t do that to my boyfriend,” I protest.

“You are breaching your contract!” he roars.

“I don’t care!” I yell, and he sits back, stunned. “Do whatever you want. I won’t betray Fox in any way, not even for show. Let them all know it’s real. I’m tired of hiding it anyway. If it means walking away from this or losing the love of my life, then I will choose him every time. I’m tired of trying to be what this world wants of me. This is who I am.” I jut my chin out, daring them to fire us.

“If you won’t comply with our demands, then you leave us with no choice.” He leans forward, drawing my gaze. “We aresuspending you until we decide what to do about your contract. Please go back to the house. We will be in touch in the next few days about your future with the company.”

Fox’s hand slips from mine, and I glance at him in panic to see him sitting back, his eyes wide with shock.

“You can leave now.” The cruel demand makes me swallow, and Fox lurches to his feet. He nods at them and turns to leave. I spare them a glare and hurry after him, catching up to Fox at the elevator door just as it opens and he steps inside.

“It will be okay,” I tell him softly when I reach the elevator. I reach for his hand, but he jerks away. “Fox, I promise it will be okay. I’ll figure this out.”

He nods, but he isn’t looking at me.

Panic winds through my chest. After everything we have fought against, will this be what breaks us?

THIRTY-ONE

Icould barely look at Strike and Dash when we told them. It’s all my fault. I reached for Ryker and pushed him to accept this. I wanted more from him, and now look what it got us. My best friends could lose everything they have worked so hard for. Dash and Strike deserve their dream. They are incredible artists and even better people, and Ry . . . He was born to sing and perform. It’s what he loves, and today he chose me over his destiny.

I won’t let him sacrifice his dream just for me.

I love him too much for that.

We decide to go to bed early, since none of us are really in a talking mood. Usually, when the door closes, Ry and I can’t keep our hands off each other, but tonight, we fall into the bed, silent and lost. He scoots closer and rests his head on my chest, and I can finally draw in a full breath.

It’s strange. I feel a mix of happy and sad. Happy because he defended me earlier, and sad that this might be over. He might lose this dream because he loves me.

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