Contract Marriage With A Grumpy Idol

3: Augustus Immaculata Is A Homophobe?

24 hours ago....

When Augustus Immaculata's consciousness came kicking in and the nasty bitter-sweet taste of liquor seemed to have never left his mouth since the night, he winced and one of his hands grabbed his head as it went immediately spinning when he tried to get up. His other free hand lodged backward in an attempt to leverage his body, so he would not fall back down the mattress again.

What a pain in the ass—

Not even a minute of waking up, the pop star heard his phone ringing on his bedside desk, vibrating and causing a weird sound coming off the dark and furnished hard wood.

Who the hell in their right mind would be calling him too early in that morning?

Oh—

Thirty-five missed calls from his— and Zero Degree's — strictest manager, Cait Emmanuel. Five missed calls from Janvick's number, and ten from Shawn. Also, there were more than sixty unread messages in their group, and more individual chats from the members.

Oh...

As if the memory of last night only managed to flash through his mind and it was the only incident he could possibly think might be the reason why he was currently being bombarded by tone of texts and dials.

He f*cked up really d*mn bad, did he not?

Cait and the rest must be so pissed, nervous, and anxious right now because when his phone beeped once more and Janvick's name flashed on his screen, alongside consecutive messages from Shawn, Calyx, and Hans, they seemed MAD and pretty DESPERATE to get him on line.

Unwanted to give them more crap to think about, Augustus moved and — despite his still throbbing head— picked up his phone to answer the call.

“Hi?”

[ “Augustus, what the hell are you doing right now? Man, we have been calling you for, like, hours!” ]

The singer pulled out and leaned away from his phone upon his friend's shouting volume from the other line.

God d*mn, he could not control his voice, can he? There was no use to yelling against an electronic device...

“I am in my unit,” he answered with full honesty— although he knew he really was in his own place, he still roamed his eyes around to make sure because he could not remember how he made it back to the top floor after getting wasted in the nearest bar.

Heck, the only thing he could recall was him stumbling on he said bar's exit, too drunk to walk straight, too lost in his drunken pleasure to regard a well-functioning mind for decision-making and taking note of the memory.

[ “We came there earlier, but you are not answering the door and the security did not see you entering the building last night. The cameras were unfortunately under a repair, so we were not able to confirm if you came back. We are all worried. D*mn you!” ]

“I just... overslept, Vick.”

[ “Yes, and thank God you are okay. We are on our way there, hmm? We are with Cait. Stand by, all right, August?” ]

“Sure thing,” weakly said Augustus once more before dropping the call himself, now frowning in embarrassment due to making his friends and their manager — probably the company, too — worried after a reckless time without informing them prior, just to make sure he would not cause any more inconveniences and issue.

Well, he might have been.

It was not confirmed because it was Janvick he talked to, and not Cait Emmanuel. If it was the manager, though, he might have the clarification he needed, with a bonus bunch of initial scolding until his ears were sore and brain was near to exploding with only one phone call.

In the back of his mind was a faint memory of... getting into a fight and an argument with someone at the bar? He could vaguely remember everything, but he was certain— was he really?

~

No, not in his own unit, his own room. Not while he was helplessly sitting in his bed alongside Zero Degree, looking away and avoiding the older girl's eyes like beaten puppies. Augustus never did imagine finding himself in the situation where his unit would seem like a trial court with lots of fingers pointing at him like he was a criminal supposed to be convicted and then shouldered with death penalty.

The atmosphere was awkward, to say the least. He did not want to mention why and how they ended up like that, with the rest of Zero Degree getting in the mess, too— technically just his own mess to begin with.

Throwing her phone above the soft bed so it dribbled and hopped a few inches, after answering one urgent call she initially told them was from the company, Cait Emmanuel faced the five boys once more with a newly found vigor, her face contouring in annoyance once more.

Her stares were aflame and sharp, warm and hot against Augustus' skin like a straight lazer piercing through his pores and sending waves of chills, as if it could cut his skin and peel him alive on the spot. Her aura could be compared to those kind of terror college professors no one inside the class would dare disobey and disrespect in fear of getting dropped from her subject.

“Now, where are we again?” She asked, “Let us be serious for a while here, Augustus, hmm?”

The singer remained silent, pretending to not care— even though, internally, he was squirming on his seat, wanting to shift and just turn on his back so he would not be subject of the girl's deadly glares.

“I know you arw all too aware of the problem and why we— I am here, especially when this all happened because of you, yeah?”

Augustus gulped in nervousness, but did his best to maintain his composure. Now that he could somehow manage to finally recall what occured in the bar after taking a bath, sipping a bowl of hangover soup, and drinking black coffee, he was also currently aware how it was not his entire fault why they were in this situation— sure, he was responsible for its entirety due to a burst of his internal immaturity, but not because he was, did it mean he was the only one to blame.

Nonetheless, it was also undeniable that the stunt he pulled — even if everyone knew that he was in his drunken state when he did that — was controversial. Too controversial that Cait, who was usually a calm, reserved, and composed woman, was now... outrageous and furious.

And by the looks of all the headlines and highlights of every newspapers, tabloid, online article, and show business and entertainment news, well, they were all basically d*mned to the deepest pits of hell.

“Augustus Immaculata, the well-known member of pop band Zero Degree, a model, singer, composer, producer, and endorser of big brands, is a Homophobe?”

Would you take a closer look at those? F*cked up. Career threatening. They were dead.

There were people who kept on defending him and justifying his actions, sure, those closeted or proud homophobic people lurking on the daylight. Zero Degree, and Augustus, were completely not in their favor, though. However, the backlash were so much, too, horrible to easily get rid of.

Cait sighed heavily when she realized that she would not be able to extract an answer from the man who still managed to keep his mouth in a thin line despite all the commotion flashing in his own eyes.

This little piece of sh*t, seriously. Cait wanted to smack the boy's head to push him out of his reverie and be responsive, or they would not be capable of fixing the scandal anytime soon.

“Don't you at least have anything to say now, Augustus? The least you can do is speak so we could take instant actions to turn down the rumors and make an official statement through the company. They are all waiting for you, your fans and the general public.”

With a last gulp nobody inside the room afforded to hear due to its low volume, Augustus lifted up a pretentious serious face, finally putting his chin up and meeting the other girl's gaze, in his eyes was an extreme look of determination to probably defend himself.

For the first time since the rest of Zero Degree and the manager arrived, he spoke and opened his mouth in an attempt to clear his name, “Cait, that man kept on asking for my signature, invading my space, personal privacy, and sh*t. I just want a peaceful drink, far from being the celebrity they know as Augustus Immaculata, the well-known pop star they deem flawless and perfect, but I will be harassed for simply existing? Was an hour alone too much to ask for?”

“My night was ruined already, I am all pissed and not having a good day. That is a bad mental health night and he got into my nerves, wrecking the moment furthermore. I was harassed just too, so I defended myself the best I could to remain a whole piece when I go home. Was I supposed to ask and consider if he is gay before I man up and bring the same favor?”

The answer she got seemed to have brought even more stress than satisfaction and clearance. Cait Emmanuel grabbed on her temple for a few self-massage, then walked back and forth on the space beside the king-sized bed.

Ahh, men are really pain in the ass, what stubborn beings. If only she was not friends with these guys and if she never knew who Augustus was and is behind the camera flashing for photos and filming his every move, Cait guessed to herself that she would have just acted according to her morals and guts, told the company to take care of it in their own way; lying, let Augustus suffer the consequences alone, and just move forward. And it would be easier for all of them!

If only she did not care about Augustus and Zero Degree, if only she did not care about the group's fans who genuinely supported and loved them through ups and downs under her watch since these boys debuted, she would have displayed no care and focused on her only job to take care of them, make sure they were healthy and safe, and accompany them on each of their deals. If only she did not care about these people's activities and demeanors off-cam and has not seen how good they actually were, she would have lost hope to fix Augustus already...

“And what? Your reflex was call him a homophobic slur, loudly, and audibly despite the bar's loudness? Goodness gracious, Augustus Immaculata! Even if you are too stressed on your projects and career, too drained with too much worries to overthink every day, you are not suppose to throw slurs just like that, not even supposed to ever use one. You are not a kid!”

“I bet you have seen the articles circulating social media platforms and sites, have you not? And they have shown you the news and televisions, too. You and the fight last night are everywhere at this point, even though the company has taken down the original source of that content as early as they learned about it— you are trending and viral!”

“Every headline, whether online or printed, starts with your name, associated with the word ‘Homophobic’ in the title, speaking wrongly of you and accusing you sh*t, even bringing up your past scandals and the other members', too, dragging them alongside your name. No written article is positive and on your side, and no reactions are. Topics on every social networking site include you and the issue, while Zero Degree and the company is getting attacked just too. Do you think this will be good for you? For the rest of them? For Zero Degree and your nearly declining career?”

That was hard against his chest. Too painful that it made Augustus break down his walls and look down in shame, hiding his face from everyone's peripheral vision in order to keep his probably pained expression to himself.

As much as he wanted to deny everything, Cait was hitting the exact spots to kill his cells and make him feel guilty in a truthful and straightforward way.

Well, god d*mn it.

“Your actions will never be good, or even justifiable at the smallest chance, Augustus. This is awfully wrong— horrifying and should be taken seriously even. You would not get away from this too easily, so remember that you made this yourself. All those years the five of you spent instead of enjoying your youth like normal teenagers boys, the time you needed to become good enough figures to acquire the public's attention and have eyes watching your steps, all to expand your group's reach until the popularity you are experiencing today. All of those will be all for nothing in one wrong stunt you do because there are many people already looking up at you and treating you as their inspirations. Imagine the disappointment they will feel? Do you get what I am trying to point out, hmm?”

“Out of everything, I just want what is best for you guys, as my responsibility and as the closest friends I have grown so find of. I know you behind the cameras, but the public do not. All I can do is think of ways you could be yourself and display your nature without having to pretend. To do that, I will need to guide you to be the best possible version of yourselves, be kind, humble, and not the other way which most celebrities become when they realize their fame and potential.”

Irritably, Augustus gritted his teeth in annoyance as he groaned in frustration because he was freaking guilty and his conscience was near to shattering, about to make him lean forward and kneel in apology— it was just that, he did not want to show a sign of defeat, did not want to look weak. Nonetheless, he was greatly aware that he was at fault, the sole one at that, thst he brought a huge crack to the path they were supposed to be building and not ruining, and he brought them near the fall down by being reckless.

It also dawned to him that he should step lower in order to be worthy of forgiveness— and if only he could be lucky enough for the nth time, a second chance.

In the midst of all those turmoil, questions, anxieties, and paranoia included in the same package for being an idol, a well-known personality, a celebrity, face of brands, and chasing the dreams they all dreamt about when they were still little boys in a packed and old dormitory as trainees prior to debuting, drinking has become his mechanism to cope, to feel.

The feeling of the bitter alcohol, hot in his throat until it reached his tummy, always made him feel alive and breathing, feel like he was still a human and not a perfect being everyone looks up to, idolize, and glorify. So, despite the regrets it always brought the next morning, the accompanied physical pain in his limbs, head, back, sometimes his whole body, it still was better than his every day life like a programmed robot, dead on the inside, lifeless and ran by a rechargeable battery, and hopeless most of the time.

He knew his attitude changes whenever he would get drunk, he would be uncontrollable and extremely aggressive, or emotional, or impulsive at times. And never did he remember anything right that he did after drowning his pathetic self in alcohol.

In the past, he even got engaged into fist fights due to petty and childish reasons. He got into minor accidents while drunk driving. He made mess, countless of times before that left most people already disappointed, and yet again, he was exerting much more energy to push them further away from looking at Zero Degree and their talents, from listening to their songs and appreciating their art.

However — in hopes that getting drunk would at least help him forget his current frustrations — knowing his brain's reaction to liquor, though, he still did it the night before, and without his friends or any manager in sight like they have advised him to always do not-so-long time ago. Not to mention he went without permission, too. Concluding it all and starting yet another crap to worry about, sh*t happened.

And it brought them even more conflicts. And if it could still be resolved, was beyond his fathomable distance and imagination how.

When he met his ex-girlfriend, Augustus thought that he has finally found the safest place in an isolated place, that he has finally found the place in this world where he belonged, where he could take refuge without judgements whenever things get to overwhelming.

She made him feel valued, loved. She made him recognize his own feelings, made him feel like a real and unrestricted human again, that still had a change to be the person that he has always been, but to no avail due to hindrances such as his fame. And in being human, that is, Augustus was allowed to emote and react, he did not have to look like a programmed robot to do his chores and not complain and get tired at all.

She was home where he could be far from the Augustus Immaculata in the public's eyes.

She was comfort where he could be a different person from the famous pop star, from the member and singer of Zero Degree, whom everyone was looking up to and idolizing.

She was the warm that told him he could sometimes turn dissimilar to the ‘oh-so-perfect’ guy who they deemed as the description of a prince charming, someone who could not make any mistake to satisfy the standards this society has subconsciously put him in.

Whenever he was with her, he felt like he has gotten reborn from the life of Augustus Immaculata who always had to show and act composed.

He thought that, finally, he found his haven and he could reside and settle with her, even if their relationship has always been a secret to the public.

Well, we could say that he was wrong. The girl broke the trust he has mustered so hard to build and give, she cut every last bit of hope and life left in Augustus' flesh.

The one she loved turned out to be yet another fake trash who only wanted the benefits of having him, who only had to use him, his popularity, his money, and his everything.

Back when he was dumped, Augustus felt so f*cking dumb for wanting to beg her back— he was glad he managed to stop the madness before he made an idiotic move. As if he will never do— because he still did, anyway! By getting wasted every time he managed, sparking a controversy and further staining his image— which he regretted, and kept on regretting, but still kept on doing, too.

“You know, just… pull me out of the group, it would be somuch better,” there, he said it.

The thing has been bugging him for days now. All he did was bring additional damage, not even one good to benefit his group. So, what was the point of him staying? Especially now that they were not even getting any projects due to constantly avoiding a waste of time and fund when people only boycott their release due to his scandals?

“NO!” Shawn freaked out. “No one of us is ever leaving Zero Degree, August. We are in this sh*t for life, remember? A no will do.”

“Right,” nodded Hans, as he extended his arm to pat Augustus' shoulder and give him a few taps of comfort, “We are all in this crap together and always, August. If we fall, then we fall. If we lost it all, then we lose it all. If everything goes to waste, then everything goes to waste. It is what it is. The most important thing is we stay together, okay? We are fine.”

Shaking his head, Augustus could not get their energy and positivity to even look at him in the eyes with genuine smiles telling him that as long as they were together, things will get better. No, they could not understand, they were choosing to ignore the fact that he was dragging them down with him, they kept on refusing that fact.

“No, guys. Please, listen to me. This is a serious matter you should put into consideration—”

“No, you listen to us, Augustus. No one of you is leaving and pulling out, I will not allow it. As cheesy as it sometimes is, it is five forever, or we would rather have none at all. Those are words from your fans who still patiently waits for Zero Degree's return,” Cait chimed in the boys' conversation, knowing how they will not stop bickering about the matter if she did not go in between.

“Even you? Cait, you should be the one to know more than them, us—”

“You— no, WE. We will get through this, Augustus. This is nothing compared to the hates you guys got on your rookie years, if we are being honest,” playfully, their manager grinned. With all the best she could try, the five boys knew how much Cait wanted to keep them together for as long as she can, to see them performing as five as long as their knees and bones can dance, as long as their throats and lungs can elicit sounds, “We can do this together. I believe in you, guys. I have always believed in you.”

~

“You know, man, I hate it that rhe problem is on some woman, especially them, f*cking cheaters who deserve nothing but the worst,” Augustus yelled shakily, feeling his throat dry up despite having only chugged up a glass of tequila, “F*ck her, f*ck Vanity. I hope she gets her well-deserved karma soon. I wish...”

“Rught, man! F*ck that girl named Vanity. I trusted her, too,” Janvick agreed.

As much as he wanted to confront Augustus much seriously and not act as childish as the latter has gotten with the effect of all the liquor he has taken, he knew that the singer needed, had to have a breakdown of his own way to alleviate the pain and condition his mind to move on and admit defeat from his first love.

“You trusted her, too? Vick, you have been talking sh*t about Vanity whenever August is not around. Let us not lie here, man,” winced Hans beside Janvick, as he teasingly threw a jab at the latter's shoulder, then later on earning a glare.

“Now, on well, you can curse her in my front! Do it all you want, haha, I will not mind— maybe I can even laugh it out, real hard,” Augustus chuckled and shrugged, once again hiding how hurt he was at the mere mention of Vanity. “She can f*ck herself. Now, help me to find myself a man, will you all?”

“A man?” Calyx asked, bewildered and shocked at Augustus' strange request.

“Yes, because I'm done with women!”

“You've got cheated on by only one, August,” Shawn frowned deeply, raising his brows upon hearing no joke in Augustus' tone and voice.

Now, was he being serious?

“Still...” Augustus husked and stomped his feet.

“Still?”

“What if guys are better?”

“That is a pain in the ass, dude,” Hans laughed and ruffled Augustus' hair. “Pun intended.”

“I love you for that, Hans,” whistled Shawn.

“You are so gay, Shawn! Do you want to marry me already?”

“Where are the contract and rings?”

Instead of minding the exchanges between Shawn and Hans, as well as Calyx and Janvick who kept on wheezing beside him, Augustus just stood up with wobbly legs.

He looked around the bar and noticed that the dance floor is still open. He then snarled at his bandmates, “You know what, man? They aren't going to run affront and chase on us if we don't venture the world.”

Augustus forcefully asked his friends to go to the dance floor, and they weren't able to deny his little request because they wanted to do that just too,

Hans and Janvick was quick to run away and leave the other three. Hans shook his head and turned to Augustus and Calyx.

“You two should stick together. Calyx, don't drink too much, all right?”

“Yes, boss,” Calyx displayed a salute.

With that, Shawn also flew off and left Calyx and Augustus in the middle of the dance floor.

“What do we do now, August?”

“Look at him...” Augustus replied, seemingly lost to even mind Calyx's precious question.

“Who's that? What about him?”

“Can we go and talk to him?” Augustus asked and pointed to one guy who is currently standing in the same floor with confusion like he was a lost kid.

“You know him?” Calyx asked, his line of gaze following where Augustus was pointing.

There stood was a tall guy, innocent looking, slim, appealing, and attractive enough to get a few people's attention in his radius.

“No, man, not a bit,” Augustus replied, shrugging, “But if one looks like that, I might marry him in a heartbeat.”

“Let us ask him to marry you, then?” Calyx grinned and pulled Augustus towards the man.

With that, the chaos started.