Contract Marriage With A Grumpy Idol

4: THE Augustus Immaculata

Back to the present...

“Man...” Rion mumbled with trembling lips.

Aside from the physical effect of hangover, he still looked so dazed upon the haze of sudden occurring events. Especially brought to him by a wasted night, and then THE Augustus Immaculata of Zero Degree.

Rion sprinted, ran toward his best friend's waiting arms upon spotting the latter at the entrance of the building's lobby. Like a child meeting his parents for the first time in years, he made his way with a defeated and yearning expression.

He knew he was doomed. A hell of done. Very unfortunate. That was all Rion could think of.

The press had many pictures of their childish play pretend wedding from last night. If only they got away from it, this would not have happened.

Why did Augustus not even think of the possible group of paparazzi following him — them in particular, Zero Degree, since they were well-known celebrities and the media would die just to get a snap they could make a story about?

Before pulling that crazily out of mind stunt and dragging Rion with them to play a game of exchanging rings in public, and in front of a d*mn church with the mischievous Calyx, Zero Degree's youngest, who probably had the time of his life wearing a priest costume, watching them do an insane sh*t, and playing along with the act?

Now, his whole face, a few pictures of him set in public, his name, and the pictures taken from that moment were anywhere— ANYWHERE!

He was in every social networking sites and platforms. He was in different forms of media. Him and Augustus were all over many news articles, whether local or international. They were in morning broadcasts regarding the mess of the show business. And, probably, they were also in the front pages of newspapers.

Rion felt like this might— scratch that, this would be his very end, precise and sure.

If only he could command the ground, he would have told it to just swallow him wholly. So he could actually have his desired escape from this chaos. So he could just vanish. So he could evaporate to the clouds and disappear.

The moment he had the first grip of his reality, he had realized that his notifications were already bombarded with sh*t he did not have a lot of time to browse into.

His accounts received hundreds— if not, then thousands of messages and different requests.

It was terrifying. It was scary. The thought of being the talk of the town. The feeling of being watched and seen everywhere. As a private person, he was not used to it, he thought he would never get used to it.

Heck, only if he was able to reach Macko and Onew before. If only he could use his phone without receiving a strange call, or a death threat sent to his number. He would tell them to pick him up as quick as possible. Only them could give him comfort, too, could at least make him feel better.

Rion did not even know how they found out his information. Almost everything about him, including his phone number, email address, and social media accounts. But he guessed there were too many, too broad, too large, and too diverse kind of people. Maybe from someone in the tech industry, or someone who knew him from pre-school, or someone who recognized who he was. Whatever. Could he report them for leaking private information after this is all over? Godd*mn it.

He still could not process how in the hell did he manage to instantly become a hot figure in the public's eyes. In just a couple of hours, too. How fast, how sudden.

He literally just slept out of tiredness last night, rather out of the alcohol's knocking out effect. That poor oblivious guy. He did not know that he would become a famous personality when he wakes up the next day.

The last time he checked, he was an unknown entity. Nobody cared about him. Nobody noticed him, how he was doing, how he lived in the past and how he was living in the present. And now, all eyes were on him, as Augustus Immaculata's ‘boyfriend’, ‘husband’...

Rion clenched his jaw in frustration. He wanted to cry, he wanted to sob and weep. And he almost did while Macko kept on patting him by the back, soothing him and telling him comforting words.

Before dragging Augustus Immaculata out of his room earlier, so he could take a bath and fix himself that still stink with liquor, the other members of Zero Degree smiled at Rion.

Hans, Janvick, and Shawn greeted him with a soft good morning. They also apologized for the shortcomings, said sorry for the fuss he was in because of Augustus and Calyx. The latter boy, however, Calyx remained silent. He kept his distance, could not even look at Rion.

Calyx was probably embarrassed and shy because he was directly involved in it, unlike the older ones.

Moreover, they have promised him that this will be fixed anytime soon. That he could still go back to normal once they sort it out.

Rion still could not calm his system, though. No, not when he would certainly receive hate — death threats, even — for the rest of his life. Just because he was once associated with a famous personality. It would haunt him forever. Especially Zero Degree's or Augustus' deranged and delusional fans.

“Rion, I will not ask if you are fine, man. But... can you still take it? Just say...” Macko asked. He was worried and concerned, softly looking at Rion. Doing his best not to provoke the pooling tears in the latter's eyes.

“Mack, Onew… where were you last night? Why the f*ck did you leave me alone?”

“I just... left the dance floor. I intended to have us another case of beer, so when we come back to our table, I could drown myself more, so you can also have more. When I came back, though, you were gone. I tried to find you, but you are nowhere. Onew did not even realize you were out of his sight, too” Macko explained.

The red-haired himself was still oblivious. Still wondering about what occurred last night.

Why did Rion look this... disheveled? Why was he emotional? Did something bad happen? If that was the case, Macko wanted to burst.

How did Rion go off to nowhere, though? And how did he end up in someone else's place — a luxurious space at it. Like, godd*mn. They were currently in the main lobby of one of the city's most extravagant five-star compounds. Something only the people at the top of the social class could afford. What was Rion doing there...?

“I thought we lost you, Rion. We were worried the whole night, the anxiety took over. I feel like I spent all the energy I got from the alcohol, then had it released through constant anxiousness. Onew even tried to punch me in the face when I refused to drive off to find you elsewhere last night. He is worried sick. Do not ever disappear on us like that again, man—”

“What did I do again? I did not, Mack. Stop imagining,” Onew snarled, immediately dumping Macko's confession.

“Lying will not do you any good, Onew. Just admit you were even more worried than I am. It will not hurt to be honest at times...”

“Shut up?”

“But, oh… thank God you are in absolute greatness, Rion— wait, what happened, by the way? Bother to explain? How... Did you end up here? Thankfully, I remembered that I have connected to your phone, so we are able to track you.”

“What happened...?” Rion's head fell down. What happened... was something be still could not believe even until the present. In every second that passed, with Macko and Onew waiting for him to resume speaking, he could feel his panic growing, overtaking, almost overwhelming. “I just... got married. It is all over the news....”

“Hmm?” Macko's eyebrows furrowed in puzzlement. But he gathered himself as fastly as he could, then added, “Congrats, I guess? And no, I have not checked my phone and SNS yet. We have not clicked open the TV, too. When we woke up earlier, I just remembered to open my tracker app to look for you. But I might do later and... see...”

At that point, Rion knew that Macko must have thought he was out of his mind. He got married? He did not even have a girlfriend, or a fiancé, and Afaela just left him?

And truly, the two other boys could not get a hold of what he meant. Maybe he was just experiencing an awful hangover. Maybe he was hallucinating things. Or maybe he had that dream and got it confused with the reality.

Onew, however, after a few seconds of processing, stirred. As soon as he realized, his ears perked up like a happy puppy.

Wait. Rion was serious. And Rion was in a huge turmoil. He really got married? How? When? Why? And with who?

The youngest among them three then pushed Macko aside. He faced Rion with a questioning gaze, malicious and wondering.

Rion looked away. Defeated. Not in the mood to sit in the hot seat and undergo the forthcoming interview, courtesy of the curious Onew.

Onew shook his head. He displayed a look of utter disappointment. If his assumptions were right...

“Rion, be honest. Is Afaela here? Did you become... dumb as hell to accept her again? And did you marry her last night?”

The oppressed boy looked up. He frowned in defense. “No? How the hell did you think of that, Onew?” Rion growled at the question. “Man, Afaela sucks, she does not deserve me. You and Mack said it yourselves last night. I would rather get hit by a metro train than get back with Afaela at this point...”

“Thank god, then…” Onew's tensed state relaxed a little. He sighed in relief. “I mean, you and Afaela? A coward cheater and an i***t? Marrying and building a family? Having kids who might become a terrible combination of the both of you— except about looks, of course. But man, that will be a mess, I would kill myself.”

Onew, this f*cker.

Rion had to muster all his remaining controls to resist the urge of grabbing the youngest boy on his arm and smacking the latter's head.

“Wait...” Macko chided in, as he slowly got to analyze the situation, “so you did not marry anyone, then? Or...”

Rion looked away, “I... did.”

“Huh? Where? Why did your best friends not receive an invitation to become witnesses or even one as youe groomsmen? And... who the hell did you marry? Who in their right mind will pick your dumbass— and whose unit did you stay for the night?”

Macko still could not believe it. He looked around the lobby with wide eyes and mouth hanging open. How could Rion step foot in such a fancy place, when technically, he was the brokest among them three? And if he only rented a room— well, that would still equate to a huge amount of dollars he could have spent for the whole month!

“He married me. And the unit he slept in, it is mine,” someone interrupted their conversation before Rion could even respond.

Rion could only shut his eyes tight. He gritted his teeth upon hearing that voice. He hated that he was quick to pick it up, and now, he has recognized it and the way he would utter words.

Augustus Immaculata. Why can Rion not just... leave that place for good and never show his face to that man ever? Or even show it in public, godd*mn.

When the identity of the newly arrived group of men has registered, it struck Rion that he was also with his friends— with one of them being Zero Degree's hugest fan. He turned to his red-haired mate. Macko's reaction was... priceless.

It was like he was genuinely convinced he might be hallucinating. Augustus Immaculata... Zero Degree... Janvick De Leon... Hans Alforque... Shawn Venedict Bougainvilla... Calyx Brexter Serial...

They were really in his front? What the hell was that enchantment? Had he lost his mind and now imagining things, so good that they felt real?

If Macko was dreaming, he wished either he or the one who would ever try to shake him never wakes up the next time they sleep.

If they were in another situation — or if he did not know better — Rion might have already laughed his ass off in embarrassment when Macko lost all his remaining sanity at the discovery.

The red-haired fell on his knees, literally, as much as Rion wanted to deny that he did. He was almost kissing the ground, bowing to worship the floor where his favorite pop group, Zero Degree, stood.

“Macko, man, stop that. Please, stand up,” Rion begged, trying to pull the weirdo Macko from the floor. He could feel a secondhand embarrassment for his best friend, to say the least. And the last thing he wanted to happen was for anyone of them to make a fool of themselves in front of Zero Degree, “Goodness. Let us go now, Mack, shall we?”

“Wait... you got married...” Onew snapped, his jaw fell down. He looked at Augustus Immaculata, then to Rion, then back to the singer, then pointed to the pop star, “to him? To Augustus Immaculata?”

“Very unfortunate, I know,” Rion said with a frown, then looked away, “But I regret to tell you, yes.”

“The Augustus Immaculata of... Zero Degree? That alcoholic singer in the past months' news for initiating fights when he got drunk? The man in between glinting homophobic allegations the other day, too? The Augustus Immaculata, which is also Macko's favorite member of the group? The conceited, kind of problematic, yet very talented man, as you said the other day?” Onew repeated with evident disbelief.

“You do not have to repeat and elaborate, Onew,” Rion's face reddened in embarrassment for Onew who was currently rambling to himself in utter disbelief.

“I mean— wow? I am literally just right here, in front of you there. That is a... direct slander, I must say,” Augustus snarled and playfully held his right chest, pretending to be hurt. “Do not worry, though. I was not sober when that happened— we were not, not one of us involved was. No one wanted the marriage, especially me. It was intentional, but a... we can say a childish play. It is not even official, and we will get this fixed. The only problem is the media. I do not know about your friend, though, he might be loving this. I mean, who would not want to marry Augustus Immaculata?”

“You being conceited, just proving what Onew just said. I guess my instincts were d*mn right,” Rion winced.

Rion wanted to smack the s**t-eating grin that formed in the pop star's lips. He wanted to wipe Augustus' annoying face off. If ever, he would want to erase the singer's whole existence, too. Maybe that way, the world would have forgotten who he was, too.

“Conceited, huh? Well, then, I am not arguing with a fact. Confidence is one of the keys to unlock success in our field, and I have that. What is there to be ashamed about?”

“And you are even proud you are a jerk and a sickness to this place. I wonder how you got into stardom with that trash of an attitude, though. The show business must be that f*cked up to just accept assh*les, as long as they are good-looking and talented. What happened to the goal of finding real stars, whom kids could idolize and look up to? I guess you do not have everything it takes to succeed, but you made it anyway for acquiring half.”

“I do not like your way of speaking to me, stranger,” Augustus scoffed.

“I have a name, Augustus Immaculata. Not because I am under your class for a mile, you can look at me as if I do not deserve proper acknowledgement. It is Rion for you.”

“Sure, Rion. But do I look like I care?” Augustus asked with gritted teeth and a keen glare.

His head was still spinning. The alcohol from last night was still circulating his system. And God knows how irritated he always have been with a hangover.

If only he could throw fists on a hard surface until his knuckles were bleeding, just so he could redirect his uncanny soaring madness anywhere, he would have done it already. Before he could make yet another mistake to regret right after, he would have ran away and had his escape.

“Stop that right now, August,” Janvick interfered. His seriousness has impacted both parties and made them turn to him. He cleared his throat. This could not get worse, or they would have bigger issues to resolve— aside from the ongoing one. “You are acting like a complete jerk, Augustus. You are both acting like arguing children, too. We are all adults here, are we not—”

“Me, me! I am still a minor,” Onew raised his hand mischievously with a sly grin.

“Yeah, you were a minor three years ago, man. Shut the hell up. This is not the right time to act like a kid— it is mostly my job to be the childish one, so it sounds funny that it is coming out of me right now— anyway, be serious for a second please,” Macko smacked his younger friend.

Onew snarled at the red-haired. He frowned and rolled his eyes. He obliged, anyway. He shushed and zipped his mouth, pulling an invisible slider from left to right using his fingers, until it reaches the top stop.

“Alright. Now, as far as I know, we are not children anymore. So, let us act mature and according to our age,” Janvick continued, eyes turning to Augustus and Rion interchangeably, as if tormenting them for causing a crack in their first impressions due to their childish behaviors. “As rational thinkers— except if one of you is an i***t, we can easily find a way to get everyone out of this ordeal. It will be easy to distract the public if we pull the right strings, and then, they will forget about Rion and this issue in no time.”

“You both do not want your names tied together, and trust me, so does the company. Moreover, it was not even an actual wedding to begin with, it is not factual for you to get bound. One thing you can breathe about. It was a drunken mistake, just an act you played while out of your d*mn mins.”

Rion nodded gently. He just prayed it really will not be a huger mess than it already was. He can not afford to ruin his name some more, until he will never be accepted in any company he would soon apply to.

On the other hand, Augustus stayed silent Intact. Rollin his eyes from time to time. He had his arms above his chest, crossed arrogantly. Seemingly uninterested.

Rion almost snarled. Why was he acting like he was not affected by this? For all Rion knew, it was Augustus Immaculata's career that would be at risk. On a better note, he did not have anything to protect aside from his own privacy getting invaded.

“We, the members, will now have to head to the company. This matter will be discussed shortly. I am certain that the topic would revolve around this news and this only, so rest assured that it will not take too long before we could provide a proposal to settle things. We will get back to you, Rion, as soon as it is possible— Or you can go with us right now, so an agreement can easily be finalized, and you can see the options we could take to amend the issues. That is, if you do not mind?”

“Janvick,” Augustus scoffed. It was clear in his face that did not like the idea Janvick has presented. “They do not have to go with us—”

“Augustus, this is not for you to meddle with. Let them decide. After all, it would be much easier if both parties have an immediate discussion,” Janvick replied. In his voice was a sign of the authority he has always possessed in serious situations, such as the present. As the leader of Zero Degree, a group composed of five men who were mostly childish and with great prides, it was a miracle that he was able to control the rest when needed. “But now that you have disagreed, though, I realized I must not give them a choice because Rion is directly involved in this. So, it is final, they are coming with us to the company. No buts. No arguments. Let us go.”

Augustus sighed. He frowned. He started stomping away in annoyance, walking fastly until he disappeared from a corner.

What else could he do but agree and just shut his mouth when Janvick has spoken?

Shaking his head, Janvick motioned Zero Degree to follow the hard-headed singer. He approached Rion and his friends, then told them to follow suit, which the three other boys agreed in no time.

“Too many reporters, dude. Making me feel nauseating,” Augustus scrunched his nose and pinched its bridge once the rest have reached the building's exit, only to spot Augustus frozen behind their bodyguards who kept on pushing the media away from the path toward their van.

“Stay close,” Shawn said and walked toward Rion's back to effectively shield them from the aggressive pushing from behind, “we can not afford to let any of you three get hurt. Sorry for having you in this crap.”

More than five bodyguards were not enough. With the number of interviewers and camera men surrounding them, even with muscular bodies and tall frames, the manpower still was not enough.

Was this how it would feel to become a famous celebrity? Rion asked himself. It sucked, then. And he was glad he never dreamt of being one.

It was of great elicited effort and used patience before they got to inch closer to the vehicles initially prepared to pick them all up.

Before Zero Degree, specifically Calyx, could step inside their van, the youngest member of the band looked at Rion with an apologetic smile, then mouthed a ‘sorry’ in his direction.

Although he was still pissed and annoyed at how innocent and beaten and remorseful Calyx looked, Rion did not know why he could not bring himself to actually hate Calyx for having a direct part in this chaos. For a reason, Calyx and the younger boy's light aura itself felt comforting, felt reassuring.

“The other van, please,” one security mumbled.

Rion, Macko, and Onew were then guided into the next parked car just beside the van Zero Degree has taken.

Rion sighed in slight fulfillment. At least he would not have to deal with Augustus Immaculata for a long ride toward their company. Or else, it would be hell in that van and they would probably never stop bickering and throwing indirect insults— especially with the pop star's undeniable terrible attitude in real life.

And hopefully, with all the luck he could get, this would end soon. If all it should take is a wish on a star, or a coin thrown in a wishing well, or a whisper in a four-leaf clover, oh, trust him to run over the whole country to find any of the materials he would need.

Once they were all seated at the backseat, Rion let out a groan of relief. After all the draining sh*t. And after all the insane feats. Sitting with his friends felt like his first breathe of fresh air in a while.

“Rion, you... really.... married THE Augustus Immaculata? Augustus of Zero Degree? Man....?”

Macko was still in utter shock. In complete disbelief. Even if he has seen Zero Degree right before his eyes, he still could not believe what just happened, what he has heard rather.

And Rion gets him. He could understand Macko's reaction. Somehow, he has expected his best friend to react like that, to go feral and lose his mind while processing the information.

Ever since Zero Degree's debut, right when they released their first songs and performed together for the first time in public's watch, Macko has been their fan. He has constantly expressed his undying love for the group. He has always dreamt to see them performing on stage, with him in the front row, screaming, crying, and throwing up. He must have been mortified to meet them in the most unexpected way. Not in a concert. Not in a fan meeting. Not in a fan sign event for a newly released album. But in a luxurious compound's lobby, the compound where Augustus Immaculata lived— not to mention that Augustus was his most favorite member.

And now, Rion Nathan Maestra, his best friend who literally just came from a breakup, suddenly gathered and made use of all the fortune — probably misfortune — this world could offer.

Rion Nathan got to meet and talk to Zero Degree, his favorite boy group, before him. Rion also got to see the interior of Augustus' private suite, a place he has not shown his fans before, still a complete mystery to the public. And Rion even spent a night there? In Augustus' bedroom? In Augustus' bed?

Everyone wants Augustus Immaculata. Girls. Boys. Gays. Everyone. It has always been hard to book Zero Degree and Augustus Immaculata. It was hard to see them or spot them in public, and it was harder to get into events they perform and attend.

But Rion was able to get near Augustus Immaculata. And he got to experience marrying him— sure, it was not for real and they were drunk. But still, his point stands!

It was still unbelievable for him. Mind-blowing even. It seemed unreal.

Rion, after a few seconds of words flying off his mind, finally found his consciousness back. He looked at Macko and scoffed, answering the question, “Yes,” then shook his head right after.

Yes. And also no.

If exchanging rings meant that they are married, then maybe yes. In the eyes of the public, yes. Because the public would believe anything the media feeds them. But marriage requires many stages to become official, so technically, no.