[ @dcsperados liked this post for a Starter ]
Harry didn’t like being made to feel like an old man, he was only in his late thirties after all, but social media still managed to turn his brain into that of an octogenarian who barely knew how to flip on the TV. He’d only gotten Twitter a few years ago after Randall kept pestering him about it (he’d wanted to save himself the trouble of sending Harry funny tweets over text), and kept avoiding Instagram until a month or two after he’d met Xan. Once he’d gotten Gwen to explain the intricacies of the app, mainly how it differed from Twitter, he fumbled through account creation and eventually managed to find himself in the deep, deep rabbit hole that was celebrity news. Scrolling through post after post about some starlet who managed to swing a role on a film that was “far above her talent”, according to the user @avalon4life, Harry stilled on a particularly popular post that sent a jolt of surprise right through him.
His own scowling, scruffy face was staring down at his ratty copy of Frankenstein in his hand as he walked, hand in non-book hand, down a London street with Xan. They had headphones in and was looking concentratedly forward, their mouth open slightly in what might be a thought. The caption of the post read: Not Quite Mr. Darcy. Harry frowned. He knew that less than ten minutes later they had stopped at a cafe and had laughed at a table about something stupid Harry’s brother had texted him. He knew that he was only unshaven because it had been the tail end of his two week holiday. He knew that Xandra only had headphones in because they were preparing for a new role and wanted to listen to a performance of the play. He knew that he was only reading so as to cause her less distraction. He knew all of this, but none of it translated into the photo. Harry’s frown deepened. Something was making the hairs on his arm stand up. He hadn’t even realized that anyone had been taking photos.
The next photo in the set had Xan once again in frame, but this time with their head thrown back in a clearly happy laugh. The man making her laugh however, was not him, but her ever-present co star. He was laughing equally joyfully, his handsome features on display. Harry’s grip on his phone tightened.
“Xan?” He hoped his voice didn’t sound too...hurt? Was he hurt? He’d had things written about him before, from scathing to glowing. He was used to tabloids and photos. But something about this...it set his teeth on edge and his stomach churning. Xandra’s fame was a level or two above whatever his was, and it had yet to sink in for him just how many people followed her life. And cared about it. And speculated about it.
“Caru? Have you seen this?”