@foamsalt . . . continued from HERE .
"What is it you think they told me?" Adelaide asks, curious despite herself. All it took was a singular night for them to be spotted together, for assumptions to be made, for rumors to spread. Then, a visit from Whitney's friends. Or rather, puppets. Their so-called advice, spoken out of concern - so they claimed - had been nothing but thinly veiled vitriol against Paris. Admittedly, she may have believed it all, had she not heard the stories, stories from long before she met Paris. There are merits to gossip, sometimes. Somehow. "And what makes you think I'd believe it?"
Brows pulling together in a frown, she exhales deeply, drawing it from the space in her chest hurting for them. "What'd she do to you, honey?" Of course she's heard. Everyone has. It had been a tabloid circus for the ages, but Adelaide wants to hear it from Paris. Not from secondhand sources.
it could have been anything. whitney's creative. she sells snake oil for a living, so she has to be, just in a different way than they are. regardless, it'll all fit into the narrative that paris is no good in some kind of way. the tabloids are more than happy to support this narrative if it ups their engagement, and they find themselves with little fight left in them some days. that's why they're all but pleading with adelaide now, voice much softer, more defeatist than usual.
❝ — a lot of people don't care to really check what's true, ❞ whitney has more influence than her, after all. having a fanbase is nothing compared to years of old money and all its connections backing you up. paris looks away, head hung low.
it's a loaded question. it's a question that spans a year and a half or so of breaking up and getting back together, at its most basic. the details are something they couldn't even disclose to lauren and andie at the time. the leaking of the tape [ and how it framed them, ] is one thing . . . but what went unrecorded in the day - to - day is another. paris refuses to confront it, lest the guilt or feelings of stupidity eat them alive.
❝ she just . . . she twisted everything. all the time. she still does, ❞ a frustrated shake of their head causes their curls to bounce. ❝ i never knew what to expect, or what to do to make her happy. 'cause even if i did things right, and she seemed pleased, she'd always eventually turn it back around . . . throw it in my face. i couldn't even breathe around her, ❞