Trevor smiling mischievously above.

abience

(n.) the strong urge to avoid someone

Leaning against the open bar at Jeffrey's party, Vijay and Kiara surveyed the crowd as they played their favourite betting game. When both their social batteries were drained, they often resorted to gathering in a quiet corner and challenging one another to dares.

He smirked mischievously and angled his head to glance at a man, seated on the opposite end of the bar, "How about him?"

Following his line of sight, she scoffed, "He looks sleazy."

"Doubting your abilities?"

"No," she ran the probabilities of being able to follow through with his dare then nodded; "I'll do it."

Smiling gleefully, he rubbed his hands together in excitement, "Okay. I win and you make me breakfast every day this week."

"Fine but I win and you give up the flask."

Freezing as a flicker of indecision crossed his features, he considered her demand for a moment before holding out his hand, "Deal."

In an attempt to ensure the odds were stacked in his favour, Vijay dared Kiara to swindle the man. The goal was open to interpretation, meaning she could steal his wallet, trick him, basically mess around with him. Reading his demeanour, she took inventory of his current state and determined them as favourably pliable to her charms– dressed in a fitted suit, drinking hard liquor and sitting alone. 

Kiara strutted seductively towards him, fingers grazing the back of his chair as she slid into the seat beside him. Scanning his appearance, she grimaced at the tasselled loafers, slicked back hair and fake tan– talent agent then. The first step was to engage him in conversation. Barely sparing a glance in his direction, she slowly slid her blazer down her shoulders and draped it over the back of her stool. The coat tactic always did the trick and by the looks of his reaction, it worked. His gaze warmed her face as it travelled along her body, heating in interest.

Peering up at him from under her thick lashes, she asked, "Hey, what's your name?"

Reluctantly trailing his eyes back up to Kiara's face, the dapper man turned his body to fully face her. Her tone spoke of sweet innocence but the tight black bodycon dress that did little to hide the curve of her trim waist and shapely hips paired with black stilettos screamed of sin and sexuality.

He smiled an adder's grin, revealing a blindingly white set of teeth, "Brian. I'd ask for your name but everyone in this room knows who you are."

She playfully swiped at his chest, "You flatter me."

Relishing in the melodic sound of her laughter bouncing along the walls, he drawled, "All facts, I promise."

The pleased smile dropped from Vijay's face as he realised this sort of manipulation was child's play to Kiara and challenging her to such dares were completely pointless if he had any intention to win.

Brian boldly lunged forwards and gripped her arm as she raised a brow at the gesture, "Anyone tell you how stunning you look tonight?"

Hot red fury covered Vijay's gaze at the sight of Kiara's unease as she fidgeted against his firm grip. Deciding to make the best of an uncomfortable situation, she brought herself closer and slipped her free arm under the table. Panicking when Brian tightened his grip on her other arm, Vijay was half-way on his feet but stopped abruptly upon noticing her hands seamlessly slip into Brian's pant pockets.

Keeping his attention on her as she maintained eye-contact, she sweetly purred, "I might've received a few compliments here and there."

The corners of Vijay's mouth tipped up in pride as he watched Brian blindly walk into Kiara's trap, assuming he had managed to garner the interest of the People's Actress. She slid out his fat leather wallet between her thumb and forefinger and pressed it against the small of her back.

Leaning away from him, she gently twisted her arm out of his firm hold, "It was lovely meeting you, Brad," purposefully mistaking Brian's name and straining her neck to wave exaggeratedly at Vijay, she moved towards him; "but I believe my date is here!"

Slinking away from Brian as she ignored his pathetic calls trailing her, she grinned triumphantly, "Cough up, Jay."

Huffing in annoyance, Vijay begrudgingly unclasped the hip flask from his belt loop and slapped it onto Kiara's outstretched palm.

He muttered under his breath, "Party pooper."

"I heard that," she snorted.

By some miracle, Kiara had managed to safely drive home with an extremely tipsy Vijay as she made sure he entered his home before sighing in relief and unlocking her front door. Stripping out of her tight dress, she made a beeline for the shower as she made quick work of cleaning herself. Barely having the willpower to keep her eyes open as she tugged on a clean set of underclothes and flopped into bed, she let out a strained groan while angrily pulling at the neatly tucked duvet to crawl under it. Before long, she was fast asleep as soft snores sounded while she dreamt of happier things.

Although it seemed much longer in Kiara's head, it had been nearly a month since she and Chris broke up. Each day drew out longer than the last and she would be lying if she said she hadn't noticed his absence as she found herself increasingly tempted to let loose of all inhibition and contact him. Sometimes she would find herself absentmindedly rubbing the spot on her chest above her heart as if to soothe the dull ache in her soul. Her friends and family acted as temporary salve over the wounds of heartbreak but there was only so much they could do before the inevitable sense of loneliness seeped through. While trying not to suffocate her, Vijay remained ever present as steady support and Karan called in everyday to check on her, never outright asking about Chris but somehow knowing what had happened from the sombre tone of her voice or the dull smile she plastered on. 

That was the problem with love– once you've had the slightest taste, nothing else compares. All thoughts halted and ice coursed through her veins as Kiara realised her fatal mistake. In her pensive state this past month, she had failed to recognise her acceptance of being in love with Chris but it was too late now. He was already ingrained within her soul, tattooed into the layers of her skin. She needed him like her lungs needed oxygen and knew then that she was a goner.

The next morning, Kiara drove onto set over an hour earlier than necessary. Her mind was too busy and crowded for sleep so she resorted to working. Much to her surprise, Milo was sat on the couch with his legs propped up as he ran through his lines while the crew set up each set. He scooted over and patted the space beside him, silently offering his company.

Wearily observing her, he asked, "What are you doing here so early?"

She raised a brow, "I could ask you the same thing."

He stared at her for a second, examining her restless features, "I know you've been coming in earlier the past few weeks. Thought I'd keep you company."

"And why's that?"

"Darlin', I know a broken heart when I see one."

The charming smirk and handsome rugged features did nothing to soften the blow as Milo looked at Kiara with unflinching honesty. She was a strong woman so he knew that it wasn't comfort and protection that she needed but instead truth and encouragement.

She sighed, "Any advice?"

Flashing his signature crooked smirk, he said, "I could shoot my shot and say rebound but I doubt that'll help you much."

"As beautiful as you are, Milo, I don't think you could handle me," she smiled.

"Yeah, you're probably right," pausing to clasp her hand, he spoke in a lower tone; "Throw yourself into work. Continue living your life as you normally would and eventually you'll forget about it."

"Is that what you do?"

He nodded, "It's what I try to do. Not saying it works every time but it definitely helps."

Squeezing Milo's hand in thanks, Kiara bumped his shoulder with her own before she turned her focus to studying her lines for today's shoot. Eventually the rest of the cast arrived and Vijay slumped into the armchair opposite them with his hair adorably mussed. As there were very few scenes where everyone was acting, she often found herself excited to film such scenes as it meant engaging with varying dynamics and she enjoyed challenging herself. Emilia was in charge of choosing the music while each actor sat in their makeup chair, preparing for shooting as The Beatles blasted through the speakers. Coming towards the end of the year, they had completed shooting the entire second season but were just finishing up with the last few scenes for the final episode.

Filming the same scene for the umpteenth time as Emilia tried to control her laughter, a high-pitched voice screeched out Vijay's name as a slender body barrelled towards him. Kiara flinched, turning to look at who had barged onto set and rolled her eyes upon spotting Nargis. Emilia raised a quizzical brow at her reaction but said nothing as Nargis continued fawning over him. Hadley sighed and dismissed everyone for a break, realising the woman was unlikely to leave him alone. Throwing her head back in annoyance, Kiara tried to delay any interaction with Nargis but stood to walk over to the couple. Emilia huffed a laugh but left the trio alone, gathering with Jeffrey and Milo nearby while Poorna excused herself and slipped out. 

Noticing Kiara approach, Nargis glared at her pointedly then pulled Vijay's face to hers and planted a sloppy kiss as if to claim him before facing her, "Well, if it isn't fucking Cinderella."

Running her tongue along her teeth, Kiara huffed a laugh, "You know, I never understood why you call me that."

"Let's see, you're practically India's little princess and you run away from any man that shows some semblance of affection."

"Oh, that's real funny."

"Yeah I thought so too," Nargis said looking a little too pleased for her liking.

"You know what I find funnier?"

"What?"

"Cinderella took one shoe off and the love of her life found her but you removed all your clothes and he still left!"

Nargis glared at him but when she realised he wouldn't do anything, she let out a noise of frustration and walked away as Kiara raised a brow, "So I guess that means you two are back on."

He cleared his throat awkwardly, "She's just upset about last time when you called her out on being a clout-chaser."

"Oh really? Could you tell her I meant it?"

Choking out a laugh, Milo interrupted their conversation, "Hey, sorry to intrude but there's someone asking for you, Kiara."

Frowning as she wondered who the mystery guest was, Kiara impishly smiled at Nargis before patting Vijay's chest and walking away. She found Trevor tapping his foot impatiently as his fingers frantically flew over the letter keys on his phone.

She called out, "Trev! What's with the surprise visit?"

His sullen face alarmed her as he spoke in a tone devoid of any humour, "I need a favour."

"Elaborate."

"It's about Tia. She's being harassed by this guy at her university but if I'm seen talking to him, any action taken afterwards will be traced back to me."

"Okay, what do you need me to do?"

Trevor spent the next few minutes explaining the entire situation as Kiara grew increasingly furious regarding what his sister, Tia, experienced. Hearing about the horrifying ordeal, she immediately agreed to helping them out. The two friends looked at each other, sporting matching wicked grins as he leaned in to hug her gratefully before heading back into his car and speeding away. Ignoring the curious looks, she marched back on set and got into position as they began filming again.

Shooting wrapped up by the evening and Vijay had already left with Nargis as the couple caught up on lost time. Kiara, on the other hand, made dinner reservations with Tia at the most popular restaurant on the UC Berkley campus. She hadn't been fully transparent regarding her intentions to Tia as she also wanted to speak with the harasser.

Searching the restaurant for Tia, she smiled and waved upon finding her, "Hey," they embraced each other, reuniting after a long time; "I've missed you!"

Tia squeezed her hand affectionately, "Me too. I'm so glad you reached out to meet up. How are you liking it in LA?"

"Oh it's amazing but I find myself missing Hong Kong. We fly back and forth to India enough that I don't get too homesick but I really miss family, you know?"

"I totally get that," Tia paused momentarily before asking; "So why did my brother come see you?"

"You heard about that?"

"No, but paparazzi photos of him in LA were enough to connect the dots."

"You're too smart for your own good."

"And you're not a great liar."

"I am when I want to be."

She looked at Kiara contemplatively as seconds trickled by slowly, "You know don't you?"

Before Kiara could respond, Tia tensed up as her muscles seemed to lock in place and hands shook slightly. The young girl's gaze remained frozen at something behind Kiara so she looked over her shoulder and spotted the young man, no older than twenty, cut through the restaurant with an overconfident swagger. He joined a group of students on a nearby table, barely sparing a glance at Tia as he laughed at something his friend said.

Gently approaching the subject, Kiara questioned, "Is it him?"

Remaining silent as she shook in fear, Tia could only timidly nod in confirmation. While a few people had noticed Kiara's presence, not many identified the actress so she tried maintaining the anonymity as she smoothly stood from her table and slid into the chair opposite him.

She smiled deviously, "Hello, asshole"

Wearing an arrogant smirk, he drawled, "Woah, slow your roll, princess. Don't you want to know my name first?"

"I have no doubt it's something unique like Brad, Chad, Mike– oh wait! No, don't tell me... Jake!"

The smirk faded away as he snarled, "It's Brody."

"Well, I couldn't give two shits about you but her," she pointed at Tia as he glanced at the girl with thinly veiled disgust before looking back at her; "I care a lot about."

"Okay, what does that have to do with me?"

"Well you did take videos of multiple students without their permission. One such student being my dear friend, Tia."

She felt the shift in his careless attitude instantly as he crossed his arms defensively, "California may be a two-party consent state, but those videos had no audio. Consent isn't required if the audio component is missing."

Smugly leaning back in his seat, he concluded, "As you can see, I wasn't involved in any illegal activities. I'm a law student, by the way."

Mockingly pouting, she retorted, "That's adorable! Consent irregularities don't apply to child pornography."

His smug attitude instantly dropped, "What?"

"See my friend here is, I don't know, a month shy of her eighteenth birthday so that's child pornography. Audio or video is irrelevant so have fun practicing law after your twenty year prison sentence."

Pausing to gauge his reaction, she smirked, "I'm a lawyer, by the way."

Perspiration gathered on his forehead as his clammy hands gripped her arm, "What do you want?"

"I want you to delete every video or image you have of all those women and don't even think about keeping backups, I'll have a few friends coming over to your place to check everything is cleared out."

"You can't do that. It's illegal."

"And so was filming them in the first place but that didn't stop you."

Watching carefully as Brody deleted all the damning videos and images off his phone, he pulled out his laptop and deleted all the backup files before glaring at Kiara. She smiled at him satisfactorily then stood up and collected her belongings. Giving Tia a reassuring smile they left the restaurant and slowly walked back to her student accommodation, giggling as they caught up with each other. Tia finally relaxed into herself, feeling much freer than she had in a while after removing the noose Brody tied to her neck.

Tia gaped at Kiara, "I'm not underage."

She winked, "He doesn't know that."

"If we're not filing some sort of lawsuit then why'd you say it?"

"Do you want to take this to court?"

"No."

"Then I just did it to scare him."

"Let me guess, my brother's taking care of the rest."

"Let's just say Brody won't be making 'fun home videos' anymore but as for how, I wouldn't know. Plausible deniability and all that."

Woah! Twenty three chapters already? It doesn't feel that long ago when I started writing this story. Please don't forget to vote and comment!