Vaughn looked like he couldn't believe the words he just heard from Leon's mouth.
"Eh? Leon, you're kidding right? Do you know who James AM is?" Vaughn questioned, raising the volume of his voice.
'I do. Of course, I do. Which is why I'm not interested,' Leon thought. He'd be crazy not to know who James AM was.
James Adler-Mercer was their nation's favorite sweetheart. The angel of the media world. The favorite celebrity of celebrities. One of the persons featured in his recurring nightmares.
A pounding sound resonated in Leon's head. Dark memories swarming his mind and rendering his common sense crippled.
"I'm not feeling well. Please, tell him that I'm busy. I already have four students and don't have the time to take in another. Thank him for appreciating me, though." Leon kept a forced smile on his face as he spoke, the urge to run away overwhelming his being.
"Leon, what are you–"
"Good night," Leon abruptly cut Vaughn off and turned his back, walking away as far as he could.
He didn't stop even after hearing Vaughn repeatedly shout his name. Leon picked up the rest of his things that were with the stagehands and left the theater immediately, hitching a ride home on the first cab he found on the street.
Even when he reached the familiar building his home was located, the pounding in his head didn't stop.
Leon paid the fare for the ride and went into a crumbling ten-storey building with thin walls and tired brown paint. By the time Leon reached the fourth floor, the pounding in his head had eased.
The reason for this wasn't that he'd realized he was already far enough from the theater, but because he was home now, and he couldn't afford to be unstable here.
So Leon did his special breathing technique; inhaling deeply and exhaling three times. He repeated it five times before walking up to the last door by the right side of the hallway.
He knocked twice, and the door was opened by a tall guy with curly brown hair and a broad frame.
"Hey! You're back!" The guy smiled, his brown eyes glinting with happiness. Then he looked into the house and announced, "Leon's back!"
"Whatever," said a tweenish male voice from the inside of the house.
"Hi, Max," Leon greeted as the door was widened for him to walk into the house.
Leon's eyes swept the living room two steps in, and his lips quickly curved downwards. He caught sight of someone wearing their pajamas and carelessly sitting on the long couch with a gamepad in their hands, eyes fixed on the small TV set displaying a car racing game.
"Are you supposed to be playing games now, Hendrix?" was the first thing Leon said to his son whom he hadn't seen in almost two days.
"Ugh. You're back," the young boy listlessly said as he glanced at Leon briefly, then turned his attention back to the TV set in front of him.
Leon narrowed his eyes the same time Max shut the door and walked over to him. He threw Max a judging look, causing guilt to paint his face.
"Sorry to intrude," Leon then walked towards the boy and grabbed the controller in his hand.
"Come on, man! I was just about to–" Hendrix didn't finish his complaint once he saw the threatening look in Leon's eyes.
Leon turned off the TV and set the controller down. He folded his arms and looked like he was about to deliver a long ass lecture. As he opened his mouth to speak, another voice sounded before his own.
"How'd the recital go?" Max hurriedly asked.
Leon dropped his hands and raked his fingers through his hair, saying, "Not bad."
"So good, then?" Max questioned, plopping down next to Hendrix on the couch.
"Not that either. It was just–"
"Ughhh. Just say you did well, and stop trying to fish for more recognition," Hendrix cut Leon off and stood up from the chair.
"And why are you still awake? It's almost ten. Go brush your teeth and go to bed." Leon said to Hendrix in return with a strict tone.
The little kid looked like he had more to say, but he chose to grumble inaudible words as he marched out of the living room area. Once Leon heard the sound of the inner room's door opening, he sighed and found a seat to settle down on.
"You okay?" Max asked Leon.
Leon was about to say yes, but he remembered what he'd encountered this evening—being asked to tutor James AM. Just the thought of it made his head hurt.
"Something annoying almost happened, but it didn't. So everything should be okay." Leon smiled as he spoke.
Knowing Leon for more than twenty years, Max could tell that Leon was keeping something away from him and faking the smile on his face. But he didn't dare to force Leon to tell him the truth.
If Leon wanted him to know something, he'd tell him.
"Alright. That's good." Max patted Leon's shoulder reassuringly before rising up to his feet.
"I'm going to check if that little troublemaker is asleep. We've already had dinner. Leftovers are in the fridge if you're hungry. Good night." Max said, already walking away.
Leon nodded in understanding. "Good night."
Once Leon was all alone in the living room, he covered his face with both of his palms and said, "Fuck. Never again."
He repeated the words, 'never again', thousands of times before carrying on with his night.
***
The next morning, Leon was up early. His body's clock always woke him up at four-thirty in the morning, no matter the time he slept the previous night or how tired he was.
He brushed and made breakfast before going to wake up the other two people who shared a room.
"Hendrix, time to wake up. Max, your job is on the line!" Leon knocked loudly but didn't open the door which he knew was unlocked.
Though he was a nagging parent, he had a sense of privacy and never barged into the room without being invited.
"Yeah. We're up!" Max was the only person who responded to Leon with a groggy voice.
Leon could hear Hendrix grumbling from inside the room, and he said, "Breakfast is ready. Hendrix, if you aren't in the kitchen next five minutes, you'll go to school starving."
That was when Leon heard a thump sound, indicating that Hendrix had rolled down the bed and fallen on the floor. He heard a groan after that and concluded that his son was now fully awake.
Thereafter, Leon took a bath and got ready for the day. In the small school where he worked, he taught music to five different classes and was also a secretary—somewhat—to the rest of the staff in the music department.
It was obviously not his choice, but the extra source of income was well needed.
The three people living in the apartment got ready quickly and departed in three separate ways. Max was off to his job at a construction site. Hendrix went off to school. And Leon found his way to his tiny prison.
He wouldn't work for the entire school day as he had afternoon and evening piano tutoring sessions. So at two in the afternoon, Leon was already out of the public school's gate to catch a cab that'll take him to his first student's house.
However, after standing under the sun for less than a minute, a sleek black car pulled up in front of him, blocking his way.
The front glass rolled down, and a muscular man wearing shades with a black suit said to Leon without even looking at him, "Get in the car."