SOUNDTRACK: "Stay" - Many Faces

"So I'm going to talk about it on Ellen in a couple weeks," Jared said as he hiked alongside Kate in Malibu. "Robin and I talked about it."

She shrugged. "Sure. If that's what you want to do."

"I wanted to wait until you were out of school, but this will have to do," he explained. He looked over his shoulder. "Still back there, Stevie?" he called.

The guitarist grunted as he rushed to keep up. "Why are you two running?"

Jared chuckled. "We're not running. You're just being a slow fuck. Get the lead out, man!"

Kate fought back a laugh. Jared was going to make an official announcement. It was all going to be out in the open. There wouldn't be any need to hide anymore and she could finally live life without looking over her shoulder.

"Even though I'm telling everyone, I still think we need some ground rules," Jared continued, pausing near a large tree to give Stevie a chance to catch up.

"Like what?" she asked.

"Like what you can and can't post on social media," he started. "I'm not going to tell you not to post anything because that's not fair. You should be able to live your life and post what you want. But I don't think it's too outrgeous to put a ban on anything that obviously shouldn't be out there. Like projects I'm working on. And the offices. Stuff like that."

"Well, duh," she laughed. "I'm not going to post stuff you wouldn't post yourself."

"Even so, I still had to say it," he said. "It also means you'll get a lot of attention from fans. So you'll have to ignore that."

Kate shrugged. "I already am."

He smiled at her. "It sucks that people are like that. But that's how it is."

Stevie had stopped to take a picture and Jared waited impatiently. "Get a move on, Aiello! I don't want to be stuck up here after dark."

They completed a loop of the trail and went back to the car. Jared drove them to a smoothie bar where they sat outside for a while. When Stevie pointed out the photographer, Jared decided it was time to make a hasty exit, leaving Stevie and Kate to jog after him.

"That was rude," she remarked as she buckled her seat belt right before Jared nearly peeled out of the lot.

Stevie handed her strawberry-banana smoothie back before buckling himself in.

"Sorry. It's kind of a habit," Jared apologized. "If I'm not in the shot there's no need for them to photograph you. And if I ruin the shot by moving, it's worth less because it's not clear." He changed lanes. "I'll try to be more careful in the future."

"I mean, they'll know who I am in a few weeks anyways. So what's the point in trying to hide that you're with me?" she asked around her straw.

~~~

Kate saw Shannon's headlights flash as she jogged across the Winterlake parking lot toward his SUV. It was her first practice with Santa Clarita and she didn't want to be late. He started the engine as she slammed the passenger door shut and tossed her soccer bag into the back seat.

"Thanks for driving me," she said, buckling in.

He nodded. "Well, Jared wouldn't let you drive yourself, so you have to get there somehow," he smiled. He maneuvered around a parked car. "How was your day?"

"Sucked. Professor Hall practically climbed down my throat in Orchestra," she sighed sullenly. "And I'm pretty sure at least three kids know about Jared. So I've got that to look forward to tomorrow."

Shannon winced. "Sorry, Kid," he said. "But, I did come bearing gifts." He reached behind the seat to retrieve a tote bag. "Food. You'll need to eat before practice."

"I need to change, too," she said, taking the bag from him. She pulled a plastic container from the bag and revealed a sandwich. "I love you," she said happily.

"Yeah. Just don't get any crumbs in the car. Otherwise, you get to vacuum it out," he warned.

She smiled and happily devoured the meal. When she was finished, she had to climb into the back seat to change.

"Get your butt out of my face," Shannon grumbled, nudging her hip away from his head as she tried to navigate over the middle console.

"Get your face out of my butt," she replied over her shoulder with a sneer.

He hit a bump and she toppled forward over the console and into the back seat. Several minutes (and a lot of cursing) later, she was in her full practice uniform for Santa Clarita. She clambered back into the front seat and pulled a notebook from her backpack.

"What are you doing?" he asked.

"Studying," she replied. "I'll lose some time while I'm at practice and traveling so I figured I'd make the most of the time I've got."

Shannon shrugged and returned his attention to the remaining thirty minutes of their drive. He was content to spend it in silence as she studied. By the time they reached the high school for practice, Kate was halfway through reviewing her French vocabulary.

"Alright. There's a coffee shop about five minutes from here. I'll be there. Let me know when practice is over and I'll come back," he told her.

She nodded and got out of the car. As she walked across the field to the field house, Shannon drove out of the parking lot. One of her teammates walked alongside her.

"Was that your uncle?" she asked. The woman had to have been in her early thirties.

"Oh - uh, yeah," Kate replied. "He drove me up from L.A."

"I'm Meghan," she offered. "Goalkeeper. I love their music. Totally awesome to run to."

Kate smiled nervously. "Thanks. I'll be sure to tell them."

"I'm not going to ambush them or anything," she assured the teen. "I think it's totally cool that Jared is letting you live a normal life and all that. Not many parents would let their kids play soccer at this level."

Kate chuckled. "Well, he's made me promise to put all of my earnings into a college fund, so I'm not sure how cool he is," she said. "But he tries pretty hard to make sure my life isn't disrupted by his career."

"Do you think they'll ever come to a game?" Meghan asked.

Kate shrugged. "Shannon probably will but I don't know about Jared. He's pretty busy."

"I bet. He has a lot going on," Meghan replied. They entered the locker room. "We're really happy to have you here with us. Coach Gerlado is really excited about you. If he's hard on you, take it as a compliment. Means he cares enough to help you get better."

Kate nodded. "Yeah, thanks," she said. "I'll keep that in mind."

GOSSIP BOARD

SHADYOAKES406 POSTED: Kate must have been out with Jared and Stevie on their hike. Stevie got a picture with her in the background. See?

HURRICANE POSTED: I like that he's taking her places with him. But I wonder how that'll work when he has to tour. I mean, I'm sure now when he has to leave town, he could have her stay with Shannon or Connie. But when the band needs to tour again, Shannon's going too obviously.

SHANGURL607 POSTED: I'm sure they'll figure something out. I love that she seems to have spent time with Shannon, too. I think it's awesome that they have her. I know we all said we wanted Jared to become a dad. And now he has, it's really strange seeing him acting like a parent, you know?

SHADYOAKES406 POSTED: I wonder what type of dad he is. Like is he strict or relaxed? I did a bit of a timeline search and saw that Kate posted something from Vail around Christmas. So I think Jared took her. That could be who he was hugging in that mysterious trolling picture Irina posted and then took down.

HURRICANE POSTED: Wait a minute. If he took Kate with him when he had Irina around, do you think we need to be worried about how serious he is about Irina? I mean, for a while, we just figured she was a fuck buddy. But when you start bringing your kid into a situation like that, it can get fuzzy.

SHANGURL607 POSTED: I don't think it's like that with them. Kate's sixteen. She's old enough to understand how Jared would work. And Shannon, for that matter. She seems like a really cool chick. She plays soccer, which is cool. And apparently the violin. I did find an article in the Winterlake school newspaper about her performance in A Streetcar Named Desire last fall. She got rave reviews. So maybe Jared passed on some of his talents. I hope so.