SOUNDTRACK: "Junk of the Heart" - The Kooks

"I need to stay with you," Kate said into her phone as she threw things into a suitcase on her bed.

"What?" Shannon's confused voice replied.

"I need to stay with you. I can't be around Jared right now," she replied.

Shannon sighed. "What did he do?"

"I don't want to talk about it," she grumbled.

"I'm not gonna let you stay with me if you won't tell me what he did, Kate," he replied. "So you can tell me or I'm going back to sleep."

Kate sighed. "I walked in on him making out with a girl from my school."

"Shit!" Shannon exclaimed in a mixture of jealousy and surprise.

"Shannon!" she growled. "Can I stay with you or not?"

She genuinely hoped she could because her other options were severely limited.

"Does Jared know what you're doing?" he asked.

"No. And I don't care if he does, but I suspect you'll tell him anyways," Kate replied. "If I stay here, I will kill him, Shannon."

Shannon sighed. "Fine. I'll pick you up in an hour."

She sighed in relief and ran her hands over her face. Jared tried to tell her that Sloan had come onto him. There was no way that could have happened. She knew about Jared's preferences. He was certainly mesmerizing enough for someone not used to looking at him. It wasn't that hard to deduce what had happened. If she had to look at him any longer, she felt certain that she'd swat him over the head with the skillet.

He knocked on her door just as she zipped up her bag. "Kate? Can we please talk about this?" he called.

"What is there to talk about?" she snapped. She crossed the room, bag on her shoulder, and yanked the door open. "You made out with my friend."

He sighed and moved out of her way. "Where are you going?"

"Shannon's. He won't make moves on my friends over my Chemistry homework!" she sneered.

Jared bit his lip, trying to maintain some control. The last time they had a fight like this, she wound up at Tomo's. He wasn't going to force her to stay with him. And he trusted Shannon to take care of her.

"If you want to go, I won't stop you," he said. "But will you please listen to my side of things?"

She crossed her arms and sighed. "Fine."

"She came onto me," he started. Kate scoffed but he ignored it. "I was in the kitchen and I didn't even know she was here. You guys were so quiet when you came in. I came upstairs to get something to eat and she was sitting at the table. I didn't see her until it was too late. And she definitely knew who I was," he said.

"Bullcrap," Kate countered. "She didn't even say anything about you."

"Kate, I think she used you to get to me," he said slowly. "She seemed happy to see me. She offered herself to me. She seemed to be waiting for me."

"And what? You just tripped and fell onto her mouth?" she asked in mock disbelief.

"No!" Jared insisted. "I was looking at what you guys were working on and she just kissed me! When you came in I had already told her no and tried to push her away."

She looked at him apprehensively. "Sure," she rolled her yes.

"Kate, please believe me," he pleaded. "Why would I do something like this to you? She was supposedly your friend. Why would I come on to your friend when I can get anyone else?"

He had a point. But she wasn't sure she believed what Sloan did. Why would she do that? How could Kate have missed the signs?

"She used you to get to me," he said softly. "That means she somehow figured out that you and I were connected. And now that she knows we are, we can't control the narrative anymore." He ran his hands over his face and sighed heavily. "I'll have to call Robin and see what the first step is."

"Not necessarily," Kate said after a second of silence. "I only told her you were a friend. So if she believes that, it shouldn't be an issue. I also told her I was moving soon. So I don't think she will think too much of it." Jared's face brightened considerably. "And if she really was just after you, the fact that you had your tongue down her throat should make up for it."

He rolled his eyes. "Let's hope," he said in annoyance. "Still going to Shannon's?" he asked.

Defeat was etched on her face. She had caused the problem by inviting Sloan over. She had created the monster by not thinking to check with Jared and fill him in on the plan. It was all her fault and now they'd have to walk on eggshells for weeks to see how things played out.

"I think I need a break from all this," she said quietly.

Jared looked at her carefully. "Are you okay?"

"It's my fault this even happened.," she whispered. "I should have seen a sign or something. I shouldn't have invited her over. I should have checked with you first. I'm sorry."

"It's not your fault," he sighed. "You should be allowed to have friends over. You don't think I haven't realized that your life basically revolves around school and practice and the only people you spend time with regularly are my employees?" He scoffed to himself. "If I just told everyone, you'd be able to have a normal life."

"No!" she insisted. "It wouldn't be normal. Then I'd have people using me to get close to you."

"Gremlin," he said softly. "Everyone isn't always like that. Sian isn't. Neither is her sister. Jamie isn't. Chloe isn't. None of them want to use me for anything. It sucks that it's a reality, but that's sort of what comes with the territory. And in time, you'll learn to figure out who wants what. God knows I have. I've made plenty of the same mistake." Kate sniffled slightly. "Look, if you think you'd rather go spend time at Shannon's, that's fine. I think I'd be pretty pissed if my mom had done the same thing with one of my friends. I don't blame you."

Kate nodded. "I just think some space from you will do me good."

Jared nodded, trying not to be too offended. "Sure, right." He ran his hand through his fading hair. "Do you need a ride over?"

She shook her head. "He's getting me."

He blinked. "Okay." They stood in silence for a second. "I was going to tell you anyways, but now it's easier. I'm gonna move everything over to the Compound while you're gone so the realtor can stage the house for sale."

She nodded and shifted the bag to her other hand. "Okay."

"I wish you wouldn't immediately think the worst of me every time something goes wrong. Everyone else always does. I wish you wouldn't," he said suddenly. "I'm trying. Even you can see that."

Kate shrugged. He had another point. She was so quick to judge that she never thought to look at things from his side. Vedder nudged her arm, sniffing at her bag.

"You can take him, too if you want," Jared said. "He'll just be in the way here when we're trying to move things."

She looked at the dog. His kind brown eyes shone up at her. "No. You can keep him. You need the company more than I will. Shannon and I get along really well."

Jared fought to hide his wince. He was aware of how well his brother and his daughter were getting along. He would be jealous, too, if he wasn't happy that Shannon's involvement lifted some of the burden from his own shoulders. Kate and Shannon just seemed to...click in a way he and Kate never had yet. They were more comfortable with each other than they had been at the start, but there still seemed to be walls up between the two of them.

"I can get him used to the Compound more, I guess. Though he's basically already pissed on every plant there and rolled on every carpet," he smiled.

Kate let out a short laugh. "I'm gonna wait outside."

He moved to allow her space to pass him and shut the door behind her. He kept watch on her through the window as she waited on the bench in the yard. Soon enough, Shannon's SUV rolled into the driveway and he helped Kate get her things inside. He glanced at Jared and they made eye contact for a few seconds before he nodded and got into the car.

The ride to Shannon's passed in silence. He didn't ask what happened or say anything until they go into his driveway. He turned to her and kept her from getting out.

"Are you okay?" he asked, his hazel eyes laced with concern.

She nodded. "Yeah. I'm fine." He moved to get out, unwilling to pry any further. "It's just...sometimes I wonder if Jared will ever become...more...paternal," she said softly. "It's been four months and not a lot has changed."

Shannon took the keys out of the ignition and looked at her. "Don't doubt that he cares for you, Kate. Because he does."

"I don't think he doesn't," she said. "Sometimes I just feel like he's keeping me in the dark on purpose when he doesn't need to. Or he's keeping me at arm's length on purpose. I don't know. It's like one day we're close and the next we aren't."

He nodded. "That's kind of how he is, though," he told her. "Always has been. I think he picked up the habit when he was a kid."

"Habit?"

Shannon sighed. "He's afraid of getting too close to anyone. So he keeps up these walls to protect himself. It's not the best defense plan, but it's worked." He bit his lip. "A lot of people have tried to use him over the years for different things. He's gotten hurt a lot."

"But I'm not gonna hurt him," she replied.

He nodded. "I think he knows that, deep down. And that's why he's keeping you at a distance. He doesn't want to hurt you." Kate raised an eyebrow in confusion. "His fans can be insane and do a lot of damage. They've done enough damage to his friendships and relationships over the years. It's a price he's been willing to pay. But with you, I think he's missed so much that he doesn't know how to proceed without putting you at risk."

"What do you mean, like he thinks he's too late?" she asked.

He tilted his head. "Kind of. If he had known about you earlier, before he was this famous, it probably would be different. He could have worked you into his life better and dealt with the media attention better."

"I can deal with it just fine now," she insisted.

"You don't know what his fans are capable of," Shannon said. "They can be vicious and hard on him. Kind of makes me wonder why they call themselves fans of his at all to begin with." He shook his head. "The point is, he's trying to protect you from it."

"I don't want him to protect me. I want him to be my dad," she whispered.

Shannon didn't have a response, so he acted like he couldn't hear her. "Let's go inside."

~~~

Kate felt like everyone was staring at her. She'd felt the same on her first day, but this time it was different. It was as if they were all in on a joke and she was left in the cold. As she pushed past a throng of girls, staring and whispering behind hands, Olivia Garland came up to her.

"You're living with Jared Leto? Are you serious? He's an Academy Award winner and you're living with him," she said in her shrill voice.

Kate looked at her in confusion. "What?"

"Sloan Harlowe told everyone that she was over at your house over the weekend and she saw Jared Leto there," Olivia continued breathlessly.

"Olivia, I must have missed the part where we were actually close enough for me to discuss anything with you," Kate replied tersely.

Olivia's mouth popped open as Kate pushed past her down the hallway. Kate's heart started racing and she felt her palms getting slick with sweat as she rushed to the bathroom. She slammed the stall door shut behind her and tried to slow her breathing down. That was it. Sloan had told everyone and the secret was out.

There has to be a way around this, she thought.

She tried to think if there was any other evidence other people would have seen. There were plenty of photos and lots of people had seen Shannon at Winterlake when she'd been in Streetcar. But not that many people linked him to Jared. In fact, unless they were a fan of the band, basically no one knew who Shannon was. Her mind raced as she ran through all of the times she had been out with Jared.

There were a few times when they'd been photographed together, but her face hadn't been visible thanks to his insistence on a hat and sunglasses. Sloan must have been keeping an eye on things for a while and suspected the truth enough to work out that she would be with Jared.

She doesn't know the whole truth, or else she'd have told everyone already, Kate realized. The best way to handle this is to treat it like a rumor and not address it.

She took a deep breath to try to steady her heart. With shaking hands, she opened the bathroom stall, gathered her bag, and walked to the sink to wash her hands. She looked at herself in the mirror and steeled her nerves.

You can do this.

After another deep breath, she went on her way to Junior Orchestra.

GOSSIP BOARD

HURRICANE POSTED: This is the third anonymous post about Jared being associated with a teen girl. I think there has to be a connection or some truth to it:

This girl at my school is living with Jared Leto. She's sixteen and a sophomore. A friend of mine said she and her dad are staying with him until their house is ready. Still, he's been seen out and about with her and I haven't seen her dad, ever. It's really weird.

ROCKKSTARR232 POSTED: It's possible. I know Jared has the Compound, so maybe he's letting his friend stay at his house until he sells it. It's very possible that he could have just come by when that person was there. Plus, it sounds like he's close with this girl's dad (assuming this is true), otherwise he wouldn't let them stay there.

HURRICANE POSTED: I just don't understand why the dad hasn't been seen in any of the pictures. And why would Jared let a teenager stay in his house? Seems really weird.

WWLJD345 POSTED: Whomever she is, she's close with Shannon, too. Otherwise, why the hell is she out with him, too?

HURRICANE POSTED: So, let's look at what we know. This girl...whomever she is...is probably under 18. We have multiple accounts of her being in high school, so I'm gonna assume she is. She's also close with both Jared and Shannon, which narrows things quite a bit since they rarely travel in the same social circles these days. She's also someone that would be allowed around Connie, which means she's probably a family member or friend. I don't know much about Jared's relationship with Connie's side of the family, but I think he's not in contact with anyone from his dad or step-dad's families. To leave no stone unturned, we should also consider that this could be someone a LOT closer to Jared - like a child of his.

WWJLD345 POSTED: Jared doesn't have kids. I feel like we would have heard about one by this point, right?