Silk Chains and spotlight

The stench of alcohol and sweat clings to Ciel almost like a second skin as he groans awake, finding himself face pressed against a cold, hard floor. He lifts himself and rests his back against the nearest wall, his vision blurring, his mouth dry and his head is pounding crazy as if there's a drum war.

Once his vision cleared, he rolled his green eyes after taking a quick scan of his surroundings—the four walls of a prison cell he's awfully familiar with—always stinking with filth and stains. He could hear the squinching sound of rats.

“Nice seeing you again, pal.” He says with a smirk at the man cowering at the far end of the wall, staring at him as if he's grown an extra head on his shoulders.

Ciel scoffs as he combs his fingers through his messy white hair and rests his head, trying to recall how he landed himself back in this shitty place for the third time in two weeks. At least he didn't find himself in some ditch; that's more humiliating than finding himself on the front cover caught in bed naked and drugged.

“Reid!”

The officer's loud voice yanks him out of his thoughts. He hiss as his head pounds harder. “What now?” His grunts, his voice husky from drinking, shouting and God knows what else's that landed him in jail.

The officer opens the cell, his brows furrowing with irritation. “Get your ass up, your babysitter is here.” He barks.

Ciels unhurriedly gets up to his feet. He runs his fingers through his hair one more time, then waves at his cell companion before following the officer out.

Ciel expects to be released, instead, he's led to the interrogation room and shoved inside.

His Manager, Lucas welcomes him with a hard stare blazing through his blue eyes. His jaw is clenched and his arms are crossed over his chest sitting on a chair behind a metal table. Despite his irked state, he looks every inch the Hollywood Manager.

“Lucas, always a pleasure.” Ciel sneers as he sinks into the empty chair opposite his Manager. His green eyes glint with mischief. “You are going to interrogate me now? Make it spicy.” He flashes him a naughty smile. “Missed me?”

The veins in Luca's temple throbs painfully as he presses his lips into a thin line, seeming to calm himself from exploding. “Missed you? I haven't had the time to. I've spent the past seven hours doing damage control since you thought it'd be fun to go viral again. Do you even realize what kind of mess you've landed us in this time?” He strives to control his rage but the fire in his blue eyes is a betrayer.

Ciel shrugs with nonchalance as he leans back and crosses his arms over his chest. “My mind is still hazy, care to enlighten me, sunshine?”

Luca breathes through his nose as he slams a newspaper on the table, the headlines screaming boldly; New York times—‘Badboy or burnout? Ciel Reid's career finally circling the drain’

There are photos attached, showing him being dragged out of the club handcuffed and flipping off the cameras of reporters.

So, that's what happened. He snorts. “How creative.” He points at the headline, then at the photos. “Nice shot though, my jawline looks great from this angle.”

“Shut up!” Luca growls and immediately rubs his temple as he feels a headache manifesting. “You are a goddamn trainwreck! Do you realize how many calls I've had to take? Producers, sponsors, PR reps—everyone of them is furious and wants to terminate their contracts with you. Your career is hanging by a fucking thread, Ciel!” He runs a hand through his blond hair and continues. “Have you forgotten how much effort you've put into this over the years, the blood, sweat and tears? Don't you care even a little or are you hellbound on self-destruction that nothing else seems to matter?”

Ciel averts his gaze, staring at nothing as a pang takes residence in his chest. Exhaling, he pins Lucas with a hard gawk. “What do you want me to say? That I'm sorry? That I will change? We all know how it's gonna end.”

Lucas inhales deeply. “I don't want an apology, your career is one scandal away from crashing and as your Manager and best friend, I won't allow it. Fortunately, before this city completely ruins your years of effort. I have a solution.”

Ciel stays silent as he watches Lucas take out a script from his bag. He pushes it towards him.

“I've secured you one last chance. A film— a high profile one. If you nail this, your reputation will be as good as new.”

Ciel takes the script, skimming through the details. “Why will they want me for this?”

”They don't.” Luca states bluntly. "But the financier insisted on you. Xerxes Laurent." He pauses and stares but Ciel only frowns at the name as it doesn't ring a bell.

"Never heard of him."

"You will," Luca is grim. "He’s…let’s just say, not someone you want to cross. He’s funding the entire project, but he wants to meet you to discuss some conditions.”

Conditions?” Ciel’s tone sharpens.

Luca’s jaw tightens. “Discuss... terms, that's what his assistant said.”

“Terms for what? My soul?” Ciel jests. He can bet he doesn't have one, probably died the day his innocence was forcefully ripped from him.  A knot forms in his throat. He could almost hear his father’s voice, sneering in his ear annoyingly. ‘You’ll never be anything more than a pretty face. A tool to be used and discarded’

“Ciel, listen to me,” Luca verbalizes, his voice low and urgent. “This man doesn’t play games. Whatever he’s offering, you need to take it seriously. Your career depends on it.”

Ciel leans back, letting out a bitter laugh. “You know, Lucas, you’re starting to sound like my dad. Do this, Ciel. Be a good little boy, Ciel.”

“This isn’t a joke,” Luca snaps. “You either take this, or you kiss your career goodbye.”

“Fine, you don't have to be so irked” he waves dismissively. “Let’s see what Mr. Moneybags wants.”

“Can you for once, not screw this up?”

Ciel snort. “I will try to be on my best behavior but for the meantime, can you get me out of here?”

“You messed with the wrong person last night, you will be detained for the next 24 hours. Use the time to think about what you want, Ciel. Really think. Because whatever Xerxes Laurent wants from you..." He trails off, leaving the warning unspoken..”

Ciel hisses in annoyance. “Fucking bastard!”