Chapter 21
Joel & Quentin
The last moments before a show always felt like a spiritual experience for Joel.
In those moments, he could ignore the roar of the crowds and fans, he could tune out anything Braun was trying to say to him, he could forget all his worries from life offstage, and he could focus solely on one of his greatest loves: singing and performing the songs that he had written, and which meant the world to him.
Singing was how he shared his love with the world.
That night, in San Diego, he was ready to share a new version of that love.
He wore his typical costume for the opening number, chest bared and jumpsuit glittering.
He would perform the first set of the tour as normal, and then this show would take a short diversion.
Instead of going right into the next set, he was going to do a short acoustic set.
He normally saved his acoustic sets for later in the show.
It had taken Shivonne threatening Braun with an investigation into his offshore bank accounts for him to agree to the change, but he’d finally relented.
Joel took a deep breath as he prepared to go onstage.
The last few days had been a blur.
He and Quentin had released a short joint statement the day that the news of their relationship broke: We have seen the stories this morning about our rumored relationship.
It is with great joy and pride that we want to announce that we are dating.
We ask that our privacy be respected in this matter.
A small group of homophobic “fans” had tried to protest outside of Quentin’s last hockey game, and they’d been quickly removed by security.
Messages, posts, and articles were still flooding the Internet, and now people were releasing think pieces and editorials about it.
It was overwhelming and frustrating. Everyone thought they were entitled to an opinion.
Even those with good intentions didn’t realize their interest in the matter, and the comments they made about it were a gross invasion of Joel and Quentin’s privacy. Joel was ready to say something.
The explicit images generated by artificial intelligence had been quickly debunked, and Joel and Quentin were both suing the man who’d generated the images for six million dollars, which they planned on donating to various charities for mental health and LGBTQ+ youth.
They still didn’t know who had initially leaked the story, but Shivonne was working overtime to figure it out.
Backstage, Braun nodded at Joel, and he walked out onto the San Diego stage.
Quentin was in a private box in the San Diego stadium with Henri, Cort, Shivonne, Billy, and Ariadne Lake, watching the crowd roar as Joel appeared onstage and immediately started the first set of his tour.
Quentin’s pulse was hammering. He was sure his blood pressure hadn’t dropped to normal levels once in the past week.
It had been nonstop damage control. He was angry at the world for invading his privacy, and knew that after the Playoffs were over, he’d need to do some serious thinking about what was next for him professionally.
Joel’s performance in the first set was as magnificent as always.
The concert was sold out. Resale tickets had been going at an astronomical price.
Ever since the relationship leak, Joel’s popularity (or, at least, his infamy) had soared as people wanted to see how, or if, he’d address it in his few remaining concerts before the break in his tour.
Quentin was proud of how Joel had decided to address it.
Quentin, the other day, released a personal statement on his social media sharing that he identified as queer, and that he would appreciate his privacy to be respected, as always.
He called for his fans, and for all fans of all public figures, to show some class and some decency when discussing the private lives of celebrities.
He was maybe a little harsh in his statement, but he didn’t care.
He was feeling harsh about it all. Since he’d released his statement, Henri, Drew Moreau, and Sebastiaan Koning had all released statements in support of him, and Koning had even reached out to Quentin personally.
Onstage, Joel finished his first set. Normally, when that first set of songs finished, he left the stage to change costumes. Now, though, one of his dancers brought him a keyboard and another brought him a standing microphone, and then his team left the stage.
Quentin smiled. Joel hadn’t let him hear this song yet, but he had told him that Quentin had inspired it.
Joel calmed his breathing and smiled at the crowd.
“Well, San Diego,” he said into the microphone. “This is quite a night, isn’t it? Some of you may have seen my name in the news recently.”
As he spoke, he began to play some soft chords on the keyboard.
“For those of you who don’t know, I became famous relatively early in my life.
I was only a teenager when I joined Good Treble, and I’ve lived my entire life since then in the spotlight.
I don’t regret that. It’s allowed me to do incredible things, like perform for all of you, and share my music with the world.
I am so deeply thankful for the community that has risen up around my music. I am so thankful for all of you.”
He smiled again and played some more chords.
“Because I joined Good Treble when I was so young, I didn’t finish high school in the traditional way.
But I remember what it was like to be in high school.
I remember how rumors could get started, how we all liked to be in each other’s business.
We could be cruel when we were younger, couldn’t we? ”
He stared out at the crowds, his expression growing serious. He had things to say, and he needed them to hear his message.
“I am proud to say that I am a gay man.”
The crowd cheered, and Joel smiled again. At the end of the day, he loved his fans. They were good people, with good hearts. Sometimes, they got a little carried away and could do with some gentle parenting.
“This is not something I thought I would ever share with the world, because the world is not always a kind place, especially to people who exist outside what society has deemed ‘normal’ for sexual and gender identity. I thought that I could protect myself by hiding this aspect of my identity. And, truthfully, I worried what it would mean for the success of my art if I came out.”
He frowned. The next part was hard for him to say.
“My chance to come out on my own terms was taken away from me last week. I think it’s a despicable thing, stealing someone’s chance to share their truth.
What happened to me was a gross invasion of my privacy, and I’ll admit that I was disappointed to see how some of my fans responded.
I am so thankful that my fans enjoy my music.
I am glad that my fans feel connected to me.
I hope that my music has, in some way or another, shown hope to other people.
However, none of that gives anyone an excuse to dig into my personal life, to analyze my past, or my present.
I am a human being, entitled to privacy and respect and decency. ”
To his surprise, there was another uproarious cheer from the crowd.
“I am humbled and thankful for the people who defended me against some of the attacks I faced online. As many of you know, I don’t use social media myself, so everyone who was insulting me was actually insulting some poor interns in the marketing department at my record label. Shame on those trolls.”
He played another chord—he was getting ready to launch into a song. “I didn’t have the chance to come out the way I wanted to. We didn’t have the chance to announce our love the way we wanted to.”
He glanced up at the Jumbotrons behind him, which now showed Quentin in his private box in the stadium, smiling and waving at the camera. Another cheer from the crowd.
“Yes,” Joel said. “Quentin Hartley and I are dating. Surprise! I wish that we had had the chance to share our truths in our time, and in our way, but that chance was taken from us. However, there are still some things I’d like to say.”
He couldn’t quite see Quentin’s private box, because the stadium was so large, but he knew where to look.
He smiled up in that direction. “Quentin, my love, you came into my life in the most absurd way, in the craziest times, and yet you fit perfectly into it. I am so beyond thankful that I get the chance to love you and to share my life with you. Over the past few months, in all the free time I’ve had—I’m being facetious, of course, because I’ve had no free time—I’ve been working on some music.
I’m always writing songs, and this one is for you. ”
Up in the private suite, Quentin leaned close to the windows.
He drank in every word Joel said, and he was already crying.
Henri laid a hand on his shoulder. The others in the suite looked carefully in his direction.
Ariadne wiped tears from her eyes. It was a surreal moment for Quentin—in this private box, in what felt like a new world, about to watch the man he’d fallen in love with proclaim that love to the world.
He knew it was fast. He knew that he and Joel had only been “together” for a few months, but he knew what he wanted. They both did. They’d found certainty together, and they weren’t going to let go.
The song that Joel sang was a sweet, heartfelt ballad called “My First Love Song.” It spoke of the thrill and uncertainty of a secret relationship, and the sweet joy of realizing you were falling in love.
It described quiet moments and stolen glances, and the power of discovering you were ready to share your love with the world.
By the end of the song, Joel was crying, and Quentin was crying, and everyone else around him was crying, too.
Joel stared up at the suite where Quentin stood, and Quentin could’ve sworn their eyes locked.
“I love you, Quentin Hartley,” Joel said into the microphone.
“I love you, too,” Quentin whispered.