The headlines stacked up: "Austin Butler and Girlfriend at the Center of Scandal: Affair Rumors Rock Couple", "Drama Unfolds: Austin Butler and His Girlfriend Caught in Scandal - Rumor Mill on Fire!", "Scandal Unveiled: Inside Austin Butler and His Girlfriend's Explosive Fight".

Stories like these flew off the shelves, But that's all they were: stories. It was only a question of what was true and what wasn't. Fictionalized, exaggerated slivers of a larger truth, curated to the consumer's eye and maximized for drama and intrigue.

Austin Butler sits in a dimly-lit room, somber, sharp-cut face draped in shadow, his blue eyes piercing and full with emotion. He's wearing a gray pinstripe-suit, silk shirt unbuttoned the first few notches to expose a golden chain on his clavicle. He'd trimmed his stubble-turned-goatee earlier this morning, making sure he looked as professional as ever.

"So," he starts, honey voice thick with barely-concealed hurt and anger. "Are we gonna talk about it?"

His girlfriend sits across from him, plate of food untouched.