It took the media another month before they got another photograph of them together.

Or, well, multiple pictures.

Simón had decided he wanted to take her to a 'nice' restaurant to celebrate the end of her semester. Ámbar knew this was also his way of coaxing her into going out for dates instead of the nights in she'd been convincing him to have at his apartment. It wasn't that she was explicitly limiting them to stay inside the comfort – and privacy- of his home, but she wanted to take precautions in case anyone involved her parents again.

Whom, unsurprisingly, hadn't heard of their info being leaked until she asked them if they were okay. Her mom had been taken off guard at first, wondering if she needed to change jobs or warn her boss about teenagers and grown men with a camera, but as soon as Simón told her it wasn't necessary, and that he'd taken care of it, she'd dismissed the whole ordeal and asked her daughter's boyfriend if he wanted to have dinner with them. Her dad wasn't as chill. First, because he didn't even know she was dating a famous band member, and second, he wasn't thrilled she was exposing her life by dating one. He'd questioned her reasons, asking her if living in expectation of what the world had to say about her everyday was what she wanted, forever shadowed by her boyfriend's name wherever she went.

She wasn't proud to admit she'd snapped at him, throwing at his face that he'd left her mom raise her alone after she turned three, and that for that, he had no reason to butt in her relationship. She wasn't even sure they were going to last, anyway. Nothing was set on stone when it came to relationships. In the end, he'd grunted out that he was okay and promised to call her if something happened, so she could talk to Simón and see what they could do. He also made Simón promise him he'd meet him soon. Ámbar still grimaced when she remembered how awkward that had been; her dad with his 'hurt my daughter and die' attitude, her dad's wife all star-struck and giving out barely coherent responses to Simón's questions, and her bored, not at all impressed brother making faces at his meal. She wanted to dig a hole and die.

Just like right now.

The dinner itself had gone splendid, the five-course meal always appreciated, especially when it came with a nice sized brownie and ice-cream scoop. She knew something was amiss when Simón asked for the check and the waiter told him it was taken care of. Not because it surprised her, but because it surprised him. She was used to Simón nodding, or even smiling when it happened. To see him frown, though, had her with her guard up.

"What's wrong?" she whispered as she leaned to him, forcing him to look her way.

"I don't know the owner, much less asked them to arrange this." His voice sounded a little strangled, but he squeezed her thigh to not worry her.

"What does that mean?"

"I don't know." He huffed, squeezing once more before excusing himself to make a call. She was left alone at their table, confused. The waiter – who hadn't left yet- seemed to be anxious, looking over his shoulder a couple of times as he waited for Simón to return. She forced herself to smile at him, even when all she wanted to do was to run to her boyfriend and demand an explanation. In the end, she chose to call for the guy's attention. The waiter's eyes widened in surprise, but still walked to her side.

"Do you know who arranged for this?"

He gulped. "I'm afraid I'm not allowed to tell you anything, miss." Ámbar threw him a glare, the one she knew expressed she wasn't going to take anyone's bullshit. "The- uh, the manager might've arranged for a couple of photographers to come tonight-"

Her glare intensified. "Did my- Mr. Álvarez' team agree to this?"

The guy loosened his tie a bit. "We uh- well, the calls weren't returned." She pursed her lips for a second, nodding as she stood up to look for Simón.

"I'm sure you'll hear from them very soon." She didn't bother to excuse herself, and just walked away.

Ámbar found her boyfriend walking outside the bathrooms' hallway, angrily whispering to whoever was on the other side. She called his name, making him snap his head her way; when his brain recognized it was her, he threw a hast goodbye to the phone and hung up.

"Love, I'm so sorry, I swear I didn't know anything. The owner-" She raised her right hand, stopping him.

"I know, the waiter told me. What's the plan?" Simón sighed heavily and got close enough so he could pull her to his body, encircling his arms around her. Something she'd learnt he tended to do when he was trying to comfort her, and his own anger.

"There's only a couple of them out there, two or three, max. It's not enough for Antonio to send someone over, and since this place collides with another building on the back, we can't go out from there either. Both the principal exit and the emergencies one, are on the front." He sighed again, the air hitting her neck, making her shudder. He must've mistaken it for fear, because he pulled her closer, cradling her head between his hands. "I promise I won't let them publish anything. If I must pay them the double whoever called them over did, I will, princess... or I could go out alone and call you when-"

That made her scowl. "Don't call me princess." He smiled, knowing well she was only kidding – partially. Then it was her turn to sigh. "You don't have to pay them anything, Simón. I can't keep letting you waste your money to keep them off my back, it's not fair. I- I think we should just... get it out of our way."

"I don't mind-"

She interrupted him. "I know you don't mind wasting that money, but I do. I'm ready to take that step, Simón. I want to. Unless you see us breaking up soon – which, by the way, I don't- there's absolutely no reason to keep us hidden."

He stared at her for a moment, before the biggest smile she'd seen on his face, appeared. "I don't see us breaking up soon, either. Hopefully never." Ámbar rolled her eyes.

"Now, don't get too ahead on me yet." His only response was to attach his lips to hers. He kissed her once, softly, pulling back slightly to breath heavily before kissing her again. This time he let his tongue roam over the ridges of her lips, and it took everything in her not to open her mouth to allow his tongue to meet hers; they were still in public, whether she wanted it or not. So, she let their lips part briefly, to then kiss him again, soft and gentle, before pulling away completely. "As nice as that was, we still have to deal with the problem here, buttchin."

Simón pouted, showing off his chin dimple – aka, the reason of his nickname-. "Don't call me that."

She rolled her eyes again, smirking playfully, and grabbed his hand. "C'mon, I want to go home and kiss you some more." He was quick to drop the pout.

"Should I pay for our meal? I don't want anything from them." She shook her head, lacing her fingers with his as they walked to the entrance.

"And give them free publicity? Hell no. Just talk to Antonio and have them pay you back." When she saw their waiter and a man approaching them, she glared at them, a deep scowl on her face, warning them to stay away. If she was going to allow this to happen, she didn't want to do it angry. And talking to the person who had put her in the situation would surely anger her up.

As he helped her put her coat on, he took the opportunity to whisper on her ear a couple of instructions. "If you don't want to show your whole face just keep your head down, grab my hand tightly and I'll guide us to the car once it's brought to us. I'll chat them up and, if we're lucky, they'll just take a couple of pictures with the restaurant as our background. If you feel uncomfortable squeeze my hand tightly. If they ask me something and you're okay with me answering, squeeze my hand once, twice if it's a negative, okay?" By the time he'd finished talking he was already putting his own coat on. She merely nodded, offering her hand so he'd take it again. He counted to ten before walking them outside.

True to his word, there were only three men outside waiting for them. Ámbar was quick to lower her eyes, hiding half of her body with his as she leaned her forehead on his right shoulder. It was in times like this when she was thankful her boyfriend was tall enough so even if she was in heels, she could still use him as a shield.

"Good evening!" he chirped out, and she could bet all the money on the world he was faking a grin. They all chorused his greeting, asking him if he was okay with answering a couple of questions as they took their pictures. She squeezed his hand once. "Sure! What do you want to know?" his tone was cheerful, and polite.

"Did you two have a nice time?" one of the men asked, and Ámbar could hear the flashes going off. She squeezed once again.

"I had the best company, so yes."

"Your girlfriend's a beauty." Another of them offered, making Simón squeeze her hand this time. She squeezed back.

It took him a second to respond, a little less cheery, but still polite. "She is, thank you."

"How long have you two been dating? Some people had thought you had broken up after no one had seen you out for weeks." The first men spoke again, his curiosity clear as water.

Ámbar gripped his hand once, sending a silent prayer to the skies for whoever was bringing his car to hurry. "A while. I think you can imagine why we laid low the last month." His answer was enough for them to get the hint. They moved the topic to his album, getting two more questions before the sound of an engine told her his car had arrived. "I'm afraid we have to go now. Thank you, gentlemen. Have a nice evening." Her boyfriend started walking again, leading her to the passenger side and opening the door for her, as usual. For the first time, she didn't look back at him to thank him. Instead, she kept her head low, letting her hair fall to cover her profile. He was quick to get into his side.

It wasn't until they had drove off for a couple of streets, that she looked up again, letting a long, heavy sigh leave her lips. Simón grabbed her hand again, kissing the back of it comfortingly.

She sighed again. Wishfully hoping for it to get easier, even if she knew tonight was nothing compared to other times she'd seen other people deal with paparazzies.

They'd gotten lucky tonight, but who knew what it'd happen from now?