Chloe Beale was a well-known actress. Everyone knew her bold yet characteristic red hair from the frequency in which she starred in blockbuster films. She was in at least one movie a year, hopping from project to project in a seemingly effortless fashion. Her workaholic nature and overall talent in acting had scored her a variety of roles, spanning from musicals to horror films to chick flicks. This kind of attention had granted her constant talk show interviews, magazine shoots, and even the title "the ginger Sandra Bullock." She was, by consequence, everywhere.

Chloe Beale was a well-known actress.

So when her small little dog went missing, basically the entire world knew. She normally took her dog with her to every set, letting him sit in her lap whilst she sat in the makeup trailer. However, Chloe was stationed at a new set for an upcoming movie, and her dog had managed to escape her trailer during filming. After a solid day of forcing the cast and crew to search for her beloved dog, she ended up posting a sad callout post on her Instagram, hoping that a kind stranger across the city of Los Angeles would find her dog and bring him back to her.

chloebeale: The love of my life, my dog Billie, somehow escaped the set of When in Rome and has been missing for several days. I've been searching relentlessly for him and thought I would find him by now, but neither me nor the cast has been able to find him around the studio. If someone has any sort of news or has spotted my dog, please let me know! He is kind and friendly so don't be scared to approach him. He also really likes hot dogs! He is most likely somewhere around LA and I hope you guys can help me find him!

The fact that she had several million Instagram followers both helped and hurt: although her post would reach a lot of people, her inbox was usually flooded from fan messages. Adding to the point that wealth tended to accompany fame, Chloe chalked her dog's return to good faith in humanity, hoping that someone wasn't sadistic enough to keep him for ransom or to blackmail her. She was still obviously worried, and spent her time between takes constantly scouring her direct messages for any news. This current week in filming happened to be the more melancholic component of her upcoming movie, so she was still able to keep working despite the resurgence of a depressive episode. Once she left the set, however, she no longer had the hair and makeup crew to hide her disheveled, defeated demeanor.

Every now and then one of her friends would call her to check in on her – to which she dismissed them or had no updates. A few of them would try to take her out to lunch or get her out of the house, since she never left except to meticulously scan the surrounding neighborhoods for Billie whilst driving. Her roommate was at least making sure she was eating, and oftentimes had to physically pull Chloe off the couch to have her shower. Secretly, Chloe appreciated it. But she still pitched a struggle regardless.

After 4 days of coming up empty handed, Chloe was ready to give up. Of course she loved her dog to the end of the world, but she found it hard to function without him sitting next to her or sharing a space on her bed. She was steadily running out of ideas. So when she heard her phone ring on Day 4, Chloe was ready to brush off yet another phone call from her friends trying to drag her out of the house. As she lay horizontally on her couch, she could see her phone light up from the surface of her coffee table, chiming with a custom Britney Spears ringtone she had downloaded a few years prior. It rang the full course of the song, and the caller was booted to voicemail.

After several moments of staring at her phone, she ended up slapping her hands against the table to grasp it when it was just out of reach, curious to who was calling her at 1pm on a Saturday. Strangely enough, it was a number Chloe didn't recognize. But they did leave a voicemail. A shaky voice started to speak on the other end, pausing awkwardly at points and leaving weird moments of silence. Chloe continued to listen anyway.

Voicemail, 1:04pm: "Hey, um, Chloe. I'm calling to let you know that I think I found your dog? Well, I know it's your dog. Your name is on the tag of his collar, and I recognize him from online and stuff. Anyway, I found this number also on the tag so I thought I'd call. I found him down by the waterfront, so I took him to my place. I fed him some cat food… sorry it's all I have. Um, yeah. Give me a call back when you get this. Thanks. Bye"

Chloe sat mouth agape for a strong second before immediately pressing the return call button. Her heartbeat continued to escalate as she listened to the dial tone, praying the person would immediately pick up since they only left a voicemail just a few minutes prior.

"Hello?"

"Hi!" Chloe breathed, excitement hitched in her throat. "You found my dog?"

"Oh, uh, yeah. I took him to my apartment for safety. He's doing okay." The voice reciprocated.

"Holy shit." Chloe muttered, disbelief plaguing her face. "Shit, yeah, can I see him? Where do you live? I don't know if that's a weird thing to ask, sorry." The redhead was near emanating the awkwardness from the other girl across the line, desperate to see her furry friend. She quickly debated whether or not this was a scam, but not many people had Chloe's phone number, so she took the risk in thinking this mysterious girl actually found Billie.

"No, it's totally fine, I get it. Plus I kinda know who you are anyway." The girl realized that might have sounded crazy fan stalkery, so she continued: "You're not a complete stranger, I mean. I can text you my address?"

"Yes please, that would be great." Chloe bulldozed over the asynchrony. "When can I come get him?"

"Anytime today works, I guess."

"Okay, be there in an hour." And with that, the redhead quickly hung up the phone to go throw on better clothes and gather an assembly of dog treats.

Beca Mitchell was an amateur producer. She had skipped college to pursue a music career, thriving off a large SoundCloud presence and having a keen ear for mixing. She had self-moved to LA after being hired by a small producing firm by the shore, mainly keeping to herself and just concentrating on her music. Her days at the studio were long, but she didn't do much at home to warrant complaining about her extended hours.

Beca Mitchell was an amateur producer.

So when she spotted the raggedy white dog that belonged to none other than Chloe Beale, she was a little beside herself. She was walking back to her apartment after surprisingly getting out of work while the sun was still out, taking several side alleys after picking up something at the pharmacy. Although the terrified pup was cowering by a pile of trash and was remarkably dirty, Beca could still recognize the characteristic mop-like look that she saw every now and again on social media. Even though she hated to admit that she followed current celebrity news, it was hard not to when living in the heart of all the showbiz. Plus, she had to keep up-to-date if she ever were to work with any of them.

After she cautiously approached the smaller dog, she took the liberty to take him into the safety of her apartment. Beca had a pet of her own, a goofy male tabby cat, so the only pet food she had to give Billie was technically for cats. It's not like it really mattered all that much, since the dog graciously took the food and water Beca provided for him. She later soothed and stroked his back, relaxing him to the point where both the dog and the cat ended up lazily dozing on the couch. It wasn't until everything calmed down that Beca realized that Chloe Beale's dog was now in her apartment. And what the actual fuck was she supposed to do?

She investigated both Chloe's Instagram and Twitter, but figured it would be difficult to get ahold of someone of that status. And how many people at this point claimed they found her dog already and were just hoping to meet Chloe in the process? Billie readjusting on the couch interrupted her thoughts, as the dog caused a jingling commotion from his collar during the shuffle. Beca's eyes widened at the sound, immediately getting up to examine the collar for dog tags. Low and behold, listed on an engraving was Chloe's name and phone number.

After a quick glance over at Billie, she tentatively picked up her phone and tapped the digits onto the phone screen. Her initial call was sent to voicemail, so she left a trembling message for the actress that her dog was now in her possession. It didn't take long for the redhead to call back, and the two decided that Chloe was coming by to get her dog within the hour. Within the hour. Oh, shit. The mildly star struck Beca had already lost track of time, and the knock on her door was indicative that her hour had already passed.

She approached the door with soft footsteps, adjusting the dark flannel she was wearing and patting her hair down in an attempt to look presentable. She took a quick peek through her peephole before letting out an abbreviated sigh, unlocking the door from the inside and opening to the sight of Chloe Beale.

She was shorter in person than on film, but still surpassed Beca by a few inches. She adorned bright red hair, accompanied by crystal eyes that beamed in excitement but also a touch of anxiety. She fumbled her hands along the length of her fuzzy sweater, not speaking immediately but almost expecting Beca to say something first. Beca was too mesmerized by the beauty that was in her doorway to speak.

She shook her head and squinted her eyes quickly before breaking the silence. "Uh, hi. Come in." The redhead crossed the entryway, waiting for Beca to close the door before following her to the living room. "Sorry I didn't get a chance to bathe him or anything."

"Billie!" Chloe exclaimed, prompting the dog to bolt from the couch and greet her. Beca clamped her mouth shut from additional commentary, merely just watching the two reunite.

Only a few moments had passed before Chloe spoke again. "Thank you so much for finding him. I was beginning to lose it. I also thought someone had found him and just wanted to keep him, or something weird. Just thank god it was you." She had put emphasis on the word "you," a detail Beca was mentally over-analyzing as the redhead spoke. "And you didn't have to go to the effort of giving him a bath too, nonsense!"

She continued to pet her dog as Beca stood there somewhat awkwardly, unsure of how to proceed in the conversation. The feeling of her cat rubbing on her leg prompted her to answer: "He became good friends with my cat, at least."

Chloe beamed at Beca from her crouching position. "That's amazing. I didn't think he liked cats."

"His name is George Clooney." Chloe giggled, causing Beca to also snicker at the announcement of her cat's name. It was kinda stupid, she had to admit. But she got the idea from one of her closest friends naming their cat after Meryl Streep.

"And what about your name? I realized I never asked." The redhead stood up to match Beca's eyeline, cradling Billy in her arms.

"Beca." The shorter brunette answered firmly.

"Well, nice to meet you Beca." The two exchanged a semi-firm handshake, and they erupted into nervous giggles once they realized the formality of the greeting.

"I really appreciate this, you have no idea." The redhead began, peering at her dog. "Can I make it up to you somehow? How about lunch, dinner?"

Beca smiled, easing into the kindness that she wouldn't have otherwise expected. Chloe was genuine, and Beca could respect that. "I can do dinner, for sure."

"Awesome. Then it's a date."

Beca blinked several times in a row, not sure if Chloe meant a date or a date date. Chloe refusing to break eye contact whilst flashing a wide smile indicated that she was serious. Man, that smile was infectious.

"Yeah, a date." Beca finalized, breaking out into a larger smile as the two women continued to stand there, easing into each other's presence.