Hello my darlings, it has been such a long time since I posted anything on here! Before anything, I'm going to warn you, this may contain spoilers for Future It Up. Yes, I'm a 16-year-old who watches Shake It Up(it's my guilty pleasure), I just watched the latest episode Future It Up and seriously COULD NOT believe that one of my ships finally sets sail on the canon sea!
Let me give you a brief idea of what happens in Future it up. CeCe becomes a successful Broadway star and Rocky becomes a big movie star. Deuce becomes the boss of Crusty's and father of 8 children. And...CeCe is married to Logan and has a son! It mentions nothing about how they got together, so it's time for my little story-making mind to kick in. This story takes places a few years after their graduation, so let's assume our characters to be about twenty-four to five.
I do not own anything but the plot. This won't be very long, I'm thinking of a 3-chapter ficlet, though chapter one can be read as a standalone story. Without further ado, let's begin!
CeCe Jones let her hair fly freely in the crisp English breeze as she was strolling along River Thames lazily. The sky bore a grayish tint, as it always did, but that did nothing to stop the young lady from being overjoyed. Her excitement was akin to her own career: they were both sky-rocketing.
Ever since she stunned the audience in the Broadway revival of Cinderella: the Musical by playing the titular role, the amount of attention and praise she got was quite large, if you would allow her to say, almost unbearable. Though originally opened only in America to test the crowd's temperature, a West End production was due to open in May, next month, as a result of the sweeping popularity of the Broadway production. CeCe was persuaded by the executive producer himself to reprise the role of Cinderella, which she wasted no time to accept.
Her service apartment, in which she would be staying for the next eight months, was near County Hall and the iconic London Eye. Having settled down, she decided to walk around the city a bit as a tourist. She crossed the Westminster Bridge on foot, surrounded by locals, as well as people from different parts of the world. Everything made her feel this visit was too good to be true. All doubts she had before leaving New York was swept away by the dashing atmosphere and her undeniable delight at this moment.
'Look, isn't that Cecelia Jones from Cinderella?' this came from a girl of about fifteen.
'Wait, yes! It is most definitely her!' her friend cried enthusiastically.
CeCe turned in surprise, both shocked and moved that she was recognised.
'Could you take a picture with us?' asked the first girl.
'Of course, sweetie,' answered CeCe.
She smiled and took a picture with both girls; during the remaining walk on the bridge, she couldn't help but feel rather proud, and her steps turned bubbly and spirited.
As she stopped at a local café for tea, she noticed they had an identical clock with Crusty's back in Chicago. A flush of emotion suddenly went through her: how long had it been since she last visited her friends and family? It had almost been a year; the truth was she had been too busy with all the Broadway performances lately that she couldn't afford the time to go home. She promised herself to give a call back home when she returned to her apartment. Last time she called, Deuce said his uncle will be giving him the full charge of that fine little pizzeria, if that was the case, he must be congratulated! She thought of her old friend Rocky Blue, whose name could be seen everywhere on Hollywood blockbuster movie posters; she, too, was having a sky-rocketing career, the cruel reality was that they simply didn't have much spare time for reunions.
CeCe sighed and unconsciously tapped her fingers against her lovely little teacup. She got up and left. The rush of chilliness of the outdoor air cleared up her pondering mind.
The evening coolness is slowly becoming more distinguishable as CeCe continued to walk around the city. How forgetful of her to not bring along a coat! She hugged herself more tightly around her body, but the air was still too chilly for her liking. She could either make the unwise decision to walk back dressing exactly the same, or she could buy a coat nearby, she thought; obviously enough, she settled for the latter.
However grown up and mature CeCe had become, some things never changed. She easily got sidetracked and ended up with a coat, an English-looking (in her opinion) scarf and at last an exquisite burgundy dress. CeCe being CeCe, she put them on at once and stepped out feeling like a divine goddess, recharged and rejuvenated.
-:-
Night had fallen on London, and the city seemed to have turned more romantic accompanied with the tinges of light everywhere.
She decided to pay a little visit to Piccadilly, where the theatre was located at. When she arrived at Piccadilly Circus, it was crowded with people; the theatres were welcoming their audiences for the evening shows, and CeCe sat on the stairs of the fountain to drink in the view.
She had quite a pleasant surprise when she saw a fairly large poster of her posted up, it featured her as a redheaded Cinderella. The tagline read 'Coming in May, Cinderella is RED-hot from Broadway!' She laughed a pleased, charming little laugh involuntarily.
At that moment she was still too soaked up in her own delight that she hadn't noticed someone studying her a few yards away. It was not until he started walking up to her then she noticed. It was a young man of about twenty-four, well-dressed and bore an eerie resemblance to someone she knew. This face looked too familiar for her to feel comfortable, but no it couldn't be, she was in a foreign country for goodness sake! She tried her personal best to look away and pretended she hadn't noticed. The souvenir shop across the street somehow suddenly held her interest, and she started to head there with determination. She thought she had gotten away when–
'CeCe? I do not believe I would meet you in London of all places!' Logan called. Rotten luck, she thought. When she turned back, she found herself looking straight into his eyes. It had been quite a few years since she last saw Logan, and since she couldn't avoid him now, there was no point in ignoring him. Besides, wouldn't it be rather laughable if they continue to hold onto their childhood animosity, as they were both grown-ups now?
'Good evening, Logan,' greeted CeCe. Now that she had taken on a professional career, people generally referred her as Cecelia, and it was rather refreshing to hear her old nickname again. They had both grown up well, this new polished young man looked friendlier and more agreeable than CeCe ever imagined Logan could be; she secretly grew very hopeful for a friendly chat.
'Well, well, CeCe, considering you as the new star of musical theatre, I thought you would have better acting when it comes to avoiding me,' Logan half-jeered.
Oh, forget what I just thought! CeCe thought.
'Logan, dear,' CeCe kept her cool. 'It's nice seeing you as well.'
'Uh-huh. I was just joking, CeCe. I'm thinking…could we actually be nice to each other, just for goodness sake?' asked Logan.
'Who was being mean just now? Oh yes, you. But I am a changed person, and I do not hold grudges so, sure,' said CeCe.
'How's, you know, Rocky?' asked Logan.
'Don't tell me–well, judging from all the movie deals she's getting, I guess she's more than fine; we haven't been in contact for quite a long time now, I honestly cannot be sure how she's doing,' answered CeCe.
'Pity. I heard you got a part in some musical, am I correct?'
'Yes, I play the titular role in Cinderella,' CeCe couldn't help but boast a little, perhaps it was wrong to think like this, but she almost wanted him not to be quite as successful. 'What are you doing in London?'
'I live here now. My uncle who owns this multinational shoe retail business wants to pass his business to me, as he has no children of his own; so, I'm staying here in London with him,' said Logan, unable to hide his pride.
'Impressive,' said CeCe, considering them even.
They fell silent for a while as neither of them could conjure up a new topic to talk about. The illuminated signs of Piccadilly Circus lit up their faces with different colours; a gentle pink light shone on CeCe's face, casting a warm, rosy, affectionate glow on it. To a certain extent, it was almost intriguing. In the whirling crowd, staring at each other's still faces was almost like losing oneself in reverie.
Logan found his gaze wavering up and down to have a clear look at his old 'enemy'. He tried again and again to look for just the least bit of insincerity in her friendly behaviour, but he couldn't. He secretly thought her dress was in a most flattering cut and colour, though of course he would never admit it out loud. He couldn't stop staring at her dainty yet exceptionally elegant diamond necklace that hanged a little below her collarbone; it complemented her face in the most perfect manner. The flashing lights of the signs on the opposite theatre reflected on the diamond, making it even more of an eye-drawer. It was simply impossible to tear his eyes away.
CeCe, catching him staring, shifted slightly with embarrassment. Strangely, she enjoyed this encounter. 'This has been a nice meeting, hasn't it?' she asked.
'Yes, yes it has. Nice seeing you, CeCe.'
'You, too.'
She walked away, passing the poster featuring her, and smiled a little broader.
He watched the back of her dress vanish into the crowd, turned around to face the twinkling lights and walked away.
-:-
CeCe Jones arrived at her apartment at ten o'clock that night. After the unexpected encounter, she continued the indecisive tour around the city. Fulfilling her promise to herself, she gave a call to Chicago; disappointed, she found out that her little brother Flynn was still at school and her mother was not back from work. Standing before the window overlooking the trail of lights along River Thames, she gave a ring to Deuce at Crusty's. She felt more relieved than she probably should when he took the call, surprising herself that how desperate she was to hear an old friend's voice.
'I'm so sorry, CeCe, I'm a bit busy right now, talk to you later!' Deuce said after five minutes of chatting.
She let herself fall gently back onto the bed, not caring she was still in her new dress and coat. She was tired, and the room suddenly felt big compared to herself and was getting rather hollow. Eyes closed, she couldn't tear away from the thought of herself as a lone figure in this big city.
Somehow, she wasn't able to sleep despite the fact that it was three in the morning. She could blame it on jet-lag, but deep down she knew it wasn't. There were too many reasons for her to consider. It might be her home-sickness, or her first rehearsal tomorrow. She suddenly grew very conscious of every body part that touches the bed directly. Too many things happened and too many emotions were on her mind today, everything in her head became a daze, and the only thing that felt solid and true was the touch of the bed sheet fabric against her skin.
So there goes the first chapter, I hope you liked it! Please review, it'll mean a lot to me. Until next time, darlings!