Chapter 1: Welcome to Hollywood, Now Don't Screw Up
Elena, Stefan, and Damon are all actors on the popular TV show, "The Ghost Journals," but as the three of them become closer, who can tell the difference between acting in love, and being in love? What emotions are real, and what are not? Damon/Elena mostly. Rated M later on for… good reasons!
"That will be $7.50 please." Elena said, plastering a grin on her face. She hated her job. No, she despised her job. She never thought at nineteen she would be stuck working at the local drugstore. When she was younger she always pictured herself at nineteen sitting in some café, sipping on a cappuccino, as she worked on her thesis. Why wouldn't she go to college? She got good grades, was involved in school activities, and she volunteered. Her dad was a doctor, so money wasn't the issue. She never imagined she would be stuck as a cashier.
Shut up. YOU chose this. And it was the right thing to do, at least Jer will have an education.
It had all changed two years ago, when her dad was diagnosed with Lou Gehrig's disease (ALS). Her mom took him to every doctor in the country as she made him try all different treatments, but nothing helped. As he got worse, and couldn't use his hands anymore, he had to stop working. Her mother never worked, so they had to rely on their savings. But her mom became so obsessed with trying to cure him, as many women in love would do, she started spending all their money on various medicines. By the time it was August, and Elena was preparing to head off to college, she realized that their money was half gone. She could have left anyway, but that would mean her younger brother Jeremy wouldn't be able to attend college at all. Plus, her mother was a wreck, and she couldn't leave her at that time. So Elena chose to take a year off, and use her college fund on Jeremy instead. He was now at Boston College, costing them a good $50,000 a year.
I'll go next year. Mom will be okay. She, she has to be. And Dad, he'll pull through. He always does. He has to…
She was so lost in her own world that she didn't notice the man on the other side of the counter staring at her. He stepped back, and squinted his eyes at her, shaking his head in confusion.
"Um, that's still $7.50 please." Elena said, tilting her head in puzzlement. He moved back up to counter, and leaned over to read her nametag.
"Elena? That's a beautiful name." He gave her a small smile, but she could tell from the way he was literally bouncing on his feet that he was really happy about something.
"Oh, thank you. My mom says it means, 'light.'"
"And I have seen the light!" He cried jumping up, scaring her. He leaned across the counter again, and stuck out his hand. "My name is Kevin Williamson. Can I ask you a question?"
Elena slowly stuck out her hand too, her eyes narrowed. "Sure." She wasn't sure what to make of him. What could he possibly want to ask me!
"Have you ever acted before?"
She burst out laughing, but stopped once she saw he was serious. She cleared her throat and replied, "Well, a little in high school. I don't think I'm very good at it…why?"
He shook his head. "That's fine, that's fine. I'm producing this new show on The CW. We just started casting, but it's no luck. All the girls on the same. We haven't gotten very far so I came down here to Mystic Falls since I have family an hour away. I didn't think it would be a big deal to leave honestly. Up until ten minutes ago I didn't think the show ever would even air. But then I saw you, and I realized you're exactly what we're looking for."
She burst out laughing again, clutching her stomach trying to catch her breath. Was this guy serious? "Okay, okay, who put you up to this?"
"No! No! I'm serious! I'm not saying you have the part, but you need to at least audition. You would be perfect. You have a great body, but you aren't sickly thin. You have great eyes and hair. And you have this warmth about you, this sweetness, and yet this toughness. You are the lead girl."
Elena stared back at him, shocked and confused at the same time. She couldn't tell if he was crazy or not. "Thank you for, erm, saying that, but I just can't go off to Hollywood. How do I know that you won't try to rob me? Kidnap me? I have no idea who you are!" She cried out, her hands unintentionally raising up.
"No, you're right. I would be creeped out too if I was you." Kevin chuckled before continuing. "Okay listen, how about if I book you a seat on the next flight to L.A., and I won't even be on it. I'll rent you a room at a hotel, where you will have both the keys. I'll give you the address to where we're holding auditions, and you can choose to go or not. If you don't, think of it just as a nice weekend vacation. But please, please go."
She stepped back, her hand lightly tapping her chin.
I mean, I always wanted to act, but I don't know, how do I know this is legit? I mean, what he's saying makes sense. And I can choose when I get there…I've never been to L.A. before….
Elena took a deep breath and stuck out her hand, "You've got yourself a deal."
Elena lied down on the bed. The room was incredible. She was right in the middle of the city, the view from her window allowing her to see everything. Her king size bed was on the left side of the room, while the mini kitchen and living room were right across on the other side. The wet bar, yes, wet bar, was by the bathroom door, where the Jacuzzi bathtub, which came equipped with eight different types of bubble baths, sprawled out in all its glory. When she had arrived, all dazed and confused, she hailed a cab to where the hotel was; amazed that this was actually happening. As she checked in, the women said Kevin even left her with spending money to enjoy the town with!
I don't care that Mom says this is all a scam! This is freakin mind-blowing!
The audition wasn't until 2:30, which she decided on the plane was defiantly gonna go to. Why not? If she didn't get the part, at least she could say she tried.
And come on, I'm so not getting it. Being Abigail in The Crucible and Juliet in Romeo and Juliet doesn't prove I can actually act. Mystic High is so small, and barely anyone had tried out! But God, if I do get it….
She sat up and shook her head. She wouldn't allow herself to daydream about landing the role. If she did, she would play up the whole thing in her head, and when she didn't get it, she would be devastated.
She sighed and stood up, walking over to pour herself a coke. Guzzling it down, she could feel how tired her body was. She hadn't slept hours, the excitement coursing through her veins keeping her up. She checked her watch, and figured if she slept for a good thirty minutes, she would have two and a half hours to go over her lines again and still be able to do her hair and makeup really well.
She ran back and jumped on her bed, the mattress forming around her body as she settled down.
This is so nice. So comfortable. I could stay here forever….
I could stay here forever…wow. Sleeping for only twenty minutes can do wonders! God, I feel so much better! She thought as she stretched, her eyes fluttering open. She looked at the ceiling, loving the tiny roses painted across. They were so pretty, each one being a different color. She turned and snuggled into her pillow, her eye catching the number "two" on the digital clock by her bedside table.
Yeah, maybe I should paint roses on my walls back home. Yeah! That would look so nice I could-
Her eyes snapped back to the clock. It was 2:16. She had overslept. Her audition was in fourteen minutes, and was still in the jeans and shirt that she wore on the plane. Her hair was messed up from sleeping, her breath probably smelled, and her mascara was smudged under her eye. She hadn't even memorized all her lines year. The audition was now in thirteen minutes.
Without thinking, she jumped up and sprinted to her cell phone lying on the kitchen table. She called the number Kevin had left for cab company, and they said they would be there in two minutes, but it would take at least twenty to get to the building because of the traffic.
Okay! Okay that's fine! That's okay…that's good still… that's, that's SHIT!
She ran into the bathroom, splashing water on her face. She rubbed the dried on make up off, and ran a brush through her hair. She was wearing a purple long sleeved shirt, jeans, and converses. She wouldn't be able to pick one of the six outfits she had bought strictly for the audition in time. Well she could, if she wanted to smell bad.
She debated back forth quickly what would be worse, and decided on freshening up. Slapping on deodorant and perfume, she squeezed out four times more toothpaste ever needed on her toothbrush, stuck it in her mouth, grabbed the sides for the part, and ran out of the room. She took the stairs two at a time, and got outside just as the cab pulled up.
Throwing the door open, and flying in, she said with her toothbrush still sticking out, "DRIVE!"
They were off. Elena had to swallow the toothpaste, the taste making her gag. Pushing back her hair, she skimmed over the lines again. She would be reading for seventeen-year-old Nina, who was stuck in a deadly love triangle with two ghost brothers, Ian and Paul, in the show, "The Ghost Journal."
Bla bla bla, okay I got to act confused here, mad here. I got to remember I'm still sad from the death of my grandparents. Okay, okay, I live with my uncle. Oh God, I'm never gonna be able to act all this out! If I can even remember what to say!
It was 2:50 when they got there, taking longer than expected. As she ran into the tall brown and black building, men and women of all different shapes, sizes, and races stood in line. Some were talking, while others mouthed words to themselves, mentally preparing themselves for their audition. She stood there for a moment, not knowing if she should wait in line, or cut ahead since she was supposed to be there twenty minutes ago.
She was just about to turn around and leave, upset by the whole thing, when a bubbly woman with blonde hair walked over, and said, "Are you Elena Gilbert?"
"Yeah, I mean yes. Yes I am." She smiled weakly, a sheepish look plastered on her face.
The woman clapped her hands, her eyes lighting up. "I see what Kevin meant by you now! You look just like the girl we wrote about! I'm Julie by the way, you're lucky I was just chatting with the receptionist as you walked in, or we would have missed you!"
"I'm so, so sorry. I overslept because, well I hadn't even slept in hours, and I had it all planned out to be her on time, but I'm just so-"
Julie waved her hand, dismissing the whole thing. "It's fine, I'm just sure Kevin will be ecstatic that you showed up! Come on, follow me." She turned and walked over to the elevators across the room, beckoning Elena to join her.
She could feel the eyes of all the others on her, but she kept staring straight ahead. Julie kept talking about the role as they traveled up, and walked to the room, but Elena just kept saying her lines over and over again in her head. Her heart wouldn't slow down. She could feel her body shake with every breath she took, just waiting to go into cardiac arrest.
They finally stopped at two big, glass doors; the letters "C" and "W" written on each one. Julie pushed them open, but Elena hesitated for a second, before following in. The room was fairly large, with a table at the back and the rest just open space. Sitting at the table was Kevin and two other people, one man and one woman, both whom Elena never saw before. As she walked in, Kevin slapped one person's arm and pointed at her, the guy shrugging his shoulders, not impressed. This only made her more nervous and less confident.
Kevin got up and ran to give her a hug. "Thank you for coming Elena!"
"Of, of course." She said quietly into his arms.
"You know that you aren't guaranteed the part just because Kev flew you in, right?" said the other guy sitting behind the table, his eyes hidden behind huge black sunglasses.
"Of, of course." Elena said again, her body visible shaking as Kevin walked back to take his seat next to the others.
"Oh stop, she knows that. And it isn't like we have had much luck with anyone else." Kevin said, eyeing the guy.
"Did you just wake up or something? You're clothes are all dishelmed dear." Said the other woman there (with a British accent), as she slightly shook her head."
"Um, see I over-"
The sunglasses man shook his head, his light brown hair moving side to side. "Whatever. So here's the deal. I'll be reading Paul's lines, and you just do your thing okay? We're doing a scene that is later on in the show, when Nina decides to still remain with Paul even though she realized he's a ghost. It's a pretty epic moment, so do it right. That's if, you know how what to even do."
"I know how to act." Elena said coolly, a smidge of anger rising up within her. Julie raised her eyebrows and smirked, but remained quiet.
"Okay…let's begin then." He cleared his throat, and then said in a deep voice. "Nina, I can't offer you anything. You know what I am, you know the truth now."
"Paul," she said, shaking her head. "You don't need to offer me anything. All I need is you. Don't you see? I thought I couldn't do any of this. I thought I couldn't be with you, but I can." She smiled, her eyes looking up. "I thought I wouldn't be able to handle this, but I can. I can't change the way I feel about you, and I just want, I just need, to be with you."
"But I can't be with you. Too much has happened, many people have died because of me, because of Ian. I'm sor-."
"No." She said, tears filling up her eyes. "Please, you don't have to push me away. There is good and bad in the world Paul, and you are good. What I feel about you, is real, and it won't ever change. Don't do this."
"I'm sorry." He said, but more softly now.
"No!" She cried, tears flowing freely now, "Wait!"
That was the end of the scene, but all four people were quiet.
Oh no, I totally messed up. Dammit, shit, dammit, I thought, I don't know what I thought.
"Do you have a tissue?" Elena said, using her arms to wipe away the tears.
"You can have whatever you want…Nina." The sunglasses man said, putting down the sides he was holding.
"Wha-what?" Elena said, looking up confused.
Kevin fist pumped into the air. "YES! I KNEW IT!"
"You mean, I got the part?" She looked from Julie who was laughing, Kevin was who shouting, the British woman who was scratching her head, and the sunglasses guy who looking shocked.
"HELL YEAH YOU DID!" Cried sunglasses guy first. All four of them were talking at once, trying to figure out what to do next.
"Well, isn't it obvious?" Asked Elena, feeling so overwhelmed. Her heart was still beating a mile a minute, but she wanted to scream until her lungs gave out. She did it. She got the part!
It was everyone else's turn to look around confused, but Elena just smiled shyly, tucking a stray piece of hair behind her ear. "We need to cast Ian and Paul."
Damon and Stefan walked into the building, both grinning. Damon knew they could both land the lead roles; they would make the perfect brothers on TV since they already were so close. As he closed the door behind him, he felt something in the air. If he got this part, it would change his life…forever.
So what does anyone think? Good, bad? Please, please review! I don't know if I should continue or not!