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Garfield wasn't sure he could run much longer. It felt like he had been running for miles- three to be exact. But he was sure determined that he would catch up to that goddamn limo if it killed him, and if it did, then so be it. But it wasn't like the limo was playing fair either. It had gone slow enough for the first two miles, for him to be able to approach it and reach for the handle, only to have it pull away and leave him short and cursing. He was sweating and the sun was beating down on him. If it wasn't for the promise of gun practice, as well as the possibility of there actually being a PS4 in the limo, he would just lay flat in the middle of the road.
In fact, it was just kind of mindless running at this point. He was just chasing it down the street, thinking to himself about what he'd do after work, and how he predicted work would be in the future- which he decided the pretty little pain in the ass would only get prettier and only be more of a pain in the ass.
'Who knows?', he thought to himself, 'Maybe we can be fri-"GAH!" THUD. Gar laid, dazed. He was seeing stars. He blinked a few times, the bright sun blinding him as he baked on the hot tar of the road. "Ooooh," he groaned, rubbing the back of his head. He could see a shadow of a person, leaning over him. An angel… "Was I?" He began, thinking he was dead. A beautiful angel stood over him with light, golden white light all around her. "Hit by a car? Am I… dead?"
Then the angel came into focus. It was Rachel, standing over him. Her brunette-purple curls framing her face. "No, you ran into a car and took yourself out." She held out a hand to help him up.
Garfield took the hand out in front of him; she was surprisingly strong as she pulled him up. A little unsteady on his feet, he reminded himself not to grin so widely. "Thanks." He brushed it off quick though. "You know that's just… standard training. Taking myself out to see what I'm capable of doing to someone else… for your own protection. And I've learned that I'm not only great looking, but pretty great at… using force." He grinned, but then stopped after remembering she thought it was stupid.
But he didn't care… he just didn't want to cause anymore conflict, or limo dents. That's all.
She could kind of tell he was down, and she suspected she had something to do with it. "Well, good work. For your… discipline in training, I won't charge you for denting the limo." She was joking, though her humor wasn't that good and her monotonous voice didn't make it sound like a joke at all.
Garfield sighed, "You sure about that? Even if you decide that y'know, you want to charge me for it, that's okay. I know this guy that's a real kick ass mechanic, he could even put flames on it and hang fuzzy dice and girl, this could be your shaggin' wagon." He smirked, but then cursed himself mentally. "Uh, um… I won't touch anything in the limo I swear. I just… even if there is a PS4 or XboxOne… my eyes are strictly on you. Y'know, for protection purposes. Ma'am." He tried to remain humble, mostly not to get canned on the first day on the job.
He almost thought he saw a smile twitch at the Evil Queen's lips. "I think for protection purposes... you can play the PS4 and the XBoxOne." She looked to him straight faced, "For training purposes. You have to have quick reflexes."
Garfield couldn't help but to grin, "Kick ass!" He then slightly ducked away from her, "Not my ass though, I'm not ready for that level of training yet." He then warmly smiled. A true, genuine smile. "Quick reflexes are important." Reaching for the door, still a little leery of it pulling away… he opened it. "After you madame."
She slipped in quietly and slid to the other side so he could get in as well. She played enough tricks on him for the day.
He sat inside the limo taking it all in. "This is nice. You sit in this, anytime you gotta go somewhere?" Taking it all in slowly, but still not believing it. "Even to the store for chips?"
She didn't look at him, she simply gazed out the window. "Well, to be honest. I think the limo is a little, over the top. Sometimes I like to walk places, but usually, if I want chips, someone else will get them for me. Not that I eat chips. They're greasy and disgusting." She thought about it a little more. "Often times, I'm too busy to run errands anyway. I wouldn't have time to stop for chips. Any extra time I have I read... I don't get much reading done though. I haven't finished a book in a month." She looked down at her phone, where she now downloaded books so that she could read them on the go, or even just at break on a set.
Garfield could barely remember the last time he read an actual book from beginning to end. He gave a nod, "I guess you're on the go a lot. Being famous and all. But I mean, you don't get any down time to just... chillax?" He asked her sincerely. Not even noticing the PS4 almost directly in front of him.
"I mean… sometimes. But by then, your thoughts catch up to you. It's nice to be busy because all the bad things, they kind of just disappear momentarily. They're replaced by other things, lines from scripts, thoughts about what to say at an interview… but when you finally slow down, they catch up with you." She seemed really heartfelt and open. He wondered when the last time she actually got to talk to someone was. "You can't run from them forever, and when they do catch you… well," she let out a deep breath. "You can't read on a night like that anyway."
The blond took the words she said, them just implanting in his mind regardless. "Just, stuff from the day? Or sorta, things that you wish never happened and they did anyways. Was there ever anything that happened to you, that you wish didn't?" He asked aloud, but mostly what he wanted in this moment - was someone to listen.
She took a deep breath, her heart was feeling heavy. When she looked at him, there was something different in her eyes, but only for a moment. "Yea. Life."
The limo came to a stop, and Garfield could hear the screaming and cheering outside. Rachel looked at him expectantly.
His eyes widened when he realized that was all part of his job. "Right! Right. Sorry… I was all wrapped up in… you." He blushed heavily. He opened the door and was almost pummeled by the sea of flowing fans. He pushed the door back and instinctively pushed paparazzi back. "Hey, hey!" He talked to them forcefully, "you can take great pictures of me in a moment, let the pretty lady through."
Rachel got out of the limo and lightly grabbed the back of Garfield's jacket so she could stay close to him. Garfield was ready to just plow through people, but was surprised when he was stopped a few times by Rachel while she signed autographs, and then reluctantly, took some pictures with the fans. He watched carefully and waited for her.
She walked back and grabbed his jacket again, which, he assumed, was her signal that he could lead her inside.
A journalist popped forward, Garfield quickly creating a barrier between them and Rachel. "What's next for you Miss Roth? A television series? Another hit movie?... is this handsome young man your boyfriend?"
There were cameras snapping like crazy at the mention of Roth and a boyfriend, how did they miss that juicy gossip?
"I'm sure the interview will answer all of your questions," She said in her monotone, though she was trying to sound cheery, her voice just sounded the same. She gave Garfield a small nudge.
He grasped the clear hint and took her in the building. It was one of those high end, designer buildings that made you self-conscious of entering. And breathing, in case you broke anything you most definitely couldn't afford to replace.
When Garfield was much younger, before his adoptive family he was chased out of grocery stores for stealing some bread to eat just to survive. He knew he didn't belong here, but this wasn't him walking into the building. He was here for this rising star, to protect her and that's exactly what he'd do.
"Rachel! Oh good, you're here. And late, but, who wouldn't wait for a gorgeous girl like yourself?" A woman, clad in skirt suit and headpiece ran up to them.
Rachel's mouth trembled a bit into a sort-of smile. The woman's eye twitched a little, but she gave a wide, practiced smile. "Good," The woman said, "Come to your dressing room then."
She lead them to a wooden door with a white board with 'Rachel' scribbled on it. She opened the door and Rachel walked in. Gar peeked in. It wasn't all that glamorous. Just a vanity, a rack of clothes, and a small, not so fancy couch.
"Uh, you can… go get a coffee. I'm pretty safe in here." She said.
Garfield glanced around the room, "I'm not done surveying this room yet." He seemed pretty quick to say it, but he did glance around here and there. "You'd think it'd be a little fancier than this, no? I mean, does anyone dust in here?" He ran his finger upon the door frame, collecting a little dust and wiping it off. He then didn't forget his manners. "Did you, want me to grab you like... a latte with three espresso shots and a vanilla bean shot or... whatever you'd get?"
She nodded, "Herbal tea, please. I'll take it after the interview."
Garfield gave a quick nod, "Sure, anything for the star." He began to walk away, but he backed up and glanced at her reflection. "I know you don't really need the words but uh, I know you'll rock the interview." He then took that moment to leave the room. He had to be quick though, leaving her unsupervised probably wasn't a good thing.
He walked around for a moment, noticing a refreshment table. He glanced at all the options there, coffee… no herbal tea. "Who do I gotta sleep with to get some herbal tea around here?" He questioned out loud, not even taking into realization that someone nearby could have heard him clear as day.
"Well... that'd be me." A shorter, blonde girl walked up to him. Yet another girl with a headset, and Garfied had to admit, they looked pretty cool. Who'd he have to sleep with to get one of those? "I'm sorry, though, the refreshments are for cast and crew only," she winked. "Are you like... someone's brother or something?"
He narrowed his eyes. Although he could see why she was questioning him. Riff raff like him shouldn't be anywhere near a place like this. But he just gave a small smile. "I'm actually a bodyguard, thank you very much. And… you are?" He couldn't help but to ask, it was just in his curious nature.
She smiled and held out her hand, locking her beautiful blue eyes on his. "I'm Tara. I'm really just an intern. I thought it would be cool to meet the stars- but it turns out I'm just cleaning up after them and never actually meeting them... Who do you bodyguard for?" She couldn't help but to think of herself, and how she may benefit from talking to his guy.
He wouldn't dare mention that he just started the job today of course. So he played it off as if he'd been doing this for a while. "Ah well y'know, I bodyguard for… uh," did he even remember her name? Oh yes, he did. Although this might seem shady to anyone else. He just never saw this sort of establishment before. "Rae..chel, y'know, Roth?" He couldn't even tell her what she'd been in. He didn't even know. But then again it didn't seem like he needed to say much more. Phew.
Her jaw dropped and he could see the excitement in her eyes. "Rachel Roth? The Rachel Roth?! Oh my God!" Her lips stretched across her face in the biggest smile he's ever seen. But she calmed herself. "That's cool. She's... really talented..." She tried to seem chill. "I mean, she's really lucky... to have such a sexy bodyguard." She placed a hand on his bicep. She couldn't help but hope this man would bring her to meet Rachel.
Garfield smirked; he didn't mind having a pretty little thing being suggestive to him. But it was that point in time where Victor's voice rung through his mind again. He shook his head for a moment and gave a sultry smirk. "How about you get me some herbal tea and I'll see what I can do?" It might've seemed wrong, but he just didn't know where the hell to get some herbal tea around this place.
She nodded, "Right away, sir." She whispered sultrily, then as she walked away, made sure to swish her hips.
Garfield grinned, he could certainly get used to this type of attention!
