Please note: This does not have a happy ending. Precede with caution.
Disclaimer: Anything recognizable belongs to its rightful owner. Stephenie Meyer owns Alice and Jasper, unfortunately.
"Time passes quickly," I began, biting my lip in hesitation. "Things change. Sometimes for the better, but mostly they turn to shit." I paused, glancing down at the script before I heard Marcus over the headphones.
"Good, continue onto the next line at 4-3," he directed and I obeyed, flipping the page to the correct line. It was ADR day; filming was finally done and now I was narrating a few scenes, recording my voice to be dubbed over a few scenes.
"He said he loved me," I began, pausing for a moment to build the momentum. "Love isn't permanent. I love ice cream one day and once I have too much of it, I hate it. Maybe no one gave him the memo. Maybe he doesn't like ice cream…" I smirked at the weird quips Charlotte had in the script.
"Perfect," Jasper's voice came over the headset and I bit back a smile as I looked over to the booth he sat in, watching him converse with Marcus before letting me in on what was next.
"Head over to section 5, line 7," Marcus chimed in.
"Ah, what about break time?" Jasper teased with a growing smile. "The poor girl's been working for hours recording and re-recording and—"
"No, I'm fine!" I interrupted them.
"It's been four hours," Jasper continued.
"Four?" Marcus asked incredulously. He glanced through a few stacks of paperwork.
"We're way ahead of schedule," he continued to persuade. I rolled my eyes.
"I'm fine, guys, I can keep going."
"Don't worry about it, baby doll, we're taking a break," he flashed me an irresistible smile and then turned back to Marcus, turning the speakers off so I could no longer hear them.
I sighed, taking the headset off and untangling myself from the wires. I hopped off the stool and grabbed my canteen before leaving the small recording booth and going into the editing space.
"I think we need to add in a transition, here—" Marcus was busily scribbling on a scrap of the script, while I crept up behind Jasper.
Leaning over to tap his shoulder, he caught my hand and kissed the heel of my palm. "Gotcha." I stuck my tongue out childishly in defeat. He smirked and turned his attention back to Marcus.
"So what's the haps?" I asked.
Marcus smiled and glanced up once before diving back into his work, motioning for Jasper to explain. Jasper smirked and turned around in his chair to face me. I sat at the edge of the table.
"Fine-tuning a couple things. The script is really loose, he's just writing a couple of new things to blend it together and make the transitions less choppy. We should be out of here pretty early, though," he explained and I looked over at what Marcus was writing before Jenks burst into the room.
"Do you have a minute?" he asked, comically out of breath. Jasper smirked and nodded, standing up slowly as Jenks explained at a million-mile-an-hour speed. "We have three interviews set up in the next room. Do you think you have enough time to head on over and get a few questions in?"
Jasper glanced over at Marcus, who waved a hand in approval, not raising his head from his work. Jasper smirked and stood up from his chair, heading toward the door, but Jenks stopped him.
"I think it may be wise to bring Alice with you," he interjected. "It would draw more attention to the project; the public hasn't seen much of her."
It was true: Jasper's plan to have a fresh face in this project—along with a veteran celeb—was definitely working well for the Indie film. Screaming fans disproved of my rumored—or not-so-rumored—romantic connection to their favorite heartthrob. Tabloids tore me apart from my small town background to my height, hair color, and overall appearance. Other tabloids loved me, gabbing about my fashion and trendsetting. Good or bad press, it was still a start and no matter what, we were getting people talking.
Jasper held out a hand to help me down off the tabletop. I swatted his hand playfully, hopping down myself and sticking my tongue out at him. He rolled his eyes and I walked ahead of him as Jenks led us to the next room.
Two armchairs were set up and I sighed with relief. After sitting on a wooden-backed stool for a good four hours, I was looking to lounge. Before I could sit down, a hand shot out in front of me.
"Tanya from Denali Magazine, so nice to meet you," the strawberry blonde bombshell jumped to shake my hand, though her gaze went to Jasper, who was greeting another interviewer.
Before I could answer Tanya, another man approached me. "Laurent from Philadelphia Weekly," he introduced with a nod.
"Alice. Nice to meet you," I said with a genuine smile.
"Alright, you two only have a limited time with these guys. So sit down and get started," Jenks interrupted. He was harsh, but when I glanced at Tanya, she was more interested in eyeing Jasper than doing her job.
I sat in the large plush white leather chair, folding my legs beneath me and leaning to one side. Jasper sat beside me, propping his leg up and hanging his arm lazily on the armrest—he too leaned to the side, toward me.
"First off, thank you for making time for us," Laurent said with a smile. "How about you give us a little synopsis of Kinetic Hello."
I glanced over at Jasper, who was looking at me. "Ladies first," he handed me the question. I rolled my eyes and smiled back at Laurent.
"Basically it's a classic love story. My character, Charlotte, is a stereotypical hermit. She lives her job as an author and finds men unnecessary in the pursuit of happiness. She doesn't believe in love and is stubborn about falling in love or letting anyone too far into her life. She moves to Philadelphia to help her muse and I suppose to free her from writer's block. She meets this guy," I said, motioning to Jasper off-handedly, "and finds out she's wrong on her belief of love."
"You're new to Hollywood. What was the whole audition process like? Was it nerve-racking?" Tanya pressed.
"I've always wanted to be an actress and I've been on a ton of auditions, but without anything credible on my resume, they would all turn me away," I said, pausing to smooth out the crease on the pant leg of my jeans. "So I went to this studio for this movie and I loved the story, so that put more pressure on because this was the first project I really wanted to do and really fell in love with. Also with Marcus Volturi writing the script? Come on, it has to be phenomenal, right?" Laurent and Jasper chuckled at my enthusiasm.
"What about Jasper's name on the project? Did that add any bit of anxiety? Were you even there when she auditioned?" Tanya turned back to Jasper, who grinned and ducked his head in embarrassment.
"I was—Well, I walked in halfway through the test run. Alice had—has a bit of a spark, which I didn't see in the other young women who came through. She was Charlotte. She had the attitude and spirit for it," he looked toward me and I smiled, nodding toward the two interviewers.
"Are you going to tell them or should I?" I asked with a giggle. He chuckled and shook his head. I sighed, turning to Laurent and Tanya. "He kept me in the audition room for an hour and we ran as much of the script as they would release. He handed me the part before he could talk it over with the rest of the team."
"Ah, well we have read that you two are romantically involved," Laurent slipped in. "Are the rumors true?"
I looked toward Jasper and he looked toward me. The last time we had been asked this, we weren't sure where we stood. Now we did, but it was definitely simpler if we just denied everything.
"He's my best friend," I said, turning back to Laurent. "He gave me my first big break, opened a ton of doors, and introduced me to the business. Plus, we were stuck in Philly for five months filming and neither of us had ever been to Philadelphia, so we've been tourists together, too," I said with a giggle.
"I've heard you've proposed to Miss. Brandon on set," Tanya was unconvinced.
"Stick to the movie," Jenks called from behind us. I looked back and smiled at him, putting a hand on Jasper's arm and looking back to the interviewers.
"Jasper's character, Peter, proposes to Charlotte. Perhaps you have that confused?" I asked with a giggle. Jasper smirked. "Really, we get the tabloids sent to our hotel rooms and we laugh about some of the things posted. I'm an alien, apparently." Jasper chuckled lightly, in contrast to our loud booming laughter last night when we read that bit.
"How is it working with Marcus Volturi?" Laurent asked us.
"Amazing," Jasper answered with a smile. "It's a different dynamic, really. The script is so loose and he is constantly writing and re-writing."
"He also asks us how we feel about the dynamic of the characters. This story is so personal for him and to feel as—connected as he does is really remarkable," I added.
"How is it producing and acting in the film? Are we going to see more of you behind the scenes?" Laurent asked Jasper.
"I've been acting since I was little and when this project came about I jumped at the opportunity. It's a little different. Work doesn't end when they call 'cut,' y'know?" he chuckled and dipped his head. "I definitely want to direct one day, but for now I'll take what I can get. I like life right now."
"There was a little drama in the beginning of this production. How did you feel stepping into Maria Moreno's shoes?" Tanya asked.
Jenks went to jump to my aid, but I shook my head. "I can answer it," I assured him. My manager was more getting me cast and sending me projects. Jenks kept an eye out for me when Maggie was back at the office.
"It was hard all around. This was my first production. I was acting with a big name director and writer, Marcus Volturi. I was co-starring with a Hollywood heartthrob, Mr. Whitlock over here," I said, nudging his elbow with my own. We both smiled, he blushed and ducked his head, keeping his gaze in his lap. "So to take over the job for Maria was tough, but she had a prior engagement and I am glad I was given the opportunity. I've tried to put that out of my head and just tried to give the character justice rather than dwell on the anxieties."
"That's all the time we have." Jenks stood next to Jasper. Soon enough, we shook hands with both interviewers and exited the room back into the studio. Marcus was still scribbling away and dismissed us for another break, so Jasper and I decided to grab some coffee.
Much to Jenks' disproval, Jasper convinced him to lay off the bodyguards. We wore sunglasses in the overcast skies and Jasper donned a hat for his own personal style, not to hide from the paparazzi.
We made it a few blocks of innocent bantering without being bombarded, but someone caught wind of our journey and two blocks away from the coffee shop was a swarm of paparazzi.
"Hi, Alice. How are you doing today?" the man asked, hiding behind his lens that snapped countless pictures.
"Good," I answered sweetly, but abruptly, not wanting to talk much more.
"When's that movie coming out, you two?" another man asked, struggling to come further up in the mob.
"We're in pre-production, but it's set to come out this upcoming summer," I again answered with a grin, looking back at Jasper, who merely smiled. He seemed a bit lost in thought, but he was never one for this kind of attention.
Jasper could stand the interviews, the red carpets, the screaming fans, and the job, but when paparazzi asked questions, he refused to answer. It was an uncomfortable feeling. Everyone was snapping pictures of you, getting paid for being borderline invasive.
Thankfully, we made it to the coffee shop and we walked silently inside, ignoring the rest of the inappropriate questions asked. The brightly illuminated shop was quaintly adorned with vases of red rose arrangements and wooden tables with tall wooden stools scattered in no particular order about the store.
I went to the counter and ordered my drink, though Jasper refused to let me pay for it. His gentlemanly impulses were a bit too much at times, but never underappreciated.
We stood around waiting for our coffee as the giggly cashier went in the back to concoct our foreign named beverages. Jasper's hand was subconsciously on the small of my back and I glanced up at him in warning, but he was staring at me innocently. He still had that intense air about him. Something was on his mind.
"Are you okay?" I asked with a jumpy giggle. He nodded; I pursed my lips. "You sure?"
"I have a new project that just came up," he blurted out. "It's eight weeks in New York." His tone was anything but excited.
"Well, congratulations," I said with a grin, going up to grab our drinks when the woman called out the order. "When are you leaving?" I asked, going over to the station with other additives. Jasper took his cup and paused, hesitating at the worst time. My stomach churned at the forceful silence.
"Two days."
Oh… Well two months isn't that bad… I mean, it's coming around the holidays so that would be a little tough, but I'd see my family for Christmas. It would've been nice for him to meet them—what am I saying? Is he bringing this up to end this now? Hey thanks, but filming's over and now I'm done with whatever we had. Cool…
"Two days?" I asked with a pout, trying to ease the tension as we left the coffee shop. The paparazzi resumed their positions and I took a long sip of my coffee. "I'll miss you," I murmured, quiet enough that the paparazzi didn't hear.
Jasper's smile was heartbreaking, but the next motion was truly shocking. He took my hand, lacing his fingertips with my own and pulling me closer to him. I ignored the comments of the men around us and relaxed, letting the feeling of euphoria and love-struck consume me.
He dipped his head to whisper in my ear, "I'll miss you, too."
A/N: Sorry for the delay! I literally started writing chapter four in so many different ways. First I tried Jasper meeting Alice's family at a birthday dinner, but it was too complicated to introduce more characters when I plan for this story to be 10 chapters or less. Then I tried to have them living together, but that contradicted the first couple lines of this story. So I ended up with this and tied it into the New York comment from Chapter One. Now Jasper and Alice are public, which is what I was trying to get at by chapter four and I managed to do so.
Anyway, special shout-out to FiercelyJalice on Twitter for showing her interest in the story. Follow me on Twitter at lipstickletter and you can talk to me, ask questions, or bug me to update your favorite story.
Please review and thank you for reading despite the note at the top of each chapter. You guys are awesome! Happy November! This year is going by quick!
PS If you like the whole Hollywood storyline, check out my fic LDF that revolves around Jackson Rathbone and Ashley Greene! I just updated it a few days ago with some JoBro drama. Oh wow... I just typed 'JoBro'...
TURN YO CLOCKS BACK! That is all.