Heartache on the Big Screen
Written by: SadieAnnabethMellark ( porkcutletbowltrash)
Chapter Ten – Sophie: What Beka Doesn't Know Won't Hurt Him
o.O.o
Sophie was still reeling at the fact that she was on her way to California. Of course she knew she would be coming sooner or later, but the fact that she would be flying out almost a month earlier than planned had made her practically giddy. That meant an extra month with Beka and a sooner escape from the dullness that her hometown of Bellevue, Nebraska. It meant a chance at least some private time with her boyfriend, Nick Shelling, over the phone.
She eagerly leaned closer to the window, ignoring the sleeping woman who was sat between her and the window and gazed out at the bright shining buildings of Burbank below them. She was almost there after almost a whole day of traveling. Her morning had started bright and early at 4:30 am when she had arrived at the airport in Omaha to get on a plane to Denver. Then she had a layover in Denver for a few hours, which originally had sounded a little nice since she would be able to stretch, but unfortunately it wasn't. She had ended up sitting in a chair worse than the plane seat and she had an elderly man engage her in a conversation about how to ween the best maple syrup from a maple tree (something she didn't think would ever be useful, but she was polite enough to listen to him ramble). After that fiasco, she boarded onto the plane to Burbank and now here she was. The sun was getting lower in the sky, but she still had at least another hour or two of day light left before the sun would begin to set behind the rolling California hills. She could understand why Otabek had come to love California; the sight of it was beautiful and regal, a promise that life was suddenly getting better.
"Ladies and Gentlemen," Sophie didn't glance away from the window as the crackling voice echoed around the airplane cabin, "If you will please fasten your seatbelts as we prepare to land. The weather in Burbank today is a balmy 95 degrees with a soft 2 mph breeze. The time is currently 4:28 pm and, as always, we thank you for flying United Airlines. Welcome to the lovely city of Burbank, California."
o.O.o
The Hollywood Burbank Airport was somehow regal and yet a dump at the same time. Grey speckled walls on the inside of the terminal and stucco pueblo style exterior outside near the outdoor baggage claim area. People swarmed around her like ants scurrying along the sidewalk in dizzying circles, waiting for their baggage to come up from the underground workings of the baggage area and hailing taxi's for rides home. The place was seemingly busy for a Thursday afternoon, but she wasn't sure if it was a busy travel day or if it was just naturally busy in Burbank. Sophie assumed the later as she began pushing through the weaving crowds of people to find her contact.
Over the phone, she had spoken to Otabek's manager a few times. She had seemed friendly and had offered to pay the difference for her to fly out a month early to surprise Otabek once he had gotten home from New York fashion week. After finally getting her mother to agree, she and Natasha had planned everything out and all had gone swimmingly so far. If she could just find her in the crowds of the Burbank baggage claim.
Sophie squeezed between two Greek women arguing with each other and finally spotted someone who didn't fit in with the lower middle class that was swarming around. She first noticed the woman's stark white blonde hair that hung around her angular cheeks in an elegant curly bob that she had obviously styled for at least an hour. Above the sharp cheeks, sat equally sharp eyes like those of a bird of prey; navy orbs that could make the stubbornest of Midwest women cower to any proposition on the table. Her lips were the dark burgundy of dried blood on her flawless fair skin. Long legs were dressed in beautiful shinning black heels and an equally dark pencil skirt.
The woman's hawk eyes turned to Sophie as if she could feel her eyes on her and with a smile she waved, "Sophie?"
"Yes…"
Hawk eyes softened ever so slightly as he gave a happy chuckle, "I'm Natasha, we spoke over the phone."
"It's very nice to finally meet you in person," Sophie gave a small smile in return to the woman who was apparently Otabek's manager. She could see how this woman got things done, she would glare at them and they would automatically be signing something.
"You as well. How was the flight?"
"A little bumpy, but not bad."
"Good. I use to love flying United before I started working in the industries." Natasha gave her another smile and pulled something from a pocket in her pencil skirt. A shiny black car key now dangled between her long slender fingers, "Ready to go to your new home?"
o.O.o
Sophie decided that Natasha was both amazing and terrifying within the twenty-minute drive from the airport to Otabek's house. Though she was only dressed in a chiffon blouse and her pencil skirt, the starkness of it all on her fair skin made the smooth cloth look like armor in the Hollywood sunlight. Her voice was melodic like a siren's, beautiful and serene but it would ultimately lead you to a doom worse than death if you danced with it to much. Sophie made herself comfortable in the corner of the chic looking convertible that Natasha owned, looking out the window at the traffic and places passing by. Burbank was not as beautiful from the ground as it was from the sky, but it was still warm and strangely inviting to her as the sun beat down on the car in the afternoon sun.
"—I'll be leaving you my key for now, but I want it back as soon as your brother gets back from New York City."
This caught Sophie's attention and she turned to look at the profile of the blonde sitting next to her, "You have a key to my brother's house?"
"Well, where did you think you'd be staying?"
"That's not what I meant…" Sophie sighed softly.
"Let's just say that Otabek and I don't mind sharing a space occasionally." Natasha purred as she gazed at Sophie out of the corner of her eye for a mere moment, looking at the girl with the eyes of a falcon.
"So," She asked, "You and Beka are together?"
"Something like that…"
Sophie pursed her lips in irritation. She knew Natasha was lying. Beka would've mentioned her if he had been in love with her, "You don't really peg me as his type."
"What do you mean by that?"
Sophie held back a small smirk at the way Natasha spat the question at her, "I dunno. He just pegs me as a guy who loves hard to get women." That was a bold-faced lie, but what Natasha didn't know couldn't hurt her, at least where Otabek was concerned.
Natasha seemed to turn this over in her mind for the rest of the drive, which was a godsend for Sophie. The woman sure could ramble and the silence was blissful after the day of traveling. The convertible pulled up in front of a large cream colored American Foursquare that was surrounded by a wrought iron fence to keep trespassers off the obvious faux grass the made up the small front lawn. Sophie spotted the pure white cat sunning herself in one of the big bay window and immediately felt the excitement of coming to California return. When had she last seen Jasqui? Beka had left her here in California last time he came home, so it had been over a year. The cat had immediately taken to her the times she had come across Sophie, but would this time show the same result? She sure hoped so. Sophie wasn't sure she would make it the first few nights alone in California without Beka and without a cat companion until he returned home.
Natasha pulled into the driveway and parked with a smirk on her face as if she was showing off her own small mansion and not her clients.
"Welcome home, Sophie."
o.O.o
After getting her settled and making sure she had a key, Natasha left and Sophie couldn't have been happier. As soon as the woman was out the door, she flopped down on the couch and let out a sigh of relief. She was finally alone. She was finally home. Home was now with Beka and Jasqui in California. Her intricately dreamed up future was now a reality.
A soft nudge to her hand from where she had curled up on the couch made her open her eyes (when had she closed them?). She smiled as she saw the white fur of the ragdoll cat that was eyeing her with love.
"Hey, Jasqui, baby." She cooed as she reached out to scratch behind the cat's ears and was happy to find the cat gave no resistance, "Do you remember me?" A gentle purr sounded from Jasqui's chest as she snuggled closer to her.
"I'm glad you didn't forget me," Sophie mumbled softly as she pulled the cat closer, curling closer into the couch. She was so exhausted and Otabek's couch was so comfy. Maybe a nap wouldn't have been a bad idea. Jasqui was there to keep her warm, Natasha was gone, and, if she knew Beka, there was a whole drawer of takeout menus from great food places around here somewhere. Her mom and Nick had been squared away for now, after she had sent them a text telling them both she was in Burbank and that she would call them tonight. There was nothing else left to do but fall asleep.
As she started to lose consciousness, Sophie buried her nose in the soft fun of Jasqui's fur, letting her mind take her into a temporary oblivion.
o.O.o
It had been a day and a half since she had arrived and she had found herself having the energy of a pent-up kangaroo. Her mood to stay curled up in the house and not explore her new home was beginning to grow old and her time to freely explore LA without Otabek right next to her, watching her every move, was running short.
It wasn't that she didn't love her brother; Otabek, after all, was her best friend, her older brother and her favorite person. But he hovered. He hovered and he worried and he was protective. He would never let her go out on the town on her own in a place like Los Angeles. He barely let her go into Omaha with friends without being in the throes of worry. If she wanted to have the max opportunity at exploration, now was the time to go. Natasha wouldn't be checking on her until the morning and it wasn't like Beka would know if she had slipped out for a while. Hell, he didn't even know she was here to begin with. What Beka didn't know couldn't hurt him could it.
But even as she looked up at the sign above the place, Sophie was beginning to second guess herself. She had seen this place on the way to Beka's and had immediately been drawn in by the odd name and the rustic looking building.
The Silent Glass Bar.
She hadn't been out to a bar without another person with her before. Nick had gone with her many a time and so had a few of her girlfriends when they were in desperate need of a wilder Girls Night Out that didn't involve painting their nails and watching Clueless, Mean Girls and other "so trashy, its good" chick flicks. She had never been by herself before though and the thought of stepping inside, fake ID in hand and grabbing a drink by herself was a little nerve-wracking. What if she got kicked out? Or worse, what if they called the police? Sleepy little Bellevue didn't care if you were drinking under age, they didn't blink twice at a fake ID, but California might have a problem with a 17 year old walking into a bar and ordering an appletini.
It's gonna be fine, she thought as she took a step closer to the door, it's your first night in California. It's not like Beka is gonna allow you to do this once he's back. Live a little.
Live a little. That was a good plan. Besides, Sophie concluded, with the dark lipstick on her lips and the cocktail dress that she had bought for such occasions, she easily could pass for a college girl looking for a good time. With a deep breath to steady her racing heart, she stepped into the door of The Silent Glass.
At the front of the counter stood the bouncer who immediately looked her up and down, his cool eyes gauging whether or not she was, in fact, over 21. He looked like the stereotypical bouncer; a big brawny man with tattoos up and down his arms, a tight t-shirt stretching across a well-defined chest. He easily looked like he lived for lifting in his free time.
"Welcome to the The Silent Glass. May I see your ID, Miss?" He asked with surprising smoothness for such a gruff looking man. Apparently he didn't deem her to be over 21 without an ID. At least he hadn't kicked her out already.
She immediately reached for her purse and pulled out her wallet, the fake ID sitting there like it was at the epitome of legitimacy. Her nibble fingers worked it out of her wallet and she immediately handed it to the bouncer, doing her best to look like she couldn't care less. They looked at you more if you fidgeted nervously and so it was always important that you stay calm, cool, collec—
"Enjoy your drinks, Miss," The bouncer handed her back her ID and gave her a smile, allowing her to pass back into the busy life of the bar. She had made it. She had made it!
"Thank you," Sophie purred softly to keep up the persona as she grabbed for her license and put it back in her purse. She started sliding past the bouncer when he spoke once more.
"Oh and Miss?"
"Hmmm?" She paused and turned to look at him.
He bit his lip for a second as if he was rethinking what he was going to say before leaning closer to her, "Never leave your drink unattended tonight."
She nodded softly. That was a cardinal rule of going to a bar; of course, she wouldn't leave her drink somewhere, "Okay. I won't. Thank you."
She walked past the bouncer and finally was able to take in the scenery and feel of The Silent Glass. All the bars she had been too in Bellevue had been small time bars and taverns. It was wear the soccer moms gathered during Happy Hour for their weekly drinks and where the dead-enders sipped the most expensive alcohol they could afford. It hosted the many football fans on Sunday during the games and sported the raging community college students on Fridays and Saturdays.
The Silent Glass wasn't like anything Sophie had ever seen. A long flourishing bar stood in the center of the room with glowing counter tops that made it gleam in the dim lighting. The people perched there were all looking rather beautiful in dresses and slacks. Some wore nice pairs of jeans and a tie to keep it more casual. Everything was in a gleaming glow as a calm blue from the blue wall sconces that were hung around the edges of the place, where people were mingling around in booths and the dance floor. Music played softly in the background allowing for people to chatter amongst themselves. Everything seemed…grownup and yet young in environment.
Sophie was automatically feeling more at ease by the minute.
She made her way down the steps into the bar are a and perched herself at the counter where a bar tender was passing off a couple of beers to a nicely dressed man.
"What can I get for you, Miss?" Sophie bit her lip in thought as she looked at the bartender behind the counter. She couldn't deny the woman was rather cute with her sandy hair tied up in a messy updo and her big brown eyes. Blinking, Sophie was suddenly hit with the memory of when she and her boyfriend Nick had sat next to each other on his couch a few months into their relationship and they had looked at pictures. Before his transition, Nick had looked exactly look the girl standing in front of her; soft and sweet in only the way that her loving boyfriend could be. God, she missed her boyfriend already.
"Uhm," Sophie swallowed down the pit that had been growing in her throat and gave the woman a smile, "I'll take an appletini, please?"
"One appletini, coming up." She tossed Sophie another smile and moved away to make her drink as Sophie's eyes wandered the place again. She knew Nick would have loved this place if he was here. He would've pulled her onto the dance floor to dance to the music that was playing around the hall and would've enjoyed curling up in a booth in the back with her while they shared drinks. He would have teased her for ordering the most rookie martini ever while taking a sip from her drink and pushing his beer towards her for her to take a sip.
"Here you are Miss, one appletini."
Sophie turned back to the bartender and gave her a smile, "Thanks." She pulled the green liquid towards her and took a sip of it, the thought of Nick back home in Bellevue still sweet and yet sharp on her mind.
o.O.o
She was on her third appletini at this point and she was looking at a picture of Nick longingly on her phone. Was moving to California the right choice?
She shook herself.
Of course it was. This was the start of her future in California. This was the beginning of her life outside of Bellevue, Nebraska. She was just missing her loving, sweet boyfriend who would do anything for her and would love this bar and would keel over for these appletinis even though he would defiantly make fun of her for ordering them.
She set her phone down and rested her heads in her hands. Nick would be flying out over Thanksgiving Break, Spring Break and would be moving in with his Aunt over the summer. He would be here in a few months. She just needed to make it through this.
"Head up, sweetie or I'm gonna have to help you out…" She looked up at and found one of the bar's cocktail waitresses placing a glass of what looked like water in front of her.
"Thank you," Sophie mumbled softly as she reached for the glass that had just been placed in front of her.
"No problem, honey." The waitress said as she picked up two empty glasses next to Sophie and walked behind the bar to dispose of them. The water was cold in her throat, but it was refreshing, "You look like you've had a rough day."
"No," Sophie hummed as she took another sip of her water, "I-I'm just missing my boyfriend. I'm new to the area and he stayed back home to finish school."
The waitress hummed as she began wiping down the counter, "That's rough. Long distance can be really rough on a relationship."
"Yeah. We talk all the time but I still miss him."
The waitress flicked her brown hair over her shoulder and gave her a smile, "You should find someone to help ease the loneliness."
Sophie squinted at the woman, "Uhm…what do you mean?"
"I was your age once. I've been brokenhearted. The best cure is to find another man."
Sophie turned her eyes down to the counter and pouted her lips. Her cheeks and neck were growing warm as she bore into the counter, "I love Nick though."
"So that's his name?" The waitress hummed once more, "We have a Nate on staff who is pretty friendly. He's about your age, maybe a few years older."
Sophie shifted in her seat and took another sip of her water, "I think I'll pass."
"Sophie?" She turned around at the sound of the familiar accented voice wafting through the air towards her. She would recognize the unruly jet black hair and round brown eyes that were hidden behind the blue frames of a pair of square-shaped glasses.
Her relief at escaping the uncomfortable conversation with the cocktail waitress immediately soured, "Yuuri…"
"Oh my god. It's been forever since I last saw you." A smile graced onto thin pale lips as the Japanese man took the open spot next to her. It was then that she noticed the man with silver blonde hair and startling blue eyes settling onto the barstool on the other side of him. He was tall and lean, dressed in a cream colored sweater and soft brown blazer. He could have easily fit in the pages of a Men's Vogue magazine with his sharp angular cheeks and naturally pouted lips.
Sophie immediately knew who this was.
Viktor Nikiforov: UCLA allumuni and Nora Effron's personal protégé.
Viktor Nikiforov: Emmy Award-winning director.
Viktor Nikiforov: Yuuri Katsuki's beloved husband of two years.
Viktor Nikiforov: The man who rubbed salt in Beka's wounds.
She turned back to her appletini and took a large gulp. She was seeing red. She had been there on the phone with Beka for hours after Yuuri had broken it off. She had been the one who had picked up the pieces and had glued her brother back together. She had been the one who had cried with him, laughed with him and raged with him. And here was the sick bastard who had broken her best friend, her favorite person, her brother sitting here acting like nothing had happened.
She was in a state of wanting to punch Yuuri and run away at the same time. She could easily reach out and touch him, he was just two nudges away from her after all. She could easily make a fist and put her weight into the punch like Beka had taught her. There was no way in hell she could run away from these two, anyways. They would call Otabek and tell him that she was here in California and more importantly that she was here in California in a bar under age and drinking.
Realistically, neither option was plausible without worse consequences. Sophie took another large gulp of the appletini in front of her.
"Uhm, I guess we caught you on bad timing then…" Yuuri said softly. She could feel him looking at her profile, staring at her worriedly. Why did he still care about her? Its not as if he loved Beka…its not as if he still cared for Beka.
"Horrible timing," Sophie grumbled between another large gulp. She swallowed hard and felt the warm tingling of alcohol in her system. She was beginning to feel rather light, "Could you possibly never catch me?"
She didn't need to look at Yuuri to feel the sad pout on his lips, "How many have you had?"
"None of your damn business…" She snapped as she set her drink down. The warmth was traveling up her body in waves, making her comfortable and at ease. It was like a warm bed, comfy and relaxing. She could get lost in its plushness and heat. She could let go of her anger for a moment and rest. She could close her eyes.
But she didn't. Her anger was still to fierce to let go ad surrender it to the sudden rush of warmth flowing in her veins.
She saw Yuuri wince out of the corner of her eye, "Soph, how did you even—"
"I told you it was none of your damn business, Yuuri!"
Yuuri leaned closer to her to speak to be kept from being overheard, "The only reason I'm not tattling on you for being underage is because I don't want you to get arrested. Your brother would be devastated if he—"
Sophie found a harsh chuckle swelling from between her lips, "Like you care about Otabek."
"I do."
"No, you don't. Don't lie to me, Katsuki." Sophie turned her head to face the concerned one of the Japanese man, "You don't give a flying fuck about Beka. You don't. Never have. Never will."
A loud clearing of the throat made Sophie's brown eyes flicker up to the blue ones that were peeking around the mess of wild black hair, "I'm sorry but I don't think we've met," Viktor was speaking now, his hand stretching around Yuuri for a handshake and a collected mask spread across his features, "I'm Vik—"
"Viktor Nikiforov, I'm aware."
This made Viktor raise his eyebrows in slight surprise, but he let a lazy smile spread onto his lips, "You and Otabek are very similar, you know that?"
Sophie turned her glare to him fully, "He is my brother."
"He doesn't have your sass though. You're like a mix of—"
"How many drinks, Sophie?" Yuuri demanded in between them.
Sophie's glare glanced back to Yuuri for a moment before returning to Viktor's gaze, "A mix of what?"
"Hmmm," Viktor leaned against the bar and looked at her, "I think I'll keep that information to myself until you stop shouting at my husband."
"Fuck your husband," she growled, "and while you're at it, fuck yourself too."
"Gladly," Viktor purred as he grabbed the rum and coke that was sitting in front of him and raised it in a toast to her, "Now that we have our fucks out of the way, I would appreciate it if we talked like civilized human beings."
Warm long fingers wrapped onto her already hot skin of her wrist, "Sophie, how much?"
Sophie's eyes turned in the direction of Yuuri, but she was feeling more light headed by the minute. She was suddenly to warm as if the AC in the bar had gone out. The alcohol was flooding her veins and making her suddenly feel sleepy, like she could float off into the vastness of the ocean without a care in the world.
She opened her eyes at the loud snap of fingers in front of her face, "What?"
"How many drinks have you had?"
"Doesn't matter…"
"Yes, it does."
"She," Sophie pointed in the general direction of the bar to where the cocktail waitress had been, "said as long as I can keep my head up I can stay. My head is still up."
She heard Viktor distantly mumble something to Yuuri who was still staring at her with concerned brown eyes. They were almost the same color as Beka's if she focused on the flecks of gold in them. She almost wished Beka was here instead of Yuuri. Beka would've been pissed, but at least he wouldn't have been Yuuri or Viktor.
She was beginning to close her eyes again when her stomach lurched. Bile rose in her throat; she was going to throw up. She needed to throw up now or else.
She pushed off Yuuri as a hand came to her mouth. The world tilted and she swayed on her feet, her head was pounding, the sense of warmth was gone and had been replaced with overwhelming heat. She was vaguely aware of Yuuri standing as she tried to run towards the bathroom or out into the bushes out front. Her feet weren't cooperating and the world was still tilting.
"Sophie, let me—" But before Yuuri's words had fully left his mouth, Sophie was falling. Her heels had gotten in the way of her trying to regain motor movement and she was tipping forward towards the ground that was beginning to spin.
She was content to let herself hit the ground if the world would just stop spinning long enough for her to vomit, but before it could happen, two strong arms wrapped around her middle and heaved her to her feet.
"Woah," She looked up weakly at the face that was just barely hovering over her own. It wasn't the unruly hair of Yuuri or the platinum silver hair of Viktor that met her eyes, but instead it was soft blonde hair that surrounded the most beautiful jade eyes she had ever laid eyes on, "Obviously someone can't hold their liquor well…"
Sophie blinked a few times as she tried to make sense of the features on the face in front of her. She recognized those eyes; she had seen them many a time before. She had teased her brother about those eyes.
And just as it dawned on her who it was holding her up, she leaned forward and spewed appletini, water, and stomach acid onto Yuri Plisetsky's shoes.
A/N:( First of all, I'm sorry for not posting last week. My English prof made us write this stupid ass paper on a very illegitimately based article and, because I was a slacker and super ADD on the day it was due, I went into crunch mode and took the whole day to write it. After that fiasco, I was exhausted, but as a peace offering this chapter is longer than most of the other chapters. Chapter ten is done and up…FINALLY! And we got a new pov this week. I promise next week we will be going back to Yuri's POV and the Otabek's POV in chapter 12. Consider this to be a special chapter. :D Wow…a lot happened in this chapter. I know it was a little fast paced, but this is going somewhere great-ish. I'm excited for where it's going, so I hope yall trust me to make this work out really well. I really wanted to try and add some of the beloved kitty-romance into this chapter but it just didn't work out but there will be more to come soon so just hang in there. Also, we need a ship name for the cats because honestly, I love their pairing so much (Leave suggestions in the comments if you want or send them to me on Tumblr). In other news, I'm gonna be in a zine! The Heartbeats zine will be coming out for pdf on Valentines Day! I hope you, lovelies, have a wonderful week! – Sam 3 )