Disclaimer: This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events and incidents are either the products of the author's imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.
A/N: This chapter was starting to get a little long and out of hand so I decided to split it into a two (probably three) part chapter. Chris Winters makes an appearance and starts to show interest towards Luna. We see a new side of Hunt which isn't as perfect as usual. I want to thank all the people that took the time to read my fanfic and reblog it on Tmblr, it's feels awesome to know that someone out there likes what I do, thank you and I hope you enjoy this long ass chapter! :D
Warnings: language.
Sunday morning. As the large numbers on the alarm clock turned to 6:00 am, a loud sound begin to beep. With a quick movement, Hunt reached the snooze button, hoping he could get at least 10 more minutes of sleep. He had always been a night owl, finding the night more relaxing and productive. Last night was no exception, he graded papers and essays while enjoying several glasses of scotch until 2:00 pm. It had been by far the most relaxing day he's had in months. Three hours of sleep was good enough for him. He had always suffered from insomnia since he could remember, so he was already used to it. But every now and then, specially after several months of not having enough sleep, he always ended up exhausted, and unfortunately this was one of those times that he wished he could sleep for at least 18 hours straight.
He went back into a deep, dreamless sleep, where all he could hear was an obnoxious "beeep, beeep, beeep" sounding in the background. After hitting the "snooze" button countless times, he opened his eyes and lazily turned his confused gaze to the alarm clock. 7:45 am. "Fuck, I overslept!" he thought. Jumping out of bed, he ran into the shower and turned the cold water on. "Nothing better to wake up than a cold, refreshing bath" he thought. He was supposed to be at Chris Winters' Malibu beachside mansion at 8:30 am for the shooting of Lisa Valentine's music video. He was in charge of all of Luna's probation, therefore, he was required to be present through every single step of each project, including scripts, organization, direction and filming, and approve them.
There was no way he'd make it on time, and he knew it, but he hated being late more than anything so he gave it a shot. He took a quick shower, got dressed into a gray Armani pinstripe suit, white dress shirt and burgundy tie. He was "ready" in record time. 8:15 am, well, as ready as he could be within 30 min. Taking his keys, he ran through the door, quickly entered his sports car and drove to Chris Winter's mansion.
Ethan and Luna arrived with plenty of time at Chris' beach house followed by Lisa Valentine and Addison. The crew and extras were not there yet, so they decided to enter the mansion and say hi to Chris. They approached the intercom on Ethan's Porsche and he ran the bell. Chris' voice answered on the other side.
"Hello guys! Great to see you here early!" he greeted happily.
Luna smiled. "Chris... uh, how can you see us?" she turned her head from side to side confused.
"Security cameras gorgeous!... I can even see you blushing all the way over here! Haha, come on in you guys! Mi casa es su casa, I'll open the gate in a minute" Luna's cheeks were bright red.
Ethan smirked in a teasingly manner. "Oh my god, you're in big problems kiddo... Winters' fans are going to hunt you down and eat you alive!"
"Shut up Ethan! Just drive and be quiet" Luna rolled her eyes and gave Ethan a look that frightened him a little bit.
"Jeeez, chill Luna. I'm just kidding"
"Yeah, sure. I know what you're thinking and it's NOT happening. I've told you, I refuse to take advantage of someone else's fame for my own benefit"
"I know Luna, sorry... It's just that being friends with the right people is always a good thing, specially when you're on the spotlight"
Suddenly the gate doors opened and Ethan drove the car through a lengthy driveway that led to the mansion's main entrance. The mansion was like a dream. Exotic, beautiful flowers, fruit trees, what appeared to be a natural cascade pouring into a crystal clear pool, and peacocks walking elegantly across the bright green grass. Luna could not hide her amazement. This was exactly the type of mansions that you see in the movies, the ones that you fantasize about but you can't actually imagine yourself inside one in real life. The front door opened and Chris emerged with a bright, dazzling grin. He opened the passenger's door where Luna was sitting and offered her his hand. She smiled as she extended hers. He took it gently and placed a soft kiss in it, his penetrating, deep blue eyes staring profoundly at hers, sending an electrifying wave across her spine.
"I can't believe it! Every time I see you you get more beautiful, if that's even possible"
"Oh Chris, stop it! You're going to make my face turn as red as a tomato!" Luna's whole face was getting redder and redder by the second as she offered a flirtatious smile.
"Sorry beautiful, but I can't help myself, it's just the truth" He kept on smiling as he helped her get out of the car. They were quickly approached by Ethan.
"Chris, my man! Thank you for lending us your pad, we owe you big time!" Chris and Ethan greeted each other with a familiar handshake and a quick hug, both of them smiling.
"No problem Ethan, it's my pleasure... Ohhh man, and look who do we have here, the dashing Lisa Valentine and the lovely Addison Sinclair!" Lisa approached them excitedly and threw herself at Chris. He was surprised but hugged her back in a friendly way.
"Oh my god, I can't believe I'm in front of THE Chris Winters, and in your beach house! I'm a huge fan! I've been meaning to meet you, but you're always so busy" Lisa smiled at Chris.
"Yeah, most of our shootings are overseas, so I don't get to spend too much time in the States. But I'm here now and you're my special guests for the day. Come on in, the breakfast will be served shortly" the handsome movie star opened the doors to his mansion and everybody was astonished. The mansion was even more beautiful inside that what they had imagined. White marble walls adorned with tasteful paintings, perfect wooden floors still holding its original Macassar Ebony scent. And in the center: a grand, opulent stairway with a beautiful handrail adorned with delicate metal leaves and flowers.
"Oh my god, this handrail is gorgeous! Look at the craftsmanship! Whoever welded this is a genius, you can't even tell where one metal starts and where the other ends..." she touched it like it was gold. Luna was more excited over the actual metal and workmanship than the rest of the expensive objects and the magnificent house. Chris was intrigued by this, even more than by her physical beauty, if that was even possible.
"Okay, don't be weird Luna... Chris, please continue with the tour" Lisa turned her eyes to Chris and watched him sensually.
"Uhhh... sorry Lisa, but shouldn't we wait for the crew? They need to be here also, plus Hunt is supposed to be arriving soon too... what time is it, anyway?" Lisa rolled her eyes while Luna reached for her cellphone inside her purse. "It's 8:35 am, and he was supposed to be here at 8:30 am! What happened to all the 'In Hollywood, even being on time is considered fifteen minutes late' bullshit?!" said Luna impersonating Hunt's signature scowl and low voice.
"Hahaha... as much as I love the way you mimic Hunt every time, he's technically our superior, if he's not here we can't go through with the video, at least not for school credit for your probation, so If I were you I'd be praying for him to arrive, late or not" Ethan crossed his arms and looked at Luna.
"Wait, are you under probation, Luna? What happened?" asked Chris concerned.
"Uhh, it was a silly accident that almost costed me my scholarship, I'll tell you about it later" Luna's cellphone rang. It was Sid, the head of the crew, calling to let her know that they were outside. "Okay, the guys are here. Once we place all the equipment we are starting exactly at the scheduled time, not a second later, and I'm not waiting for ANYBODY" she turned to Ethan and warned him. "and that includes almighty Hunt"
"But Luna, if he's not here this project won't count towards your probation,and this is HUGE" Ethan protested.
"Exactly, and that's why we're not waiting for anybody! Chris was kind enough to lend us his house this one time, and the crew, extras and equipment are already paid for, so I don't care about that stupid probation, we're starting right in time and that's it. Chris, can you please let my crew in?"
"Sure Luna... but if you need to postpone you may use my house as many times as you need, don't worry about it"
"Thanks Chris, but my decision is final. Ethan agrees with me, we are all professionals here, aren't we Ethan?" she smirked and turned slowly to look at Ethan, in response he shrugged his shoulders.
"Whatever you say Luna, it's your project. I just hope that you know what your doing..."
"Oh, believe me, I know. Okay, let's start then!" Luna clapped excitedly and Chris let the rest of the crew and extras in. The crew quickly set all the equipment and they were ready to start right in schedule, at 9:00 am sharp"
Hunt drove as fast as he could, but Chris' mansion was more than 50 minutes away, plus he was stuck in traffic. He thought about calling in the moment he woke up but he didn't have anybody's number. He just had the piece of paper that Luna wrote with Chris' address on it. He was so bothered with himself for being late. He wasn't like that, he was the person that was there at least 15 minutes before, and even then he considered being barely on time. He was disappointed at himself and tried to relax listening to music. Finally, he arrived to Chris' mansion at 9:20 am. "Almost an hour late, unbelievable", he thought. He rang the intercom's bell and waited. No response. Rang the bell again, and again, no response. He turned off the radio and he could hear music coming from the mansion sounding loudly. "Did they start without me?!", he thought. He was shocked. Even though he was late, and boy did he hate it, they were supposed to wait for him. He got out of his car and peeked through the wrought iron gate. He could see a bunch of people hanging out by the pool and in the beach but nobody could see him nor hear him. He was furious. He didn't know what to do, nobody was answering and he couldn't call anybody. 9:45 am. He was in the verge of insanity hearing everybody scream and laugh, "this isn't what a serious production is supposed to be, this is so unprofessional, oh, but she's going to hear me, that stupid, stupid little know-it-all brat". In that moment the gate opened and Chris' stunning car appeared in the driveway, which was big enough for both cars to be side by side. Chris drove and stopped right by Hunt's window. He turned off the car and exited the vehicle to greet Hunt.
"Professor Hunt, long time no see! How have you been?" Chris offered his hand as he greeted Hunt. Hunt gave him a measured look and greeted him back.
"Mr. Winters. I've been pretty good, thank you. The only inconvenience is that I've been out here for almost half an hour now, and I see that they started the shooting without me" his tone was calm yet annoyed.
"I'm so sorry professor, they were expecting you but then decided to start filming, you know, time is money in this business. Please come on in, I gotta head out for just a little bit, I have a meeting but I'll be back in a couple hours, but please come on in and make yourself at home"
"Thank you, I appreciate your hospitality." Chris smiled friendly at Hunt, entered his car and quickly disappeared as he drove away. Hunt rolled his eyes, there was something about Chris that he disliked. He represented everything that was wrong with Hollywood. The problem was that even when he respected him as a person, he did not respect him as an actor. Hunt entered his car and drove towards the location of the crew and extras. He was furious but he knew that he had to control his temper, he admitted that he was at fault for arriving late, but Luna knew very well that she had to wait for him. He was scanning all the people around him with fierce eyes, looking for the pink haired know-it-all "director". After several minutes, he saw her talking to one of the extras, giving instructions on what seemed to be a stunt scene.
"Where's Crash? Has anybody seen him?" Luna shouted.
"May I ask who is this 'Crash' person and what are you doing filming without my consent?" Hunt's steady yet menacing voice made Luna stop what she was doing and slowly turned around to face Hunt with a big smirk.
"My my my, look who we have here, "Mr. I'm never late". Crash is my stunt actor, we're almost halfway through the shooting, but of course you don't know that because, well... you were in fact... late." She was savoring each one of those words with a shameless grin.
Hunt could feel his blood boiling through his veins. What infuriated him the most was the fact that she was right, and he was wrong. He didn't know what to say, he had no actual excuses and he felt small and stupid.
"Well... for your information I've been outside waiting for you imbeciles to open the god damn gate, but you're too occupied in stunt scenes that you did not even bother to search for me" It was a pathetic excuse and he knew it, but that was the best he could come up with.
"Oh, please stop humiliating yourself like that, it's kind of sad" she was at the point of almost laughing in his face "have some pride and self-respect and admit you're the only one at fault, professor". She sneered and crossed her arms.
Hunt was completely speechless, he had nothing to defend his cause. He just stood there, watching Luna closely, analyzing her. "Isn't she afraid of me? Who or what does she think she is to talk to me that way?" he was more curious than angered at this point. He always prided himself in having the ability to easily break and reduce people to tears in a matter of seconds, but this time it wasn't working. "Maybe I need to try harder with you", he thought.
"Well, late or not you were supposed to wait for me and you were well aware of that fact", he shot back, crossing his arms as well. Both Luna and Hunt were staring so intensely at one another that it seemed like they were about to kill each another. Everybody noticed and now they had their own audience, who were watching them anxiously. Luna stood her ground and continued to smirk, she was obviously not backing down.
"Oh well, I was just being a good student and following your own teachings, professor"
"If by that you mean being disrespectful, impetuous, and ungovernable I'm afraid you're wrong, I'd never teach that in my classroom." Hunt retorted.
"Oh no, I'm talking about the first lesson I ever received from you. Tardiness is completely and utterly unacceptable, under ANY circumstance" Luna emphasized the word "any" while poking Hunt with her index finger in the chest.
Hunt's eyes were now like two fire balls about to explode and Luna couldn't be happier. Ethan quickly intervened and stepped in the middle of the two. Judging by the look in Hunt's eyes, he actually feared for Luna's life.
"Okaaay, professor, the good thing is that you are here and we're here. Would you please consider watching the footage we have so far later and continue with the shooting? This is a huge project that we planned for Luna's probation, please regard all the hard work that's been put into it." Ethan grabbed Hunt by the shoulder, both men walking away from Luna. As Ethan tried to convince him, Hunt turned his head sideways to look back at Luna, who was at the same time watching him,arms still crossed, standing in an arrogant stance and mocking smile.
"Blake, I am your professor and superior in this shooting, you all respond to ME and no one else. I don't have to explain myself to any of you and my lateness is not an excuse for you to start without my direct supervision. You are students at Hollywood U, and every project that you make is linked to our institution. I refuse to be mocked and disrespected like this, I demand an apology from your so called director immediately or I'll walk away from this project" Hunt challenged.
Ethan felt like his back was against the wall. On one side was Luna, which was not only her client but her close friend too, and on the other he had Hunt, which was his teacher, superior, and most importantly, had the power. He felt bad but it was in everybody's best interests that Luna apologized to Hunt so they could just move on. He sighed and nodded to Hunt and began to walk towards Luna with an apologetic look on his face.