Catherine was completely in awe, sitting in the theater watching Neptune 26. Jackie was a natural and had gotten even better since the cheesy cult show. She squeezed her hand as they watched as a sign of her admiration. It was an interesting feeling, getting to see what she was up to the entire time they were apart. They both clearly submerged themselves into their work, something they both had in common. Afterward, the cast of the movie went up on stage and conducted a short Q&A session. Jackie was absolutely glowing up there, radiating a confidence that Catherine didn't get to see often.
Jackie couldn't remember another time in her life when she had ever felt so complete. Here she was, at the premiere of a movie she was the star of, with someone she was crazy about, being there supporting her. She felt such a rush on stage, and looking down and seeing Catherine in the audience made it even more perfect. Her smile was infectious and it only fed into Jackie's exuberance as she spoke to the crowd. Once the session ended, she met up with Catherine and followed the rest of the cast and crew to the after party. "So what did you think?" She asked. "Be honest."
"I'm not even exaggerating when I say you've drastically improved, and you were great to begin with. It was so good, I'm so proud of you," Catherine beamed, as she wrapped her arms around Jackie and hugged her tight.
"I'm so glad you came, it means so much to me." Jackie said, before whispering in her ear, "it literally has been causing me physical pain not being able to touch you all day. And you smell really good."
Catherine laughed as she released her embrace, "Except for that little stunt with Tommy and the reporter."
"I had to control myself, you're lucky all I did was hold your hand," she laughed. Jackie had been tempted to lay it all out on the line, right there in front of the reporter, but knew she couldn't do something that extreme without Catherine's consent. It was one thing to handle Tommy's advances alone, but with Catherine around, she refused. Thank God all these Neptune events were coming to an end.
As soon as they entered the party Jackie grabbed two glasses of champagne from a waiter who greeted them at the door. "Let me know if this all becomes a bit too much for you."
"Okay," Catherine responded, sipping her champagne and soaking in the atmosphere.
"I'm serious. Just say the word."
"I will," Catherine smiled. What a difference a year and a half had made.
After introducing Catherine to most of the cast and crew, Jackie headed to the bar. "I'm going to go get us a couple more drinks, be back in a sec," she told Catherine. As she was waiting on the drinks, she felt someone's arms wrap around her waist. She knew damn well Catherine wouldn't be that forward in public, so knew exactly who it was. She turned around, Tommy's face was inches away from hers and she could smell the liquor on his breath. She grabbed his arms and pushed him off of her. "Tommy, don't even start."
"Come on Jacks, it's been so long. I miss you" he said, putting his hands on her again.
"Tommy, stop it!" She shouted, trying to push him off.
Catherine was talking with Rachel and a few other cast mates when she spotted Tommy approaching Jackie at the bar. She kept a close eye on them as she pretended to listen. Tommy wrapped his arms around Jackie and Catherine could feel her jaw clench and her skin begin to radiate. She saw Jackie push him off but then he grabbed her again. "Excuse me," Catherine said, making her way over to the bar. As she got close she heard Jackie yelling at Tommy to stop. Without even giving it a second thought she grabbed Tommy's arm and pulled him off of Jackie. "She said no Tommy."
"Hey Catherine, what about you. Want to get out of here later?"
"In your dreams".
Jackie ran off to the restroom. "Leave her alone Tommy. I'm serious." Catherine warned, pointing a finger in his face before going to find Jackie. When she got to the restroom it was empty except for the handicap stall. "Jackie? Are you in there?" She asked, knocking softly on the door. Jackie opened it and pulled her in. As soon as the door was locked she hugged Catherine.
"Are you okay Porcupine?" Catherine asked, holding her closely.
Jackie didn't say a word, just hugged her tighter.
"What did you ever see in that guy?" she asked.
"Convenience, and a way to numb the loneliness."
Catherine's heart broke a little at her words, but knew exactly what she meant. They both had a rough year without each other. The door opened and Rachel called out their names, asking if they were in there. Catherine opened the stall door.
"What's going on?" She asked.
"Tommy being Tommy." Catherine replied.
"Are you okay?" Rachel asked Jackie.
"Yeah" she responded, shaking off her mood. "Let's go get those drinks now" she said, taking both of their hands and leading them out of the restroom.
"Excuse me sir, can we have some shots with these drinks?"
"Shots?" Catherine asked, raising her eyebrows.
"Yes. We're partying tonight" she grinned.
After three shots Catherine cut them off. Jackie attempted to drag her onto the dance floor but she managed to stop at the side, she was no where near drunk enough for that. Jackie and Rachel sure were though. They danced their little hearts out and kept calling out for her to join. "I'm good right here!" She laughed. This was the first time she had ever seen Jackie act her actual age and it was quite amusing. She deserved to have a good time and Catherine wasn't going to prevent her from doing so tonight. After a few songs they came back out to get more drinks. Jackie ordered another round of shots. "None for me," Catherine told her.
Jackie turned to Rachel, "Stark can't hang" she teased.
Catherine scowled at her then grabbed both her and Jackie's shots, downing them both in mere seconds.
"I stand corrected," Jackie said, staring at her in amazement. "I'm impressed, but now you owe me a shot."
"Here take mine, I need to slow down" Rachel said, slurring her words and sliding the glass over to Jackie. "I need to use the ladies room." As soon as Rachel left, Jackie eyed Catherine seductively and scooted closer.
"You better behave tonight," Catherine warned, smirking.
"Well if you keep looking at me like that I can't make any promises."
"I don't know what you're talking about," Catherine said, biting her lip.
Jackie stared at her bottom lip then swung around to the bartender, "shot!" She yelled.
Catherine laughed, "She'll have a beer."
"I'll have a shot and a beer," Jackie said to the bartender, before looking back at her annoyed. Her eyes grew big again, "Stop looking at me like that!"
"I'm not doing anything!"
"Those fucking dimples!" she muttered.
As Rachel was walking back from the restroom, the song changed on the dance floor. "I love this song!" Jackie yelled excitedly, slamming her beer down. Obviously she was already quite inebriated. Her and Rachel started dancing together before ordering another drink and moving back to the dance floor. Catherine began mingling around with some of the people she had met earlier, making small talk while sipping her drink. The alcohol definitely contributed to this, considering she didn't have much in common with any of these people. She was surprisingly enjoying herself though. When she felt herself getting fairly intoxicated she stopped, she didn't trust both her and Jackie not having control over themselves. Looking out to the dance floor she noticed Jackie starting to wind down, this wasn't a complete surprise considering how much she had drank, not to mention how late it was. The two caught eyes and Jackie grinned at her, sticking her finger out in a come-hither motion. Catherine smiled and worked her way through the now thinning crowd. Without saying a word, Jackie turned and scooted up against her, dancing. "We're both too drunk for this," Catherine bent down and whispered. "Come on, let's go get you some water." She took her hand and led her to the bar, running into Rachel on the way. "Hey the limo is leaving in about 20 minutes, meet out front."
After getting water, Catherine took her to the restroom. Jackie stumbled out of the stall and struggled to wash her hands. She leaned against the wall and her eyes began to close. After Catherine was finished she went over and shook her shoulders, "Jackie wake up." She slowly cracked her eyes open, then smiled at her big. "You're really pretty."
Catherine laughed, "And you're really drunk."
Jackie leaned in for a kiss but Catherine pinned her against the wall, "Jackie stop, it's too risky here."
"So violent," Jackie mumbled, before closing her eyes once more.
"Come on we need to get to the limo." When they got outside everyone was standing around, the limo wasn't there yet. Catherine led Jackie to a bench and put her arm around her to keep her from falling over. Rachel found them right as the limo pulled up, Jackie was knocked out cold. "Can you help me with her?" she asked. Catherine got into the limo first and reached for Jackie as Rachel kept her steady. "Watch her head," she warned. Jackie's eyes were struggling to stay open as she stumbled into the limo. As soon as she sat down, she linked her arm through Catherine's and held her hand before dropping her head down on Catherine's shoulder. Within seconds her body went limp as she passed out. When the limo began its way back to the hotel, Catherine glanced around at everyone. They were all passed out or to that point, so she leaned down and kissed the top of Jackie's head before resting her own on top. The cool wind was blowing through her hair from the cracked window. The sky was beginning to lighten, a hint of the sunrise starting to peak through. Catherine hadn't experienced something like this since college, and couldn't remember the last time she felt this alive. She looked down at the girl resting on her arm, the girl who had completely changed her life, and smiled.
When they reached the hotel she tried to shake Jackie to wake her. After much convincing, she finally got her to her feet and wrapped her arms around her shoulders. One of the security guards helped Catherine get her up to the room, "I've got it from here, thanks" she said as she opened the door and led Jackie to the bed. Jackie immediately curled into a ball so Catherine went and got changed. When she came back she rolled Jackie over and unzipped her dress. She wrestled her arms through it then began tugging at the bottom until it was off. Reaching into Jackie's luggage she found her lacrosse shirt and smiled. "Jackie, can you sit up for me real quick so we can get you dressed?" Jackie slowly lifted herself up, not even attempting to open her eyes. After Catherine slid the shirt over her head she opened her eyes and began to gag.
"Oh no, come on" she said, hurrying Jackie to the bathtroom. She grabbed her hair and held it back as Jackie got sick. After some time had passed, Jackie leaned back and collapsed on the floor. Her mascara was running down her face as she moaned in pain. Catherine filled a glass with water and grabbed a towel. "Here drink this, all of it."
"I can't" she groaned. Catherine got on the floor next to her and wiped the mascara from her eyes. "I'm sorry" Jackie whimpered.
"What are you sorry for?"
"Drunk," was all she said, sounding like a caveman.
"You're a 23 year old Hollywood actress, it could be a lot worse," Catherine laughed.
Jackie quickly got up on her knees and got sick again. Catherine held her hair as she rubbed her back. "I'm so sorry" Jackie repeated, this time crying.
"Shhh, stop apologizing."
She leaned back again and Catherine took her face in her hands. "You have nothing to feel sorry about so stop punishing yourself. Do you not think this is what I did when I was your age? The only difference is I wasn't vomiting in a 5 star hotel toilet or getting drunk off of top shelf liquor at a Hollywood party," she teased.
Jackie smiled.
"I'm serious. You deserve to have fun and act your age for once."
"I love you" Jackie said softly, and probably the most romantic way she's ever said it, except for the fact that she proceeded to vomit seconds after.
Catherine grabbed some pillows and blankets and decided it was best for them to camp out in the bathroom for the night.
The next morning Catherine woke to muffled knocks on the door. It took her a minute to stand, her body stiff from sleeping on the hard bathroom floor. She looked through the peep hole and saw Rachel. "Good Morning, how are you feeling?"
"Miserable, where's Jackie?"
Catherine pointed to the bathroom, "you probably don't want to go in there."
Rachel made her way to the bathroom, holding her hand over her nose. "She slept here all night?"
"Yep."
"And you did too?" She asked, noticing all of the pillows.
"Yeah, she was in rough shape."
"Screw teaching, come help me be Jackie's assistant. You can handle all the dirty work," she teased. "I need to get out of here, I can't handle this smell anymore. Can you have her call me when she's awake? There's a few things I need to go over with her before I leave."
"Yeah no problem."
"There's coffee and pastries down the hall for you all, feel free to help yourself. I'm sure Jackie could use it."
"Good idea."
Catherine followed Rachel out to grab some breakfast. When she returned she made her way into the bathroom. The smell made her gag, it was much worse after getting some fresher air. She knelt down and brushed the hair from Jackie's eyes, causing her to slowly wake. She gradually got up and looked around confused. "Why did I sleep in the bathroom?"
"We slept in the bathroom because the toilet was your best friend all night," Catherine smiled.
"Oh no. I'm afraid to ask how I behaved," she said, ashamed.
"You were actually on your best behavior, well as best as an intoxicated person can be. You just had yourself a lot of fun" she laughed.
"You slept here too?"
"Yep."
"Well aren't you girlfriend of the year."
She handed Jackie a water, "there's some coffee and toast in the room, mind if I kick you out of your bed so I can take a shower? Rachel stopped by, she needs to talk to you before she leaves."
After they both showered and began packing, Jackie called Rachel letting her know she could stop by. Within a few minutes she was at the door.
"Hey what's up?" Jackie asked.
"Just a few things before we part ways." After going over Jackie's schedule for the week, she got up to leave but paused with her hand on the door handle, "one more thing" she said, looking back.
"Yeah?" Jackie asked.
"Are you ever planing on telling me that you and Catherine are sleeping together?"
Catherine was packing her suitcase with her back to them, when she heard the words escape from Rachel's mouth. She froze in place, drawing in one final breath as her entire body went numb.