A/N: Thanks to the anon who caught the typo in my summary. I face-palmed when I saw that.
Okay, my beautiful ducks! Let's see how Bella's faring these days.
Stuck on the phone, Bella heard only every other word of what her agent was saying. Most of her attention was focused on the TV she could hear upstairs.
"It's been quite a year for TV star Edward Cullen. Inexplicable, the supernatural drama about the adventures of empath Jasper Whitlock, played by Cullen, and psychic Alice Brandon, played by former child star Bella Swan, exploded on the scene last season. Quickly amassing a cult following, the show and its stars experienced a meteoric rise among television audiences.
Cullen, known previously for short runs on various popular television shows, has always been a fan favorite. He's known for his charming personality both on and off set, and has always been said to be a genuinely nice guy.
But like anything in this business, looks can be deceiving. Six days ago, Cullen broke off his engagement with long-time fiancé Angela at the altar. Literally at the altar. Brutal. In cell phone footage obtained exclusively by Hollywood Tonight, you can see the couple standing before the minister in a packed venue before Cullen makes a break for it. Look at the way he takes off. Those long legs.
Rumors and speculation have run almost as wild as Cullen himself in these six days since the wedding that wasn't. Some are whispering about Cullen's co-star, who just happens to be Angela's BFF and maid-of-honor. Cullen's onscreen chemistry with Swan is often noted as one of the reasons the show works so well. Inexplicable fans have seen the potential for romantic relationship between the characters from episode one. The pair wouldn't be the first to take onscreen chemistry into their real lives.
Swan, of course, is no stranger to off-screen drama. Swan catapulted to fame at the age of twelve as the star of the hit children's show, Sara and Sam. Though she has appeared in small roles here and there, Inexplicable has been labeled her triumphant comeback after overcoming the drug and alcohol addiction that marked her late teens.
While there is no official word and all parties have remained silent except to request privacy in this difficult time, the ultimate fate of Inexplicable is in the air. A small but loud number of fans have taken Cullen's seemingly cold-hearted actions arguably harder than his jilted fiancé and are calling for a boycott. Some sources say Swan is refusing to work with Cullen. Still others say the pair will be exposed as secret lovers, and—"
"Alright. Look, I have to go, Kate," Bella said, cutting her agent off. "I'll call your PR guy as soon as I know what I want the statement to say, okay? I really have to go."
"Today, Bella."
"Yeah." Bella hung up the phone and jetted up the stairs.
As she expected, she found Angela perched on the edge of the sofa in the loft, staring at the television with glassy eyes. On the screen, Bella stood with Edward, both of them in character, leaning toward each other with matching smirks on their faces. Bella found the controller on the end table and turned the show off. "Ange…"
Angela blinked several times. A single tear fell from her lashes, and she wiped it away absently, giving Bella a wan smile. "I know. I know. I didn't start watching on purpose. I was in the zone, not paying attention to the TV at all, and I didn't notice the show I had on ended until…" She gestured at the now-blank screen.
"Okay. Because you know entertainment news is the worst."
"I know. I promise, I know. It caught me by surprise, that's all."
Bella sat beside her friend on the couch. "Are you okay? I mean...that's a really dumb question right now, but you know what I mean."
Angela smiled and patted Bella's hand. "I'm not going to do anything you need to be concerned about, if that's what you mean." She sighed. "You're expecting me to break down again."
"I wish you would," Bella said without thinking.
"What?" Angela's eyes went wide.
"Crap, that's not how I meant to say it." Bella rolled her eyes toward the ceiling and winced. "It's not that I want to see you hurt like that again. It's just that there's such a thing as handling something too well.
"Any breakup is a trauma. But what that bastard…" She sighed when her friend flinched. Angela wasn't ready to call Edward every name in the book. That was part of the problem. "What he did was heinous. This is damaging stuff; the kind of thing that doesn't heal on its own. A wise man once said, 'pain demands to be felt.'"
Angela laughed. It was a hard, bitter sound. For once, her characteristic gentle smile faded into something more twisted and sardonic. "You think I'm not feeling this pain? Bella, I'm here. I'm here at your place, even though Edward left ours, because I can't stand to be there. I can't stand the memories, all the things we picked out together, all his things…" She stood up, wringing her hands as she rocked back and forth on her feet. "I can't even breathe. It hurts to breathe. And sometimes I just want to scream."
"You can, you know." Bella got up and put a hand to her friend's shoulder. "You can curse. And throw things. And beat on a pillow with the asshole's face on it. We can figure out how to make voodoo dolls and make one for him. You can scream. You should scream."
Angela's breath left her in a gust, and she sat heavily on the couch again, shoulders slumped. "If I started, I honestly don't think I would stop."
"You would. Maybe not for a while, but you would." Bella sat next to her, a hand on her back. "That's exactly what I'm talking about. Not letting yourself scream isn't going to solve anything. I know better than a lot of people what can happen when you turn to the wrong coping mechanisms. That's what I'm trying to say. There are worse things than going through all the stages of grief—which are awful, I know."
Angela took a deep breath, and when she looked at Bella, her gentle smile was back in place. She hooked her arm around Bella's shoulders, pulling her close. "It's sweet of you to be so worried about me, but don't. I'll be okay." She pulled back, wrapping her arms around herself instead. "I know you don't think much of faith and religion, but this is exactly the kind of situation it serves well. I draw my strength from my faith, and I can find a path through this in my Savior's words and love."
Somehow, Bella managed to keep her expression neutral. "That's… That's good to hear. Honestly. I'd wondered how you would feel about your faith through all this."
Angela tilted her head. "What do you mean?"
Bella realized too late she'd misspoken. She knew she should be glad Angela had found a source of comfort that wasn't destructive; that was the most important part. "Nothing. Forget I said that."
"No, I'm just… Why would you think my feelings about my faith would change?"
Now wasn't the time to have this conversation, but since she'd opened her big mouth, Bella didn't see how to avoid it. Angela deserved answers and total honesty right now. "You've always spoken of your relationship with Edward as proof God's plan is good and right. That this would be part of his plan-"
"No." Angela's voice came out sharp. She blinked, looking as shocked at her own tone as Bella was. She took a breath, and her next words came out gentler. "No. Of course it wasn't part of God's plan for this to happen. What we have… Had. What could have been…"
Angela shook her head and tried again. "I'm lucky. My father is good at what he does. He's been called to minister to people and couples in this kind of crisis often. He's helping me gain some perspective."
"Okay." Bella didn't understand, but she didn't need to. As long as Angela was getting help from someone to help her cope with this long-term, Bella wasn't going to argue.
"So. That was Kate on the phone? Everything okay?"
Leave it to Angela to turn the conversation back to Bella. The fact she had any room left in her head to be concerned for Bella was a testament to how good she was. No one deserved to be hurt that way, but for this to happen to Angela made Bella all the angrier. "Forget about Kate for a second. I need to ask you a question. I know we already talked about it, but it's not too late to change your mind. You should change your mind."
"What are you talking about?"
Bella sighed. Fury and worry roiled in her gut. "Ange… I can't go back to the show. It's just crazy."
"What?" Angela sat up straight.
"Think about what it means. Really think about it." She gestured to the TV. "Just like the segment, you'll see us together. You'll see me on a commercial or a billboard, whatever, smiling at him, touching him." Bella shuddered. "Looking at him like I like him. It's not going to feel good, and I don't want to be the one who hurts you."
"If you don't want to hurt me, you'll keep on like you planned. Look, it's not like I don't get what you're saying. I'm not delusional. This sucks. It all sucks. But you've worked so damn hard to get back to where you are in your career. I know what this show is for you, and I know what happens if you break a contract in this business. Just don't. Don't even think about it."
"I would, you know. If it's what you need, I'd give it all up. You're worth more than that life. I can get a new dream."
"No." The word was a command.
Bella huffed but nodded. "Fine. I don't know how I'm going to be in the same room without punching him, but fine."
Besides, this show tended to get physical. Their characters were always in one kind of danger or another every episode. Minor accidents happened on the set all the time, and if Edward happened to get hit in the balls, well, some things couldn't be helped.
~0~
Bella closed her eyes, counting down from a hundred before she even thought about getting out of the car.
Having Angela's blessing was one thing; actually being in the same room with this prick was something else entirely. Just the thought of it made her cheeks flush with heat and her jaw clench.
For the millionth time, she tried to make sense of it all, wondering—uselessly, she knew—if she could have seen this coming. But no. Her memories painted a picture as idyllic as the experience had seemed. The day before the wedding, the bridal party was out on the town, flitting from one fun thing to the next to blow off steam. More than attentive, Edward had been appropriately fixated on Angela—all smiles, kisses, and tender touches. The morning of the wedding, Angela glowed with happiness and anticipation as she recounted the sweet, romantic nothings he'd whispered in her ear when they parted for the night. Bella recalled the slightest pang of worry when Edward's father appeared to tell Rosalie her brother needed her, but then the woman had reappeared at Bella's side, at ease.
Bella couldn't have said what Edward looked like as she walked down the aisle. Her concentration had been on the mantra in her head—smile, watch your feet. To think she'd been more worried she would trip over her too-high heels than anything else.
And when they were all situated where they should be, Bella standing behind Angela, she'd had just enough time to process that the groom looked like death warmed over. His face was bone-pale with a sickly green tint. When he bolted a split second later, she'd assumed he had to throw up.
Chaos erupted, but when all was said and done, Bella was left with one terrible image branded into her brain: her best friend, collapsed in a ball of misery in the lobby of the hotel; her pristine white dress flowing like a puddle around her as she wailed into her hands.
So, yeah. Bella wasn't sure how she was going to do this. She took several deep breaths before she opened her eyes and fixed herself with a glare in the rear view mirror. "You're not a toddler. You're not a diva. You're a grown ass adult and a professional. No hitting, kicking, biting, or name-calling."
She would be damned before she let Edward Cullen be the reason she lost everything again.
Head held high and shoulders back, Bella strode into the studio's downtown office. That the showrunners had called a meeting here meant the bigwigs were involved. Between the media coverage and the show's fan-base—some of them calling for Edward's head—Bella wasn't surprised.
She was directed to a conference room and was shocked to find herself alone with Edward. He was already seated, coffee and an untouched Danish in front of him. He'd been slumped back in his chair, pinching the bridge of his nose, but when he saw her, he sat up ramrod straight. Bella stood frozen in the doorway, quite literally biting her tongue to stem the flow of names she wanted to call him.
It was a good thing he couldn't read minds or, like his character, feel emotions. What radiated off Bella right then would have knocked Jasper Whitlock on his fictional ass.
Although, from the look on Edward's face, maybe he had picked up his character's gift. What little color he had drained from his cheeks, and he hunched his shoulders. "Bella," he said, the word coming out subdued and almost too-quiet to hear.
Not a toddler. Not a diva. Grown ass adult and professional. No hitting. No name-calling.
"You look like shit," she spat.
Not name calling, she told the voice in her head before she could chastise herself. That was nothing but the truth. He looked like nine kinds of hell. He'd lost weight even in the week since she'd seen him. He was a copy of a copy of himself—all washed out and subdued.
"It's been a rough week," he said.
Bella dug her fingernails into the palm of her hand. "Poor baby."
"I'm not looking for sympathy. It's just a simple statement of fact."
His soft, toneless words did nothing to quell her fury. The fact he had yet to look away from her was making her irrationally more furious by the second. "What's the matter? Single life isn't working out the way you wanted it to?"
That got a reaction. His jaw went noticeably taut, and he swallowed hard before answering. "I never wanted to be single."
She laughed without humor. "Oh, no? You've got a weird way of showing it. Or did you just start to think you could do better than Angela, because if you did—"
"Of course not. That's not it." There was some life to his voice then and fire in his eyes. Just as quickly though, as he looked on her, the light seemed to go out again. He scrubbed a hand over his face, slumped in his chair again. "Not better… Just…" He shook his head, his eyes meeting hers again. "Look, Angie deserves to hear it first."
"You're going to sit there and pretend you care about what Angela deserves?"
"Come on, Bella." He leaned over, his hands out on the table, imploring. "Between the show and planning the wedding, you've spent almost every day of the last year and a half with me. You know I didn't want this. I never wanted to hurt her like this. I never wanted to hurt her at all. I love her."
"Like hell. You don't hurt someone you love like this."
"You of all people should know loving someone doesn't mean you won't hurt them."
His words had the effect of a punch to the gut. She gasped aloud, her heartbeat quickening and her words dying on her tongue. Edward's eyes went wide. "Shit. I didn't… I can't believe I said that. I'm sorry. I—"
"Is that your big secret? You're an addict?" she challenged. Part of her hoped it was true. She knew only too damn well the kind of person she could be under the influence of drugs and alcohol. That, at least, was an explanation she could wrap her head around, because, apart from her anger, she was at a loss.
They'd been at least casual friends for as long as he and Angela had been together. That he was capable of hurting anyone like this, let alone Angela, was inexplicable.
"No," he said. "No. I'm not an addict."
"So you're not sick. You're just an asshole. Fuck you, Edward."
The door slamming behind her made Bella jump a mile. She turned and found herself staring down Aro Scarpinato, his normally placid expression twisted into what looked like uncharacteristic irritation. "Calm down, Alice. Sit down."
Aro was the show's creator. He also had the annoying habit of calling them by their character names. Bella was indignant. Why the hell was he yelling at her when she wasn't the asshole here? But she sat anyway, knowing her mouth could only get her in trouble at this point.
"I'm going to ask you two a question, and I expect complete honesty." Aro darted his eyes between them, his look severe. "Are you having an affair?"
"No!" they both said instantly, Bella with disgust and Edward with more volume than he'd had all day.
Aro nodded. "Fine. Good." His features relaxed considerably. He steepled his hands, his elbows on the table. "Here's how it is, my dear ones. We are potentially in a precarious position. It's possible your actions, Jasper, will have no impact on the show at all, but as a brand new success, that's not something I or the studio are willing to bank on.
"The studio has called in a team to help us formulate a game plan. We're going to decide on a unified message and we're all going to stick to it, repeat it over and over until the press and the fans forget about your personal lives and remember why they like you in the first place. We want them to remember it's the show they care about."
Bella had to fight to keep her grimace in check. Aro was a single-minded man. She always got the feeling he wasn't above a shady deal or two if it meant he got what he wanted—his show.
Aro fixed her with a beady-eyed stare. "We're all on the same page, aren't we? You're going to be a team player."
It wasn't a question, but Bella answered it anyway. "It's not like I have a choice."
Aro broke out into a grin as through they were sharing a joke. "Contractually, no. This is a business, after all."
"And I'm a professional." Bella took a deep breath and nodded. "It's not like I'm the first one to act with someone I don't like in real life."
"Yes, well, you're going to have to act like you like him in real life."
Bella tilted her head. "What?"
Aro grinned again. "The beauty of being on a supernaturally oriented show. You're booked on the convention circuit. Alice and Jasper like each other. As far as the fans are concerned, Edward and Bella should too."
Bella glanced at Edward. He wasn't looking at either of them but out the window as though they weren't talking about him.
She'd forgotten about the conventions they were signed up for. They were sprinkled in over the next three months, which meant she'd be filming with him all week and have no respite on those weekends. Dread pooled in her stomach. "Super," she muttered, contemplating all the extra time she was going to have to spend with him. "That makes me really happy."
A/N: Sooooooo…..