Disclaimer: I don't own "Lizzie McGuire" or any of the characters you recognize from the show.
Ocean Front
Chapter 4: Kate and Ethan
"Sometimes I wonder, what's the point?" Kate said, out of the blue. David looked at her. Her blonde hair was whipping in the wind, due to the fact she had begged him to let the top down on the car.
"The point of what?" David ventured, focusing back on the road. It was nice to be zooming down the empty roads, the sun shining down on them.
"Everything," Kate responded vaguely.
"Everything, as in…" David prompted when she stopped.
"As in life," Kate replied distantly, staring at the trees flying by. "I mean," she added, "we're in the entertainment industry right? So we make this movie, and that's it. What's the point?"
"Are you worried about the movie or something? Because it's going to be fine. They'll love it." David pulled slowly into the parking lot of the studio. He shut down the engine and put up the top, but neither made a move to get out of the car yet.
"It's just that…I wonder about my work. So right now, I'm an A-list actress, life is good, we make movies, have fun, blah blah blah," Kate blurted out. David couldn't help but stare at her. She didn't seem like herself. "But what's going to happen in ten years?" Kate continued. "Twenty years? There are few actresses who can sustain their fame for that long."
"Kate, you're a great actress," David said, noticing the genuine worry in her voice. "I know I got frustrated with you on the set, but that's just because I'm the director, and that-"
"That's not the point," Kate cut in. "For the last ten years, I've been working my ass off to become somebody and get away from Hillridge. And I've actually achieved that! Me! Kate Sanders! But is there really a purpose in life for doing this? I mean, yes, you," she said, turning towards David, "love what you do. Directing. It's your true calling."
David sat quietly, wondering what she was getting at.
"And I thought I loved acting. In college, doing theatre, all the anticipation, being on stage. But in these last few years," Kate said with a sigh, "when I actually got to Hollywood… It was exciting in the beginning. But now…" she trailed off. "All the scandals, the pressure, the image," she murmured softly. "I'm just… sick of it. Just look at this," she said, gesturing towards her and David. "We're doing all this for publicity." She looked down. "I'm sorry for dragging you into this."
The two sat silently for a minute.
"My grandmother passed away a few weeks ago," Kate said softly. "And I found myself wondering, what have I accomplished?"
"Kate, you're an amazing actress, and-"
"Dave, it's fine," she interrupted me again, with a small smile. "I don't know why I just blurted that all out. I guess I'm just stressed."
Following Kate's lead, David climbed out of the car and took hold of her arm.
"I'm sorry about your grandmother," he said hesitantly, squeezing her shoulder as they walked towards the studio.
"Thank you. At least now she's in a better place," Kate answered.
David reached over and opened the door, placing a hand on the small of Kate's back, guiding her inside. He looked at Kate with new eyes. It was like he was seeing the real her for the first time- the pure, natural, undeluded Kate. Still shaking his head, they headed into the editing room.
"Damn suitcase," grunted Ethan, struggling to pull out a brown suitcase that was buried by the other junk in his closet.
"Need some help?"
Startled by the voice behind him, Ethan jumped and hit his head on the shelf above him.
"Oh, hey Lucy," Ethan said, wincing as he rubbed his head. "How did you get inside?"
"I knocked, but nobody answered," Ethan's next-door neighbor replied. "So I just let myself in. Your door was unlocked. I just wanted to pick up the DVDs."
"Oh, yeah, I'll go get them," Ethan said quickly, heading towards the living room to get them.
"I'll try to help you drag your suitcase out!" Lucy called.
Ethan grabbed the movies and went back into his bedroom. His suitcase was lying on the floor next to a satisfied-looking Lucy.
"Sweetie, you were supposed to take the stuff off of it," she pointed out. Ethan grinned sheepishly. "Now, don't tell me you need help packing," Lucy complained jokingly.
"Actually…" Ethan laughed, unzipping the suitcase. To his surprise, there were still things inside.
"I guess you forgot to finish unpacking last time," Lucy said, leaning down to take the things out. She took out some sweaters and a slip of paper drifted to the floor. Dumping the sweaters on the bed, she bent down to pick up the paper. It turned out to be a photograph.
"Hey, it looks like you," she exclaimed. Ethan crouched down next to her to look.
A young man and woman, both not possibly older than twenty, were sitting at the beach, obviously not knowing that their picture was being taken. They were laughing together, their hair windswept, and the ocean visible behind them.
"Wow," Ethan breathed, taking the picture from Lucy to look at it closely.
"It's pretty old huh?" Lucy asked, examining Ethan's face for similarities.
He nodded, still staring at the photo. "Must have been, eight, nine years ago."
"You look so much in love!" Lucy said, smiling. "Who's the girl?"
"Kate Sanders," Ethan murmured, barely taking in a word Lucy was saying. His mind had drifted elsewhere- to a beach nine years ago.
"Kate Sanders?"
Ethan remembered the day perfectly. He had planned it perfectly. The romantic dinner. The music. The moonlight.
"Helloooo! Ethan!"
Ethan came crashing down to the real world when Lucy began waving her hand in front of his face. The beach disappeared.
"Sorry, just spaced out for a second."
"Like I was saying, is this Kate Sanders as in the movie star?" she asked incredulously. "It looks like her!" Ethan nodded slowly.
"We went out in high school," he said simply, standing up to show her he didn't want to talk about it any more.
"See, when the transition goes through so quickly, it doesn't seem to have the same effect," David muttered.
"But when we slowly wash in here, it gets cut off. The film was messed up," argued Robert, the editor who was working on the scene. David ran his hand through his curly brown hair in frustration. "We could just cut it out."
"We can't cut it out!" David said impatiently. "It's a pivotal scene."
"Plus, I look really good there," Kate added, flipping her hair. David shook his head disbelievingly, wondering how a person could change personalities so quickly.
"Yes, you look gorgeous, especially with the wind blowing in your hair," Robert said admiringly. Kate giggled. David rolled his eyes, listening to his friend flirting with his so-called girlfriend. He rubbed his temples, trying to think of a solution to the problem.
"The only way I can think of to fix it is to reshoot it," he said finally, standing up abruptly.
"The whole scene? We have less than eight days!" Robert said, turning to look up at David.
" At least just the opening sequence," David said, pacing around the room. He stopped. "Is it possible to do it today?"
Robert looked at his watch. "It's two o'clock. The sun should set around six. We've got four hours."
"Good. Get the crew. Kate's already here. Call costumes and makeup and hair and whatever else Kate needs," David ordered, already dialing a number on his phone.
Kate sat demurely in her trailer as the makeup artist finished up.
"Ok, all done!" she announced.
"That was quick," muttered Kate, standing up and looking in the mirror.
"Well, we want your natural beauty to shine through," the woman explained. Kate nodded curtly, not knowing what to say. She opened the door and the late-afternoon sunlight flooded in. Since it was so last minute, there weren't any onlookers pushing to get a good look of the filming. They had chosen a very secluded area.
Once Kate stepped onto the warm, coarse sand, she smoothed out her costume. It was her favorite dress in the whole movie. It was white and floaty. She reminded herself to ask the costume manager if she could keep it.
"Are we ready to start filming yet?" she called to David, who was with fiddling with the camera.
"Almost!" he answered. "Five more minutes."
Kate strolled towards the ocean. The sun was beginning to set, making the sky a gorgeous orange-pink color. Lifting her skirt up slightly, she walked to the edge of the water, enjoying the feel of the waves rushing around her bare feet.
Just like the waves crashing onto shore, a flood of memories crashed back into Kate's mind.
She had allowed herself to be blindfolded by him, being led towards the beach. She knew because she was able to smell the salty air. He left her for a moment. She waited apprehensively, but then soft strains of music floated its way to her ears, soothing her. She felt him gently untying the silky cloth covering her eyes.
"Happy anniversary," he had said softly into her ear, allowing the cloth to drift to the ground. She gasped. A small table was set up by the water. On top of it was a rose and candles. A stereo was playing music quietly. The moon was bright.
"Dance with me."
Suddenly, she was in his arms, swaying slowly to the song.
"I love you," he had whispered, the first time he had said it to her with such sincerity.
David surveyed the set critically. He finally smiled with approval. The air was perfect, slightly breezy and warm, the sunset was amazing, and Kate seemed to be getting into character.
"Kate we're starting!" he shouted to her from behind the camera. She was still gazing distantly at the horizon. He began to shout her name again, but stopped abruptly. He looked at the screen.
"Should I go get her?" one of the cameraman asked.
"Wait," David said slowly. "Just point that camera at this angle." He pointed towards Kate.
"Ok, quiet on the set everyone!" David said, waving his hand to the crew behind him.
"Marker."
"And…action," David said, but unnecessarily. He watched the screen closely. The camera panned across the ocean and came to land on Kate. She was still looking dreamily across the sea. "Cut! That's perfect!" David exclaimed excitedly. It jolted Kate.
"What? What's happening?" she said confusedly.
"Ok, another shot people!" Robert shouted to the crew.
"That was great, Kate!" David said appreciatively. "Now, can you do the same thing, one more time, but this time walk slowly towards the water?"
Kate still looked bewildered. "You were filming?"
"Yes…" David replied, now confused himself. "What do you mean?"
"Nevermind."
David shrugged and went back to the camera. They did three more shots, all of them wonderful, but Kate didn't seem to have the same aura around her as she had the first time.
A/N: Thanks soooo much for all the reviews! You guys are the greatest! (sorry, too lazy to write out all the names, but you know who you are!!) Sorry for the long delay in getting this chapter out, but it's finally our February break (too bad it's half over) so hopefully the next chapter will be out sooner! Please continue to review, because it's always nice to know that somebody's reading the story! Thanks!