Limes With Lipstick
'He said take me down to hell
Because I think I'd fit in well.'
Chapter Three: Captain Australia
It was Saturday, one of the only days that she was not required to see Jared Leto, although lines of communication still had remain opened to him. She found her phone buried under one of her pillows. She had turned it off for the night and struggled to find reason to turn it back on again. She picked a good day to argue with him, what with not having to see him for two whole days.
That argument, if an argument was what you would call it…
She closed her eyes tightly, overcome with the embarrassment from last night. "Oh, I'm so stupid. Why am I so stupid? He's in character as a psycho and I choose now to fuck with him?"
If she were to be completely honest with herself, Jared had come off as cold since the very beginning of their short employer – employee relationship. The only time he appeared to be warm was when he was on stage in front of his fans. There was no question that he genuinely cared for and appreciated them.
She skimmed her fingers along the side of her neck where he'd touched her. It was like a ghost wound, still tingling, and burning from the memory of it.
Gee's advice was required. She took out her Surface Pro and logged into Skype. Her friend answered on the fifth ring.
She laughed, "You're still alive? Nice to know that Jared Leto didn't kill you the other day."
"I need rule number one of celebrity dating."
"Okay, well, that shit is short-lived," Gee said, snorting with a roll of her eyes. "It's like shopping for a designer bag or watch. Dating to them is like acquiring a new accessory, etcetera, etcetera…"
"Not that one – fine, then. Rule number two of celebrity dating."
"Celebrities only date each other. I mean, there have been a few exceptions here and there, but…" There was a long pause, which was unnatural for Gee. "Holy wow, okay, it's only been two months, and you're already under his thrall?"
"Thrall? What thrall…"
"Shut the fuck up, bitch. It's Jared Leto. He has a thrall over women and men. It's some Dracula aged shit."
She rolled her eyes, "I don't see him like that."
"Then why am I reciting from the celebrity dating handbook?"
"That's not even a real thing. It's just common knowledge, but I needed to hear you to say it."
"Look, just because he won't date you, doesn't mean he won't fuck you."
She shot up from the chair like she'd won bingo, "Thank you! There we go. I'm disposable. He'll never take me seriously. There's no need to feel anything. I'll just do my job and elude his advances, if he's even trying to…advance upon me…"
"My advice was going to be to go for it, but alright, that works too."
"Good talk!" She hung up abruptly and closed down her tablet to start her morning routine. She sliced up the fruit and stuck it in the fridge for breakfast. It would be perfect for after her run. She tied up her hair and went out the door. Crew members moved about the venue busily, getting ready for their first official day of filming.
There was a semi-visible trail that she followed. It would be a good distance there and back. When she returned, she ate her frozen fruit and showered off the sweat. She found her favorite pair of pajamas and reserved the afternoon for reading. Maybe she would even snoop around the venue to look for the food stations.
A knock on the trailer door startled her, as she wondered who it could be. Sure, it was Jared's trailer, but he made sure that everyone knew that he wouldn't be residing in it. Or maybe it was Jared himself, which only made things more difficult. She was in a loose tank top and a small pair of shorts.
Despite her apprehension, she found herself opening the door. The six-foot-one Australian from yesterday was standing there. Jai Courtney smiled broadly at her when she answered. He didn't seem surprised to see her there.
"Mr. Courtney." She stepped down from the trailer, instantly noticing the height difference. "Jared isn't here."
He laughed, pointing over his shoulder with his thumb, "He's here. Just not here, here."
She blinked a few times. Did she just hear him correctly? "Here in Toronto, yes."
"No, I mean, I just saw him in makeup twenty minutes ago. In fact, I have to head back on over there, but I saw you jog on by not too long ago. I figured I'd ask before we begin shooting. Are you going to Will's bash later?"
She shook her head, "Probably not. That seems more like a co-star thing."
"My assistant will be there. He deserves to party for all the work he does. I'm sure Jared feels the same way."
"What is it that I feel?" asked the familiar voice, chilling her to the bone. This is what she was afraid of, meeting him after what had transpired last night out of her own stupidity.
Jai turned to regard Jared, "That this girl deserves to go to Will's party."
She could feel Jared's eyes on her, burning through her skin, as if daring her to meet his gaze. The tension between them grew thick and she wanted to hide behind Jai's massive body just to escape.
Jared asked her, mock-genuinely, "Why don't you join us?"
She looked up at him then, seeing him in the full Joker attire. She could see where they had derived the look from the comics and made it their own. Did his shirt have to be unbuttoned? Pale skin stood out against the dark makeup, blue eyes ablaze with silent amusement as he watched her squirm. His green hair was slicked back and although he appeared to be kind towards her in front of Jai, he was being cruel.
"Because it's my day off."
He didn't move his eyes from her, as his jaw set firmly. He wanted to see her on her knees, because that is what she deserved. All of her reservations towards him meant nothing, until she was sorry. She should be begging for his forgiveness.
Jai took her by the hand, holding it between his own. "Please!"
She nodded slowly, still unsure despite the fact that her mouth was moving. "Okay. I'll go."
If she could get past the ominous feeling that something bad was going to happen, she might've been able to enjoy the fact that Jai Courtney was being sweet on her. Unfortunately, the dark cloud standing off to the side with its arms crossed was too busy making her wish the ground would swallow her whole.
"Cute pajamas by the way," Jai said and winked at her as he walked away. "See you later!"
She expected Jared to advise against it, to tell her that it wasn't appropriate, but he didn't. Instead, he left without another word. But how come it still felt like it wasn't okay?
There was nothing to wear and she refused to walk around in heels on her day off. So, she settled for a large shirt, a pair of leggings, and her black Creepers. There were too many tall people around anyway. Not like the platform shoes would save her much in height. She tied her hair into a French braid and headed out.
It was fairly easy to tell which trailer belonged to Will Smith. All she had to do was follow the music. There were beach chairs and strings of party lights. It took her right back to her college days when they used to go camping. There was a table lined with bottles of hard liquor and coolers filled with cans of beer.
She spotted one of the assistants away from the music, still dressed in casual clothing. It felt only right to join them.
"Staying sober, huh?" She asked, trying to make an attempt at small-talk.
"You have no idea how difficult it is. I want to steal one of those coolers and find myself a hole." A young looking guy with glasses and frizzy hair reached out his hand towards her. "My name is Clark. I'm Jai Courtney's assistant."
She shook his hand, "I think you should definitely have a drink. Jai seems pretty chill."
"He's a real teddy bear," he said, but didn't seem too happy about it. "You're Jared Leto's assistant, right? What's it like working for him?"
"You know, it's uh…sorta like meeting Willy Wonka and going inside the chocolate factory with your bedridden grandfather. He takes you to that room and it's edible and full of songs and mystery. Or you know, it's very much like Disneyland. You never lose that child-like wonder." She grabbed two beers and handed one to Clark. "If I died and went to Heaven, working for Jared is that Heaven."
"You are so full of shit," He laughed, "How much does he pay you to say that?"
She shrugged, "Enough."
Where was Jared anyway? She scanned her eyes around the area, while doing a horrible job at keeping up conversation. She'd finally found him. He was sitting with his co-stars, nursing his drink. He must've washed off his own makeup in a hurry, eyes still smudged with black, and lips stained a deep red. He was talking to some beautiful blond woman who she didn't identify as Margot Robbie.
"She looks like a cheerleader," she murmured, taking a long swig of her beer.
"There you are! Clarkie, I see you've met Jared Leto's lovely assistant." Jai was there, hoisting her up by her hand as if to show her off. Her laugh was purposeful, trying to attract a certain someone's attention. With her back faced towards him she'd never be able to tell.
"Am I not lovely?" Clark asked and they waited for something – anything. Jai could have just agreed and went on his merry way, but he didn't.
Let the metaphorical crickets do their chirping...
"Right, mate. I'm going to go take this girl for a spin." She followed after the brute, sparing Clark a sympathetic look, as she was dragged out onto the grass where other couples were dancing.
She could smell the alcohol on his breath, intoxicating, and warm. He was already drunk. She could tell by the red in his face. Despite his inebriated state, he remained gentlemanly and playful. He didn't close the space between them, but instead held onto her hands and twirled her about.
"Darling, I don't think you quite understand what that laugh is doing to me," he confessed with a slur, his accent thick. She steadied her hands on his massive arms and stared up at him.
"Your laugh is pretty great, too." Was this flirting? What the hell was this… whatever it was, it was foreign to her. She shouldn't be dancing and laughing. She should be sulking over by Clark, waiting for sempai to notice her.
The blond seated next to Jared Leto was easy prey. He could have her, sloshed or not – which he was not at the present. He'd been sipping from the same cup since he arrived, keeping himself alert. He was a moody drunk and found himself to already be agitated. His assistant was starting to get to him, which wasn't an easy feat. He could take it out on the woman next to him. He could have her thighs around his waist. He could be driving into her and succumbing to his habits for another night.
Then there was Jai fucking Courtney, even the name offended him. Jared saw her beside him. She was a true disaster, like a walking retrograde. She was pure and naïve, oblivious to what men must've saw in her. They would want to destroy her. Looking at her now, he wanted to tear her apart from beneath him.
But Jai had his hands on her and he was making her laugh. And she said yes to him. She was at the party for Jai and not for Jared and that was a damn shame. He didn't wear jealousy very well, especially when it was for no other reason, than to be territorial. He couldn't stand it and before he knew what he was doing, he was up on his feet, and walking across the grass.
He didn't ask for permission. He did not even inform the two of his presence. He simply grabbed her by the wrist and pulled her away.
"I need to speak with her for a moment," Jared barely managed to get out, before he brought her behind the trailer. It was dark from not being near the lights anymore, but they could still make each other out.
"Let's finish last night's conversation – now. We're at the part where you apologize."
She laughed, incredulously, "Are you kidding me? You're the one who should be apologizing. Do you even recall the things you insinuated?"
"I was no more out of line, than you were. That reminds me, your phone was off today. The studio needed me on set and couldn't get a hold of you, and so they called me. You know how your job works, right?"
"It's my day off and I wasn't near my phone." Well, there's lie number two, which wasn't as easy to prove, than the first one.
"You keep saying that like it's supposed to matter. I'm beginning to think that I was too gracious in giving you those days off. Everyone else had their assistant right beside them during filming." He would take away what little air she had left to breathe. "I'm revoking your privileges."
Her heart started to race in panic, "You mean our agreement. You can't do that."
"I allowed you to have those two days to yourself. Now I'm disallowing it." He was lenient, because he thought that he wouldn't need her. Now he realized what a mistake he'd made in giving her such freedom. Plus, he knew that she was lying.
"You can't – please!" And to hell with dignity or whatever else it was that she was holding on to, because she needed those days to herself. "I'm sorry, Jared. I was wrong."
"Now that I've finally heard your apology..." He stepped closer to her, leaning down to speak against her ear. She felt his breath against her skin and shivered involuntarily. "…it sounds cheap."
"Why are you doing this to me?" She whispered softly and turned her face towards him, missing his lips by mere inches.
"You're my assistant. I'm making sure that you haven't forgotten what that means." He looked over towards the party. "And stay away from Jai. He's a bit handsy if you couldn't tell."
"And so are you." Why was she still speaking?
"I'll try to be more mindful." He wasn't used to such a request, but it would be easy enough. Most of his instinctual grabbing and flirtatious behavior had become habitual, a part of who he was. He'd hurt people by being himself, leading them on, and then treating them like they didn't exist. He could treat her like she was nothing.
"Thank you."
He emptied his cup onto the grass. "Drive me to the hotel. I'm tired."
"Sir," she said, as she walked beside him to the car. It was a long walk in silence, but at least their argument had been over. Unfortunately, she'd lost her days off in the process with no apology from him, and was left with zero dignity.
One thing was certain, tomorrow would be a living hell.
TBC
