A/N: Wow. Sorry that took like 3 months (: I haven't updated anything in forever. I'm wicked sorry! I had finals, then all my camps, and I've been attempting to do my AP homework. And I'm officially addicted to Law and Order SVU now (I've watched 6 seasons in under a month. It's sad) But anyways, here it is, ch. 5! I promise another chapter by Labor Day (but the more reviews the faster it'll come :) And Laurie and Cassie work at the magazine, Ferguson is the guy who plays Chad's best friend on the show. I don't if that really is his characters name, but that's what they had on the website. Lastly, thanks to xxHeadInTheStarsxx, 0Twisted-Symphony9, and DiceRox09 for reviewing every chapter.
now enough rambling...
Disclaimer: I don't own SWAC, Selena Gomez, Hollywood, or Mackenzie Falls. I do own Cassie and Laurie, though (:
Chapter 5
The young assistant stood behind the Mackenzie Falls sign next to the cafeteria, recording every second of the interaction. Maybe now Laurie would actually trust her with a real assignment…
The tape stopped playing, and the silence bounced off the glass walls of Laurie's office. She continued to stare out over the Hollywood horizon, despite the lack of new information.
Finally she turned around to face the small, dark haired girl. After giving her assistant a look over, she cracked an overdue smile.
"Very good, Cassie," complimented the usually stern woman. "The first reliable bit of gossip I've heard all day."
"Thanks," Cassie smiled shyly, turning red.
"Well, I'll send it to Andrew or Sarah right away. We can print it on this week's new cover. While all the other magazines are running stories about Hollywood's new princess, I'll be the first to tear her down," she snickered. The cold look in her eyes made Cassie avert her eyes to the ground. Her boss never failed to scare her.
"And it'll be the very first time you get to be a "confidential source," Laurie added, snapping out of her short moment of ecstasy.
"Yeah," Cassie sighed. When she walked into the office, she had been hoping for something more than simply being a confidential source.
Cassie decided to risk asking Laurie. It wasn't like her current job of fetching coffees and picking up press passes wasn't totally rewarding (not), she just wanted something more.
Like a byline.
"Listen, Laurie, I was thinking, maybe we should spend some more time on this story," Cassie proposed hesitantly as Laurie turned and focused her hard glare into Cassie's skull.
"More time?" Laurie repeated. "Why would we need more time?"
"Well, I was just thinking," Cassie said before slowing down to a halt. She gulped down her fears, spitting out, "MaybeIcoulddosomemoresnoopingaroundandfindoutexactlywhatthescoopis?"
Laurie looked at her with a blank expression. It was clear she had no understood a single word Cassie had just rambled.
"I just think that we could spend some more time gathering background information, since we are the only magazine that knows about anything. We could come out with a huge story, and be the ones to spill everything," Cassie explained, hoping Laurie wouldn't chop her head off. Or fire her.
Laurie swiveled her chair around, as was custom whenever she was mulling over any type of proposal. After a few minute of silence, she abruptly stood up and walked over to the window. Her stilettos clacking on her marble floor, she motioned for Cassie to follow.
"You have 2 weeks to get me the entire scoop, and to write a scathing expose on how America's new It Girl isn't so clean after all. If it's up to our standards, it'll run as front page news and you'll be promoted," she explained, her gaze never wavering from some distant building.
"You fail to find me something decent, you're chances of ever becoming a journalist are as about as high as me cleaning that building," she threatened, pointing to a ratty 5-story building in the shady section of the city. "And that will probably be your new occupation if you fail. Now go."
Chad was staring at himself in the mirror, trying to cheer himself up. "Come on, Chad," he whispered to himself. "You look gorgeous."
He didn't know why, but something about being with Sonny got him so riled up. He couldn't tell whether to punch her, or make out with her.
His thoughts were interrupted as Ferguson walked the door. "Hey man, I heard you totally scored last night at the TCA after party!" He congratulated, putting his fist up to pound Chad's.
"Yeah, totally, man," Chad replied, fist bumping his costar.
"You gonna spill or what?" Ferguson asked after a few awkward moments of silence. "Normally you come in here bragging the minute you arrive…"
"I don't think you want to know," Chad stalled, not wanting to reveal that he had hooked up with a Random.
"And what would make you think that? Come on, man, give me something already! I completely struck out last night," he whined, trying to make Chad tell him out of pity.
"Fine," Chad sighed. "It was that new girl from So Random. Sonny," he admitted, expecting shrieks of laughter.
Ferguson shrugged his shoulders. "What's so bad about that? She's hot for a random," he joked, punching Chad playfully in the shoulder.
She's not hot, Chad thought to himself. She's gorgeous. "Umm, yeah," he stuttered. "But when you're me, why settle for a random, right?" He joked, glad to get out of the situation.
"Definitely, man. Got to run, but I'll see you at filming tomorrow," Ferguson started to walk out the door. He added something about luck and a date and Chad smiled, just wanting to be rid of his friend.
When he heard the door click shut, he sunk into his arm chair. He had a serious problem to deal with if he thought one of the Randoms was gorgeous.
Fuming, I had returned to my dressing room after a while to find an expectant Tawni.
"What do you even want, Tawni?" I asked her curtly; I was in no mood to deal with the blonde.
"Where have you been?" she demanded. "And what where you talking to Chad about?"
I breathed deeply, debating what I should tell her. Before I could make a decision, though, I heard mooing and had to pick up my phone.
"Your ring tone is a cow mooing?" Tawni asked in disbelief while I mouthed at her to shut up.
"Hello," I said, picking up the phone from the unknown caller.
"Hey Sonny! It's Selena," the caller said.
"Oh, hey, Selena, what's up?" I replied, wondering how she had gotten my phone number.
"You know Selena Gomez?!" Tawni asked in disbelief, and again I mouthed for her to shut up.
"Well, I had to guest star in some show today and it turned out the lot was right near So Random's, and I was wondering if you wanted to go grab some coffee or something," she explained.
"Umm, yeah, sure, I'll meet you outside the lot in five," I said, hanging up. How had I gone from Wisconsin's good girl to friends with Selena and a fling with Chad in less that a week?
We sat at a table at a local coffee shop. Selena had opted for some sort of coffee-mocha-latte-cappuccino thing. The menu confused me, so I just ordered some green tea.
"So how'd the first day on set go?" Selena asked, sipping her steaming hot beverage.
"Not exactly the way I'd planned," I sighed, and she urged me to go on. "I ran into Chad, who I might have been involved with last night," I squeaked out, remembering her disapproval. "And then I found out that I'm supposed to hate him. Mackenzie falls is our rival or something like that."
She nodded at the last part but I could tell she was more interested in what happened with Chad. "So you might have been involved with Chad last night?"
"We kind of hooked up in a spare room," I confessed. "Trust me, it's not what you're thinking, though. We didn't sleep together," I hurriedly added after I saw her face.
"That's not so bad, then," she mused. "Didn't you say something about another guy? Mike? Mitchell?"
"Matt," I answered reluctantly. "I caught him cheating on me a few weeks ago."
"I'm sorry," she said quickly. "Did last night help?"
"Nope," I admitted. "Just made it worse."
"Well that sucks," she said, sipping more of her coffee. "But trust me, you aren't the only one who did something with Chad that they regret."
