Charlie,
While I hated admitting it, Hera was probably right to sneak us in under the cover as the kids three actors couldn't get out of babysitting. Security was tight, and they were even tighter as we got closer and closer to Breanna Blue's dressing room, our target.
Demigod and human security guards formed a perimeter around the area set up for screening, which I understood. But they were also in the crowd, watching to make sure we were all good around Hollywood's current princess. Some of them strayed off topic, flirting with the young interns or playing on their smartphones.
For all they knew, their worst fear was a rabid fan wanting an autograph and to know if Breanna really dumped Matthew Hamming, a well-known singer who wrote the hit single, Baby Blue, about Breanna Blue. It skyrocketed both of their careers, and rumors had been going about after a big fight in an LA club and countless sources announced they had split afterwards, though they hadn't said anything about it.
And we were trying to steal a priceless ruby necklace.
Luckily though, Aiden and I seemed to fit into the scenery, looking like random extras in the preppy chef movie. Chester, the Dark Prince, stuck out like a sore thumb though. No matter what I tried, I couldn't hide him.
It was hard to sneak around with the two of them together especially though. Chester had a stride, his aviators perched on his nose and his awareness that people noticed him. Aiden had his spine rigid and his face was all business. And I was in between the two, nondescript in between such handsome guys and surrounded by beautiful actresses.
I was so busy studying the security guards that I didn't notice a young blonde assistant walking up to us until Chester stopped and I almost ran into him. I followed his eyes to the woman, and my stomach fell to my feet from the way she was looking at us.
It was already over…
"Where are you going?"
I was paralyzed. I expected Chester to say something, but his mouth was shut. And Aiden was thinking of something to say.
Then she spoke again.
"If you guys are extras in the restaurant scene, you need to be on set now unless you want your job going to someone else," she crossed her arms, and I felt sick as I remained frozen. She looked to each of us like a mother looking to her kids for them to rat out which one of them messed up the kitchen.
"I am not an extra," Aiden glared at her, and my eyes flew to him.
He had changed from the quiet soldier lost in thought to the persona of a rich, spoiled son of Hollywood.
"I am Aiden Blue. I am your boss's nephew, not an extra. Apparently, you spend too much time reading US Weekly instead of Hello! I am the star of The Darkness, only the second best TV show in Europe right now. I just stopped here with my friends to see my cousin," Aiden gave her a nasty look as if planning how to rave about her on his blog or get her fired.
The assistant's jaw dropped, and she quickly apologized, though Aiden made it clear he wasn't accepting it.
"Save your breath, and don't tell Breanna, alright? I am trying to surprise her, and you better not ruin that, too."
She nodded quickly and asked if he needed anything again, though he quickly shook her off.
"Will you excuse me and my friends?" he looked at her, putting his hand on my shoulder as if to guide me away, and I couldn't help it. I looked at him with such thankfulness and happiness that I must have looked like a mesmerized fan he brought along for the day to the assistant.
"Oh of course, Mr. Blue. Her dressing room is actually in that back building," the woman pointed, "If you need anything, and I do mean anything, don't hesitate to ask me or anyone working here on the set."
Aiden's face stayed the same, and he gave her a look of distain before beginning to lead me away, and Chester followed quickly. Aiden's face stayed straight, but he cracked a grin a few feet later. And Chester looked at him, still not liking him but he had new found respect for him.
"That was awesome," he smiled.
"Thanks. Come on," he lead us on, and I kept smiling, though something in me didn't exactly like when his arm was no longer around me. It was clear when we were getting towards Breanna's dressing room because the security guards became more buff and much more observant.
Sons of Mars, I could tell immediately, and my spine straightened, my hands digging into the pockets of my jeans.
They were all working towards wherever Breanna was though, thinking no one would make it in much less get into her dressing room, and there was only one left by her dressing room. But his eyes were trained on a pretty young make-up artist talking on her cell phone.
Chester smiled wide, a plan forming in his devious black eyes.
"I've got this one," he walked towards the guard, a smirk on his lips, and he began to talk to him, occasionally pointing at the young woman. We moved to where we could see him but he would have to be really looking to see us.
"Oh my gods, he's seriously telling him to go hit on the girl," I laughed, and Aiden watched, though he didn't seem that happy that his triumph now seemed to be forgotten.
The guard nodded with a big smile and started towards her, but no one could beat Chester's smile as he waved us towards.
"Let's get this over with," Aiden walked faster, and his hand twitched, like he wanted to take my hand and pull me along but ended up not doing it. I followed after him, and I was hurrying up the stairs to the door with a big blue Breanna Blue written in bulk letters.
I was opening the door when Chester suddenly shoved me and I fell through the door way, Aiden about to kill him.
"Crap, she's coming. Hide," Aiden hurried me in, slamming the door behind him as he ran off to hide for himself.
My eyes quickly looked around the dressing room. Everything was sapphire blue and crème, right down to the hangers holding up the clothing in the open closet. I heard her platform heels on the stairs, and I jumped into the closet instinctively, hiding in the very edge behind a baby blue maxi dress and a red robe.
"No, Baby, really, I adore it. I know I like blue, but red really suits me. It was soo sweet for you to get that for me. I know that commitment isn't really your thing, and it you showed that we really have it," someone was talking on their phone, her voice full of Southern Sweetness.
I held my breath, and my heart did a tap dance as the other door to the closet open and she riffled through scarves on the other edge.
She picked up a navy scarf, and she slammed the door again, still talking on her phone.
"Sounds wonderful, Darling. I have to go, I need to be on set. Kiss, kiss," I heard the sounds of make-up moving around on a table, and the walking stopped when I heard the thud of a box opening.
She let out a gasp.
"It's beautiful. I knew Zeus was a better choice than Matthew. I don't care if mom doesn't like it," Breanna's voice was smug and full of pride with the conquest of such a powerful lover and such a wonderful gift.
Found it, I smiled to myself.
"Bye, my little rubies, I will see you later," she spoke like she was taking to her child, and the door close, which was followed by the sound of her heels walking out the door and down the stairs.
I hurried out of the closet, and I raced to the navy blue box with Breanna written in sapphires on her desk. I popped the top, and, all alone, there was the ruby necklace. Even I had to stop and marvel. It was unbelievably beautiful…
No wonder both the goddess and Breanna Blue wanted it so much.
I almost felt guilty for putting such a beautiful necklace in my pocket instead of a grand case, but I did it anyway. And I hurried out of the dressing room and kept walking until I found where Chester and Aiden were hiding.
"You got it?"
"Got it."
Noah,
"They really have chemistry," a screenwriter said, "We should add in a kiss or something."
We had been waiting on Breanna Blue for what felt like an eternity, and I was beginning to wonder if we would even be in this movie or if Charlie would luckily get the necklace and let us leave. For the last twenty minutes, they had been watching me and Kate in our chairs. They tried to keep it a secret, but their thoughts became words soon after.
"When though?" another asked, and I would have blushed. But I had heard it so much that I couldn't even think about it even more. Sam finished up filming and had disappeared with a hot make-up artist soon after. Kate and I were still impatiently waiting, occasionally stopping to talk to each other, though we kept our conversations very bland in front of everyone.
"Well, you know, when they are walking up the stairs to the house."
"It feels kind of forced there."
"Well, we could have like an extra scene maybe of them kissing and close-up on Breanna as she wishes she has something like that."
I wanted to moan at the thought of another scene.
"We could, I guess. But I think we're good."
The other writer shrugged and leaned back in their chair, craning her neck to look for Breanna for the millionth time.
And then her eyes widened.
"She's here."
Kate and I both looked back, and I was shocked.
I didn't see much of Brenna Blue, not reading magazines or watching a whole lot of TV, but I had gone to see her big role with my younger sister, Charlie. She was playing the dark vampire with dark make-up and brooding blue eyes. Her hair had been fashioned mostly in a blonde bun, and she wore leather pants and red shirts against her paled skin. She was more of hot and sexy than beautiful and sweet.
But the transformation was definitely there.
She was in what I assumed was costume, but it was also her usual style as the pictures on some of the magazines laying around suggested. Her blonde hair was perfect and wavy. Her eyes were a piercing and sweet blue, and she had a bubbly but also sexy air to her. She was wearing a pair of tight jeans a glittery white top, a navy blue scarf laying nonchalantly on her neck. And she was smiling wide.
"I am so sorry I'm late. ZuZu just couldn't get off the phone, and what can I say? I am a hopeless romantic, I can't put down the phone!" she smiled wide.
ZuZu.
It felt weird to hear her call the king of the gods ZuZu.
She walked over to us, and Kate and I stood.
"Oh my God, you're playin' my little sister! I can feel the sisterly love already!" her voice was full of an accent so sweet it almost hurt your teeth.
"I'm Kate," Kate smiled, and Breanna's eyes moved to me.
"Aren't you that soccer player from New York? My God, you are even hotter in person! The pictures don't do you near enough justice!" she touched my arm, and I recognized the look in her eyes as the flirty look daughter's of Aphrodite had perfected.
I suddenly understood why Kate had been so mesmerized by Apollo's compliments. I felt something strong for Kate, yes. But Breanna was a superstar actress who could have anyone she wanted, even the King of the Gods! And she thought I was attractive.
"I'm Noah," I smiled back at her.
"I'm Breanna Blue. But call me Bre," she twirled her hair.
Kate trained in on her, and the director quickly broke us up to begin filming.
Breanna seemed to take me under her wing as an apprentice, forgetting about the "sisterly love" she had mentioned earlier with Kate. And Kate watched her, her grey eyes full of fire. I tried to stay out of her stares, though I could feel the daggers without even looking.
It was especially hard when the scene began and Kate and I had to hold hands and act lovey dovey.
Though Kate kept it up, she was squeezing my hand so hard that I almost winced.
"And action!"
Kate and I walked together, pretending to be drunk off each other, which I kind of was, and we walked up the stairs to the bakery that Breanna's character owned.
Breanna walked down the stairs of the bakery and smiled wide at us though the glass. She managaed a little mini run to the door, where she wrapped Kate up in a hug and pulled off a sister who missed her baby sister immensely.
"Oh my God, look at you! It's been forever since I've seen you. When you ran off to California with this little trouble maker!" Breanna smiled at me, and I realized those weren't the lines. She was supposed to ask about the tri. But Kate kept it going anyway.
"I didn't run off to California, Ally. I went to college and stayed there," Kate filled her eyes with love and put on a smile.
"Fine, fine, let's catch up anyway."
Kate smiled and nodded, looking back to me.
"Do you mind hanging out alone for a while?"
Since we were all making it up anyway, I shrugged with a smile.
"No, have fun."
Kate smiled, but her eyes quickly filled with a plan, and she kissed my cheek and smiled goodbye before she and Breanna walked out of the camera's view and I walked into the bakery building.
"Cut!"
Breanna and Kate stopped walking towards a park and turned back to the director and the steaming script writers.
"Those weren't your lines, Breanna."
"I was taking creative license. I'm an artist, I feel my character's emotions. I am my character. And that was what my character would have said. And Katy and Noah here carried it off perfectly."
Kate's eyes had gone from the sweet loving sister back to glaring.
"My name is Kate."
The screenwriter looked at the director, silently demanding he make her do it the right way. But the director looked tired of the beautiful starlet and shrugged.
"It worked, Vicky."
"But mine was better!"
"But this will work. That's a wrap, get ready for the next scene."
"That's the last one for me."
"Really" Breanna pouted, "It is?"
"Afraid so."
"But you'll be coming along, right?" Breanna looked back, and Kate's jaw tightened.
"Yeah, Noah's my ride home. So he kind of has to stick around," Kate crossed her arms, and Breanna took notice of her dig, though still being nice.
"Well then come on, Noah," Breanna smiled.
Kate,
I felt my blood boil as I watched Breanna and Noah together.
Breanna Blue was the perfect girl. She was friendly and full with southern hospitality and a sweet voice that you wanted to hear all the time. She was seemingly humble, and she was definitely good at showing her feelings towards people. And she was beautiful…absolutely beautiful…
I found myself squeezing a pencil until it snapped under the pressure and went into my hand, making me let out a girly wimper.
I brushed off the broken pieces, and I straightened my spine, trying my hardest not to look. But it was like a train wreck.
You know not to look. You know it would hurt your heart. And you know that only idiots are the ones to stop and stare near the danger.
But you couldn't help it…
And I particularly couldn't, not now. Especially when it came to Noah.
My eyes stayed glued to the two of them, sitting on a nearby bench. They were in a conversation about who-knows-what, but I doubted it was anything serious or thought provoking because it was with Breanna. Her hand kept touching his shoulder, and it made me sick every time she did it. A laugh kept coming out, and even her laughs were beautiful.
I kept trying to think of something to prove to myself that this was nothing. But there was only an age difference of two years, and Noah was a very mature twenty year old. He lived in NY and her in LA, but it could be worked out. And they were both known and loved by teen girls, insanely gorgeous, and perfect…
I tried to memorize my lines as they set up for the scene, our final thing to do, but my eyes couldn't stay on the paper.
Not when she was flipping her hair like that!
My stomach twisted, and I began to wonder if Noah had felt anything like this when it came to Apollo's constant flirting. If he had, I felt immense guilt that almost smothered me.
But, even more, I suddenly felt… inferior.
Yes, Apollo wanted me. But Zeus wanted her. I was pretty, but she was voted one of the prettiest women in Hollywood. I was talented, but mine stayed on my laptop. She was famous for her talent
And right now, she had his attention. I did not.
No, I was in a chair holding a script while she was flirting with the guy I had been in love with basically since I was a child.
I suddenly felt that feeling to run away again, to not talk to him But it was so much worse now, I could never pretend to get away from it. I knew I would feel this pounding pain forever, and I didn't want to…
I was farther in, too far in. I couldn't just let go like I wanted to…
"Breanna, we need to get ready to shoot," the director called out, and Breanna said goodbye to Noah before walking her annoying perfect strut towards us.
She even walks perfect…
Jealously flooded me, and I had to keep my eyes on the director.
We already shot a scene of us walking arm-in-arm to a park, and now I had to have the announcement of being engaged and giving her a big speech about love.
Fun…
"Are you guys ready?" an assistant asked, and we nodded.
"Alright then, let's get you in place," they began to move us around to wear we were sitting on a bench, Breanna holding a cup of coffee, and they put the engagement ring in the pocket of my jeans.
I mentally reviewed my speech, and Breanna applied another layer of red lipstick and smiled at me.
"And action!"
Breanna smiled like she really was my sister asking about how I was.
"So, are you regretting moving in with Austin yet?" Breanna laughed, "I mean, I know you two like each other a lot and everything, but everyone needs their space. Especially you! God, it was horrible to have to share a bathroom with you when we were kids. You tried to kill me with hairdryer."
I laughed like we were friends and very close.
"You survived!"
"Barely!"
I kept laughing.
"Well, it's going well. Really well actually. And I don't like him, Al. I love him."
"You're twenty-five, and you've been with him since you were nineteen. You don't really know what you want, Sara."
"Ally-"
"No, I know you think you love him. But do you really? If he really loves you, he will let you get out there and see what you want."
"But I know what I want!"
"You're so young."
"You are two years older than me, not twenty, Ally."
"I'm not saying that-"
"Ally," I stopped her, "I love this man, we're buying a house! And, well…"
I closed my eyes, and I reached inside my pocket.
"I wanted to tell you in a different way, but…" I slipped on the ring, and she gasped.
"Oh my God, you're engaged!"
I nodded and smiled wide.
It was hard to call upon that love I needed to have in this line about how my character got engaged until I looked at Noah and thought about how I would look if I was telling my sister that he had just proposed to me. And suddenly, it was there.
"It was our anniversary. We were just getting home from dinner, and I found this last box in the closet. And you know how I am wanting to unpack the boxes, and he knew I would be that way. So, I went to the kitchen to open it, and there it was. There were towels on the bottom but red tissue paper on top with this ring box, and I gasped and turned around. And Austin was on one knee! And he asked me to marry him," I wiped away a fake tear.
"That's," Breanna easily passed for the supportive but jealous sister, "amazing, Sara. I didn't realize you two were like that."
She wrapped me up in a hug.
"But, don't take this the wrong way at all, aren't you worried that you are selling your life too short? That you would miss out on all these opportunities and really grow your career and everything? Marriage is a big step, its settling down."
"I mean, yeah, we're settling down, but it's not like we are going to suddenly become middle aged people who hate their life. I love him, and he loves me. And I want to marry him, I really do. I don't want to put love on hold so that I can do other stuff, I want him with me."
I looked to Noah again.
"I fell in love with my best friend. I know everything about him, and I still love him. I have seen him at his worst, but I still adore him."
My eyes focused in on Breanna again.
"Honestly, are you telling me that I should give that up so I can have the single life you have?"
Breanna hesitated and shook her head.
"Wow…. I really didn't know you loved him like that."
"You've never really asked. You always assumed he was just that guy I was dating because I didn't want to be alone."
"I didn't think that!"
"Please, you used to always tell me that I shouldn't fear life alone and cling to Austin for support."
"Fine, I did think that a little."
Breanna pouted.
"Oh God, you aren't having the pity thing where you feel bad because you're younger sister is getting married first, right? I will stick you at the single's table if you do that."
"No, no, it's just…" Breanna looked to the side, "Do you think I push people away?"
I nodded.
"You're afraid to be in love with someone because you are afraid of hurt."
I took a breath.
"After dad left and married Sandy in Florida, we lived with mom, and you had to watch her cope through that pain. She had given up the possibility of a career to marry him right out of college, and you were afraid to end up like her…"
"I just, I think I found the guy and may have screwed things up."
"It's never too late, Ally."
Breanna smiled and nodded.
"I gotta go make this right. Do you mind going back to the house alone?"
"No, go ahead."
Breanna hugged me, and she was off to have the big confrontation with the male lead.
"And cut!"
The director declared that it was perfect, and Breanna pouted, wanting to have Noah around for more. She made him promise that he would meet her for coffee when she was in New York next month, and Noah made the promise with a smile, which still made my blood boil.
She kissed his cheek, and it wasn't long before she was off for make-up for another scene.
A few assistants and interns bid us farewell, and I had never been more excited to get out of someplace in my life. Noah and I were about to split up to go find Charlie and the others, but we found the four others from our party waiting for us by the gate.
"How'd it go?" Charlie asked.
"Well, it's no classic, but it was okay. How'd it go with you?" I answered before Noah could start on about Breanna Blue. I knew he would talk about it with Sam and that it would be more perverted than I would like to think, but I refused to hear it.
"We got the necklace," Charlie smiled wide.
