Disclaimer: Please refer to chapter one.
:}
Tori peeked over her lovers shoulder, trying to read a few lines from the girls latest project. "So, whats this?" She wondered.
"I'm trying to script doctor a love scene." The pale girl groaned. "Only, we have a major disagreement on exactly what constitutes romantic. They want this chiz, the whole 'I'll die without him' trope. Only I know, from experience, just how little an incomplete person can be."
Tori sighed. 'Yep, this again.' She thought, chiding herself for getting involved with her current girlfriend and long term projects writing. "Just give them what they want." She told her lover. "It's not like they're gonna put your name on the fudging movie. Hell, I recall you all but rewrote a movie, and then weren't even in the extraneous peoples part of the credits. My blue eyed girl was so mad…."
"I did rewrite that garbage, and deserved a writers credit." Jade protested. "But no, I'm not a writer, but a script doctor. I come in and save a project, change the movie to please everyone involved, or at least the people with the authority to make changes, then I find myself outside looking in when the fruits of my labor win some critics approval." She deflated, her rage shifting to the current problem. "But if the stories a stinker, who do you think the industry blames? Me! Not the mental midget who wrote the piece, or maybe the so called writer who adapted someone else's work, but me. And yea, the public, they may never know, cause we like to pretend that us ghosts don't exist, we're not fixing up a ton of peoples content. The industry, though, they never forget….'
Tori laughed. "Babe, this is temporary. Remember, you told me as much. Soon, you'll finish school, and be ready to make your own movies. Sure, there was a slight, three year delay as you served our country, earn yourself a GI bill." Her arms tightened around the pale girl. "But we got you help for all your issues, military caused and otherwise, plus the nice VA man said, since you served in country, whatever the hell that means, you get bennies. So, lets have you have a successful career, once the college days are over, while I bask in your creativity. Hell, I got in on the ground floor…"
"Everyone else is so far ahead." Jade started, for that moment letting herself be lost in her envy. Only, she knew to push past, or the work would never be done. "I just hate this job. I have the best ideas, and then they get shot down because someone has no idea what I'm seeing."
"So what do we have?" Tori asked, sliding in to read a little more.
"Diane is complaining that she'll never love again, just because she thinks Jack is interesting in another girl." Jade said. "Only, it's supposed to be a misunderstanding, and they haven't explained why? Just, she saw him with someone, someone who could be his frigging cousin, or maybe his sister, and she assumed he was seeing someone else. How the holy hell am I supposed to root for this girl if she's that insecure? I mean, she's painted as a driven success, but then, in her love life, she's totally useless."
"Were they hugging?" The singer asked. "Cause if not, it could have been a work related thing…." She was hoping to help.
"I went a bit further." Jade exhaled. "Explaining that he was good looking, so sometimes girls flirted with him. Only, the starlet playing Diane thinks that's not the kind of guy Jack should be. She wants him to be this knight in shining armor who would never do anything to hurt her, and I'm supposed to build the romance around him saving her, when she's doing everything in her power to drive him away."
"Are you maybe projecting a bit?" Tori wondered.
"Yes, this is about me and Beck." Jade snapped. "I drove him the fuck away, and we both know he is exactly the kind of guy Jack is supposed to be. Kind, loyal, always trying to be there for his woman…"
"And oh so blind to the fact that flirting with other girls sets her off." Tori completed. "Only, and you need to get this, Beck wasn't blind. He just, he needed the drama. That's why I was able to handle you, when I got an even more damaged Jade, while he eventual gave up."
Tori stood up, moving with purpose to the refrigerator. "Beck couldn't see the damage he was doing to you, so when he did give up, sought some help to get over the wound to his pride, he never realized it was at the same time you were going through some difficult times of your own. Damaged, you entered the military, lord knows why you chose the Marines. But you did, got harassed, and got lucky not to suffer worse. But you were in a bad place, and came out the other side so much worse for wear, cause your a creative type, and those don't always do well in highly structured settings."
"I didn't suffer worse then I did because I got lucky and they assigned me to Stars and Strips as a war correspondent." Jade said. "Got sent into combat when I shouldn't, but at the same time, I was always protected, had other people who's job was to help make sure I got out alive." A dark chuckle escaped her lips. "Or at least my camera made it out."
"Either way, my war hero is back, recovering, with only emotional scars to prove she went." Tori cooed. "And sure, you're so fucking determined to pay your own way through school that you took jobs like this to cover what your GI bill won't. I'm just thankful I was in the position to cover a little, like living expenses…" She gestured around the office, part of the home she'd bought for herself when her music took off. "Plus, this is a two way street. I'm in a scary new world, producing music on top of making my own. Andre helps me by working with everyone to write songs, but the bands, the artists, they need so much more." Tori seemed to bristle with nervous energy and a strong feeling of pride. "And I help them, I help them all. I just need someone to believe in me the way I believe in them." She had snuck back to her girl, breathing on the pale girls neck. "Like I believe in you. So give her whatever the fuck she wants, cause I wanna comfort my wounded warrior…"
"Fuck." Jade moaned, realizing that maybe the written romance would have to wait for her to deal with her own. She followed her lover to the bedroom, and the relief that waited there.
Jade found herself approaching the rewrite again, this time thinking about it from another direction. 'You can be strong, and still want. Need is so weak, but want, that's a different emotion. Burning for someone describes desire, not life or death. No, this can work, give the damn starlet whats she wants, and still save my soul. I just need to use what I've learned from the shit I've been through, and the love I've found, and write from a position of growing strength. I will survive. Yea, that song, it's about growing from the week, needy person who is letting her love have that kind of control, to the strong, confident woman who can choose to let herself be strong. Love may make you weak, but it doesn't cripple. No, it can make you strong, as long as you find it in yourself to take care of yourself, and love someone who is capable of loving you…'
The words flowed onto the paper. Carefully worded phrases spoke of love and losses, need and desire, all while showing the wounds that can only make her stronger. 'Yea, she's not strong yet, but that's her real journey. Not finding the love who will save her, but finding the love for self that will help her survive, be the person that she could be. Yea, lets make this work…'
"You're up early." Tori noted.
"Haven't been to bed." Jade replied. "I mean, sure, I napped a bit, after, but then it was right back to work. I've been on a roll, rewriting half the fucking film. But it works. The new whole, it works. I've made her the weak, mewing creature they seem to think women are, but that's just the starting point. Each twist and turn in her romance, it's helping her grow stronger. And the guy, I'm basing him on a more idealized version of Beck. Unlike my ex, this guys seen enough to know how to help. And sure, he causes her some pain, puts her in difficult situations. He doesn't want to, but his own past is what causes that to happen, and she is forced to choose, the guy who seems like the perfect guy, or being alone. Twist is, he's helping her prepare to be alone, if needed, as well as giving her the strength to face whatever bullshit may come. No saving her, outside the parameters of who they were when the story started, but he's giving her the tools to save herself." A pride swelled inside, reflected in her smile.
"So he helps her help herself?" Tori asked.
"Not exactly, but yea." Jade sighed. "He kinda knows what she is, what she needs, and he has his chances, loads of them, to use her like he's done in the past, Only, he's not the same, recovering from his own failures, the backlash that turned him into a user, and the way his darkness has shifted into a beacon of hope for the heroin. Kinda hard to explain, really. I just, this is complicated growth chiz that he's been through, and now she's going through, and it culminates in them being better people. And because this is all set in an almost faerie tale romantic adventure, with comedic elements, only the original scrips wasn't that funny, regardless of what the director thought. But that further tied my hands, while also setting my path."
Jade turned to look at her lover. "The hardest sell is towards the end, when she figures out her past gives her an edge in the situation, helps her deal with the baddies. It turns the whole dynamic on it's head, her suddenly the hero,. With him the damsel in distress, even if it's only long enough for him to regain his footing and get the advantage again. But it's there, and not in some accidental way, or her distracting them. No, her resolve, her actions, come from a place of strength, confidence in her abilities and knowledge she can use thanks to the relationship she's built up with herself. THEN, after, once they're free and clear, she can make the choice to be with him, the flawed hero who is so much more then the idealized schmuck the original scrips called for, and at the same time, so much more human."
"Sounds like you rewrote the entire scripts." Tori noted. "Think the director will go for it?"
Jade deflated. "No, guys the kind who directs woman's films for Lonely Girl, then thinks of himself as an expert on what we want. Total looser." She'd spat the last part.
"The projects fully cast?" Tori asked. "See, I've been thinking of expanding my projects, just a little more…"
"As if you're not doing enough." Jade groaned, seeing where her lover was heading.
"I was just thinking, this new heroin, I kinda like who she is…" The singer turned producer let the thought hang.
"Fully cast, and even Melinda Murray is too thoughtful a performer to be included in this show." Jade warned. "Amante (Lover), let me deal with this. I know, you wanna help, but just like in the story, sometimes we need to have our own accomplishments. I mean, I'm left in awe at what you've done, in the short years I served our country, then headed back to school. I'm amazed at how far you've come. So, let me have this fight, all on my own." Her smile grew. "Trust me, this is a win-win. Either they use my version, which is enough I can ask for a writers credit. Probably won't get it, considering the nature of the director. But either they use it, and my reputation is secured, or they don't, and I have this idea for when I want to make my first romantic adventure. Get Shapiro involved, make it a true rom-com, to help the audience digest the heavy growth based drama."
"Fine, I'll let you fly, this time." Tori agreed. "Just, please, ask me before you get together with a few of your marine buddies. I just wanna know where you are, when you're facing that shit in your past. Really, I don't mind if you wanna spend some time with other people who went through the crap you did. Hell, maybe you can have them over, use my second living room."
"Hard to plead hardship when you live in a house with it's own zip code." Jade joked.
"It's not that big." Tori snapped, and odd defensiveness about her. Then realizing the humor, she deflated. "Yea, it's huge, cause you have a buddy who made it big, willing to let you sleep on the couch, so to speak."
"Provided me with a hot Latina who wants to see if two girls can breed, just by repetition?" Jade added, smirking at her humor.
"Yea, this place is kinda over the top." Tori agreed. "Still, I'll set up the guest house, have you use that place. Offer some cover, up until I decide we've been together long enough, and the world gets to know we're a couple." She reached for her girl, dirty thoughts again coming to the surface.
Jade exhaled. "No distractions. Almost done there. Then, I need a ride to the studio to get rejected, and I can nap in the writers work trailer after."
"And if they love it?" Tori asked. "I'm thinking I'll just let my lawyer know you may need to have a contract renegotiated…"
Jade sat in the office, trying to wrap her head around what had just happened. The director had, as anticipated, rejected her rewrite. Only, before she could make it out the door, for reasons unknown, the producer showed, looked at the direction the movie was heading, and had a heart to heart with the director. Now, they were negotiating with an unknown individual that claimed to represent Jade, because the rewrite was not only closer to what the studio wanted, but the star actually liked the new direction.
"Tori, did you maybe talk to someone?" Jade asked over the phone, tired and irritable because this new success was eating into her nap time.
"Just my lawyers." The singer insisted. "They're on standby, waiting to find out if you needed a renegotiation."
"You mean their not negotiating right now?" Jade asked. "Someone who claims to represent me is arguing with the producer even as we speak. Not sure what they want, beyond a writers credit, but they're arguing, and I'm sitting here, waiting, not able to slip my nap in, cause while this is a good step, things are far from certain."
"Director loved the idea?" The singer asked.
"No, the producer came in, overrode him." Jade explained.
"Producer overrode the director?" Tori asked, sounding shocked. "This doesn't sound normal."
"It's not." Jade assured her girl. "Directors have a huge amount of control over the finished product, and for a producer, a production company, to step in and override, without replacing the director, is hella unusual. Somethings going on, and I get the feeling I'm more a pawn then a player." She steadied herself. "Still, if it helps my career, then I'm all for the interference. Just, I was so sure this was your doing. It has your fingerprints all over it."
"No, my fingerprints are all over the celebration I had planned for you, regardless of the outcome of this little farce, cause you had plans and contingencies that would work. No, I wasn't involved in this." Came over the phone.
"I'm too tired to even find out who is." Jade groaned.
"Miss West?" The producers assistant asked, breaking her from her call. "Sorry to interrupt, but I need just a few moments of your time."
Jade covered her phone, not bothering to hang up, since she knew she'd need to talk this out with her lover after. "Go on."
"My bosses partner in New York called this morning, and got this whole mess started." The man said. "Based on the message he had for you, I'm thinking you're a part of this. So…" He hesitated, then handed Jade a folded piece of paper. "Hope this is good news."
Jade opened the page, and saw a quick note.
Jade, I've seen your earlier project, and felt it was wrong that you didn't get any credit. So I asked my boss to speak with his affiliate in Los Angeles, maybe see if we could get you credit. My agent is willing to fight for you, assuming you can come up with some kind of story arc that is worth selling. Hoping this helps. Beck.
Jade folded the paper again. 'Still trying to be the knight in shining armor, aren't you?' She thought, before looking at the assistant. "Thanks. It's from an old friend. Explained everything."
"How? Who?" Tori's voice cut in, and Jade scrambled to return to her phone call.
"Beck." Jade said. "He works with the sister company in New York. The one that makes plays. Apparently, he lobbied for me to get more credit, or at least a shot at getting more credit, and it came at the perfect time. Now sure how, but I suspect it's his agent fighting for me now."
"Trina's fighting for you?" The Latina's voice showed her shock. "Well, at least it explains the timing. I may have texted her about your predicament…"
Jade groaned. 'Great, now I owe Trina… Guessing she's my agent now? God, like my home life wasn't complicated enough.'
:}
Hope this was at least entertaining. I enjoyed the early parts of writing this, but like so many projects, it wanted to go in it's own direction, and I lost control some place along the line. This is where it ends, posted for the world to see.
Thoughts?
