Author Notes - Starting 2025 off strong with another chapter of Back Together Again! This time, we're focusing on Deema as she thinks about Molly and talks to one of her biggest fans.

CHAPTER TWELVE - A LONG-GONE FRIENDSHIP

THREE YEARS AGO…

'I need you, David! I can't be without you!'

'But, Pauline… I-'

BOOM!

'W-What was that?'

'Oh no! I fear my father's castle has been attacked!'

'… Aaand CUT!'

Deema let out a long breath, getting up from her 'knees'. Another romantic scene. What she was most famous for. Something of a shame, really. She did like romance films, but what did she have to do to star in something else? And when was the last time she got to play the villain? At least it was a fantasy film. She didn't get those very often.

Her male lead partner, a lobster actually named Peter, gave her a smile. Not a romantic smile. Just a 'good work' kind of grin. This film was going to be his big break, getting to act alongside a big name like Deema Swimmer. And Deema had to admit, he was pretty damn good at it.

'Fan-TAST-ic performance, everyone!' The director said from her chair. 'Take five, everyone. We gotta get the props ready for the next scene!'

Deema sighed in relief. Yeah, she loved acting more than anything. But all the romance scenes were beginning to get a little stale for her. Why did it seem like every director was convinced she could only do romance anyway? Oh well, a job was a job. And she was still pouring her heart and soul into it. She had already managed to score a Goldfish Award for 'Best Supporting Actress'. If she was going to beat Kathryn Fishburn's record of four, she had to do her best no matter what!

Since she was on a short break, she went straight over to her favourite spot - craft services. Also known as, where all the delicious food was! The chocolate cake caught her attention, but she fought against her urges. Last time she had cake with thick frosting while on the set, she had to get all her make-up done again. So she just grabbed a pretzel and moved on.

She leaned up against the table as she ate her snack and looked around at the other cast and crew. After being in so many movies, it was so easy for each cast to blend together in her mind. Just a bunch of actors she worked with to produce a film. But she knew they were more than that. People who worked hard together to produce a work of art, good or bad.

Her attention landed on one person in particular, who she was so excited to see that she almost choked on her pretzel. A certain someone her age (less than a month younger), with pink hair tucked up in a long ponytail and a little fish-shaped tattoo on her cheek. A lady who was currently talking to one of the executive producers behind the upcoming film.

Ms Molly Andersfin. Who else?

'... just think that if I'm going to lend my talents to this film, the song shouldn't be relegated to the end credits. It's a bit…'

Deema was hardly paying attention to her words. Molly was the only person on the set she was even slightly close to. Sure, Molly had been getting kinda huffy over the past couple of years. But that was to be expected. Being a world famous pop star was sure to come with some stress!

'Hey, Molly!' Deema said, waving with her entire arm in the air. 'Over here!'

Deema was so happy to see her that she didn't notice the way Molly rolled her eyes and groaned upon seeing her. And Deema certainly didn't notice the way Molly flinched when she zipped across the room to greet her.

'Oh, it's awesome to see you again!' Deema said. 'Hey, want a tour around the movie set?'

'What? No! No,' Molly replied. 'I don't want a tour. I was just talking to your producers about my music.'

'Of course! This makes the… fifth time we've collabed for a movie, right? Hey, maybe we'll finally win 'Best Original Song', huh?'

'Yes, yes, I know. What I meant was that someone like me shouldn't just be thrown into the end credits. Find somewhere else to put it. During a big romantic scene or something.'

'Uh, right. Obviously, someone of your talents should be given the chance to be heard. But, um, the movie isn't a musical. It's a fantasy film. A pop song playing in the middle of what should be a big romantic moment might be kind of… distracting.'

Deema wasn't exactly a 'creative' when it came to movies. At most, she'd get to ad-lib some funny lines that weren't in the script. So she was really just parroting what she had heard other people saying. But it seemed to make sense in her head. Molly's beautiful pop song was put in the credits for a reason, albeit as the very first thing that plays as soon as the words 'THE END' popped up on the screen.

But Molly, with a lot less experience in such matters, just cocked her eyebrow at the suggestion.

'What the hell is the point of my song if it's in the credits?' She demanded.

Deema put her hands up. 'Okay, I get your frustration. When I started out, I was lucky if I had a single line interacting with the main stars. But the song isn't going to fit.'

'You get someone like me to sing a song and you're just going to waste it?!'

Deema took a deep breath. It hadn't been the first time she had had a conversation like this with Molly. In fact, most of their conversations nowadays seemed to be about how popular and talented Molly was.

'Molly, I-'

'Seriously,' Molly said. 'How do you expect this movie to do well if you're going to waste the one bit of talent this damn studio has?'

'You-'

It took a moment for Deema to realise what Molly had just said. And when she did…

'WHAT?!' She cried.

'You heard me,' Molly said, crossing her arms. 'You're going to lose the only talent you've got if you don't listen to me.'

'Nuh uh. I'm not letting you get away with that. Everyone who works on these movies is very good at their job. Sure, you might have more talent than me, but you're not the only one around here who's got some of it!'

'Coming from the lady who has the biggest ego in the world.'

'Sounds like you oughta take a look into a mirror.'

The other film people inched away from the scene, not wanting to get involved.

'That's so rich coming from you, Deema. Ever since childhood, you were an attention-demanding prima donna!'

'I'm not the one trying to derail someone else's movie!'

But, of course, there was someone on the set who wasn't going to put up with two people fighting on her watch. The director tossed her megaphone to the floor and stomped over.

'Excuse me, ladies!' She yelled. 'This is a movie set, not a boxing ring. If you keep this up, I'm docking both your pays!'

The threat of losing out on hard-earned money was certainly enough to get the 'friends' to shut up. They swam away from each other with nasty glares on their faces.

'Deema?'

Deema jumped around with a fright when she heard the door open behind her. She had retreated to her bedroom for the night, and didn't expect any more visits. After all, the others were supposed to be asleep after their long day. Brianna especially had conked out like a light.

But there was Goby, standing in the doorway.

'Oh, hey,' Deema said. 'Don't know what you want, but it's nice to see you!'

'Can I come in?' Goby asked. 'I-It isn't because I want to do anything weird! I j-just want to talk.'

'That sounds alright to me. Come on in!'

Goby, after gulping down his worries, swam into the room. It was as spacious and gorgeous as you'd expect a celebrity's bedroom to be. There were all sorts of trinkets and decorations everywhere, including her two Goldfish Awards that stood next to her TV.

'If you don't mind me asking, what happened between you and Molly?' He asked.

Deema let out a huff. 'Do you really want to know?'

'Of course! According to Brianna, you and Molly were good friends. And she hasn't been wrong yet. What could've happened?'

Deema sat down at the end of her luxurious bed, patting the spot right next to her. Goby hesitated quite a bit, but soon had the guts to take his seat at that very spot.

'It wasn't just a single incident,' Deema said. 'It was a long time coming. Whatever happened between us had been bubbling under the surface for a while. A few years, at least.'

'How'd it all start?' Goby asked.

'When Molly started letting fame get to her head. Brianna told you we used to collab on movies, and she was right. Molly would provide a song or two for my movies. One movie was even a musical of sorts, and she wrote and sung every song on the soundtrack! A soundtrack that, by the way, totally got snubbed at the Goldfish Awards. But then, she got demanding. She wanted more songs. She ordered the producers to put them into more important scenes. She got really huffy when her coffee was a minute late.'

Goby sat there, listening to her every word. He had expected his heart to explode upon sitting right next to his number one crush. But, somehow, it didn't feel like he was sitting next to the world's greatest celebrity. It felt more like sitting next to an old friend, letting her vent about her problems. Which is, really, what he was doing.

'I don't know how else to explain it,' Deema continued. 'I was watching an old friend get corrupted by fame. Don't get me wrong. Molly is talented as all get out. Her voice is so amazing that people keep accusing her of using computers to improve her singing. But she wasn't just becoming rude. She was becoming outright mean! It was like she didn't remember the good old days at all. Which, I mean, okay, it's been about thirty-ish years. Fair enough. But you can forget your childhood friends without being an a-hole about it!'

'But you never forgot…' Goby said. 'Did you?'

'I never did. So to see that sweet little girl I used to know becoming this jerk before my eyes, I… I told myself I'd never turn out like that. I like to imagine I haven't.'

She went silent for a bit. Goby had a feeling that she wasn't done, so he didn't say a word. As he suspected, she spoke up once again.

'A-And what really kinda hurts is that…' She said. 'I think I was starting to develop feelings for her.'

Goby cringed. 'Aw man… Bet that hurt.'

'It did. A lot.'

That was a revelation Goby was not expecting. Not the fact that Deema had developed feelings for another woman - she was quite open about how some of her crushes and old dates had been women. No, it was that the woman was Molly. Not helped by the fact that Goby was pretty sure Molly was straight.

'So that's why you're trying to stop Brianna from going to her, huh?' Goby said.

'I'm not going to stop her,' Deema said. 'I told you. I'll help you guys see her. For all I know, one of you guys will win her over. Maybe she just hated me, and I'm part of the problem. It's possible. But I really don't think Molly is going to listen. She'll probably just look at our group and tell us that she's too good to be 'associating' with a little band like us.'

'Oh.'

Goby sat there silently for a moment or two, before he realised that he should probably be leaving the famous actress alone. He got up and went to the door. But he didn't get much further than that before Deema spoke up.

'You know, it's kinda weird,' She said. 'I haven't seen you in years, but when you're sitting right next to me… It feels like we're just regular old friends, chatting it up like we're getting drinks at the local coffee shop.'

Goby chuckled. 'Yeah, I've been feeling that a lot too. Brianna wasn't kidding when she said we all used to be the best of friends when we were younger. The brain might not remember, but the heart definitely does.'

Deema sighed. 'Who knows? Maybe Molly's heart remembers too. It didn't work out with me, but maybe seeing everyone else will make her remember the good times. Especially Gil.'

'... Gil? What's special about Gil?'

'Uh, I can't really tell you. It's kinda personal. If you wanna know, ask Gil. I'm sure he won't mind giving you a basic rundown at least. But I'm not going to tell his story for him. Let's just say… it's something of a roller coaster.'

Goby thought this conversation was over and reached for the door handle.

'Hey,' Deema said. 'Before you go, I just wanna say… it's been a relief talking to you.'

Goby cocked an eyebrow. 'It has?'

'Oh yeah. It's impossible for me to have a normal conversation with anyone. I ask the pretty lady behind the counter for coffee, and BOOM, it becomes a whole thing. Hell, I can't even sneeze in public without a dozen people yelling "bless you"! You can't imagine how nice it is to talk to someone like a regular person for once.'

Goby smiled. 'Well, you're welcome.'

'And I gotta give you a lotta credit specifically. Be honest, you have a crush on me, don't you?'

That shut Goby right up. He stared at her like he had a knife against his back. If Deema didn't know before and was just making blind guesses, she certainly knew he had a crush on her now.

'Don't be upset,' She said. 'A lot of people have crushes on me. But unlike a lot of them, you've been pretty normal about it. Not many people can do that.'

'Well, uh, thanks, I guess?'

'Now, let's go to bed. I'm tired. You're tired. We've all got one hell of a day tomorrow. It's tiiiime… to sleep.'

Author Notes - One major thing I'm trying to do with this story is fix all the mistakes I made in 'Thirty Years Later'. I have so many regrets regarding that story that I could make a whole chapter just breaking down all the problems. One of the many problems was that several of the Guppies, especially Molly and Oona, had been turned into bitter jerks. Not a bad idea on the surface, but it was done excessively. So here, I'm toning it down a little and really addressing it instead of just treating it as normal. We'll talk more about Molly next chapter, but it might not be as pleasant as you're hoping...

By the way, please don't read 'Thirty Years Later'. Not even out of morbid curiosity. It is not so-bad-it's-good. It's just an unpleasant experience too dark for its own good and loaded with poorly handled adult issues. The only reason I'm keeping it up is out of posterity, and perhaps to break it down in the future to explain all the issues with it. If I can stomach reading through it again, of course...