'ᴄʜʟᴏᴇ ɪɴɢʀᴀᴍ

“truth time?  neither have i.  whenever my dad would watch the super bowl, i’d hide in the corner of the family room with, like, a script or a coloring book and just zone out.”  elena admitted, absently letting her fingers graze against chloe’s palm.  chloe was beautiful, and it kind of made elena sad to know that she didn’t know the whole story, didn’t know about the monsters that lingered.  but then again, she was more than willing to stick by chloe and fall head over heels for her (even if the latter happened further down the line).  

feeling her shoulders relax, elena turned to chloe and stopped abruptly so they were facing one another.  it was brave of her, she knew, but she found herself reaching for chloe’s other hand.  the eye contact was searing, and it made her insides quadruple flip. “i mean–we could very well yell at the kardashians.”  she murmured, her cheeks heating up.  she hoped she didn’t need to address the elephant in the room, which was basically just that their chemistry felt like it was bouncing off the walls.  elena wished silently that she wasn’t the only one who thought that.  “what’s the saying, though?  your house, your rules?”  she added, biting gently at her lower lip.

          ‘  OH THANK GOD!      i was getting worried that i’d have to pretend to be interested in sports.   i became a lesbian to avoid that.  ’      she teased,     a smile from ear to ear as the other played with her hand.    chloe had this inhuman ability to make flirtatious wisecracks,  even when inside she was deadly nervous.  maybe it was a coping mechanism she’d developed over the years.   she’d had to develop a few of those.   appearing calm when she was nervous,    appearing sober when she was drunk.     she was a pro.

“well–yeah, i suppose it’s probably awkward.”  elena nodded sympathetically, stepping forward.  ever so slowly, she reached out and took chloe’s hand.  “i promise, if at any point you’re not comfortable with any of this, say the word and i’ll back off.”  her big, chocolate brown eyes peered curiously into chloe’s own eyes, trying to gauge some type of reaction.  “but for right now…” elena paused, as if to pretend to mull over chloe’s invitation (really, though, she was ready to accept before the whole sentence got out) before giving chloe’s hand a light squeeze.  “yeah.  if you don’t mind.”

when it finally registered that the feelings were mutual, although it was a bit delayed, elena felt her heart leap right up from her chest to her throat.  “i’m kind of–a compulsive apologizer.  in case that wasn’t obvious.”  she blushed, subconsciously reaching up to tug the elastic out of her hair.  her fingers wove through her dark locks gently, allowing the waves to settle.  “do you prefer sports or yelling at bad television?”  she wondered, a genuine smile dressing her lips.  “i mean, if we’re gonna be spending more time together, i assume there’s gonna be a common interest, right?”

       ‘  YOU HAVE NO IDEA.  ’     the countless times that chloe had brought up her sobriety to her past suitors   & then lost it shortly after plagued her.    she hated herself for being so incapable of handling relationships.   then again,   she was a lot farther into her sober life now.   maybe this could be different.    ‘ thank you.  ’    she spoke sincerely, as she let her fingers entangle themselves with elenas,   resisting the urge to kiss her right there and then.   ‘ i don’t mind.’  she shook her head,   a coy smile spread across her face.

Juggling his keys as he tried to lock his car, at the same time Jackson tried to keep a handle on the hot coffee in his hand and the bag containing his morning bagel. Getting to the set on time had never been a problem before, but today he’d hit the snooze button once too many times. “Aw crap,” he muttered as the coffee cup hit the ground, spilling everywhere. “I hope that’s not a sign.”

elena was nothing if not attentive.  she’d seen a few of her cousins inebriated at various quinceaneras over the years.  despite her attention to detail, she was also not one to judge.  still, her face fell the slightest bit as her brain rushed to form words.  “right–no.  yeah, i know, of course.  i just…didn’t want you to think i was being a dick or something.  because…i–i mean, we clicked, you know?  something…happened, and i don’t know where or when but–and i was just working so hard to impress you that i didn’t even consider…”  her hands flopped at her sides, as if to indicate that she was more exasperated with herself than anything.  chloe had to know by now that elena really did like her, and by no means was she one for mothering the crap out of people she cared about…but this felt different.

 “i never really got the whole ‘it’s five o’clock somewhere’ joke.  does that make me a square?”  she murmured, leaning against the doorframe.  all she wanted to do was just reach out and grab chloe, pull her close and keep her safe.  but elena couldn’t do that.  if there was a problem, it had to fall under chloe’s own recognizance. the latina let out a deep breath, eyes skimming over elena’s features.  “i–i did, though, because i wanted to see you again.  even if you decide you’re done with me.”

       LEANING AGAINST   the wooden door frame,   chloe let her face relax.   her hands slipped up from her sleeves as she folded her arms.   if only to allow the girl to think she was fine.   the idea of elena having this on her concious was ridiculous to chloe.   there was only one person to blame for her problems:   herself.   ‘  honestly,   i think that’s the only reason i was there --- you weren’t the only person trying to impress someone.  ’   she tucked a piece of hair behind her ear.  it had been so long since chloe had felt this way that her usual nervous ticks were out in full force.   ‘ it’s just ...  hello my name’s chloe & i’m an alcoholic    isn’t much of an icebreaker.  ’  truthfully she didn’t want to push the girl away.   

[ @ingrcms ]

elena had rehearsed her apology countless times–but in her defense, she really hadn’t known much of chloe’s difficulty with alcohol addiction. the worst part was that she had even put it on the table, endangering the other woman’s sobriety.  she liked to think she was better than just a whirlwind of assumptions.  elena really liked chloe, and she hadn’t wanted her stupidity to mess up whatever was going on between them.  she wasn’t quite sure what they could even be defined as, and of course she was doing her best not to overstep, seeing as she already had done so. raising her hand th the door, elena knocked twice, shifting her weight between her feet.

her hair was tied back in a loose fishtail braid, although the los angeles heat had managed to make said braid look messy, her face aglow with the thinnest sheen of sweat–although, she might add, she actually didn’t smell terrible, managing to spritz on some perfume before dashing out of her car.  when the door swung open, elena’s breath hitched.  she very rarely got nervous, but there was a first time for everything, she supposed.  “i owe you an apology.”  she murmured, and it was then that her entire speech vanished from her brain. “i–i, um, i messed up.  and i know we never really talked about it? but i do feel bad about assuming and i hope…i really, really hope you know how sorry i am, and that i’d never judge you.”  her big brown eyes locked onto chloe’s, and suddenly, it was like elena forgot her words all over again.  “where are cue cards when you need ‘em, right?”  she joked, clearing her throat and trying to tear her gaze away.

IT WAS RIGHT THERE…  chloe’s  hands were covered by her sweater sleeves, long  & shredded from hours of chewing on the frail ends.  exactly what she was doing in that moment,  as she looked down at the sealed bottle of tequila.   her intentions had never been to buy it.  after the night out with elena though,  she found herself drawn to it.  she only went in the grocery store to get groceries.  or did she?   because she didn’t leave with anything other that the glass bottle in front of her. she reached forward placing her hands around the glass, nails tapping the surface. the sound of her nails then drowned out by a knocking.

“I mean, as long as they’re harassing you, it should be their priority.” Or one among them. Did ‘protect’ only apply to some of the police force nowadays? “But, if they aren’t up for it, I can do the escorting you until you’re safely away from his sight. Strength in numbers, right?” At least, she thought it might work that way. She hadn’t been good at any of the things she’d just mentioned she would do for the songwriter

ellie smiled back, glad a familiar and friendly face greeted her. “much appreciated,” she said, crouching down to pull everything together again. “it wouldn’t be good if it got out that the assistant choreographer was actually a klutz in disguise.” plucking her earbud out of her ear and letting it dangle around her neck, ellie made sure everything was balanced in her arms again before standing up. “i was actually just listening to the demo song you sent kit,” she said, pretty sure it wasn’t the right time to be fangirling over the songwriter but proceeding nonetheless. “i think it’s definitely my favorite out of all the ones you’ve written so far.”

“look, i’m totally fine.  i’ll take this over a sunburn, any day.”  elena wriggled her way back up, resting on her elbows.  “i’m sure you know that los angeles sunshine is literally the closest thing to satan’s asshole.”  the latina bit her lip, offering a shy half-smile towards the other woman.  “no, no–it’s all good.  i wish i was less clumsy.  although…you’re definitely way prettier than brian littrell, if i may be blunt.”

“hi, so can you do me a favor?”  elena does her best not to completely divebomb onto the floor, but instead yelps when her head hits the other person’s lap.  “ow! okay, next time i try to be a badass and do arm, leg, and butt day at the gym all at once…please don’t let me.”  she pulls her best puppy dog pout, taking her sunglasses off her face and throwing them on any available surface.  “this is literally bringing me back to my backstreet boys concert of ‘01.” 

“i’ve literally just spent three hours watching makeup tutorials for looks that i’m never going to do in my life. what is wrong with me? see this is what happens when i don’t have work for a day.” she sighed heavily, fingers running through her hair. “i need to sort my life out and freshen up. do you fancy going for a walk or getting something to eat? i need to get out for a little while, stretch my legs.”

“ oh! i’ve heard about that one–it’s really about time they make another series with all the singing and dancing. but maybe you just need some inspiration to get the juices flowing? i’m sure you just need to do something to get your muse back, ” valentina encouraged, knowing that some people need to be in a certain mindset to be able to write, just like in acting. she needed to internalize the character, to be in the character’s mindset to deliver a believable portrayal. when the woman said the she knew who she was though, her cheeks heated up a little as she smiled shyly. “ sorry–i’m just not used to people recognizing me, ” she admitted truthfully, as she took her hand to shake it. “ it’s a pleasure to meet you, chloe. i really hope that you get your muse back. ” if only she could do something to help her out with that. “ thirteen years in hollywood? wow–that’s a pretty long time. ”

He nodded solemnly. “So how is your show going?” Whether a tech or actor or showrunner, there were a thousand better things to talk about instead. “We’ve been getting some pretty good ratings lately and I hope that trend will continue. A few different storylines are coming up that will ‘reach’ a bit more… hopefully not letting us fall flat on our faces.” 

Her height wasn’t the most ideal for someone to stand behind her, but she continued to stay still, allowing some coverage to the girl behind her. A laugh stifled between pink lips as she pretended to read through her texts. “Really, did he ask you to have his babies too?” she questioned, trying to glance inconspicuously towards him. “Also, could he have picked a more cliché outfit?”

ellie jerked her shoulder up in an attempt to get the strap of her duffel further back, her arms already full with her binders of choreography and scripts. of course it didn’t work and her duffel came sliding down her arm, sending her off balance and almost tumbling to the ground. she regained her footing at the cost of her binders, which slid across the concrete until they came to a stop at someone’s feet. “sorry,” she called out, groaning quietly as she moved to pick the binders up. “just…pretend you didn’t see that.”