live wire

It'd only been a few hours since Lillard popped the cork of the champagne bottle, but Saba was already about to finish her first "party break". As people flocked to others and she found herself having a moment to breathe, she snuck off to the talent trailer bloc and spent about 10 minutes in there with the lights out. With a cold water bottle in hand, she meditated to get herself back in the right state of mind to party.

It was a lot going on that she hadn't expected. Sure, she could have paid attention to the casting announcements like everyone else in the world - but why would she have expected Val to be cast? Indie darling Val Montero in a mainstream tv show for the CWB of all places? In fact, Saba drunkenly thought, the CWB was exactly the network and type of shows Val seemed to find themself bigger than! Or maybe, perhaps, it was her team?

The two had some sort of past, and Saba wasn't even sure she could call them an ex. An ex-maybe. An ex-thought. An ex... well, more than just a friend. Even if they weren't allowed to say anything about it. Her parents didn't like Val because she was just some kid who lucked into the industry, Val's team didn't like Saba because the public attached her romantically to anyone she stepped out with - the two of them weren't made to work anyway. So Saba filed Val away in her brain as just someone to run into at events, someone to barely acknowledge, whose presence didn't make her self-conscious that her high profile life would get in the way of ever being happy.

Because Saba is happy. That's why she was sitting on the steps of her trailer, the door held open by her back while she searched through her purse for the little baggie she knew she'd packed away for a moment quite like this. The brunette was about to tip the whole thing over when she looked up and saw someone familiar crossing her path. Quickly standing up, she leaned her shoulder against the frame of the trailer door.

"Hey! Val!"

it wasn’t her first instinct, a network show, but these days they made the best out of what she was so graciously given by her team. this gig would take her from ‘critical acclaim to a household name’, recognition in broader entertainment, whatever the plan was; val montero wrapped up in a bow for campaigns they decided were ‘on brand’. the job was rewarding, and val was good at it. she shouldn’t complain, but the close attention, parasocial relationships and lack of autonomy drove them crazy.

she couldn’t yet anticipate what this opportunity would give her, or cost her, but seeing saba everett again was not part of anyone’s plan. she heard the news first from her team, apparently warranting a risk-management call disguised as a check in.

the two had met early on in val’s career, crossed paths a couple times, grew closer, publicly, at first, then condemned to privacy after her team saw a cozy candid photo of the two that sparked a little too much online debate.

since saba, the last person who was allowed near them without signing an nda, val had left behind a string of short-lived flings and casual hookups sworn to legally binding silence. the hold of her team had severely impacted her ability to form meaningful relationships, romantic or otherwise. it wasn’t saba’s fault, really, neither of them called the shots after all. still, there was a bitter taste in val’s mouth -aside from the tequila- that they couldn’t rinse out. she wouldn’t easily admit it, but it was a blow to her pride to be rejected baselessly by saba’s parents. val was always having to prove or defend herself, look over her shoulder and second guess every move, and it only got worse following her and saba’s fling.

if she was already labeled an outsider, she might as well lean into the role; take the network check, pour another shot, and play the unserious, degenerate party girl. so now they were on their way through the lot to do exactly that, until she heard her name being called. and there she was.

not exactly how they wanted to expend their buzz, but they were in no position to ignore saba now. “hey yourself.” they walked a couple steps closer to the door, crossing their arms as they looked up at the girl. her eyes narrowed slightly while they processed the frantic, familiar search through saba’s purse. “you lose something?”

Then, he glanced toward them, his eyes going wide with realization of who he was talking to. He felt his face warm. The Val Montero, who he'd been a fan of for years. He'd painted at least three pairs of shoes based on projects they'd been in! "You... uh, you were great today. I mean, I knew you were great before, obviously. But, I mean, to see your work in person was just... incredible." Was that too much? That was definitely too much. "Anyway, I'm Andrew." In case they didn't catch it during the table read. "It's really nice to meet you."

Andrew stood in the corner of the large space, he'd been there so long that he almost seemed to be rooted in place. What he really wanted to do was dance, but what if he (literally or figuratively) stepped on someone's toes in the process? Whatever he did, he at least had to remain sober, for the sake of being in complete control of his actions. Getting fired because he drunkenly embarrassed himself in front of the director was not something he wanted to explain to his followers. Let alone his mom.

He didn't particularly want to be a wet blanket, either. Could he be fired for that? "Hey," he said to the nearest person, getting the word out before he could second guess himself again. His first instinct was to tell them that they did great today, but that felt like it could be misconstrued to be patronizing. "uh, are you enjoying the celebration?"

val shifted their gaze to the source. "i'm working on it." she answered, raising the cup to her lips and taking a sip. "how about you? is that your designated spot for the night?"

You'll have to share something personal eventually. People won't stop asking until you do.