living in a movie

they’re done filming for the day, and arden technically could have left an hour ago. but something has been keeping her there, pacing around her trailer while her mind races a mile a minute. for some reason the world feels like it’s crashing around her, and, even though it makes no sense to, she blames autumn for all of this. for all her stress and anxiety, for the frustration that she’s become so familiar with. the girl is just so rude, and for some reason that gets under arden’s skin unlike anything else. truthfully she can’t even begin to fathom why she cares so much about one person’s opinion, why she so desperately needs her to like her. realistically autumn jamison should just be another face in the crowd to her but she’s anything but, and she can’t ever seem to get her off her mind. finally she decides to call it a night, although she leaves her trailer huffing and puffing.

she spots her across the lot, probably getting ready to go home herself. arden knows that she should leave well enough alone, that nothing she says will change anything and that she’ll have to face the girl at work the next day. but she just can’t help it, and before she even realizes what’s happening she’s running towards her. “what is your problem?” she’s yelling, and she’s not entirely sure if it’s so that she can be heard or if she’s just plain angry, or maybe it’s a bit of both. “why are you so determined not to like me? what have i ever done to you, huh?” arden is getting closer now, and, quite frankly, she’s not sure what her game plan is. in a match of insults or anger there is no possible way that she can beat the other, so she’s got to do something else. 

finally she’s standing in front of autumn, her hands loosely balled into fists and her face pouting. “you-” she starts to speak but doesn’t know how to complete the thought, so she cuts herself off. should she just go home and pretend this never happened? she probably should. but instead of turning around to leave, arden takes a step forward. not an impulsive person by nature, this is all as surprising to her as it is to the other girl, and, before either of them has any time to realize what’s happening, she’s pulled her close and their lips are colliding.

arden isn’t sure how someone so mean can feel so inviting. she feels herself melting into the other girl, the anxieties and stress that normally weigh her down floating away with the breeze. she’s got one hand on autumn’s waist to hold her close, and her other hand is tangled in her hair as their lips crash together like waves. arden is kissing her like her life depends on it, like ryan gosling just ran to rachel mcadams in the rain. despite all of the conflicting feelings swirling around inside of her, something about this just feels right and she doesn’t want it to end. in this moment, standing in an empty studio back lot, time just seems to be standing still and nothing else matters but the taste of the other’s lips.

she doesn’t know what will happen when she pulls away; all she knows is, if this is what it’s like to kiss autumn jamison, she wants to kiss her all the time.

Liam: five bucks you'll be asking everyone if they've seen a 5'10" deaf red haired guy before you even clock in smh

Shelby: you're such a pain in my ass omg

Shelby: i'll take that bet.

Liam: GOOD LUCK and have fun getting FIRED

Shelby: i hate you so much omg

Liam: oh my god STOP im trading u in for someone new goodbye

Liam: first day tour canceled im leaving

Shelby: excuse you i'm irreplaceable

Shelby: i'll just have to show myself around then loser

Liam: i know it's almost like we're on a studio lot or something

Shelby: either way it'll be a memorable first encounter for her.

Liam: u said u were gonna go to the bathroom not wander into narnia jeez

Shelby: a queen is never late, everyone else is simply early.

Hunter: definitely not a waste of money. it’ll pay off eventually. i’m sure of it. besides, stick with me and you’ll have some good connections. Hunter: that’s hilarious, i have to see some of your portfolio shots lmao Hunter: that’s pretty cool. do you have a specific genre you wanna get into?

Jason raised an eyebrow at Hunter’s first comment, but decided not to make a big deal out of it. Eventually this guy would fess up about what he actually did.

Jace: haha if you say so. i guess we’ll see how it goes.

Jace: oh yeah, definitely. i’ve got beautiful fingers and impressive wrists.

The worst possible thing Preston could do about it, what he absolutely shouldn’t be doing, was lurk on blogsites and refresh Donovan James on Google. He did it anyway. He was torturing himself, but he continued to do it, all day, continually being frustrated at every picture he saw. It was the age of technology and paparazzi and fans got picture up as soon as humanly – and electronically – possible.

Preston fell asleep with phone in hand, unable to stop looking. He fell asleep thinking about how it should be him, dreaming of him and Donovan out at events, strolling the street, wherever, hand in hand. Paparazzi pictures of them whispering in each other’s ears, laughing together. He wondered if it’d ever be though.

Donovan’s voice pulled him out of his sleep and he sat up, rubbing his eyes. He hummed as he tried to focus on the man walking across the living room and into the kitchen. “Hi,” he muttered, fluttering his eyes open and closed. “I don’t care what we do.” Preston’s voice was passive and irritated as he took the beer from Donovan’s hand. He glanced over at him, feeling a little bad for being a bit of a bitch. He added, “As long as I’m with you,” to his prior statement.

Donovan loved Preston, he truly did. Not only was the other guy his boyfriend, but also his best friend. He felt bad that so much of his time was being spent with Natalia, but he was just doing his job. If they could get through this they’d come out in a much better place, one where Donovan was able to pick and choose his roles and have more control over his schedule. He could rearrange things so that they had more time together, maybe take some well deserved vacation time. It was stressful now, but it would pay off in the long run. It had to.

He settled in closer to his boyfriend, taking a swig of his beer. It wasn’t hard for him to pick up on the annoyed tone of Preston’s voice, and it was something that he was all too familiar with. His partner was definitely the more dramatic of the two, and there always seemed to be something that he was overreacting about. It somehow added to his charm though, and he liked it most of the time. “You cranky because you just woke up, or did E! News insult your figure?” Donovan was joking, of course, and he shot the other a smirk.

“Aw, what a sappy thing to say,” he kidded, reaching out to give Preston’s thigh a loving squeeze. “But the mushy gushy feeling is mutual.” Donovan’s stomach grumbled loudly, and his mind quickly went back to food. “I’m thinking pizza tonight. Or maybe Chinese. Would it be gross to eat both of them together? I mean, I know I shouldn’t because I’ve gotta stay in shape for that action movie, but I’ll just have to put another hour or two in at the gym.”

Hunter: that’s so cool!! Hunter: no i don’t/didn’t go to school. i got lucky. Hunter: i bet you’re a good writer though :) so what kinda stuff do you wanna do? like direct or screenwrite or?

Jason smiled down at his phone. It was pretty cool that this guy expressed so much interest in his studies. Something about this was reassuring, especially considering he teetered back and forth on whether or not he should continue conversing with this stranger.

Hunter: right, so what’s your major anyway? just realized i don’t even know :)

Jason searched through the queue, looking from something to watch while he chatted. After mulling over his options he decided on Breaking Bad, figuring he could finally finish a binge watch that he had started momths earlier.

Jace: :) i’m a film production major. basically just learning how to make movies and shit, which is usually pretty fun. the written assignments are on the boring side tho.

Hunter: well that’ll be hard. having a big ego is in my job description. Hunter: i’m far from an intellectual but that does sound kinda cool. you should let me read when it’s finished :)

Jason stood up from his chair, picking up his laptop and moving from the desk to his bed. He leaned back against the headboard, getting comfortable. With a few clicks of the mouse he opened Netflix, having it split the screen with his unfinished work.

Jace: right, right. your fancy schmancy hollywood job. 

Hunter: aren’t I special?

He paused. What does he say? Would he sound like an ass if he just casually mentioned sitting on a tv set? Yes, yes he would.

Hunter: same, minus the essay. Hunter: what’s it about?

His stranger danger sense should’ve been going off every time his phone dinged, but this other guy was so charming that he pushed any feelings of fear aside.

Jace: eh, don’t let it go to your head ;)

Jason paused a minute to look up at his computer, where he’d only written about two sentences of his assignment. It was safe to say he probably wasn’t getting any homework done tonight.

Jace: that sounds boring as hell.

He glanced back to his door, his nerves striking him. The thought of getting caught terrified him. However, his parents had never had any reason to distrust him in the past. Why would they think he would be doing anything now? He smiled.  "Okay, uh… Hold on.” He haphazardly closed his curtains but left his window open. He took his pajamas pants off and changed into a pair of jeans before stuffing his feet into his boots as quietly as he could. Returning to the window, he pushed the curtains back open and assessed how to climb out. He never had before. He pushed his legs through and sat on the window frame before jumping off the small distance to the ground.

“Okay… What now?”

“I would quote that Romeo and Juliet scene where he comes to her balcony, but I honestly can’t remember what they said.” A chuckle tumbled over his lips when his boyfriend closed the curtains to change, finding his modesty to be quite cute. Despite the fact that he could still see through the hastily shut drapes Orion looked away to be polite, fixating on the other aspects of the house while he waited. It became clear that Mathias had never done this before as he watched him climbing out the window, and he couldn’t help but feel excited that he was creating new experiences for the other. Everyone needed to live a little and just cut loose, and it seemed like the blonde had a lot of missed opportunities to make up for.

“Uh, now we do this,” Orion replied to Mathias’ question, using one hand to cup the boy’s cheek and planting a soft kiss on his lips. He pulled away with a playful smirk on his lips, reaching out and intertwining their fingers. “What’s a cool place around here? Like a park or something, we could go sit on the swings. Or we could grab something to eat, there’s gotta be somewhere open late nearby.”

maybe it was the lack of privacy, the constant stalking from paparazzi who refused to give her a moment alone when she dared to leave her house. maybe it was the at times over the top attention from fans; while she appreciated anyone who supported her following her dreams and most of the people she encountered were insanely sweet to her, there were others who were... creepy. it was all just a little much sometimes, and it could send arden reeling with anxiety.

set was the one place she felt safe, her home away from home. the hustle and bustle of the studio lot was exhilarating, and she loved watching each of the departments work. it was fascinating to her to see all that went into making a television show or movie, and she loved wandering around to see how all the sets were put up. while many of her costars immediately went to their trailers on a break, arden much preferred doing some exploring. she all but skipped from place to place, smiling and waving at everyone she passed.

it seemed as though everyone was working to set up for their next scene, and the brunette had a good amount of time before she was expected to report to hair and makeup. she saw a person standing off to the side, and decided to approach them for a little conversation. it’d be nice to have more friends around the studio, wouldn’t it? “whatcha doing?” arden asked cheerfully as she approached. “anything that i can help with? i’m a quick learner, you know.”

that was where lauren campbell came in. apparently dating a boy could only hurt donovan’s image with his fan base that was comprised of mostly young women, so instead of going public with his real relationship he was to pretend to dating america’s rising starlet. ordinarily he wouldn’t have minded fake dating a woman who was admittedly sex on legs, but the strain it was putting on his relationship with preston made him question if it was worth it. he was seeing results though, as his name trended more on twitter and he was frequently in the news cycle since this fake ordeal had begun.

donny had spent his day with his faux girlfriend, making sure to be seen holding hands and frequently stopping to kiss in the middle of the sidewalk and show how in love they were. lauren wasn’t terrible company so it wasn’t all that hard to pretend he was having a good time, and he prayed that the pictures reflected that so he didn’t get an ear full from his publicist. they’d posed for pictures with fans, waved at paparazzi, and just tried to exude loving and happy vibes. after these photos hit the web, if they hadn’t already, he was sure he’d get a call from lauren to discuss their success and plan their next outing together.

arriving at home he pushed through the apartment door, looking forward to an evening with his boyfriend. “babe, i’m home,” he called out. donovan tossed his keys into the bowl by the door, then padding into the kitchen and grabbing a few beers from the fridge before heading to the living room. “so i was thinking we could order in tonight, maybe rent a movie. or we could finally binge watch stranger things, i feel awkward seeing those kids at events and not knowing anything about their show.” he offered preston a beer, smiling up at him as he plopped down on the couch.