If It's a Day, a Month, A Year: (3/7)
When Jared showed up to set the next day, walking just behind a sluggish Cameron, he announced. “Hi everyone. My name is Cameron St. James and I am alcoholic.”
A bunch of amused voices called back. “Hi, Cameron.”
She shot out quickly. “Hello, everybody. I’m Jared Paduhlucky and I’m an enabler.”
He laughed, pushing her on with a hand on her back, joining the people around them who were chuckling.
A few days passed when he asked her if they could stop drinking in her trailer because his driver was giving him nastier and nastier looks for hanging around the lot so late. “Total stinkeye.” He suggested they go to his hotel bar.
She laughed. “We could just stop drinking.”
“Now, that’s no fun.”
“Well, neither is not drinking in my trailer. It’s our thing.”
His bottom lip jutted out and he gave her droopy eyes. “Aww, we have a thing. I think this is the beginning of a beautiful relationship.”
For another few days, she fought off all his suggestions for things to do instead of stay in her trailer, enough to prompt him to announce it in front of the crew as they prepared for the next scene. “Cameron refuses to go out with me. I’ve asked her at least a hundred times and she says no. Who knows how to get into her cold, dead heart?”
To her horror, her agent had chosen that day to stop by and discuss publicity for the film, as well as her schedule to return to Chicago and work on the next thing. As soon as there was a break, he pulled her aside. “Cameron, are you kidding me? Why won’t you go out with Padalecki?”
It wasn’t in a girly way by any means, but she replied just the same. “What is wrong with you? Did your penis just shrivel inside your body?”
“Can you imagine what this would do for you? A few random, on-the-street photos of you two together.”
“Absolutely not. You can hook him up with one of The Hills girls. Though they may be a little tall for him. He likes midgets, you know.”
“Cameron, c’mon, help me out here.”
“Uh, no,” she laughed.
“Just a little dinner, holding hands …”
She sighed, grabbing onto the edge of a chair nearby and leaning with annoyance. “Again, no.”
“Okay, grab a coffee.”
“Jo, I don’t even like coffee.”
“And I don’t like Jo.”
“Whatever.”
“Besides, every self-respecting actor likes coffee.”
“Yeah, okay. This halfway self-respecting actor? Hates it.”
“Can you flirt through interviews? It would please my heart.”
“And your bank account. You’re not fooling me.”
Jonas’ head shot up when he saw Jared within view, so he called him over. He gave Cameron the brightest smile as Jared approached. “Oh, no, no,” she started, and continued saying until Jared broke in.
“What’s up?”
Jonas grabbed Jared’s hand enthusiastically and gave his big-roller smile. “Jared, big fan. So happy to have you working with Cameron here.”
Jared gave his friendliest smile and returned the handshake, even though it was obvious the whipsnap pace of it was kind of overwhelming. “Yeah, it’s been great.”
“Cameron was just telling me you guys were going to grab some coffee later.”
“What?” She harped. “No, I did not.”
“Have you tried Grovefield yet? It’s fantastic, with the freshest beans you’ll ever taste. Smoothest espresso.”
“Where’s that at?” Jared asked, as if he really did want to know.
Cameron spoke up, knowing the paparazzi stalked that entire neighborhood. “It’s where everyone goes for their yearbook pictures. We are not going there.”
He turned to her and asked thoughtfully, “Where we going then?”
“Christ.”
“Is that the new vegan place?” Jared asked.
When she caught his playful eyes, she cracked up and pushed him away so they could leave Jonas. “Fine, we’ll go to the hotel.”
Jonas’ eyes blew up with happiness. “Are you serious?” he hissed.
“Maybe we’ll walk so there can be eleventy billion pictures of the event,” and she gave her agent a mocking thumbs up.
*
“I have no idea how I ended up with the world’s sleaziest agent.”
Jared chuckled, bringing his glass to his lips. “Aren’t they all sleazy?”
Cameron swiveled in the arm chair, admiring the deep reds soaking the walls of his hotel’s bar. The chair was comfy and low to the ground, which allowed her to lazily stretch her legs out under his chair. She crossed her feet at the ankles and looked to him, holding her glass near her mouth. “World’s. Sleaziest,” she punctuated before taking a sip from the highball glass. Her head tipped to one side with the eyes clenched tight. “God damn, what is this?”
“Our drink. What’s the problem?”
“We need more lime juice.”
“You are too spoiled on that. We’re drinking here, we drink like this. A spritz of lemon.”
“It’s gonna be an early night. My stomach will be on the floor.”
“My floor,” he whispered at her before taking a sip. She laughed, but didn’t say much more, so he asked her about the next project. The one he overheard her agent mention was in Chicago.
“It’s golden,” she murmured before the liquid slipped past her lips.
Jared shifted his chair to face her, stretching his long legs in her direction, ankles crossed like her. “C’mon. Tell me,” he asked of her, a little excited.
She squinted a little and got self-conscious. This idea? She kind of loved it - really, she fucking adored it. Prayed to it. Slept with it. But it scared her to tell other people in the business about it. As it was, her agent wasn’t entirely sure what it would entail, but he knew she was confident she had saved enough money to finance it herself. Which told him it was a thin movie and budget. Which worried the crap out of him.
His knee nudged hers. “C’mon. I want to hear the golden story. Get me excited about not being able to see you after this. ‘Cause I’ll know you’re working on something awesome that I’ll see.”
Her eyes narrowed at him, not quite sure how that made any sense. But she was pretty sure he was basically saying he would miss working with her. “Nah, it’s not that big of a deal.”
“What?” In the quiet of the room, it nearly came out as a shriek. “C’mon.”
Cameron shook her head and stared into her glass for a few seconds before taking a sip.
“All that bravado?”
She looked at him, confused.
“You’re just sucked inside with no real courage? What a waste.” Jared kicked back the rest of his drink.
The words were mocking, but his tone was serious. “What?”
“You’ve got everything in front of you for real solid work, even better than what I have, or anyone else I know. And you are a cocky little shit who makes me laugh like you wouldn’t believe. And now, now, you’re going to have modesty?”
Cameron watched him, unsure how to respond.
“You ready?” he asked, grabbing onto her near-empty. “Here,” and he moved the glass closer to her so she could finish it. “When I come back you better be the Cameron I know and love.”
A few things within her turned. First it was her stomach, because inside his tiny tirade sat some really great compliments. And then it was her brain because he sort of shook her up in declaring that she had something great ahead of her, but it wasn’t 100% confidence like she showed to everyone. She knew she wasn’t all that sure of herself, but it wasn’t easy having other people pick that out of her.
Especially since she started gaining momentum in this business. There wasn’t an easy way to be free and yourself without being shredded the next day. So she gave off the attitude and personality and joked about every little thing anyone ever said to her, especially guys. She pretended nothing bothered her, and that she didn’t care she wasn’t big enough to be talked about often or sought out, but when someone did mention her, she always wished it was better and longer and more respectable. She was building her career, and the critics she actually somewhat cared about knew it, and gave her credit where it was due. But sometimes, she just wanted mass acclaim and a big bank account to prove that she was really as good as she thought she could be.
But really? Her heart? It was kind of soft and gooey in that moment and she wondered if he really did want something from her and wasn’t just screwing around when he hit on her. She had always been afraid of letting herself open for people, and guarded her mind and heart so close together, tucked in a tiny corner that no one ever saw. Except that when she thought about it, she’d been letting it out of the closet for short visits with Jared since she met him.
Next
A bunch of amused voices called back. “Hi, Cameron.”
She shot out quickly. “Hello, everybody. I’m Jared Paduhlucky and I’m an enabler.”
He laughed, pushing her on with a hand on her back, joining the people around them who were chuckling.
A few days passed when he asked her if they could stop drinking in her trailer because his driver was giving him nastier and nastier looks for hanging around the lot so late. “Total stinkeye.” He suggested they go to his hotel bar.
She laughed. “We could just stop drinking.”
“Now, that’s no fun.”
“Well, neither is not drinking in my trailer. It’s our thing.”
His bottom lip jutted out and he gave her droopy eyes. “Aww, we have a thing. I think this is the beginning of a beautiful relationship.”
For another few days, she fought off all his suggestions for things to do instead of stay in her trailer, enough to prompt him to announce it in front of the crew as they prepared for the next scene. “Cameron refuses to go out with me. I’ve asked her at least a hundred times and she says no. Who knows how to get into her cold, dead heart?”
To her horror, her agent had chosen that day to stop by and discuss publicity for the film, as well as her schedule to return to Chicago and work on the next thing. As soon as there was a break, he pulled her aside. “Cameron, are you kidding me? Why won’t you go out with Padalecki?”
It wasn’t in a girly way by any means, but she replied just the same. “What is wrong with you? Did your penis just shrivel inside your body?”
“Can you imagine what this would do for you? A few random, on-the-street photos of you two together.”
“Absolutely not. You can hook him up with one of The Hills girls. Though they may be a little tall for him. He likes midgets, you know.”
“Cameron, c’mon, help me out here.”
“Uh, no,” she laughed.
“Just a little dinner, holding hands …”
She sighed, grabbing onto the edge of a chair nearby and leaning with annoyance. “Again, no.”
“Okay, grab a coffee.”
“Jo, I don’t even like coffee.”
“And I don’t like Jo.”
“Whatever.”
“Besides, every self-respecting actor likes coffee.”
“Yeah, okay. This halfway self-respecting actor? Hates it.”
“Can you flirt through interviews? It would please my heart.”
“And your bank account. You’re not fooling me.”
Jonas’ head shot up when he saw Jared within view, so he called him over. He gave Cameron the brightest smile as Jared approached. “Oh, no, no,” she started, and continued saying until Jared broke in.
“What’s up?”
Jonas grabbed Jared’s hand enthusiastically and gave his big-roller smile. “Jared, big fan. So happy to have you working with Cameron here.”
Jared gave his friendliest smile and returned the handshake, even though it was obvious the whipsnap pace of it was kind of overwhelming. “Yeah, it’s been great.”
“Cameron was just telling me you guys were going to grab some coffee later.”
“What?” She harped. “No, I did not.”
“Have you tried Grovefield yet? It’s fantastic, with the freshest beans you’ll ever taste. Smoothest espresso.”
“Where’s that at?” Jared asked, as if he really did want to know.
Cameron spoke up, knowing the paparazzi stalked that entire neighborhood. “It’s where everyone goes for their yearbook pictures. We are not going there.”
He turned to her and asked thoughtfully, “Where we going then?”
“Christ.”
“Is that the new vegan place?” Jared asked.
When she caught his playful eyes, she cracked up and pushed him away so they could leave Jonas. “Fine, we’ll go to the hotel.”
Jonas’ eyes blew up with happiness. “Are you serious?” he hissed.
“Maybe we’ll walk so there can be eleventy billion pictures of the event,” and she gave her agent a mocking thumbs up.
*
“I have no idea how I ended up with the world’s sleaziest agent.”
Jared chuckled, bringing his glass to his lips. “Aren’t they all sleazy?”
Cameron swiveled in the arm chair, admiring the deep reds soaking the walls of his hotel’s bar. The chair was comfy and low to the ground, which allowed her to lazily stretch her legs out under his chair. She crossed her feet at the ankles and looked to him, holding her glass near her mouth. “World’s. Sleaziest,” she punctuated before taking a sip from the highball glass. Her head tipped to one side with the eyes clenched tight. “God damn, what is this?”
“Our drink. What’s the problem?”
“We need more lime juice.”
“You are too spoiled on that. We’re drinking here, we drink like this. A spritz of lemon.”
“It’s gonna be an early night. My stomach will be on the floor.”
“My floor,” he whispered at her before taking a sip. She laughed, but didn’t say much more, so he asked her about the next project. The one he overheard her agent mention was in Chicago.
“It’s golden,” she murmured before the liquid slipped past her lips.
Jared shifted his chair to face her, stretching his long legs in her direction, ankles crossed like her. “C’mon. Tell me,” he asked of her, a little excited.
She squinted a little and got self-conscious. This idea? She kind of loved it - really, she fucking adored it. Prayed to it. Slept with it. But it scared her to tell other people in the business about it. As it was, her agent wasn’t entirely sure what it would entail, but he knew she was confident she had saved enough money to finance it herself. Which told him it was a thin movie and budget. Which worried the crap out of him.
His knee nudged hers. “C’mon. I want to hear the golden story. Get me excited about not being able to see you after this. ‘Cause I’ll know you’re working on something awesome that I’ll see.”
Her eyes narrowed at him, not quite sure how that made any sense. But she was pretty sure he was basically saying he would miss working with her. “Nah, it’s not that big of a deal.”
“What?” In the quiet of the room, it nearly came out as a shriek. “C’mon.”
Cameron shook her head and stared into her glass for a few seconds before taking a sip.
“All that bravado?”
She looked at him, confused.
“You’re just sucked inside with no real courage? What a waste.” Jared kicked back the rest of his drink.
The words were mocking, but his tone was serious. “What?”
“You’ve got everything in front of you for real solid work, even better than what I have, or anyone else I know. And you are a cocky little shit who makes me laugh like you wouldn’t believe. And now, now, you’re going to have modesty?”
Cameron watched him, unsure how to respond.
“You ready?” he asked, grabbing onto her near-empty. “Here,” and he moved the glass closer to her so she could finish it. “When I come back you better be the Cameron I know and love.”
A few things within her turned. First it was her stomach, because inside his tiny tirade sat some really great compliments. And then it was her brain because he sort of shook her up in declaring that she had something great ahead of her, but it wasn’t 100% confidence like she showed to everyone. She knew she wasn’t all that sure of herself, but it wasn’t easy having other people pick that out of her.
Especially since she started gaining momentum in this business. There wasn’t an easy way to be free and yourself without being shredded the next day. So she gave off the attitude and personality and joked about every little thing anyone ever said to her, especially guys. She pretended nothing bothered her, and that she didn’t care she wasn’t big enough to be talked about often or sought out, but when someone did mention her, she always wished it was better and longer and more respectable. She was building her career, and the critics she actually somewhat cared about knew it, and gave her credit where it was due. But sometimes, she just wanted mass acclaim and a big bank account to prove that she was really as good as she thought she could be.
But really? Her heart? It was kind of soft and gooey in that moment and she wondered if he really did want something from her and wasn’t just screwing around when he hit on her. She had always been afraid of letting herself open for people, and guarded her mind and heart so close together, tucked in a tiny corner that no one ever saw. Except that when she thought about it, she’d been letting it out of the closet for short visits with Jared since she met him.
Next