New Beginnings
Title: New Beginnings
Rating: PG... I think.
Pairing: Ella/Lauren, hints of Ella/OC
Spoilers: None
Summary: This is a kind of an origins story for Ella and Lauren meeting on "Melrose Place."
Disclaimer: I own nothing.
"We have to stop meeting like this." Lauren called out to the smiling couple walking in front of her. Jonah and Riley spun around arm in arm, laughing all the way.
"We were wondering when you’d show up. Riley was beginning to worry we were apartment hunting alone today." Jonah quipped as he and Riley continued walking backward.
Lauren laughed and ran to catch up with them. The couple turned forward again and Lauren interlocked her arm with Riley’s just before they came upon their collective destination.
"4616 Melrose Place. Talk about upscale." Riley said as they entered the apartment complex. She was not kidding. Of all the apartments they had seen so far, there were insects, stains of bodily fluids on the carpets and in some cases parts of the doors and walls were missing. Not in this apartment complex though. Everything was freshly painted and upscale. There was even a pool.
As they continued to walk around a gorgeous woman left an open apartment frustrated. She stomped her Manolos all the way out of the complex. The trio watched her as she quickly left the premises.
Jonah glanced inside an open apartment and his mouth dropped. "Okay, is it just me or is this place perfect?" Jonah asked.
"It’s not just you." The trio turned to see a well dressed woman coming out of the penthouse, a mischievous grin firmly and Lauren suspected permanently placed on her lips. "Hi, I’m Sydney Andrews. I’m the landlord here."
"So, you’re kinda like the gatekeeper?" Jonah asked, getting a blank expression in return from Sydney. "Like in ‘Ghostbusters?’"
Riley interrupted as she was used to doing when Jonah’s geeky side came out. Riley extended a hand. "Hi, I’m Riley Richmond. This is my boyfriend Jonah Miller. We’re applying for an apartment together."
Sydney shook both of their hands before glancing at Lauren. "Now, are you here to apply for one of the studios or are you ‘with them’ because I’m a very open minded person but three people in a one bedroom will cost you extra. This is a very high end complex."
"Oh no." Lauren said as the trio began to laugh though their laughter died off at the serious expression on Sydney’s face.
"Lauren is our friend, she’s here to apply for one of the studios. We just wanted to come in together. We have our applications already filled out." Riley explained.
"Well, just let me see those and let’s get started." Sydney took the applications and began walking back to the penthouse with Jonah, Riley and Lauren in tow. They took a seat on the couch of Sydney’s apartment. Sydney silently read over the applications while Jonah and Riley engaged in the normal banter. Meanwhile Lauren sat uncharacteristically quiet.
She was normally very personable and take charge in situations with other people. It was one of the qualities she knew would make her a good doctor. It was her passion. It was why she left Cincinnati to complete med school in L.A. but thus far the process had been hard. After a month of being in the City of Angels, classes had already started, she still did not know her way around the city, she was living in a hotel and had virtually no friends outside of Jonah and Riley.
Her whole life she grew up in privilege around her family and friends. Los Angeles was a whole new world, but she was lucky to have the friends she did. Jonah and Riley were looking for apartments right in her price range and by some twist of fate they had a tendency to keep running into each other until they finally decided to accept their fate and go apartment hunting together. It was nice to have someone to call and meet with. Jonah and Riley were great people, but they were very coupled. As wonderful as they were, Lauren often felt like the third wheel. She needed a place to call her own.
Sydney cleared her throat. "Well, these all look very well in order. Jonah, Riley, I think I can show you an apartment right now and if you like it we can start talking leases immediately."
Jonah and Riley stood up with their jaws dropped. Words tumbled out of Jonah’s mouth in a flurry. "Oh my gosh, this is so amazing."
"Yes, why don’t you go downstairs and have a brunette girl named Sierra, point you in the direction of the one bedrooms. I’ll meet you in a minute after I talk to Lauren." Sydney said.
"Okay, see you Lauren." Riley said gleefully as she and Jonah bounded out the front door.
"Yeah, you will." Lauren called out, shifting anxiously as she turned to Sydney once more. "Is there a problem with my application?"
"No. There actually isn’t." Sydney said, glancing over it once more. "You have tons of references, you’re financially solvent, and a med student which guarantees you’ll be well behaved, well at least as far as the medical board knows. Here’s my problem Lauren, I’m saving the remainder of the studios for young men."
Lauren blinked not sure she heard Sydney correctly. "Uh, what?"
"Oh, it’s nothing personal. We just have so many attractive young women living here already and no young men. Now, I’m a big fan of the LGBT don’t get me wrong, but I don’t want word getting around that this is some kind of lesbian apartment complex. It’s bad for business, you know." Sydney said as if it was the most normal thing in the world.
"Oh." Lauren said, not knowing how to respond. She did not know what this would mean for her. Jonah and Riley would be settled and she would be on her own again. She would not even be able to share her homeless plight with them anymore. ‘Maybe I should have told Sydney, Jonah, Riley and I were a threesome after all.’
"But all hope is not lost." Sydney said. "You know, I became the landlord of this place because I wanted to recreate the family energy I once had here. I think you could be part of that, Lauren. I always did have a soft spot for doctors. The only thing is you have to room with someone else. Most of the two bedrooms here go to couples, but it just so happens that my young friend Ella is interviewing potential roommates now. I don’t know how your chances are. She’s interviewed two dozen people already and still hasn’t found someone special, though she has had fun trying." Sydney smirked, causing Lauren to raise an eyebrow. "Anywho, I told her she had to find someone by noon today and it’s about 11:35 now. You can take your application right on over."
"Okay, thank you." Lauren said, taking the application out of Sydney’s hand.
"Good luck. You’ll need it." Sydney walked over to the door and held it open for Lauren. Lauren got up and walked out the door flashing a nervous smile to Sydney and leaving. Lauren headed to the open apartment door where yet another gorgeous woman was leaving disappointed.
"Don’t get your hopes up honey. She was really liking the girl after me, if you catch my drift." The mystery woman said with a wink as she left the apartment. Lauren took a breath before entering the apartment. She needed this.
Lauren entered the apartment and the first thing she saw made her breath catch in her throat. The women she saw leaving the apartment looked like models, but they had nothing on this girl. She was blonde, bronzed with intense blue eyes that contained a teasing bit of green and a hint of magic within them. Lauren’s eyes locked instantly with hers. She knew she had to be Ella. She was laughing about something with the young woman next to her.
She stood there awkwardly for a few moments before remembering herself. "Hi, I’m Lauren Yung. I’m here to interview to be your new roommate."
"Oh. Well, just sit down. Cindy and I were just finishing up with her interview." Ella said, gesturing to a chair. Lauren finally noticed the woman sitting next to Ella. She was very pretty, if not unhealthily thin. She showed some warning signs of anorexia. Lauren wanted to talk to her after. She realized she still had not sat down when the other girls began staring at her.
"Right, well, I’ll just do that then. Now." Lauren said babbling nervously. Ella smiled at the behavior.
"Well, thanks for the play by play." Cindy quipped.
Ella gently touched Cindy’s arm in an attempt to get her attention. "Now, let’s get back to this interview. You say your agency handles Seth Rogen?"
Lauren sat down watching the exchange closely. Cindy nodded gleefully. "We totally do, among others."
"If I could be the publicist to some of your clients I could shoot to the top of my company in a second." Ella said with a hungry grin on her face.
Cindy clapped her hands together gleefully. "Same here. We could be a dynamic duo, you and I. One hand washes the other. We’re on the same schedule and we would have plenty of plotting times if had a common meeting ground... like our place. Once you, you know, take out the trash." Cindy’s eyes flew over to Lauren on the last word. Lauren looked down self consciously at her outfit before offering a plastic smile in return.
Ella stood up quickly, motioning for Cindy to stand up as well. "Well, thank you for that. Your references are amazing and professionally speaking I think we could do a lot for each other if you live here."
Cindy sauntered impossibly close to Ella, but spoke loud enough for Lauren to hear. "And personally speaking I think we do a lot for each other too."
Ella simply smirked before moving her eyes from Lauren and back to Cindy. "I’ll call you to let me know my decision."
Cindy frowned for a moment before a confident smile adorned her face again. "Well, all right then. Ta!"
With that she flew out of the door with a bounce in her step. Ella then turned to Lauren and motioned for her to sit in the empty chair next to her. Once Lauren was seated, Ella extended her hand. "I’m Ella Simms. Junior publicist at WPK."
Lauren shook her hand with a laugh. "I’m Lauren Yung, med student."
Ella narrowed her eyes. "Med student. Really? You’re gorgeous. I thought you were a model or aspiring actress or something, but I guess med student makes sense in the long term. Lots of money to be made, especially given the trouble celebutards get into around here."
"Well, it’s not really about that for me." Lauren said, frowning slightly.
Ella chuckled. "Oh, what’s it about for you then? Helping all the sick kids?"
"Yeah." Lauren said with a sincere nod.
"Oh." Ella said, grabbing her application and looking it over. Lauren found it odd that Ella was so surprised and hoped she did not say the wrong thing. "Daddy Warbucks, that’s good. It means you won’t have a second job that’ll have you coming and going all the time. Medical school means you’re studying all the time."
"That’s right." Lauren confirmed.
"Do you have a boyfriend?" Ella asked. "I don’t mean to pry. I just want to know who will be eating out of my fridge."
"Uh no. I don’t have a boyfriend." Lauren said.
"Girlfriend?" Ella probed.
"No." Lauren said without faltering.
"Interesting." Ella said, continuing to peruse the application.
"Music? I work with a lot of the hottest new comers and have the hottest music out there playing. Do you mind? What do you listen to?" Ella asked.
"I really love Russian composers." Lauren smiled. Ella appeared surprised again and Lauren wondered how many times in their conversation that was going to happen. It was sort of amusing. "Listen, I mostly just keep to myself. I can study anywhere and I often do. I’ve just wanted to be a doctor since like kindergarten. I want to help people. It’s what I’ve always wanted. I left my home and my family and friends to do that. I just need a place to stay. I was hoping that could be here."
Before Lauren could get an answer on her chances, a voice interrupted her.
"Ella!" A pretty brunette woman said running into the living room wearing flannel and blue jeans. Her nostrils flared at the sight of Lauren. "Who the hell is this?"
Lauren’s eyes shot to Ella who was pressed against her chair aghast. "Oh..."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"...shit." Ella said, grabbing Lauren’s hand and pulling them both into a standing position. "I’m sorry..." Ella trailed off forgetting her one night stand’s name. As a matter of fact she was not sure she got her name in the first place.
"Summer!" The woman screeched angrily.
"Summer, of course. Such a lovely name. I was building to that. I paused momentarily because part of me wanted to call you muffin. I always thought of you with that pet name, but I stopped myself because I did not want to hurt my girlfriend and soul mate, Lauren Yung." Ella said, gesturing to Lauren. Ella chanced a glance at Lauren, whose mouth was already opening in protest. "Excuse us, just a second."
Ella pulled Lauren down the hallway and into her bedroom as fast as she could. She managed to get the bedroom closed before Lauren started arguing with her. "Ella, what the hell is going on?"
"Okay, I’m sorry, I’m sorry. I just need you to play along. That’s my one night stand from the gas station." Ella said.
Lauren’s jaw dropped. "The gas station?"
Ella raised a finger. "Oh don’t you judge me. That girl is hot, like Elle MacPherson hot and my credit card was maxed out."
"Your credit card was maxed out so you slept with someone whose name you could not remember?" Lauren smirked.
"Hey, gas prices are high these days!... and I’ll be honest, I just wanted to get laid. Now, I just need to get rid of her, if you’ll help me." Ella said, heading to the door.
Lauren rested her hand on Ella’s arm, stopping her. "Okay, I sympathize with you, but can’t you just be honest? I don’t want to get in the middle of your life, but I’m not gonna help you lie to some poor girl."
Ella turned around so she was facing Lauren. "First of all, I lie for a living. It’s easier this way. And second of all, I am willing to sweeten the pot. Are you ready for this? Help me out, you get the apartment. Forget Cindy and her Quentin Tarantino-esque clients. Helping me get rid of my one night stands is priceless."
Lauren backed away slowly, shaking her head. "Look, I need an apartment and I’ve always been willing to work hard for everything I got, but bending the truth and playing games is not what I’m about. I think I ought to go."
Lauren began to move around Ella towards the door before Ella stepped in front of her, letting out a sigh. "Okay, okay I’m sorry. You have to be the first honest person I’ve ever met in L.A.. Listen, this chick made a youtube slideshow of us together after one night. She put her number in my phone. She left some of her clothes here so she could come back and get them. She’s clingy, I’m going to see her all the time. I just need a little help here. I would not ask unless I absolutely had to. Please help me."
Ella stared into Lauren’s eyes, not caring if all her vulnerability was showing. Ella may be the girl in the amazing apartment, dressed to the nines and casting her magic on what seems like every person she meets, but inside she was a scared girl constantly trying to figure out her next move. Ella did not really like anyone seeing her like this, but she could read people really well and Lauren was not someone who could be bought. Ella needed to put her trust into Lauren and risk being exposed. It was a huge risk but Ella was a risk taker. She just hope Lauren would not join the laundry list of everyone else who ditched her or took advantage when she had her guard down. For some reason she did not want Lauren to leave.
"I am only doing this to protect this girl’s feelings." Lauren said sternly.
Ella beamed and held up her hands as if she was submitting to Lauren’s will. "That’s all I ask."
Lauren turned and opened the door to find Summer waiting right outside with an intense look on her face. Ella and Lauren jumped closer together with a small yelp. Ella wrapped her arms instinctively and protectively around Lauren.
"Sweetheart, hi. We were just coming to find you," Ella said. Lauren nodded along.
"I thought you said my nickname was muffin?" Summer asked raising an eyebrow.
"Well, you’re so great you get two nicknames." Ella smiled, dropping her arms from around Lauren and interlacing their fingers. "But as I was trying to tell you before as much as I enjoyed you and our time together, we can’t see each other anymore, because I’m back together with my girlfriend Lauren. We were broken up for a week when I met you, but we’ve found our way back to each other. So, you see there’s nothing for us here." Ella said gesturing in between her and Summer.
At that moment, Ella turned and gave Lauren a loving look that almost made Lauren buy their story. She had to work to stop from smiling shyly in return.
Summer squirmed at the display. Jealously she asked, "well, how long have you even been together anyway?"
Ella and Lauren chimed in with "six months" and "two years" at the same time, causing them to both start giggling which caused Summer’s confusion to deepen.
"Well," Lauren coughed taking the lead, "We met two years ago, but only made love six months ago."
Ella’s face looked shocked, almost comically so as she mouthed to Lauren, ‘really?’
Summer echoed her sentiments with an actual voiced "really?"
"Well, we had sex before that. We just didn’t make love until six months ago." Ella chimed in, earning a pinch from Lauren. Ella simply tossed her a wink in return before focusing her attention back on Summer. "So, you see we’re solid. It’s just not gonna work between you and I muffin."
"But, and no offense," Summer said, glancing at Lauren before leaning into Ella, "we had a great night. Why would you jump into bed with me if you had just broken up with your "soul mate." How do you know you guys won’t have problems again in an hour?"
"I’m right here." Lauren said, too amused to be really offended.
"She knows sweetie." Ella said, turning back to Summer. "Listen, I know how it can seem. When life starts to suck, I have sex with someone. Sex is fun. Tons of fun actually. You may have noticed. But Lauren’s the one for me."
Ella turned to Lauren then, cupping Lauren’s face gently in her hands. "I love her cheek bones. I love her lips. I love how she argues me with me instead of just letting me get my way. I love how she wants to be a doctor, because she wants to help people instead of just being in it for the money, but the money doesn’t hurt. I love how good she is. She’s someone I want in my life, someone I want living in the apartment and I don’t want to ever let her go."
Ella brushed the pads of her thumbs against Lauren’s face in a circular motion. ‘Time for the kill strike,’ Ella thought. There were two things Ella was good at, sex and selling a story. She just hoped with the bonus years of schooling Lauren had under her belt for med school, Lauren had done some part of matriculating that included girl on girl.
Ella leaned in as close as possible, her lips brushing across Lauren’s for a few moments, giving her ample time to pull away before finally connecting for a soft, slow kiss. She let her tongue dance across Lauren’s bottom lip, before Lauren let her in, tongues dueling, massaging. Lauren tasted like vanilla mint, a flavor Ella was already familiar with and maybe it was the fact that Ella knew she would not get a chance like this again, but she found herself getting intoxicated by it. Fingers began threading through Lauren’s hair, seeking skin and wrinkling clothes. It was getting hard to breathe, Ella felt dizzy and like a teenager and it was in that moment she remembered it was an act and it was time to pull away.
They pulled apart at the same time whispering "wow" in unison. Lauren seemed dazed, her eyes bouncing back and forth Ella’s mouth and eyes. Ella glowed at the prospect.
Summer cleared her throat. "Well, I guess I’ll be going then."
"Oh, you’re still here?" Ella muttered, before smiling at her. "I mean, yeah, you should. No hard feelings."
Summer nodded for a moment before finally heading towards the front door. Ella followed her with her arm around Lauren to make sure Summer did not steal anything on the way out. At the last moment, Summer turned and faced them one last time. "I hope someday I’ll have what you two have."
"Oh, you’ll have it Summer, trust us." Lauren said, leaning her head on Ella’s shoulder.
Summer finally left closing the door behind her. Ella and Lauren broke apart quickly. An uncharacteristic nervous energy flowed through Ella’s veins. She had never met anyone like Lauren before.
"Well, that was amazing. You were amazing. Thank you." Ella smiled.
Lauren waved away the praise with her head bowed. "It’s no problem. I should probably wait about five minutes and then I could go."
"Go to move your stuff in?" Ella asked.
Lauren’s head shot up at the statement. "You still want me to move in?"
"Lauren, I know people who would have helped me for a bribe or trade, who would have done it because it was funny. You did it for me because you honestly thought it was the right thing to do. You did it for me. There’s nothing more important to me than my career, but I could make a million connections just like Cindy. I don’t know how many people like you I will met in L.A. and I don’t intend on letting you go." Ella said sincerely.
Lauren blushed. "Well, thank you. This is amazing. You know I’ve lived her for a month now and I still haven’t seen L.A."
"Well, I could take you out." Ella offered excitedly. "Yeah, it’s the least I could do."
"Ella, you’ve done enough." Lauren said.
"No, I’ll show you sights, take you out to some of the best restaurants, introduce you to some people. It’ll be great. Starting right now. What do you say? We could call some movers, buy you a bed. You’ll be moved in by the end of the day." Ella smiled her most charming smile.
"That sounds great. I’ll get my purse," Lauren said, turning and searching around the living room for her purse. "It’s been such a long time since I’ve made a new friend."
Ella’s face fell for a moment. Friend. After that kiss, Lauren just wanted to be friends. It made sense, of course it did. Lauren was a good person from a good family. Why would she want an obvious liar from a bad background like Ella?
By the time Lauren faced Ella again with her purse and a big grin, Ella had a smile to match. She could always use a friend.
Rating: PG... I think.
Pairing: Ella/Lauren, hints of Ella/OC
Spoilers: None
Summary: This is a kind of an origins story for Ella and Lauren meeting on "Melrose Place."
Disclaimer: I own nothing.
"We have to stop meeting like this." Lauren called out to the smiling couple walking in front of her. Jonah and Riley spun around arm in arm, laughing all the way.
"We were wondering when you’d show up. Riley was beginning to worry we were apartment hunting alone today." Jonah quipped as he and Riley continued walking backward.
Lauren laughed and ran to catch up with them. The couple turned forward again and Lauren interlocked her arm with Riley’s just before they came upon their collective destination.
"4616 Melrose Place. Talk about upscale." Riley said as they entered the apartment complex. She was not kidding. Of all the apartments they had seen so far, there were insects, stains of bodily fluids on the carpets and in some cases parts of the doors and walls were missing. Not in this apartment complex though. Everything was freshly painted and upscale. There was even a pool.
As they continued to walk around a gorgeous woman left an open apartment frustrated. She stomped her Manolos all the way out of the complex. The trio watched her as she quickly left the premises.
Jonah glanced inside an open apartment and his mouth dropped. "Okay, is it just me or is this place perfect?" Jonah asked.
"It’s not just you." The trio turned to see a well dressed woman coming out of the penthouse, a mischievous grin firmly and Lauren suspected permanently placed on her lips. "Hi, I’m Sydney Andrews. I’m the landlord here."
"So, you’re kinda like the gatekeeper?" Jonah asked, getting a blank expression in return from Sydney. "Like in ‘Ghostbusters?’"
Riley interrupted as she was used to doing when Jonah’s geeky side came out. Riley extended a hand. "Hi, I’m Riley Richmond. This is my boyfriend Jonah Miller. We’re applying for an apartment together."
Sydney shook both of their hands before glancing at Lauren. "Now, are you here to apply for one of the studios or are you ‘with them’ because I’m a very open minded person but three people in a one bedroom will cost you extra. This is a very high end complex."
"Oh no." Lauren said as the trio began to laugh though their laughter died off at the serious expression on Sydney’s face.
"Lauren is our friend, she’s here to apply for one of the studios. We just wanted to come in together. We have our applications already filled out." Riley explained.
"Well, just let me see those and let’s get started." Sydney took the applications and began walking back to the penthouse with Jonah, Riley and Lauren in tow. They took a seat on the couch of Sydney’s apartment. Sydney silently read over the applications while Jonah and Riley engaged in the normal banter. Meanwhile Lauren sat uncharacteristically quiet.
She was normally very personable and take charge in situations with other people. It was one of the qualities she knew would make her a good doctor. It was her passion. It was why she left Cincinnati to complete med school in L.A. but thus far the process had been hard. After a month of being in the City of Angels, classes had already started, she still did not know her way around the city, she was living in a hotel and had virtually no friends outside of Jonah and Riley.
Her whole life she grew up in privilege around her family and friends. Los Angeles was a whole new world, but she was lucky to have the friends she did. Jonah and Riley were looking for apartments right in her price range and by some twist of fate they had a tendency to keep running into each other until they finally decided to accept their fate and go apartment hunting together. It was nice to have someone to call and meet with. Jonah and Riley were great people, but they were very coupled. As wonderful as they were, Lauren often felt like the third wheel. She needed a place to call her own.
Sydney cleared her throat. "Well, these all look very well in order. Jonah, Riley, I think I can show you an apartment right now and if you like it we can start talking leases immediately."
Jonah and Riley stood up with their jaws dropped. Words tumbled out of Jonah’s mouth in a flurry. "Oh my gosh, this is so amazing."
"Yes, why don’t you go downstairs and have a brunette girl named Sierra, point you in the direction of the one bedrooms. I’ll meet you in a minute after I talk to Lauren." Sydney said.
"Okay, see you Lauren." Riley said gleefully as she and Jonah bounded out the front door.
"Yeah, you will." Lauren called out, shifting anxiously as she turned to Sydney once more. "Is there a problem with my application?"
"No. There actually isn’t." Sydney said, glancing over it once more. "You have tons of references, you’re financially solvent, and a med student which guarantees you’ll be well behaved, well at least as far as the medical board knows. Here’s my problem Lauren, I’m saving the remainder of the studios for young men."
Lauren blinked not sure she heard Sydney correctly. "Uh, what?"
"Oh, it’s nothing personal. We just have so many attractive young women living here already and no young men. Now, I’m a big fan of the LGBT don’t get me wrong, but I don’t want word getting around that this is some kind of lesbian apartment complex. It’s bad for business, you know." Sydney said as if it was the most normal thing in the world.
"Oh." Lauren said, not knowing how to respond. She did not know what this would mean for her. Jonah and Riley would be settled and she would be on her own again. She would not even be able to share her homeless plight with them anymore. ‘Maybe I should have told Sydney, Jonah, Riley and I were a threesome after all.’
"But all hope is not lost." Sydney said. "You know, I became the landlord of this place because I wanted to recreate the family energy I once had here. I think you could be part of that, Lauren. I always did have a soft spot for doctors. The only thing is you have to room with someone else. Most of the two bedrooms here go to couples, but it just so happens that my young friend Ella is interviewing potential roommates now. I don’t know how your chances are. She’s interviewed two dozen people already and still hasn’t found someone special, though she has had fun trying." Sydney smirked, causing Lauren to raise an eyebrow. "Anywho, I told her she had to find someone by noon today and it’s about 11:35 now. You can take your application right on over."
"Okay, thank you." Lauren said, taking the application out of Sydney’s hand.
"Good luck. You’ll need it." Sydney walked over to the door and held it open for Lauren. Lauren got up and walked out the door flashing a nervous smile to Sydney and leaving. Lauren headed to the open apartment door where yet another gorgeous woman was leaving disappointed.
"Don’t get your hopes up honey. She was really liking the girl after me, if you catch my drift." The mystery woman said with a wink as she left the apartment. Lauren took a breath before entering the apartment. She needed this.
Lauren entered the apartment and the first thing she saw made her breath catch in her throat. The women she saw leaving the apartment looked like models, but they had nothing on this girl. She was blonde, bronzed with intense blue eyes that contained a teasing bit of green and a hint of magic within them. Lauren’s eyes locked instantly with hers. She knew she had to be Ella. She was laughing about something with the young woman next to her.
She stood there awkwardly for a few moments before remembering herself. "Hi, I’m Lauren Yung. I’m here to interview to be your new roommate."
"Oh. Well, just sit down. Cindy and I were just finishing up with her interview." Ella said, gesturing to a chair. Lauren finally noticed the woman sitting next to Ella. She was very pretty, if not unhealthily thin. She showed some warning signs of anorexia. Lauren wanted to talk to her after. She realized she still had not sat down when the other girls began staring at her.
"Right, well, I’ll just do that then. Now." Lauren said babbling nervously. Ella smiled at the behavior.
"Well, thanks for the play by play." Cindy quipped.
Ella gently touched Cindy’s arm in an attempt to get her attention. "Now, let’s get back to this interview. You say your agency handles Seth Rogen?"
Lauren sat down watching the exchange closely. Cindy nodded gleefully. "We totally do, among others."
"If I could be the publicist to some of your clients I could shoot to the top of my company in a second." Ella said with a hungry grin on her face.
Cindy clapped her hands together gleefully. "Same here. We could be a dynamic duo, you and I. One hand washes the other. We’re on the same schedule and we would have plenty of plotting times if had a common meeting ground... like our place. Once you, you know, take out the trash." Cindy’s eyes flew over to Lauren on the last word. Lauren looked down self consciously at her outfit before offering a plastic smile in return.
Ella stood up quickly, motioning for Cindy to stand up as well. "Well, thank you for that. Your references are amazing and professionally speaking I think we could do a lot for each other if you live here."
Cindy sauntered impossibly close to Ella, but spoke loud enough for Lauren to hear. "And personally speaking I think we do a lot for each other too."
Ella simply smirked before moving her eyes from Lauren and back to Cindy. "I’ll call you to let me know my decision."
Cindy frowned for a moment before a confident smile adorned her face again. "Well, all right then. Ta!"
With that she flew out of the door with a bounce in her step. Ella then turned to Lauren and motioned for her to sit in the empty chair next to her. Once Lauren was seated, Ella extended her hand. "I’m Ella Simms. Junior publicist at WPK."
Lauren shook her hand with a laugh. "I’m Lauren Yung, med student."
Ella narrowed her eyes. "Med student. Really? You’re gorgeous. I thought you were a model or aspiring actress or something, but I guess med student makes sense in the long term. Lots of money to be made, especially given the trouble celebutards get into around here."
"Well, it’s not really about that for me." Lauren said, frowning slightly.
Ella chuckled. "Oh, what’s it about for you then? Helping all the sick kids?"
"Yeah." Lauren said with a sincere nod.
"Oh." Ella said, grabbing her application and looking it over. Lauren found it odd that Ella was so surprised and hoped she did not say the wrong thing. "Daddy Warbucks, that’s good. It means you won’t have a second job that’ll have you coming and going all the time. Medical school means you’re studying all the time."
"That’s right." Lauren confirmed.
"Do you have a boyfriend?" Ella asked. "I don’t mean to pry. I just want to know who will be eating out of my fridge."
"Uh no. I don’t have a boyfriend." Lauren said.
"Girlfriend?" Ella probed.
"No." Lauren said without faltering.
"Interesting." Ella said, continuing to peruse the application.
"Music? I work with a lot of the hottest new comers and have the hottest music out there playing. Do you mind? What do you listen to?" Ella asked.
"I really love Russian composers." Lauren smiled. Ella appeared surprised again and Lauren wondered how many times in their conversation that was going to happen. It was sort of amusing. "Listen, I mostly just keep to myself. I can study anywhere and I often do. I’ve just wanted to be a doctor since like kindergarten. I want to help people. It’s what I’ve always wanted. I left my home and my family and friends to do that. I just need a place to stay. I was hoping that could be here."
Before Lauren could get an answer on her chances, a voice interrupted her.
"Ella!" A pretty brunette woman said running into the living room wearing flannel and blue jeans. Her nostrils flared at the sight of Lauren. "Who the hell is this?"
Lauren’s eyes shot to Ella who was pressed against her chair aghast. "Oh..."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"...shit." Ella said, grabbing Lauren’s hand and pulling them both into a standing position. "I’m sorry..." Ella trailed off forgetting her one night stand’s name. As a matter of fact she was not sure she got her name in the first place.
"Summer!" The woman screeched angrily.
"Summer, of course. Such a lovely name. I was building to that. I paused momentarily because part of me wanted to call you muffin. I always thought of you with that pet name, but I stopped myself because I did not want to hurt my girlfriend and soul mate, Lauren Yung." Ella said, gesturing to Lauren. Ella chanced a glance at Lauren, whose mouth was already opening in protest. "Excuse us, just a second."
Ella pulled Lauren down the hallway and into her bedroom as fast as she could. She managed to get the bedroom closed before Lauren started arguing with her. "Ella, what the hell is going on?"
"Okay, I’m sorry, I’m sorry. I just need you to play along. That’s my one night stand from the gas station." Ella said.
Lauren’s jaw dropped. "The gas station?"
Ella raised a finger. "Oh don’t you judge me. That girl is hot, like Elle MacPherson hot and my credit card was maxed out."
"Your credit card was maxed out so you slept with someone whose name you could not remember?" Lauren smirked.
"Hey, gas prices are high these days!... and I’ll be honest, I just wanted to get laid. Now, I just need to get rid of her, if you’ll help me." Ella said, heading to the door.
Lauren rested her hand on Ella’s arm, stopping her. "Okay, I sympathize with you, but can’t you just be honest? I don’t want to get in the middle of your life, but I’m not gonna help you lie to some poor girl."
Ella turned around so she was facing Lauren. "First of all, I lie for a living. It’s easier this way. And second of all, I am willing to sweeten the pot. Are you ready for this? Help me out, you get the apartment. Forget Cindy and her Quentin Tarantino-esque clients. Helping me get rid of my one night stands is priceless."
Lauren backed away slowly, shaking her head. "Look, I need an apartment and I’ve always been willing to work hard for everything I got, but bending the truth and playing games is not what I’m about. I think I ought to go."
Lauren began to move around Ella towards the door before Ella stepped in front of her, letting out a sigh. "Okay, okay I’m sorry. You have to be the first honest person I’ve ever met in L.A.. Listen, this chick made a youtube slideshow of us together after one night. She put her number in my phone. She left some of her clothes here so she could come back and get them. She’s clingy, I’m going to see her all the time. I just need a little help here. I would not ask unless I absolutely had to. Please help me."
Ella stared into Lauren’s eyes, not caring if all her vulnerability was showing. Ella may be the girl in the amazing apartment, dressed to the nines and casting her magic on what seems like every person she meets, but inside she was a scared girl constantly trying to figure out her next move. Ella did not really like anyone seeing her like this, but she could read people really well and Lauren was not someone who could be bought. Ella needed to put her trust into Lauren and risk being exposed. It was a huge risk but Ella was a risk taker. She just hope Lauren would not join the laundry list of everyone else who ditched her or took advantage when she had her guard down. For some reason she did not want Lauren to leave.
"I am only doing this to protect this girl’s feelings." Lauren said sternly.
Ella beamed and held up her hands as if she was submitting to Lauren’s will. "That’s all I ask."
Lauren turned and opened the door to find Summer waiting right outside with an intense look on her face. Ella and Lauren jumped closer together with a small yelp. Ella wrapped her arms instinctively and protectively around Lauren.
"Sweetheart, hi. We were just coming to find you," Ella said. Lauren nodded along.
"I thought you said my nickname was muffin?" Summer asked raising an eyebrow.
"Well, you’re so great you get two nicknames." Ella smiled, dropping her arms from around Lauren and interlacing their fingers. "But as I was trying to tell you before as much as I enjoyed you and our time together, we can’t see each other anymore, because I’m back together with my girlfriend Lauren. We were broken up for a week when I met you, but we’ve found our way back to each other. So, you see there’s nothing for us here." Ella said gesturing in between her and Summer.
At that moment, Ella turned and gave Lauren a loving look that almost made Lauren buy their story. She had to work to stop from smiling shyly in return.
Summer squirmed at the display. Jealously she asked, "well, how long have you even been together anyway?"
Ella and Lauren chimed in with "six months" and "two years" at the same time, causing them to both start giggling which caused Summer’s confusion to deepen.
"Well," Lauren coughed taking the lead, "We met two years ago, but only made love six months ago."
Ella’s face looked shocked, almost comically so as she mouthed to Lauren, ‘really?’
Summer echoed her sentiments with an actual voiced "really?"
"Well, we had sex before that. We just didn’t make love until six months ago." Ella chimed in, earning a pinch from Lauren. Ella simply tossed her a wink in return before focusing her attention back on Summer. "So, you see we’re solid. It’s just not gonna work between you and I muffin."
"But, and no offense," Summer said, glancing at Lauren before leaning into Ella, "we had a great night. Why would you jump into bed with me if you had just broken up with your "soul mate." How do you know you guys won’t have problems again in an hour?"
"I’m right here." Lauren said, too amused to be really offended.
"She knows sweetie." Ella said, turning back to Summer. "Listen, I know how it can seem. When life starts to suck, I have sex with someone. Sex is fun. Tons of fun actually. You may have noticed. But Lauren’s the one for me."
Ella turned to Lauren then, cupping Lauren’s face gently in her hands. "I love her cheek bones. I love her lips. I love how she argues me with me instead of just letting me get my way. I love how she wants to be a doctor, because she wants to help people instead of just being in it for the money, but the money doesn’t hurt. I love how good she is. She’s someone I want in my life, someone I want living in the apartment and I don’t want to ever let her go."
Ella brushed the pads of her thumbs against Lauren’s face in a circular motion. ‘Time for the kill strike,’ Ella thought. There were two things Ella was good at, sex and selling a story. She just hoped with the bonus years of schooling Lauren had under her belt for med school, Lauren had done some part of matriculating that included girl on girl.
Ella leaned in as close as possible, her lips brushing across Lauren’s for a few moments, giving her ample time to pull away before finally connecting for a soft, slow kiss. She let her tongue dance across Lauren’s bottom lip, before Lauren let her in, tongues dueling, massaging. Lauren tasted like vanilla mint, a flavor Ella was already familiar with and maybe it was the fact that Ella knew she would not get a chance like this again, but she found herself getting intoxicated by it. Fingers began threading through Lauren’s hair, seeking skin and wrinkling clothes. It was getting hard to breathe, Ella felt dizzy and like a teenager and it was in that moment she remembered it was an act and it was time to pull away.
They pulled apart at the same time whispering "wow" in unison. Lauren seemed dazed, her eyes bouncing back and forth Ella’s mouth and eyes. Ella glowed at the prospect.
Summer cleared her throat. "Well, I guess I’ll be going then."
"Oh, you’re still here?" Ella muttered, before smiling at her. "I mean, yeah, you should. No hard feelings."
Summer nodded for a moment before finally heading towards the front door. Ella followed her with her arm around Lauren to make sure Summer did not steal anything on the way out. At the last moment, Summer turned and faced them one last time. "I hope someday I’ll have what you two have."
"Oh, you’ll have it Summer, trust us." Lauren said, leaning her head on Ella’s shoulder.
Summer finally left closing the door behind her. Ella and Lauren broke apart quickly. An uncharacteristic nervous energy flowed through Ella’s veins. She had never met anyone like Lauren before.
"Well, that was amazing. You were amazing. Thank you." Ella smiled.
Lauren waved away the praise with her head bowed. "It’s no problem. I should probably wait about five minutes and then I could go."
"Go to move your stuff in?" Ella asked.
Lauren’s head shot up at the statement. "You still want me to move in?"
"Lauren, I know people who would have helped me for a bribe or trade, who would have done it because it was funny. You did it for me because you honestly thought it was the right thing to do. You did it for me. There’s nothing more important to me than my career, but I could make a million connections just like Cindy. I don’t know how many people like you I will met in L.A. and I don’t intend on letting you go." Ella said sincerely.
Lauren blushed. "Well, thank you. This is amazing. You know I’ve lived her for a month now and I still haven’t seen L.A."
"Well, I could take you out." Ella offered excitedly. "Yeah, it’s the least I could do."
"Ella, you’ve done enough." Lauren said.
"No, I’ll show you sights, take you out to some of the best restaurants, introduce you to some people. It’ll be great. Starting right now. What do you say? We could call some movers, buy you a bed. You’ll be moved in by the end of the day." Ella smiled her most charming smile.
"That sounds great. I’ll get my purse," Lauren said, turning and searching around the living room for her purse. "It’s been such a long time since I’ve made a new friend."
Ella’s face fell for a moment. Friend. After that kiss, Lauren just wanted to be friends. It made sense, of course it did. Lauren was a good person from a good family. Why would she want an obvious liar from a bad background like Ella?
By the time Lauren faced Ella again with her purse and a big grin, Ella had a smile to match. She could always use a friend.