| Subject: FIC: Mistakes |
Author:
Haley J. The Bat
|
[
Next Thread |
Previous Thread |
Next Message |
Previous Message
]
Date Posted: 11:13:04 06/13/02 Thu
Music began to play, and the lights slowly faded back in. Murmers filled the enclosed space, and Hayden began to stretch his long body, glad for that chance. For the past two hours he had been stuck in a stiff seat, watching himself as Sam, the problem child of George Monroe. Countless times he'd cringed at the corniness of his lines, and wondered why nobody else seemed to notice how badly he'd messed up.
Hayden looked around and was slightly surprised to see that a lot of people were wiping at tearing eyes. He caught his co-star Kevin Kilne's gaze, and the man shrugged, showing just as much confusion. People began to stand and exit the theatre, the credits still rolling. Hayden looked around himself in confusion. He'd never been in a premiere before and had no idea how to act or what to do.
Jena Malone, another co-star, smiled encouragingly at him. "Let's go ahead and leave. Next up, reporter avenue."
"What do you mean?" Hayden asked, feeling slightly stupid.
"She means we're going to be hounded by reporters," Kevin answered in a low voice, "then tomorrow we'll see horrible pictures of ourselves and have our idiotic blubbering quoted in magazines."
"Sounds like fun," Hayden commented dryly. They were halfway through the theatre, and bodyguards were walking ahead of them. Hayden was surprised to see that throughout the crowds were several of Hollywood's biggest names. Most of them were smiling, tears staining their faces. He felt pride that his movie had evoked such emotion.
They were out in front of the theatre when suddenly he was hounded by reporters, demanding question after question, lights flashing from every direction. Hayden stumbled upon his answers as well as he could, and hoped that he wasn't making too stupid of a face when he was half blinded by their cameras. His co-stars had gotten lost in the hustle and bustle, and he searched the crowds, looking for them. Suddenly a hand was holding his own.
Hayden looked down, a little surprised at the boldness, and saw that Natalie was looking up at him, her eyes twinkling. He laughed and leaned down to give her a kiss on the cheek and a hug. "I thought you said you had classes!"
"I lied," Natalie answered, grinning giddily at him. "I wanted to surprise you."
"Is Ewan . . .?" Hayden asked, looking around.
Natalie frowned slightly. "No, he couldn't come. He hates leaving his family, and he didn't want to come back to the States for one night. He figured it would be a waste of money. Besides, we're going to see him again in a few months."
Hayden nodded, but he couldn't hide his disappointment. He really *had* been hoping that Ewan would somehow make it to the premiere. The two had become great friends over the months they worked on Star Wars Episode II.
"Did this story in any way touch you? What made you decide to take this acting job?"
Hayden looked up, realizing once again that the reporters were talking to him. He brushed them off and began to lead Natalie out of the crowd, wanting to talk to her alone.
"Hayden, where are you off to?" Jena asked, appearing out of nowhere at his side. She looked at Natalie curiously. When she recognized her, her eyes widened slightly. "Oh, wow! I love your movie Where the Heart is . . . it's, like, my absolute favorite!"
Natalie smiled politely, but Hayden could tell she was embarrassed. She hated being complimented. "Thank you. I really enjoyed making it. Your performance was great in this movie too."
"You actually saw it?" Jena asked, her jaw dropping. She quickly shut her mouth and began to blush. "Sorry. Of course you saw it. You're Hayden's friend, and you're here. Why else would you be here if you hadn't seen it. Did Ewan McGregor come too?"
"Jena seems to think Ewan is . . . *hot*," Hayden said in a stage whisper to Natalie. Natalie giggled in response.
"He's not so bad, is he?" Natalie asked slyly, winking at Jena. The other girl seemed simply amazed that Natalie would wink at her.
"You're coming to the party, right?" Jena asked suddenly.
"Which one?" Hayden frowned, racking his memory.
"The one at Kevin's suite, for just the crew and cast," Jena answered as though it were something everyone should know.
Hayden hit his head with his hand. "Right! Completely slipped my mind. You don't think anyone will mind if Nat comes, right? She's not part of the cast or crew, but . . ."
"I won't mind!" Jena said immediately. She blushed again. "I'm so sorry, I'm making a fool out of myself."
"No, no, it's fine," Natalie said.
"She hates it when people act in awe around her," Hayden explained. "Just treat her like a normal person and she'll open up to you. She avoided me for days after we started filming because I kept asking her for autographs for my friends."
Natalie laughed, remembering. "You terrified me! Every time a scene ended you'd have a picture of me and a permanent marker."
"I don't think George was very impressed either," Hayden admitted, leaning forward slightly on his toes and smiling at Natalie.
Natalie laughed again. "I think you got everyone's autograph! To think that pretty soon people are going to be demanding you of yours. Soon you'll realize why I can't stand people fawning over me."
Hayden rolled his eyes at her. He turned his head and realized that Jena was still standing there, listening. He gave her an apologetic smile. "Do you want a ride over to Kevin's place?"
"Oh, that'd be great," Jena answered with a sigh. "I couldn't stand all of those reporters. Some of them were asking whether you and I had a thing off screen!"
Hayden raised his eyebrows in amusement. "You didn't tell them anything did you?" he asked in mock-worry.
Jena smiled. "Don't worry, our secret's safe," she promised, holding a hand up to her heart.
"Car," Natalie interrupted, reminding Hayden. Her eyes were darkened slightly, but they lessened so as they began to head down the street, following Hayden to his car.
"Why can't we drive the limo?" Jena asked, sending a longing look back to the building where a black limo was glimmering in the flashing lights, waiting for the stars of Life as a House to climb in.
"I love my car," Hayden answered, pretending to be affronted that she would insult it in such a manner. "It can drive anywhere, no matter what. Who needs a limo?"
" *I* need a limo," Jena protested. She began to turn around. "I don't want Kristen to worry anyway. I told her I'd meet her in the limo. I guess I'll see you two at Kevin's?"
"Yeah," Hayden said. He waved at Jena's back as she retreated, then began to continue his way to the car. He'd parked several blocks away to be safe.
"How have you been?" Hayden asked Natalie nervously. Her mind seemed to be on something else, and she was staring off into space as he led her down the dark streets, people brushing past them every once in awhile.
"Hmm?" Natalie seemed to snap back to reality and she offered an apologetic smile to Hayden. "I've been fine. Classes are hard, but I'm making passing grades. My mom was sick a few weeks ago."
"Really?" Hayden asked, sounding worried. "Was it anything serious?"
"Oh, no," Natalie assured him. "It was just a touch of the flu. But you know how close we are. I was worried about her, and even took a few days off of school to go visit."
"You're missing school all over the place aren't you?" Hayden grinned at her. He knew that school was her number one priority, and that she put everything else second.
Natalie sighed. "I know, I know. At this rate I'm going to have three extra years of school instead of just the normal four. The next Star Wars movie should start in about another half a year to a year. I'm not doing any movies for a long time after that. It's exhausting, and I really want to get school over with."
"You're keeping up," Hayden said. "You still make good grades, and I know you miss for months at a time."
"Oh, I know, but--"
"Here's my car," Hayden said, pointing to a blue bug that was parked by the curb.
"You're riding *that*?" Natalie asked. A smile lit up her face in amusement. "I expected it to be some big bad thing without a cover the way you were talking."
"It's just a rental. I think it's cute," Hayden defended, patting the window as he moved to get in the driver's side.
"It is," Natalie admitted. "In fact, I want one of these. Soon as I have enough money, I plan on getting one."
"Natalie, you're the star of Star Wars. You have plenty of money, trust me," Hayden pointed out.
"Yeah, but I'd hate to spend it on a car. I want to keep it until I get out of college. That way, if something comes up I always have the backup money to pay my tuition," Natalie explained.
Hayden put the keys in the ignition and began to turn, but Natalie's hand on his own stopped him. He looked up in surprise at her. "What?"
Natalie was smiling at him in a way he couldn't quite figure out. "I really enjoyed your movie," Natalie said, her voice low and . . . sultry? Was that the right word?
"I'm glad," Hayden said. He jerked his hand away from her. The way she was looking at him was making him uncomfortable.
"You want to know my favorite scene?" Natalie murmered.
"What?" Hayden felt his throat dry up. Surely she wasn't implying . . .
Natalie let her finger toy with the cuff of his suit's sleeve. She looked up at him with a completely innocent expression. "I liked the shower scene," Natalie answered. "You have a very developed chest, you know that?"
Hayden took in a sharp breath. "Thanks . . . I guess," he said stupidly, unable to come up with anything else. Natalie never acted this way, and it was hard for his brain to keep up.
Natalie's fingers trailed down to the edge of his white dress shirt underneath the suit's jacket. She began to tug slightly, and Hayden snapped to attention. He jerked her hand away. "Natalie! What the hell are you doing?"
Natalie's eyes widened slightly, and she sat back in her seat. "Nothing," she said quickly. "I just thought . . . I mean . . . Nothing, that's all."
Hayden nodded, staring at her though she refused to look back. He was breathing slightly shallower than normal. It wasn't often that a girl began to undress him will telling him he had a nice chest. He turned the key in the ignition and began to leave his parking space, figuring it would be better if he and Natalie just didn't mention what had just happened.
He kept shooting her sidelong glances though. Her behavior was confusing him to no end. Never would he have thought Natalie capable of the actions that she'd just done. Well, sure, he'd *thought* about her doing those things occasionally, but he never thought she'd actually do them. Natalie was too smart for that. She just wasn't interested in him that way.
Hayden stopped the car in front of an expensive-looking hotel, lights flashing everywhere, and limos lined up in front. There was a valet line for regular cars, and Hayden let himself in there easily. Most people were arriving in limos, so it was only a minute or two before Hayden and Natalie stepped out of the car and a valet stepped in, turning on the ignition.
Hayden grinned when he noticed Natalie beside him. He'd never been to a hollywood party, but it sure felt good going to one with Natalie on his arm. She was dressed to the nines, looking stunning in a light blue gown that hugged her curves and left little to the imagination. Of course, he had no idea that Natalie was also pretty proud to be on his arm. Hayden didn't look too bad in a suit. Not that he ever looked bad to begin with of course . . .
Hayden and Natalie went up to a desk in the lobby where Hayden flashed his invitation. The lady passed him through, and he and Natalie stepped onto an elevator, heading for the fifteenth floor.
When the doors closed around them, suddenly Hayden felt strange. The tension in the room went to a high, and he began to get hot. He glanced over at Natalie, and was surprised to see that she was studying him. When she caught his gaze, she held it there. He couldn't pull away, not that he wanted to in the first place. Somehow he felt . . . he felt *something* when looking into her eyes like that. It was almost as if they were back in Italy, playing Padmé and Anakin.
"I meant what I said," Natalie said suddenly.
"What?" Hayden said, confused. "You say a lot of things, it's hard to keep track."
"That scene was really hot," Natalie said, repeating her earlier words. She took a step closer to him. "It struck me, just then, why all my friends were jealous that I got to kiss you during Star Wars Episode II."
"Why?" Hayden asked, his voice cracking slightly. She was getting closer with each step, and he really wanted to push her away. Her eyes were like a deep oblivion though, he was lost in them, and couldn't find his way back to reality.
"Because you have an extremely nice chest," Natalie answered. Was it just his imagination, or was she slightly breathless. Her chest was heaving, and he couldn't help but notice that her dress was slinky and obviously in need of being touched. His fingertips itched to test the fabric, to see if it was as soft and luxurious as it looked.
"Really?" Hayden asked in a murmer. "It's probably from all of that lightsabre practicing."
Natalie nodded. Her head was somehow closer to his suddenly. He felt her body's heat radiating, filling him with a desire to press her against him, let her body stretch fully against his skin. He wasn't thinking, and let his hand trail to the back of her neck. She didn't object. In fact, she used her hands to clutch at the sides of his jacket and press his lower body against hers. He leaned down and their lips met. He began to devour her immediately. There was no time for soft, sweet pecks. He thrust his tongue into her mouth, and turned them around so that he could press her up against the wall of the elevator. Natalie let out a loud moan, and this enticed Hayden further. He let his other hand move to her bottom, and pinched the flesh there. Just as she let out a yelp of surprise, the bell inside of the elevator beeped.
Hayden broke away from her, jumping back slightly. The bell had scared him. His breathing was raggid, and he could hear Natalie beside him, gasping and grabbing for oxygen as she straightened her dress.
When the door opened, Hayden and Natalie stepped out of the elevator and onto the floor, trying to appear as if nothing happened.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Author's Note: Please review. This will be a series if people like it. You can review by replying this message.
[
Next Thread |
Previous Thread |
Next Message |
Previous Message
]
| |
Feedback: 