You woke up, grumbling at your alarm, like always. You shut it off quickly, then turned back around to your girlfriend.
"Good morning," Helena said in her gravelly morning voice. Already you felt butterflies in your stomach.
"Good morning," you said back, squeezing her hand in yours.
"Are you excited for your first day of filming?" she asked.
"I really am. I'm not as scared as I thought I'd be".
"Good," she kissed your forehead before getting out of bed, "I got you something".
"You did?" you asked, scrambling to sit up in bed. She giggled, getting a jewelry box out of her nightstand. She handed it to you, sitting on the edge of the bed to watch you open it. You opened up the box, pulling out a silver necklace. On it, there was a charm of the Empire State Building, with a crystal at the top that you knew had to be real.
"Hellie, this is beautiful!" you exclaimed, "help me put it on?" She moved behind you, putting it around your neck.
"I'm glad you like it. I know you technically aren't filming there, but I thought it might be a good memory of your first lead role".
"I love it," you told her.
"It looks gorgeous on you," she said, kissing your lips softly.
After you got dressed in something nice but not too nice since you would be changing into a costume, you and Helena left the apartment to pick up some breakfast.
"I can run in to get the food. You should check the email from your agent again. They make last minute filming changes all the time," she explained.
"What on earth would I do without you?" you said, smiling.
"Who knows," she joked, laughing.
Once she left, you checked your phone as she advised. You were checking for any new emails when a text came in from an unknown number. You opened up your messages and read.
Hey y/n! This is Rachel, I got a new number since we last talked. I hope you didn't forget about me. I know you wanted to move on after you broke up with me, but I didn't expect you to cut off contact completely. Anyway, I saw on your Instagram that you're in New York. Want to get a drink after work soon?
You were surprised at her text, but you couldn't deal with ex-girlfriend drama right now, so you put your phone away. I'll deal with it tomorrow, you thought. You probably shouldn't have cut her off completely, especially since you dated for two years. But when you went to London, you just wanted to start a new life.
"I got your bagel," Helena said cheerily, coming back into the limo.
"Thank you," you said, taking the bag from her.
"Is everything okay? You seem distracted".
"Yeah, fine. The nerves are getting to me," you lied.
"You'll do amazing, I know you will," she told you confidently.
A little while later you arrived on set, and you immediately were rushed off to your trailer. You and Helena got inside, and you saw a guy, one who you inferred would be doing your hair and makeup since all that was out on your vanity table, was sitting inside.
"Am I late?" you asked him nervously.
"No, not at all. It's my first day, too, and I just wanted to get familiar with all the equipment I'll be using," he explained, "I'm Stan, by the way, and I'm a Capricorn".
You laughed, and shook his hand when he gave it to you.
"Was that too much information?" he asked, his voice a little nervous too.
You shook your head. "Absolutely not, personally, I think we should really normalize introducing ourselves as our zodiac sign. I'm
y/n and I'm a *insert your sign here*. And this is Helena and she's a Gemini".
"Very nice to meet you both," he moved on to shake your girlfriend's hand, "they told me to not fanboy, and I'm normally not the type anyway, but I just have to say I'm a huge fan".
"Thank you," Helena said kindly.
"I saw your movie together and it was just fantastic. Y/n, you really stood out. I also watched your interview with Jimmy Fallon".
"Looks like I have a fan!" you exclaimed. Stan and his fanboying and his talk of astrology really put you at ease, which calmed you down entirely.
Your hair and makeup took about an hour, but you just talked to Helena for most of it. Then the costume designer Nancy came in. She was nice but serious, and she didn't fangirl like Stan. At this point though, all you wanted to do was start filming.
You walked out on set a while later, and took a deep breath.
"I'll be right offset the whole time," Hellie told you, seeing you were starting to get a little nervous again.
"Thank you," you said, giving her a quick kiss.
"You'll do amazing, my love," she squeezed your hand one last time before hurrying off.
Julie, the director and Helena's friend who you had met at the wrap party a while back, walked out on set to talk to you. She was nice, but direct, telling you exactly how she wanted the scene to be.
"And action!" you heard someone yell, and you began your scene. You didn't have to meet any scene partners, since all the ones you filmed today were just focused on your character. Once the camera started rolling, you felt yourself immediately become immersed in this fictional world and character, and all the nerves melted away.
"Cut!" Julie called once you finished the scene, and you looked at her expectedly, "very good, just one more take". You could tell she was a perfectionist, but you listened to her notes and did the scene again. The second time, it was perfect.
After a few more scenes, it was time for your lunch break.
"What do you think?" you asked Helena, walking off the set towards her.
"I was right, you're amazing," she joked, pulling you into a hug.
"So we'll get some lunch and hang out in my trailer? I'm tired, can we take a nap together?"
"Sounds perfect," she kissed your lips softly.
After you ate lunch, you laid down on the couch in your trailer. Helena grabbed you a blanket, smiling as she laid it over you.
"Come here," you said softly, opening up your arms so she could lay with you.
"I'll set an alarm for you," she said as she snuggled into your arms. She did, then put her phone down and kissed your head.
"Thank you, good night".
She giggled. "Rest, my dear".
You woke up a while later to her staring at you. "Have you been looking at me the whole time?" you asked, your voice still sleepy.
"Mostly," she told you, making you break into a smile. You kissed her, then got up to check your phone. You saw another text from Rachel: I understand if you don't want to meet me, but please consider it.
"Who's that?" Helena asked. She wasn't prying, just curious.
"Oh, um, an old friend from college," you answered quickly.
"You've never mentioned anyone from college," she observed, "did she just reach out to you?"
"Yeah, this morning. She saw on my Instagram that I'm in New York and asked if I want to get drinks".
"You should go," your girlfriend encouraged.
"You think so?"
"Why not meet up with an old friend?" she asked, and you cringed slightly when she said "friend".
"Yeah, you're right. I'll go," you said, opening your phone back up and texting her that you would meet her tomorrow night at 7. She replied almost immediately, sending you the link to a bar near you both.
"I'm glad. Maybe I'll meet her one day".
"I'd love to show you off," you joked, pulling her close to kiss her again. Unfortunately, there was a knock at the door two seconds later, and Stan walked back in.
"Time to redo your makeup," he said, excitedly.
"Thanks," you replied, quietly, sitting down in your chair, much less excited than you were.
Authors note: I'm going to Florida on hellie's birthday and I feel automatically cool
