Evergreen - Cruella/Estella x Reader (GXG)

A day to remember

I stood on the corner of the street outside the House of Baroness terrified. I could barely feel the cold breeze on my skin as I prepared myself to walk in. I had never been a particularly confident person. I must have been out of my mind even being there, let alone applying for a job there.

"Why would anybody employ you as a model." I muttered to myself before checking my watch.

"12:15 pm. Shit!"

 I started to panic, I was 15 minutes late. I had heard all sorts of stories about the dreaded Baroness. She was a ruthless, merciless and wicked woman. Definitely someone you did not want to get on the wrong side of. I must have been mad to even consider being employed by her, but I could not afford to lose out on this job. I had rent to pay and food to buy. So I composed myself and worked up the courage to enter that dreaded building.

"Sorry I am late!" I begged as I walked into the room in which the casting calls were being held. A silence fell upon the room, and suddenly everything felt cold and unwelcoming. The chatters of my many fellow competitors stopped as I walked in. I felt every persons eyes fall up on me, and I could hear the other girls sniggering and judging me as I felt my face flush with embarrassment.

"Nice of you to finally join us" an offish and distant voice shouted out.

I looked up to see the Baroness standing there. Her arms crossed as she glared back at me with great disappointment and disapproval. Beside her stood a thin, tall man, who mirrored her threatening and disapproving look.

"For goodness sake, do not just stand there like a fool, take a seat!", she demanded as her disapproving look intensified. I scurried to my seat with haste, fearing not to waste any more of the Baronesses precious time.

I sat away from the other models. I had never been the most sociable person, I often felt like an outsider. But I knew from the very beginning that I did not fit in here. The other girls were all the perfect image of beauty, fair skin, perfectly straight hair and eyes as blue as the ocean. The fact I even thought I had a chance here was ridiculous. But I was there now, and so despite my insecurities, I had to try my best to stand out. After all a job was a job, and I had to pay my bills somehow.

As I settled in my seat, I felt an intense gaze upon me. But unlike the other people in the room looking at me, this did not feel like a stare of disapproval, judgement or ridicule. This felt like something I had never experienced before. I fidgeted as I tried desperately to ignore the uneasy feeling this caused me. But it was too difficult, I couldn't resist looking up to stare directly back at the person making me feel so awkward.

As I looked up I saw a girl stood beside the Baroness holding a notepad and a pen. She was dressed head to toe in black. Her shaggy red hair framed her pale face perfectly whilst her green eyes peered at me intently through her glasses. She was captivating and utterly enchanting. I stared back at her in a state of confusion and curiosity, as I silently tried to work out what this look meant on her behalf. Our eyes locked on one another causing me to feel flustered, and in a state of panic I quickly looked down at the floor shuffling my feet to distract myself.

The casting calls were boring, as usual. I sat there impatiently as each girl had their measurements taken, walked the catwalk and posed for a few headshots. I hated the façade and shallowness of these things, but there was something about being in front of a camera and on a catwalk in a beautiful gown that felt so exhilarating. As each of my competitors took their turn I grew more and more agitated. Not only was my mind distracted by my own foolish lateness, but I still was not able to take the mysterious redheaded girl off of my mind. I should have known then that it was all going to go wrong.

"Y/N" called the thin man, as he looked at me with hostility. I was too distracted with my own thoughts to realise, suddenly it dawned on me – my name was being called! My heart began to race.

As if my day could not get any worse, when I stood up out of my chair I realised my dress was caught. In a state of panic I pulled at my dress to free it. This pure stupidity created a tear right down the seam of the dress exposing my right thigh. The laughter of my fellow competitors filled the room and state of dread filled my body as I realised that they could all see my underwear. This was like a bad dream. Perhaps I was dreaming I thought to myself momentarily, after all my days are rarely this eventful.

"Don't just stand there." The Baroness exclaimed as she scowled at me. "If you intend on wasting any more of my time today, you might as well leave now."

Shit, this was definitely real life and I had a casting call to do. Out of pride and desperation for the job, I decided not to let it hinder me. Despite the sheer embarrassment I felt during that casting call, I tried my best to conceal the tear with my hand and carried on as if it had never happened.

I sat back down in my seat defeated after the audition. I had totally fucked it up. I almost wanted to cry. But I knew that would only lead to further ridicule and embarrassment. So I sat there with a brave face, pretending that I was unaffected. Despite all of this, there was one thing I knew for sure, She was still staring at me. This time her gaze was less intense and disconcerting. Instead her eyes were now sympathetic, kind and warm. This made me feel somewhat at ease. But I still could not work out what she wanted from me.

A few moments passed as they called out the names of the models that would walk at the Baronesses spring collection event. It should come as no surprise that I did not get the job. Naturally, I was not expecting to get the job, not after I had messed my casting call up. However, I certainly was not expecting to meet the most fascinating and intriguing girl in the world either. Perhaps that audition was not a waste of time after all.

I gathered up my belongings and got ready to leave. After such an eventful day all I wanted to do was go home, drink a bottle of wine and read a book to take my mind of the embarrassment I had suffered that day. I was just approaching the door when I saw her approaching me, with her emerald green eyes still staring at me deeply. I started to feel agitated and my heart began to race as I questioned what she could possibly want from me.

The sound of heels clicking on the floor got louder as she approached closer, my heart now beating with the same pace. A friendly smile graced her face.

"Hi, I'm Estella." She confidently introduced herself to me as I stood there in a state of confusion and bewilderment.

"I couldn't help but notice your dress ripped" she carried on as she glanced down at the lower half of my body.

"Yeah, you and the rest of the room" I jokingly replied, trying to deflect from the awkwardness I was feeling from both the events of the day and the conversation with her.

"Well, it is good to know you're both funny and gorgeous" she replied discreetly placing her hand on my arm.

I was dumbstruck and I did not know how to respond to her compliment.

"Um, Thank you?" I hesitantly stuttered. "I am Y/N by the way."

She playfully smiled at me, I think she could sense my nervousness. "Your modesty is cute, Y/N" she whispered.

"I finish work at 5pm, I can repair the tear in the dress for you if you like?" She continued back in her normal tone.

"Um... Yes, that would be really helpful actually, thank you so much." I replied.

"Great that's settled, I will meet you after work. It will have to be at your place though, my flat mates are awfully annoying and I will not be able to work around them." She insisted.

"Sure, that is fine with me." I replied.

I am not quite sure what compelled me to respond to this request, inviting a total stranger back to my flat was something I had never done before. But there was something so captivating about her that made me feel like I just could not say no. I had to see her again, and this was the perfect opportunity to find out more about her. So I gave her my address, and we said our goodbyes.

I spent the rest of my day nervously looking at the clock, waiting for 5 pm to come around, anticipating that knock on my door.  

AN- I wrote this drunk one night as a joke, but I am really enjoying this story so I am going to continue writing to see where the story progresses. It is my first ever fan fiction and first time writing anything since high school so please try not to judge me too harshly!! I hope you like it