Accepting You

Chapter 36 - Meet My Sisters

It wasn't intentional but Lily, being a friendly person and often times too friendly, ended up inviting Dawn to lunch. Dawn, being a big fan of Lily, accepted immediately so they went out for sushi.

There is a small little Japanese restaurant by the agency that Lily liked to go to and brought Dawn there. As they walked together and sat a table together, Lily found herself liking Dawn more than she thought. She wanted to not like her because she's her competition and she practically replaced her on Joseph's good side but Dawn is genuinely a cool person to be around.

She's bubbly and energetic but she's also young and naive. Lily wondered if Lizzie ever thought of her like the way she is thinking about Dawn. She hoped not – she prides herself on having a mature mentality and took things as they were without glamorifcation.

Lily felt a sense of responsibility for Dawn. She is her 'senior' and felt she should be a mentor figure for her.

"Joseph's been getting me a lot of work," Dawn tells her, continuing her story. "He says you're branching out so a lot more roles are opening up for me. I guess I should thank you for that."

"I didn't do anything for you to thank me," Lily says. "Though the opportunity is there, you get the part yourself through auditioning so you must be talented. Is there anything you've been in that I might have seen?"

Dawn considers for a moment but shakes her head. "Mostly supporting roles but my fanbase is growing steadily."

Lily nods knowing that is part of Joseph's strategy. That's exactly what happened with her.

"Just keep doing what you're doing and I'm sure you'll be big news soon," Lily tells her.

"Like you! I want to follow in your footsteps," Dawn says.

Lily shakes her head to try to wash away the blush creeping up. She didn't feel like she is that big of a celebrity but moments like this, meeting fans, and being recognized are times she is reminded that she's at a higher stage in her career that she thought she was.

"Create your own path," Lily tells her, surprised by her own advice. "Everyone moves through their career differently and at their own pace. Everyone I've worked with is always happy to give advice or guidance but there isn't a formula to be successful. Not in this business."

Dawn nods as Lily's words sink in. It looked like she wanted to ask more but she doesn't. Instead, they fall into conversation about the restaurant and the food and over time, they even fall into a friendly banter about the best restaurants around and then they talk about the team and giggle about the gossip that spreads around in that one floor of the agency.

Again, Lily finds Dawn rather likable. In one meal, they bond over the silly things and despite being a few years older, Lily didn't have any issue relating to the younger girl. If she had the opportunity, Lily thought they might actually be really good friends.

"Thank you for lunch," Dawn says as they exit the restaurant. "I could have covered it."

"What kind of senior actress would I be if I let you do that?" Lily jokes, still feeling weird that she's considered her senior or a senior at anything at all.

"Well thank you again," Dawn says. "I'll see you around?"

"Yeah, I'll see you around," Lily says, unable to tell her that she might not be. But then again, she might. It depends on Joseph.

Once Dawn leaves, Lily calls an Uber and goes back to her apartment.

When she walked through the doors, she is surprised to find Lizzie in her apartment. She can see her from the entrance standing behind the island in the kitchen. She's running one hand through her hair frantically while the other is swiping away at her phone.