Together at last || Jenna Ortega x Y/n (female)

Chapter 19

❗️ mention of abuse ❗️

Pov: Y/n

The rest of that day went by pretty okay. Emma introduced me to all the other cast members and made sure not to put any pressure on me and Jenna by texting me where she was at all times so that I could avoid her. Deep down, I wanted nothing but to run up to her and pull her into my arms - but I knew it wasn't the time or place to do that.

I also enjoyed the job, walking around watching people interact and do their work. They were like a thousand tiny pieces pulling together into something extraordinary, a picture that was only complete with every single one of them. The mic and camera people, the makeup artists, and even the assistants who got water and food for everyone who needed it. It was a pleasure to capture those seemingly small moments leading up to the result of a perfectly put-together and executed work of art.

It's now the end of the day, and I was just about to put my camera back in its case when I saw something that made me stop my action. Emma, Joy, Hunter, and Jenna are standing in a small circle. It's already dark out, but they're right below a street lamp that showers them with light as if they're on a stage in front of a thousand people. The moment has so much purity in it, just four friends after a hard day at work chatting and laughing. I point my camera at them and snap a few shots, smiling to myself for catching this.

Jenna is standing with her back toward me, so she probably doesn't notice me, but Emma, who is in front of Jenna, spots me and gives me a wave. The others notice her action and turn their head to see where she was waving at. The four pairs of eyes now stare at me - with three happy-smiling faces and one sad one. Hunter waves me over to them, and because I didn't want to seem impolite, I walk over. Jenna immediately moves to Emma's side. To an outsider, it might seem like she's just making space for me in the circle, but I know she did it so she didn't have to stand next to me. Ouch.

I don't let the disappointment show when I stop between Joy and Hunter and greet them instead. "Hey guys, great work today," I exclaim. "Oh, you too! You were everywhere, I'm so excited to see the shots you took," Joy replies. The conversation turns into them (well, everyone except Jenna) sharing memories from the filming of season one. I've heard a few stories from Jenna, but it's exciting to listen to it from someone else's perspective. "So, we talked about meeting up at Jenna's place later. It was a tradition while filming the last season, and we're gonna pick up right where we left off. You can come too!" Joy announces to me, smiling.

My first instinct is to say no. It was hard enough to be around Jenna in a work setting, but a private one where probably some alcohol would be involved? Nope. That would kill me. "Oh, that's sweet, but I think I'm just gonna head home," I say - but it gets me disapproving looks from Emma and Joy, and after a few more minutes, they've convinced me to come. I watch closely for any signs Jenna gives off, to see if it's okay with her that I'm coming. But nothing - her face is downright apathetic and doesn't give me anything to work with.

Everyone leaves for their trailer to get their stuff, and five minutes later, we head to Jenna's place. It's a 30-minute walk, but because we're too many people to fit in a Uber, we decided to walk.
In the beginning, we're all next to each other, Joy and Hunter having a light-hearted conversation about their favorite kind of noodles, but then Jenna starts to walk faster, and soon enough, she's about 20 meters in front of us. Emma rushes after her and says something, but Jenna must have told her to leave her alone because Emma stops and waits until the rest of us catch up with her.

"Why is Jenna acting so weird? Aren't you guys together?" Hunter asks me. His question is innocent, and I know he means no harm with it, but it's still hard to answer. "Oh, uhm... She broke up with me a week ago," I say. Emma obviously already knew about it, but she still chimes in when the others tell me they're sorry, so nobody gets suspicious. That way, hopefully, nobody would ask about the circumstances and make everything even weirder than it already was. Jenna told the cast about us the night she got attacked.