If This Was A Movie

1. The Meet Cute

From Lucy Chen's perspective, Los Angeles was drenched in sunshine, but camera flashes could be just as bright, and both were equally unavoidable in her world. She was committed to dedicating herself to her work, so she acted in film after film without taking any breaks, because when she did have down time, even just an evening after a long day of filming, she walked into her fancy, expansive mansion...that was empty aside from her echoing footsteps. Lucy set her purse and her keys down in the foyer, then kicked off her shoes, and ambled into her kitchen for a glass of water. Movie sets were chaotic and loud, but life at home was too quiet and too boring. She settled herself on a couch in her living room then turned on her TV to drown out the loneliness, but her cooking show was interrupted when she received a call from her agent, Wesley Evers. "Hey, Wes," she answered the phone.

"Why don't you sound happy?" He wondered from the sound of her voice.

"I'm fine," she replied, even if it was not very convincing.

"You're usually a better actor than that. Do you not like this new movie?"

"We just started filming. Today was our first day on location, and it wasn't bad."

"That doesn't sound too positive."

"I...it's nothing. I guess I'm just in a bad mood."

"What can I do for my favorite client?"

"Answer a question for me: do you ever wish we could live in a movie?"

"Live in a movie?"

"Yeah, a movie where the world is brighter, things are easier, everything works out in the end, and happy endings are expected. Sometimes, when I'm working on a really good film, I wish I could become my character. Right now, I'm playing this cop that has a career she loves, and she falls in love with her partner, and she gets a promotion. I'm jealous," she admitted as she crossed her legs to get better situated on her couch. Lucy glanced at the empty space next to her and wished there was someone to fill it.

"Now that I think about it, I'm jealous, too. It's almost impossible to have it all, but in the make believe world of a movie, I guess it would be easy. I'm jealous, too."

She smiled wryly. "For my next movie, can you arrange that my costar is some hot, kind, genuine man I can fall in love with by the time we wrap filming?"

"Okay, as long as your other costar is some smart, funny, hot woman I can fall in love with by the time you wrap filming," he smirked.

"You would probably have better luck than me. Dating a costar has never gone well in my experience."

"Forget about Chris. You broke up with him, because you weren't happy together."

"Was I being too picky? Was I just upset that he didn't live up to some perfect on screen love interest?"

"No, he was an ass to you. You'll find an actual person, not a movie character, that you'll like way better. Maybe we look beyond your pool of costars."

"Where else will I meet someone? Life isn't like the movies where I trip and some perfect man catches me."

"You are one of the biggest actors in the world. I'm sure people would line up for the chance to date you, Lucy."

"People are in love with the characters I've played, but they don't know the real me."

"It's easy enough to show them. Give a guy a chance."

"Tell you what- the next time that I bump into someone at a coffee shop, or if I reach for something on a shelf and someone else does, too, and we touch hands, I'll give that person a chance."