Golden Stars / Scarlett Johansson

Chapter 17: Rumors and Restlessness

Y/N was deep in sleep, the weight of the exhausting day before pulling her into an uneasy slumber. She was wrapped up in the warmth of her blanket, Cerberus curled up beside her, when suddenly something—no, someone—jerked her awake.

"Y/N! Y/N, wake up!" Calie's voice cut through her sleep like a foghorn, and before Y/N could even react, Calie threw herself onto the bed, bouncing up and down as she waved her phone in Y/N's face. "You have to see this!"

Y/N groaned, rolling onto her back and shielding her eyes from the brightness of the phone screen. Her head pounded, and she muttered, "Calie, what the hell? It's too early for this."

Calie, ignoring her complaint, kept pointing at her phone, practically bouncing off the mattress. "Look! It's about you. You and Scarlett! You're trending!"

"Trending?" Y/N repeated, barely awake. She blinked at Calie in confusion, trying to make sense of her words. She hadn't even processed what was happening before Calie shoved the phone closer to her face, forcing her to focus on the screen.

Y/N squinted at the headline, her headache intensifying.

*"Is It True? Scarlett Johansson and a Strange Girl Spotted on a Romantic Walk in the Park with Little Rose. Is This the Reason Scarlett Got Divorced from Roman Dauriac?"*

Y/N stared at the article for a few seconds, her brain struggling to comprehend it. Finally, she groaned loudly and pushed Calie off the bed, causing her friend to yelp as she landed on the floor.

"Ow!" Calie exclaimed, rubbing her hip. "That hurt, Y/N!"

"Good," Y/N muttered, sitting up and running a hand through her tangled hair. "Maybe it'll wake you up like you woke me up. Seriously, what the hell is this?"

"It's all over the internet!" Calie shouted from the floor, pointing at her phone again. "Everyone's talking about you and Scarlett! I knew it was bad yesterday, but I didn't think it'd blow up like this!"

Y/N pressed her fingers to her temples, trying to ease the pressure building in her head. "It's not true, Calie. You know that. I told you everything that happened yesterday. There's nothing going on between me and Scarlett. It was just me helping her out."

Calie climbed back onto the bed, settling herself down, though her eyes were still wide with excitement and disbelief. "I know that, but they don't!" She gestured wildly toward her phone. "The internet is blowing up, Y/N! People are actually saying you're the reason Scarlett got divorced. Can you believe it?"

Y/N sighed and leaned back against her pillows, her headache intensifying with every word. "I really don't care what people are saying. It's all made up."

Calie shook her head, clearly not satisfied with Y/N's calm response. "But Y/N, this is big! They're talking about you! You're in the news! I mean, I always knew you were cool, but now the whole world knows it too!"

Y/N shot her a look. "I don't want the whole world to know me because of some stupid rumor about Scarlett Johansson. This isn't exactly what I'd call cool."

Calie huffed, flopping down on the bed beside her. "You're no fun. This is crazy, though. I mean, I can't believe they're saying all this. Like, where do people even come up with this stuff?"

"I don't know," Y/N muttered, rubbing her eyes. She checked the time on the clock beside her bed—it was 6:21 in the morning. No wonder her head was pounding. "Wait, why are you even here this early? Don't you start work at 11?"

Calie shrugged, looking a little sheepish. "I couldn't sleep, and I saw the news, so I had to come over and talk to you about it. Plus, I figured you'd need someone to freak out with."

Y/N shook her head, unable to hide the small smile tugging at her lips. "I'm not freaking out. I'm just tired. And now I have a headache."

Calie nudged her. "Come on, let's talk about it more. Maybe we can sue these people for defamation or something."

"Calie, I'm not suing anyone. I just want to go back to sleep." Y/N yawned, her body already craving the rest she'd been rudely pulled from.

After a bit more back-and-forth, the two of them eventually fell back into a comfortable silence, their exhaustion winning out over the gossip. Calie, for all her hyper energy, soon curled up at the foot of Y/N's bed and drifted off, while Y/N hugged Cerberus closer, allowing herself to relax again.

When Y/N woke up again, it was around 8 AM. The soft morning light streamed in through the curtains, casting a warm glow over the room. Calie was already awake, playing with Cerberus in the living room, her laughter echoing from the other side of the apartment.

Y/N dragged herself out of bed, feeling somewhat more rested but still burdened by the events of the morning. She shuffled into the kitchen, grabbing ingredients from the fridge to make breakfast while Calie continued playing with the dog.

As Y/N whisked together eggs and chopped up vegetables, her mind wandered back to everything that had happened the day before—Scarlett, Rose, the park, and now this ridiculous article. She knew it was just gossip, but it still lingered in her thoughts, refusing to let her forget.

How had her life suddenly become so complicated? Just a few days ago, she was living her quiet, routine existence. Now, it felt like everything was spiraling out of control, and it wasn't even her fault.

"Y/N, you okay in there?" Calie called from the living room, her voice muffled by Cerberus's playful barking.

Y/N shook herself out of her thoughts and called back, "Yeah, just making breakfast."

"Good, 'cause I'm starving!"

Y/N couldn't help but smile a little as she finished cooking. She plated the food and brought it over to the table, calling for Calie to join her. As they sat down to eat, Calie glanced at Y/N, her usual carefree grin slipping a little.

"You sure you're okay?"

Y/N poked at her eggs with her fork, her thoughts still swirling. "I just can't stop thinking about everything. I didn't ask for any of this. The last thing I wanted was to be part of some ridiculous rumor about Scarlett Johansson."

Calie chewed thoughtfully before replying, "You know people will forget about it soon, right? These things blow over."

Y/N nodded, though she wasn't entirely convinced. "I hope so."

They ate in silence for a while, the weight of the morning's events still hanging in the air. Despite Calie's usual upbeat attitude, even she seemed a little more subdued. It wasn't every day your best friend ended up in the news, after all.

After breakfast, Y/N cleaned up while Calie played with Cerberus, trying to push the thoughts of Scarlett, Chris, and the gossip out of her mind. But no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't shake the uneasy feeling that this was only the beginning.

And that scared her more than anything.