IT STARTED WITH A WHISPER, Elizabeth Olsen

The Sequel

Years had passed, I was on my fourteenth book and fifth show adaptation. I'd started making a habit of acting small parts in those said adaptation. After negotiations, I'd also agreed on a few movies based on the books which weren't show worthy. Most of the time, it felt unreal to watch where I was considering where I started from. I wasn't a 'daughter of' or 'sister of', I had to make a name for myself and somehow I did. Of course, I had a lot of support but being the 'friend of' doesn't sell books nor sign contracts.

Surprisingly, one of my books was nominated, not that I actually won but getting there was already a win. Less surprisingly, two of the shows also were, neither of those won anything. I had the chance to work with my favourite producer of those two shows and a third one, which also got noticed, had just came out. One of the lead actresses was nominated for her performance, the producer also was. So, naturally, I got invited to the ceremony. I had been to all the previous ones but I had a gut feeling for that one, something I couldn't quite explain but felt deep in my bones.

"This one is way too booby, right?" I asked Brie as I tried on another dress. I had honestly lost count, either the colour wasn't right or I didn't like the shape of the neck or the length... None of them seemed to fit.

"I don't mind it" the blonde shrugged, letting her eyes linger on my cleavage. I grabbed my shirt, rolled it up in a ball and threw it at her.

"You are no better than a man, I can't believe I asked you to come with me" I sighed, disappearing into the changing room to try on a new dress. As soon as I slipped it on, I knew it was the one. The dark navy-blue fabric complemented my skin tone nicely, making me look less tired than I actually was. The V-neck was less plunging and way more flattering than the previous one. My back was almost fully exposed but the rest of the fabric went all the way down to my ankles. It wasn't too tight, nor too loose, hugging my figure in all the right places.

"Ladies and gentlewoman, we have a winner" Brie cheered as I walked out of the changing room.

"You think?" I asked, turning around to check all the different angles in the mirror.

"If I think? Y/n, I know this is the one you'll win in" she confirmed with a knowing grin.

"Technically, I won't win, Kate or Mike will" I corrected her, still checking myself out, growing more and more confident in that dress.

"Whatever, they'll win thanks to your work" she insisted before silence took over for a minute as we both stared at my reflection in the mirror. "Are we going to talk about it or not?" she started hesitantly, her gaze meeting mine through the mirror.

"Talk about what?" I asked back, feigning innocence although I knew exactly what she was referring to.

"Y/n, please, she's going to be there."

"I know, I've read the list of nominees" I shrugged, walking back behind the curtain to change into my own clothes.

"That's all you have to say about it?" she asked, her voice still hesitant, as if she was trying to weight whether or not to push the topic.

"What do you want me to say? That the idea of standing in the same room as her after so many years still makes me nervous? That I don't know how I'm going to manage after the way we left things? That I don't know if I'm supposed to ignore her or be polite and treat her like every other person there or- I just don't want to think about it, Brie" I explained, trying to remain calm and unbothered although my tone betrayed just how much the thought troubled me.

"So, is it... safe to say you're still not over her?" the question hung in the air, my sudden silence being a louder answer than any word.

"It's been nearly ten years, Brie. I should be" I said, trying to convince myself. But my words meant what they meant, I should have been but I wasn't. "Will it be weird if I just... don't acknowledge her at all? I mean, maybe we won't even see each other."

"The place will be crowded, she's not in the same category as Kate, I don't see any reason why you would have to interact" she said reassuringly. I had gotten familiar with those events, people and cameras everywhere, I knew that every word and gesture would be interpreted by ten thousand different people on social media. It would be odd if I appeared as friendly to everyone except her, I started overthinking it. I shook my head lightly, trying to push the thoughts away as I walked towards the checkout counter and paid for my dress. It felt nice being able to buy these sort of clothes without really looking at the price tags but knowing I had earned it.

"How are things with your parents?" Brie asked to change the topic as we walked out of the store. When my name appeared on a few front pages and news channels, my parents reached out. At first, I was more than reluctant at the idea of letting them walk back into my life, especially after the way they nearly abandoned me when I reached adult age. But then I thought that life was too short to hold that kind of grudges. The fact that I had a more than decent life helped of course, I couldn't be mad at them for turning me into the independent person I was. I knew they were after the money and recognition at first, not that I was planning on giving them access to any of it. But, after a few weeks, we managed to build some sort of routine. We'd meet for lunch and coffee every few days, trying to catch up.

"Better, I guess" I shrugged. "Don't get me wrong, I'm glad they reached out, it's just the reason why they did..."

"Yeah, it kind of sucks, doesn't it?" she asked, not expecting an answer at all. I simply nodded, letting our usual comfortable silence take over until we reached the car. She drove me back to my newest place. I had moved around quite a lot before settling in this small house by the beach. For a while, I didn't want to buy anything but when Loki got old, I wanted him to have a nice place where he could go peacefully. I saw that house on one of our walks and I instantly fell for it. Unfortunately, Loki passed a few months after we moved in. I knew it would happen sooner or later, I knew he wouldn't live forever but it still hurt. I thought about getting another dog right away but it felt like I wanted to replace him and that didn't seem right.

So, I walked into my empty house with my newly bought dress and noticed how quiet it was. No paws and claws hitting the wooden floor. No loud snoring coming from the leaving room. Nothing. I sighed as I placed my keys on the counter and walked to my closet to put the dress away. The event was in two days which meant I had to keep myself busy for forty-eight hours so I wouldn't overthink the possibility of running into Lizzie. I had been seeing her face and names on enormous posters all around LA. Brie had dragged me to the theatre to see her newest Marvel project, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, which was honestly great. I had lost track of all the movies and shows, being too busy with my own projects, but seeing her acting range in this movie was impressive.

Truth was, I had been thinking about her from time to time, even before that movie came out. I used to check her Instagram back when she had one, not in a weird stalker way of course, just out of curiosity. I wanted to know if she was doing okay because despite the way we left things, I still cared about her. She still was the person I had loved the most. Part of me wanted to run into her at that event although I had no idea what I would say. I just wanted to see her, to catch a glimpse of her still flawless features. Even if we didn't speak to each other, I just wanted to see her with my own eyes, not through an excessively large screen.