Hello!
Welcome to my first story here! (I had one before but deleted it cause it needs some more time in the oven) This is just a fun little romance story idea I had and I really hope you like it! I don't have any idea how the movie/television business works so everything you read here is just what I'd like to believe happens. I'm probably really far off the mark.
The story will be told mainly from Chloe's point of view, but sometimes from Sebastian's, as I feel it's important to see things from his perspective.
I'll be updating every weekend, or I will try my best to anyway. I hope you enjoy this story as much I've enjoyed writing it!
xoxoxoxoxoxo
“Delivery for a Miss Chloe Sullivan?”
I look up from my computer to see a gigantic bouquet with legs. I exchange a look with my colleague and best friend extraordinaire, Melissa Kent. “Um… yes?”
The bouquet lurches forward in my direction, and I can just make out a pair of eyes in the foliage. The deliveryman sets it down on my desk where it engulfs my computer, stationary, documents, everything. Beautiful red and white roses are delicately arranged in a beautiful sea green glass vase, with baby’s breath and other small blooms weaved throughout the bouquet.
“Sign here.” I sign the clipboard and he leaves, a sprig of baby’s breath stuck in his hair. Someone will tell him about that later, I suppose.
“James is really going all out for your anniversary tonight, isn’t he?” Melissa whistles appreciatively.
“Honestly I’m surprised—and glad—that this didn’t come with a singing telegram of some sort.” That had been known to happen. I start to separate the bouquet into smaller sections. Flowers aren’t really my thing, and roses my least favorite. But James loves doing over-the-top grand gestures, even if roses made me—
“Atchoo!”
Melissa shook her head sympathetically. “You should just tell him you don’t like roses.”
“I did.” I tell her, wiping my nose inelegantly. “I thought I managed to convince him to give me lilies instead. I suppose our third year anniversary is a cause for more romantic flowers, hence the roses.”
“He should teach Joshua a thing or two.”
I roll my eyes at Melissa, as I hand her the vase filled with a quarter of the roses, a much more manageable amount. “Your husband should share some of that too-manly-for-flowers thing with James.”
“Meh.” Melissa says, breathing in the scent of the roses. “At least I get flowers from you, even if they are your sloppy seconds.”
I smile at that, and choose three roses from the remainder of the bouquet, and snip off most of their long stems, then drop them into my floral emergency jar. I’d started keeping it on my desk when I started dating James, who had sent me gigantic bouquets every day for weeks. I prefer the quiet beauty of a few flowers in a jar thank you very much.
Gathering the rest of the flowers, I get up to distribute them among the office. As much as flowers aren’t my favorite gift to receive, James and his ideas of romance keep the office looking beautiful.
xxxxxxxx
“Do you have Sebastian West’s requirement list? I’m going to go double check that we have everything he asked for.”
I roll my eyes at the tone of excitement in Melissa’s voice. “Here.”
Sebastian is a famous actor, known for playing the charming villain type in action movies. He’s also the latest guest star on the wildly successful show the two of us are writers for, and he’s coming in half an hour for the first read through with the cast and some of the crew.
Some of the past guest stars on ‘Foreign Brains’, a show about a group of foreign college students studying in USA, had made ridiculous demands. M&Ms with no brown pieces, specific brands of bottled water, exact air conditioning temperatures. We have seen it all.
Sebastian’s list is tame in comparison. He had asked for water and coffee, and if we had it, microwave butter popcorn. The whole crew was addicted to popcorn, so there was plenty in stock.
I watch Mel toddle off, and sighed to myself. I am so not looking forward to having Sebastian on the show. He wasn’t just another movie star, but also a painful part of my past. We had gone to high school together, in the very same year. I had never been smart or beautiful, which gave me no pressure to be popular or be the top of the class. I had my small circle of friends, and my writing, and I was completely fine with being off the social radar. Sebastian, however, was the king of the social scene.
Things were going fine for me until my senior year, when I won the lead role in our school’s production of Grease by accident. I was, and still am, a mediocre actress. I just happen to be a halfway decent singer.
Needing some participation points for my transcript, I joined the Chorus. Swaying in the background, unnoticed? So up my alley. During practice one day, while auditions for the lead characters was still on going, I got picked by the Music Director to sing Sandy’s lead part, just as a guide for that practice. The Director happened to walk by and BOOM. Here’s your new Sandy.
And of course, Sebastian won the role of Danny Zuko.
The thing about playing one half of a well-loved couple was that people expected good chemistry. And since Sebastian had never said a word to me in his life, we had none. We were told by the director to spend as much time as possible together. Eat together, rehearse together, study together. At first, I resented it. I hadn’t wanted the role, and now I was saddled with a boy I didn’t even like.
But after a while, I realized he wasn’t so bad. He was actually quite charming and sweet, encouraging and supportive when I couldn’t remember my lines. It wasn’t hard to fall for him, but I fooled myself into thinking he felt something for me too.
The kissing scenes were the most awkward. Here I was, this inexperienced nobody, supposed to kiss the school’s hottest boy, not to mention the one I had a serious crush on. I just couldn’t bring myself to do it. Finally, the director gave up on us and ended practice for that day. I ran to the dressing room in shame, and unbeknownst to me, Sebastian followed.
He asked me what was wrong, if I was okay. He made me laugh by saying he would be nervous if he had to kiss someone as repulsive as he was. I was already halfway in love with him by then, and I murmured softly that he could never be repulsive to me.
And then somehow he understood. He asked me, ‘You’ve never been kissed?’ Cheeks red with shame I nodded, looking down at the floor. He slowly slid down on the floor next to me, lifted my chin and whispered ‘It would be my honor to be your first kiss.’ I couldn’t breathe, I couldn’t move, and then he leaned in kissed me so gently and sweetly. And that was it; I was in love.
After the night of the musical, I went to Sebastian’s dressing room to congratulate him. I was about to knock on his door when I heard voices saying my name. One of his friends had asked what it was like kissing me, and he said it was disgusting, and that he hated it. Why would he want to kiss someone like me? It was just for the sake of the Musical, for the scouts from the Drama schools he wanted to attend.
I should have known from then on how skilled an actor Sebastian was. And now he has the Oscars to prove it.
I avoided him during our last few weeks in school after that. It wasn’t hard, he was always surrounded by his posse. Then we both went off to college in different ends of the country and I forgot all about him.
Until he showed up on the silver screen.
