Someone In The Crowd [Paul Wesley]

5. IRL

It had been a week since Cece had moved to Atlanta, and she'd been hanging out with her cast-mates non-stop. She downed another drink, before receiving a confirmation text from Paul. He was outside.

"I have to love you and leave you girls!" she shouted to Nina, Candice and Sara over the loud club music. "My ride is here."

"Just 5 more minutes," Nina begged, frowning. "It's your first night out in Atlanta!"

Cece checked her watch before showing it to Nina. "Actually, it's my first morning out in Atlanta. It's 2.30!"

"Lightweight!" Candice teased, reaching over to hug Cece. "Bye girlie."

"Text me when you get home!" Cece said in her ear, waving at Nina and Sara as she made her way out of the entrance and looked for Paul. He was easy to find, standing next to his black car with the keys in his hand.

"Hi," Cece said, hugging him. "Thanks for coming."

"No problem," he said, hugging her back tightly before ushering her into the car. "How's your day been?"

"Busy," she answered. "I spent the morning unpacking, between sporadic calls from my parents, my sister, and Claire, telling them that I got to Atlanta ok and definitely wasn't kidnapped on my way here. Then I actually was kidnapped by Nina and forced to dance until the early hours!"

"Sounds awful," he said, slightly teasing.

"It wasn't bad. I definitely need to sleep though! Left here," she said, directing him.

"Are you excited to be on the show?" he asked.

"Are you kidding? Of course! When I was on 90210, all I did was talk about the Vampire Diaries, back when the first season started. I think I annoyed everyone who came into contact with me!"

"That's nice to hear," he said. "It's the best job in the world."

"It better be! I've given up everything to do it!"

"You're Australian right? Did you live there before you came here?" he asked.

"No," she shook her head. "I got the job on H2O when I was 14. We moved to LA when I was 17, so we've been living there for the last 8 years."

"Wow, Atlanta must be a hell of a lot different than LA," Paul remarked. He couldn't imagine himself living anywhere near Hollywood.

"It really is," she said. "But I love it so far."

He pulled up outside her new apartment, a smile on his face. "Here you go," he said.

"Thanks," she said, opening the door. "Seriously Paul, you didn't have to drive me home. I owe you one."

"I'm happy to help," he said.

She smiled while trying to think of something else to say. "So... see you on set."

She got to her front door, turned around and waved as he reversed out of her street. She kept waving until his car was completely out of view.

Letting herself into her new apartment, Cece manoeuvred herself around the boxes that she never managed to unpack, walked over to the sofa (because the bed was too far for her drunk mind to get to) and laid down with her eyes closed, willing sleep to come. However, something was bothering her. She just couldn't work out what it was.