seventeen - river phoenix

the beginning of something

word count
894
for @chlouee15

//After all, I just make coffee runs//

Oregon
1987

Jesus, Sam. Pull yourself together.

I couldn't help but feel like it was the end of the world. The waiting room smelled like cigarette smoke and freshly printed newspapers.
Frankly, it made me feel sick.
The door of the office swung open, and I got a quick view of the desks behind it. Journalism jobs didn't necessarily look exciting, but hey, it's what I wanted to do.
A weathered-looking woman stepped out, her makeup clashing with her dull brown dress. She had a pile of papers in her arm and a lit cigarette between her index and middle finger.

"Is there a," She glanced at the papers, "'Samantha Green' in here?"

I stood up quickly. The woman stared at me, her eyebrows raising a little, and stood away from the door so I could get through. I brushed my dress down.

"Mr. Warner is in the office on your left. Good luck."

I smiled and thanked her, then knocked gently on the door of the office. I could see the outline of a man through the tinted glass window. He gestured for me to come in.

I took a deep breath and stepped inside.
________________________________

New York City
TWO MONTHS LATER

I stood against my boss's brown Mustang, holding a pile of assorted papers and a notebook.
She'd been called in to interview the cast of an upcoming movie, though of course I didn't get any details.
After all, I just make coffee runs.

My internship wasn't going exactly as I'd planned. I'd originally hoped to write a few columns, maybe get some crime reports from police or something, but all I'd been doing was making coffee and tagging along to various interviews. Not great, but not awful either. I was only seventeen and being away from family was difficult enough. Maybe the extra stress of writing would make it worse.

I'd gotten to see more celebrities than I ever would have if I'd stayed home in Oregon. Seventeen magazine, the company I was an intern for, was popular as hell at the time. Michael J. Fox, Ralph Macchio... I couldn't complain.

However, celebrities weren't exactly what I'd come to New York for. At least I thought so.
I was snapped out of my thoughts by a gentle nudge. I looked up, prepared to move out of the way for whichever misogynistic camera man was trying to get by, and my heart stopped.

River Phoenix.

The same River Phoenix that I'd been crushing on since '86.

"Holy shit," I breathed. I couldn't believe we were so close. He looked down at me, the height difference as evident as ever. His eyes were bright, and his cheekbones stood out against the gentle morning light.

"Hi," He murmured, stepping next to me. He leaned against my boss's car as well, "I'm River."

Jesus Christ.

His voice was soft and sweet, and I smiled stupidly. "I know," I blurted out. I internally slapped myself for being so awkward. "Er- I'm Samantha."

"Samantha. I like it." He said, laughing quietly. His glasses fell down the bridge of his nose slightly. I tried not to stare.

"What are you doing over here? Aren't you supposed to be," I shrugged, "you know, getting interviewed?" The camera around my neck felt like it was choking me. Was this all part of the job?

He waved his hand, taking a moment to run it through his golden hair. "I just need a little break. And," He tilted his head towards me, "you seem like you're a good person to talk to. Where're you from?"

My heart was beating out of my chest. A gorgeous celebrity of the same age as me was striking up a conversation. How lucky could I possibly be?

"I'm from Or-" Suddenly, before I could finish my sentence, my boss shoved by me, getting in the car. I'd barely even noticed that the interviews were over. The cameramen had already begun to pack everything up, and the director was calling the actors back to the set. I finally got a glimpse of the name of the movie. "Running on Empty." Interesting.

"Oregon..." I finished, my voice trailing off. River turned toward me. I felt his eyes burning into me as I leaned into the car window.

"Let's go, Samantha! I have three meetings in the next two hours, and I can't afford to be late because of some intern. Get in." My boss lit a cigarette, her hands shaking.

I sighed apologetically as I got into the car. Once I shut the door, River leaned into the window. His hands were in the pockets of his jeans, his eyes locked on mine. My heart was still rushing, blush beginning to highlight my freckles. "It was nice meeting you, River. Good luck with the movie."

He grinned back at me, his glasses sparkling. "Nice to meet you too, Samantha. I hope we see each other again."

On the way back to the office, my boss continued to ramble to me about the interviews. It was all complaints of course, but I didn't care. I'd just met River Phoenix. And he said that he wanted to see me again.

I couldn't wipe the stupid smile off of my face.