sunsetstxdios

[sunsetstxdios]

arden aldridge isn’t really sure if her compulsive need to be liked comes from being in the spotlight or if it’s something that predates that. she’s always been a try hard, but apparently never realized how truly impossible it is to please everyone until this very moment. the week she’d discovered internet trolls was a rough one for her, but, after a brief social media cleanse and a fair amount of crying, had been able to accept that not everyone was going to like her. but autumn jamison is different. autumn jamison seems to want to dislike her, and that is something that arden cannot deal with. it’s something that bugs her day in and day out, like a scab she should let heal but always finds herself picking at. why can’t the other girl just give her a chance? a fair shot to show her that she’s worthwhile.

they’re done filming for the day, and arden technically could have left an hour ago. but something has been keeping her there, pacing around her trailer while her mind races a mile a minute. for some reason the world feels like it’s crashing around her, and, even though it makes no sense to, she blames autumn for all of this. for all her stress and anxiety, for the frustration that she’s become so familiar with. the girl is just so rude, and for some reason that gets under arden’s skin unlike anything else. truthfully she can’t even begin to fathom why she cares so much about one person’s opinion, why she so desperately needs her to like her. realistically autumn jamison should just be another face in the crowd to her but she’s anything but, and she can’t ever seem to get her off her mind. finally she decides to call it a night, although she leaves her trailer huffing and puffing.

she spots her across the lot, probably getting ready to go home herself. arden knows that she should leave well enough alone, that nothing she says will change anything and that she’ll have to face the girl at work the next day. but she just can’t help it, and before she even realizes what’s happening she’s running towards her. “what is your problem?” she’s yelling, and she’s not entirely sure if it’s so that she can be heard or if she’s just plain angry, or maybe it’s a bit of both. “why are you so determined not to like me? what have i ever done to you, huh?” arden is getting closer now, and, quite frankly, she’s not sure what her game plan is. in a match of insults or anger there is no possible way that she can beat the other, so she’s got to do something else. 

finally she’s standing in front of autumn, her hands loosely balled into fists and her face pouting. “you-” she starts to speak but doesn’t know how to complete the thought, so she cuts herself off. should she just go home and pretend this never happened? she probably should. but instead of turning around to leave, arden takes a step forward. not an impulsive person by nature, this is all as surprising to her as it is to the other girl, and, before either of them has any time to realize what’s happening, she’s pulled her close and their lips are colliding.

arden isn’t sure how someone so mean can feel so inviting. she feels herself melting into the other girl, the anxieties and stress that normally weigh her down floating away with the breeze. she’s got one hand on autumn’s waist to hold her close, and her other hand is tangled in her hair as their lips crash together like waves. arden is kissing her like her life depends on it, like ryan gosling just ran to rachel mcadams in the rain. despite all of the conflicting feelings swirling around inside of her, something about this just feels right and she doesn’t want it to end. in this moment, standing in an empty studio back lot, time just seems to be standing still and nothing else matters but the taste of the other’s lips.

she doesn’t know what will happen when she pulls away; all she knows is, if this is what it’s like to kiss autumn jamison, she wants to kiss her all the time.

[sunsetstxdios]

Liam: love u too

Liam: five bucks you'll be asking everyone if they've seen a 5'10" deaf red haired guy before you even clock in smh

Shelby: you're such a pain in my ass omg

Shelby: i'll take that bet.

Shelby: mostly because i'm gonna ask if they've seen a 5'9" deaf red haired guy because i don't think you're as tall as you say you are :)

[sunsetstxdios]

Liam: ehhh maybe

Liam: GOOD LUCK and have fun getting FIRED

Shelby: i hate you so much omg

Shelby: BITCH I'M GONNA RUN THIS PLACE BY THE END OF THE DAY

[sunsetstxdios]

Liam: omg

Liam: oh my god STOP im trading u in for someone new goodbye

Liam: first day tour canceled im leaving

Shelby: excuse you i'm irreplaceable

Shelby: i'll just have to show myself around then loser

Shelby: hope i don't cause too much trouble on my own ;)

[sunsetstxdios]

Liam: i don't think our boss will see it that way but u can definitely try

Liam: i know it's almost like we're on a studio lot or something

Shelby: either way it'll be a memorable first encounter for her.

Shelby: #rude. how much do you think a tissue used by preston bell would sell for?

[sunsetstxdios]

Liam: come on. don't wanna be late on ur first day

Liam: u said u were gonna go to the bathroom not wander into narnia jeez

Shelby: a queen is never late, everyone else is simply early.

Shelby: i got distracted by all the famous people just casually walking around this place. like holy shit

[sunsetstxdios]

Hunter laughed at his phone. The little comments this guy made had Hunter liking him more and more.

Hunter: definitely not a waste of money. it’ll pay off eventually. i’m sure of it. besides, stick with me and you’ll have some good connections. Hunter: that’s hilarious, i have to see some of your portfolio shots lmao Hunter: that’s pretty cool. do you have a specific genre you wanna get into?

Jason raised an eyebrow at Hunter’s first comment, but decided not to make a big deal out of it. Eventually this guy would fess up about what he actually did.

Jace: haha if you say so. i guess we’ll see how it goes.

Jace: oh yeah, definitely. i’ve got beautiful fingers and impressive wrists.

Jace: i really like sci fi, but i also like the idea of dramas.

[sunsetstxdios]

To be quite honest, this whole fake relationship thing that Donovan’s agent set him up with was causing immense suffering and deep annoyance for Preston. The two of them hardly got to see each other as it was, always working on different things and being busy with their own things. The time that the two would take away from the working world was now being spent apart. Preston always off alone, moping about how he wished Donovan was with him, and his partner off with a stupid girl he couldn’t care less about.

The worst possible thing Preston could do about it, what he absolutely shouldn’t be doing, was lurk on blogsites and refresh Donovan James on Google. He did it anyway. He was torturing himself, but he continued to do it, all day, continually being frustrated at every picture he saw. It was the age of technology and paparazzi and fans got picture up as soon as humanly – and electronically – possible.

Preston fell asleep with phone in hand, unable to stop looking. He fell asleep thinking about how it should be him, dreaming of him and Donovan out at events, strolling the street, wherever, hand in hand. Paparazzi pictures of them whispering in each other’s ears, laughing together. He wondered if it’d ever be though.

Donovan’s voice pulled him out of his sleep and he sat up, rubbing his eyes. He hummed as he tried to focus on the man walking across the living room and into the kitchen. “Hi,” he muttered, fluttering his eyes open and closed. “I don’t care what we do.” Preston’s voice was passive and irritated as he took the beer from Donovan’s hand. He glanced over at him, feeling a little bad for being a bit of a bitch. He added, “As long as I’m with you,” to his prior statement.

Donovan loved Preston, he truly did. Not only was the other guy his boyfriend, but also his best friend. He felt bad that so much of his time was being spent with Natalia, but he was just doing his job. If they could get through this they’d come out in a much better place, one where Donovan was able to pick and choose his roles and have more control over his schedule. He could rearrange things so that they had more time together, maybe take some well deserved vacation time. It was stressful now, but it would pay off in the long run. It had to.

He settled in closer to his boyfriend, taking a swig of his beer. It wasn’t hard for him to pick up on the annoyed tone of Preston’s voice, and it was something that he was all too familiar with. His partner was definitely the more dramatic of the two, and there always seemed to be something that he was overreacting about. It somehow added to his charm though, and he liked it most of the time. “You cranky because you just woke up, or did E! News insult your figure?” Donovan was joking, of course, and he shot the other a smirk.

“Aw, what a sappy thing to say,” he kidded, reaching out to give Preston’s thigh a loving squeeze. “But the mushy gushy feeling is mutual.” Donovan’s stomach grumbled loudly, and his mind quickly went back to food. “I’m thinking pizza tonight. Or maybe Chinese. Would it be gross to eat both of them together? I mean, I know I shouldn’t because I’ve gotta stay in shape for that action movie, but I’ll just have to put another hour or two in at the gym.”

[sunsetstxdios]

Hunter was surprised at his major, happily surprised. It was pretty cool. He wanted to stay away from the topic of himself, though.

Hunter: that’s so cool!! Hunter: no i don’t/didn’t go to school. i got lucky. Hunter: i bet you’re a good writer though :) so what kinda stuff do you wanna do? like direct or screenwrite or?

Jason smiled down at his phone. It was pretty cool that this guy expressed so much interest in his studies. Something about this was reassuring, especially considering he teetered back and forth on whether or not he should continue conversing with this stranger.

Jace: seriously? i’m glad you think so haha Jace: must people just think it’s a waste of my money tbh Jace: damn, what a lucky break. sadly my hand modelling career didn’t take off, so skipping school wasn’t an option. Jace: eh, i’m alright :) i really wanna get into cinematography, get behind the camera.

[sunsetstxdios]

Hunter couldn’t help but feel like the boy was really passive or almost sarcastic with his comment, and it made him feel some type of insecurity he didn’t really know how to explain. It was probably in his head, though, so he tried to shrug it off and move on.

Hunter: right, so what’s your major anyway? just realized i don’t even know :)

Jason searched through the queue, looking from something to watch while he chatted. After mulling over his options he decided on Breaking Bad, figuring he could finally finish a binge watch that he had started momths earlier.

Jace: :) i’m a film production major. basically just learning how to make movies and shit, which is usually pretty fun. the written assignments are on the boring side tho.

Jace: what about you? you go to college or the rich and famous thing save you from that?

[sunsetstxdios]

As people shoved around Hunter, this way and that, he grumbled and walked off. He looked at his phone for the time, not needing to be back on set for another 20 minutes. He stepped outside and sat in the grass, his back against the building.

Hunter: well that’ll be hard. having a big ego is in my job description. Hunter: i’m far from an intellectual but that does sound kinda cool. you should let me read when it’s finished :)

Jason stood up from his chair, picking up his laptop and moving from the desk to his bed. He leaned back against the headboard, getting comfortable. With a few clicks of the mouse he opened Netflix, having it split the screen with his unfinished work.

Jace: right, right. your fancy schmancy hollywood job. 

Jace: lol you can if you want. it’s probably gonna be like 75% bs just to make the word count.

[sunsetstxdios]

A smile made its way onto Hunter’s face as his phone vibrated, he looked back down to it and read the messages eagerly. Wow, he didn’t even act this giddy in high school. Something was either very wrong with this picture, or perfectly right.

Hunter: aren’t I special?

He paused. What does he say? Would he sound like an ass if he just casually mentioned sitting on a tv set? Yes, yes he would.

Hunter: same, minus the essay. Hunter: what’s it about?

His stranger danger sense should’ve been going off every time his phone dinged, but this other guy was so charming that he pushed any feelings of fear aside.

Jace: eh, don’t let it go to your head ;)

Jason paused a minute to look up at his computer, where he’d only written about two sentences of his assignment. It was safe to say he probably wasn’t getting any homework done tonight.

Jace: that sounds boring as hell.

Jace: i’m writing some bs about how superhero movies reflect real world events. in theory it’s pretty interesting, just not to write.

[sunsetstxdios]

While Jason was still fairly certain that he was being catfished, he couldn’t help but get excited when his phone dinged to let him know he’d received a convo on his dating app. The fact that this guy was using celebrity pics was pretty fishy, but, although he’d been reluctant to admit it at first, the two had some really good conversations. He smiled at his phone, waiting a minute to respond so that he didn’t seem overeager.

Jace: hey :) i’ve always got time to chat with you

Jace: i’m just hanging out right now, working on an essay.

Jace: what’s up with you?

Hunter had been messing around with a dating app, which probably honestly wasn’t the smartest thing to do, being a man such as himself, but it was fun. It paid out, too, after meeting a cute boy he’d been talking to for a week or so now. Unlike all the other people he talked to on here, he actually had some good conversations with this boy. He’d recently went public with his “relationship” with Preston, and he hoped that wouldn’t hurt his chances with this cute guy.

Hunter: hey, cutie :) what’s up? got time to chat?

[sunsetstxdios]

“Hi,” Mathias laughed softly, definitely awake now. The fact that Orion had been thinking about him made him feel a certain way. Was special the right word? Was that stupid? Probably. He still couldn’t believe that he had Orion in his life, that he was in a relationship. Especially a guy like Orion. He was honestly beautiful and was certainly experienced, and could be with anyone he wanted, but here he was spending time thinking about Mathias of all people. “Um… yeah.”

He glanced back to his door, his nerves striking him. The thought of getting caught terrified him. However, his parents had never had any reason to distrust him in the past. Why would they think he would be doing anything now? He smiled.  "Okay, uh… Hold on.” He haphazardly closed his curtains but left his window open. He took his pajamas pants off and changed into a pair of jeans before stuffing his feet into his boots as quietly as he could. Returning to the window, he pushed the curtains back open and assessed how to climb out. He never had before. He pushed his legs through and sat on the window frame before jumping off the small distance to the ground.

“Okay… What now?”

“I would quote that Romeo and Juliet scene where he comes to her balcony, but I honestly can’t remember what they said.” A chuckle tumbled over his lips when his boyfriend closed the curtains to change, finding his modesty to be quite cute. Despite the fact that he could still see through the hastily shut drapes Orion looked away to be polite, fixating on the other aspects of the house while he waited. It became clear that Mathias had never done this before as he watched him climbing out the window, and he couldn’t help but feel excited that he was creating new experiences for the other. Everyone needed to live a little and just cut loose, and it seemed like the blonde had a lot of missed opportunities to make up for.

“Uh, now we do this,” Orion replied to Mathias’ question, using one hand to cup the boy’s cheek and planting a soft kiss on his lips. He pulled away with a playful smirk on his lips, reaching out and intertwining their fingers. “What’s a cool place around here? Like a park or something, we could go sit on the swings. Or we could grab something to eat, there’s gotta be somewhere open late nearby.”

[sunsetstxdios]

Orion definitely wasn’t drunk. No sirree, there was not a drop of alcohol coursing through his veins. He was stone cold sober... Except for a couple beers that he’d thrown back, but did those really count? His Uber driver clearly thought that they had had some effect on him, as she repeatedly remarked throughout the drive here, but what did she know? It was just a little liquid courage, a little something to calm the nerves as he set out on his romantic venture.

Tapping on Mathias’ window was a risky move, and Orion knew that. Should he have chosen the wrong one and knocked too loudly that his parents awake, he highly doubted he would ever get to see the boy again. There was a big grin on his face as the window opened, and he immediately started gushing in an excited whisper.

“Hey, hi. Uh, I was thinking about you, so I thought I’d come over and tell you. That I was thinking about you. And see if you wanted to like, you know, hang out or something. Just talk, maybe have a little fun.”

Gradually, Mathias was pulled from his dreams by a consistent tapping against his window. Although quiet, it was persistent and almost felt rushed. He furrowed his brows and sat up slowly. Eyes blurry, he rubbed them and stared at nothing until he finally came to. He rubbed his face and looked to his window, the sound deriving itself from that area. There were no trees by his window and nothing that could be making this noise besides a person. Did someone have the wrong house? 

He looked to the clock. 3:07 AM. Confused, and honestly a little nervous, he went to the window. He peeked out in such a way that the person standing outside wouldn’t be able to see. It was obviously very dark and it didn’t help that he was trying to sneakily look out, but he could make out the figure and he knew who it was immediately. Upon seeing Orion, he quickly pushed apart his curtains and pulled open his window. 

“Orion? What are you doing?”

[sunsetstxdios]

fame was something that arden had still not been able to wrap her mind around. despite being in the spotlight for almost three years now, being on “state of grace” had skyrocketed the young adult to a level of stardom that she never would’ve even imagined. according to her publicist her popularity would only rise from there, which, while it she was told it was something to be excited about, actually made her feel quite uneasy. performing had always been something near and dear to arden’s heart, but the overwhelming attention that came with any success in those fields was a territory she would have preferred to avoid.

maybe it was the lack of privacy, the constant stalking from paparazzi who refused to give her a moment alone when she dared to leave her house. maybe it was the at times over the top attention from fans; while she appreciated anyone who supported her following her dreams and most of the people she encountered were insanely sweet to her, there were others who were... creepy. it was all just a little much sometimes, and it could send arden reeling with anxiety.

set was the one place she felt safe, her home away from home. the hustle and bustle of the studio lot was exhilarating, and she loved watching each of the departments work. it was fascinating to her to see all that went into making a television show or movie, and she loved wandering around to see how all the sets were put up. while many of her costars immediately went to their trailers on a break, arden much preferred doing some exploring. she all but skipped from place to place, smiling and waving at everyone she passed.

it seemed as though everyone was working to set up for their next scene, and the brunette had a good amount of time before she was expected to report to hair and makeup. she saw a person standing off to the side, and decided to approach them for a little conversation. it’d be nice to have more friends around the studio, wouldn’t it? “whatcha doing?” arden asked cheerfully as she approached. “anything that i can help with? i’m a quick learner, you know.”

[sunsetstxdios]

this whole fake relationship thing had been his publicist’s idea. with his popularity rising with each project he did, donovan james was well on his way to being an a-lister. he just needed that last little push to get there, or so he’d been told. at this point in his career he was steadily getting roles, but he was so close to being hollywood’s new go to leading man, a pitt or clooney in the making. supposedly the fact that he hadn’t dated much in the public eye was acting as a roadblock to his success, but, by allowing his manager to play matchmaker, he could easily become one of the most talked about actors in the business.

that was where lauren campbell came in. apparently dating a boy could only hurt donovan’s image with his fan base that was comprised of mostly young women, so instead of going public with his real relationship he was to pretend to dating america’s rising starlet. ordinarily he wouldn’t have minded fake dating a woman who was admittedly sex on legs, but the strain it was putting on his relationship with preston made him question if it was worth it. he was seeing results though, as his name trended more on twitter and he was frequently in the news cycle since this fake ordeal had begun.

donny had spent his day with his faux girlfriend, making sure to be seen holding hands and frequently stopping to kiss in the middle of the sidewalk and show how in love they were. lauren wasn’t terrible company so it wasn’t all that hard to pretend he was having a good time, and he prayed that the pictures reflected that so he didn’t get an ear full from his publicist. they’d posed for pictures with fans, waved at paparazzi, and just tried to exude loving and happy vibes. after these photos hit the web, if they hadn’t already, he was sure he’d get a call from lauren to discuss their success and plan their next outing together.

arriving at home he pushed through the apartment door, looking forward to an evening with his boyfriend. “babe, i’m home,” he called out. donovan tossed his keys into the bowl by the door, then padding into the kitchen and grabbing a few beers from the fridge before heading to the living room. “so i was thinking we could order in tonight, maybe rent a movie. or we could finally binge watch stranger things, i feel awkward seeing those kids at events and not knowing anything about their show.” he offered preston a beer, smiling up at him as he plopped down on the couch.