who knew | z.m

one: backstory

To My Readers, 

Did you miss me? I can bet on the blueberry scone I had for breakfast this morning that you did. Your favorite gossiper is back and better than ever. I had recieved plenty of comments on my last post, wondering whether I was somewhere skiing or lying on a beach somewhere. Some of you were right! I spent that month by the ocean with an iced tea and even invested in a new pair of Jimmy Choos. A girl needs to treat herself, right? It was a long overdue break and I thank every single one of you who stuck around to see when I would make my triumphant return. The website is undergoing a little construction, but don't worry, my next takedown is coming soon. 

Who knew? 

XORach. 

-   -   -

Ellie opened up her Macbook with ease, typing her password in. She had already imported the video she filmed yesterday into her computer and now it was time to take the hour to upload. Being a popular beauty guru on YouTube was something that she had been doing for five years now and enjoyed every minute of it. She took a hobby that she had been doing since she could remember and it took her many places. Ellie had been to convention after convention and eventually, moved to California. There, she met her now-boyfriend, Joe Jonas. He was still touring with his brothers at the time so she moved into his house while he was away. It was weird only dating someone for a few minutes and already living with him. He was across the world though so it wasn't too weird. 

When he did come back a few months later, they were still going strong. His brothers had just said goodbye to the band that they loved for so long and her beauty account had just hit one million subscribers. She set up a studio in an extra bedroom in his California house while Joe searched for an apartment in New York that he could stay at when he was doing business. Ellie and Joe were getting pretty serious. They stepped outside more often and she was known as "Joe's girlfriend" and not the YouTuber. This was fine with her because she loved Joe and would take whatever would be thrown at her. 

Two years later and the couple are still doing great. They both are now settled in LA, where Joe has opened up a restaurant and is on a new television show. Ellie has millions of more subscribers and continues to push out at least three videos a week. 

As her video editor loaded, Ellie thought about all of the progress that she has made in the last couple of years. She was just a regular girl in North Carolina, making tutorials in her little bedroom. She thought about her family and instantly pulled out a post-it note to write that she should scheule some time to go visit her old town. She hadn't been in a few months and although she talks to her mother at least once a day, she knew they all missed her.

The video editing didn't take very long and she put it in her file of videos that were to be uploaded. She liked filming multiple videos a day so that she would have a queue lined up. Sometimes, she wouldn't be able to film for a week and it would bother her that a video didn't go up.  

Checking the clock, Ellie had enough time to get in the shower and do her full beauty routine. When she wasn't doing it in front of a camera and explaining everything, it didn't take that long. She was meeting Joe for lunch before he went off to New York to visit his family tonight. Unfortunately, she couldn't come because she had to fly to London the next day. 

Every week or so, Ellie gets a call from some person who needs their makeup done for an event. From birthdays to award shows, she has done it all. Her friend, Hudson, was getting married in London in two days.  Ellie has known Hudson since they were running around in the fields behind the school. When Ellie moved away, she still remained in contact with Hudson and introduced Hudson to her now-fiance.  He was a big music guy in Europe and was behind a few hit songs. Now, a year later, they were on their way to marriage. 

Ellie loves everything about weddings, and even thought about being a wedding planner if she wasn't into beauty. So when Hudson called and asked if she wanted to be a bridesmaid and do the brides' makeup, she couldn't be more excited. 

-  -  - 

The restaurant where Joe wanted to meet Ellie for lunch was packed. When she was walking to the table that was reserved for them, Joe was already there and standing up to greet his girlfriend. "Sorry I'm late, babe," she said to him, giving him a quick kiss on the cheek. Sitting down in her seat, she grabbed the menu and smiled at him. 

"I got you a water," Joe motioned to the water with lemon sitting on the table. "How has your day been?" 

"Thank you. And I've been busy. I finished packing, wiped the kitchen down, did a few business calls and edited a video. What about you?" 

"I had to go into the office to do a few things with Hinterland," he sighed, talking about his new restaurant. "That took me a few hours. I think I'm going to go to the gym after this and then I'll be back home. The car is picking me up in a few hours. Are you excited about Hudson's wedding?"

"I am. I really do wish you could come." Ellie did have a plus-one on her invitation but Joe had already scheduled something in New York for that day so he made a whole trip out of it to visit his family. 

"I do too. But you are going to have a wonderful time and I can't wait to hear all about it." The waitress came over and took their orders. Ellie ordered the chicken strawberry salad every time she came here and Joe either got a cheeseburger or some type of chicken sandwich. "Plus, I haven't seen little Alena in forever. Kevin is going to hate me when I'm done with her." 

"Please don't do anything to that little girl! She is your neice and shouldn't have to go through that." 

"She knows that Uncle Joe is the best."

"Maybe Uncle Nick is."

"I really am going to miss you while you're gone," Joe took her hand and smiled. "Promise me you'll have a good time?" 

"I'll have the time of my life, just for you. I promise."