"What is this?!" Felicity, my manager asks; slamming down a magazine on the hotel breakfast bar.
"A magazine." I mumble as if it were the most obvious thing whilst drinking my milk, straight out of the carton - no one else but me drank it anyway. My head was pounding from all the funny drinks last night, but I just told Fel that it was yesterdays sushi that made me feel ill.
Felicity gave me a disgusted look, putting a hand on her hip. "Put the milk down Ariel, this is serious." She huffs impatiently.
I don't know what the big deal is, usually Felicity was professional and chilled, but this morning it seemed as though there was an angry fire demon in her belly.
"Okay, okay!" I say, putting the milk carton down and hastily wiping my mouth with my sleeve, earning an eye roll from Felicity.
"Whats up?" I ask, cocking an eyebrow.
"Well you tell me Miss Blue, whats up with you sneaking off to parties you shouldnt be at?" She countered.
I gave her a confused look, everything that had happened last night was still hazy in my head. For a moment there I hadn't a clue what she was on about...until it clicked.
oh shit
she knew where i had been last night
"I dont know what you're talking about." I shrug, playing it off casually in hopes that she'd let it slide.
"Well, I'm sure you'll be interested to know that everyone in Hollywood seems to know what I'm talking about, why don't you turn over to page 13 - perhaps that'll jog your memory." She presses.
Of course.
This is Felicity, she wouldnt let anything slide until she had proved her point 100%
"Its just a dumb magazine Fel, it can't be that interesting." I chuckle nervously, making a move to drink my milk again so I wouldnt have to talk to her.
"Don't you 'Fel' me young lady!" She scoffs, lightly smacking my hand away from the milk carton.
"B-but!"
"No buts! Now turn to page 13." She says. "Now."
With great reluctance I open the magazine, taking as long as physically possible to turn to the right page.
You know how they say thirteen is an unlucky number?
Well, it just proved to be hella unlucky for me; for the very first thing I saw on that page was a photo of me laying on a table in my bra, with the boy from last night hovering over me - headlined: 'Calum Hood gets freaky with mystery girl'
Calum Hood...so thats what his name was.
"Read the article." Felicity ordered, unamused.
I was going to argue back, but when Felicity used her no nonsense tone - I knew she meant buisness.
"Calum Hood, teenage Hollywood bigshot, was sighted at a party in Downtown L.A, getting intimate with a mystery girl." I read aloud, sighing. "We all know Hood to be the player type, but who knew that he'd be bagging himself a personal hooker." I read, my eyes widening when I skim read over that line again
"PERSONAL HOOKER?!" I exclaim "I didn't even know his name until now!"
"Oh that isnt even the worst part Ariel, keep reading." She says.
"The two were sighted making out and rumoured to be dating, the news has left millions of fans distraught on social media...who is this mystery girl?" I finish reading, looking at screenshots printed on the article of the things people had said about me on twitter.
'She looks like a slag, I wouldnt be surprised if she had sucked him off just to get a movie role.'
'Fat hoe'
'Calum could do better, who tf is this ugly ass rat?'
'Isnt she model or something...you know, for weight watchers?'
'Disgusting, girls will do anything to get famous now'
Funny how the article mentioned nothing that actually happened at that party. How Calum had been the one to call me amoung ten other girls for body shots at that table. Yet I had to be the one singled out and thrown hate at.
"T-thats all out of context Fel, you have to believe me!" I say, feeling like I was about to cry. "I'm not a hooker, or his girlfriend; it was just body shots and there were other girls doing it too!" I ramble, feeling like a teenage girl who had gotten into trouble for seeing the boy her parents forbade.
Now my head was hurting more than before, and it wasnt because of the hang over.
"Ariel!" Felicity cut me off in the middle of my ramble, a hand on my shoulder. "Calm.down...I don't believe a word on that article, but theres a reason why I told you not to go to that party and yet you discarded everything I told you and went anyway, now look whats happened." She says in a dominant yet calm tone.
"E-everything I've worked so hard for...now everyones going to think I'm just a hooker, I don't even know him!" I rant, holding back the urge to ball.
"It'll die out when the magazine find new drama, but what I'm worried about here is your safety; I care about you Ariel, and thats something a lot of young actors don't have, someone that gives a damn...take Calum for example, he's out being reckless at that party because he doesn't have someone to tell him otherwise...I can't let that happen to you, you hear?" She warns seriously.
I nod, my head hung. I didnt want her to see that I was crying.
"No tears now Ariel, Hollywood has no time for that, and neither do you; you have an important photoshoot at lunch so lets get ready for that, okay?" She says with ease now.
"Okay." I mumble back quietly, composing myself.
Who knew that one wrong move in Hollywood could cost an entire career.
