Breaking Point

Chapter 4

~Em's PoV~

I step out of the limo, careful not to trip. The instant flash of cameras blind me for a moment, but I still smile, as Colette instructed. Ian's already gotten out and is standing at my side. He offers me his arm and I take it, walking with the other celebrities as we near the theater. Tonight my boyfriend and I are viewing a movie that he did over the summer, called Seven Day Saturday.

The fans are on the side screaming their heads off. I don't know why Ian insisted with me walking with him as he stops to take pictures and sign autographs with frantic fans, the female type. I stand there, looking awkward, but forcing my face to keep the smile up, pretending to be right at home. I watch the fans as they briefly interact with Ian's co-stars.

My eyes meet those of a young girl, who looks to be fourteen years old. She stares at me with what looks like awe in her eyes. I stand in front of her and give her a smile. She watches me, as if she's in a dream and not really here. The girl speaks slowly, "You're, Emilee Thorn." My smile widens. This is the first time I've been recognized with celebrity status outside of USC.

I nod as she continues. "You're Alicia Rivers on Hidden! That's like my most favorite show ever! You're so good, I love you! And you're dating Ian Somerhalder!" She gushes out his name like all of his other female fans. "You're the luckiest girl ever!" Her enthusiasm is incredible. "Thank you. What's your name?"

Her eyes sparkle. "Jamie. Its Jamie." I extend my hand to shake hers, but then realize she's not an adult like everyone else I interact with. She's a young teenager. I change the position of my hand to a high-five stance. She squeals and slaps my palm. Her happiness bubbles over, making me giggle as she asks, "Can you sign my shirt?" I nod, making Jamie squeal again.

She hands me a permanent marker and turns around. Her white T-shirt already has the other signatures of Ian's co-stars. Its just missing Ian's. That gives me an idea. I sign Jamie's shirt and give the marker back. Her young face is beaming. "Can, can I get a picture too?" She begs. I look around for my boyfriend.

Ian's taking a picture with a group of girls. Not surprising me in the least. After the flash, I catch his eye and wave him over. He leaves the screams of the begging girls and joins Jamie and I. He slips his fingers between mine. Jamie looks like she just died and went to celebrity heaven. Her hands flutter at her sides, her eyes widen behind her glasses, her jaw drops as far as it can go. She squeals out loudly, "Oh my gosh. You're Ian Somerhalder. Standing right in front of me!"

At least, it would have sounded that way if she said it normally. She spits out the words so quickly that the words are all jumbled together. "Omygosyou'reiansomerhaldstandrighfrowname!" Ian nods and flashes Jamie a wink, obviously used to this reaction. I lean a little closer to him and say, "Jaime, how about we take that picture now?" She grins and pulls out her phone.

Once the picture is taken and Ian's signed the shirt, we leave Jamie and head inside the theater. The halls are occupied by reporters from television networks and magazines, as well as people from Hollywood, but no fans are inside yet. The reporters are taking pictures with their flashy camera's as well as interviewing the cast of Seven Day Saturday.

An excited young reporter rushes over to us. I squeeze Ian's hand, becoming nervous as the man makes his way through the other people. I still get anxious when it comes to reporters and interviewers. The young man blinks rapidly. "Can I get a couple quick quote from you Mr. Somerhalder?" Ian nods so the interviewer whips out a pad of paper and a pen to go with it.

"What is your part in Seven Day Saturday, and what exactly is the movie about?" Ian smiles briefly, as if he hears this question so many times, with nearly always the same type of answer. "My character's name is Gavin Ross. Gavin hates his life, works all the time, so his buddies decide to take him out on the town and live it up for a Saturday night. They want to keep the partying going, so they do the same thing everyday for a week, which explains the title. This film is pretty much a comedy, especially because you have some of the greatest comedians of our day acting in it. "

As Ian begins to list his co-stars, my mind wanders, looking around the theater. The main lobby is spacious, seeming as if it can fit a thousand people at one time. The walls are bright and bold, painted with colors of dark red, black, and bright gold. The floor is made with dark tiles, with little pices of gold glitter mixed in. I look out the glass entrance doors to see fans crowded and mingling, waiting for their chance to come inside.

Ian nudges me, drawing my attention back to him. The reporter is staring at me, his pen poised. I blink, realizing he just asked me aomsthing. Stupid! Pay attention next time! I decide not to try and play it cool, but rather ask him what he said, admitting my distracted mind. "I'm sorry, what did you ask me?" The young man takes breath, out of exasperation maybe, and repeats his question. "Would you give me a couple insights to your relationship? Everyone's craving to know more about Emilan." Emilan? Do they always have to come up with couple names? "There's not much to  tell," I say, careful not to give him too many details about my private life. "I love Ian, very very much. I'm  lucky to have him."

The reporter presses me further. "Weren't you just in a relationship with Alexander Ludwig? What happened to make you two split? Was it his wild partying ways? Or the fact that he was too busy with his career?" I shake my head. "No, none of that had anything to do with us." I gulp. Even in interviews, Alexander doesn't leave me alone. Somedays I wish I had never met him. "Was it that you got tired of him? Many people say that your new boyfriend is a better catch than your last one." "No, that's not-"

"Or, can you confirm the rumors that you were dating both Ian and Alexander at the same time?" My eyes widen. "What? I'm sorry-" The reporter keeps interrupting me. "So you apologize for two-timing? Did Alexander find out and let you go or did you confess?"

Ian removes his hand from mine, making me realize I had been giving it a death squeeze. How dare he? None of this ever happened, how dare he make these assumptions! The young man talks louder and louder, getting more excited by the minutes as he spouts out more rumors. By this time most of Ian's co-stars and the other reporters around the room are watching us closely, "Ian, did you date her out of pity? Feeling bad that she was dumped publicly and outrageously?" My jaw drops. He dumped me? Publicly?! Outrageously?!

Ian throws me a warning look, silently telling me to keep quiet. He puts his hand on the young man's shoulder and says with a cold politeness. "I think you need to leave us now. This interview is over." Ian slips his arm around my waist and begins to lead me away from the flashing cameras. The young man keeps calling out questions, trying to get us to come back.

I'm furious, my whole body is shaking angrily. Ian pulls me down a deserted hallway, where its just us two. I can feel my eyes begin to fill up from the shock of the ridiculous rumors. "How dare he." Ian looks at me, placing both hands on my shoulder. "Em don't worry about it. He's just a liar, trying to get some kind of dirt for his source" I shake my head. "He's got the dirt alright. Do they actually think Ludwig was the one to dump me? That he was the innocent one in this situation? That I'm the one who was two-timing? its awful, its just--how could they? Do they really believe all that?"

Ian stops my rantings by leaning in and kissing me. He pulls me close to him saying, "No. They don't believe you were behind the break-up. That scumbag is the only one who believes it. If people really thought that was the truth the news would be everywhere." I pull my head away from his shoulder. "Ian, I need a minute. Meet me in the theater?" He lightly kisses my forehead, his thumbs wiping the tears away from my cheeks. "You got it Precious. I'll be waiting."

I turn and head to the nearest restroom, my eyes scanning the halls for it. The hallway I'm walking down is surprisingly deserted. I guess everyone's in the theater. As I near the door to the ladies room, I see a tall young man leaning against the wall on the opposite side, by the men's room. His dark hair covers his face, shielding it almost from my view. He's messing with something on his phone when I pass him.

Curious, I watch him out of the corner of my eye as I walk by. He jerks his head back, showing his face. He looks strangely familiar, but I can't place where I might have met him. I put my hand on the handle of the door to the ladies restroom when I remember. No way. Just----no way.

I turn around, and sure enough its him. He looks up at me, as if wondering why I'm still there. We just stand there, not saying anything, although the man watches me with curiosity burning in his eyes. I find my voice and break the silence asking, "Dylan?"

_______________

I know people wanted me to bring Dylan back, so after much thinking and consideration about how I could possibly do it, BOOM. He's back!! -CFF