A Simple Kind of Man

chapter one

Of course I would be late on my first day. Of FUCKING course I would be.

I tried on every outfit in my closet and still nothing screamed "Hi, I'm the new girl but please like me". I couldn't help but want to make a good first impression.

So I went with my tried and true short skirt, black long sleeved shirt, and black Doc Marten's boots. I put on some rings and earrings, as well as some mascara and dark lipstick. My blonde hair was straight and laying on my shoulders.

I was nervous about being a plus sized actress who somehow landed the job of her dreams: a love interest of one of the Winchester brothers on Supernatural.

I swear to god I was hitting every single red light on the way to the lot. I had a death grip on my iced coffee, and white knuckles were holding the steering wheel with my other hand. I was so close to honking and giving everyone a round of the middle finger. Maybe both. Coffee and road rage don't mix well. The hot July heat was burning my face from the open window of my Subaru. Maybe I'll be able to finally get my AC fixed after this gig...

I finally made it to the lot and smoothly made it past security. All the anxiety was happening with every step I took into the building. What if no one likes me? What if they realize they picked the wrong person for the part? What if I have coffee breath? I looked down at my iced coffee with 2 sips left. Fuck. I definitely have coffee breath.

I never thought I'd be here. I've come a long way from drama club and acting classes. Who would have known that the internet would jump-start my career into acting. I somehow made it into some inner circles in L.A. and booked an audition to be Dean Winchester's love interest in season 5 of Supernatural. Here I am, about to go to my first table read on a very popular show with a cult following. No pressure.

The hallways were so busy and I didn't recognize a single face. I took a deep breath and noticed someone looking at me from down the hallway. He had a lanyard on like everyone else in the building, but I couldn't quite make out what it said. As I got closer, his eyes got wider as he seemingly recognized my face. That made one of us.

"Hi, Annie! I'm your new assistant, Nick. I thought we would get to know each other before you head into the table read. Coffee?" He handed me a hot coffee as I glanced at my watered down Starbucks from earlier. "Oh-" he began, looking embarrassed. "-thank you so much!" I finished. "That's so thoughtful! I barely slept last night I was so nervous." I gave him a wide eyed expression to which he returned with relieved laughter. "Yeah, no problem! It's the least I can do!" Nick seemed to relax a little, so I started walking and thinking of ways to break the ice.

"I'm so excited to have a personal assistant! This is officially so overwhelming. I can't believe I'm here today doing this," I said shaking my head. I could feel the caffeine settling in, making my hands start to shake.

"Yeah me neither! I've never been a PA on a set this big before!", Nick followed. He looked just as anxious and overwhelmed as I did. He looked maybe 3 or 4 years out of college with the usual L.A. style. He kept up with my pace as we rounded a corner into another hallway. "I think we'll be just down here on the left for the table read, but I wanted to show you to your trailer first." I stopped dead in my tracks. "Oh my god I forgot I get a trailer..." my voice trailed off and I must've looked like I was in disbelief. What the hell is my life right now?

Nick laughed. "I think we both might need to be pinched today...", he began with a straight face that quickly turned into a grin.

We walked up to a row of trailers outside with names that looked familiar. "I think you're the first one here this morning," Nick started, "so no one's in their trailer yet. Hopefully you can start mingling soon when all the other actors show up fashionably late." He rolled his eyes and smiled. I did the same. Thank god I wasn't late according to everyone else's standards.

My trailer was very clean and bare, but was exactly the calm I was needing to deal with meeting the cast soon. Everything inside was white with grey accents.

I looked around and found a comfy couch to sink into. Nick climbed up the stairs after stopping to talk to another PA. "What do you think?", he asked with a hopeful smile.

I returned a quiet hum in response. "It's nice.", I stated simply. I closed my eyes and tried to calm my nerves. I could feel the warmth of the sun coming through the trailer window next to me, coupled with the breeze coming from the air conditioning up above. I felt uneasy, but excited. I silently took a deep breath and opened my eyes to see Nick handing me a glass of water.

"You look like you could use this", he said with a sympathetic smile.

I couldn't help but laugh. "I probably look crazy right now", shaking my head, "Sorry. It's just taking me a second to let everything sink in."

"Oh don't apologize! I'm here to help." Nick offered a genuine smile.

I think I'm going to like him.

After grabbing a small snack from catering, Nick led me through a small group of people gathering outside of the stage building. I knew I would be needing to go to wardrobe to get fitted at some point today. I made a mental note of that before my mind started to wander elsewhere.

I tried to keep a friendly smile on my face to conceal my nerves as Nick introduced me to people around the lot.

I began seeing faces I recognized, and not from real life but from seeing them on tv. I had to truly contain myself.

I had been keeping up with Supernatural and was just as excited as any other fan to know what happens in season 5. I couldn't believe I get to read the script, let alone act it out.

Nick could tell I was nervously fangirling, so he led me to the groups of famous actors for me to introduce myself. They were all so kind and seemingly excited to meet me. I felt such a sense of pride to be here meeting my favorite actors on my favorite show. I had truly come so far from uploading videos on YouTube and acting in school plays. I wanted to second guess myself, but knew better than to doubt my abilities when I needed to exude the confidence everyone was probably expecting.

It was time for the table read.

Everyone met in a giant room and waited for the directors and producers to make their way in. They thanked everyone for being there for a new, exciting season. I could feel my hands getting clammy thinking about who they were going to introduce next. Jared Padalecki walked in with a huge smile and his signature beanie on, sporting a flannel and dark jeans to go with it. He waved at everyone and echoed the many thanks the men before him had.

I didn't realize I was holding my breath until they introduced who I knew could only be the other half of the brother duo. Everything around me seemed muffled as he walked into the room wearing a similar jeans and flannel combination as his co-star before him. He shot a grin to everyone in the room, scanning everyone's faces. Part of me was praying he wouldn't see me. I didn't feel worthy of his attention. But I so desperately wanted those eyes to land on mine. Until they did.

I was staring into the eyes of Jensen Ackles.

What the fuck is my life.