PERMANENT - Leonardo DiCaprio

Chapter 25 - Old Antics

Wednesday 10.25pm (nearly a week later)

I sat alone on my balcony, taking a drag of my cigarette that I had taken from the pack Leo had left behind. My blanket was wrapped around my shoulders, more for comfort than the cold – it was late evening, but it was still around 70 degrees outside. My laptop was situated on my lap, blowing hot air down my legs, which were crossed on the chair.

My week so far had been exhausting, and I wanted nothing more than to be out of here. The rest of the cast had left early this morning, finally going back home to see their families. The only ones that were left were extras who I wasn't all that familiar with, but I had made friends with some of them. They had told me they weren't really allowed to interact with the main cast on strict instructions. That explained why we hadn't talked as much as I expected – we hadn't talked at all.

It was interesting to hear their stories – sometimes it was easy to forget these were all people to, with their own lives, and not just stage props. On more than one occasion, after establishing a friendship, they brought in traditional Mexican home cooked meals and treats onto set, where I often didn't have time to even eat. It made a change to the finger food I had been living off of for months.

The buzzing of my phone caused vibrations to rattle off the table. I picked it up to see a message from Aaliyah. We had talked more in the recent weeks, with the end of my time here fast approaching, knowing I'll be able to see her soon.

'1 new message from: Aaliyah' I smiled – she always made me feel 100x better, even when I think I'm feeling good. The first thing she sent me was a link to what seemed like an article on the internet, and below, her own message.

'So I take it he's already back? Wasting no time, I see ;) Can't wait to meet him when you come back because you WILL introduce me to him okay? X'

I frowned, not knowing what she meant, so I clicked on the link she had sent me to accompany her message. My stomach dropped when the page loaded.

'LEO'S BACK!

The world's ultimate sweetheart, 22 year old Leonardo DiCaprio, made his triumphant return back to the streets of New York as he was seen celebrating with a bevy of beauties between the hours of 1am to 5am in the morning.

Six 20-something women, three 20-something men (all with a fashionably unwashed look) and three 40-something bodyguards piled out and climbed up a narrow private staircase to the third floor of Moomba last night, followed by a horde of screaming teenage girls. ''He rolls in every night, unless he's in L.A.,'' said a security guard at the door of the club, ''Girls always ask me if he's here. Even if he is, I have to say no.''

Sources close to DiCaprio have said he is delighted to be back to his partying lifestyle after filming for the new blockbuster epic 'Titanic', directed by James Cameron, in Rosarito, Mexico for a total of 7 months.

It has been reported that DiCaprio had been partying with big name celebrities too, with the likes of Liv Tyler and Gwyneth Paltrow, who lost out on the opportunity to play alongside DiCaprio 'Titanic', a role snatched up by up and coming actress Penelope Nava. Among these women was also reported to be Kristen Zang, DiCaprio's gorgeous model ex-girlfriend, who dumped him during the film's production. Could she be ready to make amends and let love blossom again?'

I closed the page, not bothering to read the rest of the article. The complementary image of him that was attached to the article was still clear in my head. He seemed to be cosying up to a pretty blonde girl, clutching at her hand playfully, her face full of excitement and delight at having the attention at the world's most wanted guy.

Now that, was a shock to the system. None of that article even made sense to me, or rather, Leo himself didn't make sense to me. My mind had now been completely mushed, one hundred times over, and I couldn't make sense of anything anymore. So much for going back to 'relax' after filming, he was clearly relaxing in the daytime rather than the night time.

I had always known he was like this – I met him for the first time in a club surrounded by girls after all, but somehow I hadn't expected this. I just wanted him back here, where he was this little prankster, not cocky Mr Big-Man Romeo.

And then there was our goodbye kiss (which I was still not over). If that meant anything, he wouldn't be out there partying with those girls; with Kristen. It was as if he left, and his memory was completely cleared of anything that had happened in Rosarito. What a dick move.

Feeling disheartened and shitty, I closed my laptop and put out my cigarette, deciding to go to set 3 hours early to distract myself (2 hours if Alberto was around for a chat). If I was sat here alone for any longer, my thoughts would gnaw at my conscience until I went crazy.