Philautia || Amour Éternel Series BOOK ONE ||

Nineteen - SHANNON

"No pancakes?" Shannon asked.

"If I'm nominated, I'll have to wear a nice dress. I don't want to start pregnancy rumors," she joked.

"Yeah. If you gain ten pounds, they'll start assuming you knocked her up, Shan," Meredith added as she came down to the stairs.

Shannon nearly spat his coffee out. "I - we - I," he stammered.

"That would require us to actually sleep together - which has never - and will never - happen," Callie said, coming to his rescue. It was a bold-faced lie, but nobody else seemed to notice. "Seriously. I thought you guys of all people would know that."

"Relax, I'm just joking," Meredith said. Ben offered her a plate of food but she passed on it, grabbing a cup of coffee instead. "I don't even know why we're watching this. We won't get nominated; we're up against too many other awesome shows."

"Ok, Debbie Downer," Aya replied. "Have a little faith."

"Sorry I'm late!" Lilia's voice called from the back door. "I got held up in traffic. Did I miss it?" She hurried into the room, dropping her purse onto the stool next to Aya.

"Nope," Tasha said. "But your sisters might. It starts in a few minutes."

"Where are they?" Lilia asked.

"Last I checked they were fighting over the bathroom," Aya said.

As if on cue, two female voices echoed through the two-story great room.

"I swear to God, Avril! You always do this!" Jonny exclaimed, storming across the catwalk and stomping down the stairs.

"Its not my fault you take forever to get ready! You're not the only one who needs to use the bathroom!" Avril's voice followed her and a second later the other Morrison sister appeared, chasing Jonny down the steps. She stopped short when she saw everyone watching her. "What?" she demanded in a huff.

"Sorry about all that," Callie apologized to Shannon under her breath. "Its not usually this bad. But with everyone here, its a little cramped."

He shook his head. "Don't worry about it. Its fine. Its actually kind of nice."

"Did you ever get a hold of Belle?" Jonny asked from the kitchen.

"Yeah. She said she'd be in a meeting and wouldn't be able to get away," Callie answered. "She'll text me when she's free and we can call her then."

Shannon looked at her in confusion. "She's back in the States?"

Callie shook her head. "No. She's still in Paris. But she was going to try to Skype when they were doing the announcement so she could watch with us."

"Oh, okay," he nodded.

"Quick! Turn it on," Ben said, rushing in from the kitchen and sitting on the other sofa to watch the TV.

Shannon flipped the TV to the network where the nominations were being announced and a hush fell over the room as everyone focused on the screen. An actress Shannon had seen a few times in different movies walked out in a short purple dress. She was joined by a teen actor that was rising in popularity. They stood behind a podium in front of a dark blue backdrop, with photographers, cameras, and microphones in front of them.

"Good morning," the actress said with a smile. "Today we will be announcing the nominees for the 67th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards."

The teen stepped up to the microphone and looked down at a list in front of him. "Here are the nominees for Outstanding Comedy Series: Louie (FX), Modern Family (ABC), Parks and Recreation (NBC), Silicon Valley (HBO), Transparent (Amazon), VEEP (HBO), and Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt (Netflix)."