Play Pretend | ✓

11 | take 3

Tyler and I walked out of the hotel. The guards let us go, after we showed them our IDs.
Our hotel was quite near Central Park. We walked for two minutes before reaching it. Thankfully at this moment, we couldn't see any paparazzi, although the streets were still busy.
We started walking in the park in silence. I was feeling seemingly uncomfortable, walking beside my long-lost ex best friend slash co-star, but I made sure not to show it. I acted cool and nonchalant, like he wasn't even there.
After five minutes of being like this, Tyler decided to open his stupid mouth.
"So, do you still hate Rapunzel?"
I froze in my tracks, not being able to breathe for a second. He still remembered that? He remembered what brought us together in kindergarten in the first place?
I inhaled deeply and said, "Yup. I still find her long hair quite a hassle, and not worth it at all. What about you?" I tried to sound as calm as I could.
Tyler chuckled. "well, it's still ridiculous in my opinion. I mean, who the hell has hair like that? It's all pointless, plus no one can climb up a tower with the help of freaking hair."
I laughed lightly at that. The statement was so typically Ty. I couldn't help but wonder why he was being like this when he had changed into a complete jerk.
"Why did you ask me this all of a sudden?"
He shrugged. "Just wondered."
"You still remembered?"
This time it was his turn to look at me disbelievingly. "Are you serious? How can I forget that? It's what brought us together in the first place."
I tried to act as cool as he sounded. Sure, I wasn't affected by his words at all. Not at all.
I shrugged. "I couldn't help but ask. After all, you've changed so much."
He stopped and turned to look at me. "What do you mean?"
"You know very well what I mean."
"You act like you haven't changed too!"
"Have I?"
"Yes, you have. Drastically. You aren't the Liz I knew, and you'll never be."
Tears welled up in my eyes when I heard him say that. For a minute there I'd actually thought he was still the same old Tyler deep inside. Guess I spoke too soon.
I forced back the tears.
"Guess we've both changed then. Drastically. And we're never gonna be the same, ever again."
Tyler looked into the distance. He had a weird look in his eyes. He simply shrugged at my answer. I stared at him in disbelief before shaking my head and clearing my thoughts.
We returned to our hotel late at night. The next morning, we boarded the flight and came back to Ashville. I was relieved to see Kiara and the others at the set again. I hugged them and sat down for a cup of tea before we began shooting.
Suddenly, we spotted a man in a suit coming towards us. Kiara got up to shake his hand. "Hello, Mr Sykes. Good to see you again. What brings you here?"
Mr Sykes, whoever he was, greeted her back and then searched the actors with his eyes until his gaze landed on Tyler and I . He walked over to us.
Tyler got up too. "What's it this time, Sykes?"
Sykes looked coolly at him. "Tyler, did you know you've been spotted at Central Park with Ms Townsend here? And not just that, the tabloids are now assuming you two are dating."
I nearly choked on my tea. "What? But how did they spot us? We were just in our casuals and we didn't see any paparazzi there."
Sykes said, "Excuse me, Ms Townsend, I have yet to properly introduce myself. I'm Terence Sykes, Tyler's manager. And to answer your question, there was a man at Central Park who works with an advertisement company. He knows Tyler since he's had to see his face countless times in ads, and so he clicked a picture of him with you and posted it on social media. Then the tabloids found it and turned it into a juicy scoop."
Tyler appeared unaffected. "Just let it be, Sykes. You always get hyped up over the smallest of things. Just declare to the reporters that Liz and I are not a thing and we never will be. There's no chance."
Ouch. That one hurt.
Sykes was still worried. "Tyler, they'll question why you two were hanging out in Central Park so late. Will I tell them it was just as friends?"
"Yeah, yeah, do whatever you like, and please, Sykes, don't stress about it. Seriously there's nothing going on. Now if you'll excuse me, I have a scene to shoot."
Sykes talked to me about the incident for a minute and then left. My mind was still reeling at the sheer incredulity and insanity of the situation. How could the media catch hold of everything? Is this what celebrities felt when they were spotted holding hands with some other person at a café? I had always wondered about them, and now I could feel it firsthand.
But Tyler seemed quite calm, as if he was used to this. He must be, I thought, bitterly. He's a Hollywood heartthrob after all.

(A/N: okay, so I know many of you may not agree with my characters' points of view on Rapunzel. I know you may find it offensive that they're dissing one of the most popular Disney princesses. But hey, they're different people and they're entitled to their own opinion! And just because they think that way doesn't mean I do too. I don't. But my characters are like that, and they can't help it if they think Rapunzel having long hair is ridiculous. So please refrain from posting hurtful and rude comments and if you disagree with Liz and Tyler then it's no problem, just respect their views and don't make a hue and cry about it.
And lastly, thank you for reading! Hope you're enjoying this story! xx)