unexpected - mena massoud

8.

The next morning, I received a text from Josh. He wanted to take me to work. I told him that he could and he should be to my house in ten minutes. I put on a grey sweatshirt and black leggings paired with my white converse. It's summer, but my trailer is cold. By the time Josh got here, I had just finished getting ready. I let him in and he gave me a hug.

"Ready to go?" He asked, pulling away.

"Yah." I replied, grabbing my purse and heading out the door. The car ride to set was silent. No music, no talking. That's how we always were. It was normal for us so I never thought anything of it. Josh parked and I got out of the car, thanking him. I went around to the driver's side and leaned my arms against the window.

"Can you pick me up too?" I asked.

"Yah. What time?" He looked over at me and into my eyes.

"I'll text you. Thanks again for the ride." He started leaning in and I gave him a quick kiss.

"I love you!" He yelled as I was walking towards the guarded gate. I turned around and waved.

Once I got through the gate and reached my trailer, Natalie was already sitting there with my coffee.

"Good morning, Nat." I greeted her.

"Morning! You seem down, are you okay?" She asked, handing me my coffee.

"Yah. Just tired is all." I gave her a small smile.

"Well like always, you have Naomi and Mena's makeup. Then some extras. So a normal day. But tonight, you have the cast and crew dinner." She said, handing me my schedule.

"Fuck, I forgot about that. It's a formal dinner, right?" I asked, leaning against the vanity and taking a sip of my coffee.

"Yah." She said.

After I finished my coffee, Naomi walked in.

"Hey Nay." I said, genuinely happy to see her. She's so happy all of the time, radiating positivity and it always rubs off on me.

"Hey!" She smiled. Sitting down in my chair, she pushed her hair behind her ears.

"So did you talk to Mena?" She asked while I began on her makeup.

"Yah. He came over to my house last night. I explained to him that Josh is my boyfriend and I asked him to leave because he can get violent." I shrugged.

"And then what?" She asked. I started on her eyebrows.

"We talked for a little while." I said.

"Ooo." She wiggled her eyebrows.

"Stop moving! Your messing it up!" I giggled. My first genuine laugh in a while.

"I think you and Meens would be cute together." She said, getting all giddy.

"Is that so?" I laughed again, shaking my head at her.

"Mhmm." She said proudly like a little kid. We dropped the subject as soon as Mena walked into the trailer.

"Hey Meens!" Naomi said, excited to see him.

Their friendship was something I envied. I wish I had a close friend like that. Someone who I could confide in, no matter what. Rena is sort of like that friend but we never see each other because of work.

"Hey girls." Mena smiled.

"What time is it?" I asked, wondering why he was here so early.

"Nine. I thought I'd come early since I'm already done with costumes." I finally looked over at him and he was wearing his Prince Ali costume. I met his eyes and smiled at him. He gave me a smirk back. I finished Naomi's makeup and had Mena sit in my chair as she left.

"Are you going to the dinner tonight?" He asked ask I began his makeup.

"Yah. Are you?" I questioned back.

"Yah, yah I am." He smiled.

"Are you okay? You've seemed off this past week." He continued.

"If I'm being honest, not really. I've felt completely empty this week. There's so much I haven't told you about Josh that I want to but it's just too much for me." I sighed, still working on his makeup. He frowned.

"I'll tell you eventually; when I'm ready. But for now, I'm okay. That's all you need to know." I avoided eye contact.

"Okay." I'm glad he didn't push any further.

I finished Mena's makeup and after he left, I did some of the extra's makeup. I texted Josh and walked out of my trailer around four in the afternoon. As I was about to walk out the gate, Mena caught up with me.

"Hey El. How was your day?" He asked, walking next to me.

"It was okay. How was yours?" I looked around for Josh's car and he wasn't here yet so I still had some time with Mena.

"It was good. Stressful and long but good." He answered. Out of the corner of my eye I saw Josh's car pulling into the parking lot.

"I have to go. I'll see you tonight, Meens." I smiled at him. He smiled back and waved.

I got into Josh's car and buckled my seat belt.

"What the hell was that?" Fuck. I was hoping I walked away from Mena fast enough.

"We were just talking about work, Josh. That's it." I said, setting my purse on the floor of the car and grabbing my phone out of it. As soon as I grabbed it though, Josh took it out of my hands to grab my attention. He then grabbed my wrist.

"Listen to me, Elodie. If I find out you're fucking around with him, that will be the end of both of you. Do you understand me?" He said through gritted teeth. I gulped.

"Yes. I understand but nothing is going on. We're just friends." I said taking my phone back. He threw my wrist down towards my lap and I looked out the window as he started to drive off. I saw Mena looking straight at me as a tear rolled down my cheek. He had such sadness in his eyes. I just hope he doesn't ask about it at dinner. Josh dropped me off at my house and I went up to my room to get ready.

I pulled out a yellow dress with a square neckline and an a-line skirt. Changing into that, I started on my makeup and hair. I did a light brush of bronzer on my cheekbones and eyes and put on another layer of mascara. I finished with a little bit of lip gloss and highlight. For my hair, I pulled the curls back into a long ponytail and wrapped a piece around the elastic band. I looked at my phone and saw that it was five-thirty so I decided to head out. When I reached the venue, I put my car in park and started towards the doors.

"Elodie!" I heard that oh-so familiar voice. I turned my head to the left, seeing Mena get out of his car and walking towards me.

"Hey Meens." I smiled. When we reached each other, he pulled me into a warm embrace; one that I really needed. His touch soothed me and with this past week, that was just what I needed.

"How are you?" He asked, rocking me side to side in the hug. I giggled at his childish movements.

"I'm alright. Thank you." We pulled out of the hug and he kissed my cheek.

"Shall we?" He held out his arm for me to take. I wrapped my hand around his bicep and laughed lightly.

"We shall." I smiled.

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happy friday! hope everyone is doing amazing. here's chapter 8, i hope you enjoyed it. please make sure to comment and vote! it helps me so much.

love,

kenzie

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