PROLOGUE
i wanna see you all on your knees,
either wanna be with me or be me.
⠀⠀"𝓘'M GETTING US out of here, goddamn it," She hisses through gritted teeth, stripping down to her crimson bra as she presses her now discarded top into his gushing wound, "I'm getting us out of here if it's the last thing I do."
⠀⠀"Darlin'," He sputters weakly, head collapsing back against the wall in a fight to hang onto his remaining consciousness, "Listen to me... I'm not gonna make it... You need to leave... S— save yourself while you can..."
⠀⠀His hand ghosts over her blood—stained skin, and she pauses her frantic actions at the feel of his warm touch — but only briefly, before mentally shaking the illusion of refuge from her mind and instead replacing it with a reality check.
⠀⠀They may be sheltered for now, barricaded in the basement of her crazed father's off—shore bunker and curled behind a large hot water tank, but it is only a matter of time before he finds them. The subtle creak of the floorboards and his incoherent mumbles serve as a constant reminder that they are far from safety.
⠀⠀Her jaw tightens and she ignores the sharp pain at her shoulder before replying decidedly, "No. I'm not leaving you here."
⠀⠀He feels his consciousness slip from his tight grasp, the world begins to turn and his vision grows dark.
⠀⠀He takes a final look over her features; because if there is anything he would choose to be the last thing he leaves this godforsaken Earth with, it's the image of her.
⠀⠀"I'm fading, darlin'," His voice is no stronger than a mere whisper.
⠀⠀"No—" Her voice cracks, and she cannot help but let the hot tears brimming her vision to spill as her movements grow frantic and desperate, "No, no, no...."
⠀⠀"Give me a smile, please?" He uses the last of his remaining strength to grip her hand tightly, "Please."
⠀⠀Her face is blood and dirt—stained by this point in the night, tears shamelessly streaking down her cheeks and dripping from her jaw but, nonetheless, she looks into his piercing green eyes and musters a small smile.
⠀⠀He breathes out a content sigh, and his last breath is taken with a final utterance — "Beautiful."
⠀⠀She watches as his lids softly shut, the erratic movement of his breaths come to a halt, and the grip on her hand falls limp.
⠀⠀The smile on her face twists into a cruel smirk, and all goes black.
⠀⠀"Cut!"
⠀⠀The set lights come back to life once more, and the crew lets out a chorus of applause following the completion of one of the final scenes of the upcoming blockbuster thriller.
⠀⠀Aria DeAngelis breathes out a small sigh of relief and stands from her position, wiping the forced tears from her cheeks before returning a prideful beam at the director and off—camera crew.
⠀⠀"Marvellous job, you two." Manoj Shyamalan sets his clipboard down at a nearby table to pay well—earned compliments to the young stars of his film, "There is truly no greater joy for a director than to see talent bringing his vision to life."
⠀⠀"It's a beautiful script," Aria praises, heart swelling with passion for her character's innocent girl—next—door turned psychopathic self—preserving killer persona, "The audience will never see it coming."
⠀⠀"I'm sure they won't." He beams proudly, "Now you two take it easy this weekend. We have a couple more weeks of filming before it's a wrap, and I want my stars well—rested and ready as ever for the home stretch."
⠀⠀"Will do."
⠀⠀The director gives a firm nod before heading back to the camera crew to review the day's footage.
⠀⠀Timothée Chalamet, the face of Aria's onscreen lover — and unbeknownst victim — dusts off his pants and offers the girl a smile.
⠀⠀"You did great," He compliments truthfully.
⠀⠀"We did great." She corrects with a smile, offering a hand to help him up from his previously slumped position against the faux brick wall, "This movie's gonna be a hit."
⠀⠀He nods in agreement before handing her back the slinky white camisole that was hastily wrapped around his fake wound, "I figure you'd rather cover up."
⠀⠀She lets out a small chuckle, gratefully accepts the item of clothing and slips it over her body, but not before catching the ever so subtle glance he spares over her half—exposed breasts and torso.
⠀⠀She pays no mind. He is a man, after all, and they're all the same. At this point in her life, she's gotten so used to it that what was previously a burning predatory gaze now diminished to nothing but a barely—there discomforting tingle.
⠀⠀And if there was anything else Aria learnt in all her years of stardom and reputed man—eating, it was that there existed only three steps to get any man wrapped around her freshly manicured finger.
⠀⠀This was step one; to entice them.
⠀⠀"So..." Timothée runs a hand over his dark curls, "You got any plans after this? I'll be hanging out in my trailer for a couple hours — you're welcome to join me."
⠀⠀She doesn't miss the mischievous glint in his eyes.
⠀⠀"I'll have to decline today," She replies gracefully.
⠀⠀Step two; never fall to their wills so easily.
⠀⠀"Oh." He gulps, evidently not familiar with the concept of rejection, "Okay."
⠀⠀Aria turns on her heels and saunters off the set, but not without tossing the man a flirtatious smile over her shoulder and adding, "Maybe next time."
⠀⠀Step three; always leave them wanting more.
⠀⠀Timothée attempts to nod casually, but she's seen enough to spot the hitch in his breath and the ever—so—light enthusiastic widening of his eyes.
⠀⠀She smirks to herself as she leaves him stunned at the centre of the brightly lit set.
⠀⠀Men are too easy.
━━━
⠀⠀After cleaning herself of the grimy stage makeup, changing into clothes that weren't fake blood—stained nor dirt—ridden and collecting extra copies of her scripts for next week's filming, Aria waves a small goodbye to her set team and makes her way out of the studio.
⠀⠀The Hollywood sun is blinding, and she finds it near impossible to think that, less than half an hour ago, she was seemingly cramped in the corner of a dimly lit basement in the middle of God—knows—where.
⠀⠀That's the magic of cinema, after all; its ability to transport people to entirely different worlds. And maybe that's why the girl had fallen in love with it in the first place. It's her safe haven and, even if it's only for a few hours, delving into the alternate universes of her characters offers her an escape from the rotten, perverted mess of a life she'd practically been thrown into from childhood.
⠀⠀Aria's kitten heels click obnoxiously against the pavement as she makes her way to her beloved Bentley Continental, parked in one of the sectioned—off VIP slots toward the back of the studio.
⠀⠀Cheyenne Bennett is waiting patiently in the driver's seat of the convertible, grasping tightly in her hands a takeout box of fettucine alfredo with a side of extra chilli flakes and a lemon iced tea.
⠀⠀Aria easily slides into the passenger seat and tosses the Dior book tote slung over her shoulder to the backseat before throwing her assistant a warm smile and graciously accepting the meal.
⠀⠀"Your dad's gonna kill you, you know." Cheyenne warns with a brow tentatively raised as she watches her boss—slash—best—friend hungrily shovel the pasta down her throat, "He's been on my ass all month to get you cutting down your carbs to stay fit for the premiere."
⠀⠀Aria instinctively scowls whilst taking a long sip of iced tea.
⠀⠀"His words, not mine." The younger girl raises her arms in surrender.
⠀⠀Alessandro DeAngelis is many things. Son of Francesco DeAngelis — 50s heartthrob of Hollywood's Golden Age — internationally acclaimed director, multiple Academy Award winning titleist and, finally, Aria's own father and manager.
⠀⠀Aria loves her father, truthfully. Ever since her mother's Earth—shattering death, he's been trying his absolute hardest to balance out his work with the feat that is filling in both parental roles for his two children.
⠀⠀But as her manager... it's a whole other story.
⠀⠀Be it his lifelong immersion in the cutthroat world of Hollywood or his naturally overbearing desire for his family's success, Aria often finds herself spiteful of her father's authoritarian approach to managing every single part of her life — everything from her public image and contractual obligations right down to her diet and love life.
⠀⠀"How was filming?" Cheyenne questions casually, bringing the girl out of her thoughts.
⠀⠀"Alright." Aria replies simply.
⠀⠀"'Alright'," Cheyenne mocks her tone with a laugh, "Girl. You've been locking lips with the Timothée Chalamet on an M. Night Shyamalan flick for the last six months — you're practically the envy of every girl around the world right about now."
⠀⠀"Correction," Aria rebuts with a smug smile, "I've always been the envy of every girl around the world. Don't be downplaying me now, Chey."
⠀⠀Cheyenne rolls her eyes knowingly at her boss' cocky behaviour. She lets it slide, however, as does the rest of the world — because anyone with working eyes and half a brain can see that if any person had the right to be so entitled, it was Aria DeAngelis.
⠀⠀"Ion know how you ain't catch yourself falling in love with any of these fine ass men at your feet yet, Ri." She admits with a light shake of her head.
⠀⠀"I'm an actress." Aria responds with a shrug, "It's literally my job to pretend to be one way whilst feeling the complete opposite."
⠀⠀"Touché."
⠀⠀The two fall into a comfortable silence as Aria continues her assault on the box of pasta whilst Cheyenne scrolls intently through her emails. As the assistant of one of the biggest stars in the world, she often finds herself glued to her phone and scanning through what could potentially be miles of unread invitations, partnership endeavours and business propositions. Usually, she finds herself sending ninety percent of the mail to the trash, only forwarding the ones of interest to Aria's own business email for her confirmation — but one specifically piques her interest today and she taps on it curiously.
⠀⠀"This should be interesting," She grins to herself, "Ri — you're free this weekend, right?"
⠀⠀Aria glances at the mischief-laced smile adorning the other girl's face, "Depends who's asking."
⠀⠀"You forget I manage your week—to—week schedules." Cheyenne mugs, "I know damn well you got nothing on 'til your cover shoot with ELLE next Tuesday — so don't be tryin' all that on me."
⠀⠀Aria laughs, raising her arms in surrender before silently urging her to go on.
⠀⠀"LeBron James is hosting a massive function in downtown LA this Sunday before the '21—22 training season kicks off again — and he extends you an invite," Cheyenne lifts her phone screen to allow her a brief look at the email, "Lots of big names here, from what I can see, and I think you should go."
⠀⠀"Basketball, huh?" Aria's nose scrunches lightly, nails drumming against the dashboard as she contemplates her decision.
⠀⠀She's certainly no stranger to the sport; in fact, she's made a handful of home game attendances to support her cities' teams — the Lakers and the Nets — but only to keep up her public appearances. LeBron has also been a longtime acquaintance of the DeAngelis family; probably the reason behind which she's receiving the invitation in the first place.
⠀⠀That, and the fact that she's currently the biggest name in Hollywood.
⠀⠀"Nah uh," Cheyenne corrects with a playfully suggestive wiggle of the brows, "Basketball men. What's the harm in a little fun?"
⠀⠀Aria lets out a lighthearted chuckle before finally making up her mind with a nonchalant shrug, "I could do with some of that."
⠀⠀Cheyenne grins victoriously and wastes no time in typing out an acceptance in response to the invitation. In the meantime, Aria allows herself to lean back in her seat with the ghost of a mischievous smile tugging at her lips.
Basketball men — now there's uncharted waters she has yet to dip her toes into.
Little does she know she's about to walk herself right into an oncoming storm — and it's only up to her to decide whether she's going to sink or swim.
But, then again, what's the harm in a little fun?
author's note,
ahhh at last the first chapter is up 🕺 i know the plot isnt too obvious right now but i assure you itll pick up in the next chapter, as this was just meant to establish the main character n all dat.
what are your initial thoughts on the story so far?