A/N: Hello :)
Carson
Her chest was heaving as sweat dribbled down from her forehead and formed beads on her chest. Carson grunts loudly as she uses her legs to bounce up, the barbell with the weights being thrusted up with her movements until her elbows land bent, barbell at her chest now.
The actress' pup barks as he tries to get his mom's attention. After she finishes her third set of her cycle with the other planned leg exercises for the day, Carson looks down at Jax and smirks.
"Your turn, bud, you ready? You know what time it is. Go get your leash!" She claps happily and once the dog hears the last sentence, he hurriedly rushes towards the wall where his leash is placed on a low-hanging hook for Jax to reach himself.
He hops up a bit to get it off the hook, the leather leash now in his mouth, not being quite able to get a good hold. Jax, still being a near five month old pup, struggles still with his efforts to try and learn for his mum, but she gives in and helps him out.
She pulls his leash and harness off the hook and helps him get into it, the little pup growing more happy by the moment, knowing he hadn't had a walk with his mum since the other week when they were in London.
Carson adopted Jax from someone whose dog gave birth to a litter of Shiba Inu puppies. She went to go see the puppies, Jax was the one that caught her attention the most. He seemed the most shy out of all the pups, sticking closer to his own mother to eat while the other two week old puppies stumbled over one another, bonding.
She noticed how distanced he was but once she sat down in the pen with them, he crawled his way over and tried to use the senses he had been trying to develop, given his eyesight was just forming and getting stronger.
The little sounds he made and what looked like a little smile once she held him made her fall for his charms immediately. Once he was ready to be taken home, she jumped right on it and claimed him as if he were her own child.
She had grown up with dogs in the family so she knew how to raise one and was glad to teach the newborn pup as soon as she could, all while giving him positive reinforcement with every mini-lesson.
Jax and Carson's love for one another is unbreakable and unbeatable, even with the short amount of time they've had together thus far.
Once everything is set, Carson leads Jax out the front door in her baseball cap and sunglasses she swiped off the counter before leaving, and they begin their walk down the streets of the protected neighborhood in Hollywood Hills.
She waves at the security guard as she passes through the gates, smiling kindly at bikers and other people on walks as she gets closer to the hills and trails. Her eyes are open, spotting paparazzi scouting for any celebrity sightings they can get. She fixes the sunglasses on her face, pulling the cap a bit lower as she switches hands with the leash, assuring Jax is on the safer inside of her, away from where bikes could pass on the trail or people could trample over her pride and joy.
Carson can feel the burning in her legs, the beating sun flashing down on her, making what is supposed to be seventy degree weather feel like one hundred degree weather.
During their walk, Jax trots along happily, sniffing around every single plant they see, every aroma of food of passerbyers.
Eventually, Carson is able to tune out the rest of the world and just focus on the nature around her and the company of her favorite boy by her side. She notices a few cameras shuttering around her but she keeps to herself, something she learned in media training and just throughout the years of her rising fame.
They walk for about a mile before looping back towards the neighborhood, reaching back to the home gym at eight in the morning.
Jax, happy, but clearly exhausted, attempts to play with one of his toys and push away his tiredness, but once Carson grabs a shower, he lays on her bed and steals a wink of sleep.
As the water falls onto the actress' skin, she mentally constructs her plans for the day, placing everything she needs to do into mental time slots. She already crossed off her morning workout and breakfast beforehand, now leaving her lunch with Taylor while she's in town to catchup and discuss a music video Taylor wants her to be in for the future, business meeting for the collaboration she is going to be doing with Nike, and then the table read for Book Lovers.
It was a pretty full day, especially considering that she still needed to go grocery shopping. But she might fall back on Instacart for that depending on her mood and level of exhaustion later in the day.
Considering she has a loaded schedule for the day, she had to pick an outfit fit for the paparazzi photos. Much to her dismay, of course. If she could, she'd always leave the house in sweat shorts or pants and just a tee shirt, but Jaime and Carson's mum constantly remind her that she has a status to uphold.
And in Mum's kind words, she has to, "Look presentable and not like a bum who sits around playing video games and eating junky food all day like I know you do, Carson Jay."
Annabelle Mills knows her daughter too well to the point Carson is convinced she has cameras set up in her house watching her. Because that is what she always does on her days off. She sinks into her couch, binge-watching television shows or playing video games or reading books while getting crumbs from the hundreds of snacks she digs through all over her clothes.
Either way, she gets out of the shower, dries her hair so she can style the short dyed blonde pixie-length strands into a clean-looking quiff, accompanied by some hairspray.
"Getting some shut-eye, huh, pal?" She pats the top of Jax's head who perks up at him being caught, but drooping his head back down to return to his interrupted sleep.
"Auntie Sophia is gonna come let you out and hang with you for a bit later while I'm gone, that sound good?" She quips as she heads to her walk-in closet.
After moments of deliberation, Carson decides on her beige Italian suede jacket over an off-white cashmere sweater, paired with beige and brown plaid pants and brown leather Chelsea boots. With the outfit set, she accompanies the clothes with her gold Gucci necklace and bracelet, along with a few rings to complete the look.
She turns back to Jax who has sat up at the sounds of his mother struggling to get herself ready for the day and smiles.
"Well then. This is where we part for the day my dear boy. I'm sorry bud."
Lifting him from the bed, she presses kisses to his head and places him in the room designated for him when she leaves the house. She tried keeping him in a crate but felt bad with the little cries he spewed out so she has gates blocking off the room and practically puppy-proofed everything and transformed it to his own bedroom.
There are pee pads in the corner that she had trained him to go to when he needed to go while she was gone, along with toys, some food and water, and she makes sure to leave light music on so that it's not too quiet for him and he doesn't feel too alone.
He whimpers as she places him in, tugging at her heart strings, but she kisses him again and pouts, "I am so sorry Jaxy. I'll be back soon. I love you!" She blows another kiss before heading to the garage.
Elizabeth
They've nearly finished all filming and re-shoots for the show. Lizzie leaves set every single day with a smile on her face, beyond thrilled with the project Marvel had given her. Working with the boys, Paul, and Kathryn has been nothing short of a joy these past few months.
She was saddened to find it was coming to an end, but is aware of the other paths her and her character will take in the coming years, including the next installment of the Doctor Strange movie.
Elizabeth had wished she could stick around a bit longer today but she already had a hell of a day still ahead of her. They had just wrapped for the day and it was only 3 pm. Marvel was notorious for doing early morning shoots and it never really bothered her, she was always pretty good at waking up early.
But now she had to run around and do an interview and photoshoot for C Magazine, have a call with her sisters for some future red carpet looks, and head to the table read for Book Lovers.
The past week has been an eventful one. Lizzie had almost forgotten just how much she loved the beginning developments of a film. The rest of the auditions went well and then Clea and Emily held the call-backs that they sent video footage of to both Carson and Lizzie in a chain email.
Together, they conversed and agreed on who would fit the roles, who they thought had the most promise and potential, and decided on it all in preparation for the table read.
Aside from those few business exchanges and film-talks, she had little interaction with her past rival, but she knows more is to come.
Rhonda had made it clear that her and Jaime, Carson's agent and manager, talked and agreed that to benefit the movie and promote buzz, the two are going to have to make quite a few appearances.
Now that Florence is also on board, she would be joining them from time to time either together or separately. She was looking forward to getting to know Florence more, as Scarlett has consistently talked her up the past few days, gushing about her co-star for Black Widow.
But having to hangout with Carson again didn't exactly excite her. She was still a bit off about their breakfast the other week, still aware of how it got awkward and tense. She didn't want to have to go through that again.
Then again, there's no avoiding it.
Her and Carson had already signed the contracts for the film so they were bound to it unless things get truly bad and unbearable. But she's a professional. She can keep it together and smile for the cameras as long as Carson plays along as well.
When her driver brings her to the shoot, she is pleasantly surprised as to how easy it all goes. She enjoys all of the outfits, all of the spots for the photoshoot, and also enjoys the questions asked for the interview segment.
They started with asking about her career and hopes for the future, but at some point things shift to talking about her home garden, which doesn't upset her in the slightest.
She begins to go on a rant about pesticides and things that are bad or good for gardening. Then they talk about her summer job when she was a student at NYU when she worked in a real estate office and even got her real estate license.
Her shots come out beautiful even before editing. She buzzes with anticipation to see the final product but knows it won't be for a few weeks, though the interview continues on.
"You recently got a role playing Nora Stephens in Emily Henry's Book Lovers adaptation alongside CJ Mills. Can you tell us anything about it? What has it been like working with CJ?"
Elizabeth shifts just slightly in her seat, happy that this isn't a video interview, and smiles at the journalist.
"Well we haven't started shooting just yet. I actually am heading to the table read just after this. I did get the go ahead to reveal that the very lovely Florence Pugh will be joining the family playing my sister Libby in the film. I'm really excited about it, it'll be a nice change of pace from the genres that I am so used to and the characters, even. I mean, all of the characters I have played have some pretty heavy backstory or journeys and while Nora has some past trauma and mental battles, I think being in a rom-com is going to be a nice breath of fresh air for me. I'm looking forward to it."
Mentally, the actor applauds herself for the well-formed response. She had practiced the night before, anticipating a question like this to arise.
The journalist smiles and nods, then scribbles down some words, the voice recording device sitting between them as she looks back up at Lizzie who continues to the second half of the question.
"Working with CJ, I think, is going to be a good experience. We have both worked in different genres and are seasoned enough with different roles that I trust in that to bring us together. I've seen her work before and I have always admired her talent and skill. I first saw her on television back when One Tree Hill was on air and I thought she did great, she added a lot to that show and changed the game completely. She is the kind of performer that pulls people in, pushes the boundaries, and became such a beacon of hope for so many people that found something of themselves in her characters throughout the years. I am excited to work with her, I think we will make something really special."
She forces down the discomfort in her bones as she speaks, hating that she has to talk so highly of someone she has despised for over a decade. But if good buzz is what they want, then that's what they'll get. And it seems to please the interviewer.
Soon after a few more questions and discussions, Lizzie departs from the shoot and interview, getting on the phone with her sisters to discuss ideas for red carpets. For the WandaVision premiere, she wants something not too flashy but not too bland. After all, this is her first solo project for Marvel technically, and she wants to be able to actually stand out, step out of her comfort zones.
There is no one else she trusts more with this than Mary-Kate and Ashley.
"We got you, seriously, don't worry. We are thinking of going with like a darkish red look? Since Wanda or Scarlet Witch, whichever, has that color as her base tone for her suit and powers, we think really tapping into that would stand out well."
Lizzie nods at Mary-Kate's words and smiles at the FaceTime with them, "I like that. We got some time so send me any sketches or ideas and we'll work with it. Just don't make me look like a dumbass."
"Why the hell would we do that?" Ashley laughs and Elizabeth shrugs with wide, obvious eyes, "Because I'm your little sister and you love torturing me?"
The twins look at one another, shrug in sync, then smirk, "Fair point. But we won't do that. Trust us."
The drive to the table read takes around two hours and the entire time she spends on that call with her sisters. They mostly talk about clothing and appearances, but discuss one another's lives as well.
"You still putting up with that dude?" MK asks with a raised eyebrow, to which Lizzie sighs and rolls her eyes.
They never really liked Robbie. They always said he seemed too careless and self-centered. When they first met him, she can admit that he barely asked about them or let anyone else lead a conversation. If someone did, he would become more interested in his phone or anything else in the room. But she tried to reason with them, telling them that he was just nervous to meet them.
However, every single time after that, it went the exact same way.
And it's been a sensitive topic since. Two years later.
"If you're asking if Robbie and I are still together? Yes, we are. He just left the other day to continue his tour. He's going to Texas I think."
"You think? Shouldn't this be something a couple discusses?"
Once again, she rolls her eyes, this time at Ashley's words. She doesn't want to talk about Robbie. She doesn't want to hear it.
She knows what they think, she knows they disapprove, and she's sick of it.
"Guys, can we not–" "Not what? Not be protective of our little sister? Liz, we saw pictures of him from after his concert at a bar where he was talking very closely to some random woman. I just don't understand, he clearly doesn't value you or your feelings–"
"Guys! Seriously!" She cuts them off, voice harsly loud. She grows red with both annoyance and embarrassment, as she knows her driver can hear all of it.
It's moments like these that she is grateful for NDA agreements.
The twins reel back, eyes opening up a bit more in surprise of the woman's short outburst, not used to seeing her angry at all since she is usually so carefree and positive.
She realizes this and swallows her pride.
"I'm sorry. It's just...I don't want to talk about Robbie, okay? We're fine, he is working, I am working. Everything's fine. Can we just move on? Please?"
And that's what they do. All the way until they reach the studio lot. She bids farewell to her sisters, then thanks the driver before heading inside and towards the elevator. Of course, right as she steps in, another body enters.
Carson Mills.
She briefly looks at the woman, slightly nodding in approval of her outfit, but notes how upscale it is, the designer brands complimenting her but coating her head to toe.
Carson does the same, looking Lizzie over observantly before flashing a cheeky grin.
"Afternoon, Elizabeth."
The shorter woman, frowning, glances down at her phone and back up, "It's six o'clock at night."
The Brit hums and frowns in agreement, "Touché. Evening, Elizabeth. How was your day?"
All around them the air feels weird. Both actors can't pin quite what it is, but there is a hint of tension looming above them and grudges swimming around their ankles.
"Busy."
Carson nods slowly and clears her throat, clasping her hands together as the doors close. A few moments pass that feels like hours to the both of them. Lizzie returns to her phone and scrolls through Twitter, passing by a few images of Carson from earlier that day with Taylor Swift. She raises her eyebrow at it, amused as to how that made trending news on the blue bird app.
"My day was fine, thank you."
The Marvel actor raises an eyebrow now up at Carson, lifting her head slowly with a narrowed gaze, but the Brit continues to charm her with that grin, feigning an innocent expression.
"Just saying."
"We don't have to talk, okay? We work together. That's all."
Lizzie's words come out harsher than she intended, but she couldn't help it. She didn't want to deal with the sarcasm or the foolery today, especially not after her sisters pissed her off earlier. She was already exhausted from the day, rushed through a photoshoot and interview, and now had to sit at a table beside her enemy for hours.
The other actor takes the note, processes it, and just scoffs with an unsurprised look on her face, pursing her lips and popping them open again with a stream of air escaping.
"Alright then. You got it."
Once the doors open again and before Lizzie could turn back time and retract her sassiness, Carson has already walked into the hall towards the office door, holding in open respectfully for the shorter woman.
"After you, coworker."
The word stings, and Elizabeth tilts her head guiltily, opening her mouth to speak.
"I'm sorry. Just frustrated today, is all."
She doesn't go into detail why, she doesn't owe CJ Mills anything, but she knows that she was rude without reason to be, despite their rivalry. The woman was just greeting her, after all. Even if she did make a sly remark, it was because Elizabeth was being cold and short.
And she seems to gather all the information she needs as she nods at the woman, "I figured as such. Go on then, don't want to be late on the first day."
As she says that to Elizabeth, her lips are close enough to her ear that her breath tickles her skin and forces the hairs on the back of Lizzie's neck to stand up. Carson's voice comes off low, husky-like, enticing.
It sends a chill up Lizzie's spine. Her body tenses up, jaw tightening as her brain registers their close proximity and the tone of her voice. She swallows thickly as she tilts her head away to hide the uninvited warmth growing on her cheeks.
Chewing on the inside of her cheek with a deep gulp, shaking off whatever that moment was and whatever that reaction was, she breathes out heavily, sighing out a,
"Let's go."
And so they walk in, stress and tension leaving them at the door as they click the clapperboard of their professional personalities into action.
Show time.
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A/N: And so it builds...first table read, first day with the whole cast...well, night.
What do you think will happen?
What do you want to happen?