Since I didn't hear from or see either one of the Corey's, I decided not to tell River about the strange encounter.
I hadn't been able to spend as much time with him, either. Mainly because his next movie required effortless discussion.
He would be playing a United States Marine; a rather edgy character for him.
So for the past few days, he was indulging in becoming a more rougher and tougher type of person. Like always, he threw himself head-first into the role.
This time was different.
-
I awoke to a loud bang in the kitchen.
As I approached the strange noise, I was revealed to a hyperactive River.
"Hey, go back in your room!" He yelled, waving a frying pan through the air. "And come out in 20 minutes!"
I raised my eyebrows at him and laughed, entering the kitchen.
He tried to hold me off but I refused; noticing the silverware messily laying around the counter.
"I was trying to surprise you," he started, setting down the pan. "But I can't make anything."
"Well, I am surprised." I joked.
He laughed and shook his head at himself, sitting down at the table.
"I need to go get a bunch of paperwork from Iris and let then cut my hair for the part today," he started, rushing his hands through his tangled hair. "I wanted to know if you'd want to come with me."
"Sure," I said. "But do I have to drive?"
"I guess I can." He jokingly complained.
-
Driving with River was always interesting. He would never stop talking or singing or making noise, and you would sit there soaking it all in.
"I told Iris that I thought the movie has a lot of potential and she agreed. I don't know if I think it'll be a big hit, but, it sure is cool." He vented, flipping through radio stations until we came across Smells Like Teen Spirit by Nirvana.
Before he could change it, I yelled.
"Keep it here!" I insisted, swatting away his hand.
"Well gesh, all you had to do is ask." He said.
"I'm sorry," I laughed. "I just like this song."
As we arrived at Iris office, River stopped the car.
"Hold on." He said, shuffling through the glove compartment.
Quickly, he pulled out two pairs of similar sunglasses and handed me a pair.
"We're going incognito." He said, slipping the glasses onto his face.
I narrowed my eyes at him and examined him while he sent me a light smirk.
"Put them on!" He demanded.
I placed the glasses on and looked at him, laughing.
"This is so dumb," I joked. "It's obviously us."
"What do you mean? Who are you?" He asked me.
I shook my head and got out of the car, walking alongside River into the building.
As we nonchalantly passed by everyone inside the office, River sent me an excited look.
"See? No one has the slightest clue!" He exclaimed, guiding me to Iris' personal office.
He knocked three times on the door and headed in, holding the door open for me as I slipped in under his arm.
Iris looked up and laughed, shaking her head.
"River, what are you doing?" She asked. "And why are you wearing those ridiculous glasses?"
I laughed and looked at him.
"Deffinetly working." I teased.
He shook his head and took off his glasses, shoving them into his pocket.
"Sorry I'm late." He told her, approaching her desk.
She handed him a ready stack of papers and pointed to an open chair.
I nodded at her and sat down, waiting.
"So, you must be Carmen then." She stated, examining me.
"Last time I checked, yeah." I joked, causing her to chuckle lightly.
"Well, it's nice to finally meet you in the flesh. I was starting to believe River was making you up."
River looked up from his paperwork and gasped jokingly.
"Hey now." He said, looking back down at his contract.
When he had finally finished all the necessities, he handed the papers back to her.
"Alright, better get going then." He said, beginning to grab my hand.
"Wait," Iris said, getting up from her chair. "We need to talk."
He rolled his eyes and continued pushing me towards the door, hurriedly.
"Next time, ma'am." He said, frantic to avoid the conversation.
"No, now." She demanded. Her tone of voice was serious and I stepped back, reentering the room.
River looked anxious as he sat in an empty chair, refusing to look at her.
Likewise, I couldn't take my eyes off of her as I leaned against the wall.
"There's to be no fucking around when you're filming this movie, okay?" She told him. "Nancy will not put up with it. And you're
making a commitment to these people to be honest in your work."
"I know." He said.
"You don't know. Because while you were out drunk driving, I was busting my ass to get you these roles and these jobs. Then, the next morning when I'd found out about the accident, I had to call hounds of people to make sure word didn't get out that River Phoenix was causing chaos. I expect you to do your best, and be responsible, okay?" She finished, folding her arms.
He didn't say anything back; again, he refused to look at her.
"I don't want to hear about you doing anything else like that." Iris added, sitting back down in her seat. She calmed down and spoke one last time. "Now, you're supposed to be on your way to that hair cut, so go do it."
He nodded as his head faced the ground, looking like a scolded child.
Without saying a word, we headed back to the car. I could tell he felt ashamed.
-
Rather than accompany River to the funeral of his beloved hair, he insisted on taking me back home.
As much as I wanted to spend time with him, I knew Iris' comments left him upset and hurt, so I didn't put up a fight.
I pecked his lips quickly before hopping out of the car and saying goodbye.
"I'm going to go out tonight." He said through the window. "So I'll see you tomorrow. How does that sound?"
"Uh, good." I stuttered, questioning where he would be going later.
Before I could ask anymore questions, he sped off.
Helplessly, I turned and ran into the apartment, getting upstairs as fast as I could.
On the way up, I froze.
No way.
It was the very last person I wanted to see; Frank.
"Oh, good God." I huffed, pushing past him to get to my room.
He grabbed my shoulders and stood in front of me. Quickly, I swatted him away.
"Why are you here? And don't touch me." I said, crossing my arms.
"I just wanted to say I was sorry," he started. "I want to be your friend for once."
I rolled my eyes at him and started towards the door to my apartment.
Upon entering, I stood in the doorway so that he couldn't come in.
"Look," he started, but I cut him off.
"You need to fuck off." I said, clearly annoyed. "I don't know how you know where I live, but you seriously need to go. I'm not interested."
And with that, I slammed the door.
With my back to the door, I put both hands on my face and sighed.
"What was that?" Piper asked me, walking out of her room.
"Frank." I told her.
Her eyes widened as she shook her head.
"You're actually kidding," she said, surprised. "We need to move now, great."
I laughed and walked to the living room, removing my shoes and jacket.
Seconds after I sat down, there was a knock at the door.
"Oh my God." I said angrily.
Expecting it to be Frank again, I opened the door and shook my head.
"God damn it, I'm not interested!" I yelled.
But it wasn't Frank.
It was Corey.
Feeling extreme embarrassment, I starred at him.
"Well, gosh. Sorry." He said, putting his hands up and walking away.
"Hey, I'm sorry." I told him. "I thought you were someone else."
He laughed and sent me an innocent smile.
"That guy that just left? Yeah, he looked like bad news." He said, running his hands through his hair.
I nodded.
"Well, hey. You can come in, if you want." I said awkwardly.
He smiled and stepped inside, glancing around.
"Cool place." He said.
"Yeah, not really. It's okay for an apartment, I guess." I replied, laughing at myself.
It was quiet for a little bit, so I spoke again.
"What made you stop by?" I questioned.
He turned his attention to me and laughed awkwardly.
"Oh, yeah. Sorry, I know it's probably creepy that I just showed up but I saw you walking inside and wanted to say hi." He said. "We didn't get too much time to talk last week."
I thought back to the first time we met.
God, this was weird.
I mean, not that I mind having Corey in my apartment, but because I didn't tell River.
"Oh, yeah." I said, beginning to feel bad. I know if River was here, he wouldn't be happy.
"Maybe we can hangout sometime." Corey insisted.
I tried to ignore his obvious good looks as I responded.
"Oh, yeah, for sure. Maybe you can invite Corey and I'll bring along River, hm?"
He looked slightly phased at first, but then nodded.
"Yeah, that's cool." He answered.
We stood in silence for a couple of moments, trying to figure each other out. Then, Corey headed towards the door.
"Well, I'll call sometime." He told me before closing the door behind him.
And there I stood, more confused than ever.
As the door closed, Piper walked out of the hallway and looked at me with a smirk.
"Was that Corey Haim?" She asked me, clearly questioning if we had something going on.
"So what if it was?" I replied.
She shook her head and smiled, walking over to me and patting me on the back.
"Wow," she said, clearly impressed. "You got River Phoenix and Corey Haim? Are you living every girls' dream or what?"
"Oh my God, Piper, what do I do? This is so weird. I met him last week and didn't tell River because I didn't think it was a big deal or that I'd even see him again. Now, he's at my house!"
I admitted, feeling guilty.
She looked at me and laughed, sitting down on the couch.
"Carmen, it's fine." She said seriously. "It's not like you like Corey or anything, right?"
"No!" I defended. "I just met him. But he's cute and stuff."
Piper shook her head.
"Well, if River keeps going downhill like this,
maybe you can latch on to Corey, hm?" She suggested.
"I can't just leave River." I told her. "I love him too much, no way."
She smiled at me and patted the seat next to her. Sluggishly, I plopped down and sighed.
"How about this: next time you see River, tell him the truth. Then, you can all hangout and just be friends." She said, flipping aimlessly through the TV channels.
"Okay." I agreed, still feeling horrible.
Piper looked at me and shook her head sympathetically.
"Just don't hide it anymore. River would be pissed."
-
I didn't reread or edit this, so I'm so so sorry any mistakes! I've had some writers block so im also sorry for the late update. I need some help with ideas for upcoming parts, so if there are any specific moments you would like to see between any of the characters, I'm happy to make it happen :) I also feel like I don't put enough physical love between River and Carmen, so should I add more? It's slightly challenging to envision that kind of physical love, because I feel off writing it. Not sure why, but I'll work on it! Anything else, let me know. Comments and likes are so so appreciated!