A/N: IMPORTANT EXPLANATION i'm skipping ahead from last chapter, ahead about eight months.
and i know you're like YOU CANT SKIP THE BIGGEST MOMENT ITS THE BIRTH YOU CANT SKIP THAT WHAT
but it'll make sense. i liked the idea of doing it this way and it all ties up i PROMISE and if you're still confused by anything just ask me :)
P.S. for when you get to the interview part remember:
Bold- questions.
Regular- answers.
[Italics & brackets]- thoughts
(sorry if that's confusing i found no other way lol)
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I'll get so much publicity from this.
I turned to the side, checking out how nicely my tight red dress was fitting my stick-thin body. My white nails and all my gold accessories added some class, and my makeup was done a little dark, but professional. My blonde hair fell in long beach waves, and I swear I looked like a real adult. Twenty-two or something.
It kind of felt that way too. But I was still sixteen. An old sixteen, still sixteen, I guess.
My nerves were pretty settled; I'd already gone over all I'd say. It made me sound flawless. I just had to remember how to say it all just right, and I believed I could do that.
The worst part was going back over all that I hated to remember. All the truths that I didn't want to admit. Everything I tried so hard to forget.
Chris reminded me that no matter what happened, everyone would be talking about me, and that's what we wanted.
I sat down in front of the camera, had my makeup touched up and touched up, then I was joined by my interviewer, who was blonde and looked a lot like someone's Mom. She looked comforting.
Then it began.
[Interview]
So Olivia, you've been leaving a lot of fans in the dark about the situation with your daughter, Rome, and there's been a lot of questions, a lot of speculations. Are you ready to clear things up?
Yes ma'am.
[Not really, but I can fake it.]
Well, first off, let's start from the beginning. When you first found out about the pregnancy, did you tell your parents right away?
No, the first person to find out was actually my friend Mateo, because we were on set, and I told him that I thought I might be. He got the test for me, 'cause, well, he's a great friend. And then I didn't tell my parents until, like, a few weeks later.
How did they react?
They were both just mad. So mad. Disappointed in me. Once they had time to really put things together, they calmed down, and they supported me continuously.
[They wanted to kill me, but it got better.]
While this was happening, you were filming season three of Kickin' It, and now season four will be premiering soon, but you're not in it—how are you feeling about that?
Aw, it sucks. I really miss the set, and definitely the people on it, but I did get to guest star in some later episodes, so it's not all bad!
Do you still talk to your costars often?
Of course! All the time. We're all so close-knit, and we'll always stay close.
[Lying. I'm lying. I haven't talked to them much at all, and I had other friends I'd gotten closer to.]
And now, fill us in a little, your current relationship with Leo Howard? You've said in a previous interview that you and him are just good friends?
[Internally screaming while trying to keep my composure. I'm forgetting how I'm supposed to respond to this question, and I don't know why.]
Y-yes. That's it. He's a really great guy, and I'm glad he was in my life. What happened between us was... a long time ago. I'm glad we've been able to stay friends through everything.
[Did that sound okay? Shit. I don't know. All I know is that was bullshit.]
It hasn't been confirmed or denied yet, but there's been a lot of speculation that your daughter isn't living with you, is that true?
[And here's where everything will go down. The real truth. The worst part of all of it. I have to make it sound pretty.]
It is true. Um, she lives with Leo.
Isn't that hard for you?
[Maybe a little. Maybe. Not really.]
Yes. It's really hard.
Why did you make that decision?
[I wanted to walk away.]
After Rome was born, when we were in the hospital, I was watching her and I was so scared, because she was so small, and helpless, and she couldn't do anything herself. It would have to be me. And I'm... sixteen. And I don't know anything about that. I knew I couldn't do it. I couldn't be her Mom. I didn't have it in me.
[I'm tearing up. I'm trying not to, but I am. This isn't what I'm supposed to say. What I was supposed to say sounded better than this. This sounds bad. I sound bad. It's because it's real.]
But then I saw Leo with her, and he just kept holding her, and he didn't even wanna leave the room because he was afraid something might happen to her. He's such a good friend, and he's such a good dad for those same reasons. He can do it, and he is, and Rome is perfect.
[Add something else to make yourself sound better. Chris said to do that if things got off course.]
I still see her all the time.
And meanwhile, you're getting back to working on your career, aren't you?
Oh, yes ma'am. We've just started filming for my new show, I Didn't Do It. My character is a lot different than Kim, from Kickin' It, so I'm really excited to be able to play around with this role. It's been so great so far.
A lot of parents are saying that they don't want you on another Disney show, because they believe you're not a good role model for their children. What do you have to say to that?
[Fuck them.]
We make mistakes, and we grow from them. And that's what I'm doing. I don't know why parents have some problem with me as a role model, personally, I think I've taught a pretty valuable lesson. You can screw up, and still make it where you want to be. One mistake does not define your life. That's something I believe all kids should know.
But on the subject of teenage pregnancy in particular, what do you have to say on that?
[Oh God, what the fuck do I have to say? Make up something, Olivia]
...Um, well, I have never said once that I believe what I did is okay, and I think that with this being such a problem today, we should stop making these decisions based solely on feelings, because it could change our whole lives. I think that's the problem, and I think we can make it better.
And to wrap it up, is there anything else you want your fans to know?
[I don't want anyone to know anything.]
I just want them to know that I appreciate them so much. Thank you for sticking with me through everything. I'll try my best not to disappoint y'all again.
[Great, that was fine. Now breathe.]
[end]
Chris said I did pretty good. I felt okay about it. I really just wanted to go home, though.
I wasn't proud of the way things ended up. Not a little bit, not at all. But I was as honest as I could be about it, and that was what mattered.
I could finally move on.
I knew Leo was better with her.
He took her in his arms in a second, and he held her close to him and talked to her as if she could understand.
I, at the risk of sounding like a terrible person, wanted to leave.
I still saw her. Sometimes when Leo was busy, when his parents were too, my parents babysat. They'd play with her, and they'd try to get me to, but I'd just sit with her for a few minutes and then make up an excuse to go back to my room.
The funny thing was that she turned out like I kept imagining. She didn't have much hair yet, but the bit she had curled up so tight it looked even shorter than it was. It was brown and dark like Leo's when he was little. Her eyes looked up at me and bothered me because they looked just like mine.
She was all that I pictured, but all that I pictured still wasn't mine. She just didn't feel like mine. And I had better things going on.
I had a show coming out and a music career I was beginning.
Fame hardens people. Fame hardened me.
Yet, I was somehow ready for more.
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A/N: so that's it! please comment your last thoughts ;) thanks so much for reading guys, ily!
MORE FANFICS TO COME i need to get my thoughts all straightened out, i have so many ideas.