2014
I would have never imagined my life to turn out the way it did. Six years ago, my life had been turned upside down when my parents died in a plane crash. Before that I had been happy and been in love.
I moved to California to escape the memories that would have haunted me had I stayed in Holmes Chapel, England. I knew making the decision hurt more than just myself but I knew it was for the best. Had I been selfish? Yes, but I had to do what I thought was best. I was so young at the time so no one could truly fault me could they?
Those six years since my parent’s death have been bittersweet but they say every cloud has a silver lining, right? My life may have had it’s ups and downs but I had dealt with the shitty deck of cards I’d been handed and made a life for myself in California. A life that I never would have dreamed of.
-
“Archer, c’mon!” My friend Lizzy tugged my hand. “We’re going to be late.”
I rolled my eyes at her and pulled my lipgloss out of my bag, applying a heavy layer and checking my reflection in my compact once more before we stepped out of the car.
We both smiled for the cameras as the paparazzi and reporters took photos and shouted as us for interviews. But Lizzy was right, we didn’t have time to stop and chat or else we would be late.
We walked down the red carpet and into the venue. The swanky hotel in Hollywood had been decked out to celebrate some celebrity’s birthday party and I wasn’t even sure why I was there.
You’re dating the guy whose birthday it is, a voice in my head reminded me. I shook my head and gazed around the venue. Cost Lemoyne was my boyfriend and had been my boyfriend for the last six months. Maybe you’ve heard of him? I hadn’t either until we began to co-star on a new television show on the CW.
Memories flooded back to when I first arrived in Los Angeles. Growing up in England, I wasn’t used to all the sunshine and the obsession with celebrity culture. My aunt had enrolled me in a private school and I had gotten myself involved in all sorts of different clubs the first year.
I tried my hand at journalism, tennis, basketball, heck even cheerleading. But it wasn’t until I auditioned for the school play of Romeo and Juliet where I realized where my true talent lie. I begged my aunt to sign me up for acting classes and she obliged, happy to see me doing anything other than moping. I devoted all of my time to acting, learning to drop my English accent so I could sound more American. I binged on television to try to pick up different mannerisms of Americans.
One day, I saw an ad for a small role in an upcoming television show. I made sure I was there every day for the open casting call and read my lines like a true actress. All my hardwork paid off because I got the role, well the leading role actually. And my life has sort of been pretty different ever since. I colored my normally brown hair blonde, started tanning and changed my stage name to Archer Grey as a tribute to my parents – my mother’s maiden name was Grey and my dad’s last name is Archer.
“Archer!” Lizzy hissed. She snapped me back into reality.
I glanced at her and looked around and realized Cost had been standing in front of us with open arms. He looked slightly put off. I laughed and ran into his arms. Sometimes I felt like we dated more for the show than for anything else.
He swung me around and we kissed, posing for some pictures until he went off to mingle with his other guests.
I caught up with Lizzy and we walked around the party before settling down in a corner with a glass of champagne each. Lizzy had been my first and best friend since I moved to Los Angeles. She knew my backstory and I learned the hard way that Hollywood is full of fake people.
But not Lizzy. Despite my acting career, she was not afraid to put me in my place and tell me how it was. She wasn’t blinded by celebrities, probably because her Dad was my agent so she had grown up with them her whole life. But we were two peas in a pod. As much as we enjoyed the glamour of the lifestyle of Hollywood, we were grateful we could be ourselves when it was just the two of us.
“This is so boring,” I said.
She looked over at me. Her curly red hair was pulled back into a high ponytail and her make-up was quite dramatic. “I have a better plan for tonight, why do you think I told you to wear that dress.”
I looked down at my slinky black cocktail dress. “Oh, this old thing?” I laughed. We both knew it was Givenchy. My hair was down and in loose waves with my make-up matching Lizzy’s.
“I’m excited to hear this plan.” I finished my champagne and set the glass down on the floor.
“We are going to go backstage to a concert!” She squealed. “I got VIP passes off of my dad. His company’s handling their dealings while they’re in town for the next week or so.”
“Awesome, I’m game.” I didn’t even bother to ask what band it was because Lizzy’s dad’s company only handled the best and brightest talent in the industry.
“We have to stay here at least another hour. The concert’s not until 7:30 and it’s only 5 right now.”
“Thank god, I can’t stand much more of this. I should go find Cost at least and make some more rounds for the cameras. I’ll meet you in 20?”
She nodded. “I see a cute brunette over there anyway!”
We went our separate ways. I meandered through the crowd looking for Cost. Finally, I caught up with him where he was deep in conversation with three blondes who looked like they stepped out of the playboy mansion, their outfits were that skimpy.
“Babe,” I said, taking his arm and leading him away. The blondes gave me a dirty look and I stuck my tongue out at them. Childish I know.
“Archer? What’s going on? I was kind of busy back there.”
“Look, Cost, we both know we’re not super into each other but can we at least act like we’re together in public? It’s kind of annoying being bombarded with questions about you everytime I do an interview. No offense, but we both know that our relationship helps the ratings.”
“You’re right, sorry, doll.” He smirked and kissed me on the lips. He was an awkward kisser, it just felt forced when you had to be physical with someone you had no emotional connection with and Cost and I were much better friends than we would ever be lovers.
We spent the next half hour or so making conversation with other actors and notable people in Hollywood before I caught up with Lizzy. I excused myself from Cost, telling him that Lizzy and I had another event to head to and I expected him to be on his best behavior.
When Lizzy and I left the event, the paparazzi only seemed remotely interested that we were leaving which was good. I didn’t feel like drawing much attention to myself for the rest of the life.
It was always an interesting predicament I found myself in. As much as I loved acting and the perks that came with it, I found myself so turned off by the idea of people in my business all the time. I barely read gossip magazines or watched television for that matter. I figured if it was important, my publicist would tell me and even still, they could handle it. I rarely drank and I certainly didn’t drugs. My idea of a fun night was hanging out with Lizzy and a few of our other friends or on a beach somewhere. But I knew what came along with the job when I got myself involved so I dealt with it.
Lizzy drove out of Hollywood and turned onto the 134 towards Pasadena. “Are we going to the Rose Bowl?” I asked.
She nodded. She turned up the music on the radio louder. “This is who we’re seeing. They’re called One Direction. They’re pretty big. I’m surprised you haven’t heard of them despite you living under a rock when you’re not on set.”
I waved my hand dismissively. “You know how I feel about boy bands.” But I gave them a chance and listened to them for the rest of the ride to the Rose Bowl.
One good thing about celebrity status: valet parking. We barely had to walk more than a few feet before we were in through security and in the VIP area. I recognized a few familiar faces and took some pictures with fans before we went to sit in our box. Lizzy enjoyed the opening acts and I excused myself to go the bathroom and get something to drink before the headliners came on.
“Hurry up or you’ll miss their entrance!” She called.
I found myself slightly lost in the venue and it took me longer to get back. Apparently I had missed the first two songs which were ‘amazeballs’ according to Lizzy. The view from our box was good but I relied heavily on the big screens to get an actual glimpse of the band members.
Most of them were cute and looked about my type and age. Turns out they were from all over the UK and Lizzy nudged me. “Wouldn’t it be hilarious if you knew one of them?”
We enjoyed the rest of the concert and when it was over, I was ready to go home. Shooting on my tv show had begun a month and a half ago and we only had two more weeks until I was on mid-season break and could relax. But for now, I still had a 5AM call time.
Lizzy and I ended up running into one of her dad’s co-workers on our way out who insisted we should come to the band’s hotel and hang out. David was younger than Lizzy’s dad by at least 30 years. He was closer to our age and figured we would be easily impressed with some British guys from across the ocean.
Lizzy’s eyes lit up at his suggestion. She had been crushing on the blonde member of the band and wanted to pick up a t-shirt with his face on it on the way out.
I knew I couldn’t say no. I had made her sit home from hundreds of events because I didn’t want to go. The least I could do was go to one when she wanted to go.
We got the information from the agent and drove back into Hollywood. Luckily, they were staying at a hotel less than twenty minutes from our houses so I was happy with that. I checked the time. It was nearly midnight. I would either be pulling an all-nighter tonight or just need six espressos in the morning.
We headed up the bands suite and waited with a few others for them to arrive. It always felt awkward when people were waiting for me so I could imagine how they must feel when they came into the suite and probably just wanted to go to bed.
I helped myself to a Pepsi figuring the caffeine would keep me more awake. Minutes later, a group of boisterous boys entered the room. They began making their way around the room introducing themselves to unfamiliar faces.
Lizzy pulled me up when they approached us.
“Alright? What are your names, loves?” The blonde asked with an irish lilt.
Lizzy giggled. “I’m Lizzy and this is Archer.”
The blonde introduced himself, “I’m Niall.”
He pointed to the others. “This is Zayn, Liam, Louis and.. Hmm.. wonder where Harry’s gone?” He shrugged. He’ll be in soon.
We exchanged hello’s and hugs and Lizzy found herself chatting with Niall and Liam. I looked around for a trashcan to throw my pepsi away in and spotted one on the other end of the room near the door. I walked over, nearly getting knocked over by whoever had come into the room in such a hurry.
“Whoa, sorry, didn’t know anyone would be standing behind the door.” He reached out a hand to help me up and I looked up to meet piercing green eyes.
“Annaleise?” He asked quietly.