September 2014
Shannon parked his motorcycle on the apron of a cracked concrete driveway and looked at the house in front of him. Another bike was parked further up the driveway next to a black SUV. A pick-up truck was right next to the house. From what Shannon had seen, parking space was at a premium in this neighborhood. It had been years since he had ventured down to Long Beach but the neighborhoods were pretty much exactly as he remembered. Older one-story bungalows and two-and-three-story apartment buildings lined the streets. A few streets had the original historic houses, but for the most part they had all been torn down and the larger lots had been subdivided into multiple mini-lots.
Ben's house was on a wide, tree-lined street, nestled between two densely-packed blocks of small bungalows and apartment four-unit apartment buildings. Shannon walked up the crumbling driveway toward the dilapidated Victorian house. Callie's motorcycle sat between a 1971 Norton Commando and a black SUV. A large Monterrey Cyprus tree towered over the overgrown front lawn and unkempt shrubs that had seen several better days nearly blocked out the front porch of the house. He carefully picked his way up the creaking stairs, hoping the wood wasn't going to give way. The front door was wide open and voices drifted out to him.
"Anyone home?" he called, stepping into the formal entryway. Dust crunched under his boots as he took a few steps into the home. The hardwood floor creaked a bit as he walked. "Ben?"
"In here!" Ben's voice drifted out to him.
Shannon followed the sound past the characteristic staircase and walked into a large open space connected to the currently-gutted kitchen. Several of the walls had been stripped to the studs and there was dust and debris covering the floor. Tools laid around the room and Ben was standing next to Callie and another girl, talking with a tall dark-haired man.
"Hey," he announced, putting his helmet on the counter top. "Sorry I'm a little late."
"No worries," Ben assured him. "We were just talking about the plan for the upstairs bathroom. It needs total gutting; the floor is dry-rotted under the tub and I'm almost positive the plumbing needs replacing."
"Oh, okay, sure," Shannon replied. "I worked construction for years before the band took off. I could take a look at it if you want."
"That would be great, thanks man," Ben smiled. "Oh, you haven't met these guys yet," he added. "This is my youngest daughter, Jonquille, and my good friend Keanu."
Shannon held out his hand. "Nice to meet you. Shannon Leto."
"I think we've actually met before," Keanu responded, shaking his hand. "Your brother's Jared, right?"
Shannon nodded. "You got it."
It used to bother him that everyone associated him with Jared and Jared's success determined how well-known Shannon was. He used to hate that people would hear his last name and immediately think of his brother. But over the years, he had learned to embrace the positive side of the situation: he got the benefits and the anonymity. It wasn't like he was trying to abuse Jared's name, but it did have perks. However, there had been plenty of times when he had fallen victim to people trying to use him to get closer to Jared, too. It was a double-edged sword.
"I think we met last year, at an Oscars party or something," Keanu said. "I just remember your brother was the talk of the event."
"He has that effect," Shannon smiled. He turned to the other girl. "You're Callie's younger sister?"
She nodded. Her eyes were brown, like Callie's, but her hair was a deep chocolate instead of fiery red. It was bundled up on the top of her head in a messy bun, but he could easily see the same wild curls Callie had been blessed with. She was tall and thin and could pass for a model. She shook his hand with more force than he anticipated from a high school kid.
"Nice to meet you. Jonquille" she offered with a smile.
"Shannon," he replied.
"Alright, why don't you and Callie go have a look at the bathroom and we'll go out back to start ripping up the deck," Ben instructed, handing his a pry bar.
Shannon followed Callie through the house up to the second floor, through an empty bedroom, to a small bathroom. The room looked like time had stopped in the 1970's. The walls and floors were covered in the same ugly tan linoleum and the bath tub, toilet, and sink were all a dull avocado color. A dusty light hung over a distressed antique mirror and there was evidence of mold on the ceiling from decades of moisture trapped in the small space.
"Stay there, Callie," Shannon said, taking careful steps into the room.
The floor sagged slightly, a sure sign of it being structurally unsound. He used the pry bar to carefully lift up one of the linoleum floor tiles and he sighed. "Yep. This is all molded over. It all needs to come out." She made to come closer, but he stopped her. "Seriously, stay there. I don't think this floor could hold both of us."
"I'm not that fat," she scoffed, crossing her arms as he picked his way back into the bedroom.
"Of course not. You're not fat at all," he replied, sticking his tongue out. "I'm honestly surprised the floor is still holding up as it is. Your dad will have to go at it carefully and more than likely, he'll have to reinforce the joists from below. I don't think it would even hold up to guys in there ripping it apart."
"That's not good," she remarked.
"Nope. That room alone is probably a couple thousand dollars of work," Shannon said. "How did he even get this place?"
She shrugged. "I have no idea. He owns property in Coronado and Chula Vista, but I didn't know he was planning on expanding up here."
"Also, you know Keanu Reeves? I thought he was just one of your dad's clients?!" he asked incredulously.
"He is. Technically, what my dad told you wasn't wrong," she responded slowly. "They did meet at the Grand Prix here. Because I introduced them."
"How did you meet him then?"
"I was kind of his assistant for two years when I was in college," she admitted. "I went to school at UCLA and a professor of mine is a friend of Keanu's. She told me about how he needed an assistant at Archer and sent me over. He actually got me my first audition for Sanctum."
"That's oddly annoying," he chuckled.
"Why?"
"Because you just lucked into it - you didn't have to work for anything. You just got the connection right away," he explained. She arched an eyebrow at him. "Look, when Jared and I first started out in L.A., we had to literally work our asses off. He did photo shoots and took acting jobs he hated just to pay the bills and try to make connections. It took us five years, five years to get an in into a record contract. And you just snap your fingers and you've got an audition?"
She shifted on her feet and crossed her arms. "Are you implying that I didn't have to work for my role?"
Shannon shrugged. "You certainly didn't have to work as hard as other people do. You got lucky. And I guess that means something, right?" he said. "If you got that lucky, it means you're supposed to be doing this, right? Like some kind of divine intervention."
She smiled. "Never thought of it that way."
"We better go downstairs. Your dad's gonna flip when he hears about the damage," he told her, putting an arm around her shoulders and walking her down the stairs.
They found Ben and the others tearing apart the wooden deck off of the kitchen. Keanu and Ben were using pry bars to lift the rotting wooden slats while Jonquille put piles of wood and rusty nails into the large dumpster in the middle of the back yard.
"Yeah, so that bathroom is a total gut job," Shannon said, stepping down to the gravel that the deck removal had revealed. He helped Callie down next to him. "I wouldn't even gut it before you replace the floor joists. It's all gone."
"Shit," Ben sighed, sitting back on his heels. "I didn't think it was that bad."
Shannon shrugged. "I'm sorry."
"Don't be. It's not your fault," Ben replied. "I just thought I'd be able to get a bit of a break with this one."
"I thought you were selling this place after the renovation?" Jonquille asked, returning from the dumpster.
"I am, peanut. But it's gonna be a long-ass road to get to selling, it sounds like," Ben explained.
"What else can I do to help out?" Shannon asked.
"You can help Jonny get this wood into the dumpster," Ben said. "You too, Cal."
"Hope you had your tetanus shot," Jonquille replied.
"Sweetheart, I have been immunized against every disease you can be immunized for," Shannon smirked. "Perks of the tour life. I'm blessed with super-immunity."
Jonquille giggled and he began piling things into her arms, leaving the heavier pieces for himself. Callie fell into step next to her and soon enough, the whole deck had been pried up, revealing muddy gravel underneath. Everyone had a fine layer of dirt and dust on their clothes and all three men had dirt patches on their knees from kneeling on the ground. Shannon swiped sweat from his forehead with the back of his hand, leaving a smudge of dirt behind.
"I'd like to see if we can start gutting the powder room, too. All of it needs to come out," Ben said. "But we also need some type of temporary steps out here so nobody walks out of the house and hurts themselves."
"Door to nowhere," Callie chuckled.
"I'll do it," Shannon offered.
"Great. Get to it," Ben answered. "Keanu, help him out, will you? Shouldn't take more than half an hour. Show him where everything is."
Shannon followed the older man across the backyard, sidestepping a tire and a large pile of dirt. He stopped at a shed with a padlock on the door. The paint was peeling, but it looked to be the most structurally-sound piece of architecture on the lot. Keanu knelt down and twisted the code into the lock before pulling the door open. Shannon was greeted by the musty smell of dirt. He waved his hand in front of his face to clear the dust.
"Garden shed. The last owners put it in about ten years ago," Keanu offered. "Ben isn't sure if he wants to keep it. For now, we're using it as a tool storage."
"Callie told me she worked for you for two years?" Shannon asked as they gathered up tools.
Keanu smiled. "Yeah. She's a good girl." He hoisted a piece of plywood on top of a pair of sawhorses. "She knows her stuff when it comes to motorcycles. How'd you two meet, anyways?"
"We were both doing press on the same TV show when she was in London," Shannon explained. "I saw her again in that play she was in a month later. She's really talented."
"That she is," Keanu said, firing up a circular saw. He made a quick cut across the wood. "I saw her in London, too. She was fantastic."
Shannon waited while he made the other cuts before speaking again. "Have you seen Sanctum?"
Keanu shrugged. "I have...like the first half an hour or so," he replied. He handed the cut piece to Shannon. "It's kind of weird though. I know what it's about - heck, I got her the audition - but it's still weird. She's kind of like a daughter to me."
Shannon nodded. "Ben said you two met at the Grand Prix?"
"Oh yeah," Keanu smiled. "He's an awesome guy. Been through a lot and still wants to help people. I don't really need him to do work on our bikes, but he's been doing it forever. He knows what he's talking about and he's never given us anything less than excellent. He's the type of guy who would take longer to do a project just to make sure it's done the right way. It's exactly what we expect at Arch."
"How long has he been working with you?"
Keanu blew a gust of air out of his mouth as he thought. "I'd say about five years now. He did a mock-up of an original model when we were looking for someone to help out and we've kept him ever since." He made another series of cuts. "Of course, I'd love to have him up in L.A., but the girls were still in school down here and he has the training at the base. So we take what we can get."
"That's really cool of you. Ben seems like a cool guy," Shannon remarked.
"He is. I don't have any brothers, so he's kind of like that for me," Keanu said. "And for all the shit he's been through, I'm amazed that he's still standing."
Shannon's interest was piqued. "Like what?" he asked.
Keanu squinted at him. "It's not really my place to talk about that. You should talk to Callie."
Shannon took the hint and nodded. "Fair enough."
"What about you, Leto," Keanu asked. "What's life like touring the globe?"
"It's fun for a while, but then it sort of becomes boring as fuck," Shannon replied. "Everyone has these images of girls and drugs and alcohol and partying, but it hasn't been like that for five years at least." Keanu chuckled. "Now when I'm done with a set, I just want to hose off and crawl into bed. The age is catching up to me."
Keanu laughed again. "I get it, brother. The stunts don't get any easier." He ran a hand through his longer hair. "I do my best, but damn, those bruises take longer to heal."
"That's the fucking truth," Shannon laughed.
Ten minutes later, an unstained foot stool sat in the gravel underneath the door. Keanu crossed his arms over his chest. "Looks nice."
Ben opened the back door and looked down. "That's perfect. It'll work for right now. I'm planning on getting the deck put back up within the week."
Shannon hissed. "Wish I could help, man. But I'll be in Florida."
Ben shrugged. "Don't worry about it. You've done more than enough today. But, since you've got a construction background, I might hit you up to look at a few things at some point."
"Of course," Shannon assured him. "I mean, you won't have to hit me up. I'll be back. I forgot how nice it was to work with my hands."
"Hey, the more the merrier," Keanu. "I come any chance I can get."
"Well, I think we've gotten as much done today as we can. Jonny has an essay to write, and traffic is only gonna get worse," Ben said with a sigh. "You guys go ahead. I'm gonna lock up."
Callie gave him a hug. "Je t'aime."
"Je t'aime aussi," he answered, giving her a kiss on the forehead.
She gave Jonquille a hug, too and moved toward the side of the house.
"Oh, Cal, I've got your birthday present with my bike," Keanu called after her.
Shannon followed both of them out to the driveway. Keanu opened the saddle bag on his Commando and pulled out a small baggie of marijuana.
"Huh. Keanu Reeves. Action star. House remodeler. Motorcycle enthusiast. Drug dealer. You have so many facets," Shannon answered with a chuckle.
"Happy birthday Cal," Keanu said with a smile. "Don't smoke it all at once. And tell Aya not to, either."
"Hang on," Shannon interrupted as she took the bag from him. "You didn't tell me it was your birthday."
"Earlier this month. You weren't here," she answered. "It's not a big deal. I don't like to celebrate it."
"Still. I feel like I've got to do something. I mean, he brought you weed," Shannon laughed. "What about dinner? I know a great little place in the Canyon near my house. You'll love it."
She bit her lip. "I was supposed to meet Aya at my place," she said.
"His Scottish ass can wait," Keanu said. "Go out with the dude. He worked all day. Now he's offering to buy you food. Just go."
She laughed. "Fine. Ride back with us?" she asked.
He nodded. The three of them got on their bikes and took off, leaving the house in the distance. They rode up the 710 and took the 405 straight up to the 2. Keanu split away from them and continued up toward the Hills and Shannon led Callie along to a series of winding streets into the Canyon. He stopped at a closed two-car garage next to a black iron fence. He pulled a garage door opener out of his jacket pocket and clicked it, opening the white door.
"Park in there. We'll come back for it."
She pulled into the garage next to a black SUV. He parked next to her and got off of his bike.
"I'll be right back. Gotta get the keys," he explained, disappearing through a door.
Callie took the opportunity to look around the small space. One wall was lined with shelves housing various auto and motorcycle equipment: bottles of wiper fluid and coolant and rags in an old cardboard box. A window offered a view into a courtyard on the other side of the metal fence, shaded by a large palm tree. On the back wall, a series of workbenches sat, with pegboards drilled into the concrete above them and tools hanging from pegs. Shannon returned before she could look any further.
"Hop in," he said, unlocking the SUV. He held the passenger door open for her.
She got in and looked at the black interior. The dashboard was lit up with different buttons and the LCD display was on. Shannon hopped into the driver's seat and started the car, putting his seat belt on and throwing the car into reverse in one smooth move. He drove through the winding streets again, heading into West Hollywood.
"How do you like sushi?" he asked as they pulled up to a stop light.
"It's alright with me. Just let me text Aya that I won't be home," Callie said. "I'm sure he can find something to occupy his time with."
"So Aya is your..." he asked.
"Friend. Co-star. We work pretty closely, so it's hard to not develop a bond," she explained. "He's probably seen me naked more than anyone else in my life."
"Unfair," Shannon smirked, earning a swat from her. "Hey, I always wanted to know - do you guys have like, a hoard of dildos and shit on set?"
She laughed. "Yes. We have a dildo maker. Like on Star Wars when they had a light saber maker. Only he makes phallic pieces of silicone."
"Seriously?"
"Of course not, you idiot! They don't even use them on anyone. They're just background props," she laughed again.
He parked the car on the street and got out to feed the meter. When he was done, he came back for her. They walked up the street, dodging a crowd of people walking in the opposite direction. Callie put her hands in her jeans pockets and followed Shannon into a small sushi cafe with a neon sign in the window. They were seated quickly in a booth at the back of the restaurant. The waitress handed them menus before leaving for the kitchen.
"Sushi...I thought you were vegan?" Callie asked.
Shannon chuckled. "Only when on tour. Jared swears by it but I think he's sick ten times more often than the omnivores."
She laughed. "He's a germaphobe. He douses himself in hand sanitizer. How does he get sick? I've seen the man pull open a door using his foot."
Shannon guffawed, drawing attention from an elderly couple sitting a few booths away from them. He gave them an apologetic wave as Callie tried to stifle her own laughter behind her hand.
"I'm seriously sorry I didn't get you anything for your birthday," he said after things calmed down a bit.
"Don't worry about it. I really don't like celebrating it."
The waitress reappeared and Shannon ordered for the both of them.
"You're twenty-three. I don't remember a single twenty-three-year-old not wanting to go wild for their birthday," he answered. "What gives?"
"I just...don't like to celebrate it," she said, her tone changing rapidly as she avoided looking at him. "Okay? Don't worry about it. This is enough."
An awkward silence passed between them.
"So. Keanu Reeves is your pot dealer?" he asked, trying to change the subject. "Gotta admit, not a side of him I expected to see."
She smiled. "Kind of. It's just pot. It's not like it's hard stuff. He knows some guys. He says if I'm going to do it, I should at least get the pure stuff. It's his way of looking out for me, I guess."
Shannon nodded. "Got it."
"I don't do it all the time. Just once in a while," she said quickly.
"Dude, I don't care," he laughed. "I've been doing way harder shit since before you were born. You won't get any flak from me," he said dismissively. "As long as you're safe about it, who am I to judge?"
Their food arrived quickly and they ate ravenously.
"So, what exactly do you do when you're on tour?" she asked between mouthfuls of tuna roll. "Like, this next one. What are you going to be doing?"
He chased his saba roll with a swig of water. "When I'm not performing, I'll probably be sleeping, if I'm honest. Jared usually handles all of the press. Sometimes Tomo goes along for radio performances, but usually its just Jared. I try to get out of the venues and walk around some, but there isn't always enough time. Usually I'm sleeping."
"What, no hot chicks in hotel rooms?" she teased.
He nudged her foot under the table with his own. "Hey, if you change your mind about that, you're welcome to meet me on tour," he replied, sticking his tongue out. "I can arrange for a hotel room really easily."
"In your dreams," she answered playfully.
"Oh, if only you knew what happened in my dreams, Callie-Cat," he smirked. "The things I do to you..."
"Stop," she said sternly, a blush rising on her cheeks.
He held up his hands in defeat and picked up another piece of his saba roll with his chopsticks, putting the sushi between his smirking lips. "Seriously, though. If you can come to one of the shows, you should. It'd be nice to see you."
"We'll see. I'm not sure what's coming up next. We're almost done filming and I don't really have anything new coming up," she said. "It's kind of worrying, actually."
He scoffed. "You'll find something. You just need some time. Don't worry about it. You're on the hottest show out there right now. It's all everyone is talking about."
"I know. But it's just concerning," she sighed. "I'm starting to think my agent isn't even my agent anymore. He doesn't even call me to ask if I'm interested."
"Maybe you need a different agent," he offered. "If he's not trying to get you work, he's not worth keeping."
She sighed again. "I know. I need to talk to him."
"I tried acting once," Shannon said. "Jared used to write it into his contracts that I was his stand in or I had a tiny part in the movie. This was back when things were really rough for me. He wanted to keep an eye on me and make sure we were always able to be together."
"So why did you stop then? Sounds like you had a great in."
He shrugged. "I'm not an actor. Yeah, it's fun for a while. But I get bored easily and I couldn't handle doing the amount of work he does for film roles. The research and the filming and the press - it's all just a little too much for me to earn a paycheck." He swallowed another piece of sushi. "Nah, give me a stage in front of a roaring crowd of thousands of people and I'll be just fine at the back behind my kit."
They finished their meal and he paid. A cool gust of September air hit them as they walked outside. The car was a little ways away from the restaurant and they hadn't gotten fifty feet before a couple of photographers appeared in front of them. Callie tensed up next to Shannon and he walked in front of her, ignoring the questions the paparazzi shouted at him.
"Shannon, Callie, how long have you two been together?" one asked.
"How was dinner, Shannon?"
"How's Jared, Shannon? Is he doing well?"
"Callie, what can you tell us about the next season of Sanctum?"
Shannon hurriedly unlocked the car and both of them piled into their seats, blinking rapidly from the flashes of the cameras. The photographers cleared away from the front of the vehicle and he shook his head a bit to get rid of the ringing in his ears. It wasn't until he came to a stop at a traffic light that he looked over at Callie.
"What? What's wrong?" he asked.
"Did you call those guys?" she asked, her voice quivering.
"What? No! Of course not," he insisted. "Why would I?"
"Celebrities call paparazzi all the time, Shannon. It boosts your image. I'm not an idiot," she answered. "I wouldn't have cared if you just fucking told me in advance."
"Callie, I swear to God, I didn't call them! Someone else must have seen us and tipped them off," he said.
"Really?" she asked, sarcasm dripping from her voice. "Because that doesn't really look like a hot spot for celebrities. The only way they could have found us is if someone called them. And I don't think Mrs. Kobayashi likes rock music or mostly-nude TV shows!"
He sighed and gripped the steering wheel tightly. "I can only tell you the truth, okay? I didn't do anything. I didn't call them. Someone else must have done it."
She rolled her eyes. "Whatever you say, Shannon."
He scoffed and shook his head. There was no winning with her, apparently. He drove them back to his place in silence. When he parked in the garage, he stopped her before she could get out of his car.
"Cal - I'm sorry if that bothered you. I swear to you on my mother that I didn't call them," he said, putting a hand on her arm. She shook her head, avoiding his gaze. "Ever since Jared won the Oscar, it's like we both are fodder for the tabloids. It's annoying as hell. I know it's not something you're used to. So all I can do is say I'm sorry."
She sighed and nodded. "I know, Shannon. I overreacted. Shit like that is going to happen all the time. They hound me too, but only at clubs and bars and places like that. They haven't quite gotten to chasing me down the street yet."
Shannon chuckled. "It's an adjustment. Why do you think I live here? No one suspects anything."
She smiled. "I should get going. Thanks for today. And Dinner."
"Are you kidding? It was my pleasure. I loved helping your dad out. I'll definitely do it again," he smiled.
They got out of the car and she walked over to her bike. "I'll see you around, Shan," she said, pulling her helmet over her head. "Have a good tour. We'll talk soon."
And with that, she rode off into the September night.
GOSSIP BOARD
BOLDASLOVE302 POSTED: Paps caught Shannon out with Callie tonight! Do you guys think they're dating?? I thought they were just friends?
STARSKY POSTED: I mean, they were out to dinner, so it could literally mean anything. He leaves for the Carnivores tour soon, so I doubt we'll see much more of them anytime soon.
LETODREAMER606 POSTED: I know he's leaving soon, but really? We've seen him with her more than any other chick he's been dating. Heck, we've seen him with Callie more than Nina and he's supposedly with her. So I don't get it.
STARSKY POSTED: I like Callie. But I don't see how they have any type of real connection. I mean, he's twice her age, essentially. She has her own friends and so does he. So what exactly do they have in common?
BOLDASLOVE302 POSTED: Well, Callie is super big on motorcycles. A quick search showed me that her dad works on them in Long Beach. Heck, he also works on Keanu Reeves's bikes for Arch Motorcycles, which is actually really cool, if I'm honest.
LETODREAMER606 POSTED: I wonder how they got connected like that. Her dad lives in Coronado, which is like over two hours away from Los Angeles.
STARSKY POSTED: I still think they're just friends. She doesn't seem to want to be with him like that. But, I haven't seen her dating anyone, so who knows. She and her co-star Aya are close, but I think that's just their friendship, to be honest.