August 2015
Callie's heart thudded in her chest as she sat in her empty hotel room, looking out at the Los Angeles skyline. She was savoring the small quiet moment she'd been given since the day had started. It seemed like there was a revolving door full of people coming and going and it had taken her shutting herself in the bedroom of the suite to get a few moments of peace. She closed her eyes and focused on the familiar whoosh, whoosh of her heartbeat, taking deep breaths to try to slow it down.
A knock came at the door and she opened her eyes, feeling her heart rate pick up again. "Callie, hair and makeup are here," Bridget Conrad said, sticking her head into the door.
Bridget was Callie's newest acquisition, at her agent's insistence. She was a publicist and eager to prove herself. Callie's agent had brought her on to help with the press during the lead-up to the Emmys and the premieres for Lullaby. So far, she had been indispensable, but Callie was starting to hate having very little time to herself. Bridget would appear at her house several times a week and it was beginning to get really old, really fast.
She nodded and shifted on the bed. "Why couldn't we just do all of this at my house?" she asked, standing.
"Because your house wasn't nearly big enough for everyone," Bridget explained. "This is better. Plus, its closer to the venue. Come on. We're going to be late."
Callie sighed and followed the other woman out into the living area of the suite. She was greeted by several people, cases of makeup and hair products open on the coffee table, and an open garment bag hanging from a clothing rack in the corner. Garnet colored fabric spilled out and dangled toward the carpeted floor.
"There she is!" the makeup artist said cheerfully. "We're gonna make you look gorgeous, don't worry."
The makeup artist had lime green hair and a very harsh black winged liner over her muddy brown eyes; it wasn't inspiring confidence in Callie of the woman's ability to make her look like anything beyond a glam version of Oscar the Grouch. She allowed herself to be sat in a chair near the large window and there was a flurry of hands as the hair and makeup girls got started.
Her wet hair was combed and blow dried. The hairdresser pulled the comb through Callie's hair so roughly that her body was pulled back against the chair. The makeup artist spread primer across her face, rubbing it in vigorously. Callie felt like a puppet, being pulled and prodded. She heard her phone ring over the hum of the blow drier.
"It's a Shannon?" Bridget called, holding the ringing device up.
A picture of Shannon with his tongue stuck out, giving her the middle finger lit up the screen. She had taken it when they were on vacation in Greece earlier in the year and the sun reflected off of his bare chest.
"Yeah - uh, answer it. Put it on speaker," Callie said as the hairdresser turned off the blow drier.
"Callie?" Shannon asked.
"Yeah. You're on speaker," she replied, blinking rapidly as the makeup artist put a mascara wand away. "Behave."
"Why? Aren't you alone?" he asked. His voice sounded distant and tinny coming from the small device.
"No. I'm getting ready," she said.
"For?"
"The premiere. Remember?" she answered. "Fol Lullaby?"
"Oh shit! Right!" he exclaimed. "Are you...going alone?"
"Yes," she said with a sigh. "I don't have anyone to bring." The hair stylist started to pull her hair off to one side, separating her curls along the top of her head. "Can I just text you later?" she asked, getting annoyed.
"Uh - sure. It wasn't important. Just text me when you get a chance," Shannon said. "Have fun tonight. You deserve it."
He ended the call and Bridget put the phone back down on the counter. "We've got about an hour before we need to head over. So make it snappy, ladies."
Callie closed her eyes as the makeup artist applied eye shadow to her eyelids and when she opened them, it was like she was looking into a completely different version of herself. The makeup was minimal; the artist had outdone herself. She was glowing and her curls bounced gently around her head. They had been tamed a bit, but they were still a little bushy.
"You look fantastic," one of the wardrobe girls said. Callie vaguely recognized her from the photo shoot with Matthew. "Mr. Ford sent along a few dresses for you to pick, but he thinks the short one will work the best."
Callie walked over to the garment rack where three dresses hung. There were two longer ones, dragging along the floor and a short one with hundreds of little eyelets in the fabric. She reached out and touched the fabric. It looked vaguely familiar.
"Did I wear this one before?" she asked.
The assistant shook her head. "No. It's from the new collection. Mr. Ford thinks this one is perfect because of the back."
The young woman took the hanger off the rod and turned the dress around. The dress featured a deep V running down the back, stopping about twelve inches from the hem.
"It's a bit daring," Callie remarked.
"I like it. I think it'll work really well to get the press's attention," Bridget said, evaluating the dress, cell phone in hand. "You should definitely pick this one."
Callie felt her palms start to sweat. The entire evening was getting to be too much for her. These people she didn't know touching her and telling her how to dress. Bridget controlling every spare second she had. Her chest started to contract and she gulped.
"Yeah - sure. Whatever you think is best," she answered with a slight nod.
"You've got about twenty minutes with her before the car gets here," Bridget said without looking up from her phone. "We can't be late."
Callie allowed the wardrobe girl to pull her robe off and slide the dress onto her body, fastening it with ease. The shoulders were slightly poofy and the neckline was fairly high, but when she turned around, Callie saw the large swathe of skin shown off on her back. Bridget sighed and brought her hands together happily.
"You look fantastic," she smiled. "We'd better put you in some higher heels; Tom will tower over you. It won't make for good photos."
"Got it covered," the wardrobe girl said, holding up a pair of silver four-inch heels. "Think you can walk in these?" she asked Callie.
Callie chuckled lightly. "It's all I do every day at work. I'll be fine."
When she caught a glimpse of herself in the mirror as she was herded out of the hotel room, she didn't recognize her own reflection. She looked more like her character on SANCTUM than Callie Morrison. She was put into a waiting car by Bridget and she pulled her phone out of her clutch as she sat in the back seat.
On my way to the premiere. What did you want to talk about earlier? she texted Shannon, taking advantage of the brief moment of almost-solitude. Her phone buzzed a second later.
Just wanted to see how you were doing. Sorry I forgot about the premiere. I'm such a dick.
She smiled. It's fine. I'm kind of panicking a bit at the moment. She sat back in her seat, angling her phone away from Bridget. It's all just a bit much, she added.
You'll be fine. Here.
He sent a photo of himself making a silly face and she smiled again. The nerves were slowly melting away. Before she could respond, Bridget had spoken, drawing her attention away from her phone.
"So when you get there, go ahead and sign a few things. The main focus will be on Tom, but I've been told there will be plenty of fans for you to interact with as well," Bridget said, scrolling through her phone. "There will be photographers at the end of the carpet, just before the theater entrance. You'll do your photo call there with Tom and everyone else. Then there's a quick Q & A session before Tom introduces the movie." Their driver braked hard and she had to brace her hand against his head rest. "The after party is at the Beverly Hills in the Crystal Ballroom."
Callie blinked at this barrage of information. "But you - you'll be with me the whole time, right?" she asked.
"Oh, of course! You don't have to worry about that," Bridget assured her. After a second of silence, she spoke again. "Nervous?"
Callie sighed. "Yeah. A little. I mean, I've never gone to a premiere like this before."
"It's really not any different from a season premiere party - and you've done several of those," Bridget reasoned. "You're just on a larger screen with more people around you. And the after party is going to be way better, too."
"Do I have to go?"
"It's expected, so yes," Bridget replied. "There will be a bunch of people there that you need to network with. Tyler insists."
Callie sighed. "I suppose I have to keep Tyler happy, right?" Her agent had been over the moon about the Tom Ford shoot. Lately, he'd been riding a high; she was his star client and her popularity was only going up. "Just, maybe we don't stay too long?"
"I don't think you'll be too excited to leave. These parties are always fun," Bridget said. "I've only been to a couple, but the studios usually go all-out."
Callie didn't respond. Traffic slowed down and their driver moved over closer to the curb. She could see crowds gathered up the street on the sidewalk in front of the Chinese Theater. Studio lights had been set up along a red carpet that led into the theater's front doors and fans stood behind barricades on either side of it. Tom had already arrived and fans were screaming, waving their arms wildly for his attention.
"This is it," Bridget said with a smile. "Time to be the leading lady. Come on."
The car stopped at the end of the red carpet and Callie had to blink as dozens of camera flashes blinded her, even through the car's tinted windows. Bridget opened the door and Callie blinked and shrank back a bit at the sudden wave of noise that poured into the small, silent space. She shook her head and took Bridget's hand, getting out of the car as gracefully as she could. Bridget closed the door as Callie looked around.
"Oh my God! Callie! Over here!" Shouts from fans on either side of the red carpet filled her ears and she didn't know where to turn first. "Callie! Sign this, please? Can I get a picture with you?"
It was overwhelming. Her heart started racing and every sound became muffled. The lights blinded her and things started to blend together in a delayed, blurry mess. She looked over when a large hand landed on her shoulder. Tom was standing next to her, goofy smile on his face. All at once, the noise caught up to the chaos around her and she didn't feel like she was in slow motion anymore.
"Hey! You made it!" he said, embracing her. She caught a whiff of his cologne - it was spicy and manly. "I was wondering when you'd arrive."
"Sorry. We got caught up a bit back at the hotel," Bridget explained, speaking for Callie. "You look great."
"Thanks," Tom smiled. "Armani," he added, running his hands down the front of his suit jacket. He had on a pair of glasses that made him look just as intelligent as Callie knew him to be. "You look...Jesus, Callie. You look amazing."
"Oh, thank you," she blushed.
The two of them had reconnected earlier in the week to do the press junket after a long period of not speaking much. He congratulated her on her nomination, but things seemed a little distant.
"We should go out tomorrow night - if you're free, obviously. I'm in town for another week to do interviews and stuff," he explained. "I feel like we should celebrate your nomination properly."
"I'll have to check with Bridget and see," she replied. "I-"
"You're free," the publicist said, looking at her phone. "Sorry to break up the reunion, but we've got interviews," she added, guiding Callie away by the shoulder.
"Sure. I'll catch you later," Tom said as Luke appeared by his side.
"This is for Entertainment Weekly," Bridget said in Callie's ear as the approached a long line of reporters with cameras.
"Callie! Hi!" the young man said, holding a microphone out to her. "How do you feel to be at your first movie premiere?"
"Oh, it feels amazing!" Callie gushed, remembering to turn on the charm. "Everyone worked so hard and it feels great to finally be able to see the end results."
"And congratulations are in order for your Emmy nomination," the young man continued. "Are you excited about that?"
Callie nodded. "I am. When we started to series, none of us ever thought we'd get this much recognition and it feels incredible. Everyone at Netflix is fantastic and it's really just been a pleasure the entire time."
Of course, that was a lie, but she knew better than to badmouth anyone in such a public forum. She saw Bridget make a signal to wrap the interview up from a few feet away.
"Well, thank you so much for stopping to talk to us. Congratulations, again!" the reporter said over the crowd.
"Thank you!" Callie added before she was whisked away again.
Bridget had her talk to at least three other news outlets, each with the same exact questions. By the end of the fourth interview, she felt like she had given the same canned answers.
"Are they going to ask anything different?" she asked her publicist.
Bridget shook her head. "They were given a long list of things not to ask. Tyler didn't want anything to distract from your nomination, the Tom Ford campaign, or the movie. He was very strict about it."
Callie saw Tom wrapping up an interview with a reporter from a British TV show. He looked over at her and smiled. When the interview ended, he walked over to her, Luke half a step behind him. He embraced her and she could feel several photographers' lenses on her back.
"Ten minute photo call and then we need to head into the theater," Luke said as he hovered.
Callie allowed Tom to lead her over to stand in front of a backdrop featuring the film's name. Several of the show's crew and other cast members had already gone through the line of photographers, posing awkwardly. Tom put a hand on Callie's lower back, pulling her body toward his side and showing some of her backless dress to the cameras.
Their publicists knelt on the carpet in front of the barricade, directing them where to go. They tried several different poses that the photographers called out. Tom kept a strong arm around her at all times and even when they were asked to separate for individual photos, he stood on the sidelines, refusing to go into the theater with Luke. Callie could see them having a hushed argument as she posed, showing the photographers her back and making sure they got good angles of the dress.
By the time Bridget led her out of the glare of the lights and photographer's cameras, she felt like she was essentially blind. None of the other events she'd been to had been like that. She was glad when they were finally allowed to go into the theater. The lobby was full of different members of the cast and crew and the occasional photographer and critic was wandering between throngs of people, but it looked like any other movie theater lobby. The smell of popcorn made her mouth water and she realized she hadn't eaten a thing all day.
"You really do look amazing," Tom said as Luke and Bridget guided them down the theater hallway toward an empty room. "The look suits you."
Callie felt a blush rise up her cheeks as he appraised her. "Thanks."
They were put into a little green room, of sorts. A large table stood in the center of the room with bottles of water and a few snacks laid out. Sam Brightwell was having an animated conversation with two of the producers and the cinematographer, but he waved at them when they came into the cramped space.
"Alright everyone!" an older woman called through the room. "My name is Diana Crawford; I'm from the studio. I'll be running the Q & A session. It's not going to be very long and the audience has been briefed on acceptable questions. We'll go in in about five minutes, so wrap it up in here!"
Callie looked at Tom. "Is a Q & A normal with premieres?"
He shook his head. "Not normally. Usually the cast just does an intro to the film and thanks everyone involved. But some of the smaller films do these Q & A sessions to drum up press," he explained.
She bit her lip in uncertainty. "Will the questions be related to the movie?"
"Definitely," he reassured her. "Look, don't worry about it. They'll probably focus on me anyways."
"Wow. The ego on you," she said, smiling slightly.
"I didn't mean it like that," he chuckled, blushing. "I meant that they usually focus more on the biggest name in the film. Don't be surprised if they don't really ask you much."
"Still not changing the ego issue," Callie answered. She felt her nerves dip a little bit more.
***Gossip Board***
TOMSBAE8900 POSTED: The premiere for Lullaby was tonight. Tom looked absolutely fantastic. The man knows how to fill out a suit, that's for damn sure.
HIDDLEBONER67 POSTED: He certainly looked good with Callie. It was actually nice to see her with him again.
TOMSBAE8900 POSTED: Not for me. I'm still not convinced they aren't together. After that trip they took to Greece earlier this year, I wouldn't be surprised if they've been dating for a while.
STONEHENDGE000 POSTED: I think Callie looked incredible in that dress. I had no idea her hair was naturally so curly.
ANDERSONHEDGE POSTED: It's Tom Ford. She did a campaign with Matthew Grey Gubler for his Fall collection. Got to admit, its fantastic.
HIDDLEBONER67 POSTED: I wouldn't get too worried about Callie and Tom. I heard she's dating Mathew from her photo shoot.
TOMISBAE8900 POSTED: That doesn't change anything. She's nothing but a social climbing bitch. First, it was Shannon Leto - Jared Leto's brother. Then it was Aya. Then it was Tom. Now its Matthew. She'll sleep with anyone who will up her profile.
***
The next evening, Callie was sitting across from Tom in a small Italian restaurant in Santa Monica near her house. They had ordered food and were sipping on wine while they waited for it to arrive.
"So why wasn't anyone from your family there last night?" he asked. "Your first big premiere, seems like they wouldn't want to miss it."
She shrugged. "I didn't really want to bring them." He raised an eyebrow in question. "It's more that my dad wants to keep a low profile because of what he used to do. And I don't want my sisters to get negative attention from people. For the most part, they've been able to stay anonymous."
Tom nodded as he swallowed a sip of wine. "Yeah. That I can understand. It can be tough to keep your family anonymous with all of the technology and shit out there these days. I don't blame you." He set his glass down. "Still. Its always more fun when you're not alone."
"Why didn't you bring Elizabeth?" Callie asked casually.
He blinked, taken aback. "I - uh - we...aren't exactly a thing. It's kind of casual, you know?"
"What, like me and you?" she replied slyly, sipping her wine. "You two hook up during filming and then just stay friends?" He blushed and looked away. "I'm joking, by the way," she added. "I don't care about who else you spend your time with. I think we're better as friends."
He relaxed. "I'm glad you see it that way." He looked out the window at the sunset. "I've had to make certain...sacrifices to get to where I am. This level of fame isn't something that comes easy to anyone. It brings fantastic benefits, but at a great personal cost."
She scoffed. "Jesus, you make it sound like you had to give your kidney or something."
He laughed. "Not exactly. But I did have to give up a lot to be able to have all of this. I was glad to do it, though."
"I don't know how I feel about being more famous. It doesn't seem as fun as I thought it would be," Callie said, shaking her head.
"How so?" he leaned closer to her over the table.
"I guess...I guess I didn't realize how very little alone time I'd get," she started. "It seems like someone has always been with me in the last few weeks. And Bridget has been attached at the hip since the photo shoot. I'm starting to wonder if I'll ever get my own space and my own time back again."
"You will. Once all of this dies down, you'll be right back to normal," Tom assured her. "If you don't want to jump into another film, that is."
"I don't know. I like the idea of doing another movie, but I don't know how I'd get cast in one," she sighed.
"You will. The movie is fantastic. I'm surprised your agent isn't blowing up your phone with potential offers," he said gently, taking another sip.
"Exactly. Why isn't he blowing it up?" she asked pointedly.
"Because it's off?" he offered.
Sure enough, her cell phone was still off, sitting at home on her dresser. After a barrage of texts congratulating her had poured in during the movie, she turned it off. The party was so busy she didn't have a chance to turn it back on. And she had enjoyed the silence so much that she just left it off all day. It wasn't until Tom appeared at her door to go for dinner that she realized it wasn't on again.
Callie rolled her eyes. "Whatever. I don't think it'll be any different when I turn it on."
Their food arrived and they began eating.
"I'm really proud of you, though, Cal," he said as he took a bite. "Getting nominated for an Emmy is a big deal."
"I guess. I never expected it, so I guess that in itself is a win," she replied. "I definitely don't expect to win."
"You never know," he told her with a smirk.
They finished eating and were almost ready to leave when Tom spotted the photographer across the street.
"Shit," he swore.
"Problem?" Callie asked innocently. He glared at her. "What's the issue? We were photographed within an inch of our lives last night. Its not like its a secret that we're friends."
"Still. It would be nice to be able to go out and have dinner without being stalked like prey," he growled.
They walked outside, heading for his car as quickly as they could. Callie did her best to act un-bothered by the paparazzi, but she could swear she could hear the clicking of his camera shutter as she walked past. Tom held her door open and jogged around the front to get into the driver's seat.
"That wasn't too bad," she teased.
"Yeah? Just wait until they hit the press," he sighed sadly. "We'll be dating in no time."
Callie laughed. "Fuck them. We know the truth so why should it matter what anyone else says or thinks?"
"You don't have rabid fan girls who track your every move," he groused as he pulled onto the street.
"Fuck them, too."
"I'm sure they'd love me to," he quipped, cracking a smile as Callie burst into louder laughter.
He dropped her off at her place and she walked into the house. Aya was home, sitting on the sofa watching a movie. Trio hopped onto the floor and greeted her, tail wagging as she pet him.
"How was dinner?" Aya asked, looking over the back of the couch at her.
"It was good. We got papped though," she sighed, walking into the kitchen.
"That sucks," he called. "Why is your phone still off?" he asked.
Callie got herself a glass of water from the sink. "I haven't turned it on." She walked back into the living room.
"You should. Shannon texted me, wondering if you were okay," he replied.
"Shit," she sighed, setting her glass down and going to her room.
Her phone lay on the top of her dresser, screen black. She turned it on and walked back to the living room. It vibrated about fifty times before she was finally able to do anything more than stare at the messages coming in. The first ten or so were congratulatory messages from her family - those could wait. Bridget had called and texted several times. Tyler left a very long message in her voicemail, begging her to call him back as soon as she could. Finally she came to Shannon's texts.
"I'd respond to them , if I were you," Aya suggested, leaning into her and resting his head on her shoulder.
They had waited this long; what was twelve more hours? Callie shook her head and put the phone onto the coffee table. She'd handle it in the morning.