by Raziel Reid
“Can I give you some advice?” Valeria asks. “Live in the moment. Do you know how to do that?”
Sophia shakes her head. Valeria smiles.
“I’m not sure anyone does anymore.”
They hear a throat clear and look up to see their dad standing in the doorway.
“This is what I like to see, both my girls together.” Luis smiles at them.
He showed up at the house shortly after Lily left. Valeria wants to hate him. She wishes she could. But when she saw him, she burst into tears and hugged him. It’s been the same cycle all her life, and Valeria wishes it were a different ride but knows she’ll never get off it. She’s loyal to her family. Family is the one thing that’s more important to Valeria than being an actress.
Sophia was ecstatic when she got home with Gloria and saw Luis sitting with Valeria in the living room. Her happiness lessened the blow when Valeria found out about Sophia’s audition. Poor Leo is shy around Luis. It’s been that long.
“Hey, Sophia,” Luis asks, “why don’t you go downstairs and play with Leo for a while? I need a minute alone with your big sister.”
“Okay,” Sophia says, jumping off Valeria’s bed and telling her they can “live in the moment later.”
Valeria laughs.
Luis closes the door behind Sophia and turns to Valeria. She knows that look. Valeria doesn’t wait for him to ask.
She goes over to her nightstand, puts her hand in her pillow case, and removes the Panthère de Cartier earrings. Valeria drops the earrings in her father’s palm. She’s not a character anymore, an idea of who Valeria Leon is supposed to be. She’s determined to find out who she really is.
Luis whistles. “I’ll tell the guy at the pawn shop to hold off on resale. I’ll buy these back for you, superstar. I just need a little help paying off a hotel bill…”
“I don’t want them back,” Valeria says. “They’re not my style.”
Luis pockets the earrings and kisses the top of Valeria’s head. He notices Sophia’s script on the vanity and picks it up, waving the pages around.
“Cute kid, but she doesn’t have it. I saw her rehearsing with your mother and it wasn’t the same.”
“I hope not,” Valeria says.
brandocadogan
336k followers
dietsodabish Brat af
Brandon is totally medicated and he’s also been snorting rails and smoking Spice and he hasn’t had anything to eat in forty-eight hours. Who isn’t on something? Who doesn’t pop a Xanax or Adderall every now and then? He pulls into In-N-Out in his dad’s Bentley for some Roadkill Fries and eats them as he continues driving around, the dashboard specked with cocaine and palm trees through the windshield.
He goes to The Nice Guy for a drink and they let him in even though he lost one of his Gucci Princetown slippers. The Nice Guy got its name because someone told the owner he was too nice to make it in this town. No one has ever told Brandon that he won’t make it in this town. He drinks and hits on a girl who reminds him of Bea, but he knows that a Bea look-alike won’t be the same as the real thing.
Brandon leaves and stops at a convenience store and picks up a bottle of vodka and some cigarettes. He’s drinking from the bottle as he drives to the Chateau Marmont. He has to see Bea before she leaves for the premiere. Brandon’s not going. He has no interest in standing there and being all, like, What is even life? as people take his picture and reporters ask him how he’s coping with his mom’s cancer.
The first thing a child learns in this world is that when the mother lowers her hands in the game of peekaboo, her face is meant to be there.
Brandon needs Bea. She’s the only one who understands. He loves her. He really loves her. She’s the billionaire boy’s girl. The it girl and the heir. It’s the new ’20s, old boy. It’s Brandon’s decade.
When Brandon gets to Bea’s bungalow, he knocks. Maybe they’ll sit out by the pool. He’d like to put his head in her lap. He’d like her to run her hands through his hair and tell him about when they’re going to rule the world.
The door swings open and Brandon is confronted by his shirtless brother. Conrad looks surprised to see Brandon. Bea, standing behind Conrad in nothing but a pair of Louis Vuitton bunny ears, doesn’t.
“Coming up this season,” she says, raising a martini glass to Brandon and taking a sip.
idrismorcos1
580k followers
idrisregal OMGGGG
idrisregal MIRROR SELFIE
idrisregal I MISSED THISSSSS
Idris and Fortune get ready for the premiere over at Idris’s house. Idris is wearing a metallic Dolce & Gabbana tux but he’s not as flashy as Fortune, who is wearing thigh-high sparkling Louboutins, with his hair in side-braids and a smoky eye, a faux fur draped over his Moschino shirtdress.
“Tonight is a new beginning.” Fortune looks at his reflection in Idris’s bedroom mirror. “From this point forward I’m a star on the show.”
Idris fusses with his bow tie. “So how’d you finally get Joel to agree to go with Hailey to the premiere?”
“Let’s just say he’s a total dog.” Fortune smirks. “Sam and I are already talking about possible season 3 storylines. Like, she literally wants to throw me into Sean and Valeria’s relationship to expose that it’s fake as fuck and Sean is on the DL. Can you imagine? And you know I’ll do it.”
“Why do you want to be on the show so badly?” Idris asks. He gives up on his bow tie. Fortune comes over to do it for him.
“I don’t really have a family of my own,” Fortune says. He doesn’t meet Idris’s eyes. “The show is kind of like my family.”
“You know I’ve got your back whether you’re on the show or not, right?” Idris turns to look at the finished result in the mirror. Fortune never talks about his past; he pretends he doesn’t have one, that his life is only what he’s posted. “I just want you to remember that,” Idris tells Fortune through the reflection. “No matter what happens.”
Idris checks the time on his phone.
“I’ve gotta make a quick stop before the red carpet. See you there?”
Fortune hangs his fur off his shoulder as he poses in front of the mirror.
“Front and center.”
* * *
—
“Dapper as fuck, bro,” Idris says.
Joel’s wearing a Tom Ford tux. He looks at Idris coolly as Idris stands at the doorway of the Stroms’ Mediterranean mansion. Joel’s expecting him—the guard at the Beverly Park gate called to ask if Idris could be let in. Idris wasn’t sure if Joel was going to allow him to pass. But then the guard nodded his head and Idris slid past in his new $2.2 million Devel Sixteen hypercar.
“Drink?” Joel asks as Idris follows him into the living room.
“Sure, bro,” Idris says.
Joel pours them each a tumbler of whiskey and they sit in two brown leather upholstered chairs near the fireplace, which is on, despite the end-of-summer heat. It’s probably always on. Ambience.
Idris takes a sip of his drink.
Things are awkward AF between him and Joel. They weren’t always. They had some good times. Legendary beach parties. Joel used to be a clown. Now he’s moody and suspicious and hiding behind his 1.8 million followers like he knows he could flip the switch and sell himself out and get maybe 10 million, maybe more, enough to bury them all. And maybe Idris is just waiting for that Joel to come out.
“So?” Joel sips his drink. “Why are you here?”
“I have some things I have to get off my chest,” Idris says. “First off, I’m sorry about Greta, man. I didn’t treat her right. I respect your loyalty to your sister. I hope she finds a better guy than me.”
Joel stares through him.
“That it?”
“I told Greta all this in the letter I wrote her. Not that she read it.”
“The letter Lily helped you write?” Joel asks.
“Which brings me to the other reason I stopped by,” Idris says. “You�
��re a fool if you lose a girl like Lily. She’s crazy about you.” Idris swallows the rest of his whiskey. It hurts being honest. But this is something Idris knows he has to do. For Lily.
“Before you take Hailey to the premiere, there’s something you should know.”
lillianrhode
105k followers
birdymayjohnston Infection - everyone get your shots
lauragough1 Horse jawline, duck lips, body of man…. seriously wtf
selenamariegeorgia Jailey is really best and joel strom is really cute couple than lily rhode and joel strom @paleyhailey @thejoelstrom @lillianrhode
hailay.paley Aceita que ele ama a Hailey
jazmynruiz2001 At least Hailey can dress better than you
“Do you know what this means?” Hailey holds the latest issue of US Weekly to her chest. “We are officially connected by something that runs much deeper than blood!”
Hailey’s been reading the article to Lily up in Hailey’s bedroom as they get ready for the red carpet together. It’s not exactly the Paley family dinner Lily had been hoping for, but getting ready for a red carpet seems to be a ritual that brings the Paleys together. Hailey offered to let Lily use her glam squad. Hailey has finally achieved a lifelong ambition—to appear on the front cover of a tabloid—and with her ascension, lingering resentment and bitterness between her and Lily has faded away.
Or so Hailey thinks.
“What color do you want to do your lips?” Hailey’s makeup artist asks Lily.
“Red,” Lily says. To complement her pink sequin Monique Lhuillier gown. She steals a look at Hailey in the mirror, who’s back with her nose in the magazine. “Maybe Housewife by Priscilla?” Lily asks the makeup artist.
“Classic.” Hailey looks up from the tabloid and gives Lily an approving smile. A real smile.
“Listen to this…” Hailey reads aloud. “ ‘Lily Rhode’s arrival in the Platinum Triangle shakes up the new season of the hit reality show, shifting the dynamics between the teen cast of celebrity offspring and #richkid train wrecks. This season Lily moves in with the Paleys and joins Hailey’s ranks as a Beverly Hills princess—but only one of them can be queen!’ ”
Hailey throws her head back in laughter. “This is so epic!” She comes up behind Lily sitting in front of the mirror and presses her head against Lily’s as they stare at their reflection. Lily smacks her Housewife lips.
“You and me, girl,” Hailey says. “The dream team. We’re ratings gold!”
Patrick tried to fight Lily on the EP credit. He said there was no way. But Lily insisted it was the only way she would keep his secret. Patrick finally agreed to try to pull some strings.
This season Lily may be introduced as a pawn to Whitney and Hailey, a device to make them look sympathetic, but come season 3 not only will Lily be a permanent cast member, she’ll be the one pulling the strings. And the whole world will finally see @paleyhailey for the fraud she is.
“Let’s take a photo,” Lily says, lifting her phone and snapping a pic of her and Hailey posing in front of the mirror.
lillianrhode
Getting ready together for the premiere reminds Lily of when she and Hailey got ready for Brandon’s party. It was only a month ago but it feels like a lifetime. It’s so clear to Lily now that Hailey was just disarming her before going in for the kill. Now it’s Lily’s turn.
“I hope the US Weekly story isn’t going to come between us now that we’ve decided to start over,” Hailey says, glancing back down at the magazine in her hands. “Joel’s picking me up for the red carpet…”
“No more competition,” Lily says. “It is a new season after all. My first. And I want to start it off with good vibes only.”
Hailey may not realize it yet, but the competition is over. Lily won. Why isn’t it enough, though? Lily doesn’t feel like she won anything. She hates how things ended with her and Joel. That’s one storyline even her EP credit can’t rewrite.
Lily runs her hand down the bodice of her dress, checking her angles in the mirror. Hailey’s glam squad went all out. Her hair is curled and she’s wearing mink eyelashes from Hailey’s favorite brand—appropriately called Lilly Lashes. She and Hailey have never looked more alike.
“All that’s missing is my new clutch,” Lily says. “I left it in the pool house.” She used her lifeguarding savings to buy a Judith Leiber Crystal Swan minaudière while she and Hailey were out shopping. She’ll have to remember to put some candy inside before they leave, in case she gets a craving…
Coming down the stairs on her way to the pool house, Lily sees Patrick talking with Sam in the living room. They grow quiet when they see Lily approaching.
“You look beautiful, Lily!” Sam says. She leans in. “And I’m so excited to hear we’ll be seeing a lot more of you.”
Lily looks from Sam straight at Patrick. He takes a sip of his drink.
“And soon, I hope,” Sam says. “We still need to schedule a date to shoot your confessionals. The editors are piecing together the last episodes of the season, right when you make your grand arrival. The highlight of the season, if you ask me! You up to shoot over the next couple of days?”
“Oh, I think so.” Lily’s eyes stay on Patrick. “There’s so much I could say…”
At the pool house Lily looks for her clutch in the bedroom. The blue neon Land of Hopes & Dreams sign is glowing and she stares up at it. She smiles to herself in the electric glow. Once upon a time in Hollywood.
“Lily, there you are!” Whitney steps into the bedroom dressed in a deep-V Balmain gown. She turns on the light. “I wanted to talk to you before we leave.”
Lily picks up her clutch and turns to face her aunt.
“Now that your court case is behind you, and with the show premiering, it’s time to think of the future. I’ve talked it over with Patrick and we would both love it if you would agree to stay with us. On a more permanent basis. Summer is almost over and school will be starting soon…. What do you think of joining Hailey at New Beverly? We want you to make Beverly Hills your home,” Whitney says.
Lily knows that the real reason she’s been invited to stick around is because of the US Weekly cover. She’s proven to be a valuable investment. And she’s just getting started!
“Home,” Lily smiles. “That sounds really nice.”
thejoelstrom
1.8m followers
samijanwazir Seriously, haters, back off. Would you like it if people would kept commenting stuff like that on your pic? It’s none of your buissness whether Joel love hauley or lily. It’s his life…So back off. Lily is just as human as Hailey, she’s also beautiful and nice. This isn’t a reality show for you. You have no idea how much these comments hurt. So sad that people today are using social media to hurt other peoples’ feelings.. @thejoelstrom @paleyhailey @lillianrhode
portersmania JAILEY! JAILEY! JAILEY!
hailey.exe I’m so sory but i’m not a long follower of Joel. I’m so sory Joel, I love you, but I can’t support to say a photos you post with you and Lily. I remain a follower of Hailey Paley.
Joel sits as physically far away from Hailey as he possibly can in the back of the limo. He’s on his phone reposting the photo of him and Lily that his dad took over dinner. Hailey’s making him go to the premiere with her but she can’t control his Instagram. Joel’s making his own statement tonight.
Hailey opens a bottle of Cristal and pours herself a glass. She asks Joel if he wants one and he just keeps staring out the window. Hailey pulls out her phone and they ride in silence the rest of the way to the premiere.
Joel keeps going over what Idris told him. He wanted to go straight to Lily after he found out the lengths Hailey went to in order to force him to be with her at the premiere. But he knows that would mean exposing Sean and his dad, and Joel promised Sean he’d take it to the grave.
As the limo approaches the Sofitel, Joel sees the fans and press behind barricades and he feels his heart speeding up. He almost forgot what this fe
eling was like. The energy is unreal.
It’s total pandemonium when Joel and Hailey step onto the red carpet. It’s like stepping onto another planet. And as the fans scream and the cameras flash, it’s not so bad up in the stars.
The step-and-repeat has the Platinum Triangle title and the spiral MKTV network logo, along with the ABC circle logo because it owns MKTV, and the Disney logo because it owns ABC, and if you look closely enough, you’ll see your own DNA.
Some of the other cast members have already arrived and are at various stages of posing and talking to the reporters. Jessica looks like an Old Hollywood movie star in her mermaid dress and with her hair curled and to one side. She winks at Joel from the press line.
Joel and Hailey aren’t the only couple making a debut. Bea Getty is posing with Conrad Cadogan. Brandon’s nowhere in sight, and Joel saw on Instagram that he posted a photo boarding his dad’s jet. No caption.
A surge of energy is directed toward Joel and Hailey as they pose. He keeps a hand on her waist and Hailey does her thing, posing from various angles while Joel just sort of stands there—he’s just a mannequin for Hailey to hang off of. There’s a group of girls literally crying behind barricades for Joel, and he goes over and takes selfies with them.
Hailey joins him over by the fangirls, who freak TF out as she approaches. One girl just wants to touch Hailey’s hair and Hailey lets her, and then Joel and Hailey are being led by a publicist over to the press line. The Johnsons are doing an interview up ahead. Joel looks in Sean’s eyes and sees a tortured look. Sean breaks away first, staring down at the red carpet.