HDU

by India Lee

  “I lived here until I was six but after my parents split, my mom moved us to Missouri because she wanted me to have a decently normal life. And, of course, she grew up in Columbia,” Casey explained, pursing her small lips. “But I’ve always been more like my dad. And I wanted to be just like him and conquer every aspect of show business,” she laughed. “So I moved back here when I was thirteen. But I’ve always been curious as to how different my life would’ve been had I stayed there. Less complicated, probably. More relaxing.”

  Amanda nodded, though she felt nothing of the mysticism that Casey seemed to attach to Missouri. It was the last place she’d expect anyone to fetishize. But if she thought about it, she could certainly see Casey’s fascination considering what a different life she lived in New York.

  “Poor thing, you’re looking at me like I’m crazy. Is it because I’m telling you my life’s story in the bathroom of The Strathorne?” Casey asked with a laugh. She nodded towards the door. “Come on, let’s go outside.” Amanda followed without hesitation. Before they made it to the bar however, a forty-something woman with a cameraman stopped them.

  “Casey, love!”

  “Wendy! Hey, doll,” Casey smiled. She leaned over and kissed her cheek before doing introductions. “Wendy, this is Amanda. Amanda, this is my good friend Wendy Krentz. She’s the editor-at-large at June.”

  What’s June? Oh, June Magazine! It took a second for Amanda to remember where she even was. “Oh, hi! Nice to meet you,” she said, remembering to extend her hand for a handshake. She silently congratulated herself for her most graceful act of social normalcy all night.

  “Oh, who needs introductions? I know you – you’re Liam’s new girl!” Wendy exclaimed with excitement, throwing her arms out in the air. Amanda awkwardly shuffled, unsure if she was being asked for a hug or something. It turned out she wasn’t. “Who am I kidding, I got sucked into the Amanda-monium – I’ll admit it! And, lady, I have been rooting my butt off for you,” Wendy squealed, clapping her hands. “I love seeing those big ol’ Hollywood hunks with one of us regular girls,” she said giddily. Amanda blinked with confusion. Status aside, she wouldn’t have thought to categorize Wendy as “regular” in her haute couture and precious jewels, but perhaps she was referring to the fact that she didn’t have the face of an actress or model. Wendy touched Amanda’s sleeve. “And this dress, by the way? This is a very Casey Mulreed pick.”

  Amanda blushed, flattered. “Oh gosh,” she smiled shyly, simultaneously asking herself, did I just say ‘Oh gosh?’ “Well, it’s like, a dream to be mentioned in the same sentence as Casey in any regards to fashion, so.” She nodded, though it was more so a bow of the head. Did I just end my sentence with the word ‘so?’

  “Amanda, I can’t handle it. You are just too cute.”

  “Isn’t she?” Casey giggled.

  “Like, precious,” Wendy said, causing Amanda’s cheeks to burn. She felt a bit like an animal at a petting zoo – albeit a very flattered one. She laughed shrilly, the attention making her nervous.

  “I don’t know, no one really uses the word ‘cute’ to describe me actually, and I was definitely having one of those bloaty days before I arrived, so it’s nice to hear that!” she said, her voice at a much higher register than usual. Wendy threw her head back and laughed.

  “You are too funny! You remind me exactly of me when I first got to New York – before I married my big Hollywood hunk,” she said. Off Amanda’s curious look, she explained. “Tom Vogel’s my husband!”

  “Ohh.” Amanda nodded. Tom Vogel was a former actor best known these days for writing and producing some of the hottest shows on primetime and premium cable television. She knew that he was working on a highly anticipated new TV show, and that he’d dated some of Hollywood’s most beautiful women before apparently finding Wendy. “Cool. That’s… awesome. That you’re married,” Amanda said, not knowing what else to say. Oh my God, just stop talking. “I’m sorry, I’m so awkward,” she said hastily. Holy shit, really stop. Wendy cooed.

  “Once upon a time, I was awkward too. You’ll get over it! But don’t worry, I’ll move onto Casey now,” she surrendered, though not before giving Amanda’s side a little pinch. “Okay, Casey, be a doll and give us a few words about What Was Lost – we’re hearing great things and we can’t wait to see it.”

  The title of the movie rang a bell in Amanda’s head as Casey answered. Of course it did – it was already a frontrunner for Oscar contention before even being released. But not only that, Dylan Hardy was in it. He had a small role as a fellow rehab patient of Casey’s character. But it still counted. Casey and Dylan were co-stars. They knew and spent time with each other. Oh my God, Amanda thought. By the transitive property, I’ve hung out with Dylan Hardy. She was still in awe of that fact a good twenty minutes later as she sat at the bar with Casey and Jaime, the latter of whom nudged and prodded her for dirt on Liam.

  “We all should have guessed that a non-model would crack him,” Jaime said with a giggle. “They obviously weren’t working for him, right?”

  Casey only laughed at her friend, rolling her eyes at her to Amanda. Jaime continued unfazed.

  “I can’t help it, I just love this story,” she sighed. “It’s like Cinderella.”

  “Oh my God, Jaime, stop,” Casey snorted, glancing apologetically at Amanda. Amanda only laughed it off as she quietly sipped on her martini. She was too busy recounting the events of the last hour. Even in her daze, she was coming to the realization that she was perhaps a bit of a novelty to everyone – a starry-eyed girl in the big city, the humble nobody who was somehow the apple of a playboy’s eye. Amanda wasn’t sure if that kind of attention should offend her or not, but then again, how could it? It was the exact response that she and Liam had hoped to have on the general public. He was supposed to have fallen in love with her for being different, uncomplicated. A plain Jane. It was the basis of their entire act. They simply hadn’t anticipated it to have a real effect on non-fans, on people actually in the industry. They were all following the story too, rooting for her like the quirky lead in a romantic comedy. The affection was somewhat odd and just a little condescending, but Amanda realized that it was actually a good thing for her to work with. A great thing. All she had to do was be herself to enthrall everyone. Watching her awed discovery of their glamorous world was a total feel-good story for them.

  “Doll, give me your phone?”

  Amanda blinked and looked up to see Casey holding out her hand. With some sheepishness, she handed it over. Jaime burst out laughing.

  “Wow. This is a true relic, I love it,” Casey said as she flipped open the old phone and began typing away. She handed it back before glancing over Amanda’s shoulder. “Your man is coming to get you, but I put my number in your contacts. Call me so we can all get drinks this week.”

  With that, Casey and Jaime hopped off their barstools, smiling at Liam before walking away. Amanda turned to see him behind her, furrowing his brows with both confusion and amusement. He narrowed his eyes at her.

  “What did you do?”

  “I made friends,” Amanda replied with a smile and a shrug. He shook his head as he held out his hand and helped her off of the barstool.

  “Just don’t say I didn’t warn you,” he said.

  Amanda smiled with confidence. “Don’t worry, I know exactly what I’m doing.”

  - Chapter 6 -

  VIDEO: LIAM BRODY’S GF BEING ADORABLE ON THE PLANE TO NYC

  January 13th

  Posted by FilmFreak

  HDU via Pop Dinner

  This morning, Pop Dinner received an exclusive video shot earlier this week when Amanda Nathan boarded her first flight to New York City. Seated next to new beau, Liam Brody, a naïve Amanda is clueless about being watched until Liam gives her the heads up! Before realizing she was on camera, the small town girl gazed out the window at the sunset and chatted happily with her boyfriend.

  Upon realizing she was on camera though, Amanda
froze up and looked completely nerve-racked! Luckily, Liam acted as her human shield and comforted her until she calmed and was able to enjoy her flight.

  Here’s to hoping that she’ll start getting used to the limelight soon – she’ll need to!

  (Okay, gotta admit that that video was sooo cute. I love how innocent and out-of-place this poor girl is. She kind of seems too good for Liam! Though actually, I’m starting to like them as a couple… PLEASE DON’T KILL ME, PRETTY! YA GOTTA ADMIT, THEY’RE QT! – FF)

  TOP COMMENTS:

  PrettyKitty29 (Moderator)

  … idk this is a weird couple. he’s supposed to be with a bitchy model not a normal human. i’m… confused. so no comment.

  thisismyusername

  hold on. YOU of all people can’t change your mind about Liam!!!

  PrettyKitty29 (Moderator)

  i’m not! i know he’s supposed to be a model-chasing douchelord

  mrstylerchase

  except this girl is far from a model so your argument is invalid

  thisismyusername

  lol at you falling for this act

  mrstylerchase

  lol at your cynicism. how do u enjoy life

  bailey21390

  who cares about liam – why is there nothing about her hanging out with my queen casey mulreed? what’s going on there? L L L i need deets plz thx

  The morning after the June Magazine party, Amanda awoke to a rather varied array of emotions. First, there was the disappointment over the fact that her lovely night had been a dream. Then, of course, there was pure joy over the realization that no, it hadn’t been. Everything that happened had been entirely real, and Casey Mulreed’s number in her dinky cell phone was a testament to that.

  With that realization in mind, Amanda happily floated like a cloud through her morning routine. Despite a mild hangover headache, she did a dance into her robe and laughed for no reason while brushing her teeth. Her bliss continued uninterrupted till after she’d finished her breakfast and shower, emerging from the bathroom to find five missed calls on her phone – two from Liam and three from Ian. What the hell? She didn’t know whose number to dial first, but Ian quickly saved her a decision by calling back again.

  “Hey, what’s up?” she asked hastily, feeling a strange sense of dread.

  “Oh, nothing much, aside from you going viral.”

  Amanda froze in place. “What? What went viral?”

  “Your blog entry from last night? I mean it’s the first one so I think your subscribers were all kind of waiting on it. I didn’t even realize it was up till I saw you trending on Twitter.”

  “Wait – Twitter… what?” Amanda racked her brain as Ian continued, trying to process everything he was telling her.

  Then suddenly, a wave of memories came flooding through her head, filling it with images of the night before. She recalled returning from The Strathorne, stumbling into her hotel room and calling Ian a few times just to be greeted by his voicemail. Only with those clues in mind did she remember it – going on her computer and typing out everything that she had wanted to tell Ian. At least everything she could manage before passing out in bed, clearly more drunk than she had realized.

  “Oh God, what did I say?” Amanda gasped, immediately dropping her phone and sprinting into the bedroom. She knocked over everything on her desk as she reached for her laptop. Her trembling fingers still moved like lightning as she typed in the URL to her website. Her legs bounced impatiently as she waited for her homepage to load.

  Amanda held her breath once it appeared onscreen, her eyes darting about crazily as they tried to read the words as quickly as possible.

  Ahhhsdflksdjfsl! Disclaimer: I kind of made a fool of myself last night but I’m entirely too embarrassed to think let alone write about it sooo… moving on to just the good stuff!

  I really never would have expected to have so much fun at the June Mag party yesterday. I was a little (lol, a lot) intimidated going into it. Mostly because in my observations thus far, the sidewalks here often look like an effing runway at Fashion Week so I had suspicions that a June Magazine party might look like the Oscars or something. I don’t know.

  Anyway, since the looking-much-less-glam-than-everyone-else ship had already sailed going into this thing, I just had simple hopes of not tripping/falling or speaking in that weird, high register that happens to my voice when I’m crazy nervous. The second part did end up happening, but honestly, it was the less important of the two goals and I ended up meeting a lot of cool people who didn’t mind the falsetto, so I can kind of live with that. Though if/when that footage comes out (yep, I was lucky enough to be filmed while acting like a freakshow), I’ll have to brace myself for Liam making fun of me to no end because I think that’s his new favorite hobby. The little turd. But it’s okay, I’ll give him a pass because of the very pretty gift he bought me for no reason yesterday that helped me feel less grotesque and fashion-challenged going into the party. I’d say that it’s a style victory anytime you stand next to Casey Mulreed for most of the night and avoid being called a frumpy yeti in comparison!

  So, yeah. That concludes my first 72 hours in New York! I have to say I think I kind of adore it here.

  “Holy shit,” Amanda exhaled, one hand clasped to her heart and the other glued to her forehead. A wave of relief washed over her as she took a seat at the desk. It’s okay. It’s okay! I didn’t blow our cover. For having been rather tipsy, the entry actually summed up her feelings pretty well without revealing any important secrets. She could live with the fact that she’d revealed her insecurity. It had probably been assumed anyway. Only after that realization did she remember to retrieve her phone and talk to Ian again. “I’m here! Sorry,” she said breathlessly. “I just panicked because – ”

  “You did an Ian Marsh and blacked out after drinking?” he asked with a laugh. “Don’t worry. Just calm yourself and read the comments and the tweets and everything going on right now. I mean, there are obviously some dumbass comments here and there, but mostly everything is good. Everyone thinks you’re funny and cute.”

  Amanda grasped her forehead and laughed to herself in utter disbelief. “Okay,” she said, in a daze as she returned to her laptop. She scrolled and clicked around to see that there were almost two hundred comments on her blog entry and her subscribers were now well into the thousands. She checked her Twitter as well. Though she had only one tweet – a photo put up by Ian – her followers had gone from a thousand to nearly ten. She refreshed once more. All sets of numbers increased again. “Holy shit,” Amanda murmured.

  “‘Holy shit’ is right,” Ian said. “Are you reading the comments?”

  “I am now,” she breathed, her hand covering her mouth as she scanned through the words, which were by a large majority rather kind.

  “You looked fab last night and you are totally adorable! Please keep writing!”

  “I have that same exact dress in lavender!! Definitely wearing it out tonight!”

  “Wow,” Amanda breathed. Overwhelmed, she decided to do one last check before taking a breather to process it all. She Googled herself. “You’ve got to be kidding me,” she murmured, eyes widening at the staggering results.

  At the top of the page was a news section with headlines like “Girl Who Tamed the Beast” and “5 Facts To Know About Liam Brody’s New Girlfriend.” There were various articles on The Huffington Post that had been written about her – about the unlikely girl to break Liam’s chain of supermodels and what it said about American standards of beauty. She was sparking social analysis for goodness sake. It had become officially surreal.

  “So… I’m guessing you weren’t expecting this reaction when you drunkenly wrote a blog entry last night,” Ian said.

  Amanda let out a huge breath in the form of a laugh. “Of course not!” She pushed away from her desk to forcibly separate herself from her laptop. “I just wrote it because your phone kept going to voicemail and I needed someone to talk to!” she sputtered.<
br />
  “I’m sorry, I was out. And my hangover’s a beast right now.”

  “It’s okay. Tell me about your night, I need a distraction. Where did you go?”

  “Uh, places in the LES but I don’t really remember. I blacked out and then passed out on the floor of my living room,” he said, sounding actually sheepish. “Wasn’t quite as classy as you were last night. I mean, Casey Mulreed, huh?”

  “Oh my God, yes. I need to tell you about that.”

  To give him the full details of the night, Amanda invited Ian over to have lunch. He looked decently hung over upon arrival and she suspected that his striped long-sleeved henley and wrinkled jeans had been the outfit he’d passed out in. As usual, he managed to bring a chic element to the disheveled look, but she could tell that he truly felt like crap. Though through his hangover, he was still able to express his usual robust joy at the various points of her story.

  It wasn’t until after their room service arrived that Amanda remembered to call Liam back – though only because she heard his footsteps in the hallway, so of course, there was really no point in calling him when he was about to barge into her room yet again. Only Ian jumped when Liam pushed through the front door in his pea coat and shades.

  “Sorry, he does that,” Amanda said, unfazed as she rolled her eyes. Ian quickly gathered himself in Liam’s presence.

  “Did you see the blog entry, Liam?” he asked brightly. Liam barely looked at him as he took off his sunglasses and turned to Amanda.