Starring Me and You

by Ella Bradshaw

  “Miss Ginsburg isn’t seeing anyone today,” he said, before I could so much as say hello. I continued to smile at him though he didn’t reciprocate.

  “Oh, I understand but she asked for these captions. I’m Darcy, Darcy Scott. Elena knows me. I’m the intern, I’m currently on a very special project,” I said. I didn’t want to spell out the whole Nate situation. For all I knew not everyone was informed. It was kind of secret, after all.

  The guy seemed unimpressed.

  “I’m sorry, you’ll have to come back another day. Miss Ginsburg isn’t seeing anyone, like I said,” he said, then added, “Especially not interns, sweetheart.”

  “I see,” I said. I pulled the captions out of my handbag, “Then maybe you can make sure she gets these for me?”

  He gave me a withering look.

  “Please?” I said. He sighed.

  “Fine. Put them on my desk and I’ll get them to her if she’ll take them,” he said.

  “Thank you so much!” I said, though I wanted to slap him. My journey across town had been as pointless as Nate had insisted it would be.

  “Bye,” he snapped. He looked down at his smart phone and it was clear this conversation was over. I got into the elevator wondering how my day could get any worse. Then I got my answer. Tim was there, waiting for me.

  “Hi Darcy,” he said. Before I quite knew what was going on the doors had closed. I had to face the music.

  “Hi Tim,” I said, stepping away. I needed as much space between the two of us as possible, “How are you?”

  “I’m great. How are you, Darcy? I’ve seen you all over the place,” he said.

  “I’m sure you’ve had nothing to do with that,” I said, thinking of the selfies Nate and I had taken.When I pulled up the Buzz website on my new phone they were the first thing that came up. I wanted to yell at him for taking my phone and using the pictures but I didn’t want to ruin my career. Even if Nate didn’t feel like it was going anywhere. Burning bridges wasn’t something I could afford to do. Movie star babysitting jobs didn’t come around all that often. I couldn’t make a career of bad boy wrangling.

  The articles didn’t even use my name. They just described me as a ‘mystery blonde’. As in, Candid selfies of Nate McCoy and his new Mystery Blonde.

  “Hey, don’t be like that. It’s just business, sweetheart. You know how it is. Gotta keep food on the table, right?”

  The elevator door opened on a random floor and I made a beeline for the exit.My face was heating up. What if my parents saw the pictures? What would they say? It was so embarrassing! Tim grabbed my arm before I could get away.

  “Wait, wait Darcy I’m sorry! I was a jerk, ok? I get it. I should have asked you!” he said. I pulled myself away from him.

  “Leave me alone!” I said.

  “Please wait,” he followed me down an unfamiliar hallway, “Listen, I need to talk to you. Please!”

  “I don’t want to listen to you,” I said. The end of the hallway was a dead end. God damn it. I turned around. Tim had cornered me.

  “Please Darcy, just hear me out. I’ve been talking to Elena about you and it’s looking like there might be a paid position coming up. How does film editor sound?” he said. I gasped.

  “F…film editor?” I said, “Don’t you usually have to start as a columnist before you get to editor?”

  Tim smiled.

  “Usually, but you’re not the usual intern we have. You’re talented. You’ve got something. I see it and Elena kind of sees it,” he said, “I’ve been arguing your case but she’s not quite sure yet. But I can win her around. I know I can.”

  “Yeah well. Promises promises,” I said. Tim maintained eye contact.

  “I’m serious. We can do this, Darcy.”

  “Mama told me there’s no such thing as a free lunch,” I said, “What do you want?”

  Tim looked rather sheepish all of a sudden.

  “Hey, I’m not that kind of guy okay? I’ll do my best regardless, but I guess there is something you could do for me to show your appreciation,” he said, “I want dirt.”

  “Dirt?” I said. Tim nodded, though I was looking at him like he was nuts.

  “Dirt. On Nate. I took your phone ‘cos I thought there might be something good on it. The selfies were all right but honestly, most people weren’t interested. I was looking for nudes or sexts or something crazy. We know what Nate’s life, bu we want proof.”

  “Proof? Tim, I’m not going to narq on Nate. There’s nothing to tell,” I said, but I could feel my skin going red.

  Tim looked disappointed.

  “That’s a real shame, Darcy. A real shame. Because I really want to argue your case but it’ll be difficult without the motivation,” said Tim. I crossed my arms.

  “I want to get a position based on my talent. Not on dishing dirt that’s not my dirt to dish,” I said. Tim snorted.

  “How do you think this industry works honey? There’s tons of talented girls in the world. You gotta do what you can to get ahead,” he said. I shook my head at him.

  “Well there’s nothing to tell. Sorry to disappoint you,” I said.

  “I don’t get it. What’s your loyalty to this guy?” He said. He gave me a condescending smile, “You know he doesn’t love you, right? He doesn’t love anyone. Everyone knows Nate McCoy doesn’t love anyone. He just uses dumb girls who believe they can change him.”

  “I’ve had enough of this,” I said, pushing past him and heading for the elevator. This time he didn’t follow me. He stayed where he was and yelled after me.

  “You have my number if you change your mind. You would be a great editor!” he said. The elevator door closed before he could say anything else. It was just as time too, as I burst into tears.

  He was right, of course.

  Nate

  I hadn’t seen Courtney Reynolds since the wrap party of the movie. Well, I didn’t remember seeing her then. She’d pounced on me once I was inebriated enough not to say no right away. I’d managed to fight her off, just about, but not before the paps got what they wanted.

  That was all right. The photos in the next day’s gossip sites helped me to piece together a few things. Courtney and I had only shared a sloppy kiss. Sheila had nearly hit the roof but I told her to chill.

  “Relax babe,”I’d said, “The papers will eat this shit up. The leading man and the leading lady falling in love. It’s the kind of pseudo romantic bullshit that will put asses in movie theater seats. Trust me.”

  She had looked at me in disbelief but I could see that she was warming to the idea. After all, it made sense. If there was one thing I always did it was make sense. That was more than I could say for Darcy.

  There was a knock on my bedroom door the day after and Darcy and my non date. I’d gone back to bed after she’d gone to work, not wanting to face my feelings. Not wanting to face her again for fear of what I might do, what I might say.

  “Nate,” said Darcy, her voice stiff, “There’s someone here to see you.”

  “Cops?” I said, only have joking. I hadn’t done anything too bad as of late. Not that I could remember anyhow.

  “Just open the door please!” she sighed. I got a please. We were making progress. I got up from my bed and opened the door to see Darcy standing next to Courtney, my co star. It was odd seeing the two of them together like that. Darcy was so petite and beautiful, but in a real kind of way. The tiny freckles on her nose, her soft golden skin and the slight curves of her small frame were totally unique. If we were both still in high school I knew she would be the girl who didn’t fall in with cliques, stood up for the nerds and who every guy had at least a small crush on. Courtney looked startling next to her. She was beautiful too, of course. They don’t cast you in those kind of movies if you’re not. She was tall enough to look more elegant than the average girl but short enough that she wouldn’t overpower short co stars on camera. Her skin was painted like white marble and her fair hair was cut into a bob, a change from her
signature long tresses.

  “Nate!” she exclaimed. I went in for a handshake but she kissed me on both cheeks, European style. The chick was from Dallas but whatever. If that was what she was into now guess I could go along with it. “Oh my god honey you look so great. Have you been hitting the gym?”

  She gave my bicep a squeeze and fake swooned.

  “Holy shit, that’s some serious muscle.”

  I shrugged.

  “It’s okay I guess. Why are you here, Courtney?” I asked.

  “Nate! Always so to the point, my god. Aren’t you gonna offer me a coffee or something before you start grilling me?” she said, laughing.

  “All right. You want coffee?”

  Coffee would be great.

  Courtney sat down on the sofa. Darcy followed me to the coffee machine.

  “You don’t know how to use it, do you?” she said, though she wasn’t really asking. Wow, even in front of a friend she was still determined to embarrass me. It was an impressive dedication to a cause if I ever saw one.

  “Yes I do,” I said. I stared at all the buttons. Fuck, why were there so many god damn buttons? I’d gotten sent the machine as a gift from some sponsorship thing that fell through. I hadn’t bothered to use the thing but Darcy seemed to enjoy it.

  “You don’t know,” she smirked. That little smirk made me want to push her against the wall and teach her a lesson she would never forget. Courtney probably wouldn’t appreciate it, but I had never cared what Courtney thought.

  “Yes. I. Do.” I said.

  “Nate, sit down. I can do the coffee. Talk to your friend.” she said. A tiny bit of kindness showed through in those pretty eyes. Courtney chimed in before I could argue back.

  “Yeah Nate, come on! You haven’t seen me in forever! I’m sure Darcy doesn’t mind. Besides, we have so much catching up to do!” she sang as she dragged me into the living room. I gave in and sat in the armchair. It was only beginning to occur to me how irritated I was getting. Up until now my house had been a private retreat for me and for Darcy. I liked our alone time together though up until now it hadn’t involved nearly as much naked wrestling as I would have hoped. Courtney’s presence felt like an intrusion into our space. It was stupid, but I wanted her gone and she had only just arrived.

  “How are you?” I asked, because that was what people usually asked after they hadn’t seen each other in a long time. I normally wouldn’t give enough of a shit to ask someone who I wasn’t trying to screw, but this was different. I was going to show Darcy that I could be a gentleman. Well, maybe not a gentleman. But I could have manners.

  Courtney grinned at me.

  “Do you really want to know?”

  “Yes.” That was I lie. She could tell me that she had given birth to a corn on the cob and I wouldn’t have given two shits.

  Her eyes gleamed with delight. Was it honestly so strange to see me sober and polite.

  “Wow. Sorry, you just seem different. In a good way, of course. Darcy must be a good influence on you, huh?” she teased. She shouted over at Darcy, “No creamer in my coffee.”

  I could tell Darcy was gritting her teeth.

  “Darcy’s great. She was very…” a few words ran through my head. Stubborn. Voluptuous. Irritating. Beautiful? I could use any of them and not be lying. But Courtney didn’t need to hear that, “Helpful.”

  Courtney smiled her cold, dead smile. She’d been a model before she got into acting and was an expert at the dead eyed grin. Photographers ate that shit up and it looked great on camera. In person it was disingenuous. I couldn’t stand to be around her. The thought of messing around with her had crossed my mind in the past, seeing as she was pretty and so obviously wet for me. Then I got to know her during filming and decided it wasn’t worth it. Even so, the tabloids clung to the idea of us being a couple. Working together on the new movie only added fuel to the fire.

  “Darcy, if Nate ever gets tired of you I’ve been looking for a house keeper for my holiday homer in the South of France,” she said as Darcy entered with two steaming mugs. Darcy turned around and glared at her. She slammed her coffee down on the table before she spoke.

  “I’m not Nate’s housekeeper!” she said. Courtney would blush if she was human but as far as I knew she had her embarrassment surgically removed along with the bump that was once on her nose and the extra fat on her thighs.

  “Oh, I see,” Courtney looked at me, “Well Nate never mentioned a girlfriend.”

  “I don’t have a girlfriend.” I quickly said. Darcy left the room without a word. Courtney giggled.

  “Oh no, I got you put in the doghouse there! I’m sorry. I’m sure she’ll warm up to you again,” she smiled, “I should have known she was just a plaything. How long have you had her around?”

  “A while. She’s not a plaything either.” I said. I hated that word. It made Darcy sound like something flimsy and unimportant. Something that could be used and disposed of once I’d gotten my fun out of it. That wasn’t what she was to me.

  “Then what is she?”

  Courtney took a sip of her coffee but didn’t take her eyes off of me. I raked my brains for a word that was neither dismissive nor invoking of further annoying questions.

  “She’s a friend.” I said. It was the best I could come up with. Courtney laughed.

  “You don’t have friends, Nate. You have employees and co stars and conquests. I’ve never seen you with a friend.” she said.

  “Why are you here?” I snapped.

  “I’m here because we have a photo shoot and an interview and its in both of our best interests to get along. Or at least, appear to get along,” she said. Suddenly her face clouded, “You screwed me over, Nate. I cried over you more times than I can think of. I bet you didn’t even know, huh?”

  I couldn’t argue with that. I didn’t think about Courtney for a second once our quick little make out session was over. It was on wards and upwards for me. It hadn’t occurred to me that I may have hurt her.

  She tutted.

  “I’m not surprised. It’s my own fault for getting invested. We both know what you’re like,” she said. She stood up before I could argue, “This was a bad idea, wasn’t it? I’m so sorry for wasting your time. I’ll use your rest room and leave.”

  She stepped out of the room and I didn’t speak. There was no need to. She had said enough.

  Darcy

  I bumped into that plastic bitch in the hall. I’d always thought her so beautiful in all of her movies but in reality, Courtney looked rather alarming. Her hair was too blonde, her eyes were too blue and her tan was too golden. Her teeth were whiter than snow. Her skin didn’t have a single blemish and she was thin as a pin, but curvy on top. She was perfect, just like everyone in the movies was. It didn’t translate to real life like Nate did. Though he was ridiculously gorgeous there was something real and wild about him. Something that Hollywood could never gentrify.

  She gave me a cold smile.

  “It was so lovely to meet you, Darcy.” she said. I forced a smile. It was beyond me to be rude to someone, even if that someone was a disgusting cow.

  “Nice to meet you too,” I said.

  “Are you a fan?” she said.

  “I was.” I said, lightly. There went the idea of being polite. Whoops. Mama would be disappointed but what could I do. Courtney gave a laugh.

  “You’re hilarious. I can see why Nate likes you so much,” she said. Her smile wavered, “He used to laugh at my jokes.”

  “Huh?” I said. Her expression frightened to me. It was the most real thing I’d seen from her.

  “He used to think I was funny. He used to call me beautiful and when he kissed me it felt like he meant it.” she said. I folded my arms.

  “So you screwed him?” I said and she laughed again.

  “Screwed him? Honey, please. I never screwed him. He screwed me. Only, not in the way he usually does. But still, screwing girls over is what he does. It’s all he knows how to do,” she said.
I could see tears forming in her eyes, “He gets what he wants and he moves on. Doesn’t matter if you’re a movie star or a housekeeper. He doesn’t give a shit. He just wants what he wants, damn it.”

  I tried to move past her but she blocked my way.

  “Why should I care? I mean, I’m sorry he hurt you but that’s nothing to do with me.” I said. He’s not like that anymore. That’s what I wanted to say but of course I didn’t.

  That cold smile reappeared.

  “Because there’s something between you. I can see it.”

  “You’re wrong. There’s nothing between us.” I insisted but Courtney shook her head. She wasn’t believing any of my shit. I wasn’t a good liar.

  “Listen, you don’t have to admit it to me. I didn’t want to admit it at first either. That’s fair enough. I understand, but Darcy do yourself a favor and don’t get invested. Have some fun if you want. Nate’s supposedly a great lover, but that’s all he is. He’s not relationship material.” she said.

  “Maybe not for you.” I said. I clamped my hand over my mouth. I hadn’t meant to say that.

  She put a hand on my shoulder.

  “Honey, I felt like that too. He’ll do that. He’ll make you feel special. It’s not worth it. He’s not worth it,” She said. I pushed my way past her now but she couldn’t resist getting one last dig in, “He’ll break your heart.”

  Her words rang through my head for the rest of the afternoon. He’ll break your heart.

  Nate

  She wouldn’t talk to me. I didn’t know what Courtney had said or done or shown her, but whatever it was wasn’t good. All the warmth left Darcy’s face and she barely looked at me anymore. She escorted me to my interviews and responded to everything I said in monosyllables. It was Hell and she kept it up for over a week. It drove me crazy.