Romancing the Fangirl

by Ginny Sterling

  * * *

  “I am glad you called, too. It was very nice meeting you and being able to talk.” Katherine wasn’t sure if she was ready to end the conversation or not, but accepted the “out” he was giving for them both. “I am off tomorrow,” she volunteered. “I go back on Monday and will be tied up for a while. So if you don’t get an answer, give me time. I may be in surgery or on rounds.” Katherine could practically see and hear his smile on the other end of the phone as she heard his gentle “of course” come through the earpiece.

  Saying goodnight seemed like the strangest but most natural thing she had done in quite some time. She wanted to talk with him even more, but she was glad it was a bit short. More of an introductory call she thought, almost with a laugh. Was he testing the waters and checking to see if Leslie was there or texting? Hanging up the phone, she moved to brush her teeth and climb into bed. This time, instead of passing out cold from exhaustion, she lay there staring at the ceiling in the dark. A single chime from her phone illuminated the room and she saw it was Alexander.

  * * *

  A: Goodnight Princess – and thank you.

  * * *

  K: Goodnight – talk to you soon. Alex or Alexander?

  * * *

  A: Whichever you choose, I will answer.

  * * *

  K: Goodnight then, Alex.

  * * *

  Alexander sat up on his couch and surveyed the empty house. He was glad he had asked for her number and was more than thrilled she had responded to the first text. He was lonely and she was breathtaking. He wanted a friend as well as, possibly, a relationship. His princess had been so lovely, inside and out, so far and he just wanted to know more about her. What did she do for fun? Her likes? Her dislikes? Was she as happy about their communication as he was or was he hoping for too much, too soon? Pulling the chain on the lamp next to him, he sat alone in the silence, staring at the warm colors of the sky as the sun set. The time difference would make for a bit of a challenge, but it was definitely worth it to make his princess smile.

  9

  Katherine rolled over and groaned in response to the light streaming through the curtains of her room. She had stayed awake for quite some time last night, thinking and rehashing their phone call over and over in her head. She replayed their meeting at the convention in her mind and she let her imagination go wild for a bit, wanting to call him back but not wanting to appear desperate. They each had a mutual need, but she wasn’t sure it was the same for him as it was for her.

  Checking her phone, she saw she had several texts from Leslie that she must not have heard in her sleep as well as three missed phone calls. Opening the text, Katherine’s jaw dropped in shock. Her photo was plastered on the front of the Tribune’s entertainment page. The caption read simply: “An UnCONventional love blooms in the heart of Chi-town as America’s favorite vampire, Alexander Weber, makes the women of Chicago swoon, including our very own surgeon, Doctor Katherine Drake.”

  * * *

  Oh. My. Gosh. Omigosh! Omigosh! Omigosh! Katherine repeated over and over again as she stared at the tiny photo texted to her from Leslie. She pinched the screen repeatedly trying to read further but the text was too tiny on her iPhone. Texting Leslie quickly, her phone rang right away. Katherine hit ignore, not recognizing the number and moved on to check her missed calls. One was Leslie, but the other two she did not recognize the numbers. Her phone rang again and, this time, she answered, thinking it may be Alexander calling from a different number.

  * * *

  “Ms. Drake? How did you meet Alexander Weber? Did you know each other from before and is that why he treated you so differ-click!” Katherine hung up and hit ignore when the number called back. Leslie took that moment to call in and Katherine answered it gratefully. “Where did you see that at? Was this online or at the newsstand?” she questioned quickly.

  Katherine had to calm her friend down quickly so she could decipher what exactly she was saying. Apparently, Katherine and Alexander’s photo was on television last night according to Leslie, as well as in the papers. Thanking her for the call and the heads-up, Katherine promptly hung up and texted Alexander.

  * * *

  Good morning-apparently our photo is in the news here.

  * * *

  She wasn’t sure what else to say and was hoping he would have some answers or solutions for her. Googling her name, she found several articles of herself that popped up and not one of them were related to her profession. All the links were of the “newest Hollywood sweetheart”. A few listed her place of employment. This drew a large groan from Katherine as she could just imagine the discussion that would be awaiting her when she returned to work in the morning. She would be asking for a scalpel and the surgical team would be asking for details.

  Dammit!

  * * *

  Not ready to deal with any of this and wanting to avoid analyzing the situation any more, Katherine did what she did best: She went into work to hide away from the world. Pulling her hair up, she threw on regular clothes instead of scrub pants and a T-shirt. A large bucket hat and sunglasses completed the attempt to hide and it seemed to work.

  She left the condo in peace. The subway ride in was undisturbed as well. Her phone rang several more times from numbers she did not recognize, each one she put to voicemail and finally put her phone on do not disturb. Alex had not texted back yet and she realized it was only five in the morning in California. Darting into the hallways of the hospital, her normal routine was broken by several employees moving around the desk suddenly at her appearance in order to follow her into the locker rooms.

  * * *

  “Wait!” Katherine turned on them quickly and put her hand up. The group of nurses and one brave orderly that stood by looked surprised at the command. “Stop. I am not going to talk about it or answer questions. I am here to cover a shift if someone else wants to go home. Or I am just going to pull an extra one. Period. I don’t want to discuss my private life or that photo at all. Spread the word. I am here to work. That’s it,” she said in her most authoritative voice.

  There would be no elaboration whatsoever. She firmly shut the employee locker room door in their stunned, questioning faces and locked it for a moment of peace. Changing quickly before security was called to unlock the door for anyone else looking to change, she took a deep breath and opened the door once again. This time, instead of seeing everyone crowded around, she came face to face with the director of the hospital. His shuttered expression matched the crispness of the cold hallways she had always walked in.

  “May we talk?” he intoned quietly and gestured for her to follow him. Katherine did so quickly until they were behind closed doors. She listened intently as he informed her of the risk of patient privacy being jeopardized as well as her own. If she discussed anything with a patient, it could be potentially leaked to the media.

  Katherine carefully explained the situation and what had happened. But she avoided any details in case he was just as curious as the rest were. She had only met the director once and that was upon interviewing. She watched as he listened carefully to her and nodded in understanding. Katherine breathed a sigh of relief at his next statement: “The hospital will take no stance in regard to what you do on your personal time and it will not affect your performance here, so long as patient confidentiality is maintained as per hospital standards.” But he did continue and warned her that if the media began to jeopardize her performance or if the media became a hazard to the public, it would be in the hospital’s best interest to have her take a leave of absence until this all died down.

  Nodding in relief, she explained she understood. They would take care of their own until they could not do so. The hospital would not allow HIPAA to be broken, nor would it tolerate a security issue. If this all got crazy, she could be put on leave or lose her job. She needed to talk to Alex. She had to do something. There was no way that she could not lose her position because it would be near impossible to get on at
another hospital. As she excused herself, she stepped out and headed straight for the bathroom to hide… to text Alex.

  * * *

  Working today, but I need to talk, text later… please

  * * *

  It was crazy of her to reach out to him. Alex, who she felt put her in this situation, could also get her out of it or help her through it. She had never dealt with the media before and she figured he could offer some advice. Mostly, she wanted to know if the press was going after him like they were going after her now. And she wanted an understanding as how best to handle it.

  She wanted comfort. While being overwhelmed at work usually provided some sort of “break” in her day, today, it provided none. Today, work was like a tiny dog yipping at your ankles. Questions, looks, responses or even blatant snubs from other females felt intrusive. They wanted to know what was going on, even if it was nothing. Some boldly asked, to which she brushed them off and changed the subject. Some looks were hateful with sheer jealously. Katherine wanted to hide from the questions and get away from it all. She was tired, she was antsy and she was leery of losing her position simply due to the attention.

  * * *

  With all of this going on, she soldiered through the night, ignoring the vibrating phone in her pocket. I don’t dare pull it out to check to see if it’s him, she thought. She planned on going home and asking for advice in the solitude of her quiet condo. Surely they wouldn’t follow her home, too? They had found her place of work. What if the media was camped out in front of her refuge as well?

  * * *

  Not wanting to take that chance, she offered to cover a second shift because she was not ready to face the world. Katherine almost had a moment of panic when it was denied. There were reports of false illnesses coming in through the emergency room and asking specifically for their personal doctor, Dr. Katherine Drake. Those people were promptly investigated by security or the hospital simply called the police. Katherine was a surgeon; she did not do consults.

  * * *

  In speaking with the shift manager, it was suggested a bit more bluntly that she take some time off to get things settled. Katherine nodded and put in for her vacation time, using it all at once. She had over four weeks of paid vacation time accrued. Surely, that should give things some time to settle down. Now, what would she do for the next four weeks?

  * * *

  Katherine had Leslie come by and pick her up from the side door of the hospital. She refused to walk out the front door and could not wait in the emergency room area due to the press being there with all their pretend ailments. She was concerned to take the “L” train like normal simply because she didn’t know who would be watching her. Would they be there taking photos of her? Would they be waiting to corner her for an interview? Apparently, Alexander Weber’s love life, or lack thereof, was a hot subject. And that made her the most appetizing thing on the planet at this moment.

  * * *

  Thankfully, Leslie said not a word other than to tell her, “I’m here if you need to talk.” Then Leslie patted her on the leg amicably. She didn’t want to talk nor did she want to drag her friend into the middle of the pretend fairytale. There was simply nothing to discuss. They had texted back and forth once, which led to a phone call (a single call!) and there was that one damning photo. The media was having a field day with it and she was the blue ribbon winner.

  * * *

  The two circled the building due to the influx of cars parked up and down the street. Cars neither one of them had seen before. They both assumed it was media since each car was occupied but not running. Sighing, Katherine knew they would end up running the gauntlet to the stairs unless they could find a better way to get inside. Finally, Leslie pulled around the alleyway to the back security door and made a phone call. Leslie’s neighbor opened the door from the inside, allowing Katherine to slip inside unnoticed. This worked once, it might work twice…but she was pushing her luck and there were only so many ways to enter her building.

  * * *

  Running up the flights of stairs, Katherine was relieved to not see anyone near her door. She flew inside, throwing the deadbolt behind her. Walking over to the windows, she closed the blinds from anyone outside peering in from across the way or preventing them from having a reason to use the fire escape outside. She was effectively trapped in her home for the time being until this all settled down.

  10

  Alex awoke early that morning and went about his routine. He had seen two texts had come through but was pressed for time. He had a meeting with his agent. In addition, he was shooting a few quick shorts for commercials spots as well as media for the season’s trailer. His hectic schedule would be starting up again in just over a month, which meant he needed to work out some of the issues he had with his contract.

  He wasn’t sure if he wanted to get another photo op out of the way or if he wanted to simply do a press junket to talk about the upcoming season. His agent suggested an appearance on a late night television show. However, those could be quite unpredictable. Singing was not his forte. Neither was dancing he thought wryly, picturing the last stunt he had to do with a host. It had made the YouTube circuits for quite some time and even a few memes had made it to Facebook and Twitter.

  He was simply a “media darling” as his agent put it and he needed to “ride the wave as long as he could…or find the next big wave”, as he put it bluntly. His agent, Tom, was an ass, but had not led him astray yet. Everything he had promised had been put into motion. His agent was the ideal puppet master and would make a scary chess opponent. Methodical, diabolical and patient, he knew every move and the result it would bring in the Hollywood scene.

  * * *

  Alex finished his run on the treadmill in his basement. He preferred to run outside but found it was hard to avoid being stopped repeatedly for autographs. It wasn’t that he didn’t want to sign them. Simply put, he could not get his heart rate up fast enough or long enough for him to break a sweat to make the run worth doing. Instead, he ran on the treadmill (as much as he hated it) and watched television. As he finished his run, he groaned as he saw the story they were covering.

  The mysterious doctor that had “snagged him”. It showed photos of Katherine in scrubs leaving the hospital and getting into a small car. Hopping on the footpads, he turned off the treadmill and wiped his face with a towel as the television went on and on about the

  elusive doctor who had won America’s favorite vampire”. Groaning, he turned it off and checked his phone. Sure enough, Katherine had texted. He hadn’t checked it because he was limited on time today. But now, he would make the time. She was being harassed and Tom would just have to damn well fix it.

  * * *

  After having a long, drawn out discussion with Tom, Alex had laid some ground rules for him and the press would be handled sooner rather than later. Texting Katherine, he hoped she wasn’t too angry with the entire debacle. He knew how it was to suddenly be thrown into the limelight and didn’t wish that on anyone. He felt guilty that he had started this mess for her.

  * * *

  A: Hey there, just got your text. Are you free?

  * * *

  K: Yes, but not sure I want to talk right now

  * * *

  A: mad?

  * * *

  K: no

  * * *

  A: tell me

  * * *

  Katherine wanted to tell him everything. Like a dam ready to burst, she was near her limits and the walls were caving. She felt like being asked to take a vacation was practically banishment from what she loved. She was scared, bored, frustrated and mystified at how the media could do this to her simply based of a photo. Katherine was crushed and hurt.

  Her phone rang and she hit ignore. She wasn’t sure she wanted to talk to anyone anymore. Looking for advice earlier, she had wanted to reach out to him but seeing it got her nowhere fast and took hours to get any resolution was hurtful and frustrating. She had offered to cover another shif
t, but had been practically sent home early from the first one.

  Her phone rang yet again, this time it was not a phone call but a FaceTime request. Katherine declined the request and felt hot tears running down her cheeks. Dammit all! She felt trapped and alone in her apartment with no way out in sight. Her phone beeped once again alerting her there was a text message, hesitating for a second she looked down and smiled.

  * * *

  A: Am I so ugly that you won’t let me look at your lovely face?

  * * *

  Katherine threw back her head and wryly smiled for a moment, praying that if she stared at the ceiling and not his text that the tears would stop. Instead, the hot tears rolled back into her hairline. Her life, her hiding spot from her memories, had suddenly been taken away. Katherine sat there for a moment, she knew her nose was turning red and there was no way she was letting him look at her like this. He was gorgeous and she was turning into a slobbery, teary-eyed mess quickly.