by Raziel Reid
realvalerialeon
3.3m followers
constant.kermit I post the same picture of Kermit the frog. Every damn day.
Valeria has no choice but to board the RV for the drive back to L.A. Her car is missing. And so is Greta. She must’ve woken up in the middle of the night and slipped away without anyone noticing. Bea took two Ambien and didn’t hear her leave. Everyone’s worried, especially Valeria. She doesn’t tell anyone how much she’s freaking out—her mom stopped paying insurance on the BMW months ago; if Greta totals it like she totaled Idris’s Lambo, Valeria can’t just go out and buy a Rolls-Royce as a replacement. Valeria had been planning on selling the car. Before the Panthère de Cartier earrings, it was the one thing she wouldn’t let her mother touch. She kept holding on to the belief that she would need it to take her to auditions.
On the ride home Valeria sits next to Lily and goes over her script for Almost Everything. She’s going to wear the Cartier earrings to her audition this week for a good-luck charm. Valeria gets her old confidence back when she’s wearing the earrings. She remembers she’s a star.
Lily is staring out the window. Joel and Hailey are across from them. Joel went quiet when he learned Greta was missing. Hailey has been trying to comfort him but keeps going off on tangents about the Dress for Success show at the Beverly Hilton.
“What’s the script for?” Sean asks Valeria when he sees her practicing her lines. He’s sitting with Idris and Fortune at the table playing cards.
“A sitcom. The audition’s Friday.”
“That’s the night of the fashion show!” Hailey says.
“Don’t worry; I’ll be there,” Valeria promises.
“Good.” Hailey’s eyes land on Lily. “It’ll be a night to remember.”
“Runway models and drag races,” Brandon yells back at them from the driver’s seat. “End of summer’s gonna be lit as fuck.”
A ping comes into Valeria’s phone. It’s a message from her mom. Patrick wants to see her at the Montage tonight.
“It’s the worst drug out there,” Valeria hears Hailey telling Joel. Hailey holds up her phone. “This is what Greta is really addicted to. The more time you spend reading the comments the more you start to feel like there’s only one mind, like everyone thinks the same and there’s this single idea of who you are.” Valeria knows Hailey’s sudden philosophizing is as fake as her tan. She’s just trying to impress Joel.
“Then why do we keep coming back for more?” Joel asks.
“People say that you can manipulate your image on social media but really you can only feed your image,” Hailey says. “At least once it’s been established, once people think they have you figured out. You’re trapped by their idea of who you are, and if you’re not careful…you become it.”
lillianrhode
53k followers
uguguyfdesxunx Hailey’s so much prettier than u
uguguyfdesxunx Hide ur face pls
marsprobe52337 @uguguyfdesxunx - what a loser you are. Stay off Lily’s page. Advice: get a life.
marsprobe52337 @uguguyfdesxunx - I see you just created this account probably b/c you got bounced off another one. Get ready to bounce again. The pro-Lily groups are all reporting you.
The week they get back to L.A. from the camping trip, Joel texts Lily that he wants to hang out but she tells him that she’s busy, which isn’t a total lie. She has a couple lifeguarding shifts, and Platinum Triangle production is keeping her occupied with a filming schedule to shoot final footage to be edited into the end of season 2. Filming will officially wrap tomorrow, after the Dress for Success fashion show.
Sam convinces Lily to film a scene in the pool house where she calls her mom in Reno to talk about what it’s been like living with the Paleys and to share her concerns over her upcoming court case. Lily reluctantly agrees to the call. She doesn’t know what to say to Erin. Thanks for selling me for a handbag? Are you still with the same guy or have you updated your profile? But there’s a part of Lily that misses her mom. Especially while trying to navigate the minefield around Hailey. Maybe Lily’s mom can relate and tell her something about her relationship with Whitney that will help Lily understand Hailey better. Despite it all, Lily still wishes they could be friends. Lily’s followers keep pitting them against each other, and it’s just worsened since the extended trailer was released.
Lily takes a deep breath before she calls her mom on camera. She puts her phone on speaker and lets it ring. When no one answers, Lily wishes she could hide her face from the camera filming her. Sam speaks up from the corner of the room, which she almost never does when they’re rolling.
“Try again,” she says.
So Lily makes another call. It rings again.
“At least it’s not going straight to voicemail.” Lily shrugs, trying to make light of this situation. When the voicemail does pick up, Sam motions for Lily to leave a message, but Lily hangs up. She isn’t going to let the first time she talks to her mom in weeks be through a voice message.
Lily regrets filming the scene and wants to ask Sam to not use the footage. But she knows it’s out of her control. It says so in the fine print of the contract that Lily’s mom signed. Platinum Triangle and MKTV literally have a clause that says they are allowed to humiliate her on television and there’s nothing she can do about it.
Later, Lily shoots another scene. She and Whitney take a conference call with the Paleys’ lawyer. At least Shapiro answers. But he’s frustrated. Chris is sticking to his story. Apparently he’s hoping to do a sit-down TV interview but no one will touch it because he’s asking for so much money.
“The good news is, we got a court date,” Shapiro says. Lily’s surprised by how soon it is. Two weeks away.
“Just before the premiere,” Whitney says. “Won’t it be such a relief to put this behind you once and for all, and in time for photos?”
“I pulled a favor to get us in before the school year,” Shapiro says. “I don’t want this hanging over your head, Lily. It won’t be easy with Chris Taber refusing to co-operate, and the court might make an example of you because of the high-profile nature of the case, but I’m still confident that you’ll get off with community service.”
School. Lily’s been so caught up in adjusting to life in Beverly Hills that she hasn’t really considered where she’s going to school in the fall. Ever since Joel brought up New Beverly High on the beach, it’s been in the back of Lily’s mind.
“We have time to go shopping for the perfect dress,” Whitney says. “You should wear white. White on a pretty blond girl really says it’s the illegal immigrants you should be worrying about.”
Lily cringes. It’s one of those moments caught on camera that Whitney will never be able to live down. It’s almost like she can’t help herself, but Lily knows the truth. Whitney doesn’t want to help herself. The whole point is to shock and offend.
After the scene, Lily is alone in the pool house. She knows she’s not supposed to contact Chris but she’s determined to get him to confess and help her get out of this mess. Lily unblocks Chris’s number and calls him. He answers on the first ring and doesn’t sound at all surprised to hear from her.
“I wondered when you’d come running back to me.”
“Get over yourself,” Lily says. “I only went out with you because I was desperate and you had wheels. You said you were taking me to a party in Malibu.”
“Technically, I said I knew of a place to party in Malibu.”
“I am not doing this with you!” Lily snaps. They were bickering even as the police put them in handcuffs on the PCH. Lily takes a deep breath through her nose. “I’m just calling because I want you to do the right thing, Chris. Tell the police the truth! That I was just along for the ride and I had no idea what was about to happen!”
“Are you sure that’s the truth?” Chris asks.
Lily remembers Chris calling the Lalanne her ticket out of the Valley. He was right.
“Hey, if that�
��s the story, then I’m happy to go along with it,” Chris says. “I’ll play the bad guy. Anything you say.”
Lily waits for it.
“There’s just one thing.”
She closes her eyes and tries to stay calm. “And what might that be, Chris?”
“I want you to do an interview with me on Access Hollywood. They’re offering me double if I can get Patrick Paley’s niece to sit down with me!”
This was a mistake. Lily thought she could reason with Chris but he won’t be satisfied until he’s milked this for everything it’s worth.
“You know what?” Lily says. “You are not worth my time.”
She hangs up and is still staring down at her phone in a rage when a DM comes into her phone from Idris. He reminds her that they’re supposed to start their cursive lessons today and asks if he can come over now. Lily forgot. She got caught up in the shooting schedule and then Chris…. Lily blocks Chris’s number again.
After Lily caught Joel and Hailey holding each other at the campground, Lily sent Idris a DM and told him she would help him learn how to write after all. It was a knee-jerk reaction. Lily wants to make Joel feel as jealous as she does.
Lily replies to Idris, telling him to come over whenever, and heads to the main house to ask Ana for some snacks to help them practice. Patrick’s sitting out by the pool with his Avengers script.
“Hey, Lily.” He smiles at her from behind his dark-lens Ray-Bans. “I haven’t seen you since you’ve been back. These hours on set are killing me. How was the camping trip?”
“Whirlwind,” Lily says.
“You have some time to help me run lines?” Patrick asks. “Hailey usually helps but she’s at a production meeting for her fashion show.”
“A friend’s stopping by, but I have a minute.” Lily accepts the script Patrick passes her and sits on the chaise across from him, scanning the page.
“Kang and Enchantress?” She gasps. She’s not a huge Avengers fan but she’s seen on gossip blogs that Enchantress is being played by Margot Robbie. “That’s an unlikely duo!” Lily laughs.
“It’s not exactly as it seems,” Patrick says.
“Is it ever?” Lily’s eyes flicker up from the page.
They run lines. Kang’s monologue goes on for most of the scene. Lily prompts him with Enchantress’s one-liners. She’s no Margot Robbie but this is fun. Enchantress has Kang under some kind of love spell.
Patrick finishes his last line in the monologue and Lily stares at the page. The action line calls for Kang and Enchantress to kiss.
Lily can feel Patrick staring at her and she looks up from the script. Patrick raises his arm and tucks a strand of hair behind Lily’s ear. The sun beating down on them is so hot that Lily’s mouth has gone dry and she feels a bead of sweat dripping down her back. For a second Lily thinks Patrick is actually going to lean in and kiss her. But then he retracts his arm. The script almost slides off Lily’s lap. Patrick catches it, his hand grazing her bare legs in a way that makes Lily jump up from the chaise and smooth out the creases in her skirt.
“You read well,” Patrick says, leaning back in his chaise and adjusting his sunglasses. “Have you ever thought of acting?”
Before Lily has a chance to answer, they’re interrupted by Idris coming around the side of the house.
“I was in the neighborhood,” Idris says, “so I thought I’d come right over.” He looks from Lily to Patrick. Lily’s staring at the tile around the pool. When she looks up, she sees Patrick flash Idris an easy, charming smile.
“Good to see you, Idris,” Patrick says, diving back into his script.
Lily motions for Idris to follow her into the pool house.
“Thanks for agreeing to help me with this,” Idris says as they enter. He sits on the couch. “I really want to do right by Greta.”
“Have you heard anything?” Lily asks. She takes a seat next to him.
After the camping trip, Greta was MIA for a few days. Valeria reported her car as stolen and some headlines popped up. Then Lily saw on Instagram that Greta was back home. Without the car. People are saying Greta’s strung out. Lily doesn’t know what to believe, but the comments make it sound like she was on a nonstop bender.
“She’s ghosting me,” Idris says. “But I’m going to win her back. With your help.”
“Well, I’m glad to help you learn how to write cursive. If you depend on technology for everything, then what separates you from a robot? Writing by hand is a part of your humanity.” Lily looks out the window at Patrick by the pool. “You don’t want to lose that.”
thejoelstrom
1.8m followers
allalone311 PROMO FAKE LOVE
Joel still hasn’t explained to Lily why he didn’t meet her at midnight during the camping trip like he promised. How does he explain what Greta was like that night? Joel’s scared of Greta when she’s manic. He was in shock and praying the entire RV ride back to the city that Greta would already be home by the time they got there, but she wasn’t. She didn’t come home for a couple of days. It’s not the first time she’s disappeared. Joel’s biggest fear is that one time she won’t come back.
Once Greta was home and Joel stopped feeling so anxious he reached out to Lily but she’s been avoiding him. Joel couldn’t believe it when he saw on Instagram that Idris posted a Story of him and Lily together. Joel didn’t see that one coming.
On Friday, he sends Lily a DM asking if he can pick her up and bring her to the Beverly Hilton for the fashion show. He tells her they need to talk.
Lily’s waiting for him in the Paleys’ driveway when he gets to Trousdale. Near the same spot where he first met her staring up at the house. The sun is starting to set and it glows around Lily’s blond hair as his Targa pulls up.
Joel can see himself reflected in Lily’s polarized sunglasses when she gets into the car and looks over. “I missed you,” he says, pulling out of the driveway. On the way to the hotel, Joel tells Lily what happened the night he didn’t show up to meet her. He turns to face her at a stoplight and gets honked at by the car behind them when it turns green and he doesn’t move fast enough.
“It’s a messed-up time for my family,” Joel says as they drive. “I don’t know if you want to be with me right now.” He glances over at Lily. The breeze is making her hair blow around her face. “I don’t know if I can be with anyone. It’s just going to get worse once the season starts. I wouldn’t blame you if you didn’t want to be around that.”
“I’m not afraid of your life,” Lily says. “And you don’t have to face it alone.”
At the next stoplight Joel leans over and kisses her.
“I thought maybe you were moving on with Idris,” he says when they pull apart.
“Idris?” Lily asks.
“I saw his Story. I didn’t know you guys hung out.”
Lily sinks back in her seat. “I guess I owe you an explanation,” she says as the light turns green. “I’m teaching Idris how to write cursive.”
Joel laughs. “That troglodyte can’t learn new tricks.”
“You should probably know why he wants to learn how to write,” Lily continues. “He wants to write a love letter. To Greta. Apologizing for #selfiestickgate.”
“And you’re helping him?” Joel asks. “After what he did to Greta? After what he did to you?”
“I know.” Lily sighs, staring out at the street. “I guess I’m just a hopeless romantic.”
She looks back at him. “I’ll stop if it bothers you.”
“No.” Joel smiles at her. “I like that you have a big heart. I like that you think redemption is possible. Even for someone like Idris.”
“What about someone like Hailey?”
Joel looks over at Lily blankly.
“I saw you and Hailey hugging at the campsite,” Lily blurts out. “When I got back after I’d been waiting for you. I saw you two hugging.”
“I told you, she helped me with Greta. Hailey was almost her old self again. I ga
ve her a hug to thank her for being there for my sister.”
“And the hammock?”
“Hammock?”
“In the extended trailer.”
“I haven’t seen the extended trailer.” Joel tightens his grip on the steering wheel. He doesn’t want to talk about the show. He doesn’t want to be held to whatever images of him are out there in the world. He doesn’t want to be reminded that he has no control.
“During the Bahamas trip,” Lily says. “You and Hailey looked…close.”
Joel pulls up to the Beverly Hilton and stays idling in front of the entrance. “It was just a stupid hammock, Lily. It was before I met you. We were drinking all day and had gone out on a boat, in the sun…”
“And the kiss at the milli party? I don’t want to be played, Joel. Or pitted against my cousin. I’m not into games.”
Lily steps out of the Targa. Joel’s right after her, tossing his keys to the valet. He follows Lily into the Beverly Hilton.
“She kissed me,” Joel says as he chases after her through the lobby. “She did it on purpose to get it on camera.”
Lily spins around to face him.
“I just don’t know what’s real and what isn’t anymore. I’m scared this isn’t real. That it’s just some storyline. And I don’t know who’s writing it!”
“But I’m telling you, this isn’t scripted,” Joel says. “No one’s writing anything.”
“Are you sure?” Lily asks. “Sometimes I think I’m the one writing it. Seeing you and Hailey kiss in the trailer reminded me of what it’s like being a viewer of the show. I knew Hailey wanted you. But it didn’t stop me from giving myself a starring part in your life.”
