by Raziel Reid
It’s going to be fun thinking up a way to punish Joel. Now that she’s so close to finally getting what she wants from him, she’ll have to start moving her attention to the next chapter of their little storyline.
Season 3, baby!
Joel’s going to get what’s coming to him. He could’ve seriously hurt her brand by rejecting her. After they pose together on the red carpet tomorrow night, Hailey will have all the validation she needs and she’ll be able to kick Joel to the curb.
As a part of his agreement to take Hailey to the premiere party, Joel insisted Fortune delete the video of him at the dogfight. Fortune sent it to Hailey first. She’s keeping it as collateral, and when the time is right, she’ll send it to Sam and they’ll plot the takedown of Joel Strom.
Hailey does a little twirl in her dress, looking down at her recent throwback post. The Likes are blowing up.
She opens a new DM.
princepaley YES QUEEN
princepaley Born to rule!!!
princepaley You are my life.
princepaley I’d go to the moon and back for you Queen!!
Aw. So cute. Hailey replies to @princepaley.
paleyhailey What if I asked you to go further?
She drops her phone on her bed and steps into her closet, trying to decide which Judith Leiber clutch she should hold on the red carpet, when there’s a knock on her bedroom door.
Lily pokes her head in.
“Can we talk?” she asks.
They haven’t been alone together since the blowup in the pool house. As far as Hailey is concerned, it’s all been said.
She’ll have the last word tomorrow night.
“You look beautiful,” Lily says. “Is that the dress you’re wearing to the premiere?”
Hailey’s smile is as cold as ice.
“Have you seen Joel since he’s been out of the hospital?” she asks, allowing Lily into her room. She knows Lily hasn’t seen him and just wants to rub it in. She’s disappointed when Lily doesn’t react, not so much as a blink. Her face remains that Beverly Hills blank. The girl’s learning.
“It’s such a miracle that he wasn’t seriously hurt,” Hailey goes on. “And Greta’s in rehab. Looks like the Strom twins are both going to bounce back. I’m sure you’re relieved.”
“Yes,” Lily says. “I would never have forgiven myself if it had been worse.”
Hailey eyes her suspiciously. Here we go. Lily’s back to the victim narrative.
“Can we sit?” Lily asks. She motions to Hailey’s bed. Hailey nods and they take a seat on the edge.
“I want to say I’m sorry,” Lily says. “Everything you said in the pool house was true. I haven’t wanted to admit it but I am jealous of you.”
Hailey fingers the appliqués on her dress. Yes? she’s thinking. And?
“Not just of your Beverly Hills lifestyle or your fame,” Lily continues, “but of your family. I look at your relationship with your mom and you’re so much alike and I wish I had that. And your dad…he’s such a good guy.”
Lily smiles at Hailey.
“He’s been so generous to me, and he obviously adores you. I’ve never had that, and I guess I just wanted a piece of the pretty picture for myself. And that’s why…” Lily takes a deep breath. “This isn’t easy for me to say. But that’s why I tried to steal Joel from you. Can you ever forgive me?” She legit has tears in her eyes.
“Oh, Lily.” Hailey takes her hand. “Wow. Of course I forgive you. I know how hard it must be for you to admit all that.”
“I didn’t even realize what I was doing,” Lily says. “But after the charges against me were dropped, it’s like I dropped all my illusions, too. I’ve literally been the worst cousin in the world and I understand if you just want, like, some space, but I really want to hit refresh with you. I’d love nothing more than to start over. Maybe one day we can even be friends.”
“That’s all I’ve ever wanted, Lily.” Hailey hugs her. “I hope you know that. Girls have to support other girls. We’re so much stronger together!”
“Agreed.” Lily smiles at Hailey as they pull apart. “Which is why I’m hoping you’ll go shopping with me tomorrow before the premiere and help me find a dress. I’m struggling to keep up with life in Beverly Hills in a lot of ways—obviously that includes shopping. And you have the best style!”
realvalerialeon
3.3m followers
realvalerialeon Last night I couldn’t sleep so I drove to East L.A. to visit my childhood home where I lived from birth to age ten (no one was home when I knocked lol). It’s been a long time since I’ve been back. Sometimes I wonder if it might’ve been better if we’d never left, but I’m grateful for every opportunity, every challenge…Even if I don’t know how to do it and I’m not sure if I even want it anymore
Valeria stares at the Did I Ever Tell You How Lucky You Are? poster on her wall. A film by Disney, adapted from the book by Dr. Seuss, starring Valeria Leon and Patrick Paley, in theaters everywhere Thanksgiving 2014.
It’s the morning of the Platinum Triangle premiere. In her hand is the latest issue of US Weekly. Lily, Joel, and Hailey are on the cover with the headline “PLATINUM LOVE TRIANGLE!” A photo of Lily takes up the bottom third of the cover—it’s of her lifeguarding, her blond ponytail blowing in the wind and the beach behind her. The middle section is of a shirtless Joel surfing and looking his most gorgeous. The top tier is a photo of Hailey sunbathing in a bikini. The bar code is covering her left eye. She’s the capstone on top of the Young Hollywood pyramid.
The article is all about the drama between “rival cousins” Lily and Hailey that’s been happening since Lily moved into the Paleys’ pool house and caught the eye of Hailey’s romantic interest, dream guy Joel Strom. The sub-headline is “TV’s Hottest Teens Duke It Out!” The inside sources are definitely the Platinum Triangle producers. They always do a big PR push before the season premiere. It’s crazy how much they know. Sometimes Valeria feels like they’re in her mind, like the powers that be know her better than she knows herself.
Valeria puts down the magazine and goes into her mother’s bathroom. She opens the medicine cabinet and stands back as she appraises the bottles of pills. She just wants to hold them. She just wants to know that she could.
She hears Leo crying in his room and goes to check on him. She’s babysitting Leo this morning while her mom takes Sophia to get headshots and then goes for a facial ahead of the premiere. At first Valeria thought her mom was joking. Gloria had always threatened Valeria with Sophia, but Valeria didn’t think she would actually go as far as pushing Sophia into the industry just to spite her. Maybe it isn’t spite, though. Maybe it’s necessity. Valeria hasn’t come up with a way to save her family from their impending doom, and the Leons are running out of options.
Valeria lifts Leo out of his crib and cradles him in her arms. He stops fussing and cuddles against her chest.
“Did I ever tell you…?” she whispers, smelling his head.
The US Weekly article mentions Valeria by announcing that Hailey is replacing her on Almost Everything.
Hailey Paley in her acting debut.
Valeria knows she used Patrick’s influence to steal the role out from under her feet. Valeria just doesn’t know why. Is it just because she was there when Valeria got the call and she knew how happy it made her? Or…Valeria walks with Leo back to her bedroom and pulls the Panthère de Cartier earrings out of her pillow case and holds them in the palm of her hand. Does Hailey know her secret?
The doorbell rings.
Valeria puts the earrings away and goes down to answer it, balancing Leo on her hip as she swings open the door.
“I’ve been expecting you,” she says when she sees Lily standing on the doorstep, weighed down by Neiman Marcus shopping bags.
“I just got away from Hailey. We went shopping for the red carpet tonight and got a bit carried away. I’ve been wanting to get over here all morning. Can I come in?”
Valeria
was hoping Lily would just forget it and pretend like she’d never seen her coming out of Patrick’s suite at the Montage. But Lily’s too good not to be shocked by bad things; she hasn’t been around them enough to know to keep quiet. Valeria’s ready for whatever explanation Lily demands of her.
“Come on.” Valeria leads Lily into the living room. “Do you want something to drink?”
“Please don’t do the whole I-don’t-feel-a-thing-therefore-I-can’t-be-fazed thing,” Lily says, dropping the shopping bags. “It’s so overplayed. I saw US Weekly. I know Hailey stole your part.”
Valeria puts Leo down so he can play with blocks on the floor. She and Lily sit on the couch.
“I’m not pretending. I’m fine. It doesn’t matter what Hailey tries to do to me…she can’t hurt me where I live.” Valeria shoots Lily a look. “Do you know who told me that?” she asks. “Elizabeth Taylor. Elizabeth fucking Taylor!” Valeria doesn’t admit that it’s something she only heard Elizabeth say in a video she watched under the covers late at night.
“I respect your strength so much, Valeria.” Lily glances over at Leo on the floor. “I know you’d do anything for your family.”
Valeria remains silent. It’s like when she would give interviews as a kid and the reporter would ask a question that intimidated Valeria, a question that was leading or trying to trap her—trying to get her to say something bitchy about another child star or give away something about her dad’s rumored gambling with the money she was making. Valeria would just freeze up. She wouldn’t say anything. She would just stare at the reporter, politely but firmly. She wouldn’t give anything away.
“Here’s what we’re going to do,” Lily says. “Patrick’s paying off your mortgage.”
Valeria blinks.
“What?”
“That was the deal I made with him. He pays off your mortgage and he never sees you again. I told him I would go to the police and the media if he didn’t. He said no one would believe me, and he seemed so sure of it I was scared he was right. So I figured I would need proof.”
“Proof?” Valeria asks.
“Something to hold against him and threaten him with, something to keep him in his place. So then Patrick was putting on his clothes in the bathroom and telling me how it was going to be: he was going to drive us both home and we were going to act like nothing had happened, raise absolutely no suspicions with Whitney or Hailey. And while he was talking, I went on his phone. The passcode is the day he won his Golden Globe; I overheard Hailey teasing him about it once. I had a feeling there would be some kind of evidence, something between you two that I could use. A text, anything. That’s when I found the photo you sent him.”
Valeria swallows.
“We can go to the police if that’s how you want to handle this,” Lily says. “I think you should, but I understand if you don’t want to. It’s your choice, Valeria. I’ll stand by you no matter what. I have the phone.”
“No police,” Valeria says, her mouth dry. It’s all she’ll ever be known for if the truth comes out. The girl who was raped by Patrick Paley. Valeria refuses to go down in history as a footnote in Patrick Paley’s Wiki. Even if the courts don’t name her because she’s underage, it’ll spread through the industry. Valeria knows how it works. Hollywood never forgets.
“Patrick’s going to pay off the house and help your family financially,” Lily says.
The house. Her true Hollywood house. Valeria can’t believe it.
“You don’t have to worry about the IRS anymore. And Sophia’s going to go to the most bougie private elementary school in Los Angeles. And whatever else you want. Patrick’s not getting away with what he’s done to you. From now on, we’re calling the shots.”
Lily smiles at Valeria proudly. “You’re looking at the new executive producer of Platinum Triangle!”
imseanjohnson
1.5m followers
ofri_platt Take out of your life the people who make you feel like there is something wrong with you, friends and even family because those people don’t know how special you are. And if you feel alone or that life can’t get better I promise to you that it will get better. I hope you will find your happiness because you deserve it
As the sun starts to set, Sean and Joel come out of the water with their surfboards tucked under their arms and sit on the beach. They’ve been at Zuma all day ignoring the inevitable—tonight’s premiere.
Sean lights a joint. An outline of a surfer cuts across the sun, which has just set far enough to hit the water, creating a smudge of light that ripples across the horizon.
They sit in silence, exhausted, and it’s exactly what they both wanted. They’re so drained they’ll just be on autopilot tonight at the premiere, just going through the motions. And since they’ve let all of their emotions wash away with the waves, it won’t be so bad. They’ll be as two-dimensional as the photos of them on the red carpet. But Sean hasn’t been able to cancel all of his emotions. He’s been in a trance state since the dogfight. He doesn’t think he can live through another one.
Sean passes Joel the joint.
“We could skip the red carpet,” he says.
“We could start a wildfire,” Joel says.
Sean catches Joel glancing over at the lifeguard tower, like he’s hoping to see Lily. Sean doesn’t know the details of what happened to make things implode between Joel and Lily but he knows it’s bad by the violent way Joel surfed today, treating his board like a weapon against the water. Joel hasn’t mentioned the US Weekly cover story but it’s hard to get away from that kind of coverage. Sean noticed paparazzi earlier, shooting them out on the water from the beach. If they thought season 1 of Platinum Triangle was intense, they might not yet know what’s in store for them. Sean has this intuitive feeling that things are going to change this season and their lives will never be the same.
“Why was Fortune at the fight?” Joel asks, taking a pull and passing the joint back to Sean. “He recorded me at the fight, bro.”
“What?” Sean looks at Joel through the smoke.
“He and Hailey are using it to blackmail me into going with Hailey to the premiere.”
Sean just lets the joint burn between his fingers. The sunset is killing him.
“There’s a part of me that doesn’t want to go through with it,” Joel says. “I’m so done with the games. If Hailey and Fortune want to try to ruin me and my family, they can go ahead and try; I won’t let them control my life. We can handle it. The Stroms always bounce back.” Joel looks over at Sean. “But I won’t do that to you, bro. I promised you that your secret is safe with me, and it is. If you want to protect your dad, I understand. I don’t think he deserves it, personally. But I respect your loyalty.”
Sean is dazed. His mind is like a GIF of a hot guy with smoke blowing in and out of his mouth over and over again and you can’t look away.
“There’s video?” he asks.
greta.strom
735k followers
greta.strom We have calcium in our bones, iron in our veins, carbon in our souls, and nitrogen in our brains. 93 percent stardust, with souls made of flames, we are all just stars that have people names. #NikitaGill
Greta spends the day of the premiere doing yoga on the beach, followed by a little equine therapy, and then role-playing during her psychotherapy session at Cliffside Malibu. It reminds her so much of being on the show—dramatizing scenes from the past and the future. Stick a camera on her and it’s Platinum Triangle.
It’s not 100 yet but Greta’s leaning toward leaving the show. She’s going to see once she finishes treatment, but there’s a part of her that already knows if she really wants to get healthy, then she can’t keep putting herself in unhealthy environments. The show is toxic. She’d be glad if it were over and she could have a normal life. It’s definitely better being rich than famous. It’s definitely better being a family.
She imagines her friends getting ready to hit the red carpet and feels sorry for them. All that pr
essure…Greta wants to flip the page. She sits on a chaise lounge out by the pool and watches the sunset, a copy of US Weekly on her lap. She opens it to the story about Hailey, Joel, and Lily.
It’s kind of nice being on the other side, being a follower. For the first time in a long time Greta can’t wait to see what happens next!
realvalerialeon
3.3m followers
sophialeon1919 my mama said i’m a good role model
“Valeria, can you help me practice my lines?”
Sophia comes into Valeria’s bedroom as she’s sitting in front of her vanity dressed in the ruffled Retrofête dress she’s wearing to the premiere. Sophia shows Valeria the script she’s holding.
Gloria moves fast. The headshots haven’t even been printed and she’s already got Sophia an audition. It’s for a show on Nickelodeon. Gloria and Sophia have been out all day. After getting Sophia’s headshots and facials, they stopped by Sheldon Bell’s office at CAA. He had just the right part for Sophia. He thinks she’s going to be “the next big thing.”
“Valeria?” Sophia blinks at her and smiles.
“Of course I will.” Valeria lowers her makeup brush. She takes the script from Sophia and they run through it.
Sophia reads well, but she’s rigid. Her performance has already been crafted. Valeria remembers all too well practicing with Gloria over and over again and taking her direction. Gloria had very strong ideas about Valeria’s scripts and thought her directors were all idiots. She’d make Valeria recite her lines as she instructed, adding gestures and inflections where she thought appropriate. “Like this,” she’d tell Valeria, making her repeat the line exactly as she had.
Valeria would go along with it during the endless rehearsals with her mom to keep her happy, but on her very first movie, her idiot director gave her some great advice. He told her to try memorizing all her lines by rote, without any emotion. Just simply learn the lines so well you know them better than the back of your hand. Because you won’t know what you’re feeling—and so how the lines should come out of you—until you’re in the scene and the emotions are real.
