HDU

by India Lee

  “He is not here, that is so wrong! Where?” the friend gasped. Amanda’s eyes followed the direction in which the sparkle girl pointed, the direction being right behind her. She removed Liam’s hand from her waist so she could turn around and look. Her eyes widened when she saw a skinny, sickly figure make a hobbling beeline towards her like a zombie. She recognized his boozy smell and grip on a beer bottle before his face. It was Ian.

  “How did you get here?” she hissed, getting up just as the guys burst into a round of laughter. They didn’t notice her leave, but Amanda was sure Liam would if he hadn’t already. She rushed over before he could pull her away.

  “That’s your first question?” Ian made a face. His suit was fitted and crisp on his body but everything else about him looked ghastly. Heavy bags dragged his eyes down on his colorless face. His teeth weren’t remotely white anymore. Amanda did her best not to look jolted by him. “I’m here with Desiree, okay? I’m not crashing.”

  “That wasn’t what I was – ”

  “No, it was. That’s what you were implying,” Ian said in an icy tone that matched his stare. Though after a second, he sighed and looked down at his feet, sticking his quivery hands in his pockets. His voice softened. “I can feel everyone staring. Can I talk to you in private?” He lowered his voice even more. “Please? It’s important and I shouldn’t have kept it from you, but she made me.”

  Amanda opened her mouth to say “yes” but was suddenly distracted as she looked around. Everyone was in fact staring. They looked the opposite of how they had a minute earlier, when they’d fondly watched her and Liam laugh with his co-stars. Now they were all appalled, afraid or angry.

  “What are you doing here?”

  Liam’s steely voice came from behind Amanda. She turned around to see him staring hard at Ian. Behind him, his castmates all stood watching. At this point, everyone was.

  “I’m not here for you, so mind your business and back off,” Ian retorted, though his volume was controlled and his eyes darted self-consciously around the quiet room. He was embarrassed, Amanda could tell.

  Liam sneered. He took Amanda’s hand and pulled her back so he could stand between them. “Just leave,” was all he said.

  “Like I have to listen to you. Fuck off, asshole,” Ian mumbled, shoving Liam as hard as he could in order to get past. It was for nothing – Liam quickly caught his arm and gripped tight so that he couldn’t move.

  “Guys…” Amanda started. Her heart had begun pounding, barely relaxing even as Ian’s shoulders slumped, seemingly too tired to fight.

  “Amanda, can you tell him to let go of me, please? I just need one minute to talk to you. Please?”

  The crowd tittered. He was begging for mercy in front of the entire industry, and they were enjoying every bit of it. He’d been arrogant and cocky in their town without earning the right to be. Now, he just looked weak and strung out and utterly pathetic. Maybe this is rock bottom, Amanda hoped as she watched Ian plead with his eyes, looking pitiful as Liam held him still with one hand. It was too hard to watch.

  “Let go of him, Liam,” she finally said.

  The crowd silenced. “What?” Liam turned to her.

  She was hurting his ego. She knew it. He was defending her, his friends and co-stars were watching, and all she could do was tell him to stop. “Just let him go,” Amanda repeated, barely able to look him in the eye. She could hear the amusement of the men in the crowd as they waited to see if he would yield to her. Liam looked up at the ceiling in disbelief, his smile scornful. Abruptly, he let go of Ian’s arm.

  “Okay,” Amanda exhaled with relief, stepping towards them. “Okay, Ian, now let’s just – ”

  “Watch out!”

  The voice had come from the crowd. Instinctively, Amanda ducked. Over her head, she saw Ian swinging the hand that gripped his beer bottle. It was headed for the same spot he’d clipped Liam at last week – the side of his head.

  “No!” she squeezed her eyes shut. The sound that followed was the collective gasp of the crowd. Amanda looked up in sheer panic, but all she saw was Liam’s hand wrapped around the bottle. He had caught the swing. And before he could return it, security came.

  “Get over here,” the big bouncer barked at Ian, easily yanking him away. Amanda stood frozen in shock as she watched the scene.

  “Tell them just one second, I swear to God it’s important!” Ian tried one last time, staring desperately at her. She stared back in disbelief before feeling her head shake “no.” She had tried to give him that second and he’d beyond ruined it.

  The two bouncers glanced over their shoulders at her but turned back when she didn’t move or speak. Ian’s big eyes stayed fixed on her even as they manhandled him, even as Desiree Silver came running over to shout something about how they were over. Like everyone else, Amanda could only watch.

  But once Ian was gone, she felt her feet start moving. She needed to be elsewhere. People were trying to talk to her, trying to comfort her, but none of them were Liam and she didn’t want to be near anyone anyway. Her throat was tightening and her eyes were welling, threatening to spill tears in public unless her heeled feet moved faster. They managed to, sending her flying in a lavender blur down a staircase and into a corridor full of doors. The bathrooms. She picked the first one and went straight in, wanting nothing more than to just collapse, even if it meant on the floor.

  Luckily, there was a chaise lounge. Casey had told her about that feature. Amanda was grateful for it now as she lay down and covered her face with her hands. She felt both angry and sad about Ian. Why did he have to swing that bottle? Everything was about to be fine! And Liam – Amanda wished he hadn’t stood up to protect her in the first place. The situation had become needlessly complicated. None of it needed to happen.

  “Amanda? Are you in there? Let me in. It’s Casey.”

  Shit, Amanda groaned inwardly. Aside from the fact that she’d humiliated both Ian and Liam, she’d unwillingly stolen the spotlight from Casey’s Best Actress win. It was the first bit of good press she’d gotten since Ian’s film of her released, and Amanda had truncated it. She opened the door out of guilt. “Hey.”

  Casey stepped in and shut the door behind her. Amanda lay back down on the chaise.

  “People have sex on that thing, so you shouldn’t let the pillows touch your face,” Casey said. Amanda blinked, not expecting those to be her first words. Suddenly, Casey burst out laughing. Amanda stared.

  “What’s funny right now?” she asked.

  “Everything!” Casey plucked delightedly at her fringe dress.

  Amanda sniffed. “Of course you’re happy about what just happened with Ian.”

  “I’m not happy.”

  “Then what? You’re just drunk?” Amanda asked, surprising herself. Casey responded by folding her hands in her lap.

  “I’m not allowed to be drunk. I’m a recovering alcoholic and a substance abuser. Remember?” she said with a smirk. “I wouldn’t say I’m happy per se, I’m just… didn’t I tell you about Ian? He’d only drag you and your friends down. He got me and he just got Liam, and it’s all because you’re letting him.” Amanda swallowed hard but the knot in her throat remained. Casey wasn’t wrong. There was no way Ian would have any effect on either of their lives if she didn’t first bring him into the picture. “You should’ve left him behind and got famous without him.”

  I couldn’t have, Amanda thought. He had guided the entire way. She didn’t try to explain it though.

  “Don’t worry,” Casey said, plopping onto the chaise and blithely braiding the fringes on her dress. “Everyone will forget about this at some point. Scandal happens in this town but another one always replaces it.”

  It was true. Tonight’s fiasco would probably push Casey’s addiction story out of the headlines. Maybe that explained her giddiness.

  “Anyway, doll, I’ll go. Just wanted to make sure you were fine,” Casey surrendered, standing up. “Anything I can do for you before I leave
?”

  Amanda glanced at her warily. “Can you help me find, Liam?” She had thought to call him before remembering that she hadn’t carried a purse and thus put her cell phone in his jacket pocket.

  “No worries, doll. I’ll find your man.” And with that, Casey disappeared. Amanda breathed a little sigh of relief. All she wanted was to talk to him, to explain her logic. She hadn’t anticipated that his letting go of Ian would result in a near bottle to the head. It wasn’t supposed to end that way.

  Within a few minutes, Amanda was able to hear movement outside the door again, but none of the voices sounded like Liam’s. The two giggly ones belonged to Casey and Jaime, and the only one not giggling had a British accent. Oh no.

  “Found your man!”

  The door opened and Amanda looked up to see Casey and Jaime shoving a puzzled Dylan into the bathroom. They yanked the door shut and he naturally reached to try and open it, but twisting the knob did nothing. Amanda watched with pure mortification as he gave it a few more shakes before turning around, surprising himself when he saw her sitting there.

  “Amanda!” he said with wide eyes. His gaze fluttered down to her dress for a moment. “Wow, you look beautiful.” He smiled politely, though his face was still twisted with confusion. “How, um… how are you? On this fine evening. In the restroom.” She stared at him. Amanda wanted to laugh because he was adorable, but she still felt such tension. At least he didn’t seem to have a clue as to what had just transpired upstairs.

  “I’ve been better,” she admitted.

  “Same! I was for some reason just dragged from the bar and forcefully shoved into this room.”

  “I saw that,” Amanda said, amused.

  “Right. Though I realize it could be much worse, since at least I have you,” he said, making one last attempt at the door before giving up. He turned to face her with a bright smile. “Actually, this is an ideal situation because it was getting a bit loud up there and I’ve been needing a moment to just sit down and rest. So really, I should thank Casey for this little recess and,” he gestured towards her. “The lovely company she chose for me. Though I’m still not sure I understand her motivations.” He scratched his head, mussing his perfectly styled hair. Amanda blinked at him for a second before breaking into a big smile at his rambling. Dylan looked both embarrassed and relieved by it. “That was long-winded, wasn’t it?” he asked sheepishly. “I’m sorry. Nerves.”

  “Why are you nervous?” Amanda asked incredulously.

  He ran both hands through his hair, obliterating its ‘50s vibe. But the new disheveled look was cute on him because, of course, anything was.

  “I don’t know. Are there not implications to sharing a public restroom with a pretty girl?”

  Amanda blushed. There obviously were or Casey wouldn’t have put them there, but it was his compliment that made her stutter.

  “I, um, think… yeah, there are. Yes.”

  He nodded. “Do you know if Casey knew that when she put me here with you?”

  “She did.”

  Dylan bit both lips back, looking suddenly embarrassed. “Alright then. I guess that means she figured it out and told you.” He grimaced a bit and gave a laugh of disbelief. “She must be… exceedingly perceptive then because I could’ve sworn I was being quite subtle about my feelings.” He glanced up apologetically. “Since you’re attached and I’m certainly not the type of person to meddle. Not to mention the fact that I’m acquainted with your boyfriend.”

  Amanda squinted. “What?”

  He raised his eyebrows. “What?”

  A smile curled her lips. Had Dylan just implied what she thought he did? “If Casey figured anything out, which I don’t think she did,” Amanda said slowly. “She didn’t tell me.”

  “Oh.” Dylan’s mouth parted slightly. He looked off to the side as he stretched his lips into a shamefaced smile. “Brilliant. Then I believe I just jumped to a conclusion and needlessly revealed my crush on you.”

  So he had implied that.

  Amanda froze for a minute out of pure shock and disbelief. Since moving to New York, she’d experienced a decent amount of surreal moments, but this one most definitely took the cake. Dylan Hardy had been her crush since seventh grade. She had been a sarcastic thirteen-year-old with blue braces and he a lanky rising star at eighteen – and the only reason Amanda had gone to see a political biopic that she understood literally nothing about. But Dylan, playing a teenaged William Westmoreland, looked like a young prince and it didn’t matter that Amanda knew nothing of military colleges or the Vietnam War – his smile alone made the movie worth it. From that day forward, she happily watched Dylan grow several more inches, fill out his suits, become a sexy leading man, and nab an Oscar nomination for Best Actor in a Leading Role. Her love for him was closing in on a decade.

  And now he stood before her, nervous and bumbling as he confessed to his crush on her.

  “Please say something,” he laughed uneasily. “Anything.”

  Amanda could only erupt into giggles. Such a fit of them that she forgot why she was even feeling stressed in the first place. “I don’t think the crush you’ve had on me,” she started. “Is anything compared to the one I’ve had on you.” His eyebrows shot up, making him look as surprised as she’d been. The reaction prompted Amanda to laugh even more. He’d been named to People Magazine’s Most Beautiful People thrice now. Surprise over being crushed on was almost stupid, but then again he was known for being an unassuming gentleman. He smiled.

  “I’ll admit that makes me happy to hear,” he said. “Even if I’m not allowed to pursue you.”

  Oh, yeah. That. His admission had stunned Amanda so much that she’d forgot she was a devoted girlfriend, or at least supposed to be. She covered her mouth with shame.

  “Right,” she murmured. “Liam.” Suddenly, the stress was back. Dylan looked down at his shoes.

  “I won’t tell if you won’t tell,” he said. “Actually, I wouldn’t tell anyway.”

  Amanda laughed. “I know.” But her smile faded as she continued to think about Liam. The memory of the fight upstairs came crashing back with a force. She suddenly stood up from the chaise, tense again. “I should probably go.”

  “Oh. Of course.” Dylan moved to open the door but of course, it was still locked from outside. But after a few rattles and a pound with his fist, the door swung open, Casey standing on the other side. To Amanda’s surprise and relief, no one else was there.

  “Open sesame,” Casey grinned, holding up a ring of keys that she’d no doubt sweet-talked some staffer into borrowing. She glanced at her phone. “Ten whole minutes before either of you really started trying to open this door! I guess you two were fine with being locked in there,” she mused with an arched eyebrow. “Wonder what you did to pass the time.” She turned around. “Don’t you, Liam?”

  Amanda’s heart dropped. Only then did she see that behind Casey, Liam sat on a bench against the wall, waiting for her. His jacket was off and his tie was undone. Had he been there the whole time?

  “Liam!” Amanda rushed to him. “Liam.” She tilted his face towards her in an attempt to direct his stare away from Dylan. “Listen, I’m sorry about – ”

  He interrupted her, finally looking at her with what looked like total disappointment. “Let’s just go, Amanda.”

  - Chapter 12 -

  IAN MARSH LOSES FANS, SANITY

  Celeb-o-Matic

  February 10

  What a rough 48 hours it’s been for Ian Marsh. On Wednesday, the Hollywood party boy lost a good chunk of fans after his second film debuted as a flop. Called out for being “try-hard,” “pretentious” and “sleazy,” Marsh went from filmmaking prodigy to pariah. According to witnesses at the Critics’ Choice after party, guests were dismayed to see Marsh in attendance as actress Desiree Silver’s date.

  “Nobody thought he should be there,” one source said. “His videos aside, he looked strung out and ready to go off on someone. He was trying to get
to Casey before going for Amanda. Everyone knew he was going to cause trouble.”

  And trouble he did cause. After approaching Amanda Nathan, boyfriend Liam Brody asked Marsh to leave, which was when Marsh flew off the handles. He charged at Brody and later swung a glass bottle at his head. Luckily, Brody avoided the swing and escaped the altercation without injury.

  “Everyone was rooting for Liam to hit the guy. Before that situation happened, Ian had been picking fights with people and mouthing off,” the same source told us. “We were all happy to see him get bounced from the party.”

  Safe to say, they’ll be happy to see Marsh get bounced from Hollywood altogether.

  LIAM BRODY: NOW EVERYONE CAN LOVE HIM

  Pop Rock Gossip

  By Jessie O.

  February 12

  A few months ago, Liam Brody’s fan base consisted mostly of men. The tough guy actor was known for sleeping with every swimsuit model to grace the cover of Sports Illustrated in recent years – and then cruelly dumping them after getting bored. So why wouldn’t men love him? He was a (totally sexist) man’s man, and nobody owned him.

  Not that Amanda Nathan now owns him, but on Thursday, the Missouri native demonstrated the surprising ability to wrangle her boyfriend at the Critics’ Choice Awards after party. After a verbal spar allegedly concerning her, Liam found himself being foolishly charged at by wannabe filmmaker, Ian Marsh. Though both men are approximately 6’3, Liam has about a 30 to 40 pound advantage, not to mention combat training from multiple films. Thus, it was the perfect opportunity for him to flex his muscles, lay Ian on his back, and remind us that despite dating a non-model, he still has more testosterone than the starting lineup of the New York Giants.

  But he didn’t. Why not? His girlfriend asked him not to. That’s right, Amanda asked Liam Brody not to complete an easy knockout of a total punk in front of a crowd full of expectant men, so he immediately let go of his victim. Meanwhile, I can’t get my boyfriend to do the dishes when I ask him in front of our cat. I’ll admit it – Liam won me over with that one. I can now confidently say that I like the guy. He’s painfully hot, is a decent actor, and has done a complete one-eighty when it comes to respect for women.