| Fan Fiction |
by Hibiscus
Chun took a deep drink from his can of bar. Truth be told he hadn’t known what had come over him. Why he had felt driven to taken the actions he had. Every time he had closed his eyes, he had heard her voice taunting him, haunting him. Taking revenge via a weak friend, hah, Chun took another drink, his grandfather would be so proud.
“Reflecting, darling?” Rainie Yang, sometimes his partner in crime, sometimes the warm body next to his in bed, came up to the bar and draped herself around him. Wearing a dress made of black shimmery material and hair up to reveal a creamy neck, she looked every inch the femme fatale she was.
“No men tonight?” Chun raised his can of beer and touched it to her glass full of champagne.
“They’ll be here soon.” She purred. “Were you feeling sorry for the creature we destroyed?”
Chun gave an abrasive laugh. “Hardly.”
“I wonder what her little friend is going to do.” Rainie examined her perfectly manicured nails carefully.
“What can she do? Throw a tantrum?” Chun scoffed.
“Something like that. It’ll be amusing to say the least.” Rainie smirked. “It gets sooo horribly boring here.” She yawned delicately, covering her mouth with a be-ringed hand.
Chun looked around the club he had taken to frequenting much more often than he had used to. Carpe Diem. Where he had seen her once before and though he would deny it a hundred times over, where he wanted to see her again. It had been two months since he saw her last and it was though she had disappeared off the face of the earth. Arron didn’t talk to him unless he absolutely had to so he hadn’t even heard of her.
“Darling?” Rainie was waving her glass in front of his face. Chun realized he had been lost in his thoughts. “My bad. What were you saying?”
“We are having auditions for the role of Zee tomorrow.” Rainie replied. “Joe, Ethan and obviously Mike are going to be there. Wanna come?”
“For Mike and your new drama?”
“Yeah. Zee’s the girlfriend I ‘accidentally’ kill.” Rainie sounded as though she relished the prospect.
Auditions were regarded as entertainment for those in the entertainment business. A chance to laugh, albeit cruelly, or be warned of any new rivals – many actors would attend auditions for projects they had nothing to do merely to observe. And directors welcomed them for all the extra feedback they provided.
Just then Mike He, Joe Cheng and Ethan Ruan Tian walked into the club and all the ladies present took deep breaths of appreciation. Mike’s tawny colouring, sensuous looks and piercing eyes were complemented by Joe’s alabaster skin, pouty lips and longish curly hair. Ethan always looked as though he had just committed some mischief, quick to smile and with sparkly eyes. He was someone you’d want to play with. Spotting Rainie, Joe and Ethan made to walk over but Mike resisted. The men were all close friends and tended to do things as a unit. Then Joe said something and Mike grudgingly gave in.
“Darlings!” Rainie gushed opening her arms in welcome.
“Pass.” Mike muttered moving aside.
Chun gave them a nod and resumed drinking.
Rainie’s eyes narrowed at Mike. “Are we being grouchy today?” She said in a sugar sweet voice.
“Don’t mind him, Rainie.” Joe said while Ethan ordered drinks. “He’s miffed cuz the director wants him to act with the auditioning girls tomorrow, to see how their chemistry is.”
Ethan grinned at Mike. “Dude, imagine the number of women you can feel up tomorrow.”
Chun and Joe both grinned while Rainie pouted and Mike rolled his eyes.
There were lots of reasons people envied Rainie Yang but the biggest reason had to be the devotion of three of Taiwan’s most celebrated idols towards Rainie. These men who were wildly successful and had legions of fans individually were complacent to stay quietly beside her. Most people thought she was involved with one or the other but the reason was entirely different. The reason was the promise they had made to Rainie’s mom when they were young and used to hang out in the Taichung Market. A promise to look after her only daughter, no matter what. The promise, made on her death bed, was what bound them to her. No one else knew that.
Joe treated her like a younger sister, Ethan like an older sister but Mike – Mike loathed Rainie. The public had pronounced them the most compatible couple and had flooded mailboxes with requests, wishes and sometimes outright demands to see them together and their management company, seeing profit in the horizon kept pushing them together. The company had even dripped blatant hints about how pleased they’d be if there was truth to the countless rumours of them being more than an onscreen couple. So Mike was effectively trapped, acting with her, endorsing products with her, attending promotional events with her. And spending so much time with Rainie had opened his eyes to the type of person she really was: selfish, shallow, arrogant and callous. Much like the guy she was hanging out with, Mike thought with a glance at Chun.
“So should we expect you at the auditions tomorrow?” Rainie asked silkily, kissing Chun’s ear.
Chun moved out of her grasp. “Yeah sure, why the hell not.”
-------
The audition venue was packed. The director wanted a completely new face. Anyone else would endanger Rainie’s appeal and that was why he wasn’t using a well known actress. Considering the nature of the role, if the audience had too much sympathy for the first actress, they would react badly to Rainie and that wasn’t what he wanted.
Chun, Rainie, Joe and Ethan along with the director and a couple of other important people sat in the auditorium. Mike was on stage, he had to act out one scene or the other with the ladies trying out. The first three rows were filled with the Hopefuls. After three tries, that is, girls had tried out, Mike’s face had gone from grumpy to thunderous. The women seemed terrified and/or awed by him. They couldn’t get over the fact that they were in the presence of an idol and this debilitated their ability to perform. Rainie was twittering her hilarity loudly.
Another girl took the stage and silence fell but before she could say anything the doors to the auditorium swung open with a loud bang. Everyone turned and looked.
Ariel wandered in. “Oops?” She said, perhaps in apology.
Rainie and Chun looked at her and then at each other but Ariel didn’t even glance in their direction.
The director who prized punctuality beyond anything else got up and yelled, “Who are you? And how dare you interrupt my audition?”
“I’m late, I know. I’d like to say I was saving a puppy but I’d be lying. Hmm, my name is Ariel Lin. And I’m here to try out for the part of…whatever her name is.” Ariel smiled and said as politely as she could.
The director heard her name and glanced sharply down at the clipboard he was holding. Then apparently swallowing whatever words he was going to say, he nodded at the seats for the Hopefuls and commenced the auditions. After the latest girl had given her disappointing performance, he called a 3 minute recess and went to confer with his assistant.
“She has no chance,” Rainie gloated to Chun who looked perturbed. “Ooh, it’ll be so much fun seeing her make a fool of herself.”
Ariel was sitting in her seat, minding her own business when one of the actresses started spouting off about how she was a shoo-in for the role and everyone should just leave.
“Been sleeping with the director, eh?” Ariel drawled.
“What?” Two ugly splotches of colour appeared on the girl’s face.
“You heard me.” Ariel replied. Then shrugging she said, “But you really should skip this joint. This gig’s mine.”
“Oh, have you that much talent then?” The girl sputtered, trying to be insulting.
“Oh sweetheart, talents got nothing to do with it.” Ariel smiled her signature smile, yes that amused one as something enigmatic peeked out of her eyes for a second before disappearing.
-----
“It’s your turn now.” The girl beside Ariel shook her awake.
“Thanks.” Ariel got up immediately and headed for the stage where Mike stood waiting with a resigned look on his face. Ariel looked out at the audience. Chun was concentrating so much that beads of sweat decorated his forehead. Rainie’s face was feral and Joe looked curious. Ethan had left because of some prior engagement.
“The scene on page four. Do that one.” The director said with a twist to his mouth. He was going to make it as difficult as he could. Ariel flipped open the script and glanced at it. She read the words, memorized them in an instant than turned to Mike and raised an eyebrow. Mike was intrigued. There was no recognition in her eyes, no subservient attitude. She had no idea who he was.
“Shall we?” Mike asked gallantly.
“Hell yea.” Ariel replied.
Chances: Scene Four: Zee and J.J (Mike and Ariel)
J.J stood a distance away from Zee. He was pissed off at her. He knew that Simon was just a friend but why was he allowed to hold her hand. “Just a Friend” Simon had NO business holding HIS girlfriend’s hand.
“Come on J.J, he held my hand cuz he sprained his ankle and couldn’t walk properly.” Zee said her tone equally amused and fond.
J.J said nothing. Zee walked over to him. He looked away. Zee tugged on his shirt and when he looked down, she pouted. That damned pout always got him into trouble. Every single damn time. Cuz he was entirely helpless against it.
Zee’s fingers walked from his stomach up to his chest and J.J shivered.
“Okay, I promise,” Zee’s fingers crept his shoulder blade and around his neck until they tangled in his hair. “I will only hold your hands, my moms and my sisters.”
“No one else,” J.J spoke and his voice was husky.
“No one else.” Zee repeated solemnly and she got up on her toes.
J.J closed his eyes and shifted his hands to her butt to lift her up closer so he could kiss her and be kissed by her.
Their mouths collided almost too gently, biting, nipping and teasing until J.J tired and kissed her properly, tongues tangling, breaths mingling. Then finally he whispered in her ear, “I love you.”
---------
The temperature in the auditorium had decidedly gone up. Chun got up suddenly and walked out, banging the door behind him.
Outside he leaned against the door and breathed rapidly. He was mad, crazily angry and it was all he could do not to march back in and tear Ariel out of Mike’s arms.
“You just need to do her, buddy.” Chun breathed to himself, trying to calm the possessive haze in seemed to be drowning in. “Do her and get her out of your system.”
----
Everyone’s faces in the auditorium displayed varying degrees of shock. No one had actually expected them to kiss, they hadn’t even considered that. Or that the kiss would be that hot or that the chemistry between Ariel and Mike would be that explosive.
Rainie’s face was mottled in anger and Joe looked bright-eyed as though enjoying some private joke. The director opened his mouth to say something and then closed it wordlessly. Ariel was still leaning against Mike but straightened and gave him a polite, detached smile completely belying the fact that mere minutes ago she had been kissing him passionately. Mike took a deep breath and returned her smile.
“Um…well…yes…very good.” The director finally found his voice. “Next.” He motioned the next girl up on stage, even though he and the rest knew that further auditions were redundant. They had already found Zee.
-----
Later that evening, the director sat at his desk poring over a missive that had arrived while he was holding auditions. Everyone else had left and it was just him, the empty cubicles and his office. The whirring of fans and perhaps the distant tread of a janitor. He thought about the auditions. Despite her performance, the director had decided not to give Ariel the part because he knew what would happen. What would happen if he put her in the drama. But that was before he read the missive. The missive changed everything. He took a deep breath and rubbed his forehead. He picked up his old fashioned telephone.
But before he could make that fateful phone call, Rainie burst into his office without bothering to knock.
The director sighed.
“Darling, you absolutely cannot give the part to that uncouth girl.” Rainie didn’t bother with the pesky pleasantries.
The director was irked. He knew his job well enough that he didn’t have to take advice from swollen headed starlets; no matter how beautiful they were.
“Do you really think I need you to tell me how to do my job?” He asked Rainie. He could feel a headache building.
Rainie flounced into a chair and pouted.
“Besides,” the director continued, fingering the missive, “it’s totally out of my hands.”
“What do you mean?” Rainie leaned forward in her chair and frowned.
“What I mean, Rainie, is that you should count your lucky stars that Ariel Lin wanted the part of Zee and not your part.”
Rainie looked wide-eyed. “And if I were you, Rainie, I’d keep on her good side cuz that girl – well, let’s just say you don’t wanna mess with her cuz the repercussions of that…no amount of pouting will get you out of that.”
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Author's note: Haha, do I hear Kimmy yelling at me to reveal who Ariel is ALREADY? Haha. You'll have to wait. So I can scarcely afford to be updating considering I have only written about two chapters ahead but eh, I like to live dangerously. The next chapter is ABSOLUTELY humungous. It took me four days to write. Okay I'm lying. But it felt like four days, I swear. Okay bye. Oh and thanks for reading. *big smile*