Fan Fiction |
by Jenny Tran
They took a break while a bunch of fans came rushing to him the minute the director said cut. Amy smiled knowing that he didn’t mind signing autographs when it was for his female fans. They gushed over him and some even blushed when he looked at them in the eye. After he was done, he sat back in his chair and sighed, he quickly looked around for Amy.
She came up behind him with a cold bottle of water “Looking for me or are you looking for this?” she handed him the open bottle, learning after her first lesson.
Philip looked up and smiled at her brightly “Thanks. You always seem to read my mind.” He looked around for an empty chair as he pulled one up next to him. “Have a seat.” He pointed. She sat down with a smile “What are you smiling at?” it seemed contagious because he too smiled when he saw her grinning at him. She gave him a slight shrug but didn’t answer “Okay. You want me to guess?”
She found it amusing that he wanted to attempt to read her mind “Knock yourself out.” She urged.
He tapped his chin with the water bottle “Hmm…you suddenly realized how great of a person I am and have found yourself falling head over heals for me.”
Amy laughed at his conclusion but shook her head in the end “For a minute there I was a bit envious and respectful of you until you said that. Now I just think you're being cocky.”
He laughed “Well, at least the truth came out, it doesn’t matter what I said.”
“Sneaky.” She said shortly.
“You barely noticed?” he asked teasingly “How long have you been helping me?”
She looked away thoughtfully trying to count the weeks “This Sunday will be exactly one month.”
“Really? It feels more like 1 year.” Sarcasm easily detected from his voice.
Amy laughed “I sense a bit of regret in that tone.”
He smiled “Never any regrets. But I have to admit, I’ve had plenty of assistants before and I always thought that no one would be as compatible as Liz and I. But here I am sitting here with you after almost one month and thinking that same thing.”
She smiled shyly “Thanks, I try.”
“Philip, time for the next scene!” the producer yelled to catch his attention.
He took one quick gulp of the bottled water and Amy took it from his hand. “Why don’t you take the rest of the day off?” he smiled and gave her a slight wink of the eye.
“Really?” she asked. It has only been 5 hours, normally she would not take the break but that day she was very tired.
Philip smiled as he walked away “Bye, I’ll see you tomorrow at the studio.” He waved at her without turning.
She returned to the station to collect her things before leaving for home. She missed her bed and it was the only thing on her mind. When she left, she ran into John. “Hey, what’s your rush?” he asked when she looked like she was ready for a jog.
Amy looked up before pushing her glasses closer to her bridge “Hi John.”
“Johnny.” He corrected. It was a nickname that caught on and he only allowed good friends to call him that. He would easily correct the person if they dared call him that without his permission. “Where are you going?’
“Home. Philip let me off early.” She explained.
His eyes bulged out in shock “He what?”
She frowned strangely “You sound shock.”
Johnny nodded “Yeah, I’m shocked. He’s never in his 10 year career let off an assistant early from work. He has a strong belief that you should work hard and not expect any easy road out. I know he worked Liz like a dog, he wouldn’t let her off if she was dying in bed.” Amy rolled her eyes at the exaggeration and he quickly corrected himself “Okay, that’s not true. But I’m a good friend of Liz and she has never told me that he let her off early.” He wrinkled his forehead “Either he favors you or…”
“Or what?” she was almost afraid to ask. After all, he was closer to Philip than she was. She hoped that he would not say what she was thinking.
“Nevermind.” He shook his head nonchalantly and began walking away.
Amy quickly caught up to him as he began walking along the streets toward the parking structure to his car “No, I want to know.” She insisted.
Johnny laughed “No, you don’t. I mean, the last thing anyone needs to know is that their boss has a crush on them.”
She halted suddenly and her faced turned bright red. Her mind began to race as she tried to talk it out of believing such a nonsense thing. How could he like her after one month? How could a movie star like someone so plain as herself. It was like a common peasant marrying a prince. It was impossible. She laughed at herself for believing such an wild thing “You’re crazy.”
Johnny turned to see her shaking her head “Am I? Just wait and see. I’m never wrong.” He said with much confidence that it made Amy nervous again. He glanced at his watch “You need a ride?”
Amy nodded blankly, she was going to take the bus “Thanks.”
He stood there with his head tilted at her while she didn’t budge from her spot. He walked over and wrapped an arm around her shoulder and led her away “You look like you just saw a ghost.” Johnny laughed.
****************
The following week, Amy was careful not to sit or stand too close to Philip each time he took a short break from shooting. One morning, she was sitting in his office waiting for him to come when she began nodding off. She didn’t have enough sleep the night before. Suddenly the door opened and she instantly stood up like a soldier ready to salute a lieutenant. Philip smiled strangely at her “What’s the matter with you?”
She covered a yawn and shook her head “Nothing.” He shrugged carelessly and sat down at his dress table to fix his hair before the hair and makeup girl came. Amy instantly noticed something different about him “Anything wrong?” she read him like a book.
He sighed and turned to face her “You know when things don’t go your way and you feel really frustrated?” Amy nodded eventhough she never found herself in that situation. “Well, that’s exactly how I’m feeling now.”
She frowned “What’s the problem?” her genuine concern took over as she seated across from him.
“Look at this.” He pulled out the pair of fake glasses for his role and put them on. They were crooked as can be “How am I suppose to shoot the scene looking like this? And we have to film out of town in this remote area all day today. The Studio’s optometry office is closed and there is no one that can fix this.”
She laughed at how small the problem was but he was clearly upset “Is that all?”
It was the first time he gave her a cold look “Is this funny to you?”
Amy stopped laughing as she sighed “Well, Mr. Cheung you are in luck because you are looking at an ex optometrist assistant.” She got up and waved him to follow her “Take me to the studio’s eye doctor office and I’ll get this fixed before you even remember how the glasses came to shape that way.”
Philip was suddenly feeling lighter finally finding someone that can help him but he found it stupid of himself to not know his own assistant was the person. “I sat on them.”
She looked over at him and rolled her eyes “So you brought it on yourself.” She teased openly.
He laughed for the first time that morning “I guess I did.” They reached the spacious office. Lucky for them it was open eventhough there was no one inside. They turned on the lights and Amy walked into the technician room where there were odd looking tools hung along the wall and a little metal container with beads of sand in it.
Amy turned to Philip and placed her hand out as he gave her the deformed frames. She placed them on him carefully and concentrated on the mistakes. She took them off and began her expertise. She dipped the ear piece into the sand for a couple of seconds before taking them out. She moved it with ease as it molded from the touch of her fingers. She used one of the tools to correct the nose pieces and the side bridge. Then she cleaned the frames and then put it on him.
He smiled after feeling the frame fit his ears and face perfectly, he didn’t even need to look a mirror “How did you do that?”
She smiled “Before I was a legal secretary. I was a lot of other things.”
“Like?” he crossed his arms with interest.
“Hmm…how would you like your meat cooked? Would you like me to pose you or would you like to pose yourself?” she threw a few examples.
He widened his eyes “You were a nude photographer?!”
She wrinkled her nose with disgust “No!! Ew, no, no, no….” he began laughing from the incredulous look on her face. She hit him on the arm playfully “That’s not funny.” She scolded but could not hide the apparent smile on her face.
“Hey, you two are not suppose to be in here.” An authority voice bellowed at them.
The two looked up with guilty faces until they realized it was just Johnny “I thought it was someone important.” Philip quipped making Amy giggle.
“Ha ha. What are you two doing here?” he asked nosily.
“I’m just adjusting his frames for the scene since the office was closed today, no one is here to help him.” Amy explained.
Johnny smiled at her knowingly as he nodded “Sure…sounds good.” She quickly blushed at his comment knowing where he was getting at.
“Let’s go, we’re gonna be late for the bus.” She said quickly and rushed out of the room.
Philip turned to Johnny who’s gaze followed Amy “What did you say to her?”
He shrugged at his friend “Nothing of importance.” He took a glance at his watch “I’m gonna go now. I’ll see you next week for our meeting.”
Philip nodded but his mind was still on the fact that Amy was acting strangely lately and wondered if Johnny had anything to do with it. He vowed that he would get down to the bottom of the whole thing.
The cast and crew met in the back of the studio where a large tour bus was ready to take them to their next location of filming. Amy helped packed some of the make up and accessories and put them in the bus side trunk. By the time she entered the bus, it was filled with people and there were barely any space left. Her eyes quickly caught the last empty seat and quickly sat down before Philip noticed she was 5 rows from him. She stared out the window and saw the driver walking towards the front. He got on the bus and announced “Okay, it’s going to be about a two hour drive so I want everyone to stay in their seats and enjoy the ride. We’ll play a movie while you relax.” He turned on the ignition and began driving off.
About 15 minutes into the ride, Amy noticed they were clearing away from the city and soon hit the rural area. She was drawn to the scenery at first but soon found herself mesmerized by the mountains. She began to doze off without knowing it. It wasn’t until the bus hit a huge bump that she was startled awake. She opened her eyes and felt a shoulder under her right cheek. She looked up and saw Philip smiling at her “Hello, sleeping beauty.”
She practically plastered herself against the window “What are you doing here?”
He laughed “We are all traveling to the countryside to film, remember? Don’t tell me you have amnesia after dozing off?”
Amy shook her head “No, I know where we’re going…I mean…” she pointed to his seat.
He nodded “Oh, I decided to move because Sam snores when he sleeps.” He whispered the last comment. “Anyways, you are the only one with the seat all to yourself. You want me to move?” she looked down at her hands and he stood up.
She felt bad as she reached for him “No…” he turned to her with a smile and that dimple she could not resist. Amy pulled her hand away from his “You can sit here.”
Philip sat down happily and smiled at her strangely “Is something wrong between us?”
“There’s nothing between us.” She said quickly.
He put up his hands in defense “Wow…what’s with the snappiness? You sure you’re okay?” he placed the back of his hand on her forehead and she jumped back. He let out a sigh and tilted his head “Okay, I know you’re lying. What is the matter with you? You’ve been jumpy and don’t think I didn’t notice you giving me the cold shoulder the other day.”
She turned away at the window and shook her head “It’s nothing…really.”
“Did that nosy little Johnny say something to you?” he guessed it on the nose.
But she wasn’t about to give in “No, he didn’t say anything.”
Philip didn’t realize how stubborn she was until that very day. Either that or she could keep a secret like no other “Okay fine. Today is your last day.” He said seriously.
Amy spun herself around to face him “What?” she asked unable to believe what she just heard.
“You heard me. I cannot work with a person that is not truly honest with me. I pride myself on the great honest relationships between myself and the assistants that I’ve had. You are definitely the easiest to get along but also the hardest to understand. I don’t need this kind of stress…” he faded out as he waited for her to respond.
She was quiet for a while before nodding “You’re right.” He smiled expecting her to tell him what was wrong “It’s unfair for you. Remind me to give you the tag at the end of the day.”
He shook his head with a frown “Wait, that was not the way it was suppose to go. You’re not suppose to agree with me. You’re suppose to tell me what’s wrong?”
His voice was raising and a few people began to look at their direction “I can tell you but not here.” She whispered. “Later…” she promised and he nodded in agreement. They sat in silence for the rest of the ride. Her eyes were glued to the scenery outside while he leaned back and rested his eyes.