The Truth About Hollywood

"Breakfast!" I called out in the morning, putting a plate filled with scrambled eggs, bacon, and toast on the table. It only took a couple minutes for Dad to respond to the call, ambling down the stairs and collapsing into the chair in front of the food.

"Claire, you didn't have to do this," he sighed as he took a sip from the mug of coffee in front of him. "We discussed that I was going to start taking control of my life now."

"This has nothing to do with you not taking control of your life," I assured him, sitting in the seat next to him. "It has to do with the fact that I was up first and made breakfast for the both of us."

He ate a couple of bites of his food, mulling over what I said. "Okay," he agreed. "Danny's driving you from the studio today, right?"

"Yeah," I responded. "Why?"

"Just make sure that you bring your key because I'm going to be in therapy when you get home."

As I nodded, a beep sounded from outside. "Well, I gotta go. I'll talk to you later, Dad." After planting a kiss on his forehead, I hurried out the door.

"Good morning," Danny smiled as I climbed into the passenger's seat of his car.

My head collided with the top of the car, sending a shock of searing pain through my skull. "Shit," I muttered, rubbing the bruise that was surely forming. "Oh, and good morning to you."

"Stop being clumsy," he teased, sticking out his tongue.

I shot him a look and leaned back in the seat. "I really hope that Annabelle has some aspirin in her purse. I can already feel a headache settling in."

"I'm sure she will," Danny assured. We pulled into the studio parking lot and got out. As soon as I shut the car door, I felt someone jump on my back.

"Hey, Annabelle," I laughed, walking along like there was nothing wrong, my arms wrapped around her legs to make sure that she didn't fall. "You don't happen to have any aspirin, do you?"

"Sure I do," she responded with a scoff. "How else would I deal with period cramps?"

"Alright, I'm just gonna go inside," Danny voiced before hurrying along. Annabelle and I both laughed from the uncomfortable air that seemed to come off him in a wave. He was definitely going to have issues in the future if he couldn't deal with the mention of a girl's period.

When we got into the studio, Annabelle immediately reached into her purse and gave me a couple of small pills. "Do you want to borrow my water?"

Nodding, I popped the pills into my mouth and reached for the water. Annabelle put it into my hand quickly, and I gulped water, making sure that there was enough to let the pills slide down my throat without catching. It was always a fear of mine that I would choke.

"Thank you!" I granted with a smile. Going down to wardrobe, I found that I wouldn't be filming that day, a very welcome alteration to my normal schedule.

I almost went up to Danny and asked if he wanted to hang out for the day, but closer examination revealed that he did have a scene to do with Stella. That was going to be interesting...

Still dressed in my sweats, I took a seat at the edge of the sets, jumping a little when Danny plopped down next to me.

"I get to argue with Stella today," he sang in my ear. "I'm not going to lie...I'm pretty pumped."

Laughing a little, I responded, "I'm excited to see it. I kinda wish that I was in your position right now."

"Danny!" Levi yelled, pointing at the set. "C'mon, you're up!"

"See you in a bit," Danny smiled before kissing me quickly, making sure not to smudge his makeup, before running off to the set.

My eyes were locked on the scene unfolding in front of me, watching Stella storm up to Danny while he was at his locker.

"Where's your girlfriend?" she snapped, slamming his locker door shut in front of him.

He turned to her with a contemptuous look on his face. "Um...around? Why does it matter?"

"I heard that you slept with her. Did you tell her that you just slept with my best friend a month ago?"

"I don't know what the hell Abby told you, but I never slept with her. She threw herself at me, and I pushed her away. I was with Diana at that time, if you remember."

"Since when has that stopped you?!" she exploded. The sudden outburst actually made me flinch slightly, the sound of her voice echoing in my head. "You've always been a player, and you know that. Maybe I should just tell Diana what you're really like."

Danny's eyes went wide, but he wasn't able to say anything else before Stella stormed off. "VERONICA!" he screamed after her, but she didn't turn to look around at him.

He turned to the locker and punched it as hard as he could. "Ow," he laughed, shaking out his hand. "That didn't feel too great."

Levi chuckled a little, calling cut. "You okay?"

Danny opened and closed his fist a couple of times. "Yeah, I'm good. Alright, let's do the scene again. I won't punch the locker so hard this time."

"Smart." The scene set up again, and they took another few takes.

Around one, Danny got the go ahead to leave, so we went out to his car. My seatbelt clicked into place, and I let out a yawn.

"Tired?" he smirked.

"Yeah. It's tiring, sitting in one place forever without having anything to do."

"You were watching filming."

"Yeah, but Stella sucks, so it was hard at times."

"That was sweet of you."

"You're welcome." I grinned at him widely, which he returned. My stomach fluttered for a second, and my mind started revving into action.

I had made a pretty big realization that night that he stayed over my house, and it remained a secret. After all, I didn't even know where I stood with the guy. Sure, he liked me and I liked him, and we kissed a lot, but there was no definite relationship established between the two of us.

"What do you think of me as?" I blurted awkwardly. Great job, Claire. Really...that was just wonderful.

Danny let out a slow breath as he pulled into my driveway. "...What?"

"That was embarrassing. I just meant...what do you think that we are...? That sounds stupid, too. Ugh. Just forget that I said anything."

To my surprise, he let out a small laugh. "What do you think of me as?"

"I don't know. I don't know where I stand with you, and it's driving me crazy."

Slowly, he leaned forward and pressed his lips to mine softly. "Then I'm going to say right now that I'm your boyfriend."

"Thanks for clearing it up," I replied, kissing him again.

"No problem." He pulled back and nodded toward the house. "Alright, your dad's probably thinking that we're having sex."

"My dad's not home," I replied. "C'mon. Let's go hang out for a while. I'm pretty sure that Red Dawn is on TV in a half hour."

"What are we waiting for, then?" Danny threw open the door and ran to the door, struggling to open it.

My mouth spread into a grin as I followed him, thinking that things were finally getting back to a whole new normal. And it felt great.