‹ Prequel: Just Go With It
Sequel: I Could Never Pretend ›
Status: Completed
Nothing Is Ever Simple
Four Months Later
JOHNNY
- 4 Months Later -
The afternoon sun blinded Johnny as he walked out of Los Angeles airport and instantly he was glad to be back. It had been nice to spend some time back in his home state and to hang out with his family but for the majority of the time he had been rushed off his feet with filming for the new movie and he was relieved that they had wound up finishing several weeks ahead of schedule. He was looking forward to being reunited with his daughter and catching up with the Dickhouse guys. Now that he was back in LA however, it didn’t mean that he would have chance to rest. In the coming months he would soon be back on the road with a hectic agenda of photo shoots, magazine interviews and television appearances to promote the film, along with the premiere for his previous film.
He adjusted his shades before hailing a taxi. He was tired and gagging for a beer but rather than heading straight home Johnny figured he would swing by the offices to catch up with Jeff. He had not spoken to any of the guys much while he had been away and he was keen to see how Steve had been doing. He felt pretty shit for staging the intervention and then hopping on to a plane for four months so now would be his chance to make up for it as best he could.
Johnny stared lazily out of the taxi window as it cruised through the streets of downtown LA. He couldn’t keep his mind from wandering to Amelia and he wondered what was going on with her and Bam. He had purposely avoided contact with her in order to focus on his film and try to get his head back to normal. It was a selfish reason but it had helped and now he felt confident that they could put the past behind them and salvage the remains of their friendship. That was, if Amelia felt the same. Before he knew it they had pulled up outside the familiar office building and Johnny could not suppress a huge grin. He was home. As he made his way through the corridors of the Dickhouse headquarters towards the office that he and Jeff shared he was welcomed by the sight of many friendly faces. He had not told anyone that he was returning early and they were all surprised to see him back so soon.
“PJ!” Jeff exclaimed as he caught sight of his friend in the doorway to the office. “I didn’t realise you were coming back yet.”
“Surprise!” Johnny grinned as he entered the room, removing his shades and sitting down at his desk. “Ahh, it’s good to be back.” He propped his feet up on the desk and stretched back in his seat dramatically, pausing to enjoy the moment. “So what did I miss?”
“Where to start?” Jeff wondered as he scratched his head, earning him a curious look from Johnny. Little did Johnny realise, at lot had changed while he had been away. “Well Steve’s doing good and making a lot of progress you’ll be pleased to know.” Jeff began casually whilst wondering the best way to approach the rest of the news.
Johnny smiled and they chatted about Steve for a few minutes until Jeff changed the subject. “There was one other…development.” he smiled awkwardly but before he could get to the point, Johnny heard someone knock on the open door. Both he and Jeff glanced around to see who it was and to Johnny’s disbelief he found himself staring into a pair of unforgettable eyes. Amelia.
“Amelia!” Johnny exclaimed in surprise, the sight of her causing him to nearly fall backwards off his chair in shock. Once he stabilised himself he had chance to fully take in her appearance. She was standing in the doorway with her arms folded around a wad of paperwork and there was something different about her but he couldn’t really put his finger on what. She looked very professional in her blouse and heels but she had clearly lost a lot of weight and despite her makeup he could still tell that she had dark circles beneath her eyes.
“Johnny?” her eyes were equally as wide as his and her mouth was slightly open as she stared at him with an unreadable expression on her face.
Jeff laughed nervously. “Johnny, meet our newest camera operator and associate producer. Man, this is awkward. I’m gonna leave you guys to talk.” And with that Jeff had swiftly exited the office, leaving Amelia and Johnny to continue staring at one another in surprise.
It had been four months since they had spoken. Four months since they had any contact at all and instantly Johnny regretted this. He had been incredibly selfish and pathetic. Clearly so much had changed since then and he was completely clueless. “What’s going on Amelia?” was all he could manage to say.
Amelia dropped her shoulders as if she was carrying a big weight and slowly walked round to Jeff’s chair and sank down into it. The large chair seemed to swamp her body, making her look even smaller and Johnny fought the overwhelming urge to put his arms around her and protect her. “I don’t know where to start.” She shrugged, smiling in spite of herself. “Things have been kind of crazy.”
She told Johnny all about Bam and his infidelity and Johnny wanted to kick himself for not being there for her while she had been going through such a tough time. Some friend he was.
He couldn’t believe what he was hearing and even more shocking was the way Amelia held herself together as she recalled the events leading up to her arriving in LA. He knew Bam was a dick but he had never really thought his friend was capable of fucking things up so much.
“I wish I hadn’t missed you that day.” Johnny said bitterly, realising that if his flight had only been a few hours later he would have seen Amelia and found out everything four months later. But would it have changed anything? He would still have had a movie to shoot and a contract to keep to. What could he have done to help if he was the other side of the country?
“So what are you doing now?” Johnny asked, realising what a silly question this was.
“Well April flew out with Brandon after I’d been here for a couple of weeks. We stayed with Jeff for about a month before he found us a little apartment round the corner from him.” She smiled gently, explaining her current situation and how she came to be working at Dickhouse. “I’m only working a couple of days here and there at the moment because I don’t want to leave Brandon with a babysitter all the time.”
“I can’t believe that you’ve been going through this all this time and I didn’t have a clue.” Johnny put his head in his hands in frustration. His only consolation was that Jeff had stepped in. “I’m so sorry Amelia, I should have been there for you.”
“It’s not your fault Johnny. I didn’t tell you.” She bit her lip.
“I didn’t ask…” he muttered and stood up. In one swift movement Johnny and Amelia were in one another’s arms, holding on to each other as if their lives depended on it.
“I’ve missed you so much Johnny.” Amelia sobbed into his shoulder and clung on to him as tightly as she could. The warmth of her body and the scent of her perfume were comfortingly familiar and he buried his head in her hair.
“I’ve missed you too.” He whispered into her hair, keeping his arms around her as tightly as he could and secretly vowing that he would never let her go again.
- 4 Months Later -
The afternoon sun blinded Johnny as he walked out of Los Angeles airport and instantly he was glad to be back. It had been nice to spend some time back in his home state and to hang out with his family but for the majority of the time he had been rushed off his feet with filming for the new movie and he was relieved that they had wound up finishing several weeks ahead of schedule. He was looking forward to being reunited with his daughter and catching up with the Dickhouse guys. Now that he was back in LA however, it didn’t mean that he would have chance to rest. In the coming months he would soon be back on the road with a hectic agenda of photo shoots, magazine interviews and television appearances to promote the film, along with the premiere for his previous film.
He adjusted his shades before hailing a taxi. He was tired and gagging for a beer but rather than heading straight home Johnny figured he would swing by the offices to catch up with Jeff. He had not spoken to any of the guys much while he had been away and he was keen to see how Steve had been doing. He felt pretty shit for staging the intervention and then hopping on to a plane for four months so now would be his chance to make up for it as best he could.
Johnny stared lazily out of the taxi window as it cruised through the streets of downtown LA. He couldn’t keep his mind from wandering to Amelia and he wondered what was going on with her and Bam. He had purposely avoided contact with her in order to focus on his film and try to get his head back to normal. It was a selfish reason but it had helped and now he felt confident that they could put the past behind them and salvage the remains of their friendship. That was, if Amelia felt the same. Before he knew it they had pulled up outside the familiar office building and Johnny could not suppress a huge grin. He was home. As he made his way through the corridors of the Dickhouse headquarters towards the office that he and Jeff shared he was welcomed by the sight of many friendly faces. He had not told anyone that he was returning early and they were all surprised to see him back so soon.
“PJ!” Jeff exclaimed as he caught sight of his friend in the doorway to the office. “I didn’t realise you were coming back yet.”
“Surprise!” Johnny grinned as he entered the room, removing his shades and sitting down at his desk. “Ahh, it’s good to be back.” He propped his feet up on the desk and stretched back in his seat dramatically, pausing to enjoy the moment. “So what did I miss?”
“Where to start?” Jeff wondered as he scratched his head, earning him a curious look from Johnny. Little did Johnny realise, at lot had changed while he had been away. “Well Steve’s doing good and making a lot of progress you’ll be pleased to know.” Jeff began casually whilst wondering the best way to approach the rest of the news.
Johnny smiled and they chatted about Steve for a few minutes until Jeff changed the subject. “There was one other…development.” he smiled awkwardly but before he could get to the point, Johnny heard someone knock on the open door. Both he and Jeff glanced around to see who it was and to Johnny’s disbelief he found himself staring into a pair of unforgettable eyes. Amelia.
“Amelia!” Johnny exclaimed in surprise, the sight of her causing him to nearly fall backwards off his chair in shock. Once he stabilised himself he had chance to fully take in her appearance. She was standing in the doorway with her arms folded around a wad of paperwork and there was something different about her but he couldn’t really put his finger on what. She looked very professional in her blouse and heels but she had clearly lost a lot of weight and despite her makeup he could still tell that she had dark circles beneath her eyes.
“Johnny?” her eyes were equally as wide as his and her mouth was slightly open as she stared at him with an unreadable expression on her face.
Jeff laughed nervously. “Johnny, meet our newest camera operator and associate producer. Man, this is awkward. I’m gonna leave you guys to talk.” And with that Jeff had swiftly exited the office, leaving Amelia and Johnny to continue staring at one another in surprise.
It had been four months since they had spoken. Four months since they had any contact at all and instantly Johnny regretted this. He had been incredibly selfish and pathetic. Clearly so much had changed since then and he was completely clueless. “What’s going on Amelia?” was all he could manage to say.
Amelia dropped her shoulders as if she was carrying a big weight and slowly walked round to Jeff’s chair and sank down into it. The large chair seemed to swamp her body, making her look even smaller and Johnny fought the overwhelming urge to put his arms around her and protect her. “I don’t know where to start.” She shrugged, smiling in spite of herself. “Things have been kind of crazy.”
She told Johnny all about Bam and his infidelity and Johnny wanted to kick himself for not being there for her while she had been going through such a tough time. Some friend he was.
He couldn’t believe what he was hearing and even more shocking was the way Amelia held herself together as she recalled the events leading up to her arriving in LA. He knew Bam was a dick but he had never really thought his friend was capable of fucking things up so much.
“I wish I hadn’t missed you that day.” Johnny said bitterly, realising that if his flight had only been a few hours later he would have seen Amelia and found out everything four months later. But would it have changed anything? He would still have had a movie to shoot and a contract to keep to. What could he have done to help if he was the other side of the country?
“So what are you doing now?” Johnny asked, realising what a silly question this was.
“Well April flew out with Brandon after I’d been here for a couple of weeks. We stayed with Jeff for about a month before he found us a little apartment round the corner from him.” She smiled gently, explaining her current situation and how she came to be working at Dickhouse. “I’m only working a couple of days here and there at the moment because I don’t want to leave Brandon with a babysitter all the time.”
“I can’t believe that you’ve been going through this all this time and I didn’t have a clue.” Johnny put his head in his hands in frustration. His only consolation was that Jeff had stepped in. “I’m so sorry Amelia, I should have been there for you.”
“It’s not your fault Johnny. I didn’t tell you.” She bit her lip.
“I didn’t ask…” he muttered and stood up. In one swift movement Johnny and Amelia were in one another’s arms, holding on to each other as if their lives depended on it.
“I’ve missed you so much Johnny.” Amelia sobbed into his shoulder and clung on to him as tightly as she could. The warmth of her body and the scent of her perfume were comfortingly familiar and he buried his head in her hair.
“I’ve missed you too.” He whispered into her hair, keeping his arms around her as tightly as he could and secretly vowing that he would never let her go again.