Teal.

Need a favor. Text or call when available.

It was the second day of his trip when Julian received his first text from Teal, at approximately half past ten the evening. He couldn’t properly sleep as it was—even with the time zone differences bearing down on him—so it wasn’t as though she had woken him up. It had just been a pressing day and his mind was heavy; namely due to the callback.

The second round of the audition included the actress whom had already been chosen to play the main-character, Elizabeth. She was small and petite, tresses of fair hair cascading over her shoulders that were a tanned despite the winter climate. She had surprised him as they acted, bringing a life to the character he hadn’t expected, an air that made him strangely comfortable, there was an undeniable familiarity to it.

At the director’s request, they had done two scenes. The first was light and happy, part of the book that took place early on when the friendship between Elizabeth and Alex initially blossomed. The girl brought a light smile and a cool demeanor that made it feel much more natural than he had expected, making it easier for him than he could have imagined. The second scene though, was where things became heavy; Alex’s first apology for abandoning Elizabeth out of fear of his feelings. It reminded him of Claire, souring his mood a bit as he pressed on, playing on the regret he doubted his former lover had felt at all; imagining Alex to be the same. The girl though, she truly got to him. It was as though she had flipped a switch, going from cool and at ease to broken and hollow as if it was the simplest thing in the world. The nagging familiarity he felt towards the character she played once again boiled down to Claire; she was a reminder of himself. That was the only possible explanation. That was the reason Teal had chosen him specifically, after all.

He sighed a bit as he pushed his hair away from his face, pressing send on his phone before holding it to his ear. It rang three times before she picked up.

“Oh thank god. I didn’t wake you up, did I?” She whispered.

“No, no, I was up anyways,” he replied.

“Good. So, um, I think I’m going to need a favor,” she said, voice still extremely soft.

“Teal, why are you whispering?”

“Because I’m hiding out in my bathroom trying to avoid Satan-incarnate. Look, would it be possible for you to call the main desk and… okay, I totally understand if you say no because this is really kind of off the wall, but is there any way you could find it in your heart to tell them to give me a key to your apartment?” She queried cautiously.

Julian paused for a moment, mulling her words over as he stared out his window at the city view before him. Claire hadn’t even had a key to his flat, yet Teal—whom he had known only for a few weeks—requested one seemingly on a whim.

“I think I’m going to need a bit of background on this before I even consider it,” he deadpanned.

“Fair enough,” she sighed into the phone. “So my editor’s in town, as you know, just for another two days. But every waking second has been nothing but harassment about my new novel. He bought me a laptop on our way back to my apartment when I picked him up yesterday; any time I mention going out for food or coffee he just stares at me and points at that damn computer. I can’t even leave my own apartment. He woke me up at five this morning to try to see if ‘early mornings were the peak of my creativity’. I can’t be here with him much longer, Julian. He’s going to drive me out of a window. I locked myself in here so I could get away from him for a little while and I’m hiding in my bathtub right now because I can see his shadow beneath the door. Do you have any idea how maddening this is? I tried to stay up late to avoid him and he’s sticking it out with me. Every time I look him in the eyes all I see is the word ‘manuscript’ flashing across those stupid glasses of his. It’s horrifying.”

Julian cleared his throat as he grinned into the phone; this editor sounded like Teal’s own personal Marcus. “Why not just give him a manuscript, or part of one?”

“I don’t write to appease someone else, Julian. I write for myself. I can’t just… It isn’t that simple.” From her tone it sounded as thought that wasn’t the first time she had explained that—or attempted to at least. “And his stalking isn’t helping anything. I just want to sleep without his presence around.”

“I recall not long ago Marcus was doing something similar to me—nagging me and barging into my flat—that is, about some audition. I can’t recollect whose fault it was, but I wouldn’t be too upset if they were finally getting a dose of their own medicine,” he teased, pushing his hair out of his face again as he paced back and forth before the window.

A groan emitted from the other end, and he heard a repetitive dull thud before she spoke again. “I’m sorry, okay? I’m sorry I made you audition for that stupid movie and he drove you up a wall because of it. But, Jesus, Julian, throw me a bone here, or a key, or something; anything. I will take a noose at this point if it’s all you have to offer.”

He had suffered through Marcus showing up at his flat whenever he pleased for the past few years; Teal could deal with hers for a few more days. But, then again, there may have been a way to end Marcus’s uninvited entry as well as allow her a bit of extra sleep. It may just make life easier on both of them.

“I think for the evening you’re out of luck, unfortunately,” Julian stated, resulting in a stream of quieted profanities from Teal. “Waking Marcus at half past three in the morning would decidedly be a poor life decision for all parties involved.”

There was a static-y pause on the other end, and then, “Wait, what?”

“I’ll call him closer to daylight, your time. He has a key to my place, perhaps with enough convincing I could get it out of his hands permanently. I think it would do us both some good.”

“You’re serious, like, you’re not screwing with me right now, are you?” The girl pressed, speaking rapidly.

“No promises, but I’ll see what I can do.”

“Oh my god, thank you,” she breathed. “I owe you so big for this. I might actually be able to try to get some sleep now knowing that I’ve got a chance to escape Demon-Editor.”

Julian chuckled, “Perhaps you should do that, given it’s nearly four in the morning there. I’ll call you once I get in touch with him, alright?”

“Alright, I’ll try. Thanks, Julian,” she said.

“’Night, Teal.” He ended the call, sighing a bit as he set an alarm for a few hours later. If he wanted a chance of his plan succeeding he needed to catch Marcus after he woke up, but before he had gotten his morning caffeine fix. That was the one time of day the man would agree to nearly anything without so much as a second thought.

***

“Hey, sorry, can I call you back in a bit? I’m out getting coffee with David right now.”

Julian was still bleary-eyed as he held the phone to his ear. Sprawled out across the hotel bed his yawn turned into a frown at the distracted tone of her voice.

“Yeah, sure,” he yawned again. “Give me a bit of time to wake up. Everything alright?”

“Yeah, fine,” she replied, hastily. “He just drug me to a surprise meeting, so I can’t really be on the phone right now. I’ll call you back as soon as I can, sorry.”

There was a beep that declared the call ended and Teal was gone. So much for his news that Marcus had agreed to hand over his key.

Julian stared at the room’s speckled ceiling for a few minutes longer, before shifting to the edge of the bed and scratching the back of his neck. He was in dire need of coffee; the past few weeks being the only time he had been lacking in the sleep department for as long as he could remember.

A little while later, after a quick shower and tossing on some clothes, he found himself in the lobby, seeking out their promise of free coffee to those who stayed overnight. He knew it was the cheap stuff, but at that point he couldn’t quite bring himself to care. As he sat at a table in the corner of the room he glanced at his phone every so often. It wasn’t as though he was waiting for her call or anything; he just thought she would have been eager to get the news after their conversation the previous evening. Yeah, that was it. He scoffed, shaking his head a bit; these four hours of rest every few days seemed to be catching up to him.

“You look like a morning person if I’ve ever seen one.”

Immediately, Julian looked up. He blinked a few times at the sight in front of him. “Mandy Costello, yeah?”

“Mhm, that’s me. Glad you remembered, since we may be working together after all, Julian.” The blonde girl sat across from him, slate gray mug in her hands as she gave him a tired smile. She was the one from the auditions the day before; she was going to be Elizabeth.

“Possibly. I’m sure one of the others is a better suit for the role, it isn’t really my style.”

She scoffed, “for something that ‘isn’t your style’ you sure gave one hell of a performance yesterday. I heard you were a requested audition, I wasn’t actually expecting you to be much good. Thanks for surprising me.”

Julian didn’t reply, sipping his coffee as he looked out the window.

“So what kind of relationship do you have with Emerson, anyways?”

His placid mask flickered for a moment, looking over to be met by an intensely curious pair of wide, blue eyes. She tilted her head slightly, idly stirring her coffee with a plastic spoon.

“I did my research on her, and you, to you know, get a feel of what I could be working with. And I’ve met her a few times, nice girl. Anyways, I don’t really think anyone outside of the production department knows you’re potentially involved in this film, so I suppose no one would take the time to notice that she was the girl you were photographed with a few months back in those vicious tabloids. Not to mention, didn’t she just recently relocate, to…London? That’s an odd coincidence, don’t you think?” She smiled politely, taking a sip of her coffee.

“I’m not quite sure what you’re implying, Ms. Costello.” He smiled back, though thoroughly perturbed by her sudden implications.

“No? Julian, please don’t play games with me. There’s no need for us to get off on the wrong foot, is there?” She gave him a pointed look, eyebrows raised as she smiled again, almost condescendingly.

He swallowed, holding his silence as the corners of his lips fell, turning slightly downwards as his jaw clenched. She didn’t move for a few moments, but then with a blink she shook her head slightly and licked her lips.

“If you’re using her to break into the Hollywood circle, I will personally make sure that no one hears your name without aligning you with the likes of Justin Bieber or Lindsay Lohan.”

Julian could only stare on in stunned silence at the actress before him as she stood up, taking her coffee with her. “On that note, have a good day, Julian, and good luck with the auditions, although I don’t think you need it.”

The vibration of his phone on the table ripped his attention from her, and he answered the call without so much as looking. “Hello?”

“Hey, Julian, sorry for being so short, earlier. David had planned a meeting with one of the guys they’re considering for Aaron in the movie. Tate Goodwin? He was really nice, I think he’d be a great fit,” Teal chattered, sounding far more upbeat than she had before he left. For a moment, it didn’t hit him, his mind wrapped around Mandy Costello’s unprovoked threat.

“It’s fine, I hope you’re at least getting a br—Teal, did you say Tate Goodwin?” He inhaled slowly through his nostrils, squeezing his eyes closed as he pinched the bridge of his nose. Please god, let him have heard wrong.

“Yeah, David had us meet him for coffee because he had some questions about the book apparently.”

“Ah.” Julian bit his tongue. Tate Goodwin was not something he wanted to add to his current pile of… problems.

“Anyways, what was it you wanted to tell me?” She piped.

“Oh, right. Er, Marcus agreed to hand over his key with a bit of persuading. He was going to leave it for you at the front desk, so by the time you get back it should be there, I imagine.”

There was an excited squeal from the other end of the phone before she spoke again. “Julian, are you serious? You’re a lifesaver! I really owe you, thank you so, so much!”

He let out a small scoff, rubbing his temples. The corner of his lips twitched up a little, it was nice to hear her so excited for something he had done for her. “Just. Don’t trash my loft, okay?”

“You won’t even know I was there, thank you again, I feel so much better, now.”

“Right. I’ll be back tomorrow or the next day. For now I’m going to go try to get more rest.”

“Ah, yeah, you sound a bit tired. You do that. I’m going to get the key and try to do the same. I’ll… See you when you get back, I suppose,” she stated, letting the call fall into silence.

“See you then, Teal.” And with that, he hung up.