Let Me In.

The three went on all the rides that the carnival had to offer and finally at around 9, the trio climbed into the car, Bronx instantly falling asleep, his head lolling against the seat. Emily pulled her legs up, resting her forehead against the window. Pete didn’t say anything, just turned on some calming music at a low volume and before she knew it, Emily fell asleep. Pete smiled at her, knowing that his best friend needed the sleep.

When he arrived at his house, he carried Bronx into the house, pulling off the toddler’s shoes and pushing his hair back. He tucked him in, pressing a kiss to Bronx’s forehead. He went back to his car to find Emily still asleep. He whispered her name softly, but she didn’t stir. Pete didn’t want her driving home in this state anyway and he knew that once she woke up, knowing her, she wouldn’t listen to a word Pete had to say. She was one of the most stubborn girls he knew. In a way it was attractive and in a way it made Pete angrier than anything else.

When Pete slid his arms under her, she moved, her eyes fluttering open. “I’m up,” she muttered. She opened her eyes completely, but struggled, closing her eyes again and resting her head back against the headrest.

“Em, when was the last day you slept.”

“Not sure,” she murmured, her voice soft. Pete stared at her. “I’ve had a lot going on,” she continued. Pete sighed. He knew there was something to worry about. He slipped his arms under her and pulled her out of his car, using his hip to close the door. “What’re you doing?”

“Getting you to bed. Go back to sleep,” he said sternly. Being a father had changed a lot in Pete. He was sterner with the people he cared about and much more vocal about how much he cared. Emily buried her head into Pete’s chest. “Pete, just-I should go home,” she whispered.

“Em, you’re staying here.” Emily whined into Pete’s shoulder, but didn’t make a move for him to let her go. She was too tired, too weak. Pete set Emily down on the guest room bed. She wiggled around, extremely uncomfortable. Her skirt made it hard for her to relax and fall asleep. Pete laughed as she struggled to push down her skirt. She was too exhausted to stand up. After days of not sleeping, her body was too weak once she had finally fallen asleep, granted it was only for a few minutes. “Do you need help?” he asked. Pete and Emily were extremely comfortable with each other. On many drunken/tired nights, they helped each other dress/undress. “Come on, stand up,” Emily shook her head, burying her head further into her pillow. Pete grabbed her wrists and made her stand up, one arm supporting her, easily slipping off her skirt and sweater so she was in a pair of short shorts and her tank top. As soon as her head hit the pillow again, she was asleep. Pete pulled the comforter up to her chin and kissed Emily’s cheek. “Sweet dreams, Em.”

-

The next morning was a loud one. Bronx came running into the room where she was still asleep. It was 8 AM and she was late. Her phone vibrated next to her and she saw that she only had 30 minutes to get to set. Bronx shook her awake and she groaned, sitting up. “Good morning, sweetie,” she muttered, getting out of bed, pulling her sweater on so she could cover herself up more. Pete knocked on the open door. “Since when do you knock, Wentz?” she asked. He shrugged, walking in. He handed her a pair of jeans and a black Clandestine shirt she had been looking for months. It used to belong to Pete, but she ended up just taking it in 2006. It was one of her favorite shirts.

“You left these over here a few months ago,” he answered her unasked question. “Come on,” he said to Bronx. “Emmie has to get to work in 25 minutes,” he said to the boy, giving Emily a smile, his eyes crinkling at the corners. Emily raced into the adjoining bathroom, and quickly got ready. When she looked in the mirror as she washed her face, she blanched. Her eyes were sunken in, her skin pale and she looked sickly. No wonder Pete knew that she wasn’t okay. She scrubbed at her face and finally dried it with a towel, breathing deeply. She went over her schedule for the day in her head-filiming from 9-3ish, interview from 5-6, a meeting with her agent at 6:30, and a promotional party for one of her movies at 9. It was lowkey-held at one her costars houses, only A-listers invited. She had to remind herself to ask Pete if he could come. She didn’t want to go alone.

The kitchen was filled with the aroma of pancakes and Emily grabbed just a glass of orange juice, pressed a kiss to Bronx’s head, promising that she would be back the next day, and bid her goodbye to Pete, forgetting to ask him about the party. She cursed herself as she slightly sped to the set, shooting a text to Pete at a stoplight.

His reply didn’t come until about two in the afternoon, where he replied with just a ‘sure. I’ll pick you up at 9.’A smile grazed her face and she stuffed her phone back into her bag, running back onto set to finish her scene. She was still wearing the outfit from this morning, the director of the episode finding it completely perfect for the scene. Emily’s character ‘Sammy’ was supposed to look disheveled but yet completely comfortable with herself and supposedly that’s how she looked when she ran onto set, her hair all over the place, coffee in hand. She knew Pete wouldn’t mind if she wore Clandestine clothing on her show.

As soon as filming finished, Emily drove over to the set where she was supposed to have her interview with her costar Ian Smith. They had finished filming their first episode today and she had yet to hang out with him outside of set. She had finally changed into a pair of pastel pink pants, a white flowy top with black flowers on it and black pumps. The interview was pretty short and as soon as the interviewer was done, Emily checked her phone to find that her agent cancelled their meeting. She breathed a sigh of relief. Finally, a break.Ian grabbed her hand as she was leaving.

“Emily?” he said, a teeth baring smile on his face. Emily was surprised. He never talked to earlier besides running lines. Emily had wanted to, but she was so busy with everything going on that it was rather hard. “Are you busy right now?” he asked. She grinned at him.

“Not exactly. My agent just cancelled my meeting with her. This is the first break I’m getting in weeks. And by break, I mean not even 2 hours,” she frowned. Ian looked surprised.

“Looks like you’re working hard.” Emily nodded. “Look, if you’re upto it, do you want to come and hang out with me for a little bit. I think we need to get to know each other,” he said. Emily bit her lip. She really had to go the party that night. Her agent was forcing her to go-said it was good for networking. “If you can’t, it’s fine.”

“No, I really want to. It’s just I have this promo thing for Goodbye at 9,” she said, thoughtfully.

“Oh, that’s right. That’s tonight. Sarah invited me. I declined her, but I might actually go now,” he said, a sparkle in his eye. Sarah was one of Emily’s costars and coincidentally, Ian’s cousin. He smiled at her. “How about this? We hang out tonight at the party and then tomorrow after shooting we can hang out for real. Something lowkey.” Emily couldn’t keep the excitement off her face. Ian was gorgeous and she was excited to get to know him. Ian pulled her into a hug as her car had been brought over by the valet.“I’ll see you tonight, gorgeous.” It was a little early, but still flattering. Emily blushed and said her farewell, looking forward to seeing Ian in a few hours.