A Few of My Famous Friends

Riley was waiting for me at the airport, like he said. "I tried calling your cell, why didn't you answer?" he asked briskly.

"It's broken," I said softly.

"Well then, we'll have to get you a new one. Come along, your co-stars are expected to arrive in the next twenty four hours."

I spent the time going over my script some more. Riley had set it up so I was sharing an apartment with my costar, so I wasn't too surprised when a short woman with pale blonde hair barged in and dropped her luggage on the floor.

"Hello, hello, I am Trixie Elodie Winthrop, but from now on, you may call me Princess Meryl. If you by chance went to my high school, or even if you didn't, I suppose, if you call me Trixie the pixie, I will kick your- oh hello." She finally found me in the kitchen area. "Well, that was slightly awkward. I apologize. I haven't slept in thirty six hours. What's you're name?"

"I'm Katherine Walker, but please call me Kate. I'm Princess Addie."

"I should've known that. But I'm a natural blonde so…yeah."

I noticed that she was really skinny. Like Ryan Ross skinny. Okay, I'm not one to judge since I was that skinny a few months ago, but tour had fattened me up a bit. That was really weird, actually, because usually going on tour makes people lose weight.

"Hey," she said, breaking me out of my train of thought. "You know the guy playing Rhys? Nikolas whatshisface?"

"Orlovsky? Yeah, why?"

"His airplane is landing in a few hours. Let's go greet him," she said with an impish smile on her face.

By 'go greet him', Trixie meant make huge signs and act like fangirls.

"I met him once, he'll think it's funny. I promise," she assured me. After she begged and pleaded for a while, I gave in. Scarlett would get a laugh out of it when I told her the story.

I was mainly on filming duty, but I would scream obnoxiously as called for. It was wonderful to know that my career in acting was preparing me for this.

"Ohmigawd, ohmigawd, ohmigawd!" Trixie squealed loudly as Nikolas stepped into view. She ran up to him and announced excitedly, "Oh em gee, we are like, your biggest fans ever! Can we, like, get a picture with you?"

He smiled, not recognizing us. "Sure!" Trixie pulled a camera out of her pocket and snapped a picture of her and him, then pushed me next to him and took another picture. She continued rambling as she dragged me away from him. She honestly reminded me of a crazy fangirl.

Later, we were doing a get-to-know-your-costars type of thing and when Nikolas saw us, he just laughed.

"Hello, I'm Trixie Winthrop, the mastermind behind your welcome," she introduced herself to him, her impish grin back on her face.

"And I'm Kate Walker, the unwilling sidekick. How are you?"

"I'm doing well. You already know that I'm Nikolas Orlovsky then."

"Yeah."

It faded into a slightly awkward silence until Trixie blurted out, "Donald Duck's middle name is Fauntleroy!"

Nikolas and I looked at each other and burst out laughing. "What?" I gasped.

"Well, it's true," she said defensively. "And someone had to contribute something"

Over the course of the next few months, Trixie and I became fast friends. Nik eventually warmed up to his two crazy costars and we allowed him into our group after mild hazing.

About one week before we finished shooting, Nik and I were told that, as a publicity stunt, we had to start dating. Nik had trouble with this, because he had someone special back home. I told him to call them and tell them exactly what was going on, and that they'd understand.

So, we pretended to date. We held hands as we walked to Starbucks and flirted between takes. Sure enough, the tabloids were soon filled with rumors of us.

We finished filming and I decided to stay in L.A. with Trixie and Nik. Trixie and I remained roommates.

One day, I was googling a few of my famous friends on Trixie's laptop.

"Oh my God," I muttered to myself. "Pete got married. And Ashlee's huge! She must be due soon."

Trixie skipped into the room and over to the couch. "Oooh, Kate! Is Peter Wentz your guilty pleasure?"

"No, I know him."

"Really? How?"

Instead of answering her, I opened two web browsers. In one, I opened a picture of Panic at the Disco with the band name beneath it. In the other, I went into my photobucket and pulled up a picture of Trent, Jon and I.

"You've met that dude from Panic at the Disco?"

"That's the bassist. He's my brother."

"Woah. What other famous people do you know?"

"Just Panic at the Disco, Paramore, and Fall Out Boy. And probably other people too, I just don't recall. And no, I can't get you an autograph."

"Like I'd want one of those pansies' autographs…no offense. I listen to this genre of music," she said, opening iTunes.

Deathcore poured out of the speakers. I looked at her and burst out laughing.

"What?" she asked, looking offended as she paused the music.

"Nothing, it's just that you look so angelic and you listen to this hardcore stuff. You look like you'd listen to bubblegum pop."

"Don't judge a book by its cover!" she chirped before dancing away.

The next day, she pranced into the apartment looking completely different.

"Like it?" She asked me, tugging her new pixie spikes tipped in black. "I needed a change. My haircut was too lala princess-y. It was supposed to be like that, for Meryl, but now I'm done with that movie, and I needed something radically different, and more my personality."

"It looks great, except now you really look like a pixie, Trixie," I told her, trying not to laugh, but failing.

She grabbed a pillow and threw it at me. For such a skinny girl, she had a good arm. I stopped laughing.

A few days later, after my afternoon Starbucks run, Trixie asked me to sit down. She needed to talk to me.

"After the movie comes out, you're going back to Chicago, right?"

I nodded.

"Can I come with you? I mean, we don't have to room or anything, but I really don't want to go home." I hadn't seen her nervous at all in the six months that I've known her. I knew something was wrong.

"Of course! You can room with me if you want, it's about time I moved out. I don't want to pry, but why don't you want to go home?"

"Oh, I just live in a really bad city. Hazleton Pennsylvania is full of drug dealers and shit like that. Plus, most of my friends have moved away, so if I get into a pickle, I'm sunk."

"I don't own Chicago! Do whatever you want!" I said, laughing.

The premier was two weeks later. The producers wanted the movie in theaters by Christmas. Most of the movie was finished while we were still filming, so it could be released faster.

Trixie, Nik and I all looked stunning if I do say so myself. Nik and I held hands, kissed on the cheek, and did things that made people think that we were dating, but nothing serious. The reporters asked us about our relationship, but we just said that we were good friends. A little bit of acting before my break.

I thought I saw Spencer at the premier, and my eyes widened to the size of dinner plates. If Panic was here, it would force me to face Ryan before I was ready. Luckily for me, I didn't see anyone else I knew.

The movie was very good, except for the parts I was acting. I told this to Nik, and he laughed and told me I did great.

The next day, Trixie and I packed our things and got on a flight to Chicago.