Hollywood Royalty

Things were quiet in Grace’s trailer as soon as the pair entered and Grace closed the door behind them. Ash, who had joined her on set, had gone back to the hotel with Lily who had graciously offered to take the German Shepard off her hands momentarily. Lucky for her that Lily was staying at the same hotel she was staying in although her room was a distance away from Grace’s room. Emma seemed to be in a state of shock over her actions from earlier. The brunette never condoned any sort of violence but she had been so hurt and angry that she couldn’t control herself. There was an awkward silence between the two of them for what felt like hours. Grace had no idea what to tell her friend and Emma had no idea what to say now that she was there alone with Grace.

“I haven’t seen or heard from you in over four months, Grace.” Emma said in a shaky voice after the long silence. Grace bit her lip and nodded, looking down at her hands briefly before looking back up at Emma.

“I know, Emma, I know.” Emma stared at the guilty looking blonde and wanted to know what was going on. She demanded some answers and Emma thought that some answers from Grace were fully within her right.

“No calls, no texts, and not even a bloody email! I had to hear from The Sun that you had moved to New York! The Sun!” Emma told her angrily. Grace’s eyes filled with unshed tears and she knew that she deserved every bit of the anger in Emma’s eyes. She had been so selfish and terrible avoiding everyone who cared about her.

“I’m sorry, Emma…” Grace said before finally breaking down. Emma’s anger disappeared as she watched the tears fall from Grace’s eyes. Her voice had become weak from the amount of emotion that had overcome her. “I’m so sorry.”

“Grace…” Emma trailed off still surprised by Grace’s state of sadness. She had never seen her best friend cry like that… even when the incident happened over a year ago. Grace had suffered a lot but she had always remained calm and stoic. The amount of suffering she had faced in the past made Emma angry at how Tom could’ve just went on his merry way with Taylor without any consideration over what it would do to Grace. What Emma didn’t know was that Grace did cry but never did so in front of anyone.

“I know I should’ve called or texted but I just… I just couldn’t bring myself to.”

“Everyone was so worried about you. Ryan even called me to ask about you which was the first time I really had any contact with him.” Grace looked away, guilt all over her face.

“What did he want?” Emma gave her a look of disbelief.

“He wanted to know about you of course! Why else would he talk to me?” Emma’s frustration faded away when she saw just how much this must’ve been killing Grace. “I told him the truth… That I hadn’t talked to you in months and as far as I knew you weren’t talking to anyone.” Emma paused for a moment before looking back to Grace.

“Just please explain to me why… Why did you avoid me, Grace? We’ve been friends for years and I’d like to think that I know you better than that.” Grace nervously bit her lip as she thought of an answer that sounded somewhat sane and made sense but Grace couldn’t think of one.

“If you want an answer that makes sense that’s something that I don’t think I can give you.” Emma shook her head.

“Any answer would suffice. I just really want an answer, Grace.” Grace sighed before she answered the question that Emma had wanted to hear for a long time.

“Taylor and I were close… And I know you’ll argue with me on this but we had an understanding that went beyond the friendship you and I share. I didn’t feel obligated to feel smart like I do with you.” Emma opened her mouth to protest but Grace didn’t give her the opportunity to. “I know you’ll say that you never tried to make me feel any less because of my lack of an education but I still felt that way. She kind of understood me on that level since a lot of her friends had gone off to college as well. So you see that I had a lot in common with her.” Grace fiddled with a loose strand of thread on her sweatshirt sleeve as she tried to figure out what she was going to say next.

“There were things I could talk to Taylor about that I couldn’t talk about with you. I know all the publicity and squad stuff was a bit ridiculous… I see that now. I know that I was very narcissistic and childish but I couldn’t help it. There’s something about her… I don’t know if it’s her personality or just an aura she has but it’s like people are naturally pulled towards her and I was one of them.” Emma processed this information that Grace was relaying to her and she understood. Taylor always did seem to attract people of all sorts. Older artists, that were a lot more talented than her, wanted to perform with her and younger artists, that were a lot more talented than her, were influenced by her. It wasn’t her songwriting or voice that made her as successful as she was because she wasn’t all that great of a singer or songwriter. No, it was something about her personality that made her that successful.

“So when she did what she did… I just felt overwhelmingly betrayed especially since she was one of my closest friends. I counted her, you, Bonnie, and Ryan in my group of close friends. I was never one to let a lot of people in but she only reminded me why.” Grace laughed bitterly. “I wasn’t even that hurt when Tom asked for the divorce because it was a long time coming even if I was in denial about it… but when I saw her with him. It was like I couldn’t breathe anymore. No one’s ever hurt me as much as those two have.” Emma felt tears forming in her eyes as well as she heard her friend describe the pain and torment Tom and Taylor put her through.

“Even if Tom and I weren’t working out I still counted him as not just a lover but a best friend. How he went behind my back like that and with one of my best friends… I don’t know how someone could be so cold and cruel after all the years we spent together… after all we’ve been through.” Grace further explained even though it hurt to talk about. She knew that Emma deserved an explanation so she was willing to face her feelings if it meant that Emma might forgive her for being such a terrible friend. “I thought Tom wanting the divorce was just a phase and even so I still was too embarrassed to talk to any of you about it. I thought if we spent some time apart that he might’ve realized that this was just a bump in our relationship.”

“Grace, you can talk to us about anything. I can’t speak for Ryan but Bonnie and I will never not want to hear about your problems.” Grace gave her a sad look but nodded.

“I know that but after those pictures surfaced online I just couldn’t bring myself to talk to anyone. I was embarrassed and I was also afraid.” Emma gave her a confused look.

“Afraid?” Grace nodded, looking a little bit ashamed.

“I was afraid that any one of you would hurt me like she did. I never thought that she had enough of that kind of power over me. I severely underestimated her and I was afraid that you could hurt me just like she did.” Emma looked at her in disbelief.

“That’s the most insane thing I’ve ever heard, Grace Gallagher. Bonnie and I have been your friends for years and we were the ones who warned you against her. Besides… I doubt Ryan would ever try and steal your husband.” There was a moment of shared silence between the pair before they both busted into laughter over the imaginary image of Ryan Gosling whisking Tom away on a romantic beach. It was the first time the two had laughed together in several months and the first time Grace had let her guard down around a friend who she wasn’t sure she could trust. She could now see she was being silly, Emma would never hurt her the way Taylor did. Unlike Taylor, Emma had always been a true friend who had been there for her when times were rather dark and bleak. Emma had known Grace before Grace had become even remotely famous. She wasn’t in the friendship for the sake of publicity or media attention… No, Emma was her friend because she genuinely cared.

“I’m sorry for ignoring everyone.” Grace said once their laughter died down. “I was being unreasonable and stupid. It was just me being paranoid and wanting to live like a hermit inside my flat.” Emma nodded.

“No, it’s actually pretty understandable from what you’ve told me. For what it’s worth I’m sorry that I slapped you. That was completely uncalled for.” Grace smiled but shook her head.

“I totally deserved it, Emma. I was acting like a total arse and wasn’t considerate of the feelings of any of you guys aside from my own.” Grace rubbed her cheek at the thought of Emma’s earlier action. “It actually stings quite a bit. You really have a lot more strength than anyone gives you credit for.” Emma gave her an apologetic look as she examined Grace’s reddened cheek.

“You didn’t deserve that at all.” Emma told her as she opened Grace’s mini fridge to find a something to soothe the wound with. She found a bottle of cold water and immediately pressed it against her friend’s cheek. “Ugh! And that guy you were with looked at me like I was a total mad woman! He’ll probably tell everyone how crazy I am.” Grace just laughed at Emma’s panic stricken face.

“No, I’ll talk to him about how everything’s alright between us now and he’ll understand.” Grace reassured the brunette. Emma gave Grace a soft look as the blonde pressed the bottle of cold water more firmly across her cheek.

“Is everything alright between us?” Emma inquired and Grace looked rather hopeful at the thought.

“If you could find it in yourself to forgive me?” Emma’s eyes watered a bit and Grace tried with all her might not give up and cry.

“Of course I forgive you. Can you forgive me for being such a tosser and slapping you like that?” Grace laughed but shook her head.

“No apology necessary.” They shared a happy look amongst each other before Emma pulled her into a sudden hug. Grace let out a small laugh as the brunette hugged her tightly and she wrapped her arms about her. Grace would never admit how much she missed this. They were back to being friends again and Grace was hopefully going to go back to talking to Bonnie and Ryan as well. Everything would calm down and things would be as they once were. A question soon popped inside Emma’s mind as both her and Grace sat in a comfortable silence after pulling away from each other. It was something that had been bugging her since after she slapped Grace.

“Grace?” She said and Grace set her blue eyed gaze on Emma.

“Yes?” Emma bit her lip as she thought about how to go about asking Grace this question. Mostly because she was having trouble trying to distinguish what was going on in Grace’s new life. It had been many months since she had last been involved in Grace’s life.

“Who was that guy you were with? You know the one who probably thinks I’m some mad woman.” Emma watched curiously as Grace flushed red at the thought of the ruggedly handsome man Emma had earlier encountered.

“Oh… that was Pedro. He’s costarring in the film I’m working on right now.” Emma nodded.

“Grace of Hollywood, right?” Grace nodded. “Who does he play in the film?”

“My grandfather.” Grace answered and Emma’s eyes widened in surprise.

“Really? Well… that’s interesting.” Grace laughed.

“I guess it is a little bit weird.” She admitted and Emma immediately knew something was up with Grace. She hadn’t been in contact with her for a very long time but she knew the blonde actress enough to know when something was different about her.

“He seemed very protective of you. Have you known him a while. I don’t think I ever remembered you talking about him.” Grace only shrugged at Emma’s inquiry.

“We haven’t known each other that long to be honest. I think we only met a little over three weeks ago.” Grace told her honestly and Emma gave her friend a look.

“Really? Because you two looked awfully cozy.” Emma teased causing Grace to give her a playful glare.

“I have no idea what you’re talking about.” Emma scoffed.

“He looked like he wanted to throw me off a roof for slapping you.” Grace wanted to tell Emma that Pedro would never do such a thing because he was a gentleman but she knew that would be untrue. The gentlemen part… not the throwing Emma off the roof part. She could definitely tell that while Pedro was kind and had manners, he definitely wasn’t polite or reserved. He was blunt and sometimes very explicit in his language. She supposed it was an American thing although there were some brits that also had the same brutally honest and blunt exterior. None of those kinds of brits were the kind that Grace had grown up with. Grace had a very privileged childhood and that was something she couldn’t deny. Grace and her siblings had gone to the very best private school in London and lived in the nicest, most expensive part of London. Her parents were extremely wealthy given the fact that her father was an anchorman for BBC and her mother was a princess. Her grandmother Princess Grace had even come from a very wealthy family in America before marrying her grandfather. She knew that her inheritance would be a very considerable amount but Grace was considering just giving her part of it to Bethany when her sister because the age to claim her own inheritance. It would come in handy when paying off all her loans and finding a flat in London.

“He was just a concerned friend.” Emma smirked.

“Yeah, clearly a concerned friend that’s in love with you.” Grace glared at the brunette actress.

“He’s not in love with me. We’re just working together on this film and happened to have stumbled into a nice friendship.” Emma looked delighted by Grace’s uncomfortable expression on her face. That usually meant that there was something more on her mind than what she said.

“I know that look! You like him too.” Grace blushed before looking away.

“I do not.” Emma grinned.

“You do too!” Emma hadn’t expected to find Grace like this when she rushed all the way over to LA to confront her. She had expected to find Grace in a self-pitying stage of her life which was why Emma slapped Grace so that she could slap some sense into her but Emma was starting to think she walked in on Grace in a very different stage of her life. She had been right alongside Grace through a lot of the blonde actress’s worst moments but Tom and Taylor just had to take the cake for the lowest point in Grace’s life. She had seen a depressed Grace before and it wasn’t a pleasant sight but Grace didn’t seem like how she had expected her to be like. It was obvious that the topic of Tom and Taylor still caused her pain but Grace was seemingly moving on with her life. As could be seen when Emma brought up the topic of Pedro. It was obvious that the mysterious costar of Grace meant a great deal to her even though Grace had only admitted to knowing him for three weeks. Emma wasn’t sure she had ever seen him in a film or anything so she would have to do her research on him.

“You don’t know what you’re talking about.” Grace muttered and Emma only gave her friend a smug look. It was nice that they could just slip back into their old friendship like no time had passed at all.

“Whatever. Even though you’re too stubborn to admit whatever this guy is to you I’m glad he’s kept your spirits up.” Grace’s expression softened. Even she had to admit that Pedro did seem to make her happier. She had been in a terrible mood before she met him without her friends and her finalized divorce but somehow he made her forget about a lot of her troubles.

“He’s really funny. You’ll love him once you get to know him and I know he’ll love you too.” Emma nodded at Grace’s compliment of Pedro, noting how her eyes lit up just talking about him. Was she ever like that with Tom? Emma questioned. Grace might have been like that with Tom way at the beginning but she still couldn’t remember the blonde seeming so bashful and shy about her ex the way she was right now with Pedro.

“I’m sure I will. I’ll see if I can give your new boyfriend the best friend stamp of approval or not.” Grace smacked Emma’s arm playfully causing Emma to laugh. “How old is your boyfriend anyways?”

“He’s not my boyfriend! God, you act worse than my sister sometimes.” Grace paused for a moment as she thought back to Pedro’s age. Sometimes she really had to remember how old he was because it was easy to forget with him. “Forty one I believe.”

“Forty one?” Emma questioned and she wasn’t sure what to think about that. Emma had lost it a bit when Grace first started dating Tom who was nine years older than either one of them but this new guy… Wow, fifteen years Grace’s senior. That had to be some kind of record for Grace but Emma didn’t think she felt as strongly about age differences as she did several years ago. Grace was nearing twenty seven anyways so she certainly wasn’t twenty anymore.

“He was already in his thirties when you and I first met.” Emma finally said and Grace’s stared at her friend in bewilderment. At first she thought Emma was going to lecture her about the age gap like she had with Tom but she soon spotted the smirk forming on Emma’s face. Wait… Why would Grace care anyways? It wasn’t as if Pedro actually was her boyfriend. This was just Emma teasing her, wasn’t it?

“Don’t be gross! I’m starting to miss you slapping me instead of making fun of me.” Emma giggled.

“Whatever. I’m still excited to meet your new friend a.k.a. boyfriend. I just hope that he doesn’t hate me after earlier.” Emma told her and Grace gave her a smile.

“He won’t, I promise.” Grace paused before changing the subject. “Do you want to go meet him now or do you want to go to my hotel room to rest? I imagine that you’re pretty tired if you flew all the way down from London.”

“Yeah, I might come to the set tomorrow to meet him if that’s alright with you.” Grace nodded.

“Of course.” Emma smirked at Grace.

“That will probably give you more time to spend alone with your boyfriend anyways.” Grace glared at her playfully.

“That’s starting get old real fast.” Emma laughed at Grace’s expense before the laughter died down. “So how long do you think you’ll stay in LA?”

“I was thinking just for a couple of days then I’ll return to London.” Emma replied and Grace completely understood. She never liked LA that much because it always felt too much like a disease whenever she visited. The lifestyle got to you and it wouldn’t be long before you were trapped in that state of mind. Grace didn’t like the way it felt to her and still didn’t know how she had bought a house there with Tom in the first place. Of course it was probably his idea to begin with but still. Grace wasn’t stupid, she knew that she would eventually have to buy another house in the hills since work often required her presence in the city.

“Do you have any projects lined up?” Grace inquired and Emma just shook her head.

“I’m thinking of taking next year off and focusing on charity work. I just have the reshoots for ‘The Circle’ in October and ‘Beauty and the Beast’ is completely finished.” Emma told her.

“A year off? What would that even be like? I don’t think I’ve taken a year off since I started.” Emma shrugged as Grace gave her a thoughtful look.

“You didn’t work for a while after filming the film with Ryan though?”

“I guess but by the time we started working on this film I was starting to get very restless.” Emma nodded because she knew that she would probably start feeling like that by the time she reached a year off the job.

“I imagine I’ll start feeling that way soon. Do you have anything lined up after this film?” Emma asked and Grace looked unsure.

“Nothing set in stone. I have this offer from HBO about a television series drama but I’m not completely sure.” Emma immediately looked interested by that piece of information.

“I’ve always been interested in working with HBO. That’s a really cool offer. What is the series about?” Grace shrugged.

“I haven’t read the script yet but it’s based off a novel.”

“Well, if you love the script then take it. HBO puts out some really amazing shows.” Grace nodded in response.

“I’ll see, I just need to think it over some more. You know how these things are.” Grace paused before changing the subject. “How are things with being in the spotlight again? ‘Beauty and the Beast’ is going to be huge.” Emma sighed before answering Grace.

“Things are as good as they can be I suppose. Everything has been so quiet these past few years since the Deathly Hollows and me just doing independent films. At least I already know what the media’s like in that aspect so I’ll be prepared for it when it comes.” Grace could somewhat understand that. The publicity around a film had never been as extensive as it was when she was the star of an ongoing blockbuster franchise. “How are you doing with the media circus yourself?”

“I think I’m doing quite well given the circumstance. Everything’s died down a bit but I’m constantly afraid that being in LA will attract more attention.” Grace confessed.

“The media is absolutely the worst here. I don’t think it matters what drama there is in your life. You could just be shopping at a grocery store and you’ll still attract attention.” Grace had to admit that Emma had a point there. It wouldn’t matter what was going on in her personal life, she would still get hounded even if she was the most boring person in the world.

“I suppose you’re right.” Emma suddenly looked suspiciously smug.

“Yeah, just don’t go snogging your boyfriend in public and I’m sure the paparazzi will start to get bored of you real fast.” Grace rolled her eyes.

“I’m not even going to waste my time arguing with you.” Grace glanced at the time on her phone, noticing that she and Emma had been talking for nearly an hour and a half. “We should actually head back to the hotel, it’s starting to get late.”

“Fine. I am tired after all but we all know the real reason you want to rush back to the hotel.” Emma said with that smirk. Grace raised an eyebrow at her questioningly. “So you can spend time with your boyfriend.” Grace gave Emma a shove before heading to the door of her trailer.

“I almost forgot how annoying you can be.”