When Catherine woke up, she eagerly leaned over and checked her phone. She felt guilty thinking she must had slept through Jackie's call. However, when she checked, there weren't any missed calls, not even a message. She must have been really busy, Catherine thought. Trying not to let it bother her, she got ready and took Ethan on a long run.
Jackie's alarm went off at 4:30 again. She was exhausted and had a headache, probably the result of a caffeine withdrawal from having so many coffees yesterday. Rachel was knocking on her door not even a minute later. Jackie stumbled to the door and slightly cracked it open, but Rachel came bursting in, letting in the hallway light.
"Whoa, what's wrong with you?" Rachel asked while turning on all of the lights.
Jackie squinted at the sudden shock in her eyes.
"You mean other than the 4 hours of sleep I got last night? Well, I also have a pounding headache to add to the mix." Jackie replied.
"I'll get you some aspirin. Now hurry up and shower. Your glam squad will be here soon." she said sarcastically.
As Jackie showered, she remembered that forgot to call Catherine.
"Shit!" Jackie whispered to herself.
She hurried up and went to grab her phone but Rachel came back with aspirin and a glass of water.
"Here take these. Now lay down for a second and let me get a wash cloth to put over your eyes. They're puffy as hell."
Jackie did as she said. The cool towel felt glorious on her pounding head. She almost fell back asleep until she heard hair and make up leader with his squad come trampling in.
"Up and at 'em! No time to spare. You have a radio show to get to!"
Jackie got up, cursing, and plopped down in the chair. Rachel went over her schedule for the day as usual. Then brought Tommy and the publicists in to go over what questions the radio hosts will be asking them.
"They want to ask if you two are a couple." Rachel stated.
"No. We aren't answering that." Jackie said bluntly.
"Come on Jacks, let's give 'em a little mystery at least. How about no comment or we're just having a good time together promoting the movie?" Tommy suggested.
"I like those last two. I agree with Tommy. Keep them wondering and keep you two in the headlines." The publicist said.
"Fine, but that's it." Jackie replied.
They went over the other questions until it was time for Jackie to get dressed.
"Alright, get out and go get ready." Rachel said as she shooed Tommy out.
Once they were ready, they all went down to the car. This time no stopping for the fans.
"Sorry guys, they're in a hurry! Tune into the radio today!" Rachel shouted to the fans.
As soon as Jackie sat down, she asked Rachel for her phone. It was almost 11am in Bloomington and she felt awful, hoping that Catherine wasn't upset. She didn't want everyone hearing so she had to resort to texting her, in which she hated.
J: Good morning gorgeous! I'm sooo sorry! We got in really late last night and I passed out. Then had another 4:30 wake up call and didn't have a chance to call you this morning :( please forgive me
****
Catherine was cleaning her kitchen. When she heard her phone ding, she was relieved that the text message was finally from Jackie.
C: It's okay, I fell asleep early. Sounds like they're keeping you busy.
J: It's torture. I hardly got 4 hours of sleep last night. We have radio interviews all morning and the big premiere and after party tonight. Then catch a flight to Montreal tomorrow morning. I'm so tired and my head is pounding :(
C: I'm sorry, Porcupine and try to stay sane. Only a few more days and then I won't even make you get out of bed ;)
J: That sounds absolutely perfect. My plane lands in Bloomington at 6am on Monday. It can't come soon enough. Sorry to do this but I have to go again. Have a great day xoxo
C: Love you, feel better xox
Catherine wished not being Jackie's top priority didn't bother her, but being a strong woman who liked to be in control, it did. She hated being the inferior in a relationship. Hence why she dated students. She needed her career back more than ever.
****
The radio shows ran smoothly. Even though it pained Jackie to, in not so many words, admit to being a relationship with Tommy. They wrapped up around noon, giving them a couple hours to relax before having to get ready for the premier. As soon as she changed out of her clothes, Jackie called Catherine.
"Hey there movie star." Catherine answered.
"Stop," she laughed. "I've finally got two hours to myself. How are you?"
"I'm good. Are you feeling better?"
"I am now that I can talk to you. I'm sorry that I have been so busy."
"It's okay Jackie, you don't need to keep apologising. I know your schedule is crazy."
Jackie was silent on the other end.
"Are you okay Porcupine?"
Silence continued.
"Jackie?"
It was still silent. Jackie must have fallen asleep. She didn't want to wake her, but wanted to make sure she really was asleep. So she waited a few more minutes before hanging up.
****
Jackie woke up to Rachel knocking on her door. She was disoriented, then saw the phone in her hand and remembered she was talking to Catherine.
"Damn it." She said to herself, before opening the door.
"Have a nice nap?" Rachel asked.
"Apparently, I don't remember falling asleep though."
"Alright, well, let's get some food in you before the squad arrives. A caterer has set up some food for you all down the hall, so meet me down there when you are ready." Rachel looked her up and down, also was looking confused. "I thought you were home schooled?"
"I was, why?"
"Then where did you get a high school lacrosse shirt?"
Jackie looked down, not realising that she was wearing Catherine's shirt.
"Oh, it's a friend of mine. I stole it from her. I'll meet you down there in a bit."
After Rachel left, Jackie looked down at her shirt and smiled. She texted Catherine back and then dreaded down to get lunch.
Catherine saw Jackie's text.
J: I need to just put a permanent I'm sorry at the beginning of every text :( sorry I fell asleep. Just realised I'm wearing your lacrosse shirt. It's the closest I can get to sleeping next to you. Talk to you soon love.
C: I'm never getting that shirt back, am I? ;)
****
The next couple of hours were a whirlwind before Jackie knew it, she was squeezing into her dress and getting her final touches. When she was in the bathroom, she snapped a picture to send to Catherine before heading down to the limo. It had been a few hours since Catherine heard from Jackie when she received her picture. It was Jackie in her dress for the premiere and flashed another frown.
J: Wish you were my date :(
C: Me to Porcupine. Have fun tonight and not too much wine. I'm not there to mend your head ;)
The limo was full of Tommy and Jackie's assistants and publicists.
"Okay guys, we need you to walk the carpet together. Be flirtatious, whatever, just get the crowd going, okay?" One of the publicists said.
They both agreed. Pulling up to the read carpet, they were both amazed at the crows. This all felt so surreal to Jackie and she wished more than anything that Catherine was here to share it with her. As soon as they stepped out of the limo, Tommy offered his arm out to Jackie and whispered in her ear,
"You're absolutely stunning tonight, Miss Kirk."
Jackie smiled and thanked him, "You cleaned up nicely as well."
As they made their way down the line of interviewers, Jackie answered the same questions over and over again; what she was working on now, what it was like to come back to Neptune, and what was her relationship with Tommy.
"We had a great time filming and are having such a fun time getting to travel the world together. He's a great guy." Jackie would say to the interviewers.
Just then, Tommy joined her and put his arm around her waist. As soon as he did, the crowd went wild. Jackie couldn't help but smile. This was an actor's dream and she just needed to start enjoying it while it lasted. Catherine would understand, she thought. The rest of the red carpet she began flirting with Tommy more and had her picture taken so many times that her eyes were seeing spots. She took her time with her fans, making sure to connect with as many of them as she could. It felt so good meeting people who loved her work.
After the premiere, they headed to the after party. Jackie was going to take Catherine's advice and not drink much, but everyone was having so much fun that she wanted to as well. After all, she was young, travelling the world, and living her dream. Why not enjoy it to the fullest? Because God knows it could all end in an instant. Her cast mates danced and partied until 4am.
Jackie woke woke up at 6:30am running to the bathroom to throw up, not knowing how they got home. She couldn't believe how drunk she had gotten and couldn't remember the last time she had blacked out. After literally emptying her entire stomach, she stumbled back into her room to find the bottle of aspirin. Before she got to her suitcase, she froze in her tracks.
She couldn't believe what she was seeing.
Tommy was in her bed fast asleep.
A/n Thanks for reading my story. Please vote and drop a comment. Comments will help me a lot more than you might think. â¤ï¸