Catherine was completely in awe, sitting in the theatre watching Neptune 26. Jackie was a natural and had gotten even better since the cheesy cult show. She squeezed her hand as they watched as a sign of her admiration. It was an interesting feeling, getting to see what she was up to the entire time they were apart. They both clearly submerged themselves into their work, something they both had in common. Afterwards, the cast of the movie went up on stage and conducted a short Q&A session. Jackie was absolutely glowing up there, radiating a confidence that Catherine didn't get to see often.
Jackie couldn't remember another time in her life when she had ever felt so complete. Here she was, at the premiere of a movie she was the star of, with someone she was crazy about, being there supporting her. She felt such a rush on stage, and looking down and seeing Catherine in the audience made it even more perfect. Her smile was infectious and it only fed into Jackie's exuberance as she spoke to the crowd. Once the session ended, she met up with Catherine and followed the rest of the cast and crew to the after party.
"So what do you thing?" Jackie asked. "Be honest."
"I'm not even exaggerating when I say you've drastically improved, and you were great to begin with. It was so good. I'm so proud of you," Catherine beamed as she wrapped her arms around Jackie and hugged her tight.
"I'm so glad you came, it means so much to me," Jackie said, before whispering in her ear, "It literally has been causing me physical pain not being able to touch you all day. Also, you smell really good."
Catherine laughed as she released her embrace, "Except for that little stunt with Tommy and the reporter."
"I had to control myself. You're lucky that all I did was holding your hand," she laughed.
Jackie had been tempered to lay it all out on the line, right there in front of the reporter, but knew she could've do something that extreme without Catherine's consent. It was one thing to handle Tommy's advances alone, but with Catherine around she refused. Thank God all these Neptune events were coming to an end.
As soon as they entered the party, Jackie grabbed two glasses of champagne from a waiter who greeted them at the door.
"Let me know if this all become a bit too much for you," Jackie said to Catherine.
"Okay," Catherine responded, sipping her champagne and soaking in the atmosphere.
"I'm serious. Just say the word."
"I will," Catherine smiled.
What a difference a year and half had made.
After introducing Catherine to most of the cast and crew, Jackie headed to the bar.
"I'm going to go and get us a couple more drinks. Be back in a sec," she told Catherine.
As she was waiting on the drinks, she felt someone's arms wrap around her waist. She knew damn well Catherine wouldn't do that forward in public, so she knew exactly who it was. She turned around and Tommy's face was inches away from hers and she couldn't smell the liquor on his breath. She grabbed his arms and pushed him off her.
"Tommy, don't even start."
"Come on Jacks, it's bee so long. I miss you," he said as he put his hands on her again.
"Tommy, stop it!" Jackie shouted while trying to push him off.
Catherine was talking with Rachel and a few other cast mates when she spotted Tommy approaching Jackie at the bar. She kept a close eye on them as she pretended to listen. Tommy wrapped his arms around Jackie and Catherine could feel her jaw clench and her skin began to radiate. She saw Jackie pushing him off but then he grabbed her again.
"Excuse me," Catherine said while making her way over to the bar.
As she got close, she heard Jackie yelling at Tommy to stop.
Without even giving it a second thought, she grabbed Tommy's arm and pulled him off of Jackie.
"She said no, Tommy."
"Hey Catherine, what about you? Want to get out of here later?"
"In your dreams."
Jackie ran off to the restroom.
"Leave her alone Tommy. I'm serious," Catherine warned him, pointing a finger in his face before going to find Jackie.
When she got to the restroom, it was empty except for the handicap stall.
"Jackie?" Are you in there?" Catherine asked, knocking softly on the door.
Jackie opened the door and pulled Catherine in. As soon as the door was locked, she hugged Catherine.
"Are you okay Porcupine?" Catherine asked while holding her closely.
Jackie didn't say a word but just hugged her tighter.
"What did you ever see in that guy?"
"Convenience, and a way to numb the loneliness."
Catherine's heart broke a little at her words, but knew exactly what she meant. They both had a rough year without each other. The door opened and Rachel called out their names, asking if they were in there. Catherine opened the stall door.
"What's you on?" Rachel asked.
"Tommy being Tommy," Catherine replied.
"Are you okay?" Rachel asked Jackie.
"Yeah," Jackie responded, shaking off her mood. "Let's go and get some drinks now," she said as she took both of their hands and leading them out of the restroom.
"Excuse me sir, can we have some shots with these drinks?" Jackie asked the bartender.
"Shots?" Catherine asked, raising her eyebrows.
"Yes. We're partying tonight," Jackie grinned.
****
After three shots, Catherine cut them off. Jackie attempted to drag her onto the dance floor but she managed to stop at the side. She was no where near drunk enough for that. Jackie and Rachel sure were though. They danced their little hearts out and kept calling out Catherine to join them.
"I"m good right here!" She yelled back to them in the crowd and laughed to herself.
This was the first time she had ever seen Jackie act her actual age and it was quite amusing. She deserved to have a goof time and Catherine wasn't going to prevent her from doing so tonight. After a few songs, they came back out to get some more drinks. Jackie ordered another round of shots.
"None for me," Catherine told her.
Jackie turned to Rachel, "Stark can't hang," she teased.
Catherine scowled at her and then grabbed both her and Jackie's shots. Drowning them both in mere seconds.
"I stand corrected," Jackie said while staring at her in amazement. "I"m impressed, but now you owe me a shot."
"Here take mine. I need to slow down," Rachel said, slurring her words and slinging the glass over to Jackie. "I need to use the ladies room."
As soon as Rachel left, Jackie eyed Catherine seductively and scooted closer.
"You better behave tonight," Catherine warned her.
"Well, if you keep looking at me like that I can't make any promises."
"I don't know what you're talking about," Catherine said, biting her lip.
Jackie stared at her bottom lip and then swung around to the bartender, "Shot!" She yelled.
Catherine laughed, "She will have a beer."
"I'll have a shot and  a beer," Jackie said to the bartender before looking back at Catherine feeling annoyed.
Catherine's eyes grew big again.
"Stop looking at me like that!"
"I'm not doing anything!"
"Those fucking dimples!" Jackie muttered.
As Rachel was walking back from the restroom, the song changed on the dance floor.
"I love this song!" Jackie yelled excitedly, slamming her beer down.
Obviously, she was already quite inebriated. Both Jackie and Rachel started dancing together before ordering another drink and moving back to the dance floor. Catherine began mingling around with some of the people she had met earlier, making small talk while sipping her drink. The alcohol definitely contributed to this, considering she didn't have much in common with any of these people. She was surpassingly enjoying herself though. When she felt herself getting fairly intoxicated, she stopped. She didn't trust both her and Jackie not having control over themselves. Looking out to the dance floor, she noticed Jackie starting to wind down. This wasn't a complete surprise considering how much she had drank, not to mention how late it was. The two caught eyes and Jackie grinned at her, sticking her finger out in a come-hither motion. Catherine smiled and worked her way through the now thinning crowd.
Without saying a word, Jackie turned and scooted up against her, dancing.
"We're both to drink for this," Catherine bent down and whispered. "Come on, let's go and get some water."
Catherine took her hand and led her to the bar. They both ran into Rachel on the way,
"Hey, the limo is leaving in about 20 minutes. Meet out the front." Rachel said.
After getting water, Catherine took Jackie to the restroom. Jackie stumbled out of the stall and struggled to wash her hands. She leaned against the wall and her eyes began to close. After Catherine was finished, sh went over and shook her shoulders.
"Jackie, wake up."
Jackie slowly cracked her eyes open and then gave Catherine a big smile.
"You're really pretty."
Catherine laughed, "And you're really drunk."
Jackie leaned in for a kiss but Catherine pinned her against the wall.
"Jackie, stop. It's too risky here."
"So violent," Jackie mumbled, before closing her eyes once more.
"Come on, we need to get to the limo."
****
When they got outside, everyone was standing around and realised that the limo wasn't there yet. Catherine led Jackie to a bench and put her arm around her to keep her from falling over. Rachel found them right as the limo pulled up. Jackie was knocked out cold.
"Can you help me with her?" Catherine asked.
Catherine got into the limo first and reached for Jackie, as Rachel kept her steady.
"Watch her head," she warned Rachel.
Jackie's eyes were struggling to stay open ass eh stumbled into the limo. As soon as she sat down, she linked her arm through Catherine's and held her hand before dropping head down on Catherine's shoulder. Within seconds, her body went limp as she passed out.
When the limo began its way back to the hotel, Catherine glanced around at everyone. They were all passed out or to that point. She leaned down and kissed the top of Jackie's head before resting her own on the top. The cool wind was blowing through her hair from the cracked window. They sky was beginning to lighten, a hint of the sunrise starting to peak through. Catherine hadn't experienced something like this since college and couldn't remember the last time she felt this alive. She looked down at the girl resting on her arm. The girl who had completely changed her life, and smiled.
When they reached to the hotel, Catherine tried to shake Jackie to wake her up. After much convincing, Jackie finally got to her feet and wrapped her arms around Catherine's shoulders. One of the security guards helped Catherine to get her up to their room.
"I've got it from here. Thanks," she said as she opened the door and led Jackie to the bed.
Jackie immediately curled into a ball, so Catherine went and got changed. When she came back, she rolled Jackie over and unzipped her dress. She wrestled her arms through it and then began tugging at the bottom until it was off. Reaching into Jackie's luggage, she found her lacrosse shirt and smiled.
"Jackie, can you sit up for me real quick so we can get you dressed?"
Jackie slowly lifter herself up, not even attempting to open her eyes. After Catherine slid the shirt over her head, she opened her eyes and began to gag.
"Oh no, come on," Catherine said, hurrying Jackie to the bathroom.
She grabbed Jackie's hair and held it back as Jackie got sick. After some time had passed, Jackie leaned back and collapsed on the floor. Her mascara was running down her face as she moaned in pain. Catherine filed a glass with water and grabbed a towel.
"Here, drink this. All of it."
"I can't," she groaned.
Catherine got on the floor next to her and wiped the mascara from her eyes.
"I'm sorry," Jackie whispered.
"What are you sorry for?"
"Drunk," she said, sounding like a caveman.
"You're a 23 year old Hollywood actress. It could be a lot worse," Catherine laughed.
Jackie quickly got up on her knees and got sick again. Catherine held her hair as she rubbed her back.
"I"m so sorry," Jackie repeated, this time crying.
"Shhh, stop apologising."
She leaned back again and Catherine took her face in her hands.
"You have nothing to feel sorry about so stop punishing yourself. Do you not think this is what I did when I was your age? The only difference was that I wasn't vomiting in a 5 star hotel toilet or getting drunk  at a Hollywood party," she teased Jackie.
Jackie smiled.
"I'm serious. You deserve to have fun and act your age for once."
"I love you," Jackie said softy, and probably the most romantic way she's ever said it. Except for the fact that she proceeded to vomit seconds after.
Catherine grabbed some pillows and blankets. She decided it was best for them to camp out in the bathroom for the night.
****
The next morning, Catherine woke to muffled knocks on the door. It took her a minute to stand and her body was stiff from sleeping on the hard bathroom floor. She looked through the peep hole and saw Rachel.
"Good morning, how are you feeling?"
"Miserable. Where's Jackie?"
Catherine pointed to the bathroom. "You probably don't want to go in there."
Rachel made her way to the bathroom while holding her hand over her nose.
"She slept here all night?"
"Yep."
"And you did too?" Rachel asked, noticing all of the pillows.
"Yeah, she was in  rough shape."
"Screw teaching, come and help me be Jackie's assistant. You can handle all of the dirty work," Rachel teased. "I need to get out of here. I can't handle this smell anymore. Can you have her call me when she's awake? There's a few things I need to go over with her before I leave."
"Yeah no problem."
"There's coffee and pastries down the hall for you all. Feel free to help yourself. I"m sure Jackie could use it."
"Good idea," Catherine replied.
****
Catherine followed Rachel out to grab some breakfast. When she returned, she made her way into the bathroom. The smell made her gag. It was much worse after getting some fresh air. She knelt down and brushed the hair from Jackie's eyes, causing her to slowly wake up. Jackie got up and looked around, confused.
"Why did I sleep in the bathroom?"
"We slept in the bathroom because the toilet was your best friend all night," Catherine smiled.
"Oh no. I'm afraid to ask how I behaved," she replied, felt ashamed.
"You were actually on your best behaviour. Well as best as an intoxicated person can be. You just had a lot of fun," Catherine laughed.
"You slept here too?"
"Yep."
"Well, aren't you the girlfriend of the year."
Catherine handed Jackie a glass of water.
"There's some coffee and toast in the room. Mind if I kick you out of your bed so I can take shower? Rachel stopped by and she needs to talk to you before she leaves."
****
After they both showered and began packing, Jackie called Rachel to let her know she could stop by. Within a few minutes, she was at the door.
"Hey, what's up?" Jackie asked.
"Just a few things before we part ways."
After going over Jackie's schedule for the week, she got up to leave but paused with her hand on the door handle.
"One more thing," she said, looking back.
"Yeah?" Jackie asked.
"Are you ever planning on telling me that you and Catherine are sleeping together?"
Catherine was packing her suitcase with her back to them. When she heard the words escaped from Rachel's mouth, she froze in place. Drawing in one final breath as her entire body went numb.
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¸