A/N: Sorry for the long wait! I started my last year of college two weeks ago and moved into a new apartment, so I've been getting into the rhythm of things (and dying of a cold, thanks new roomies) but here's the next chapter! Better Than Me will be updated this weekend as well, for those of you who follow that story!

***

Chapter 10: Why Did the Chicken Cross the Road?

"Sophia? Are you there?"

"Yeah," I said, trying to contain my feelings despite the way my mind kept whirring with complaint after complaint after complaint. "I'm here."

"How do you feel about this?" Rachel asked.

"Honestly? I'm really excited. I mean, this is an amazing opportunity. My mind is blown that I was even considered, much less chosen. It's just..." I paused. "Christian and I don't like each other very much." That was the understatement of the century.

"We thought that might be a bit of a problem," she admitted.

"I don't understand then," I said. "I'm honored to have been picked, of course, but –I don't know."

"Sophia, come on." Tori tugged at my arm. "There are too many people here." She grabbed me by the arm and dragged me out of the store. I just barely set the book I was holding down in time. I'd have to come back for a copy of Kidnap My Heart later.

"Well... that would be something best explained by Nora," Rachel said, slyly avoiding the question. As the casting director, she was the best person to explain it, so my guess was that she just didn't want to.

"I just don't get it. We're obviously incompatible, and this is a romance. What if we can't set that aside?"

Part of me – actually, most of me – didn't understand why I was fighting this, why the protests just kept pouring out of my mouth against my better judgment. I'd just received the best news of my life. What was wrong with me?

Then that other part of me reminded me of the reason. It was Christian Ryder. It was always him. The thought of working with him and being around him on a daily basis made me want to hide out in the wilderness, reduced to living off of berries and leaves for the rest of my life, even though I'd failed at basically everything during my short bout as a Girl Scout and would probably die. He reminded me of everything I wanted to forget.

"Sophia, you can do this!" Tori said. She didn't know what was going on, exactly, but she still felt the need to try to pump me up when I was feeling down on myself.

"It won't be so bad," Rachel said. "I'm sure you two will learn to get along eventually. You might have gotten off on the wrong foot, but that's not an end-all, be-all."

"But what if we don't?" Why was I such a downer? I needed to shut up already.

"We're gonna have to work some things out," Tori said, nodding resolutely and shoving me back into the real world. "First of all, we're gonna have to find a place to live in L.A. We can't stay at that hotel forever."

"Tori, not right now," I whispered, moving the phone away from my mouth.

"How will I tell my parents?" Tori wondered out loud, having completely missed my quiet but frantic plea to be quiet. "They're not gonna be happy. They knew there was a chance you'd stay here, but I never mentioned my plan to stay with you if that happened. Oh, I know! I'll write them a letter. No, I'll send a postcard once they get home and realize I'm not there!"

I made a face at Tori, silently begging her to shut up. Somehow, that did the trick, because she smiled sheepishly and said, "Oh. Sorry."

"I'm sorry, what did you say?" I quickly returned to my phone call.

"I was saying I really think you guys can do this," Rachel said. "If I didn't think you could, I wouldn't have cast you. Believe me, if you throw away a chance like this because of anyone, especially some guy, you'll regret it every day of your life. Christian can be a nightmare. I know. Everyone who's worked with him knows. But that shouldn't stop you from taking this chance. I hope it won't."

Why was I hesitating? She was right. She was absolutely right. I couldn't believe I was actually thinking about this so hard. I'd just gotten the part of Emma van der Bilt – a lead role. This was the start of my career. This was the start of my life. I would be an idiot to throw an opportunity like this out the window.

"You're right. God, I don't know what I was thinking. I'd be honored to play the part of Emma."

"That's what I like to hear!" Rachel said. "You'll learn to tolerate him. Let's just say Christian is an acquired taste."

I'd say even that was a stretch.

***

Working with Christian brought two things right off the bat: recognition and hatred. Word about him and his Mystery Girl starring in a movie together got out fast, with a lot of people speculating it had all been a big publicity stunt and that this pairing had been in the works the whole time.

All of a sudden, I couldn't go anywhere, at least not without a disguise or an evacuation plan. The paparazzi knew where I lived, and the one time I went out without covering myself up I was bombarded. Having never dealt with the paparazzi firsthand, I panicked and ran back to my hotel.

As bad as the press was, Christian's fans had to be the worst. They were judgmental, jealous, and cruel, to the point where I wasn't looking forward to receiving any more attention from them even though I'd just barely hit the tip of the iceberg. His fans weren't all as nice as Tori. I quickly learned to stay away from the internet.

But things weren't all bad. Lea Jameson, the talent agent from my audition, had called shortly after Rachel with an offer of representation. She was from one of the best talent agencies in Hollywood and had a great record. Before long, I'd signed onto her agency. She would help me further my career from here and secure more auditions. I was officially in the acting business.

"Soph, what are you gonna wear to the read-through?" Tori asked, barging into the room. We were still at the hotel, but we were finally alone. Tori's family had gone home a few days after I got the role, begrudgingly leaving Tori behind.

I wasn't exactly their favorite person in the world at the moment. Tori's family was extremely close-knit. To them, her decision to stay in California wasn't just horrifying, but completely unprecedented, as well. Unfortunately for them, she was eighteen. There was nothing they could say or do to stop her, and they didn't like me for giving her a reason to stay.

Although my parents didn't like the distance, either, they were more lenient than Tori's parents. They knew moving to a big city came with the dream and they, at least, were glad Tori had stayed. Knowing I wasn't alone made them – and me – feel better.

"I don't know. I hadn't really thought about it."

A few weeks had passed since I was cast as Emma, with the first read-through happening that day at noon. The rest of the cast had been announced, meaning we were finally ready to meet up.

"Don't you worry," she said. "I'm on it!"

I couldn't help the panicked expression that came across my face. Tori loved anything and everything in the realm of fashion and beauty, but her taste tended to differ from mine. She strongly believed in "flaunting what your momma gave you" while I strongly believed in "covering what your momma gave you so you don't attract any attention from perverts."

In the end, I didn't have the heart to turn down the outfit she came out with, mostly because it was actually cute and kept the girls covered. When she tried to do my makeup, I drew the line. I wasn't good at sitting still while others prodded at my eyes with anything, makeup products included. Besides, if something went wrong, I didn't have time to fix it. I was already running late as it was.

"Is this a sign of how working with you is going to be?" Christian asked as soon as I walked through the door. Like, my foot had barely crossed the threshold when he decided to open his big, fat mouth once again.

"Your fans nearly trampled me out there," I said. "Is that a sign of how working with you is going to be?"

"They just get a little excited," he said, as if that excused their primal behavior.

I ignored him and addressed Nora, the person I was actually worried about upsetting with my lateness. "Sorry I'm late, Nora. I had some trouble leaving my hotel." The date of the read-through had leaked and the arrival of the paparazzi at my hotel had made it almost impossible to leave. I had to sneak out using the fire escape after the apartment disabled the alarm so I could get through. I guess the thought of getting some inside information on Christian was just too good for the reporters to resist, because God knew I wasn't that interesting on my own at this point.

"We haven't been waiting long," Nora said. "You're fine. Go ahead and take your seat so we can start."

There was only one seat open, right next to Christian. I had no choice but to sit there. I couldn't exactly ignore the tabletop sign with my name and character on it. I would've even been willing to take my chances on the creepy guy sitting in the corner if it meant not sitting next to Christian, but alas, things just never seemed to work out in my favor.

It wasn't until I sat down that I got a good look at everybody at my table. I recognized a few faces – Christian, an actress named Savannah that I'd seen in a few movies, Nora, and Blake Grey, Christian's best friend and fellow Hollywood heartthrob. The rest looked familiar, but that was it. I couldn't put a name to any of their faces.

"How about we start with some introductions?" Nora suggested. "We're going to be stuck with one another for a few months, so we might as well get this over with."

Everyone seemed to nod their heads in approval. I may have been the only complete newbie in the room, but it didn't seem like the rest of the cast really knew each other, apart from Christian and Blake.

She pulled an orange baton out of her bag. "This is the Thespian Stick. If it's handed to you, you say a few words about yourself and then pass it on. I'll start. I'm Nora Harding, and I'm your director. I'm very easy to get along with, and I'm excited to work with all of you. I want this to be an enjoyable experience for everyone. Personally, I think shooting this movie is going to be a blast. We've got a great cast and a great script to work with. But I digress. A fun fact about me is that I love seafood." She handed the stick over to Blake. "You're up next, Blake."

"Sweet." Blake took the baton in his hands and started flipping it around.

Nora looked at him uneasily. "Please don't break that."

"Right. Sorry. Alright, well, my name is Blake Grey, and I'm playing Eric Knight. I've been in the business for a few years, but I always end up back here. Probably because Nora promised to stock my trailer with as much pizza and Skittles as I could ever want. A fun fact about me is that my buddy Chris and I co-parent a dog." He reached over to slap Christian on the back with a sly grin on his face. "He likes to shit on his bed."

I tried to mask the snort that threatened to come out upon hearing that. That would be a sight to behold. I'd literally pay his dog to keep shitting on his bed, or pay Blake to encourage his dog to keep shitting on his bed if I could.

"Thanks for that. Really. Thanks." Christian shook his head at Blake and glanced around the room as he took the Thespian Stick from Blake's outstretched hand. "Do I really have to introduce myself? I think everyone knows who I am."

I rolled my eyes and muttered, under my breath, "So modest."

"What? It's true."

"It's true," Savannah interjected, her eyes flitting to Christian every other second, to the point where I was actually kind of concerned she was having some kind of epileptic fit. "I mean, he's Christian Ryder."

He smiled smugly at her interjection but said nothing more.

We sat there and waited for an introduction we weren't sure was going to come, which got old pretty fast. "Are you going to introduce yourself or not?" I finally asked.

"You want to hear my introduction, huh?" he asked, and I swear he was one second away from popping his collar. "Maybe you are a Ry-Hard after all."

"Not exactly. I've come to realize that every time you open your mouth, you give me an opportunity to make you look bad."

"You introduce yourself, then." He threw the baton at me. I barely caught it in time. The sad thing was that he was sitting right next to me.

"Fine." I looked around and began my introduction. "Well, my name is Sophia Hastings. I'm playing Emma van der Bilt. I'm new in town, and new to this business, which is probably really obvious by now." I had a feeling everyone could see I had no idea what I was doing here.

"Give us a fun fact," Blake interjected. He was sitting on Christian's other side and looked over him to talk to me.

I paused. "This is pretty random, but I can make a good chipmunk voice."

"... Like on a computer?" Blake asked.

"No, like... with my mouth."

Blake seemed a little too amused by the idea. "Really? Let's hear it."

I shrugged in assent and said the first thing that came to mind. Why this was the first thing that popped into my brain, I didn't know. "Hey, Christian, why did the chicken cross the road?"

Christian's lips twitched upwards at my voice. "I don't know."

"To get away from you," I said, somehow producing an even shriller squeak. I was honestly kind of proud of it. I'd never gone up to that octave before.

He rolled his eyes. "Very mature."

"I'm known for it. Your turn." I threw the stick back to him and almost hit him in the face.

"Hey, watch it," he said. "Not the face."

I just shrugged. I hadn't aimed for his face, but I was kind of disappointed I'd missed nonetheless.

He tried to get out of it again until most of the girls at the table urged him to introduce himself, probably a ploy to get him to speak so they could fawn over his voice. Sure, it was deep and guyish and all, but there were a million others just like it out there. Big whoop.

Christian smiled at them and said, "Alright, I'll go. My name's Christian Ryder. I'm playing William Knight. Unlike Nora, I'm not that easy to get along with, especially if you're a newbie who doesn't know her place."

Real subtle, Christian. Petty seemed to be his middle name.

A girl I didn't recognize spoke up. "So Christian, what's your fun fact?"

He seemed to ponder this for a moment before speaking. I'd originally thought the question was too loaded for his pea-sized brain to handle, but I guess not. "I hate it when girls play hard to get," he finally said, and he looked right at me, as if my contempt for him was the product of a silly game or a quest to win his heart.

"Why are you looking at me?" I asked. I should have kept my mouth shut. Even though he was obviously instigating me, I should have been the bigger person. But I couldn't. "We've been over this."

"I knew you were just playing around," Savannah said, rolling her eyes. "You're secretly just as crazy about Chris as every other girl in the room, aren't you?"

"Of course," I said. "You can tell by the way I stare longingly into his eyes, hang onto his every word, and find every excuse I can to join his conversations. Oh, wait. That's you."

Savannah was cut off by Christian. "Ladies, ladies, please. No need to fight over me. There's plenty of me to go around."

"And we all know you get around," I muttered, again under my breath, but I guess Christian was close enough to hear me.

"Would you stop already? This is exactly my problem." He stood up and looked between Nora and me. "She turns everything I say against me. I don't know if I'm going to be able to work with her."

He didn't know if he was going to be able to work with me? That was too rich. "Don't act like you're the victim here, Christian, because that role doesn't suit you."

"I'm not the problem here," he said. "You are. You've been the problem from the start."

"An argument takes two. You're no better than I am." I shook my head without looking over at him. "If you wanted to be the bigger person, you could have just as easily walked away." And stopped hurling incendiary comments my way, hoping to pick a fight and make me look the unreasonable one.

"What am I supposed to do? What did you expect? I'm not gonna just take your degrading comments and walk away," he said, his voice getting louder and louder with every reply.

I finally made eye contact with him again and noticed he was staring down at me with an annoyed look on his face. I wasn't going to give him the satisfaction of literally looking down at me as he yelled at me. I stood up and sure, we still had a significant height difference, but it wasn't the same demeaning power structure it had been before. "Then why should I take your condescending comments?" I asked.

"Out of respect for your superiors," he said. I wasn't sure how he said it with a straight face. "You're the newbie here, not me."

I couldn't help but laugh, a laugh devoid of any touch of real humor. "Have you already forgotten? Three years ago, you were the newbie."

He moved closer, way too close for comfort, but my pride wouldn't let me back down or take a step back. "I was nothing like you when I was new here," he said. "You know what you are? You're an inconsiderate and ungrateful brat who doesn't know the meaning of respect."

"You know when I'll show you respect? When you earn it, and so far you've done nothing to deserve anything from me."

At this point, Nora finally stepped in. She stood up and walked over to us, physically pushing us apart and standing in between our rigid figures. I hadn't realized just how close we'd gotten in the heat of the moment. All of a sudden, I felt sick to my stomach. "Why don't we go outside for a minute?" she asked.

Christian protested, of course, while I knew the second Nora had to intercede that we had already royally screwed up. I wasn't about to make things worse.

Nora sternly insisted on us "taking a breather" and that was that.

This was going to be a long day.