Kiara's outfit above... isn't she stunning!

acatalepsy

(n.) the inability to truly comprehend anything

Time felt as if it had passed all too quickly and Kiara couldn't help but wish she could slow things down, if only to allow herself some reprieve from the constant grind of interviews, rehearsals and paparazzi ambushes. Tomorrow, all those promotional tours and hours of sleepless nights would pay off. Not only had The Enlightenment been nominated for Primetime Emmy Awards for 'Outstanding Drama Series' and 'Outstanding Directing for a Drama Series', but she had also been individually nominated for 'Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series'. She was getting ahead of herself again as she imagined all the possible ways things could go wrong and in realising what she was doing, immediately snapped herself out of the overly anxious state to focus on filming the Primetime Emmy Award skit.

Vijay awkwardly shifted before the green screen while she stood with the production crew, watching as he began, "You may be asking yourself, who is this handsome– fuck!"

He threw his hands up, directing his irritation at the camera crew, "They all know who I am, why do I have to say it?"

The crew reset the shot, as she pleaded with him to behave before he restarted, "You may be asking yourself, who is this handsome stud– "

He dropped his head, rubbing his temple, "God, I sound like a jackass."

She ran her hands through her hair and exclaimed, "Seriously? Just get through the shot."

"Who approved of this script?"

He looked around expectantly as Nicole spoke up, "I did."

"I'm not saying this shit."

Kiara hit the back of his head, chastising his obstinance, "Jay, people put time and effort into this. You're being disrespectful."

He tried to ignore his conscience, avoiding meeting her gaze as he looked over at his assistant, timidly standing in the back, "Where's my flask?"

The boy hurriedly clambered over with the flask as Vijay rudely tore it out of his hands, "Finally."

He brought the flask up to his nose, sniffing its contents and scowling, "Is this apple juice?"

The boy hesitantly nodded as Vijay furiously threw the flask on the ground, "Who asked you to replace my flask with one of your juice boxes?"

She put her hand on his shoulder, urging him to calm down as he continued berating the poor boy, "Fucking unprofessional!"

She shoved him and held up a finger, raising her voice, "Hey! I get that you had a shitty day and recording a skit is probably the last thing you want to be doing now but pull yourself together. You're being unprofessional. Now get back in place and do your job!"

Vijay paused, momentarily stunned, while the production crew stared at Kiara in amazement.

He quietly trudged back into position, not unlike a puppy with his tail tucked between his legs after being scolded, as she turned to the cameraman and calmly instructed, "Let's take it from the top."

The cameraman nodded, hurriedly resetting the camera as he prepared to film. Vijay diligently recited his lines, completing the promo without any complaints as Kiara watched in satisfaction. Nicole handed him his flask, now filled with whiskey instead of juice.

He unscrewed the lid as the cameraman hesitantly said, "Actually, we'll need to do one more shot."

Vijay took a long gulp, refusing to comply, "No, we don't."

"We really just need one more take."

"No, that's a wrap. Okay? Great!"

Vijay tucked the flask into his pocket and walked away while Kiara stayed to apologise on his behalf to the production crew before making her way out as well. The two immediately returned home, both in no mood to be in each other's company after having spent the entire day together. She was entirely too tired to deal with his tantrums while he barely had enough energy to maintain a decent conversation and as such, a quiet night in bed would be beneficial to them both.

A good five hours of sleep left Kiara and Vijay re-energised for the day as they readied themselves for the Primetime Emmy Award event this afternoon. It would mark the first official Hollywood red carpet they walked so held great significance with regards to public perception and networking. For ease of travelling and preparation, they decided to lodge at a hotel near the venue to allow stylists, make-up artists and assistants free rein regarding the logistics.

Refusing to conform with the standard black-tie dress code, Kiara opted to wear a stunning silver lehenga while Vijay looked dapper in a black velvet suit with a matching silver pocket square to complement her outfit. She had made a promise to herself at the start of this journey to remain true to herself and had no intentions of breaking that vow anytime soon. 

If she could respect and participate in American culture, she expected her culture to be treated in kind. She resorted to stiffly perching on the couch in an attempt to keep her hair and makeup undisturbed as he carelessly sprawled beside her, resting his head on her lap. They waited patiently for Kabir to get ready, excited to see how he looked in the outfit they chose. He stepped out of the bathroom, proudly spinning around to show off his black suit and they immediately went silent, shifting their focus to his drastic outfit change.

Vijay raised his brows, looking impressed, "Wow first time I've seen you in a three piece suit. You even attached the pocket watch!"

Kabir stuffed his hands into his pockets, nodding his head as if to say, 'spit it out', "Here it comes."

Vijay cocked his head, smirking roguishly, "Here what comes? You look absolutely precious."

He held up a finger, gasping as if he forgot to mention one important detail, "I think you forgot your top hat, Mr. Monopoly."

"Good one. Real funny."

She playfully hit his shoulder, "Jay, leave him alone. He looks better than you do."

Kabir smirked, "Thank you, Kiara."

"You're welcome. Oh, and Mr. Peanut called, he says you should hurry up before you miss your tea party."

He inwardly thanked whatever gods existed for bestowing him with the patience equivalent of a saint, "Are you two finished?"

Vijay looked at her before shaking his head, "We could go all day."

She shrugged, "I think the vest has had enough."

"Yeah, you're probably right."

They looked back at Kabir and spoke in unison, "We're done."

Kabir managed to usher the Kiara and Vijay out of the hotel and into the car, releasing a sigh of relief when everything ran smoothly without any major scandals. She heard Kabir inhale sharply as Nicole sauntered over in a beautiful dark violet cut-out dress, smiling to herself upon watching him practically fall in love with the woman before her. Vijay obnoxiously rolled his eyes, tapping the driver desperately to indicate they were ready to go.

The award show unfolded, revealing The Enlightenment as tonight's winners for Outstanding Drama Series but unfortunately they hadn't won the Outstanding Directing for a Drama Series category. As the time to announce individual awards loomed closer, Kiara's gut clenched while the entire room waited with baited breaths for Stephen Colbert to announce the winner for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series.

Much to their delight, it was her name that was called out as Vijay remained a solid support and steadied Kiara all the way onto stage. She paused before the stairs and shook out her skirt three times, in keeping with her ritual, before proceeding to accept her award. The events that followed felt like one giant blur as she could only vaguely remember hugging Stephen and standing before the microphone, expression similar to that of a deer caught in the headlights. She recalled the frustration of having to sit through hours of long-winded acceptance speeches, remembering the struggle to maintain an expression of firm interest for the cameras.

In that moment, she decided to keep her speech simple and folded her hands in Namaste then placed a hand over her heart and blew a kiss out to the audience, "First off, thank you to everyone who's always been in my corner. Jay, you're my ride or die. Kabir, your presence alone gives me strength. Appa*, I hope I made you proud. Kunjetta, I know I can be a pain in the ass but you've always supported me. And thank you guys," straining her neck as she turned to address the fans; "I couldn't have done it without any of you!"

Winking cheekily at the audience, Kiara walked off stage as everyone burst out laughing and cheering her on. She knew that while she may receive some criticism over her performance tonight, the audience would be eternally grateful for her short and sweet speech and hopefully knew her well enough to understand that she wasn't intentionally being rude but just preferred fewer public displays of her gratitude.

Before long, the attendees found themselves grabbing flutes of champagne and conversing at the afterparty. Kiara and Emilia remained deep in conversation as Vijay headed to the bar to get them drinks. Realising it had been well over an hour since he left, Kiara glanced over worriedly and to her surprise, found him pouring some of the liquid from his flask into two other glasses. She couldn't see who the glasses belonged to but could identify the backs two men's heads– one blonde and the other brunette. 

Almost everyone she met considered themselves good at holding their alcohol only to take one sip from his flask and realise that perhaps they weren't as skilled as they initially thought. She supposed that was one of the perks of being an undiagnosed alcoholic– all the benefits of an enhanced alcohol tolerance without the depressive pitying looks from those around you, wondering if you've 'fallen off the wagon' again.

She walked over just as he said, "Kiara's my best friend."

The brunette smirked suggestively, "Huh, I've always wanted to meet her."

Shooting him an unimpressed look, she rested her elbow on Vijay's shoulder, "Huh, I hear she's a bitch."

Without even having to look, he knew it was her and smiled, "No one's said that."

He kissed her hand before leaving to fetch her a glass as she sat herself beside the blonde and gestured to his drink, "Jay's supply?"

Heat pooled in Kiara's stomach as the blonde focussed his gaze on her, the crow's feet in the corners of his eyes indicating his inclination to laugh. Taking in his blonde hair and piercing blue eyes, he was hardly her usual type but brought about that fluttering feeling in her stomach all the same as she recognised him to be Chris Evans. Steel blue orbs stared back at her– cool, calm and achingly beautiful.

He smiled, lifting the glass, "It's actually pretty good."

Kiara turned to the brunette and hummed dubiously as his own icy blue eyes dug into her but she met his stare head on. The corners of her mouth turned up in amusement upon recognising the increasingly inebriated man as Sebastian Stan.

He slurred, "I've had two– no wait, maybe three glasses?"

She shook her head, "Most people are already falling off their chairs after one glass of this stuff."

Chris leaned in, wearing an adorable frown, "Are you saying we're wasted?"

Hiding her smile with her shoulder, she peered up at him from beneath her lashes, "Judging by the looks of your friend, I'd be impressed if you weren't."

They maintained eye contact for a long while, simply drinking in each other's features, when Vijay suddenly shoved himself between them and placed a glass in front of her, "We all know you're the only one who can match up to my record, sweetheart."

Chris raised a brow, "Is that so?"

She held his stare as she downed the entire glass then smiled cheekily, "And I do it without getting intoxicated."

Having introduced herself to Chris and Sebastian, Kiara quickly returned to Emilia and tried her best to ignore the suggestive smirk plastered across Emilia's face with distracting conversation. Every now and again Chris' eyes found Kiara's from the across the room and his mouth curved into a smile. After the umpteenth time their gazes met, he finally excused himself from the group and wandered over to speak to her as she pressed her tongue against her cheek to contain her wide grin. Emilia gave her a knowing grin and made up a terrible excuse before leaving the two alone.

He scratched his beard nervously, "Hey, congratulations on the Emmy."

She blushed and rubbed her nose bashfully, "Thank you! I really didn't expect to win."

He took a sip of his drink, giving her a once-over as he exclaimed, "Look at that outfit!"

She smoothed a hand over her skirt self-consciously as he joked, "God, it's so weird. I almost wore the exact same thing."

She quirked a brow and he lifted his shoulder in a half-shrug, "That would've been really embarrassing because one of us would've had to go home."

Kiara laughed, cheeks heating as Chris' eyes continued to rake over her figure.

She folded her arms and asked, "Heard you're hanging up the spandex."

He nodded glumly as she cautiously inquired, "Would you go back?"

"To marvel?"

"Yeah."

He sighed deeply, resting his elbow on the table beside she as he sarcastically said, "Well, I'm an old man now but um.."

She giggled, hitting his arm playfully, "Yeah, right."

"You know."

"You're abysmal."

"Yeah... everything clicks when I get up..."

He stretched his arms out as he chuckled, "Recovery is not the same."

"Oh yeah, you look awful."

He gestured to his face, "Just a pound of make up on this."

She shrugged, "Well at least you've got America's ass."

Chris leaned back, clutching his chest as he shook with laughter and Vijay walked up behind Kiara with a glass of water in hand. He narrowed his eyes and looked between them distrustfully as she thanked him and took a sip. Chris wore easy smile, holding his hand out in an attempt to greet Vijay but was met with sceptical frowns and wary glares. In response, Vijay placed his hand on the small of her back and subtly moved her over to his other side, further from Chris. She gave him an apologetic look but complied as she understood that Vijay, however uncouth he may seem, always acted with her best interests in mind.

Patting his shoulder, she chided, "Play nice."

Looking at Chris' hand, still awkwardly extended, Vijay softened and relented. Kiara smiled in satisfaction and looked around, taking in a sharp breath as she caught a glimpse of Leon, her ex-boyfriend, in the crowd.

Vijay instantly grew alert, glancing around in alarm to find why she was suddenly on edge as Chris inquired, "What's wrong?"

She plastered a nonchalant smile onto her face, "Nothing. I thought I saw someone I knew."

Vijay continued to stare at Kiara for a long moment before scrutinising the crowd. He recognised the arrogant drawl of Leon's voice and swivelled around in that direction.

Chris straightened, looking alarmed as she blocked Vijay's path and pleaded, "Jay, let it go."

Vijay's breath quickened and his blood boiled, "Move."

"Jay, please. Calm down."

The people around them quietened, noticing the commotion as he stared ahead adamantly, "I don't want to hurt you. Move."

Chris prepared to intervene, realising things were escalating radically.

As if the situation wasn't already tense enough, Leon materialised from behind Kiara and drawled, "Who are you going to hurt?"

Kiara heard some sharp intakes of breaths as the surrounding guests sensed the tension. She couldn't blame them for reacting this way– Leon had an imposing presence. The kind that felt as if all the air had been sucked out of the room. She supposed that was why he was so successful in his acting career. His captivating features only served to further enhance his commanding air. He slinked up to Vijay with his hands in his pockets, wearing that sly smirk that somehow always managed to get under her skin. Leon and Kiara in the same room was the equivalent of playing with lit matches near gasoline. Devastatingly hypnotic and monstrously enticing. This was the first time they had spoken since that wretched night and something told her tonight was about to take a turn for the worst.

Smiling maliciously, Vijay snarled, "Fingers crossed it's you."

"Must we resort to such barbaric actions?"

"Honestly, I'd rather not but it's the only language you seem to understand."

"Well come on then... old friend."

Throwing his hands up, Vijay laughed ironically as he turned away. Kiara glared at Leon in warning but he simply quirked a brow in response. Vijay whirled back around, rolling his shoulders as if preparing to fight.

She knew that look on his face– he was getting riled up, so she glanced wearily at Leon, "Not now. Not here."

He followed as she dragged Vijay out to the patio, away from prying eyes, and grabbed her arm, "If you think you can run again this time, you're wrong."

Vijay's eyes darted between them before he finally exploded, the veins in his neck pulsing, "Don't touch her!"

She shrank away as he slated into Leon, "For once in your worthless fucking life, just respect her wishes."

Leon got in his face, "Did you hear that, love? This asshole thinks he gets to make decisions about you."

Vijay's eyes darkened and he lunged at Leon, grabbing him by the neck and throwing him against the table. Kiara had to give Leon credit as he hadn't winced once. He stood, practically lounging in Vijay's grip, and choked out a pathetic laugh. His upper lip curved in a line of pure arrogance, only fanning the flames of Vijay's fury.

Her attempts to defuse the brawl were futile as Vijay berated, "Time and time again you keep testing my patience."

He tightened his grip, tilting his head sadistically as he mocked Leon, "What's wrong? Is it getting harder to breathe?"

Chris glanced outside and noticed the struggle, spurring into action as he carefully moved Kiara out of harm's way before intervening and wrangling Vijay away from Leon. She kneeled to check on Leon, now spluttering on the ground, as Chris struggled to detain a restless Vijay.

He brushed Chris off, pausing to look at Leon savagely, "Go mess with someone who can afford you. You're not worth my time."

Kiara moved hesitantly towards Vijay, assuming the men were done fighting as she touched Chris' elbow to communicate her thanks. Leon impulsively shot up and grabbed an empty wine bottle from a nearby table as he raised it, ready to break it over Vijay's head.

Vijay's eyes flashed angrily as he simply blinked, evoking that killing calm, "You planning on hitting me?"

Leon panted unevenly, remaining in place as Vijay took a predatory step closer, "Take a shot."

"Don't test me."

Chris tensed, readying himself for another scuffle as their voices grew increasingly louder.

Vijay provoked, "Take. A. Shot."

Kiara tried to deescalate the situation, "Stop it. Both of you."

"Go on! Hit me!"

Leon cried out as he reflexively smashed the bottle over Vijay's head. Appalled gasps sounded around the patio from the few guests circled around upon hearing the commotion. He blanched and backed away, the colour draining from his face as he instantly regretted his actions, while Vijay barely flinched and remained unmoving as blood ran down the side of his head. The muscle in his jaw twitched and the surroundings seemed to blur away as his eyes locked onto Leon.

Kiara pressed her trembling hands to his chest as she tried to pacify him, "Jay! Vijay! Vijay, don't."

Leon retreated as she gripped Vijay's shoulders, desperately trying to shift his attention, "Listen to me."

He finally looked at her and spoke in an eerily composed manner, "Get yourself home safely, okay?"

Kiara's forehead puckered in unease as she removed her hands from Vijay and stepped back.

He ducked his head to her height, pupils flared in rage, and enunciated, "Okay?"

She held her breath, hoping he would repress his anger, "Okay."

Vijay shook off the shards of glass that clung to his shirt and hair as he moved around Kiara. The crowd parted, allowing his seething form to exit the venue. Gradually people returned to their conversations, occasionally throwing judgemental glances at her as the cleaning staff attended to the mess. Emilia quickly hurried over, checking to see if she was alright but she remained frozen, clenching her fists in an attempt to control her emotions. Chris took off his suit jacket, wrapping it around Kiara, and steered her towards the veranda, ensuring Emilia he'd take care of her. She closed her eyes, hugging his jacket close and breathing in his comforting cinnamon scent.

He lightly brushed her neck, moving strands of hair out of her face, "Do you want me to get you a glass of water?"

She spoke in a small voice, "Yes, please."

Chris nodded and left towards the bar as Kiara stuck her hands into his jacket pocket, feeling a sharp edge. She pulled out the white Emmy's invitation card, smiling mischievously as an idea occurred to her and she flipped it over, searching for a pen. Chewing on her lip, she second guessed every sentence she wrote but eventually decided to write it anyway. She drew a cartoon puppy chasing its tail on the back before proof-reading the letter she composed:

Dear Christopher,

I slipped this note in your pocket because sliding into your DMs seemed entirely too excruciating of an experience and let's be honest, I've already had more than my fair share of those.

Thank you for so graciously handling tonight's situation. I've drawn you a floatie on the back of this note for your troubles. You probably don't understand the significance but given the number of sleepless nights you'll be having for intervening in my scandal, the least I could do is offer a dream.

While I understand I shouldn't be taking responsibility for their behaviour, I'll apologise anyway. It wasn't my intention for the situation to escalate so drastically or to burden you with my problems. Thank you for pretending to accept it. I guess chivalry isn't dead after all.

As you know, the film industry is a surprisingly small world and there's little chance that we'll be able to avoid each other. Not that I'd want that, of course, but I'm not sure I can look you in the eyes without remembering the hundred different ways I made a mess of your night.

So instead of avoidance, I propose friendship. Clean slate... how does that sound?

Please burn this note after you read it–

Kiara

P.S. I'll be in Venice Beach tomorrow afternoon so stop by if you're game for a football match– and no, I don't mean American football. Wear something pretty :)

Satisfied with the note, Kiara quickly folded and tucked it back into Chris' pocket as she heard him approach. She gratefully accepted the glass of water, taking a few sips before placing it onto the table. Turning to face him, she couldn't help but be entranced by those beautiful sky blue eyes as he gazed back at her so they remained this way for a few seconds. Snapping out of whatever hypnotic spell his eyes held on her, she stood up on her tiptoes and kissed his cheek sweetly while removing his jacket from her shoulders and holding it out for him to collect. He protested stubbornly but she softly grabbed his hands and pushed his jacket into them.

Without letting go of his hands, she leaned in and whispered, "Check your jacket pocket when I leave, okay?"

"Why?"

Kiara squeezed Chris' arm before winking and walking away. As soon as she left, he scrambled to check his pockets, finding the folded invitation. He read her letter and snorted amusedly as he pictured her nervously rambling. Turning the card over, he smiled as he studied the adorable floatie she gave.

Unable to still her erratic heart and increasingly frantic thoughts, Kiara mindlessly walked around Los Angeles, fully aware that Jimmy was trailing her to ensure her safety. She was glad for his comforting presence as it gave her a sense of security after tonight's events. Before she knew it, the sun began to rise on the horizon, indicating that she had been ambling around for hours now. Slowing to walk beside him, she wordlessly linked their arms and rested her head on his shoulder as the adrenaline wore off and exhaustion caught up to her.

Eventually they circled back to the hotel and he left her with parting words of wisdom, "Don't let tonight's fallout overshadow one of the proudest moments in your career."

Oblivious to what she was about to encounter, Kiara unlocked her hotel room and found herself stood in the middle of what appeared to be an orgy.

She screamed, frantically covering her eyes, "Oh my god!"

Somewhere underneath the tangle of limbs, Vijay slyly retorted, "Call me Jay."

"Not funny! What the hell is this?"

She cautiously peeped through the gaps between her fingers, still covering her eyes, as he smirked, "What do you think?"

"Seriously? In my bed!"

The women scrambled to cover their nakedness as he shrugged nonchalantly, "Oops?"

"Asshole."

"Bitch."

A woman walked across the room, interjecting as she struggled to clip her bra back on, "Ugh, get a room."

Kiara glared, "Had a room before you all decided to redecorate it."

Scrambling around to collect any lingerie or rubbish they left behind, Kiara grimaced as she tossed them all into the trash. She tried to shoo the group of women out as efficiently as possible while Vijay sluggishly got out of bed to redress, sighing in relief when the last woman had left her room.

Turning to face him, she found herself having to shield her eyes again as he cocked his head in confusion, "What now?"

She looked at the ceiling in exasperation, blindly gesturing at him, "Pants?"

Rolling his eyes, he tugged on his jeans, "Your loss, sweetheart."

When he was finally decent, she cautiously breached the topic of last night's fallout, "Want to talk about it?"

"No," he sighed, realising he was in the wrong; "I'm sorry."

Unsure of the appropriate response, she simply nodded, "Just don't do it again."

Slowly his mouth quirked into a tentative smile as he weakly joked, "Can't make any promises."

Understanding they wouldn't revisit the topic until Vijay was in the right headspace to discuss the aftermath, Kiara groaned and shoved him aside to make room for her on the bed. She couldn't say the same for Kabir and Nicole as they barged into her hotel room, looking equally irritated. To accompany the matching frowns on their faces, Kiara noticed they suspiciously smelled of the same generic hotel bodywash and were also wearing the same clothes from last night, which could only mean they spent the night together. 

Nonetheless, what they did behind closed doors was none of her business so she decided to keep her newfound revelations to herself until a more opportune time presented itself. Kabir remained stoic as he glared at Vijay while Nicole began pacing back and forth across the room, thinking through every possible scenario to justify last night's events.

Attempting to divert Kabir's attention, Vijay joked, "You've got a smile that lights up the world, anybody ever tell you that?"

Unimpressed, Kabir simply narrowed his eyes before dismissing Vijay to cautiously observe Nicole again.

She slowly grew increasingly annoyed with Vijay, "You think you're smart."

Looking up at her, he snorted, "I think I'm adorable."

"Not the adjective I'd use."

"How about hilarious, gorgeous, charming–"

"Okay I get it."

"Strong, intelligent– did I say gorgeous?"

"Shut up."

"You first."

They remained deep in thought regarding the next best course of action while Kiara and Kabir spoke in hushed whispers, conscious of the tense silence allowing Nicole's annoyance to fester.

He attempted to propose a solution, "Honestly, people expect this from Vijay so it should be fine."

She huffed, "But I don't want this to be the expectation people have of him!"

Vijay rubbed his eyes in frustration, "I see no need to explain myself. The only people I actually hold myself accountable to are in this room."

"So that's it, huh?"

"That's it."

"Fine!"

"Fine."

"Good!"

"Good."




*Appa: a South Indian term for father

Tenth chapter is completeeee!