12:15PM
TEXT MESSAGE FROM:
CC AGENT

CC - AGENT
Hey bestie.
I figured out the answer
to all your problems.

Willow
what problems?

CC - AGENT
Girl. Your life lol.
It's a mess honey.
but we can fix it.
Meet me in my office
at 3pm tomorrow.

Willow
Okay?
You're so vague and
I hate it lol.
See you then.

2:45 PM
MESSAGE FROM:
"BAD BITCH FAMILY"
GROUP CHAT

Jeffrey Dad Morgan
what's this I hear about you doing
an enews interview?
willow?

No Will To Live
CC said it would be the
best option.
Said they wouldn't
play around and
that I'd be supported.

(SM)ACKLES
well that's a fuckin lie
lol
I don't like ur new agent will

NO WILL TO LIVE
Jensen she's been really helpful
after everything.
She's no Dominik but shes
doing her best.
She has a lot to work with haha

JA🦒
Willow:(
I hate that you talk about yourself that way.
the accident wasn't your fault.
you know that, right?

NO WILL TO LIVE
says someone who literally
wasn't involved.
your opinion's irrelevant jar

MI(SHH!)
ouch will

NO WILL TO LIVE
sorry jared I didn't mean that
i appreciate the concern
but I'm fine.
CC's got my back:)

ALEX 🐈‍⬛VERT
so do we willow ❤️

3:15PM
Phone Number Unrecognized.
Open?

...

UNKNOWN
I know what you did.

Willow
Excuse me?

UNKNOWN
You'll see.
Everyone will see.

4:09PM
NEW MESSAGE FROM:
Dad

Dad
Hey kiddo.
Checking up to make sure
everything's okay.
Saw the interview!
You did great.
I'm proud of you.
No matter what.
Okay?

Message Read At 4:11PM

7:12PM
INSTAGRAM DM WITH
Robert Pattinson

rpatz
tell me something funny
today's awful

sandywillow
why did the melon jump
into the water?

rpatz
why

sandywillow
it wanted to be..
a water melon

rpatz
i thought you were supposed to be funny.
your dad is hilarious.

sandywillow
:(

rpatz
how do you still think that's funny

sandywillow
HAHAHAHAHA PLEASE
at least once a day
I have to.
It's my favorite photo.

rpatz
please 😭
it's so stupid will

sandywillow
then send something better

rpatz

sandywillow
Robert.
My mother is dead.

rpatz
your point?

sandywillow
horrible joke.

rpatz
did it make you laugh
i know it did
don't lie

sandywillow
...yes

—

Willow straightened her crossbody bag over her shoulder, smiling warmly at her bodyguard, Frankie, as he opened the door.

Immediately, lights blared in her face as voices surrounded her, asking the same questions.

"How do you feel?" "Miss Willow, can we have a moment!" "Care to comment on the accusations!" "Have you heard anything from James Callaghan?" "Are you ever going to publicly apologize for—"

"—No comments at this time," Willow looked ahead, sticking close to Frankie.

"Oh, Miss Willow, please—" "Can you just answer—"

Frankie pushed her past them and into the brightly lit office building. They walked in quickly, Willow clinging to her bag strap tight enough to leave a mark on her hand.

"Good afternoon, Miss Willow," the receptionist greeted brightly. "It's good to see you out and about. How're you both doing today?"

"Fine, thanks, Jenna," she smiled stiffly, trying to ignore the flashing that continued from outside the building.

Her agent's office may have strict rules against paparazzi entering the building — having taken multiple outlets to court numerous times — but that didn't stop Willow from being photographed outside or through the glass walls.

She could see the headline now:

Willow Sandler, STRUGGLES to Keep Her Agent After Tragic Accident

Willow nearly rolled her eyes at the thought.

"We're here to see CC Atkins," she addressed the older woman behind the counter. "I have a meeting."

"Of course, they're waiting for you. Conference room 314."

Confused, Willow narrowed her brows. They?

Frankie guided Willow down the hall and to the elevator, where they stood in silence until they reached the third floor. He gestured for her to leave first and followed quickly behind her, as they headed to the right down another hall.

They passed numerous rooms, all exactly the same with tinted windows and light grey doors: the numbers installed neatly on the outside.

Upon finding Conference Room 314, Willow pushed the door open and stopped at the entrance, eyes widening at the — more than a few people — sitting in the room.

"Uh, hi," she stuttered out lamely, waving her hand awkwardly. "What's up?"

Frankie snorted from next to her and she elbowed his chest. He quieted, but the playful smirk remained on his face.

"Willow, glad you could join us," CC spoke from the head of the squared conference table.

Next to her, sat a blonde male with glasses, and a thick metal-bound notebook, and then a woman with auburn hair and bright blue eyes, and a black binder. Across from her and sat next to CC was a man with speckled brown and silver hair and a matching beard.

Finally, her eyes settled on the man nearest her, and sat next to the man with the speckled beard.

Pedro Pascal.

Brown, lightly waved hair with few salt and pepper bits, not enough to be conventionally "old" but enough to be "harrowed." Eyes that she knew to be dark brown, though they weren't looking at her, rimmed under thick black glasses. A caterpillar mustache of dark brown, matching the roots of his hair.

Willow's confused frown deepened and she gave her agent a wary look.

"I'm—hold on, I'm confused," she laughed nervously. "What's going on? Is this a Mandalorian thing? I thought I had that, I already promoted it and everything. We've gone through this—"

"No, no, it's not about that," CC smiled up at her, gesturing next to Pedro. He looked up finally, watching her with a small smile, but it didn't reach his eyes.

"Uh, okay," she glanced at Frankie, who stood behind her, next to a red-haired man with a clean-shaven face, donning a similar all black outfit to Frankie. That must be Pedro's bodyguard. "Care to explain?"

She asked as she took a seat next to Pedro, stiffening slightly as a strong scent from his cologne washed over her. She couldn't make out much, except a hint of bergamot that flooded her nostrils and filled her with an overwhelming sense of familiarity.

"I've been in contact with Jason here," CC spoke up, smiling at the man sitting in between her and Pedro. "He's Pedro's agent. We've come up with a plan to boost his ratings, which are...fair, to say the least. But after the Mandalorian finale last year, he's been at a solid medium. You, however, have immense popularity, practically since you were born."

Willow nodded, eyes shifting to Pedro curiously, her mind working overtime to see where this conversation would lead.

"But, after recent events," CC exaggerated a sympathetic expression, looking around at the group. "You've been incredibly low in everyone's list of 'celebrities you can trust.' Pedro's the opposite.

"Everyone who has seen the Mandalorian, and I mean, every single poll we've sent out, has absolutely loved him. And, yes, granted, you'll be joining the show, but we can't guarantee your ratings will skyrocket. People may hate the character, may hate a strong female lead, etc. There's a lot of variables and nothing can confirm your success. Nothing, except..."

She paused for dramatic effect, glancing around the table again. Willow noticed Pedro's leg move up and down at a quick rate. Was he nervous?

"A relationship with an up and coming older actor, beloved and defended, by many who idolize him. We can play the relationship anyway to increase—"

"—Wait, relationship?" Willow asked, blinking, looking at CC as if she'd grown two heads. Her gaze turned to Pedro, who wasn't looking at her, instead, fixated on the black table in front of him. "You want...us," she gestured between her and Pedro, suddenly feeling light-headed. "To be in a relationship."

Willow phrased it more as a question than a statement, her voice coming out a bit higher than normal, and felt her hands growing clammy from nerves.

"Well, it'll all be for publicity," the woman with auburn hair spoke up, smiling at Willow. "Angie Sharpe, Mr. Pascal's lawyer," she reached a hand over the table and Willow blinked, taking it slowly and shaking it.

"It's Pedro," he corrected, looking up for the first time, clearing his throat. "Using my last name is so formal," he joked, forcing out a small laugh.

No one entertained him.

Angie smiled politely. "Of course, Mr. Pascal."

Pedro shrunk down a bit in his seat.

"Now, back to the basics, there doesn't need to be any physical relationship of any kind, excluding the occasional walk with a coffee in the mornings. You may brush shoulders or hold hands."

"Of course, there will be many 'sources'" the man across from Willow spoke now, from next to Angie, using air quotes to emphasize his point. "I'm Mason, your lawyer. CC hired me."

Willow blinked, looking over at CC in surprise. "Oh, that's—thats—wait, Jason and Mason? Seriously?"

Pedro snorted but no one else seemed to take notice of her joke. She glanced at him but he didn't make a move to look at her.

"From numerous 'friends' of both of yours. You'll have to sign a bit of paperwork to create the whole breakup and—"

"—Well, wait, hold on, hold on. Let's slow your horses," Willow laughed nervously, looking around the room. Her breath started picking up a fraction, nerves picking at her insides.

"I'm not entirely sure I'm comfortable with this, I mean this guy won't even look at me—"

"—Do you think I want this anymore than you do?" Pedro snarked, scowling down. "If my numbers were high enough by myself, I'd be fine. Now I have to be in a fake relationship with a girl nearly twice as young as me."

"Okay, boo-hoo for you, you're also here, pretty much throwing this on me so I'm not sure why you're—"

"—Just because I was dragged into this—"

"Let's not jump straight into arguing now, you don't have to necessarily get along with each other," Angie spoke up firmly, looking between the pair.

Willow exchanged an annoyed glare with Pedro, both now mildly irritated by the other's presence, rather than standoffish like before.

"As she said," Mason agreed, glancing half-worriedly at CC. "We're all on the same page here. A couple Instagram photos, well-placed adverts, bombshell discovery of your relationship, big breakup, the whole sha-bang. We just have to keep this up for a few months, no more than six, until we're able to—"

"Six months!?" Pedro and Willow voiced loudly together, sharing a haughty look with one another.

Mason chuckled. "Yes," he adjusted his tie, fidgeting. "Six months. Now, Willow, you're at the perfect age where you're not young enough to be questionable to Mr. Pascal's—"

"—Pedro," he corrected.

"Ahem, of course," Mason smiled tightly. "You're not young enough for anyone to question his intentions, but you are young enough to add a controversial flare."

Willow felt sick, sinking her back against the soft cushioned office chair.

"Controversial flare?" She questioned softly. "I—I'm a human being," she looked between the three. "I made a mistake but I shouldn't be paraded off into the highest bidder—"

"—I'm not paying you for it—" Pedro intercepted, anger lacing his tone.

"It's a figure of speech," she spat out. "I don't deserve to be thrown off to a guy I hardly know, who is, quite honestly, old enough to be my dad. Matter of fact," she laughed, the situation finally hitting her. "You're closer in age to my dad than me!"

"I mean," she looked around at everyone. "This is a joke, right? Like how are people going to stand there and believe that we're dating? I don't even like being around him and—"

"—You don't even know me—"

"—And," she ignored his interruption. "You expect us to just get along at red carpet events and joke around in interviews and—"

"You're both actors," CC spoke up, the smile gone from her face. "So. Act."

Willow sunk back, defeated, her mind reeling. She'd never had a choice in anything.

Not her parents, her mother's Instagram photos of her as a child, her hair color growing up, her schooling — homeschool, always — her career: modeling, acting, occasionally singing. And comedy. She couldn't forget the comedy.

Her mother decided everything for her and begrudgingly, after moving out and deciding her own life, Willow found a different love in acting. A timeless, romantic fascination in portraying the average person, or people from far-away lands, all with problems different than her own.

But that life — it was hers.

Now, being forced to be in a public relationship for, lack of a better word, clout, she and an older man — who she would also have to work with in his own show — would have to pretend to be a happy couple.

It felt as though everything in her life, everything she'd worked for the past six years; none of it mattered. Her life belonged to the industry. She tried to remember her father's words: the show doesn't have to go on, you can go backstage whenever you want.

What a crock of bullshit.

Willow could never give up her life, give up her career. She'd always be harassed for looking a certain way, acting a certain way, portraying a certain character wrong or too deeply — or so well that people couldn't tell the difference between her and the character.

She couldn't just stop acting. Everyone would still recognize her, she'd never be...normal. Not with her last name following her around, and certainly not after this. After a scandalous relationship with her coworker twice her age.

"Welcome to Hollywood, baby," Pedro muttered sarcastically under his breath.

—

Hours of grueling paperwork. Meticulous details to be and not to be dropped. Whereabouts planned, leaked photos decided. Willow's head throbbed as more and more of her life was signed away on thin sheets of paper by two power-hungry lawyers.

She noticed Frankie giving her a sympathetic look, and appreciated it, though he couldn't do anything. She loved Frankie fiercely, like a much older brother, or even an uncle. He'd been her bodyguard since she was fifteen and paparazzi first started getting in her face. Her dad hired him then, hoping his menacing demeanor and buzz cut would startle people.

At first, it'd worked. But as the years went by, they grew accustomed to him and his muscular frame. He'd gotten older too, reaching his early sixties. Her father told her to hire someone else, someone meaner, tougher, but she trusted Frankie. He was kind and made her laugh. He treated her like a normal person — she didn't want to lose that.

"And that's it," Angie smiled, dividing the paperwork between herself, Mason, Jason, and CC.

Willow noted how neither she nor Pedro received their own. How much of their life was bought by others? She felt like their fates had been sealed by the devil himself, their souls forced into the hands of people who hardly seemed to care about either of them.

"Think we're done here," Mason smiled at CC, shaking her hand. "I'll be in touch."

"And me," Angie shook Jason's hand. "We'll all monitor the social media usage, of course. Drop a few when necessary. As per the contract."

Willow nodded numbly, too tired to think about much else. That morning seemed so far away now. Here she was, watching as someone dictated her own life. How had she fallen so far?

Her mind drifted to the accident, flashes of it coming to the forefront, but she closed her eyes tightly, fist clutching the armchair of the seat. She took a deep breath, shaking her head.

She felt a hand on her shoulder. Startled, she looked up and found Frankie's soft smile. She nodded acutely, letting him know she was okay.

Only he'd seen her night tremors, her flashbacks. She'd tried to tuck them away, push them down, but it seemed the more eventful her life became, the more it seemed to take over her mind.

"See you both later," Mason barely nodded to Pedro and Willow, Angie following quickly behind.

"I'll walk with you," she nodded to him as they left the room, presumably to take another exit out of the building. They couldn't be seen near the pair of them — if word leaked there'd been lawyers around them, the relationship would fall flat, and god forbid, that happened.

CC and Mason spoke in quiet voices together, stood near the door. Pedro and Willow sat next to each other, neither saying anything, their bodyguards dutifully behind them.

"So...this is weird," Willow tried weakly after a long pause.

He turned his head towards her, looking over her face. She turned her head, watching him as they examined the other.

Then, without another word, he scoffed, shaking his head, before walking out of the room, his bodyguard close behind him.

Willow sighed.

"'Yeah, totally, Willow. Wouldn't wanna be stuck with anyone else though.'" She said sarcastically, shaking her head. "Think any of this will work?" She asked aloud.

Frankie ruffled her hair playfully. "I think," he dragged out the 'I'. "That anyone who tries to control you, is making a grave mistake. But everything will work out, kid. It always does."

—

ahhhhh im obsessed with this story already idc. Literally wrote this at work. I'm boutta start another chapter too. It's so fun and I can't wait for her and Pedro's relationship. I just saw a clip of his hand on a chair, rubbing it like a knee and I — y'all send prayers im obsessed with this man. anyways lmk your thoughts. This is very much a MIX of socials and real life so just be prepared for that. Lots of writing and lots of short Instagram/Twitter, etc. chapters too. -osw