Better Than Revenge 

Chapter 31

“What is this?” I asked, staring down at the orange bowl Christian had just placed on my lap in disgust. 

“Popcorn,” Christian answered slowly. 

“Are you sure? It looks like popcorn flavored butter to me.” 

He gave me an offended look. “You insulting my cooking skills?” 

“I’d hardly call throwing a bag of microwave-able popcorn into a microwave cooking.” 

“Fine! You think you could do a better job?” 

I rolled my eyes. And people called me a drama queen. He was nearly crying over popcorn. “I know I could.”

“Then go make some yourself.” He snatched the bowl away from me and sat down on the couch loudly.

“I will,” I said with a snicker, thumping him on the head as I walked by. 

By saying yes to Christian that night, we officially became a couple. Our relationship hadn’t changed much, though, to be honest. We just added a few romantic, couple-related things into the mix. We held hands, kissed, hung out whenever we could and now had a lot of inside jokes.

The inside jokes were getting pretty bad. People would start questioning it soon if we didn’t tone it down slightly. 

We still fought like an old married couple and I still took every shot I could at him. That just wasn’t something that I was willing to change. Besides, I honestly didn’t think he wanted me to. He liked my insults… most of the time. Some of them were a bit too offensive for him at times.

We hadn’t told anyone about us yet, though. It wasn’t his choice; it was mine. I had a feeling he would have shouted it to the world if I had let him. Whether it was because he was just really happy or wanted to brag that he managed to get me after all, I didn’t know. 

If it was the second one, I would not be a happy camper. Neither would he after I was done with him. 

I didn’t know when we were going to tell people, though. I had a feeling we wouldn’t be able to hide it for very long. The press was so sneaky, and they constantly followed Christian. He never got any privacy, save for when he was at home with bodyguards surrounding his mansion. 

That was the only time we could hang out without having to act like we weren’t involved. We managed to get some alone time in on set at times, but that was only when we were in our trailers. Our trailers weren’t the best meeting place, though. Christian’s trailer didn’t lock and Tori constantly showed up at mine. 

It was nearly impossible hiding this from Tori! Dear God, that girl was the most nosy, all-knowing person I had ever met. Also, I was scared she was onto us. She had already caught Christian in my trailer for no apparent reason about three times and didn’t believe my quick lies. 

I had the hardest time throwing her off my scent the night Christian and I got together, though. Christian invited me in and we just lay on his couch watching TV and being stupid. We obviously didn’t do anything. He wasn’t getting it that easy. I might have said yes, but I certainly wasn’t saying yes to that so soon.

Laying around made me tired, though, and I fell asleep. I was pretty sure I fell asleep on him. He didn’t want to wake me up, so he didn’t even move. We just slept there.

He made a terrible pillow, to be honest. He needed to gain some fat or something so he could actually be of use to me. I was in tears thinking of what Tori would have said had I said this to her. It was outrageous. 

“Hurry up, the trailers are almost over,” Christian called out over his shoulder. 

I almost forgot I was supposed to be making popcorn. I quickly threw a bag into the microwave and set the timer. 

“What’s taking you so long, anyway? Get lost?” 

“Shut up,” I snapped. “Besides, your house is actually really big, so that wouldn’t even be a weird thing!”

“You’ll get used to it. Now hurry!”

“If this is another one of your movies, you might as well take it out now,” I said with a snicker, leaning against the counter in the kitchen. 

“It’s not,” he said, and I could almost hear the grin in his voice. “Sorry to disappoint.” 

I went over to his house the day before and we were going to watch a movie, but then he went and decided to pick a movie he starred in. I was not going through that. It wasn’t that I had anything against him or his movies, of course—I had gotten over that. But it just seemed like it would be beyond awkward to sit there and watch a movie he starred in with him. I didn’t need to go through two hours of watching Christian glance at me every five seconds to gauge my reaction. It wasn’t happening.

The microwave went off and I grabbed the popcorn, quickly pouring it into a bowl before going back to my spot on the couch. 

Christian looked over in contempt when he saw that my popcorn was completely normal looking and still tasted good. 

“Oh, come on, Chrissy. Your popcorn is good… if you don’t mind dying from a heart attack at the age of twenty-five, of course.” 

“You really need to stop calling me that,” he said, shaking his head. 

“Why?” I asked with a smirk. “Don’t like it, Chrissy?” 

“You know I don’t! Why can’t you think of something manlier?” 

“Why would I? Nicknames are supposed to be fitting, after all.” 

He shot me a dirty look. “One of these days, I’ll think up a nickname for you that’s just as bad, and then you’ll think twice about calling me Chrissy!” 

“Good luck with that.” 

***

It was the last day of filming, and Nora had said she had a surprise for us. We hadn’t imagined this surprise was a sex scene. There weren’t many lines that went along with it. There were just a few leading up to it and a few following. The problem was obvious. 

When Nora told us we were doing the scene after all, I flipped. I couldn’t exactly say no, though, so I went along with it.

It was beyond awkward. It didn’t matter that I had finally admitted my feelings for Christian. It still would have been beyond awkward.

How could it not be? Seriously. Christian and I were laying on a bed on set, nearly naked, with crew members all around us, watching our every move. 

And to make matters worse, Christian kept fooling around. I had to pinch his arm as hard as I could to get him to snap out of it. We were in front of people! He was so dense sometimes. They didn’t know we were involved.

Aside from being terribly awkward, it took forever. We did so many takes… it was absolutely horrible. 

Christian, on the other hand, thought it was great. He had no problem lounging around in only his boxers all day, and he found my annoyance with this entire situation amusing. 

The fact that I was also nearly naked probably had something to do with it, as well. 

As soon as it was over—which was really late at night, unfortunately for me—I went to go have a talk with Nora. Christian followed me, since this sort of involved him, as well. 

I was just finishing up with my short rant when Christian decided he was offended by what I was saying. He was just lucky we were talking to Nora privately or we would have had some serious explaining to do. “What? Seriously, Soph? We practically do it through our clothes when we make out. That poor couch has—” 

He only realized what he was saying and where he was saying it when he was halfway through his rambling. 

Nora raised an eyebrow. “Pardon?” 

I smacked Christian in the gut not-so-discreetly. It kind of backfired on me, though; I was pretty sure I hurt my hand more than anything else. I hadn’t expected his stomach to be so hard, despite having seen it before. 

“What he meant was—” I began, but was rudely cut off by Christian. 

“I meant… I just meant… shit, Soph, you handle this!” 

“What do you think I was doing?” I hissed at him. 

“Sorry.” He grinned apologetically. 

I rolled my eyes. “I got nothing. This idiot ruined it.” 

“Do you see how rude she still is to me?” Christian asked Nora, pointing to me. “Do you see this? This is not normal. This is not how girlfriends treat their boyfriends!” 

“I never said I was going to be a normal girlfriend,” I pointed out irritably.

“Well… true…”

Nora just smiled knowingly. “I already knew you two were involved. You had been acting a bit differently this week.” 

“Were we seriously that obvious?” I asked, my eyes widening slightly. I didn’t want everyone to know already… I wasn’t ready! 

“Most people are oblivious, so I think I’m the only one who noticed. I wasn’t completely sure, to be perfectly honest, but I knew that making you two do the sex scene would be amusing no matter what.” 

I let out a sigh of relief. 

“I have a confession to make, though.” 

“What?” Christian and I asked simultaneously. 

“There was never an actual sex scene,” Nora said with a wry smile. “At first, it was just something I thought up to scare the two of you into actually getting some work done. Then, I got this idea.” 

My mouth dropped open. “So you mean… we went through that for hours today… for nothing?”

“Precisely.”

“I’m never, ever, ever speaking to you again!” I cried dramatically. 

“I have so much more respect for you now,” Christian exclaimed between his bursts of laughter.

Nora just smiled wryly. “Surprise! Just consider this my payment.” 

“Your payment?” I repeated. 

She nodded, smirking slightly. “Yes, my payment for having to put up with the two of you and your incessant arguing.” 

I closed my mouth, forgetting what I was about to say because she had a point. We were a nightmare. I was surprised she didn’t fire the both of us, especially me. It was a good thing she liked us and had faith in us and our abilities as actors. 

That didn’t mean I wasn’t still furious at her, of course. Christian wasn’t very supportive. He was still lost in his own little world, laughing hysterically.

Having had enough for one day, I stalked off the set. Christian tried to get me to stop, but he was still having a laughing fit, so finally he just let me go. 

When I got to my apartment, Tori was already there. She was also less than supportive about the whole sex scene fiasco. 

“Are you serious?” she cried, her eyes widening when I told her we had done the sex scene that day. At first, I thought she was actually siding with me for once, but then I realized I was completely wrong. “The one day I don’t go on set—and you know I’m there practically every day—Nora decides to do the sex scene?! No! This stinks!” 

I shot her an incredulous look. “That’s what you’re freaking out about?”

“Yes! Ohmygod, he was shirtless the entire day, wasn’t he?” 

“Yeah… he was in his boxers all day.” 

I thought she was going to jump out the window when I said this. “No! Ohmygod! I missed it! Ohmygod, my life is over! This is not fair!”

“Tori, it’s really not that big of a deal.” I shook my head. “So the guy looks good nearly naked. Big whoop! Go Google some pictures of him or something.” 

She pouted. “It’s not the same!”

I just rolled my eyes in return. 

“Oh! How was it, by the way? Did you guys get it on?” 

My mouth dropped open. “Tori, we were on set, in front of people! We didn’t actually get it on!” 

“Right, the movie is PG-13…” 

She was absolutely unbelievable sometimes. After this, I didn’t feel like discussing the matter with her anymore, and I was actually really tired, anyway. Laying down half of the day must have gotten to me. It was also getting late. I headed to bed and half-heartedly promised her we’d keep talking about what happened over breakfast the next morning since I no longer had to go to set every morning. All that was left from here on was the wrap party, the premiere and whatever publicity-related events I would have to attend after. 

I was woken up much too early the next morning. Normally, Garfield woke me up pretty early, but this was early even for him. It was Tori, of course. She was using Garfield to try to wake me up. She probably assumed I would be less angry if she did so. 

I just ignored her efforts. 

Whatever it was, it must have been pretty important to her, because she ran out of patience very quickly. “Sophia Elizabeth Hastings, get up right now! You have to get up! Now! Sophia!” 

“What?” I groaned into my pillow. “Tori, I actually get to sleep in today. Go away.” 

“No, you have to come here!” Tori screamed. Her eyes were wide and wild-looking from what I could make out through squinted eyes. “You have to! This is… ohmygod, I’m so fucking mad! Ugh!” 

I would have just kept ignoring her, had she not dropped the f-bomb. I occasionally said it, but Tori never said it unless she was really freaking out or really mad. 

This coaxed me into getting up to see what the problem was. I swung my legs over the bed and stumbled up. She grabbed onto my arm and dragged me to the living room, running as fast as she could while carrying my weight. 

“If we were just going to watch something on TV, why couldn’t we have stayed in my room? Where I could have stayed in my bed?”

Tori screamed some nonsense before turning the television up. 

I finally focused on the screen, actually listening to what was being said. Tori had it on a celebrity news channel. Shocker. 

I also wasn’t that surprised to see a familiar face, Frank Renaldo. It would help explain why Tori was freaking out. This must have been Christian-related. 

“Christian didn’t want anyone to know, but now that it’s been slipped, I guess there’s no reason to deny it,” Frank said to the many microphones that were shoved in his face. 

My eyes widened and I glanced over at Tori nervously. 

Wait, why wasn’t she saying anything about this? If Frank had somehow found out about Christian and me and spilled it to the press, why wasn’t Tori screaming at me? Why she was angry, was another thing I was wondering. I assumed she’d be happy, despite her monumental crush on him. 

She wasn’t even looking at me, though. She was glaring straight ahead. 

“How long have they been back together?”

“Are they making it public?” 

“Where is Christian?” 

“Does Christian have anything to say about this?” 

“Are Christian and Cassandra working on a new project together?”

“What about the rumored romance between Christian and Sophia Hastings?” 

“Where’s the couple now?” 

My mouth dropped open. I didn’t even care that my absolute fury wouldn’t be rational to Tori. I was so angry at that moment, nothing mattered.

“They’ve been back together for a while now,” Frank replied with a small smirk. Most would mistake it for a smile, but I knew better. “It’s public now. The two lovebirds are probably at Christian’s house right now. I can’t say any more, because this is going on TV! Sophia Hastings was just a crush Christian had, but now that the movie is over, their connection is gone. More will be said when they’re featured on the John Stavros Show. Now, I’ve already said too much! I’ll leave it up to Casstian now.” He chuckled and walked away from the press, stepping inside a limo that was waiting for him.

***

Just got a few quick things to say! 

1) There is language in this story. Sorry if it offends you, but it's part of these characters. This is how a lot of us talk. Still don't like it? Don't read it. Simple as that.

2) Some of the things in this story will not make sense. xD This is the rough draft. The really, really, REALLY rough draft. I seriously have done like, zero proofreading. I'm just getting the story down right now. Feel free to point out the confusing things, though, because it helps me when I fix the mistakes later on! (I'm a lazy sack. :D)

3) I'll still try to reply to comments, but the amount of comments is quickly escalating... D: I have school, I do have a life (shocker, eh?) and I don't always have time to sit down and reply to every comment. xD I seriously wish I did, but I don't! I read every single one, though, so keep commenting! I'll try my best to reply! :')

4) There is no four. I just wanted there to be a four. Because four is a cool number. Like... like the Fantastic Four. (Awesome movie, by the way.)

Anyways.

Hope you guys liked it! I, personally, enjoy the little last minute twist I added. ;)

I feel like going out with a bang, you know?

Like.. BAM. 

THIS IS NOT THE LAST CHAPTER BY THE WAY.

 I know I'll have to keep saying this every time I write a new chapter until this book is finished. I realize this. *sigh*

Okay, I'm done talking now. :'D Longest author's note written yet, I think.

So sorry.

Especially if you're still reading this!

If you are... I'LL ADD A JOKE! Yeah! I love this joke. It's horribly funny. xDD (I hope I still remember it and haven't screwed it up. :'D) 

A man escapes from prison after being in there for like, 10 years. He breaks into a couple's house and finds them in bed. 

He tells the guy to get out of bed and ties him to a chair. He ties the girl to the bed and gets on top of her, kisses her neck and then goes and gets up to go into the bathroom.

While he's gone, the guy tells his girl, "Look, this guy is probably a convict. I bet he's spent a lot of his time in prison and hasn't even seen a woman in years. I saw him kissing your neck. If he wants sex, don't complain or try to stop him. Just do whatever he says. Please him, no matter how much he disgusts you. He's probably really dangerous. If he gets mad, he'll probably kill us. Be strong, babe. I love you." 

The girl just smiles weakly at him and says, "He wasn't kissing my neck. He was whispering in my ear.... he told me that he was gay and thought you were cute and asked me if we had any Vaseline. I told him it's in the bathroom... Be strong, baby! I love you too!" 

xDDDDDDDD

LOL I'M DYING. AND I'M THE ONE TELLING THE JOKE.

I'm so lame.

LOLOLOLOLOL. 

Okay, seriously, I'm done now. :D