Lulu was smoking a cigarette in front of the movie theater. A small smile was on her lips as she recalled getting the leading part a few years back, going on set for two full months and telling herself it was probably the opportunity of a lifetime for her. She was sixteen when she was cast. She turned seventeen on set and now she was eighteen, waiting in front of the movie theater of her small town, nervous to hear everyone's thoughts on the movie.

The doors opened up, causing the girl to jump up in fear. A horde of people walked out, some with tears falling on their cheeks, some with puffy red eyes, some with their mouths wide open as they all carried a shocked expression on their faces.

Lulu contained a satisfied smirk, knowing the movie had had the impact it was supposed to have on people.

She furrowed her eyebrows in apprehension when she recognized her friends as they all walked out pretty much at the same time. Lulu bit her lip nervously when Maddy and Cassie were the first to notice her a few feet away. The two girls gasped and ran in her direction.

"That was so incredible, Lulu," Cassie said, "I loved every minute of it."

"You are the baddest bitch," Maddy jumped in, engulfing her in a hug, "Look at my fucking eyes, I cried like crazy!"

Lulu chuckled, "Thank you so much girls, I'm so happy you liked it."

Maddy and Cassie gave her a peck on the cheeks, "We're hanging out at Cassie's place, sleepover y'know. Wanna join?"

Lulu looked over at the theater's doors, noticing her sister walking out with a bunch of her friends, "Uh, I'll text you guys, is that cool? I'm gonna check what my sister's doing tonight."

"Sure!" Cassie said, "Talk to you later!"

And the two girls walked away as Lulu waited for her sister to join her. Lulu tried covering up her disappointment when she realized no one was walking out anymore and that she hadn't seen her mother, Rue or Fezco and Ashtray. But Zahia noticed.

She swung an arm over her sister's shoulders and gave her a hug, "They were probably busy or somethin'... I mean, I don't know about mom but—"

"It's alright," Lulu interrupted, "It's just... weird."

Zahia sighed, "It's okay to be sad you know. You worked so hard and this movie's blowing up all over the country, of course you'd be pissed."

Lulu shrugged her shoulders, "As long as you liked it, I'm happy."

Zahia gave her such a big smile that Lulu couldn't help but smile back just as wide, "Of course I did! You already know what I think."

Lulu nudged her arm, "Cool, cool, cool... So... what's your plan for tonight?"

Zahia looked down at her feet, trying to cover her rosy cheeks, "I was thinking I could go at a party... nothing crazy I promise!"

Lulu let out a chuckle, "Not too many people, I hope?"

"Nah, nah," Zahia said as she pointed a finger at the small group of people a few feet behind, "Just them."

Lulu lifted her eyebrows, "Hm... so Max's gonna be there, uh?"

Zahia slapped her on the shoulder, "Shut up! I'm going. I'll text you."

"Sure! Yo, use protection, alright?" Lulu half-shouted, earning snickers from the teens who had obviously heard. Zahia covered her face before pulling her middle finger at her older sister.

Lulu watched them leave before finding herself all alone. She stayed there for a few minutes and decided to swing by her house. She didn't know if she wanted to spend the night at Cassie's since she was feeling both upset and confused at the same time. This night was supposed to be a great one and she realized she might have expected too much of her entourage.

And she recalled what Enolla had told her a few months back when she said she would probably have to count only on herself to succeed.

When Lulu hopped off her scooter, she saw a man standing a few feet away from her house. She removed her helmet and opened her eyes a little wider when she recognized William, the very first producer she worked with when she was fourteen. He was the one who noticed her in the booth of a restaurant on her birthday. He was also the one who kept texting her that she looked amazing and that he hoped he would work with her again. All while she was underage. She was sixteen the first time he sent her a dick pic.

Lulu started breathing a little faster, feeling a massive red flag about this unplanned encounter. He had texted her a lot the past few months, talking about her upcoming movie and how he was excited to go watch it. At first she replied nicely but he became very insisting, trying to make the conversations last for as long as humanly possible. She eventually stopped texting back.

"Hey, Lulu!" William said as he walked all the way in her direction, crushing her in a hug. Lulu's breath got stuck in her throat and she ungraciously walked back as he put a hand on her arm to give it a squeeze, "Just saw the movie, it was fantastic! You captivated me from start to finish!"

"Thank you," Lulu replied, looking everywhere to find a way to escape.

"You can be really really proud," William continued, "Look, I might have a role offer for you."

Lulu furrowed her eyebrows, "Hm... really?"

"Yeah, I told your agent about it and she told me you'd be happy to talk about it with me straight away."

Red flag. Massive red flag. Enolla knew what William had been doing for years with Lulu —and most certainly with other actresses, and she had always made sure to filter any work offer coming from him. So Lulu knew William was lying.

"She didn't tell me about it," Lulu confessed.

"'Cause it's last minute!" William said with a smile, "The director doesn't have much time and would love to meet with you. Drinks are on us."

"Hm... I'm not sure, I promised my mom I would spend the night with her," Lulu lied.

William looked over at the house, "Looks like nobody's home, nobody opened the door when I rang the doorbell."

A lump formed in Lulu's throat as she realized the house was plunged in darkness. She had to find a way out of this situation without hurting William's ego too much. He was unfortunately way too powerful in the industry and could ruin a career with a finger snap.

"Come on Lulu, could be an incredible opportunity for you," William added, still smiling in a disturbing way.

Lulu was about to say something that she heard footsteps behind her and that she noticed William flinching a little bit. She turned around and recognized Fezco walking confidently until he was just next to her. He had heard the entire conversation and he didn't need to hear more to understand how this "role offer" was nothing more than a trap.

"Yo bruh, sorry but... I'm takin' my girl out tonight," Fezco said nonchalantly.

Lulu refrained herself from opening her eyes wide but she couldn't help the goosebumps all over her body when she heard Fezco calling her his girl. She knew it was simply a way to help her out but she let out a small smile as she gave him a side look.

William opened his eyes a little wider, stepping back, "Oh, hm, y-yeah sure, I didn't know you had a..."

"Boyfriend, yeah," Fezco said confidently as he brushed his knuckles softly on Lulu's fingers. She blushed at the contact.

"Sure, sure," William blurted, "Hm... I'll keep in touch with your agent, Lulu."

Lulu nodded, "Yeah, you can go do that."

And William left quickly, driving away without another look in their direction.

( )

okayyyy so fez ditched the premiere? well, i'm sure you guys remembered what happened...

anyways, i kinda live for protective fezco