《A Trillion Trillion Years》Chapter 7: A Plan Executed
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To start an avalanche all you need is a rock and some momentum. When you say something on the Internet its like throwing a rock against a brick wall, but when you say the wrong thing, to the right people, its like starting a rolling stone down a very, very snowy mountain. You just have to know what the right words are.
Well, what did I say? I said a lot of things, with a lot of accounts, until one of them stuck. That ‘one’ being that Abby used to beat her ex.
I took photos of myself with beatings scars and posted them along with a sob story. Something plausible, yet outrageous enough to get a good push. It wasn’t hard, the story just took imagination. For the scars all I had to do is stand in front of a mirror, a rubber ball in hand, and smash where I wanted the scar. At first my chest was black, and then turned a strange shade of yellow. I took the pictures just as the black bruises spotted my body like a zebras, but before it turned to an ill yellow color.
When I was finished with the pictures I posted them on ******, a popular social media site for talking about celebrities, along with a story about how she beat me (although I only gave hints to who she may be, but good hints) throughout our relationships and how her company forced me to break up without calling the cops. Etc. Etc. In the end that was the one to stick.
Yet It wasn’t until the day after I posted that the avalanche really started falling down. The comments were all coming in like a tsunami.
‘I can’t believe she would do something like that! It sounds like shes a real witch.’
‘Beautiful celebrities like her tend to be horrible people, just look at oooooo and what they did’
‘She always gave me B*tch vibes. Just look at how shes always so calm.”
‘Serves her right, she should be nicer to her fans!’
Okay. That last one was mine. It was such a frantic night that I’m not even sure how many comments I left over all my different accounts.
When I picked up Leslie from her new home even she started talking about it.
“Wow.” Her head dug into her phone. “Did you hear about those rumors about Abby?”
“Abby?” my feigned ignorance even surprised me! Maybe I should go into acting.
“Yea, shes an idol turned musician that works in the company, anyway she apparently beat her ex-boyfriend. Isn’t it strange how we were just talking about that last night!?”
“Wait, Abby? I think I’ve seen her around. She looks like she would never do that.”
“Its always the ones you least expect. I mean, I bet that bastard deserved it. I would never attack someone unless they cheated on me or something.”
“I’m surprised that someone hasn’t come out against you already…”
“Hey! I’m an angel! Its always the quiet calm ones like Abby that end up being complete freaks. People like me are actually the normal ones!”
Considering how I made the entire thing up I highly doubt that Leslie was anywhere near normal.
When we arrived at work it was another day of shooting.
I waited for Abby to make her daily exit, and there were more photographers then normal that day, but she never showed up. Maybe this was her way of getting back at me?
When it came time to leave I did show up in front of music room #4. This time it had a cleaning in progress sign on it that hid the glass. I waited and waited and waited. It was around 10 pm when she came out. She was wearing a long jacket, a cap, and a mask. The only thing I could see was her eyes, light brown, as they stared me down..
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“Hey, Abby.” I stood in front of her. Her beautiful eyes looked through me. A chill ran down my spine. “I know you said to not come back here, but I was just thinking about it over the weekend and I couldn’t believe how bad I acted.” I looked down on the floor, I was hoping she would see how remorseful I was. “ I’m sorry. I just wanted to say that. I couldn’t live with myself thinking about how bad of a fan I was.”
I tried not to make eye contact, although I did glance at her face as secretly as I could. “Its fine…I might have overreacted a little bit. I could see that you were excited about meeting me and I may have unfairly ruined that for you. I’m sorry.”
I looked up and jumped with happiness. “Thank you! Thank you! I just didn’t want you to think that I would do anything rude to you. Anyway I've said enough, bye.” I turned around. This was it. Now I would just have to meet her again, somewhere else, and we could start talking and then I would gain her trust. But right now I just needed her to know how much I liked her. It was genius. How could she not accept my apology when she was being lied about so badly on the Internet?
I started to walk the opposite way.
“Wait..” I heard her say. “Are you doing anything right now?”
“Not really, just going home. Were you going to do something?”
“Yea…why don’t you come along? To make up for what I did. Plus, I can use a fan right now.” she avoided my eyes and rubbed her head.
Huh? “Yea I’d love to go. Where to?”
“Its a secret. Just come along, I'll make sure to apologize.”
“I’m in.”
“Come on. Lets get to my car.”
I followed her out of the company. She zipped left and then right and then I think somewhere along the way we went down. I have no idea why they made such a complicated layout for a management company.
In the end we arrived at a parking garage and then we went into a beat-up car. I was surprised, how could she have such a horrible car? Although I followed her during her activities I tried to keep her personal life a secret. I wouldn’t want to be seen as a stalker if I ever got the chance with her. There is nothing that people hate more then creepy people who follow them all day long.
We traveled some way in silence. Until she finally broke it. “So why do you like me?”
“Well its…because of many things.”
“Give me one.”
“I like how you are sincere with fans.”
She gave a smile. “I am that, sincere. I don’t know. It seems like me being sincere has gotten me into some trouble. You must know. Since it seems like you’re a big fan.”
“Trouble?” No. I know nothing about the trouble that I made up.
“I guess you aren’t that big of a fan.” She chuckled. “Never mind, I must be blowing it out of proportion. I always tend to do that.”
“Nobodies perfect. But someone who is able to recognize there faults is better then someone who doesn’t. There are people who only think about themselves, at least you don’t do that.”
She gave me a glance. “Yea….”
We got out of the car to a dark night. She took out a pack of beer from the back of her trunk. Did she always carry that around?
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I followed her to a giant bending river that separated the two parts of the city. The river swooshed past us slowly, the lights of the city making the river appear endlessly deep. For some reason, it made me want to jump into it.
As we sat on the edge of a concrete block she took off her shoes and put her feet into the water, the sound of the river imperceptibly changing as she put it in, and, as I felt when I did the same, the rivers cold ran through her entire body.
I glanced at her under the moonlight. She sipped a beer. The outline of her face looked down into the river and sighed, her entire body sloped down.
“So this is where you were planning to go to?” I asked.
“Yea. I was going to drink while looking at the river. Its beautiful. You really get a sense of what it feels like to be happy when you just feel the river pass through your feet.” She took a second. “I thought it would be good to have someone else come in case I got any stupid ideas.”
“I get it. Drinking and being next to a river is not a good combination.”
“I’m glad you get it. But that also means all the beer is for me.” She chuckled. “Sorry.”
“Its fine.”
This is what I wanted. What I finally aimed for all this time. The amount of planning, hopelessness, ass-kissing, it all led to this very moment. I had planned for this exact moment. There where many questions I wanted to ask, and to have her talk about, when I got her alone from the lights and the people. But I had one that I always wanted to ask her.
“How are you doing?”
She looked deeply at the river. It looked like she was so focused in it that she barely heard me. “Hm? Me, I’m fine.”
“Yea it does look like you are getting more acting roles, and you are also releasing an album-“
She put out her hand up and stopped me for a second. “Lets not talk about work. I’d rather talk about something else. Like, tell me, What do you like?”
You. “Various things. I…I really don’t have anything interesting though. I’ve just been working for Leslie these days and she takes up most of my time.”
“It seemed like you were very into me. I mean you’ve shown up to all of my fan-signs. All of my celebrations. You even happened to get this job just for me." I could see a smile creep unto her face. "Although maybe I was wrong.”
No, this is a trick. “I just happened to be a fan, I really didn’t get this job because of you. Although, I am a huge fan!”
“Are you?”
“Yes!”
She took a drink of her beer. “Then how come you didn’t hear about what happened?”
“Well I’m not really into the Internet. I tend to stay in my own space.” Because I would feel so much guilt when I admit that I heard it when I was the one who made it up.
“Well, I beat my ex-boyfriend. Today, I learned.....that I beat my ex-boyfriend that I dated while I was in an idol group. Ha. I didn’t even talk to people for the first half of my idol days. My management company isolated me so well that I couldn’t even talk to people outside the group without a manager around.” She took a swing. “But I beat my boyfriend 5 years ago. So I guess that's a new one.”
For a second she just looked at the river. “Well, its not true! Why does it matter.” I said
“Yea. I guess it doesn’t matter. Nothing matters.” She opened her second beer and took another swing. I didn't know what to say, maybe I went too far? No. THIS was due to me doing it, so it was worth it.
We sat in silence. I needed to cheer her up.
She broke the silence with a cough. “Do you want to hold me?”
Yes. “Yes.” I replied
“Okay.”
I took her around my arms. Her hair smelled like flowers and beer, her body was hot, and her heart beat slowly. “Why..?” I asked.
“I thought you’d like it.”
“I do.”
“See. Are you happy now?”
“Yea.”
“Now I’m happy because you’re happy. Isn’t that something mattering? To make fans like you happy? I do like my fans.” She sighed. “They really are the only reason I still try. They are people like you. Who are happy to just be in my presence.”
“Well you are also a person, someone who is meant to be somebodies wife, or somebodies child, or maybe you can be somebodies entire world. You can also be that.”
“I can look at you all....and think that maybe you all have a purpose, but I've been doing this for my entire life. I’m…I’m just tired I guess. I don’t know…I had too much beer.” She moved out of my embrace. “Yea, its the beer.” She stood up. “Lets go. And since I can’t drive." She handed me the keys. "Congratulations.”
When we got back into the car she put her directions into her phone and I followed them. The road was empty, so I had little time to glance at her drunk face. It seems like shes a lightweight when it comes to drinking. Wow. My comments must have messed her up more then I thought.
I woke her up when we arrived. She lazily got out of the car and pulled the keys from her purse. Wow, despite her being drunk she had great coordination and was able to get to her door with ease. She waved me in as she opened the door. “Please lock it.” She mumbled.
So this was nirvana. I looked around. Well it looked like a normal house. But it wasn’t. This was were Abby was staying and would be staying for the next several years. This was were she breathed, ate, and lived for the majority of her time. I breathed in deeply, but it smelled like air.
“Come here.” I heard her mumble loudly. I walked to where she was laying down. “I’m going to sleep. Please don’t do anything weird. You can stay in the couch. Please don’t do anything weird.”
“Ah…okay.”
She then closed her eyes. Although she wasn’t asleep right away I could hear her snoring several minutes afterwards.
I cursed myself and my flip-phone. I could have so many pictures of her sleeping, but I had to satisfy myself with only one picture of her face. It was so grainy and horrible. ‘Fuck’ I thought ‘I’m getting a new phone as soon as I go back home.’
I have many plans. None of them include me being invited to her house. I guess I am too short-sighted.
I sighed.
I would have to do something though. Opportunities like this should never go to waste.
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