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the oscars (pt. 1)

it was about two o'clock pm on the day of the oscars, and haley was in a bathrobe, shaking in a chair in front of a vanity. she had finished a late lunch, which had to be heavy since no one would eat at the afterparty anyways; it was more of a venue for mingling. vogue was about to come at any minute, since they'd be covering how she got ready for the event. unlike most celebrities who'd be flying in from around the world and bunking at hotels, haley chose to stay at home because she knew that the formal atmosphere of a hotel wouldn't help her nerves. instead, she was about to get ready in her parent's room; the master bedroom of the house was bigger than her and her brother's rooms combined. no one slept in it since they'd gone, but she decided to get ready as if they were there with her at the moment.

"haley! wanna see the dress?" she turned around to see her brother, still dressed in a t-shirt and jeans. he was going to be her plus one, while elias was an extra guest (nominees were allowed one plus one and two guests). haley shook her head as an answer to finn's question. if she saw it, then everything would become real very quickly. she was trying her best not to panic. "hey, hey, it's gonna be fine." finn walked over and gave her something that resembled a hug. he wasn't very touchy.

"okay, okay, thanks. is robert there?"

"he's too busy telling riley how she didn't get the little details, but there's literally nothing wrong with it."

"alright. sounds like him."

"don't overthink it, okay? you're gonna be great, whatever you do."

"easy for you to say when your only job is to look pretty!" she exclaimed as he walked out the door.

"fuck. haley, vogue's here already!" finn shouted from outside. haley got up and looked at herself in the mirror, smoothed her robe, and went outside to greet the cameras, trying to act like she got ready for award shows everyday. a viewer would think it looked that way, but underneath, she was a complete ball of nerves.

"hey vogue! i was just getting ready for the oscars, c'mon in!" she entered the room trailed by a number of cameramen with filming equipment, along with the makeup artists and stylists who would help her get ready. "this is my team..." haley said, gesturing at the five people around her. "this is anna and lynne who do hair, dani will be doing my nails, and ashe and nina are gonna do makeup."

haley sat down at the vanity and for the next two hours, talked with her team and occasionally the cameramen as they helped her get ready.

"my movie, the story of a pretty woman, was nominated for ten categories. it's insane. and this is the first time i've ever been part of something like this so it all just feels very special to me."

"tell them what you were nominated for," suggested a man holding a camera.

at this, haley smiled. "alright. uh, i was nominated for best actress, which is crazy and absolutely surreal," she began, smiling a bit as she said it. timothée used the word so much that it had rubbed off on her. "and i was also nominated for best original screenplay with the talented nicole holofcener, and best original song with aurora aksnes."

"didn't you win a grammy, too?" the guy asked. later on, they would cut out all the questions and prompts and just cut to haley answering them.

"yeah, yeah i did." she said slowly, knowing what they wanted her to say. "i was nominated for four categories last year and i won two. daydreamer won best song written for visual media, the one i helped aurora aksnes produce for this movie, and mr. perfectly fine won song of the year." she explained.

"do you think you'll win any of the three oscars you were nominated for this year?"

"i mean, i can only hope," haley laughed. "two of the categories i was nominated for isn't all just me, i collaborated with two other amazing women, and i don't know what would've happened if they weren't there every step of the way. if i win something, it's probably because they carried it on their backs, y'know?"

"so you don't think you'll win best actress?" the guy sounded dumbfounded.

"no," she snorted. "i don't think it's gonna... nope."

the next hour was spent talking about music and singing to taylor swift. "AND THERE WE ARE AGAIN IN THE MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT, DANCIN' ROUND THE KITCHEN IN THE REFRIGERATOR LIGHT."

"i'm lucky that my team likes the same music as me otherwise we'd all have a very big problem." she disclosed, just as lynne stepped back and proclaimed their work done.

finally, robert called her over to put on the dress which was brought in while haley was facing away from the door. it was a beautiful strapless cream pink gown with sparkling details adorning the top of outfit and an explosion of tulle blossoming all around her and falling to the floor. she loved how it resembled an old-timey sort of '50s gown but still felt modern at the same time.

when she put it on though, she felt something constrict in her chest. it wasn't that the top part was tight; it was very snug, actually. haley has no idea where the pang came from. all she knew was that she couldn't breathe and had to have the gown taken OFF immediately because she felt extremely dizzy all of a sudden and couldn't feel her legs.

"i can't, i can't," she said, clawing at the top to pull it off.

"careful!" robert reminded her. "you'll be fine."

"robert, i can't." haley snapped. her manager seemed taken aback, since she was never that rude to him, even when he was rude to her. so he and riley moved to take off the gown, and haley was back in the silk bathrobe she was wearing previously.

her chest was heaving, and one more look at the dress was enough to make her tear up. "i can't do this, i can't." she repeated, her words echoing throughout the room.

robert called finn and elias from outside, and the two of them saw what was going on immediately. "she needs space," eli decided. he knew her well enough to know what she wanted.

"why're you crying?" finn asked gently.

"i'm so scared." haley whispered. she was scared of crowds, of reporters, of the lights, everything, and her anxiety had begun to kick in.

"shit." muttered finn, running a hand through his hair. he pulled out his phone, and before she knew it, haley heard a voice that she knew very well.

"yo, man! how's haley? are you guys ready for the big night?" timmy's voice rang throughout the room. "haley?" he asked, frowning when finn turned the camera towards her. "hey, what's up?"

"she's having a panic attack." elias said.

"oh, fuck. it's gonna be okay," he tried, looking up to tell someone something before returning his full focus to the phone. "what's worrying you?"

"out," finn told the makeup and styling team, and the cameramen too. "for fuck's sake, i said OUT!" he shouted, when the filming equipment weren't moved out of the room. "deep breaths. try, haley, please?"

haley told him everything, how she felt anxious of the crowds, reporters, and what if she won something and didn't know what to say? what if she didn't win anything, would her parents have been disappointed with her? somehow, as she was talking, her whole team, and even finn and elias left her alone to talk to timmy in the huge room.

"you sound very scared. it's normal," timothée added hastily. "but— and this is gonna sound fuckin' cliche— you have to enjoy it. breathe a little."

"i know, i'm trying!" she burst out, setting the phone down on a nearby table and burying her face in her hands.

"i know, okay," he said, trying to apologize. "do you remember that breathing thing i helped you do when you were sick?" he asked. haley picked up the phone and nodded where he could see her. he nodded back. "alright, so long inhale, through the nose..." and he did it along with her. "hold, five long seconds... exhale through the mouth... hold for five seconds..."

they did it for about half a minute before haley could feel her nerves leaving. "okay, okay. i think it's okay."

"great!" timothée smiled. "you ready yet?" he took a look at the clock. "don't you have to leave soon?"

"i know i like being early, but probably not today." she got up and showed him her outfit, which hung on a mannequin. "you like?"

"it's amazing. are those gloves?"

"sheer ones, yeah. they're so pretty."

"you gonna accessorize?"

"uhm... i'm supposed to, yeah."

"why won't you?"

"i'm supposed to wear this big diamond necklace with matching earrings and i don't really like it," she disclosed. "i'd prefer the second option, which are pearls, but i really wanna wear this." she held up the one she was already wearing; a four thousand six hundred and fifty-dollar rose gold cartier love necklace that had two rings linked to each other and put on a chain. "it's my favorite necklace, and i just feel like i'd prefer it for today. it comforts me!" she exclaimed, when seeing the look on his face.

timothée recognized the necklace very well. he gave it to her, but she didn't know that. "who gave you that?" he asked, feigning curiosity.

"cartier did. for my birthday in 2021. they said a friend requested they give it, but didn't say who. why?"

"did you know that they named me a friend of the house two years ago?"

"yeah, i knew that..." she trailed off. "no fucking way."

he coughed out a laugh. "yep."

"you're kidding me."

"nope."

"this thing costs like, five thousand dollars!" she cried indignantly.

"i am aware."

"we weren't even—" she was about to say that they weren't even speaking much back then, but thought better of it.

"at least i know you actually like it." he laughed.

"this is insane."

"wear the pearls, they'll go better with the outfit."

"you think i'm gonna take this off now that i know you're the one who gave it to me?" haley asked him in disbelief. her tone said, 'hell no'.

"they're gonna look better with the dress!" he insisted.

"please, it'll help me if i wear this." she pleaded. "i'll wear the other one over this, i don't care." he watched her fasten a string of pearls around her neck, over the cartier necklace. it took some getting used to, but it actually looked good.

"you'll have to get going in a while." timmy said, glancing at the time again.

"right."

"it's gonna be okay, i'll head over to you and finn and eli once we're all inside. you'll kill it!" he grinned.

"will i though?" she asked skeptically.

"for sure."

"alright, see you there," said haley, not really wanting to put down just yet.

"bye." timothée gave a small kiss before ending the call.

haley got up and opened the door to call on her team. "so sorry," she whispered. "had a little panic attack."

"it's alright, it's alright." robert said, soothing her. "you better now? it's totally fine if you don't wanna go."

haley never knew that it was an option till then, and strongly wanted to cancel. but it wouldn't be fair to everyone who helped her get ready, so she decided against it. "i'll go."

"you heard her, people, it's a go!" shouted robert, back in manager mode. riley was back in the room with some alainn staff, helping haley step into the dress, fluffing the edges, arranging her gloves, all as the vogue crew circled around.

"you look amazing." riley told haley, as she stood there in the middle of the room surveying the look. the dress looked great and the gloves fit her perfectly. haley was wearing nude louboutins to match her gown, even though they wouldn't be seen, and her hair was styled in a fancy updo with some wavy strands falling out to frame her face.

"could you just take off that necklace, and we're all good." robert said, noticing the cartier chain that hung on her neck. haley shook her head. she was keeping it on, and they would have to deal with it.

"it looks fine robert, it's actually really cute." riley said.

"okay, okay. we're ready!" haley wrapped up the vogue video and thanked the viewers for watching as the cameras followed them into their large SUV. finn and elias were already inside, both wearing immaculate black suits, their hair styled just right so that it didn't look too fancy.

the ride was much faster than haley anticipated; though they were in line to get off at the red carpet for about twenty minutes, time flew by faster than she would've liked. before she knew it, robert and riley were shooing her out, helping her fix her dress, and telling her to get there in front of all the cameras. deep breaths, she told herself.

so haley walked the carpet, and lit up the outdoor venue. she looked radiant and had the attention of everybody as she posed in front of the blinding cameras. she'd arrange her skirts every few shots, turning to show her side profile and her back angle, smiling in some and keeping a model face in some. haley reached out for finn and elias to join her on the carpet, smiling as she stood between them.

"we're done, we're done," haley mumbled to them as they followed her into the dolby theater. there were already quite a number of celebrities in the area; haley could spot tom hanks, laura dern, james mclean, andrew garfield, and florence pugh. eli headed to the guest area at the back, while finn and haley moved to the front so they could join the other oscar nominees. "hello!" she exclaimed, greeting greta, joe and kristen excitedly.

the whole cast talked a bit before they went to chat with other people in the industry, and haley took that time to sit down with her brother beside her. "good luck." he whispered to her.

"have you seen timmy?" she asked, looking around the room.

"no."

"fuck, alright."

"why?"

"nothing, i just haven't seen him yet and i really wanna talk to him before the whole thing starts—" at that moment, the ceremony began to start. the order of categories were: actor in a supporting role, animated feature film, animated short film, original screenplay, adapted screenplay, live action short film, production design, costume design, documentary feature, documentary short subject, actress in a supporting role, sound editing, sound mixing, cinematography, film editing, visual effects, makeup and hairstyling, international feature film, original score, original song, directing, actor in a leading role, actress in a leading role, best motion picture. haley knew she was in for a long night since the best actress award was the second to the last award to be presented.

after all the introductions and comedic bits, the best actor in a supporting role was to be announced by kirsten dunst. "and the oscar goes to... bradley cooper, the story of a pretty woman!" everyone in haley's row exploded, standing up to hug him and congratulate him as he made his way to the stage.

"[...] and i just want to say a huge thank you to haley, you were an amazing costar and singer, may i add."

before she knew it, best original screenplay was being announced, and... "the oscar goes to haley leneghan and nicole holofcener, the story of a pretty woman!"

"OH MY GOD!" finn yelled, tackling his sister in a hug. haley's face was stuck in a state of shock that her brother had to push her out of her seat. nicole stood up and gave her a hug, before the two of them walked down the aisle to go onstage.

"holy shit, holly." whispered haley, as they walked together. "i got nothing, do you mind if you just take over the talking part?"

"congratulations!" the presenter told them, and before haley knew it, nicole took over and gave a heartwarming speech, then she walked back to her seat, an oscar in hand.

"haley. you made it." finn told her, his eyes wide, staring at the golden statue.

"i've known that for quite a while now, but this makes everything so much more real, doesn't it?" she lifted it up and down like a weight.

"i feel pressured, now. mom has one, dad has two, you have one... damn."

"no pressure." she assured him.

from there, the song of achilles managed to win best adapted screenplay, best costume design, visual effects, makeup & hairstyling, and original song, while the story of a pretty woman won best cinematography.

"best director, best director, best director," whispered haley, as the announcer was reading the list of nominees. she really wanted greta to win because of how she was snubbed a nomination for little women and also just because she felt like she deserved it.

"and the oscar goes to... greta gerwig, the story of a pretty woman!" at this, haley jumped out of her seat and began clapping, leading the rest of the cast of their movie to do the same. their whole row was standing and cheering, and greta was laughing as she accepted hugs and kisses and congratulations from everybody.

"you deserve this," haley whispered as she pulled her friend in for a big hug.

as greta was saying her thanks, she praised haley immensely, just like bradley did. "i couldn't have done this without the support of everybody, really, but i'm deeply deeply grateful to haley leneghan who was honestly my only choice for this movie. this wouldn't have been possible without her 'yes', and the amount of talent and energy and love she poured into this film astounds me."

after that, it was time to face the last three categories that would be awarded: best actor, actress, and picture.

two updates in a row??

3k words?? who is she?

anyway's here's the $4,650 necklace from

cartier that he got her,,, it called me poor

in 21 different languages :,))

I MISS YOU, I'M SORRY