The Hollywood Effect (17 page)

“Just me? What about you?”
 

“Raquel and Fi are going to take you dress shopping, remember?”

The conversation from the previous evening came rushing back.
 

“Oh yeah… I kind of put that out of my mind…”
 

“I know nothing at all about dresses, and neither do you - don’t protest, I know you don’t. Raquel and Fi will be able to help you.” He got up and grabbed his wallet from the bench and slipped me his credit card. “Don’t protest,” he repeated.
 
“This one’s on me. The prices of clothes here are ridiculous, and let’s be honest, when would you ever buy a designer gown if you weren’t going a movie premiere?”
 

“Hey, the Year 12 graduation dinner is a pretty happening thing.” I paused, twisting his card around in my hands. “Can’t I just go to Target or something and get a dress? No one else will be wearing them.”
 

Liam laughed. “No.”
 

I pulled a face. “Well, thanks. You can sell it on eBay afterwards and get some of your money back. Like you said, I’ll never have a chance to wear it again.”
 

“Hey, I didn’t mean it like that.”
 

I held my hands up. “I was kidding. Chillax.”
 

“Chillax?” Liam raised an exquisitely plucked eyebrow.
 

I shrugged. “I hang around with teenagers all day.”
 

Liam rolled his eyes.
 

“Don’t you roll your eyes at me, young man.” I waved my finger in his face. He reached out and grabbed it. The smile slowly faded from my face as he held on and stared into my eyes.
 

“Morning, y’all.” Liam dropped my finger as Mike shambled into the room and collapsed on the other end of the couch.
 

“Morning,” I said faintly.
 

“Any auditions today?” Liam asked casually.
 

Mike nodded. “Yeah. Got one for a tv pilot.”

“Nice. What’s the role?”
 

“A space detective who is haunted by his lost family.”

“… Cool?”
 

Mike shrugged. “Probably won’t get it, but hey. You gotta be in it to win it, right?”
 

“Too bloody right,” said Liam.
 

“Well, good luck,” I said. Liam nodded and then got up. He held a hand out to me. I gazed up at him and then placed my hand in his. I was pretty sure I was the only one who felt the tingles. He yanked me up, slightly more gently than he used to when we were kids. He’d dislocated my elbow once, when he’d pulled
 
a bit too enthusiastically. I think I’d been about eight at the time.
 

“I’m gonna take Jen out for brunch. Kick ass with the audition, bro.”
 

“Will do.”
 

Liam took me out to a cafe where the waitress flirted with him outrageously and basically ignored me.
 

“Am I invisible?” I asked eventually, torn between amusement and exasperation.
 

“Sorry, usually they’re pretty good in here,” he said, looking slightly uncomfortable.
 

I shrugged. “You can’t help it that you’re stunningly gorgeous and no female can resist your many charms.”

“Oh shut up.”
 

I smirked and glanced around the cafe. A few people were staring at us. I frowned at one teenager who was pointing her phone in our direction.
 

“You manage to resist these so-called charms pretty well,” he said while looking down at his plate. I blinked. Before I could even figure out what to say, the waitress was back again, making small talk at Liam and all but thrusting her cleavage in his face. I rolled my eyes behind her back, which he caught and almost laughed.
 

“Well despite the terrible service, the food was pretty tasty,” I said after we’d walked out. The waitress had begged for a photograph when Liam went up to pay. I could see the manager scowling at her from behind the counter. Liam had obliged, as usual, although his smile was a bit tighter than I was used to.
 

“Are you excited for your shopping trip?” Liam asked with a laugh once we were back in his car, safely behind the tinted windows.
 

“Totally,” I said dryly. “Do I have -“

“Yes, you have to,” Liam cut me off. “Don’t stress about it, Jen. It’ll be fun.”
 

“Uh huh. Sure it will be.”
 

“Well, not if you go in with an attitude like that it won’t. Chin up, girl.”
 

“Yeah… sorry. I promise I shall try to have fun.”
 

“Swear?”
 

“I swear.”
 

“Pinkie swear?” Liam held out his hand. I looked at it for a moment and then wrapped my little finger around his.
 

“I solemnly do pinky swear that I will try to enjoy myself.”
 

Liam grinned at me. “Good.”
 

There was a knock at the door. Liam glanced at the security screen and asked me to get it. Raquel and a pretty little red-headed woman who I assumed was Fi were at the door. They greeted me with kisses and hugs.
 

“Honey, this is my girl, Fi. Fi, this is Liam’s friend Jen.”
 

“Nice to meet you,” I said, slightly taken aback by the warm greeting.
 

“Oh, darling,” Fi gushed. “I’ve been hearing so much about you. This is so exciting!”
 

“Oh. Um. Okay then.” I had no idea how to respond to that. I stared pleadingly at Liam. He just blinked at me. I cursed him silently, hoping he’d pick up on my telepathic abuse. He didn’t seem to. He cheerily waved us off from the front door. Fi and Raquel bundled me into their car.
 

 
I looked around, slightly apprehensive. The car smelt new. I felt awkward all of a sudden and didn’t know where to put my hands.
 

“So, how are you liking L.A so far?” Fi asked, swivelling around so she could face me briefly.
 

“Yeah, good,” I said. “Although I’ve only been here for a day so far.”
 

“Is this your first time in the States?”
 

I shook my head, then realised they couldn’t see me from the front of the car.
 

“No, I’ve visited Liam a couple of times before, and my sister lives up in Vancouver so, yeah…”
 

“Wow! Vancouver Washington, or Vancouver Canada?” Fi asked.
 

I’d forgotten that there was another Vancouver. “Canada,” I said.
 

“That’s so great, I love it up there. It’s such a pretty city. Why does your sister live there?”
 

“Um… a guy, I guess.”
 

The two women laughed. “Typical,” Fi murmured.
 

“She was only meant to stay for a year, but it’s been almost five years now, so…”
 

“Is the guy worth it?”

I nodded. “Yeah. He’s really good for her, actually.”
 

“That’s good. My cousin moved across country to be with a guy and he was a total dick-knob,” Raquel said.
 

“Oh… that’s not good.”
 

“It’s okay. She’s free of him now. And back here where she belongs,” Raquel laughed.
 

“So, Jen. What’s your style?” Fi asked.
 

I blinked a few times. “My style?” I stammered.
 

“Yeah,” Raquel turned in her seat to look at me and giggled at the look on my face.
 

“I honestly have no idea.”
 

“Oh, honey, we’re going to have fund with this one,” Raquel said to Fi and shot a wink at me. “Don’t worry, love. You’re in excellent hands. We’ll get you a stunning dress for the premiere and a few nice things to wear for the party tonight.”
 

“Oh, yeah. The party. Are you two coming?” I asked, hoping I’d have at least a couple of familiar friendly faces.
 

Raquel shook her head. “No, Fi’s got a show. But I’m sure you’ll have fun. All of Liam’s friends are nice.”

“Right! The show, you mentioned that yesterday. Er… are you sure you have time to take me out?” I asked tentatively. Fi waved er hand dismissively.
 

“Everything is good to go, and I need a little break and distraction to be honest. It’ll be all hands on deck and go go go in a few hours.”
 

The afternoon went by in a whirl of shops and boutiques. I lost count of how many dresses, tops, pants, skirts and shirts I tried on. The two women seemed to have pretty good taste, I admitted to myself after a couple of shops. I hadn’t hated anything I’d tried on so far, at least. I felt a bit uncomfortable in a few of the more revealing pieces they had me in, but Fi told me confidently that I could pull it off. The sales assistant nodded in the background. I disregarded the sales assistant - she’d probably tell me I looked fantastic in a potato sack if it was for sale.
 

More dresses. And even more dresses. I was starting to get really sick of taking my clothes on and off, but we hadn’t found a dress yet that both Raquel and Fi approved of for the premiere. I was happy with the first, second, third, up to twelfth dress I’d tried on (apart from number eight - that one had not worked at all), but apparently my opinion didn’t matter very much at all. The attendant helped me slip into a lovely gown of different shades of blue. It had looked gorgeous on the manikin, but I didn’t know if it would translate very well on my short, stumpy body.
 

“Ohhh, you look lovely,” the attendant gushed. I’d heard that with almost every dress, from half a dozen different attendants so I took her words with a grain of salt. I smiled at the woman and then pulled back the curtain.
 

“Oh yes, oh yes, yes, yes, yes, yes! That’s the one! Fi? This is the one, isn’t it? Fi?”
 

I looked up at Fi. She drifted over from where she was examining some other gowns. Her eyes gleamed as she looked me up and down. Slowly, she nodded.
 

“Yes. Yes, my love. I think we’ve done it.” She leaned up and kissed Raquel firmly on the mouth, then came up to me and kissed me on the cheek.
 

“You’ll look stunning.”
 

Raquel nodded. “I’ll do your make-up, if you’d like me too. On the night, I mean. You’ll fit right in.”
 

A part of me sagged in relief. I didn’t want to stand out as a country bumpkin who shouldn’t be there. I mean, I was a country bumpkin who probably shouldn’t be there, but I didn’t want everyone knowing that at first sight.
 

“Thanks, that would be great. I’m not very good with make-up.”
 

“That’s all right, love. I’ll teach you a few tricks. I know what it’s like to feel like a bit of an outsider in this crazy city.”
 

I smiled weakly, and then glanced over at the full length mirror. I could feel my eyes slightly bulge. The gown was stunning. It made my figure look… it made my figure look, well, not like me. In a good way. I felt like I could wear this gown proudly next to Liam Burns: Movie Star,
 
and not feel like a total imposter who was about to be dragged off by security.
 

“Now, let’s get you an outfit for tonight!” Raquel clapped her hands.
 

They ended up picking out something that I never would have, which I suppose was the whole point. It did look good on me, but I didn’t really feel like me wearing it. The jeans had way too many holes in them and the top was a bit more revealing than I’d usually go for, but they promised me it worked and I looked great. I’d have to take their word for it.
 

“Thanks so much for your help,” I said. We’d pulled up in Liam’s driveway and the two women were helping me get my bags out of the car.
 

“No problem at all. It was fun for us, wasn’t it, Fi?”
 

“Sure. I love a good shopping outing, especially when I’m not paying!”
 

I smiled helplessly. I still felt a bit guilty about Liam paying for my clothes.
 

Liam opened the front door, and came out. He was shirtless for some reason. Raquel nudged me. I realised Liam had said something, but I’d been too focused on his abs.
 

“Sorry, what did you say?” I felt a blush rushing up my cheeks. Fi giggled and turned away, hiding her face in the boot of the car, fishing around for a stray shopping bag.
 

Liam gave me an odd look. “I said, how did you go?”

“Oh,” I mumbled. “Yeah, great. The girls were fantastic. I now have a respectable gown and a couple of nice outfits. Thanks.”
 

“No problem. It wasn’t that bad was it?” he grinned down at us.
 

I shook my head.
 

“We had fun, I told you we would,” Raquel said with a big grin, and put her arm around me and gave me a squeeze.
 

“Do you want to come in for a drink or anything?” Liam asked, stretching his lean arms.
 

Raquel glanced at Fi, who shook her head minutely.
 

“Thanks, but another time. We’ve got to prepare for tonight - Fi’s show, remember.”
 

“Oh, right. Okay then. Good luck! Thanks again.”
 

“Anytime.”
 

“Yeah, thanks. Really. I would have been totally lost without you.”
 

Raquel and Fi both gave me another hug and kiss on the cheek.
 

“Our pleasure. You have fun tonight! I’ll see you on Friday, if not before then.”
 

I nodded, and then arms laden with bags, climbed the steps. Liam took some of the bags off me so I could wave goodbye.
 

“They’re nice,” I said, as we watched them back down the driveway.