Chapter 12

You're setting off

It's time to go, the engine is running

My mind is lost

We always knew this day was coming

And now it's more frightening than it's ever gonna be

~*~*~*~*~*~

Friday, June 17, 2019.

It's not that I didn't trust Ella to do a good job with my hair and makeup. Quite the contrary, actually. I knew Ella was basically a wizard when it came to making people look their best. I just wasn't sure my best was good enough. My self-confidence was so low that I didn't know what it would take to ever get it back up again. If I was being honest, it had never been all that high to begin with, and I had to wonder if it was even possible for me to love myself the way I deserved.

"What shall we do with your hair, dearie?" Ella asked as she combed her fingers through my freshly washed hair. "Do you want it down or up? Curly or straight?"

Feeling kind of overwhelmed with all the options, I said, "Oh, gosh, I really don't know. What do you think I should do?"

"Have I ever seen you with curls? Because I don't think I have."

I shook my head. "No. It's always been straight. It's kind of a hassle to curl hair this long." It fell way below my waist, and by the time I would finally be done curling my hair, two hours would have passed, so I usually just kept it straight unless I really felt like putting in the effort.

Ella smiled at me in my mirror. The makeup trailer had already been emptied out, so she was doing my hair and makeup in my trailer. "Not too big a hassle for me, dearie. Now, where did I leave those hair clips?"

As Ella started on curling my hair, I played a game on my phone, unsure of what else to do. When Ella was nearly done, the iPhone chimed with a text from Hanna.

come skype w/ me bitch.

I snorted and gave Ella a quick apology as I moved to grab my laptop. I sat back down so Ella could go back to finishing curling my hair, and I opened my laptop. I started up Skype and immediately got an incoming call from Hanna. I answered and was met with the faces of my two best friends, Hanna and Keegan.

I grinned at them. "Hey, guys. Keegs, why am I not surprised you're forcing yourself into this call?"

He gave me one of his carefree grins in return as he shrugged. "It's Friday. I'm always at your place on Fridays."

"Oh, right. Sorry, I've kind of lost track of the days here. How are you guys?"

"Wishing I was being pampered like you right now," Hanna joked. "Hey, Ella. Long time no see."

Ella smiled and waved at the screen with her curling iron still in her hand. "Hello, Hanna. It's nice to see you again."

"Ella, this is Keegan, a really good friend of mine. Keegs, this is Ella. She's done my hair and makeup throughout the movie."

"Ah, so you're the one who makes my girl shine, huh?" Keegan asked. "It's nice to meet you."

"But seriously for a minute, though. How are you guys? I have literally no idea what's going on at the home front."

"We're doing great," Hanna said, smiling but her voice serious. "We mostly just miss you a lot. We're glad you're coming home soon. But how are you feeling about leaving Miami?"

"Honestly, I don't know. It's weird. Part of me really wants to stay, and another part of me wants nothing more than to go home. I miss you guys."

"We'll throw an old-fashioned party when you get back," Keegan said. "Booze, horror movies, the works. But onto something much more important... How are things with you and your hunky Superman?"

I groaned, covering my face with my hands, glad I wasn't wearing makeup yet. I would hate to smudge anything. "I really wish people would stop asking me that, because I really don't know. Nothing's changed. He's so hard to read. We did picnic together for lunch today, though."

Hanna eagerly scooted closer to the screen. "And?"

I blushed. "And nothing. We just talked."

"About?" I could tell she was getting frustrated at how very little I was giving her.

"Are you sure you want to know the truth? It'll be incredibly anticlimactic."

"Just tell us, Jules," Keegan said, obviously sharing in Hanna's frustration.

"Dogs. We talked about dogs." I laughed at their blank faces. "See? I told you the answer would be anticlimactic."

"You... You talked about dogs?"

I shrugged. "Yeah. Kal was with us, and we kind of stumbled onto the subject of our shared love for dogs. And then we talked about Luna. I told him I still miss her, and he was really sweet in comforting me."

Hanna grinned. "See? Now that's not so anticlimactic. Did he hug you?"

I felt myself grow red again, wondering if she really had to know so much. "He just kind of pulled me into his side and we sat like that for a while. It was nice."

"Girl, if he doesn't make a move tonight, I'm gonna hunt him down myself and punch his teeth out," Hanna threatened, making me laugh.

"And then it's my turn," Keegan said hotly. "I'll just borrow one of my brother's swords."

"Guys! Oh my God, you two are the worst. If he's not into me, I'll be fine. Eventually. It'll hurt, but... y'know. I'll be fine."

"Oh, but dearie, he is into you," Ella said, startling me a little. I'd almost forgotten she was still here. "I could see it in the way he looked at you, especially when he thought you weren't looking back at him. And even if he doesn't make a move tonight, that doesn't necessarily mean that that's it. You'll see each other again. Tonight isn't the end."

I shot her a smile. "Thanks, Ella."

"Ella?" Hanna asked. "Adopt me?"

Ella laughed. "Oh, sweetheart."

"I'm being serious. You're so much better at giving advice than my mother. Actually, I can't even remember the last time she even gave me advice at all."

"Anyway," I said, before things could get awkward, "I'll be back tomorrow, no matter how things go tonight. My flight leaves at the most ungodly hour ever, so I'll be back in L.A. by tomorrow morning."

"We'll be waiting by the gate with shots of vodka, whether you need it to drown your sorrows or to celebrate your return," Keegan said.

I smiled at him in thanks and Ella finished with my hair at exactly the same time. As she worked on my makeup, I mostly listened to Hanna and Keegan as they recounted everything that had happened back in Los Angeles while I was in Miami. When Ella was finally done with my hair and makeup, it was time for me to put the dress on. I kept Skype on as I disappeared into the bathroom so I could take my robe off and step into the form-fitting black '50s pencil skirt dress, knowing Hanna and Keegan would want to see the final look. I managed to zip the dress up myself and stepped into the platform heels, fastening the straps before I walked back out of the bathroom.

"Holy motherfucking shit, Julie Bear," Keegan uttered as soon as he saw me.

"Holy motherfucking shit is right," Hanna agreed.

"You look gorgeous, dearie," Ella said, giving me a careful hug, as if afraid to ruin my look. "You will, without a doubt, be the belle of the party."

I smiled shyly. "You really think so?"

"Honey, we know so," Keegan told me. "Speaking as a—mostly—straight guy, Henry won't be able to handle himself."

"Mostly straight, huh?" Hanna teased, elbowing him in his arm.

Keegan shrugged. "Eh, I've been known to have man crushes every now and then."

Hanna shook her head, smiling, and said, "You really do look gorgeous, Julie. I'm so glad I forced you to buy that dress four months ago."

I grinned. "If I remember correctly, you threatened to buy the dress behind my back and sneak it into my closet."

She grinned back at me. "Purely out of love for you, my dear. Now go put on your jewelry and make yourself smell magnificent before Henry shows up. He is picking you up, right?" she verified.

"Yeah, he is." I quickly gathered some gold jewelry and put it on, spraying some of my favorite perfume on my wrists and behind my ears afterwards. The scent of Bonbon by Viktor & Rolf surrounded me, almost magically making me feel more empowered already. Just in time, too, because there was a knock on the trailer's door. I sent a panicked look at my computer screen. "Help!" I squeaked.

"You'll be fine," Hanna, Keegan and Ella all reminded me at the same time.

Ella gave me a hug. "I'll open the door for you. Goodbye, sweetheart, and have fun tonight. And remember that no matter what happens, tonight is not the end." After giving me another careful hug, she opened the door, leaving me standing in front of my laptop, the faces of my two best friends still filling the screen.

"Ella, hi," Henry said with a surprised smile. "I hadn't expected to see you here."

"I was just doing Juliette's hair and makeup, but I'll be leaving now. Have fun tonight, Henry."

"Thank you, Ella." He stepped aside so she could leave my trailer and then walked in.

I'd hoped that the way I looked would have him speechless, but it was more the other way around. He was dressed in black jeans and a white button down, a black vest over it, hugging his form snuggly. The sleeves of his shirt were pushed up past his elbows. There was no product in his hair, leaving it curly—just the way I liked it. He'd trimmed his stubble a little, and I wanted to rake my hands through it, wondering how it would feel. It was only a moment later that I realized I did have the desired effect on him.

His mouth was hanging open a little as he took me in, his eyes trailing over my hips, chest and face a little longer than would've been necessary had he not been into me. "Wow. You look—wow. Just... Gorgeous. And that's a gross understatement." He shook his head, his eyes raking all over my body once more. "Wow."

"Thanks," I managed. "You, um... Yeah."

"Ahem," Hanna said not-so-subtly from behind me as she pretended to clear her throat.

I whirled around. "Oh, right."

"Oh. Hi, Hanna," Henry said with a small wave as he stepped closer to the computer, therefore also stepping closer to me. My heart beat wildly in my throat at his proximity. He smelled amazing.

Hanna smirked. "Hey, Henry. We'll just be going now. You two lovebirds have fun." She actually had the audacity to wink.

"Babe," Keegan started, pointing at me through the screen, "remember what I said about my brother's swords. I meant w—"

"Bye, guys," I said quickly, feeling my cheeks heat up. I slammed the laptop shut, effectively saving myself from even more embarrassment from my friends.

"So..." Henry said slowly, filling the awkward silence that had followed. "Did I just sort of meet your boyfriend?"

I frowned at him in my confusion. "My boyfriend?"

He pointed at the now safely shut laptop. "That guy you were Skyping with. He called you babe."

"Oh, that. No, Keegan is just a friend. He's actually more like a brother—one who eats all my food on Fridays and has a very lovely girlfriend who definitely isn't me."

"Oh," Henry said, his face unreadable. Was he relieved? Indifferent? "Well, shall we go?"

"Yes. I just have to grab my phone." I grabbed a purse and my phone, which displayed an incoming text from Keegan.

I felt like I was watching a fucking porno with the way you two were eye-fucking each other.

I blushed furiously, not even thinking about dignifying that with a response, and stuffed the iPhone deep into my black clutch.

As we walked over to Henry's car, he said, "So I saw you've packed already. That's about the cleanest I've ever seen your trailer."

I laughed, poking him with my elbow as payback for the jab. "Yeah, I figured that might be the smartest decision. My flight leaves at four in the morning, so..."

He winced. "Ouch. That's a very unfortunate departure time."

I shrugged. "Eh, well. I am a night owl, after all. Four a.m. is like my midnight."

Laughing, he said, "True enough." We reached his car and he opened the door to the passenger seat for me. I slid in and he walked over to the driver's side.

Once we were on the highway, heading for the restaurant they'd rented out for the wrap party, I asked, "And what about you?" I waited with bated breathed as I hoped for him to say he'd be flying to Los Angeles tomorrow.

"I leave tomorrow morning. I'm going back to Jersey to spend some time with my family before I start on my next project."

"Oh," I said, praying to any god that could hear me that my disappointment wasn't audible in my voice. "You must miss your family a lot."

He gave me a quick smile before focusing on the road again. "I do. That's the downside of being an actor and being away for months on end. You don't get to spend as much time with your loved ones as you would like."

Didn't I know it. I had experienced the same thing first hand over the past two and a half months. "But it's worth it, though, right?"

Henry smiled at me, taking his eyes off the road for as long as he dared. "Definitely."

We arrived at the restaurant, and Henry found a parking spot among all the other cars. It seemed as though a lot of people had already arrived, and we might be one of the last ones. Henry offered me an arm and I hooked mine around it as we made our way inside. The room was already buzzing with dozens of people.

The tables were set beautifully, with purple candles as center pieces to battle the room's dim lighting. It was actually a very romantic setting, once again making me wish we were here under different circumstances. Sadly, that wasn't the case, and Henry and I had our rounds to make. We said hello to everyone, and I soon realized there were a lot more people invited than I'd originally assumed. Even people that had only contributed a small part to the movie were present too—sadly including Michelle, the girl who'd been convinced I'd stolen her part. It was also my first time meeting some of the producers, who were clearly more comfortable in the background. I stayed to chat a little longer with Jennifer, the woman who'd given me that halter dress earlier today, and Marie, who usually did Henry's hair and makeup, but soon it was time for dinner, meaning I had to get seated at the main table.

I was pleased to see I was sitting with Henry, Ryan, Fiona and Scott. Other than Natascha and Ella, they were the ones I'd interacted with most over the course of filming, and I really had grown to like them. They were my friends.

Once everyone was seated, Ryan stood up and tapped the side of his wine glass with his knife to get everyone's attention. "When we wrapped, I promised you a speech. Working on this film with me, you know I always fulfill my promises. However, before this party started, I tried and tried to come up with the right words to say, and came up blank every time. But a promise is a promise, so I'm just gonna wing it, and I apologize in advance if this is incoherent as fuck."

A laugh went through the crowd at his choice of words.

"I had great expectations of this movie. I knew it was a great script. There's a lot more depth to it than most romantic comedies. That having said, a great script doesn't make a movie. All of you do," he said, smiling at everyone in the room. "No matter how small your contribution, I swear to you it was vital. So I want to thank all of you for giving your best every day, even when the call time was four a.m. and you kind of just wanted to punch everyone in sight. I know I sure did."

Another laugh rippled through the crowd, a little louder this time.

"I want to thank the producers for believing in me and this project. Your money was well-appreciated, and in my opinion well-spent. I want to thank the crew for delivering us such hard work that so often—too often—goes unnoticed. I want to tell you that I noticed, and I could not be more grateful. I want to thank my gorgeous wife for being by my side throughout the entire process, supporting me whenever I needed it. I want to thank my amazing cast, that delivered stellar work time and time again. And last but most definitely not least, I want to thank my two amazing leads. Henry, Juliette, you two were sensational. You brought Noah and Amelia to life in a way I hadn't even imagined possible myself. Your chemistry lit up the room—it still does. You two should think about making a whole box set of movies together," he joked, making everyone in the room laugh but me blush. If only. "All in all, I'm just really fucking grateful." He cleared his throat. "Now, let's just eat before I babble on and piss everyone off with more profanity I'm bound to use if this goes on."

He sat down, and the crowd burst out in thunderous applause. I joined in, grinning at Ryan. He'd been a brilliant director, one I definitely wouldn't hate to work with again. He was extremely laid back but had strong work ethics, and he kept everyone on their toes. He liked improvisation—actually, he encouraged it—and was extremely good to his cast and crew. He deserved every bit of applause he was getting.

When it had died down and everyone had gone back to their own business, Henry leaned over to me. "So, a box set of movies together, huh? Would you be able to handle that or would you grow sick of me?"

I shook my head. If the way I was feeling now was any indication, I would never grow sick of him. "No. I would love to work with you again. You're amazing to work with. Easy, too. And you're so good at acting that you inadvertently push me to be better, too. So, no, I definitely wouldn't mind making a whole box set of movies with you."

He smiled. It was a small smile, but it reached his eyes like no other smile had managed before. It made my heart pound, and I couldn't help but smile back at him. "Good. I'm glad."

"I think the more important question is if you would get sick of me if we made more movies together."

Henry leaned a little closer and my breath caught in my throat. "Don't you know by now, Juliette? I don't think I could ever get sick of you."

He shouldn't be saying things like this. It only pushed me farther over the edge, and I was already so far over. I was so close to free falling, and words like this only pushed me closer to the inevitable. But maybe the inevitable had already happened. I was already over. Already falling. And it had my heart doing funny things, things it hadn't done when it came to anyone else.

The moment was broken when the waiter gave us our menus. I didn't know whether to be grateful or annoyed. It wasn't like I wanted us to finally act on our feelings when I knew so many pairs of eyes were glued on us—specifically Ryan's, Fiona's and Scott's—but at least something would've happened.

I slowly forced myself to join the conversation that was going on around the table. At least for the time being, I had to get my mind off of my feelings for Henry. Maybe once we were alone I would finally be brave enough to say something to him, but now wasn't the time.

"So, what's in store for you next, Juliette?" Fiona asked kindly. "Do you already have a new project lined up?"

"No, I don't, actually. I have no idea what the future holds. I guess I'll have to go back to auditioning."

"Always a scary process, auditioning," Scott said, in a rare show of solemnity. "But I'm sure you'll have a new role in no-time. You're a really talented actress, and once If You Love Someone is out, the whole world will know it, too."

Henry grinned at him. "For once I actually agree with you, Tayler," he joked.

"I must say I agree as well," Fiona said. "You're talented, professional, gorgeous... What more could a film studio need?"

"Star status," Ryan said bluntly, but then he grinned. "But I have a feeling you've developed quite a bit of that with all your outings with our favorite Brit."

"You think so?" I asked, feeling myself grow a little uncomfortable. I didn't want Henry to think that was all I used him for; to get 'star status.' Besides, if I wanted people to know my name at all, it would be for being a great actress—not being someone's girlfriend. "I didn't really keep up with the media throughout filming. I've seen a few articles here and there, but they focused more on Henry. It took a while for them to even know my name."

"But they know it now," Ryan pressed. "And you probably hate hearing this, but the rumors circling around the two of you is great publicity for this movie."

"It's strange how people can be so obsessed with people's love lives," Henry said, and I nearly choked on my red wine at the words 'love lives.' "Then again, I already find it weird how someone could be interested in my personal life at all."

Ryan grinned. "I don't get how people could be interested in your personal life, either. You're boring as fuck, Cavill," he joked, and Henry barked out a laugh. "But Juliette over here? She's mysterious and intriguing. And rumors of two gorgeous people being together? Even more so."

At this point in the conversation, I was really wishing someone would change the topic. Sadly, no one did.

Henry smiled. "True enough. I guess I just dislike the idea of 'dating' for publicity. If I'm gonna be with someone, I'm actually gonna be with them."

I coughed. "I don't want to imply anything, but, um... you and Kaley Cuoco?"

Was it just me, or did Henry's cheeks turn just a tad redder? "Touché. But that was the only time I did it, and also the last. Why do you think the whole thing lasted so short? I broke the deal off as soon as I realized just how wrong the whole thing was."

I smiled. "That's very commendable."

I thanked my lucky stars when Fiona changed the subject after that. "Speaking of publicity, do you guys have any social media platforms? That you actually use? Because I know you hardly use your Twitter, Scott. And Henry, I don't believe you have Twitter or Facebook at all, right? And what about you, Juliette?"

"Uh, I have Twitter, but the only identification is my first name. No one but people I actually know in real life follows me on there."

"Building a bigger fan base on Twitter might help with publicity for you and the movie," Fiona said. "It's totally up to you, of course, but maybe you could post a little more and actually add your last name so people know it's you."

"Yeah, no, I get it. And I will."

"And Scott, why do you hardly ever tweet?"

"Honestly," Scott started a little sheepishly, "I usually forget to. I could try and put a little more effort into my account, though."

Fiona smiled. "It would be greatly appreciated. And Henry?"

Henry sighed, a small smile playing around his lips. "There's really no escaping this social media thing, is there?"

"Nope," I said, and expectantly held my hand out to him. When he regarded me with a puzzled look on his face, I said, "Give me your phone. I'm gonna help you create a Twitter account."

"Oh, Christ..." Henry muttered, but handed me his phone anyway.

I grinned at him and downloaded the Twitter app to his phone. I made the beginnings of his account for him, letting him fill in his personal information, but we hit a bit of a roadblock when it came to choosing a profile picture.

"Which picture should I use?" he asked me. I liked that he was relying solely on me for the answer. "I kind of like this one."

I blushed when I saw which one he meant. It was the one of us on the beach, when Hanna had forced me to take a selfie of us and he'd suddenly surprised me by kissing my cheek. "I like that picture a lot, too, but it might not be the wisest choice for a profile picture."

"Why not?" He asked the question as if he was genuinely confused, but I think he knew as well as I did why he shouldn't use it.

"You can hardly even see your face. If anything, that picture would fit my profile better, because you can see much more of my face. Maybe you can use the other picture we made and just crop me out."

"Why would you want me to crop you out?"

"Because it's your Twitter, not ours." And because, to the world, it would seem like confirmation of us being together if he used a picture of us as his profile picture, while I knew we weren't. It would be weird, and I had a feeling he knew it. What I didn't get was why he was being so stubborn about it.

He sighed. "Fine." He opened the other picture we'd made, but we soon realized that that one wouldn't do, either. Our faces were pressed together much too closely and if he cropped me out, it would be much too obvious.

"Well, then I guess there's no other option. It's selfie time, Mr. Cavill," I teased.

"Oh, God... I've never really been one for selfies."

"Ugh, come here," I said, plucking his phone out of his hands. I opened up Google Images and searched for his name. Before he full and well realized what I was doing, pictures of him filled his iPhone's display. "Let's see what we've got to work with."

As I started scrolling through the pictures, his eyes widened slightly. "What? No. What are you doing?"

"What does it look like I'm doing? I'm looking for a good Twitter profile pic for you. You want to help or not?"

He leaned a little closer to me so we could both look at the screen. I had a hard time not clicking on all of the pictures to examine them better. He just looked so incredibly good in all of them, and it was hard to choose just one. "Oh, I like this one," I said, but when I clicked on it, I realized it was horrible quality. "Okay, never mind." I went back to scrolling through the pictures.

"What about this one?" Henry asked as he tapped on a picture. He looked really good in it, I had to admit, apart from one teensy tiny problem. It looked like he had more product in his hair than I ever even used in one week, and not in a good way. (Was there even a good way?)

I gave him a pointed look. "Slick Rick," was all I said before I went back to scrolling. "Oh, hey, speak of the devil," I said, and tapped to enlarge a picture of him buying groceries with Kaley Cuoco. I quickly went back to scrolling, though, feeling the sting of seeing him with someone else, even though I knew the relationship had solely been for publicity reasons. It still hurt to see someone else clinging tightly to his arm. It was soon forgotten, however, when I came across a complete and utter gem. "Oh my God!" I squealed. "You were so cute!"

Henry's eyes widened to the size of saucers as he looked at the picture of him at about thirteen years old. "How did they even find that? Oh, Christ, no, there's another one."

I fought the urge to cackle with laughter as I saw the second picture. "You were so adorable. What happened?" I joked.

"I grew into myself."

I glanced over at him. He was a far cry from his 'Fat Cavill' days now, with his tall and incredibly muscled frame. "That you did," I said, and I hoped to God my tone didn't sound too appreciative. Before it could get weird, I quickly concentrated again on finding him a profile picture. It didn't take much longer for me to come across the perfect one. "This one. You should use this one."

"Why?"

I set his phone down on the table and started ticking off the reasons on my fingers. "Leather jacket. Your hair looks great all natural and curly. You're smiling. The scruff. And you can see that cute little brown fleck in your eye."

"You think it's cute?" Henry asked, before I could even realize myself what I had said.

I tried not to blush, but knew I was probably failing miserably. "Well, yeah. Who doesn't. Heterochromia is pretty rare. At least, when it's as noticeable as it is with you."

A slow smile played around his lips, and I once again felt as if we were the only ones in the room. "We'll just use this picture then."

"Good." I set the picture for him, and his account was done. Henry Cavill officially had a Twitter now. "There you go. Next up, Instagram."

He groaned. "Juliette, no... Do I really have to?"

"Yes, you have to. I need you to like my selfies," I joked.

"Fine. Let's do it."

I let Henry set up his own Instagram account as I made a few changes to my own accounts. I included my last name in both my Twitter and Instagram, and before I knew it, I'd already gotten two new followers. Were people actually actively looking for me on social media? The idea was mind-boggling.

"Okay, I'm done. Now what?"

"Now we introduce you to the world and your follower count will magically go up. You might want to turn off your notifications for Twitter and Instagram, because otherwise your phone will probably blow up."

"And how do we introduce me to the world?"

"Via a picture. You don't mind if I upload that picture of us on the beach, do you?"

He shook his head, smiling. "No, of course not. There are already plenty of pictures of us on that day out there anyway."

I uploaded the pictures of us both smiling at the camera to Instagram, making sure to apply a filter that made me look more tan than I actually was and that brought out the blue in Henry's eyes.

@JulesMorrison: #throwback When in Miami... you go to the beach. And welcome to Twitter and Instagram, @HenryCavill. It's about damn time.

I made Instagram post the picture to Twitter, too, and naturally, Hanna was the first to retweet it, only seconds after. She'd turned on notifications for my tweets ages ago, though I never really knew why. My tweets weren't all that exciting. Though, being the first to mention Henry on Twitter and Instagram was quite an accomplishment. Keegan retweeted it soon after—probably having heard about the tweet from Hanna—and mentioned me.

@KeegsBear: @JulesMorrison @HenryCavill CUTIE PIESSSS!! Btw, did you change your Twitter?

@JulesMorrison: @KeegsBear Yup, I did.

Hanna was the next to tweet me, but hers was just a slur of emojis. I sent the emoji with the sunglasses on back to her and then put my phone down, unable to fight a smile.

"I'm not even following you yet," Henry said suddenly. "How rude of me."

"You probably have loads of people to follow. Good luck trying to find everyone," I joked.

"I'm gonna follow you first, though," he said absentmindedly, making my heart swell. And before I knew it, my phone chimed with two new notifications: A new follower on Twitter and one on Instagram.

I grinned at him. "Now go follow all your other friends, before I sell you on Snapchat."

He frowned. "What the hell is Snapchat?"

I laughed. "Just get to following people, Cavill."

"But wait, first it's time to post my first selfie."

I raised a skeptical eyebrow at him. "I thought you've 'never really been one for selfies'?"

"Well, I basically just want to try this whole Instagram thing out, so why not do it with a selfie? Besides, I gotta prove it's actually me, right?"

"I suppose that's as good a reasoning as any."

"Good. Now scoot closer so we're both in the frame."

"Wait. You want to take a selfie with me?"

"Yeah. You posted a picture of the two of us, so I'd say it's only right I do the same."

I shook my head, but couldn't fight my smile. "Fine."

Henry opened the front camera on his phone, and we leaned our heads closely together, both smiling. He snapped the picture, and I examined it before giving him the okay to post it. Part of me was happy about him posting the picture. But another part of me—the anxiety part of me—worried about the backlash I'd surely get from overzealous fans. But it was already too late, because he'd posted the picture already.

@HenryCavill: Dinner time with @JulesMorrison, who all but forced me to make this account. But we're good. ;)

Shortly thereafter, he posted his very first tweet.

@HenryCavill: Wrap party for If You Love Someone with @JulesMorrison, @RyanZachary, @FionaZach and @ScottTayler. It's been a fun ride.

I smiled and gave him a high five. "Well done, Henry. I'm proud of you."

He laughed. "You must not have very high standards if all it took to make you proud of me was to simply join social media."

"Hey, how many years now have you been avoiding to join social media?" I asked pointedly. "And I managed to convince you to make an account in five minutes."

"Good point. But I do feel like I need to point out that I had very little choice in the matter."

I grinned. "Deal with it. You'll thank me later."

Throughout the rest of the dinner, we watched in amusement as our follower counts rose rapidly. But what amused me most were the mentions Henry was getting. He obviously hadn't been ready for fangirling teens. "Why do so many people keep calling me 'dad'? I'm not that old, am I?"

I nearly choked on my vegetables as I burst out in uncontrollable laughter. "You're not the only celeb who's gotten confused about that. It means that you give them life. Your father gave you life, didn't he? You give them life, so you're their dad. It's a really weird trend, I know."

"I... don't even know how to respond to that."

We managed to—mostly—put our phones to the side and finish dinner. Slowly, others finished eating as well, and someone turned on the music. A big space had been cleared to pose as a makeshift dance floor, and soon, people trickled onto it.

"Juliette, I think you owe me a dance," Scott said with a grin.

I lifted an eyebrow, grinning back at him. "I do?"

"Because your friend was so busy catching up with you, I never got the chance to ask her for her number. So you at least owe me a dance."

I shook my head, but wasn't able to fight a smile. "How about I make it up to you by dancing with you, and giving you Hanna's phone number?"

"It's a deal."

I quickly added Hanna's number to Scott's contacts, knowing she wouldn't mind, seeing as she'd already asked me for his. I'd given it to her a while ago, but apparently she hadn't done anything with it yet. Once that was done, Scott and I made our way to the dance floor, talking and laughing as we danced to the bass-heavy song. We were congratulated on a job well done a few times by numerous people, though, making dancing too long difficult. And then, when the song was almost over, someone bumped into me so hard that I toppled forward, needing to brace my hands against Scott's chest in order to not fall over completely.

"Oh, I'm sorry, Juliette," Michelle sneered, and I gritted my teeth. I'd already wondered when she would acknowledge my presence. After that insincere apology, she gave Scott a sickly sweet smile. "Hey, Scott. Well done on the movie. I've heard from multiple people that you did a really great job."

Scott gave her a tight smile. "Thanks. And you are...?"

I pressed my lips together in a weak attempt not to laugh. That was probably the biggest insult Scott could've given her.

"I'm Michelle. Remember me? I played in the first few scenes they filmed."

"Oh. Right. Well, thanks, Michelle," he said, and he turned back to me. Once she was gone again, he pretended to gag. "Who invited that terrible human being?"

I laughed. "So you do remember her?"

"Of course I do. Hard to forget someone who's such a stone cold bitch like her. I especially remember her giving you a hard time. It doesn't seem like things have changed all too much."

I shrugged. "We both screen tested with Henry for the role of Amelia, and that's where we met. I remember her radiating confidence, as if she was sure she was going to get the role. Part of me agreed, because I didn't have her confidence. But then I eventually got the part, and she never quite forgave me for it."

"Ugh," was all Scott said, and I nodded in agreement. Ugh, indeed.

When the song was over, I felt a light tap on my shoulder. I turned around to find a smiling Henry. "Ms. Morrison, will you dance with me?"

I smiled. "I would love to, Mr. Cavill."

He placed his hands on my hips as I wrapped my arms loosely around his neck. His curls tickled the backs of my hands, and I had to seriously fight the urge to tangle my fingers in them—but it was so incredibly difficult. The song was fast and we moved our hips to the beat. He was a better dancer than I'd expected, and I had to admit I was putting more effort into the movement of my hips than usual myself. As we danced, getting closer and closer without even realizing it ourselves, I couldn't tear my gaze away from Henry's eyes. The room was dim, but there was still enough light for me to see the brown flecks in the pool of blue. I loved his eyes. I would drown in them if I could.

Henry and I danced together for most of the night, with small breaks of dancing with someone else. I danced with Ryan, Fiona and even Marie, and so many other people. I danced with people I'd hardly even interacted with during filming, and it made me sad that I only just got to know them at the very end of the road. But no matter how many people I danced with, I kept coming back to Henry.

We'd reached the end of the night, and I knew I had to leave soon if I still wanted to make my flight. That knowledge weighed down heavily on me, hugely because still nothing had happened between us. He hadn't told me he liked me (if he even did), and I had kept my mouth firmly shut on the matter as well. But the night was coming to a close, and I knew it was now or never.

We were dancing to a slow song. It was a song by James Bay, an artist I loved a lot. Normally, I would've sung along—just like I'd done with previous songs I liked. Henry had always joined in with me if he knew the song as well, and it was the most fun I'd had since the night we'd gotten drunk together in my trailer. But something about the song, whether it was the melody or the lyrics, kept me quiet. All I could do was stare at Henry as we slowly swayed to the beat. His beautiful eyes, his beautiful cheekbones, his jaw, his nose, his perfectly shaped lips... I couldn't look away.

When the lights are faded to black / And only stars are guiding me back / I'll keep running, oh / To the place where I belong

My fingers tangled themselves in the curls at the nape of his neck. Henry's lips parted as he inched closer to me, and I felt my heart thump wildly in my throat as I felt my own lips part in anticipation. Was this finally it? Was this the moment where everything would fall into place?

"Oh, Henry, there you are!" a familiar voice called, and the spell was broken. Henry and I shot apart as Michelle approached us with a knowing smirk on her face. She knew she'd just interrupted a moment between the two of us, and she was pleased with herself for it. I hadn't hated her as much as I did at this moment. I wanted to punch her, but instead clenched my fists at my side. "I'm so sorry to interrupt, but Ryan was looking for you, Henry."

"Oh, is he?" Henry shot an apologetic glance at me. "I'm so sorry. Please don't go anywhere. I'll be right back, okay? I promise."

I nodded, smiling bravely, but felt the tears sting behind my eyes. "Okay. I'll wait."

He smiled and kissed my cheek. "I'll be right back."

But he never came back, and during my flight home, I kept replaying him being led away by Michelle, her hands curled tightly around his bicep.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

The lyrics at the start of the chapter are Scars by James Bay.

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