The Rendezvous Ch. 02

Celebs: Keri Russell, Alicia Witt, Evan Rachel Wood, Erika Christensen. Codes: FF, FFF, F+, cons, reluc, oral, fist, mast, exh, voy, viol.

Disclaimer: This story contains graphic sexual situations and adult themes and is therefore not suitable for those under age 18 or the close-minded. It may be illegal in some areas too. :( Please also note that it is not a true story, instead merely a fantasy. Real events may be referenced and real names, likenesses, and other personal details of celebrities and other real people may be part of the story- however they are used in a fictional manner styled to the author's liking that may be satirical at times. The author has never met any of the celebrities used herein, so he has no way of knowing if they really act the way they do in the story, and is confident that they probably don't. One hopes that these facts do not keep you, the reader, from enjoying the story.

Acknowledgements: Thanks as usual to all who have aided in the creation of this story, even those who have done so without knowing it. Thanks also to those who maintain sites for stories like this, and to all those who write for them, read them, and otherwise keep them alive. Thanks especially goes out to those who have sent this author feedback. If after reading this story you desire to do the same, please email feedback to me at the address in my profile. All feedback, with the exception of flames and spam, will be answered and appreciated. I hope you like this story. If not, please tell me why you didn't so I may learn of my mistakes.

Copyright: This story is my creation. All other stories which are referenced or otherwise paid homage herein belong to their respective creators. This story may be posted anywhere on the Internet that is free to access and has my permission- please email me for such. The inclusion of this disclaimer and proper credit will be all that I ask.

Notes: This story takes place during the making of the 2005 movie "The Upside of Anger." You may want to see that movie to get some of the in-jokes. It's also a pretty good movie, so you might be entertained, who knows? The story is related to the movie, but it is not based on it. Instead it's just a story where four young actresses begin a project together, resolve their differences, and then do some other things. ;D Special thanks to Nero, Victoria, and others for help with the story when needed.

That said, on with the show!

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"Anger and resentment can stop you in your tracks. That's what I know now. It needs nothing to burn but the air and the life that it swallows and smothers. It's real, though - the fury, even when it isn't. It can change you... turn you... mold you and shape you into something you're not. The only upside to anger, then... is the person you become. Hopefully someone that wakes up one day and realizes they're not afraid to take the journey, someone that knows that the truth is, at best, a partially told story. That anger, like growth, comes in spurts and fits, and in its wake, leaves a new chance at acceptance, and the promise of calm. Then again, what do I know? I'm only a child."

- Lavender "Popeye" Wolfmeyer (Evan Rachel Wood), The Upside of Anger.

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The Rendezvous, Chapter Two.

London, England. Late September 2003.

"Your father is a small man," Evan read one of Joan Allen's lines from the movie script. "A very small man."

"I hope you don't mean that the way I think you do," Erika snapped, reading Hadley's reply. "I hope you're not referring to his genitals, because that would be just gross!"

"Aw, dude!" Evan grimaced. "I was about to eat a string bean!" Lowering her script, she looked at Keri, who had just stepped back into the sitting room. "Dumb joke, isn't it?"

"Very dumb," Keri agreed. Then she smiled and shook her head. "One still has to laugh at it, though, I guess."

"Yeah," Evan said. "I can handle it. It's good prep for all the even worse jokes in Pretty Persuasion."

Worse jokes? Keri thought. Worse jokes? Why is this girl lowering herself to be in a movie like that? Why...

"Great to see you back!" Erika exclaimed, startling her out of her thoughts. "You were gone a long time. Did you take care of whatever it was?"

"Yes," Keri replied, pushing away an instant rush of memories. She smiled at the lack of effort it took her now, then walked up to the table and resumed her seat. She checked her watch as she sat down and noticed that she hadn't been gone that long, only just under an hour. Maybe it just seemed longer. Keri ran her hands through her hair, still trying to calm herself down. She looked at the other two girls, noticing they were both frowning at her. Oh crud. Better get my mind on something else, keep it there. "You've been reading lines?"

"Yep," nodded Evan. "Gotta know our own and each other's." She looked at the script again. "People don't know how to love. They bite rather than kiss, slap rather than stroke. Maybe it's because they recognize how easy it is for love to go bad, to become suddenly impossible, an exercise in futility. So they avoid it, seek solace in angst, fear, aggression. Or maybe sometimes they just don't have all the facts." Evan grimaced at Erika. "Am I saying that right?"

"Try putting more emotion into it," Erika recommended, then looked at her script and read a line. "I don't want to go to college." She stopped, frowning at the delivery. She repeated the line. "I don't want to go to college."

Keri smiled. Her own lines were pretty cliched and troublesome too. Maybe not as bad as Erika's, but then they weren't as profound as Evan's either. She just hoped to say them well when the time came. "Where's Alicia?" she asked, wondering why the other girl wasn't in the room with them.

"She left," Erika said, not looking up.

Keri felt an ominous feeling come over her at those words. Was it my fault? she wondered. Was it those arguments we got into? I thought we had resolved them. They were stupid anyway. I've been thinking about it. Yes, I have differences with my fellow actresses, but in some ways we're similar. Evan's young, but I was young too once. Still am. And I've gotten angry and frustrated with the world, like Alicia. I've also gotten reckless and full of myself, like Erika. I can handle these things. It helps that none of these girls are the kind of people I thought they were- I've realized that now. But if Alicia left before I could tell her...

"What's the matter?" Evan asked her.

Keri looked at the young girl, frowning. She paused, then answered. "Why'd Alicia leave?" she asked.

"Some guy called her and they got to arguing," Evan said. "We asked her to take it outside. That was about ten minutes ago."

Wonder where she went, Keri thought. Then she remembered a loud conversation she'd heard on the way back from her dressing room. It had been coming from inside another dressing room two doors down. She hadn't made much of it at the time, Alicia's voice had been too distorted by the walls and her emotions to recognize. Not that Keri had really listened of course. Who could have called her? Keri thought. There was only one possible answer.

"Was it Dave?" she asked. "We met yesterday."

"It was Dave," Erika confirmed. "He and Alicia have been going out for a while, even though they've never really gotten along. Lately the arguments have been getting worse."

Keri frowned, thinking back to all the arguments she'd witnessed. Some of them had been bad. If this one were creating the wrong kind of feelings, it could upset any plan she might have for living out her recent fantasies. That is, if she really wanted to live them. Then again, if she was able to play things right, this could work to her advantage. She'd used things like it before.

"Hey, Keri," Erika said, and Keri looked back at her. "I wanted to tell you I'm sorry about all the uptight bellyaching I did earlier. Alicia is too. We've both been going through a lot of crap."

"I kind of guessed that," Keri said. "I met Dave and Alicia yesterday," she added to Evan, seeing the young girl's confused look. "It didn't go well."

"She got in the middle of one of their arguments," Erika filled Evan in further. "Dave and Alicia have been dating about six months. I've only met him a few times, and only after they started having problems. Alicia said he was sweet in the beginning but then..." She shrugged. "I don't really have all the details."

Keri grimaced. "Did he remember you from all the movies and TV shows you've done?"

Erika nodded. "Most of them. He remembered I was Stacey on That 70s Show, Cassie on Freaky Links..." She rolled her eyes. "Almost any character I've been on screen, he knew. It was impressive at first, but then I thought about it and I realized there's a word for guys like Dave in our world. Stalker."

Keri had to agree. "I hate stalkers."

"Me too," Evan said. "They're the reason I practice taekwondo."

Keri looked at her, blinking. "You know taekwondo?"

Evan smiled. "I'm pretty good at it. I've been taking classes since I was four."

Wow, Keri thought. Another friend who knows martial arts. AJ, Jennifer, and now Evan. Wow. "I've never really gotten into martial arts," she said.

"You should," Evan said. "They're great. Tons of fun, excellent stress relief, and you can be ready for anything with them. You could probably work with JJ Abrams again if you got good enough."

"Right," Keri said, thinking back to all the times JJ had asked her to guest star on Alias. She had laughed at him every single one, always telling him she didn't know how to do action shows. So learn, Keri remembered her mentor saying. But I've never really had the need, she reminded herself. Maybe Evan has. Again she shook her head, then looked back at Erika. "Is Dave in the movie business?"

"No," Erika replied. "He's just a guy Alicia met in a bar. She meets a lot of dumb guys that way. Alicia has a lot of problems and alcohol's one of her ways of dealing with them."

Oh boy, Keri thought to herself. That never helps. I hope she didn't smuggle booze into the building somehow. If she did... Shut up! her inner voice screamed. How many times have you used alcohol for the same reasons? Yeah, she countered, but I've joked about it a lot more than I've actually done it. And I don't do it anymore. "Have you ever told her she doesn't need to do that?" she asked Erika.

"Many times," Erika said. "She doesn't listen to me. I've tried to turn her around, and I know part of her wants to, but..." The other actress sighed.

"What are her problems?" Keri asked, remembering her own battles with alcoholism in real life and on Felicity. "Dave?"

Erika shook her head. "Dave's a jerk but he's not that big a deal to Alicia, not really. Mostly, it's just her life."

"She was telling us about it while you were out," Evan said. "Alicia's done a lot of weird movies, but lately people have been telling her she needs to get into roles that are more wholesome, less out there. I don't know why she cares- I love her work, and I know I'm not the only one."

"I like it too," Keri said.

"She's going through a dry spell right now," Erika said. "A lot of her films have either bombed, or her role's been so small she's just not remembered that well by the fans. I've been suffering some of the same problems. I know I'm just starting my career, though. Naturally I'm going to be outshined by bigger stars. But Alicia's been in the business longer, so it's been hitting her harder, especially recently. And her latest boyfriend's not making things any easier."

Keri raised an eyebrow. "_Latest_ boyfriend?"

Erika nodded. "Alicia dates a lot of guys. She's disgusted with them, but she still likes them."

"She just needs to find a good one," Evan said. "Or keep him, I suppose."

"Alicia has problems with guys?" Keri frowned. She shouldn't, Keri thought. A girl that beautiful, with all her talent and acting experience? Most men would gladly die to be close to her. Right?

"Lots of problems," Erika replied, her hand waving. "It's a common story. I've been through it a few times myself. First, the guy goes ga-ga over meeting someone famous, and then goes nuts again over getting the chance to date her. But once the real Alicia shatters his preconceived notions..."

Okay, Keri thought. I can see that. "Maybe she just needs help."

"Tell me about it," Erika agreed. "I've set her up a dozen times, it's never worked out. Some of the guys I've tried to get her with have stopped speaking to me because of it."

"She has a problem with girls too, I'm guessing," Keri said.

Erika nodded. "Big problems. We've discussed her sexual fantasies, and often she mentions girls. I keep telling her it's okay to have thoughts like that about girls, but she gets pissed off whenever I do. I think she's just afraid. You know how it goes, right? Fear leads to anger, anger leads to aggression..."

"Aggression leads to the dark side," Keri completed, smiling at the line.

"Yeah," Erika said. "Exactly. That's why Alicia feels the way she does about lesbians. I talked to her about it while you were out, and she calmed down, apologized to Evan. We kept talking. We were warming up to each other. Then Dave called."

Keri nodded, looking at Evan. "Did you accept Alicia's apology?"

"Of course," Evan said. "It was easy once she explained why she went off on me like that. She thinks I'm still a little kid, that I shouldn't be doing the roles I've done. I pointed out that she's done similar films, but she told me she was older, and well..." Evan sighed. "I think a lot of her problems stem from the fact that she's been isolated most of her life."

Keri frowned. "Isolated?"

"Alicia was home-schooled, like me," Evan said. "I think a lot of people were probably mean to her when she was a kid. That kind of isolation doesn't lend itself well to developing relationships." Evan shrugged and scratched her head. "She probably tells men things that aren't true to get close to them. Makes them think things they shouldn't so they'll like her. You know, like her Playing Mona Lisa character?"

"Yeah," Keri said, thinking back to the movie. Damn, I need to cure her of that, she thought. How I'm not sure though. Even Mona herself would probably have trouble.

Wait a minute, Keri thought suddenly. Memories were flashing in her mind again, and ideas were taking form. Maybe, maybe... no, wait, I... damn it, you just need to be their friend. Stop thinking about your fantasies! She took a breath, then calmed herself and repeated several facts to herself in her mind. A plan appeared, a good plan. This might work, Keri decided. I just have to try it.

"Telling lies never helps in relationships," Erika fumed, interrupting her thoughts. She picked up an apple and started chewing on it, talking between bites. "Alicia's got to be herself. I keep telling her that, but she never listens."

"As if you have all the answers," said Evan. "Some guys just can't connect with you, even when you've known them for the longest time. Me and Frankie Muniz, for example."

"I know a lot about communication," Erika shot back, smiling at her. "My acting has helped me with it."

Oh sure, Keri thought, grimacing. Yeah right. "What we've got here is a failure to communicate," she quoted, putting on a bad Southern accent.

Erika turned to her, mouth open. "That's a good line, Keri, but..."

"I didn't mean anything by it," Keri cut her off, holding up a hand. "I've just been thinking about our arguments earlier and I had some ideas. I think Alicia is really mad at her life for some reason. And you too, Erika. You both use your acting as a defense mechanism."

"And your religion too," Evan said.

Erika looked at her agape, then smiled. "You trying to psychoanalyze me?" She shrugged. "Go ahead, you're not the first. I should warn you, though. I'm a real head case."

"Sorry if this offends you," Keri told her.

"It doesn't," Erika said. "I've studied psychology. I know it's helped people, contrary to popular belief. Working with all the shooting victims who helped me research my role for Home Room opened my eyes to it. I know people say it fosters brainwashing, disassociation, corruption, and things like that, but I know they're wrong."

"They say things like that about your religion too," Keri couldn't help but point out.

"I know that," Erika replied, shaking her head. "You're not the first person who's told me I use my religion to cover up my anxieties. I don't always like hearing it, but I'm not offended. Go on."

"Alicia gets angry too," Evan said. "She resents that people aren't supporting her in the roles she's enjoyed. Also with her sexuality. Am I right?"

Keri nodded. "Where'd you get that idea?"

"Just now," Evan shrugged. "After you left, we kept talking. We talked about a lot of things. Alicia asked me how my parents let me do all the roles I've done. I tried telling her I've been on my own since I was sixteen, but it didn't help. And then Erika jumped in and..." She frowned, looking at the other blonde.

"I reminded Alicia of similar discussions we had when we first met," Erika picked up the thread. "She asked me how my parents could let me be in a movie like Traffic, I asked her how hers could let her be on a show like Twin Peaks. It turned into one of our most ongoing disagreements." She stopped, frowning. "Do you really want to know about this?"

"Go ahead," Keri said, feeling interested.

Erika glanced at Evan, who shrugged. The older blonde nodded and turned back to Keri. "We each hold a different opinion on the subject. Alicia thinks if you do a role that's not like you, it's only acting. You can push it away, tell yourself you're not like your character and everything's fine. I, on the other hand, think that there has to be something inside you that is like that character. If you're interested in the role, can imagine yourself doing it, and then do it well, there's got to be something of the character in you. That's both sides of the issue, basically. My parents are in Alicia's camp, and hers are in mine, so naturally we've both had a lot to say to each other about this."

"I see," Keri said. "My parents have been pretty upset about some of the things I've done too." She looked at Evan. "What about yours?"

Evan shook her head. "Mostly they let me make my own decisions. They just make sure I'm aware of all the possible consequences first." She held up a hand. "I know what you're thinking- that's unusual."

Keri nodded. "Yeah." Her own parents didn't know about most of the stuff she'd done, let alone the stuff she wanted to do. She often shuddered to think what might happen if they ever found out.

"My parents are pretty ordinary," Erika said. "They didn't want me to get into acting. I had to convince them it was what I wanted to do." She frowned, then went on. "At first, we compromised. I only did small roles. Commercials, TV show cameos, that kind of stuff. Then I got my first big role in Leave It to Beaver, and I started wanting to do tougher roles. Get harder, edgier. You know what I mean?"

"Yes," Keri said, remembering going through the same process herself. Oh my gosh, she thought to herself, realizing what that meant. Erika and I have something in common.

Perhaps sensing her thoughts, Erika smiled at Keri before continuing. "I discussed this with my parents. They were worried, especially when I told them I wanted to be Countess Krak."

"The heroine of L. Ron Hubbard's Mission Earth series," Evan supplied, seeing Keri's frown. "Classic satirical science fiction."

"Right," Keri said, remembering their earlier discussion. "I read those books a long time ago."

"Travolta was making Battlefield Earth at the time," Erika said. "It looked like it was going to be good, and I thought maybe the Mission Earth books could be next. I knew it was a role I would have to grow into, but I was interested in it. Then the movie really sucked, and..." She threw up a hand. "Bye bye dream. Oh well, one might say I at least got to be Teenie Whopper."