The Rendezvous Ch. 05

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A girls' night out.
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Part 5 of the 5 part series

Updated 10/10/2022
Created 06/09/2006
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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 Five.

London, England. Late September 2003.

The man scratched two vertical lines in the wall with his knife, then connected them with a horizontal line across the top. "Door," he said, smiling at his work. Then suddenly he started banging on the wall with his hands. "Door! Open!"

"Who is that guy?" Evan Rachel Wood frowned at Keri Russell. The two actresses were watching the man from across the street. Several hours had passed since the end of their talk with Erika. Keri had gone back to her hotel, settled herself, taken a nap, eaten dinner. She had showered, called Evan and Erika and confirmed that things were in motion, then gotten dressed.

Now it was nearly midnight, and she was wandering through a part of London she had never really explored before- Soho. The neighborhood was a strange place, full of odd lights and sounds. Nightclubs abounded, and coffee bars, and restaurants. Keri had been walking the streets for the past hour and a half, taking roundabout routes, making sure she was not being followed. Several times she'd ducked into record stores, clothing shops, and bookshops. She'd paused to examine the merchandise, checked the street in the window. She'd bought a few things, but not much. Nothing she couldn't tuck into her purse or her pockets. She knew where she was going, and every stop she made on the way there was only a waste of time.

"I have no idea who he is," Keri grimaced at Evan, then turned the corner and kept walking. "I'm not sure I want to know."

Soho was an odd place, she thought, the buildings old yet new. Light fog was on the streets tonight, hiding most of the details. It wasn't raining, but it was dark and humid. Strange people walked in and out of the fog. The man making a door in the wall wasn't the first odd sight Keri had encountered on her walk through the area. The people who fall through the cracks...

"Hey, wait up!" Evan called, low heels clicking on the pavement as she hurried after Keri. Both girls were dressed now in simple felt gowns. Keri's dress was green, Evan's light purple. Both wore low heels and carried purses. Neither wore a watch. They had met up in a bookstore fifteen minutes ago, and were now together trying to find the place where Erika had suggested they all meet. Neither was really sure where it was, but they were sure they'd find it eventually.

"I think we're close," Keri said as they turned a corner. Then she stopped and Evan stopped beside her. Both girls stared at the odd sight in the middle of the square. A memorial statue of some kind, probably to do with the Battle of Britain. An old RAF Spitfire carved in stone, the figure of a pilot inside the cockpit. Two other figures stood on either side of the plane, arms extended, one on the left and one on the right. They looked human, but also like ferocious beasts. Both had great sweeping wings and long tails. Their hands were curved into claws, their faces somber. The one on the left looked like a griffin, its face topped by a large mohawk and dominated by an eagle's harsh beak. Its tail was tuffed like a lion's. The figure on the right was similar, yet different. Long black hair framed a face that looked dangerous and also noble. Unlike the left figure, who wore a leather jacket and pants, this figure was bare-chested. Naked except for a loincloth, its muscles were very much in evidence. Keri frowned, thinking she had seen a shadow like the statue somewhere before. Maybe in New York, she thought, against a building or the moon. She turned her face away from the memorial and started walking around it.

"Gargoyles," Evan said, catching up to her and pointing at the statues flanking the Spitfire. "I think that's what they're supposed to be anyway. I've never seen them before outside a church."

"Where are we supposed to meet Erika again?" Keri asked, slowing her step as they rounded the memorial and turned onto a new street.

"Inside Out," Evan recalled, frowning. "Erika said it was a nightclub of some kind."

"That has to be it," Keri said, looking across the street and catching sight of yet another strange thing. The wall of a building painted white, festooned with lamps and couches in the middle of the sidewalk. A large number of people milled around the couches, talking in small groups. More people were standing in a line, waiting in front of a velvet rope. A huge black man stood at the door behind the rope, his head bald and gleaming. He was taking money from the people in line and checking their IDs. Bouncer, Keri surmised, remembering Erika's advice to her about the place.

Just as the other girl had told her, there was no sign over the door. Even without one, the club was obvious. Keri thought back to what Erika had told her and Evan. "What's in there?" Evan had asked.

Erika had smiled before answering. "Only what you need and what you take with you." Keri and Evan had had to press her for more details.

Grimacing at the lack of cars about tonight, Keri crossed the street. Evan followed, frowning as they joined the line before the club. They looked at the people around them. A lot of Goths, Keri noted. Some other strange folk too. Preppies, punks, bikers, gang members. People wearing trenchcoats, sunglasses, and black fedoras. A few people looked really strange, dressed in costumes and masks. Most of the line looked like normal everyday partygoers, though. She and Evan fell in with the latter group.

"Do you really think we should have let Erika plan all this?" Evan asked Keri nervously.

Keri shook her head. "I don't know. Erika's okay but crazy. I think we have to trust her, though. She's known Alicia longer than either of us. And she did think all this up."

"Right," Evan nodded, then frowned. "Anybody follow you on the way over here?"

"No," Keri said. "I don't think so." Then again, she frowned, until Evan, I haven't recognized anyone else so far tonight. Probably for the best. The day had been good, pretty much, but now... She let out a sigh. "What do you suppose Erika's talking to her about?"

The younger girl shrugged. "Life, the universe, everything?" She laughed. "They're probably not making much progress. This is something we're all going to have to talk out together. The four of us. None of us can handle anger alone."

"Right," Keri said. "At least Erika got her here." She stopped as they reached the bouncer. He looked them up and down, appraising the actresses with his large eyes. Keri felt bewildered by his frown, then his smirk.

"Ten pounds," the bouncer said simply, holding out his hand. Keri and Evan gave him a note each and flashed their IDs. He shook his head, then let them pass through the door. The two girls' eyes swept over the area behind, taking everything in. It was easy to see why the club was called Inside Out. The interior was decorated to look just like the street outside, with asphalt covering the dance floor and cars in the middle. Multicolored spotlights were flashing around, and hard techno rock music was playing.

"I burn, burn like a wicker candle. Chalk white and oh so frail. I think our time has gotten stale! The tick tock of the clock is painful, so sane and logical. I want to tear it off the wall!"

Eve 6," Evan identified the song, and Keri nodded. Appropriate to the club, she thought, and to my mood today. Nice touch.

She hummed along as the chorus came up. "I could swallow my pride, I could choke on the rinds, but the lack thereof would leave me empty inside. I could swallow my doubt, turn it inside out, find nothing but faith in nothing..."

Taking Evan's hand, Keri started to walk slowly across the club's dance floor. A large number of people were moving against each other there, and more were gathered around the bar along the club's west wall. Keri smiled, noticing the bar was cleverly made up to look like an outdoor cafe. Only two of its stools were vacant, obviously being saved. Sitting on the stools next to those, she could see two girls she had never really known before today, but now knew well. Alicia Witt and Erika Christensen.

"There they are," Evan said. "Do you suppose they've been waiting long?"

Keri shrugged. "Probably." She moved forward, Evan at her side. They moved around the dancers, instinctively shaking with the music, which changed its tone as they neared the bar. Keri looked over Erika and Alicia as they got close. Erika was wearing a strapless dark blue dress, its long skirts divided at the knee. Her long blonde hair was bound in a ponytail. Alicia was wearing a bright red dress, her matching hair hanging loose about her shoulders. Like Keri and Evan, they both wore low heels and purses, but had left their phones, pagers, and watches at home.

A constantly smiling brown-bearded man in a dark blue silk shirt and jeans was working the bar, but didn't seem to be paying Alicia and Erika any more attention than he was anyone else. Glasses of a clear liquid were set out before the two actresses, but both looked pretty untouched. Both girls looked like they had been at the bar a long time. From the streaks on Alicia's makeup and the looks on their faces, Keri guessed that the redhead had been doing most of the talking.

"Hi, you two," Erika turned and greeted them, gesturing at the empty stools. "Good to see you."

"Yes," Alicia said. "Did Clarke let you in okay?"

Keri returned her frown. "Clarke?"

"The guy at the front door," Erika answered. "We told him you were coming."

Evan smiled slyly. "So you come here often?"

Erika nodded, grinning. "Alicia showed me this place soon after I first arrived here. It's one of the hottest clubs in Soho. I'm not sure when they opened, but I hope they never close. They have dancing, drinks, everything. That, and they don't seem to care whether or not you're a celebrity. We all need places like this, places where we can be normal for a brief time."

"They have some damn fine vodka," Alicia added, reaching for her glass.

Erika stopped her with a hand on her arm. "Hey. I've been reminding you about that."

"Right," Alicia nodded. She mimicked Erika for a second. "'Self-medication clouds the mind.' Yeah, whatever!" The blonde glared at her. Alicia took another look at the glass, then pushed it away. Keri frowned as she and Evan sat down on their stools. Erika and Alicia have been talking for a while, Keri mused. Alicia seems more open now, and that's good. But she also seems a little more down in the dumps.

"How long have you been here?" Evan asked the other two girls.

Erika shrugged. "About an hour, give or take." She looked at Alicia. "We've just been talking. Alicia's been telling me a lot of things about herself I didn't know. She probably told you some of them earlier today, right, Keri?"

"I don't know, maybe," Keri said, looking around for the bartender. Seeing her glance, he smiled, then ambled over and set down two more shots of vodka. Keri frowned, wondering if she really should drink any tonight. Then she picked up her glass, shrugged, and took a sip. Hmm, she grimaced at the taste. There's a lot of soda water and lemon juice in this, far more than alcohol. I taste cinnamon too. Cinnamon vodka and tonic? That's unusual. I wonder if...

Before she could inquire as to the drink's recipe, the bartender moved on to his next customer. Keri shrugged, then sipped her glass again. Good, she thought. Very good.

"Careful, Keri," Erika cautioned her. "You get enough of those in you..."

"I'll be fine," Keri told the blonde. Taking another sip, she put her drink down, then looked at Alicia. "You look like you're still pretty depressed."

Alicia nodded, tapping her fingers on the bartop. "Basically Erika and I have been arguing about acting and life," she said. "What you should do with your gifts, and what you shouldn't. I've been coming to terms with facts about myself, things I've long been denying." She looked at Evan. "I need to apologize to you. You're not a child, not anymore."

"Thanks," Evan said, her eyes alight at the praise. She glanced at her untouched drink, then shrugged, picked it up, and sipped it. Grimacing, she put it down and pushed it away, not even looking at the bartender. "Thank you," she told Alicia again.

"I need to apologize to you too," Alicia added, turning to Keri. "You weren't playing a game with me. It was something we both needed. I realize that now. It took me forever, but... I guess I'm really not that smart." She reached for her glass.

"I told you," Erika stopped her. "That stuff blocks understanding."

"Yeah," Alicia said. She pushed the drink farther away, then looked back at Erika. "It is good, though, when life is too hard to figure out on its own."

Keri frowned, pondering that for a moment. Then she sighed, knowing they had to get to the point. "Have you made a decision?" she asked Alicia. "About us, I mean? You know everything."

Alicia shook her head. "I'm still not sure. Can we talk it out?"

"Girl, what have we been doing for the past hour?" Erika asked, looking abject at her.

"Hey, you said it yourself," Evan cut in, waving her hand at Alicia. "She needs a stranger, not an old friend. And we all needed to be here." The young girl turned and looked around at the club. "Why don't we dance? The music's nice."

Keri frowned at Evan. "I don't feel like dancing."

"Me neither," Erika said. "Usually I like dancing, but..."

"Not tonight," Alicia agreed. She looked away from them. "Listen, whatever happens, thank you all. I'm glad to know you, and I look forward to doing this movie with you. I'm just not sure there can be anything else."

"Oh come on," Erika touched her arm. Her eyes shone with mirth and promise. "We just want to make you happy. You know that."

"You can't," Alicia replied. "I want to live my life, not just drift through it like you do." She frowned, looked at them. "Drifters, that's what you are."

Evan stared at her. "Where the hell do you get off saying that? We're just the same as you." She gestured around the club. "We're all women, we're all actresses."

"And we're all alone," Alicia cut in, looking down at her glass. "Always alone." She picked the glass up again.

"What do you mean?" asked Keri.

Alicia took a sip before answering. "Why do you think you continue to live out your stupid little fantasies?" She turned to Erika. "Why do you think you live this 'lifestyle' of yours?"

"Hey!" Erika protested. "I..." She stopped. Keri guessed she was realizing Alicia was making a valid point.

"And you," Alicia pointed at Evan. "You too are alone. Everyone is. At the end of the day, everyone must come home and face themselves. And if the people you've been are greater than you are, it's that much harder."

"What are you saying?" Keri said. "That our characters are better than we are? Alicia, we are the ones who have to play those characters. We are the ones who give them life."

"Yeah," Erika smiled in agreement. "And the characters you've played are part of you. You need to realize this, come to terms with it. Open your eyes."

Alicia nodded, then shook her head. She stared into her glass. "I think I've been someone else too long and too often for that. Some of the people I've been have really messed up my life."

"Then forget them," Evan suggested. "Concentrate on yourself. Maybe you should do fewer roles for a while. Choose more carefully."

"What about the play you mentioned to me?" Keri said. "Why don't you do that?"

Alicia was quiet for a moment, then smiled wryly and put her glass down. "I think I will. I skimmed through the script, it looks interesting. Myron said he could introduce me to Neil LaBute, the writer. If I make a good enough impression..." She shrugged. "I don't know, but I think it's a good idea to go into theater for a while. Maybe modeling too. I've been being so many other people so long, I've forgotten about myself. I still need to find out who I am. Concentrating on something besides movies should help." She looked at Keri. "What about you? What are you going to do after this film is over?"

"I don't know," Keri shrugged. "I'll probably take whatever project is offered to me that looks good. Maybe I'll be in a Western. I've always wanted to do one."

Erika smiled. "There are things I've always wanted to do too," she said. "I want to rob a bank. I want to meet Jodie Foster. I want to go to Moscow." She counted them off on her fingers, smiling. "Fortunately, when you're an actress, it's very easy to do those things."

"Yeah," Evan said. "Much easier than when you're just a normal person."

Alicia frowned. "We're all normal people, Evan. You can't forget that. We can't keep acting forever."