﹙ HURTS ME TOO ★ ﹚

ESTRELLA PULLED OPEN HER SUITCASE, REASSURING HER FATHER SHE'D BE OUT!

She shoved as many snacks into her bag as she could manage and then zipped it up. Her father was waiting in the car. She made sure to lock the door behind herself.

She was half-hoping her father would refuse to let her fly to Canada to shoot a movie, but he was surprisingly supportive. Juliet insisted on using the movie to try to promote her music. She'd be a fool to reject such an incredible opportunity.

The drive to the airport was nerve-wracking. She followed her father around the building through the process. After checking in, she walked around the airport shops and scoffed at all the prices.

Who bought anything from airport shops?

Dylan did, apparently. He wore a pair of loose sweatpants and red Adidas. His t-shirt read I Love Chicago! and was stamped with a heart.

She ducked into the airport's Subway and glanced nervously at the cashier. She let out a breath and pretended to be interested in the drink variety.

What had she ever liked about him? Why had she ever thought he could've liked her?

What was his visit to the open mic? Was it a coincidence? Surely, it was. He acted as if it was the biggest inconvenience to run into her at the corner store, shouldn't he have been trying to avoid her everywhere?

It was her turn to call him a stalker.

The automated female voice came over the loudspeaker to announce the boarding of her flight. She exited the store and spotted her father, who encased her in his arms and wished her a safe trip.

Boarding the plane was easy enough until Dylan stood in the aisle and blinked like he wished he was hallucinating.

"What are you doing here?" He questioned, shoving his luggage away.

"Obviously I'm going to Canada." Estrella replied, her tone mocking.

"Obviously. I mean why?"

"Guess why."

"Because you're in love with me and want to be everywhere I am?"

"So close."

Dylan racked his brain for any other reason. He'd heard rumors of his costar being dropped, and Everett had been looking for Estrella after the show. He got a glimpse of them speaking as he left the theater.

"Are you—" Dylan started, narrowing his eyes. "You're Angel."

"An angel? Sure." She replied, her voice teasing.

"No. Definitely not. The role. He offered it to you."

"Yeah, and I took it."

Dylan huffed and sank into the seat beside her. He'd been trying to break into the acting business since he was nine and she'd been personally invited by one of the biggest names in Hollywood.

For what? Because her voice wasn't completely shit? This had to be a joke.

He glanced at her from the corner of his eye. Both of them settled into their seats and chose to watch a movie instead of taking turns glancing at each other.

An hour into the plane ride, she glanced at his screen and laughed.

"What?" He pulled his headphones off.

"Nothing. You're just super predictable." She shrugged and pointed at his screen. "Every assumption I make about you is right."

He was watching Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. He was painfully just like everyone else in a different way. She knew at least ten guys just like him. All he needed to complete the look was some rings and a record player.

"You're watching Sonic." He pointed out, tapping his finger against the screen. "Doesn't account for taste."

"Fuck you. Sonic's the best film of this century." She replied, leaning back into her seat.

"Woah. Language." He said, pulling his headphones back on.

Estrella rolled her eyes. Her film choices were between Sonic and Flipped, and she despised Flipped with a passion.

After a torturous four-hour plane ride of Dylan being able to do nothing but smell the scent of Estrella's perfume, and him snatching portions of whatever snack she was eating, it came to an end.

Dylan and Estrella shoved into each other purposely as they grabbed their luggage from the overhead compartment.

They shuffled into the car waiting for them outside. After sitting shoulder to shoulder for four hours, they weren't eager to sit so close to each other.

A woman turned her gaze on them from the passenger seat and Estrella almost jumped out of her seat.

"Sorry for the spook!" The woman laughed. "I'm Vivian, the PR coordinator for this movie. You both know we're filming a Rom-Com, right? Just to get more tension going, we'd like you two to be seen together."

"You want us to pretend to go out?" Dylan summarized, trying to hold the judgment in his tone.

"Fuck no!" Estrella blurted and then pressed her lips shut.

"You'd be so lucky." He replied, dramatically letting his eyes go over her form. "Eh. I could do worse. You're not that bad."

"Call it method acting." Vivian shrugged, looking between them. "Or a PR stunt. Regardless, all publicity is good publicity."

Thankfully, the car ride to the hotel they'd be staying at was fairly short. Vivian went to the front counter to check them in.

With no way for either of them to object, Dylan supposed an Instagram post would be a good way to spark up a conversation about his developing relationship with his costar.

"Alright. Put your suitcase down. I need to make this look real." He directed, gesturing her to stand in front of a nearby wall.

She narrowed her eyes at him as she placed herself in front of the painting.

"Tilt your head. Act like you can stand me." He balanced his phone. "You know what? Just turn around."

He snapped a couple of photos of the back of her head. "Good enough. Now give me your phone." He held his hand out.

"Why?" She fished the device out of her pocket.

"So I can give you my number and follow myself?"

"I don't need that."

"What couple doesn't have each other's contact information?"

"Us."

"Like you haven't been waiting for this moment all your life."

"Maybe when I was twelve."

"Alright. Just don't confuse fiction and reality."

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♡ 562K 💬 176K ➤ 89K •••
realdylanhoffman ✓ guess who?

malachibarton ✓ DYLAN PULLING when did this happen
⤷ realdylanhoffman ✓ third grade
⤷ malachibarton ✓ like on and off 😭

realgirls i'm hating ngl

ariana_greenblatt ✓ text the gc right now
⤷ realdylanhoffman ✓ busy sorry
⤷ ariana_greenblatt ✓ U CAN'T JUST DROP THIS
⤷ ariana_greenblatt ✓ COME BACK

user66 who is that
⤷ revengegege my question

editsofdylan i pray god shields her from my jealousy
⤷ burtsbeesthief like
⤷ trashcan so real
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⤷ troyhelen pls

sunnysandler ✓ save her
⤷ realdylanhoffman ✓ not funny
⤷ sunnysandler ✓ yes it is
⤷ realdylanhoffman ✓ she said ur wrong
⤷ sunnysandler ✓ i can tell she hates u
⤷ sunnysandler ✓ not even facing u

ilovedylanhoffman u think ur better than me?
⤷ blowfish who gave him permission to post this
⤷ frankoceanglazer is she bothering him
⤷ theradiohead don't even

updates4dylan my enemies have succeeded
⤷ magicjohnson reacted "😐🙄" to ur story
⤷ sidthesciencekid ai has advanced a lot
⤷ jjkpeak i'm upset
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