Chapter Nine - Alice in Wonderland

Standing underneath the silhouette of the tree's, a film crew began to unpack their equipment. It was still too early to tell how many people would turn up. But the office workers and runners on their day off were already passing by, taking an interest. Sitting under the canopy of a small marquee, Rob sat patiently as stylists played with his hair. He took a few phone calls as he waited for his call, and scanned over the lines in his script. He eyed his co-star, her bored face staring into the space behind him. He had only met her twice before, at rehearsals. An Australian, with striking eyes. He probably would have found her attractive, under different circumstances.

"Emilie..." He said, with a yawn.

The girl's eyes moved from behind him. "Sorry." She said, snapping out of her day dream. "Yeah?"

"You going to go over the script?" He asked, making small talk.

She shook her head. "I've got this."

Her native drawl was mixed with the American accent she would use during filming. Rob smiled, thinking of the times he had slipped into his own version of the American drawl.

"You seem distracted." He said, hoping he hadn't crossed the line.

But she shrugged casually. And he liked her for being open with him. There was no way they could make the movie without the chemistry the producers had seen in them. He had liked her from the off-set. He reminded her of a girl he once knew back in England. A girl he had been friends with, and nothing else.

"I'm getting divorced." She said quite boldly, but sighing heavily as she allowed the stylist to arrange her hair.

Rob felt stupid for asking then. "I'm sorry." He muttered.

"No it's fine." Sighed Emilie, breathing a sigh of relief as the stylist finished. "How about you?"

Rob looked out towards the park and wondered if his answer was out there.

"It's weird." He confessed. "I'll know later."

Emilie smiled politely and didn't push it further.

Waking up to an empty apartment was a welcome relief for Seren. India had left for work early and left a note on the kitchen table. Back at nine, be good! She thought about wasting the morning in bed, but it soon became clear that her mind was on other things. Looking out across the park, she knew he would be there and knew there was never any doubt in her mind that she wouldn't go. She knew, as she began to put her shoes on, where she was going. And knew, all along, that she was always going to go. He had asked her to, afterall. It was still early when she left the house. Not even 9am. People were walking through the park, some dressed for work, other's on rollerskates or in running shoes. She found an instant fondness for it. Here was a place where everyone came together, just like on the commune. She walked around for a while, subconsciously avoiding looking for where he might be. She walked on, her head almost low, hoping somehow he would come across her first but knowing that wouldn't happen. And then she heard his name...

"That was so amazing!" Said the girl sat on the park bench behind her.

"He is so much hotter in the flesh!" Said the second girl, giggling girlishly with her friend as they shared breakfast in the park.

"It's going to be insane here later, so glad we got a chance to see first!" Said the first girl, her voice high and excited.

Seren walked slower, her ears attuned to their conversation.

"They're gonna need security, I swear, I heard there was a crowd gathering already." The second girl said thoughtfully.

"Yeah. That poor statue. Having Robert Pattinson sitting on it all day...such a chore!" The first girl joked.

"Lucky Alice." Said the second, before they burst into fits of laughter.

Seren remembered the place they spoke of. India had mentioned it in one of her letter's. The Alice in Wonderland statue in Central Park. She made her way there without knowing her way, following the directions for passers-by that she had stopped to ask. She almost decided to walk away once she found it. Behind a line there was a marquee, and camera's and people with headsets milling around. She approached and only as she got closer did she notice the insane crowd standing only a few feet away. Girls, some young and some old, standing together trying to catch a gimpse of their idol. All of them were excited and in high spirits, shouting and screaming. Nervously, Seren made her way towards the throng. But they were relentless. Nobody was moving, nobody was budging from their place. Some were hostile, some were simply unaware of anything else around them. She knew if she stayed there much longer she would never get to see him. She moved away from the crowd and wondered if she was as crazy as them. Doing what she was about to do. As she moved away, they moved forward becoming more fervered, more excited. Arms began to reach into the air, the screams became louder. And there he was, walking out from under the marquee and towards the Alice in Wonderland monument. She knew he would never hear her. Never see her. And suddenly she felt like one of those girls in the crowd. Just a faceless person wanting a glimpse of him. She didn't understand why she felt the way she did. She just knew she had to see him.

Stepping away from the crowd she made her way towards the film set. Her heart racing and palms sweating, she was already talking herself out of it as her legs walked forward. She'd never been so bold. Never taken the initiative like this. As expected, someone from the set approached her.

"I'm sorry you can't be here." The woman said, clip board in hand and head set clamped against her red flushed face. "There's filming in process."

Seren took a deep breath. "I know, I'm here to see someone." She said, her voice shaking.

The woman rolled her eyes. "You can go and stand with the other fans for now. But maybe Robert will come out later to see you."

This only frustrated Seren more. Is this what the woman saw? Is this what people in the city thought of the people around them?

"No, you don't understand. I was invited here personally."

The woman eyed Seren. She looked at her clipboard and bit her bottom lip.

"What's your name?" She asked suspiciously.

"Seren Phoenix."

If the woman told her to go, she would know he'd never meant it. She would know everything she needed to know. And she wasn't sure if it would crush her, or make no impact on her at all. Everything seemed to stop at the sound of her name.

The woman's face turned from stern to recognition. She smiled apologetically and let her guard down.

"Oh! Oh right..." She said, ushering Seren past the line. " Yeah, sure. Sorry. It's just you can't be too careful!"

Seren thought her heart would sing. With every step she took, her head felt lighter and dizzier. The statue came into sight, and so did he.

"Robert is filming right now, but you can wait in here." The woman said pointing towards the marquee. "Help yourself to a drink."

And with that, she left. Seren stood, not knowing where to look, as Rob stared at her. He would have smiled, but his scene didn't call for it and he remained a complete professional until the director called cut. At the sound of that one word his face shifted into an enviable smile. He jumped down from the monument, sharing a joke with the little girl he'd been acting with before making his way towards her.

"You came." He said, the british tones in his voice making Seren shudder. He sounded relieved.

"Of course." Was all Seren could say, as the memory of his face became a part of her present as he stood before her.

"You have no idea..." He began, before catching himself. "I've got ten minutes while they set the next scene up, you want a coffee?"

Seren nodded and let him pour her one from the refreshments table. People stared at them, but not in an extraordinary way. Nobody was rude. And sheltered from the eyes of the fans and the paparazzi, they sat quietly and Seren sipped her coffee.

"I didn't know if you'd come." He said nervously.

"I wasn't sure either, but here I am." Seren confessed.

He smiled wryly. "I didn't get a chance to say much on Saturday night. But being with you in that elevator...Those couple of hours were the most fun I've had in a long time."

Surrounded by people around them, it felt different. Seren felt it, and Rob did too as he tried to whisper without lowering his voice too much.

"Yeah, me too." She replied.

Then he looked down, and she realised he was shy. And suddenly she felt shy too. And still questioned herself about going there.

"Do you have anything to do today?" He asked sincerely, taking a sandwich from the table and washing it down with a diet coke. He offered one to Seren, but she declined. She was too overwhelmed to eat.

"I should probably start looking for an agent, or something. India said I should try acting classes, but not sure how you can teach that, really."

Rob thought about it for a moment. "There's plenty who can teach it. I'm just not sure how many can learn."

It occurred to Seren that he was joking, and she saw a little glint of mischeivousness in his eye she hadn't seen before. He seemed to be relaxing, and in return she relaxed too. But not enough that she could ignore the screams behind the curtain of the marquee.

"How do you ever get used to that?" She asked, wondering if he would dodge the question.

"You don't. Not really." He mused. "But it just becomes white noise. They're good people. As individuals, but when they get together they seem to just go insane. I can't remember ever going that crazy over someone. I'm not sure that's a curse or a blessing."

Seren tried to remember admiring someone the way those girls admired him. She couldn't recall anyone except her Dad.

"I understand them." She said, trying to remember how it felt to look up at her Dad in awe of everything he said. "They think you're the guy you are in the movies."

And there was a bitterness in her voice as she remembered the day she realised her Dad had never been the guy in the movies, but always just a normal guy. Who made mistakes. She shut the thought from her mind, as she always did whenever it came to the front.

"I'd only disappoint them." Rob said, as if he had heard what she was thinking.

"I'll have to watch one of your movies sometime. See what all the fuss is about." Seren replied, feeling brave enough to take one of the sandwiches.

They sat and ate, talking some, but it was too quick. There was barely enough time for them to move beyond small talk before Rob was being called back on set.

"If you've got nothing else to do, why don't you stick around?" He asked, his eyes burning into her so deeply she began to feel hot under her shirt.

He wished he'd never asked. He wished he'd never given her the choice. He didn't want her to leave.

"I'd love to." She said. And they both smiled.