Her Cowboy

Chapter 1

"Don't forget your sunglasses and hat, and make sure you stay out of the way of people, and if you see anybody with a camera, steer clear immediately, and if—"

"Mom." The single word I uttered stopped my parent's rush of instructions. I had half a mind to just hang up right now, but I was incredibly bored on the plane, and listening to my mom rant and rave about what I was supposed to do was more interesting than sitting and trying to fall asleep. Mind you, this is the fifth time she's called. And it's not an emotional, "Hey, how're you doing with it all?" It's a, "Be careful, because the world is going to be watching every step."

Okay, let me back up a little. My name is Annabeth Chase, I'm a seventeen-year-old actress who lives in California, the Golden State. I became pretty famous when I played the lead role in a popular movie when I was nine, and from then on, it was pandemonium. More acting, more movies, more fame, more troubles. You may think being an actress whose name most everybody knows would be fun, but it could get seriously stressful and irritating at times.

However, it was my life, and I loved acting. I could get past all the other letdowns if I just got to act. Unfortunately, actual acting has now narrowed to a minute part of my celebrity lifestyle.

But, as for anything I could say about my mom, she was truly was a good agent. She knew everybody. Her parents were some business big wigs up in Hollywood, so my mom grew up being chummy with a lot of kids who were kids of directors. Then they all took over their parent's business.

So she used her connections and was ultimately the reason I got the breakthrough role when I was just seven years old. I played a girl who ran away from home, found a couple of friends, and the four of us ended up entering a second magic world full of monsters we had to fight off. It blew up. People loved it, and I became the "doll" of the country

Even then, though, her role as an "agent" for me started young. She's my full-time agent—and my part-time mother, is what I like to say.

Fast forward to now, why was I on a plane to go spend a summer undercover somewhere?

Well, there's a new movie being planned. It was called "Her Cowboy".

That was my goal.

I wanted to be in that movie so bad. Partially because the film was already the talk of the country, the newest and hottest buzz. And part of that reason was because of the main male lead, who had already been cast.

Luke Castellan.

Just thinking of his name sent butterflies fluttering in my stomach.

Luke, the drool-worthy "bad boy" of Hollywood. But also, Luke, the guy was part of the cast of the first movie I did when I was just seven years old. Luke, who has been a close friend as we both grew up navigating this world of celebrities. Luke, who had been my crush since I was seven, and now over a decade later, the feelings had just grown.

But also...Luke, my crush who apparently shared no feelings for me in return. Luke, who repeatedly called me a "little sister". Luke, who didn't get the reputation "bad boy" for no reason.

I'd spent too many events sitting at his table as a friend, while models and other older actresses took all of his attention. I wanted him to see me as more than a "friend." So I needed to be the co-lead of this upcoming movie. Because it was a romance movie. Maybe that would change something for him.

Luckily for me, I was one of the most well-known actresses in the country, meaning the director of the movie, Aphrodite was her nickname in the industry (the number one producer of all romance movies), had almost handpicked me for the role. But, there was one hang up that Aphrodite pointed out, one thing that held her back from casting me on the spot.