Was It Ever Acting?

07 - Daniel

Scarlett walked in and I completely avoided the 'prom' topic. Of course, I evaded it naturally. I didn't want to bring up prom. I know, it's odd, I just didn't want to. Well, it wasn't prom that I was avoiding. I wanted to avoid bringing up the fact that I told Ashley that I'd be leaving in around 9 months from then, if she didn't remember.

I began introducing them to each other.

"She's my manager," I said as I introduced Scarlett. I continued, gesturing to Ashley, "And this is my-"

"Co-star," Scarlett completed my sentence.

"Ashley, is it alright if we continue having our dinner with Scarlett here?" I asked.

"I could get you a table by the bar," I said looking at Scarlett.

"No, you don't have to go through that much trouble. It's alright," Ashley replied as she half-smiled.

That half-smile bothered me, so much. I tried to hide it but throughout the meal, I couldn't stop thinking about how distant she felt, now, compared to how she was in the car.

Scarlett sat on the table, cutting our 'business meeting' short.

The rest of the meal went on pretty uneventful, except for a few -actually, multiple-  instances when Scarlett glanced over at Ashley but I brushed them off.

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The drive back to Ashley's house was pretty quiet and it wasn't just peaceful quiet, it was awkward quiet.

"Did I do anything to upset you?" I asked, already regretting the decision I made to open my mouth. Why was I so impulsive?

"Nope," Ashley replied, emotionless.

"Look, Ash..Ashley, I feel your glares, I know you-" I was cut off.

"That's the problem. You. Don't. Know. Me. You know 16-year-old me, I've changed. You know, that's what happens to people with time and experience. So, please stop acting like you're an Ashley expert when I don't even know what's going on in my own head," She said and after a few seconds of silence her face looked like she regretted everything she had said.

"I'm sorry, I'm just trying to figure this out" I said making an us gesture. Frick, she was mad at me.

"I'm the one who should apologize. I'm sorry, Daniel. Sorry for letting my anger get the best of me," She said mustering up the best smile she could, in that moment.

"It's okay," I brushed it off, whatever she said, I deserved.

The rest of the ride was even more awkward than it initially was. Great job, Daniel Reed.

She was right, we were different and we've had various positive and negative experience since high school that have changed us. We're not Ash and Dan, now, we're Ashley and Daniel.

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I walked into Scarlett's office. There was a pride flag in every direction. I smiled at the fact that she was proud of who she was, that’s why I loved her - extremely platonically.

"So dinner last night was..." I looked in the direction that the familiar voice came from. It was Scarlett. There she was, at her desk, wearing a dark red dress and bold makeup. She continued her sentence, "interesting."

"Well, why is that exactly?" I asked in a questioning tone.

"I was observing Ashley, and she-" she began.

"She what?" I asked.

"She totally hates you," I was dumbfounded as she continued, "Gosh! Sitting at that table I got chills, could you not feel the glares? Every time she spoke her tone was cold. What the hell did you do wrong?" 

Damn! She really had zero filter. I mean, I was aware of the fact that Ashley hated me, but it bore a hole in my heart that others realized it too. It hurt even though I was aware of the fact that Scarlett was extremely good at picking up signals. If it was anyone else, they probably wouldn't have sensed the hateful energy in the room.

It was wrong of me to think that Ashley and I were the same as before, but I didn't think I messed up bad enough for us to go from being best friends to her hating me.

I didn't think we could go from feeling like it was as if we were the only two people in the world to wishing that we could get over with filming this series to avoid being in each others' company.

Maybe, she never really cared about me. That's why it was easy for her to hate me.

How on earth could we have gone from knowing every tiny detail about eachother to feeling like complete strangers, if it's not because she never really cared about me?

"I have no idea what I did, maybe that's why she hates me," I said helplessly.

"Well, have you tried fixing things?" She asked.

"Of course we have. Well, I have. On our ride to the restaurant we were having a great time-" she cut me off.

"Are you sure? You're pretty bad at reading the room," she asked, mocking me.

"Trust me on this," I said assuringly.

"Okay then, there's only one option you have," She said.

"What is it?" I asked, eager to know the answer.

"Play her game, hate her too - or act like you hate her. Acting is what you get paid for, after all," she said.

Dozens of thoughts rushed through my mind, but none of them went against Scarlett's point.

"Why, exactly? Why play her game? I hate being subjected to it, it's hypocritical. " I stated.

"Well, reciprocating energy. She doesn't give you anything, you don't give it back. Eventually, she'll realize it takes effort to fix a relationship and start investing it. Essentially,  your energy, time and effort are being wasted in a relationship where they are not being reciprocated," She argued.

Damn, I was so grateful for my unofficial wingman.

"If this was a relationship I could avoid, I would've but she's my co-star," I said as I thought and she's Ash.

"It might be hard but," I paused. "Two can play at that game," I said as I continued.

How am I going to hate her? I just got over the fact that I am no longer in love with her. What have I signed myself up for? Two can play at the game but I'm not one of the two who can, especially if Ashley is the other person playing. 

◇TO BE CONTINUED ◇

Hey Guys, A/N here. If you enjoyed this chapter please let me know and I'll continue posting chapters. 

🚩IMPORTANT DISCLAIMER🚩: Please, don't stay in a relationship in which you and your efforts are not being appreciated/reciprocated. Furthermore, don't play games to get them [your friend or SO or family member etc.] to reciprocate that energy; communicate with your acquaintance. Dan is only acting this way to drive the plot forward I do not condone toxic relationships.

PLEASE, DO NOT FEEL AS IF YOU NEED TO STAY IN A RELATIONSHIP.

Word Count: 1066 - a little shorter than I hoped. I'll make it longer next time ♡

⚠️DISCLAIMER⚠️ I WROTE ALL OF THESE CHARACTERS AND EVENTS DO NOT PLAGIARISE❌❌❌❌

Hope you enjoyed 😁