A New Life (River Phoenix)

Inside

The club blared with rock music and a drink could be found anywhere. Celebrities roamed freely, and even Johnny Depp sat at the bar, taking a shot with an unfamiliar black haired man.

I watched him for a second, admiring his brown hair and great looks, until a hand placed on my shoulder.

To my surprise, it was River.

He had a half drank beer in his hand and a soft smile on his face.

He wasn't drunk. As a matter of fact, he seemed to be the only sober person in the place.

"Hi." He said kindly, not removing his hand from my shoulder.

"You're River right?" I asked trying to play it off. He nodded and set down his beer.

"Yes, and you are?" He asked. His voice was very sweet and soft, and he seemed genuinely interested.

"Carmen." I told him. He smiled and nodded his head.

"Well, Carmen," he said, emphasizing my name. "You seem to be having a dull time."

I looked around at all the people who staggered around with drinks and joints. Was it that obvious?

"Just not really my scene." I replied. He smiled lightly at me.

"Yeah, not mine either."

I sent back a soft smile, River seemed overwhelmingly sweet and down to earth. Not to mention his incomparable good looks.

"Want a drink?" He offered politely.

I debated whether or not to take his offer. But here I am in Hollywood, at a party with the extremely famous River Phoenix. Maybe a drink is exactly what I need.

_

He was 2 beers and I was one shot into our conversation.

"Yeah, so acting isn't all that bad, I guess. They just kind of throw you from job to job, and you do your work. You don't have to like it. But it's easy, and a lot of people would see me as lucky." He stated, slightly annoyed as he took another drink of his beer.

I watched how smoothly he swallowed it, like it was water. It seemed like he had drank quite a bit before.

I didn't acknowledge it though.

"So, how old are you?" I asked.

"Nineteen, yourself?" he asked.

"Seventeen, 18 next week." I said gawkily. His eyes widened slightly.

"A little young to be at a club, don't you think?" He asked jokingly. I shrugged.

"I guess. I've never been to an actual club before, and I don't drink often. Piper just wanted to see Flea," I said, and then added, "and she wanted me to meet you."

River smiled lightly and nodded, raising his left hand up at the bartender, who set down two shots in front of us. Smiling, River picked up a glass and I mimicked him.

We clicked our glasses together as he said,

"I'm glad to have met you tonight, Carmen."

His voice was sweet and sounded slightly accented. Regardless, we took our shots.

I thought about how much my life would be changing if River and I became close in friendship. But it didn't matter, because as my whiskey warmed my throat, everything seemed to become less and less important.

That is, besides River.