i never promised you a rose garden » fillie

» chapter 9 «

f i n n ☁︎

I sighed, rubbing my eyes. Today was a press day. It was also one of my lesser days. I wasn't necessarily happy, but I wasn't completely depressed. I was somewhere in the middle.

I got ready sluggishly and zoned out as my mom drove me to the airport. It was a short flight hour flight to the next states over.

I would meet with Millie, Noah, Gaten, and Caleb and talk about Stranger Things and what to expect. We would do a meet-and-greet before the talk as well.

The plane landed, and my mom and I immediately were given a car. We drove to the venue. Mom parked the car while I walked inside. I spotted Millie and waved.

Together, we walked to our table, sitting at our spots. Immediately, the crowd started to scream. We all smiled, waving and uncapping our pens. A fan rushed up to me, carrying a letter. "Hi!" she excitedly squealed. "I'm such a huge fan, oh my god!"

"Hi," I murmured, signing a picture.

"I'm Lucy, and I actually wrote you a letter; I'm not sure if you can accept it, but I did anyways, so yeah, haha, I love your character-" Lucy cut herself off, awkwardly smiling. I smiled in response.

"Thank you," I answered, taking her letter and slipping it into my bag. Lucy beamed, and it hurt to look at her. She was so happy that I couldn't stand it.

Millie, sitting next to me, nudged me with her shoulder. "Bubbly," she chuckled.

"Bubbly," I slowly repeated. I watched Millie interact with a fan. She really seemed to care. Her eyes lit up, and her face was expressive. I didn't know how she could care. I was too dark and twisty today to try. I turned back to another fan, forcing another smile.

After about an hour and a half of meeting and greeting, we walked on stage to meet with the announcer. We sat down, smiling again. We were dressed casually; Millie in an oversized sweater and jeans and the rest of us in sweaters, shirts, and jeans.

"So, what can we expect for Stranger Things season 2?" the host asked, getting straight to the point. We looked at each other, waiting for someone to speak. Millie finally grabbed the microphone, nervously smiling.

"Well, we can't say much, but I do know that it's going to be great and exciting." We talked for an hour and a half, discussing Barb and Benny. We even talked about Shepherd, a scientist who was in Episode 4 but died due to the demogorgon. I couldn't talk a lot. I feigned coughing, saying that I had a slight cold and sore throat and was resting my voice. Reality was that I couldn't bring myself to talk.

"Oh my gosh, there was this one time on set that I was going down the stairs in Mike's basement, house thing, and I tripped and I fell on my face and the stupid demogorgon piece was there, and I hit my head on it," Noah recounted. "And I basically became Eleven with all the blood dripping down my face."

"Yeah, I feel so bad for laughing, but it was hilarious. I'm sorry, Noah, but you have to admit, Eleven is pretty awesome," Millie added, posing.

"Mhm, let's talk about Lucas," Caleb interjected. "I'm excited for him and Dustin to get way more like character development. I see a lot of potential for them, especially since Eleven is gone at the moment- tear- but those are my thoughts."

"And Dustin, see, he's not really interested in the Snowball," Gaten said, resting his head on his hand. "He's more into food, and that really embodies all of us. We just love our food."

"I have so many stories, so little time," Millie laughed. "Okay, so, haha, one time, I slipped hot sauce into Finn's food, and he died a little."

"Just a little," Caleb laughed, wheezing. "Just a little though."

"Okay, like I like spicy food, but I just wasn't expecting it," I explained. "I was a bit sick, so it wasn't really good for me," I finished, glaring at my friends.

"Sure." Gaten rolled his eyes.

"I'm a meme," I murmured, coughing a bit. Maybe I was really getting sick.

"Spicy Finn," Noah commented. We told stories, circumventing the topic of season 2.

"And I'm afraid that's all the time we have, thank you for coming," the host smiled. At the end of the interview, we stood and each embraced the announcer. "We love the Stranger Things cast, right?" the announcer asked. The crowd shrieked in response. I felt overwhelmed, knowing that my fans cared so much when I couldn't at the moment. I smiled and exited with my friends.

"Reason #6, Finn," Millie squealed, clapping her hands together. "Fans!"

"Fans are amazing," Noah added.

"Fans," I murmured. In the car, I opened the letter, reading it:

Dear Finn,

I'm not sure you'll open this, but if you do, hi. My name is Lucy, and I'm 14. I watched Stranger Things, and I'm not gonna lie, it took over my life. I'm hella obsessed with the show, the graphics, the aesthetics, the actors; it's very well put together. It's genuinely amazing.

I am such a fan of your acting especially. I've heard the horror stories of how cold it is when you filmed season 1 and how sometimes the tears could freeze on your face, and that sounds genuinely terrifying, so bravo and gold star for you. When you act, you show emotion and can really convey the character. You literally become that character, and I feel like that's very rare for most actors. I don't know, what do I know? I literally starred in one fall play, and I think I'm a know-it-all, but I'm so excited to continue to see where acting takes you.

And music. You're going to go far in it. How is it possible for everyone in Stranger Things to be a gifted actor and musician?! I don't know the answer to that either, but I am also excited to listen to your music! Everyone in Stranger Things has an amazing talent, especially you.

Also, let's talk about you. You are lit. Litter than lit. Okay, I'm going to pretend I didn't write that, and I also am writing this in pen with no white out, so bear with me. Um, basically, don't let fame ruin you. I've seen how other stars rise to fame, only to turn into, excuse my language, but ungrateful little *insert poop emoji*. You're going to be different. I can feel it. So don't let me down, lol, okay, just know that your fans are here for you and love you. Don't let stress ruin anything. Have fun, eat food, eat hot cheetos, learn how to play piano, duet with someone, notice all your fans and their fan accounts, and definitely check out my instagram (it's okay, you don't have to do them all, but the last one is very much appreciated!)

With much love from Arizona,
Lucy G. Callahan

Written: 24 November 2016
Instagram; @lucygracecallahan

"Was it deep?" I glanced at Millie with a weak smile.

"What?"

"The letter," she clarified. "Did it give you a reason?"

I looked at Millie, tears in my eyes. "Fans," I murmured, letting the single word represent all of my feelings.