flashes ✦ julian draxler

onze : grammy's and fashion month

[ no way. in real time, morocco has just knocked out ivory coast from the afcon. first time since they didn't qualify in 2002 that they failed to make it past the group stage! damn, this is awkward considering i had them win in the last chapter! whoops, sorry. let's just imagine they weren't one of the big nations to be knocked out (cough cough talking to you gabon and algeria) i want senegal or cameroon or ghana to win, but senegal and cameroon are facing each other at the quarter finals which is hilarious ]

[ could you even call this a chapter?!!! i'm so sorry, just a filler, but hey this means double update! ]

| los angeles, california, usa

GIGI HUGGED THE GIRL tightly, squealing with excitement, "Girl, i've missed you so much! How long has it been since we've seen each other? 3 or 4 months?"

"It's definitely been too long, Gig," Stella responded.

She had been in L.A already for two days, but the previous day was mostly spent napping off the jet lag from the long flight and eating room-service with the Netflix on. The next was spent with a few of her L.A friends.

Gigi Hadid and Stella were good friends having starred in a few Tommy Hilfiger shoots together, as well as Versace ones. Between them, Gigi was very much the more superior in the fashion world as Stella was only now getting back into shoots.

Gigi was in L.A with Bella because they were attending the Grammy's with their boyfriends. Bella and Abel had only broken up for a while before getting back together in January. The three of them were probably the only models in attendance because it was also New York Fashion Week, which kind-of sucked because it meant that Gigi and Bella were missing from a runway or two.

Stella asked to not be booked at New York Fashion Week since she was only easing back into the modelling world having put it on hold ever since her final year of college two years ago. She found that New York, aside from Paris, was the most stressful of the bunch, and she wasn't so ecstatic about having to fly between Paris and New York just for fittings. Also, she wanted to attend the Grammy's having been invited by a jewellery brand.

However, she was doing a few shows in Milan and London, with the bulk coming in at Paris. The week before she left for Monaco had been filled with fittings with the brands she was walking with. She was to attend FROW at two shows in New York, a show in London and also walk TOPSHOP UNIQUE, before heading to Milan where she would walk three shows and then to Paris for a staggering seven shows, a few appearances and a special FROW appearance at Chanel. Having been a muse of Karl Lagerfeld, she had broken away from the brand when she slowed down her modelling, while still maintaining a good relationship with the fashion icon. She didn't want to be known as 'the Chanel girl' on top of being 'Serena Greaves's daughter'. Albeit, Karl was definitely swaying her mind on walking for Chanel in the S/S collection in September.

"Where's Bella?" Stella had asked the model. They were out for breakfast before the two of them would endure long procedures of getting ready for a high-class event.

"At a fitting for her dress. Something's gone wrong, apparently," Gigi answered.

The two stayed at the restaurant for a while more, until they were called back to their hotel rooms.

-

"You look beautiful," Julian complimented, almost shyly as Stella turned the FaceTime camera so it would face the mirror and show her reflection.

"Thanks, Jule," she flushed a shade of pink, which would anyways be concealed by her makeup.

"When are you coming back?"

"Miss me already?" she teased.

"No, i'm preparing myself for when you get back and i'm going to need to put up with you again," he quipped dryly.

"Sure, sure," Stella laughed, "Literally the last day of February, so you can have more blissful times there in Paris with me gone for a while longer- oh I have to go! Bye Jules,"

Through the screen, she blew him a kiss like she would as a goodbye custom in real life with anyone she was saying goodbye to.

-

| milan, italy

The Grammy's had been a great night with Stella sat alongside Gigi, Bella, Zayn, Abel and the one and only Taylor Swift. To be truthful, Stella almost squealed when she found out Taylor Swift was sitting with them.

That very same night, she caught a flight with Gigi and Bella to New York, where she watched the Tommy Hilfiger show and the Marc Jacobs one too.

After that came London Fashion Week, which was the most relaxed one of the four cities. Stella had walked her first show of the fashion month with TOPSHOP UNIQUE and sat front row at the Burberry show. She'd seen Izabel a few times in each city, and they'd even attended dinner together one night.

"Break a leg," Gigi winked, blowing her a kiss from behind her in the queue. They were at the Versace show in Milan, which was always one of Stella's favourite shows. Donatella Versace enjoyed a friendship with Serena Greaves, which ultimately led to the woman considering Stella as one of her favourites and deeming her as a 'Versace Girl' like Gigi was. All in all, Stella basically had a one way golden ticket to the high fashion world with having her mother as Serena Greaves and being blessed with long legs and a face fit for high-fashion modelling. The base line was that she was born into fashion.

The day after, Stella was sat in the best seat of the Fendi show alongside Karl Lagerfeld and Silvia Venturini Fendi after having walked Moschino earlier that day.

"Oh Karl, I love that look," she applauded as one of the models walked down the runway.

"Darling, you would have looked great in it had you accepted walking in the show," Karl hummed.

The Fendi show was always interesting and captivating. Stella applauded her model friends such as Bella down the runway and every now and then made a mental note on pieces she really loved.

After the whirlwind of Los Angeles, New York, London and Milan, Stella was finally off to her home city, despite having one of the busiest weeks she's to have in the whole year ahead of her.

"I'm so ready to sleep in my own bed again," she groaned to Gigi, who was sat in the connecting first-class seat. The separator between them was rolled down as their seats were not reclined back. It was the middle of the day, and neither had plans to sleep. The two of them had finished Milan, with Armani Stella's last show, but Bella had a show that morning and was unable to make the flight with them.

"Missing your man too, hey?" Gigi wheezed.

Stella groaned, "Oh my God, Gig. We're just friends,"

"You thought you got out of that one didn't you? I've almost forgotten to tease you about it but I was just seeing all the news last night and I saw on one of those stupid gossip websites a headline that was like 'Stella Greaves's new man suffering separation sadness'. It was like a picture of him walking alone with his head down and they're claiming he's sad because you've been away for a while. Bullshit, or not?" Gigi informed her.

"Absolute bullshit," she murmured, "I hate putting him into the spotlight with all this relationship rumour. It's taking away from his success at his new football club. I'm not saying we're in a relationship, because we're really not, but I don't know how you deal with a relationship so in the media, Gig."

The American sighed, patting the arm of her friend, "You've just got to deal with these downsides of being famous; no privacy, especially in your relationship. The media, they scrutinise and over-analyse every aspect of your relationship because they know it sells. It gets hard sometimes; i'll tell you now, Stel, love's never easy under flashes."