Alter Ego: His Sultry Lover

"Hi everyone! I have seen this tag float around the internet and had to jump of the train!" Laurence exclaimed. 

"A lot of you have been asking me who my girlfriend is." He paused and looked straight at the camera without hesitation. "She is the loveliest woman on the planet, her gaming skills and humor above and beyond anything I could ever ask for..." And he went on to talk about how magnificent this woman was. 

"I'm going to poop my pants," Angelina chirped as Laurence went about his monologue. 

"I'm on the same boat as you," Katherine sighed. 

"-But. It's not who you think it is. This woman exists only in my imagination." He let out a soft chuckle. He went off frame for a second before returning with a human sized pillow with an anime girl on it. "This is my waifu. My girlfriend... the woman I have given my soul to." He smirked. 

From off the camera, the viewers could hear Ian snicker. "She must be warm and cuddly!" he teased.

"Of course, I just have to keep her out in the sun sometimes..." Laurence trailed off. "You must be surprised," he said out of the blue. "No, it's not Katherine. We are just friends who were mistaken for something else. She's in a relationship and rumors are notorious for breaking those up. I don't want any of you to hound her because of this."

The shock Katherine felt couldn't be explained in words. 

"Did you know he would do this?" Angelina asked softly. 

"Of course not," Katherine choked out. 

"Well, he must really like you to go above and beyond to explain everything." Angelina turned her head to stare at Katherine. "As usual, it could have two effects. Either people will moan about how you guys looked good together and it was a pity that you didn't end up dating," Angelina paused. "Or, they will think his denial was too strong and you guys are hiding a relationship."

Katherine was silent. "I can't act coldly now that he tried to help me out." She sighed. 

She pulled out her phone and clicked on the video herself. There were loads of comments already and she didn't want to read through them. She clicked on the comments section and typed out her comment. 

[Rinsten: Your waifu looks amazing. Let's have a double date soon!]

After she sent it, she went to the messaging app and thanked him personally. She moved on to sending the link to Cage and Stephen as a safety measure.

- - -

With only a month for the next shooting to start, a call from the producer came to Cage, stunning him. Giselle Watts was not going to shoot the movie. The reasons? Unknown. For now. 

As he travelled back to H City, Cage remembered the first time he met Giselle. He had pushed her down a flight of stairs. He had splayed his hand wide over her chest, ground his teeth and shoved, making a show of using all of his strength. He pulled himself ramrod straight, watching as she tumbled over and down a grand, marble staircase and landed in a pile on the floor. 

She remained still. He held his breath, keeping on the act. 

"Cut!" the director called and the set came alive. He had been petrified that the little girl he had pushed off the staircase was hurt and rushed to her and knelt by her side. "Are you okay?" he had asked. 

The girl raised her head, no trace of emotion in her eyes. "Yeah, man..." she said with a laugh. 

He apologized profusely even though she was a professional. Yeah. It was his first Kevin Heart movie and the stunts were crazy and most actors required stunt doubles. Giselle was one of them representing a villain he needed to kill. 

They worked closely on the film, pulling off one scene after the other.

When he appeared out of the airport, he bounded towards the little cafe he had called Giselle to meet him at. He took a seat and watched as she entered. A smile pulled on his lips at the sight of the girl. Poor girl still hadn't figured out that the paparazzi was rarely fooled by the hoodie and sunglasses. Usually, they looked for those in H City to spot a star. 

Giselle looked spooked as if someone was following her around. More often than not, that was the case. About two years ago, this girl was a stunt double but over the years, she had participated in indie movies and made a name for herself. Recently, she landed a leading role in a movie that wasn't expect to do well. 

But it had. She became a household name overnight, leaving her at a loss for what to do next. He tried his best to hide his smile as she slid into the chair opposite him. He knew her plight very well. He spent most of his career being harassed or fearing that he would be harassed. 

Finally, she gave a sheepish smile, pulling her hood down and her sunglasses off. "Sorry for being late!" she said. 

"I just arrived," he mentioned, extending his hand to shake hers. "How have you been, Gigi?" he asked with a smirk. 

"Ugh, I hate that name. The media thinks they are so clever, coming up with that name... Unoriginal bastards," she cursed. The waiter came by and took their orders, when he was gone, Giselle looked at Cage. "So, you wanted to talk to me?"

Cage leaned in and nodded. "About the film."

"I figured," she replied with a grimace. 

"You dropped out. Why did you do that?"

A look a genuine fright came over her. She wrung her hand together and looked to the side... as if waiting for something. "Do you promise not to laugh?" She let go of her joined fingers and hide her eyes behind her palm. She was hiding from a camera. 

Cage looked off to the side and saw no one with a camera. But he could have been wrong.