The Inevitable Fanfiction

Chapter 10
“Paula, girl, you okay?” Randy asks. Another show has just ended, and Randy noticed Paula’s fragility throughout once again.
“Yeah I’m fine, Ran.” She smiles at him.
“If you’re sure... Hey, Erika wants all ya’ll to come over for dinner tomorrow night. Is that cool with you?” He places a comforting hand on her shoulder.
“Does that mean Simon too?” Paula inquires, peering at Simon from the corner of her eye. He hasn’t spoken two words to her since their fight.
“Do you mind, baby? The wife wants to get the gang, the kids are at the grandparents’ house and she just wants see you again.” He chuckles.
“You’re lucky I love you,” Paula says after a second, and smiles.
“Boy do I know it!” He hugs his small friend, lifting her a few inches off the ground. Simon is curious about the love fest going on between his co-workers and wonders what Randy might have said about him.
“And what about you, Cowell? Seacrest? Yo Dunkleman?” He waves to get Brian’s attention from the stage; causing the host to run down the steps to them.
“Actually, Simon and I were going to this new bar tomorrow and –” Randy’s face drops, a sure sign he is disappointed. Something about letting down their favourite nice guy was difficult to go through with, though. “But we could always go another day right?”
Ryan nudges Simon who nods. “Not like it’s about to run away, anyway. Tell your wife we’ll be there.”
Brian agrees too and they set the time for 7:30pm. Paula knows this could be the beginning of a disaster she is agreeing to, but duty calls. She hopes she will not regret it, but there is a sinking feeling in her stomach that believes otherwise.
When the time comes for them to leave for Randy’s, Paula is jumpy and irritable, needing reassurance from her assistants that she isn’t overdressed. She is clad in a flowing beige skirt that ends at the knees with a slight frill, and a red top including a lot of slits covered with mesh, making certain assets more profound. Her hair has been pulled up into a ponytail, her bangs framing her face beautifully. Her assistant drops her off at the house, saying nothing but goodbye, rather afraid of her boss at the present moment.
Paula twists the knob of the front door to find it open, so she lets herself in, and is rather surprised at what she sees. A group of six people seems to have extended to fifteen, seven of which she doesn’t know. She and Randy do have some friends in common, luckily, and she smiles at them. Erika greets her warmly while Randy hangs up her coat.
“Simon isn’t here yet, don’t worry,” he whispers when he leans down to kiss her cheek. The last thing he wants is for Paula to be uncomfortable tonight.
“Thanks Randy.” Paula smiles amusedly and squeezes his hand.
Before she can ponder over who she should sit and mingle with first, Ryan has wrapped an arm around her shoulders.
“Hello, Paula. You’re looking gorgeous as always.”
“Thank-you, Ry ... Ryan.”
“You can call me Ry; that’s cool.” He grins a little too widely. Paula could call him ‘that idiot’ and he’d still think it was cool, she thinks, but then feels bad.
Together, they introduce themselves to the others and mingle for a bit. Brian is relatively quiet, not very fond of parties and social gatherings, but other than that, everyone is excited to speak with the lively and sweet Paula Abdul. Like in most cases, people wonder if she is as sweet as they hear of, and always come up with the conclusion, that yes, she really is.
Unfortunately as soon as Simon arrives, at five past 8 o’clock, Paula’s mood is killed, and she disappears into the shadows, sitting quietly at the back of the living room, drink in hand. She watches him from afar, that irresistible aura of confidence that draws him all the attention of the women. He shakes Erika’s hand and kisses her cheeks like the gentleman that he is, and soon has a group of people he doesn’t know laughing at his witty ways. Paula feels a sting of jealousy, knowing she had been that person a few moments ago, but had never looked so poised still.
Simon can feel his colleague’s eyes on him, although refusing to look back. He genuinely does not know how to react to a woman like her, she who does nothing and everything at the same time. So he stays away, making a show of his amiability, allowing her to watch. What he doesn’t expect however, is one of Randy’s friends to bring Paula up to the centre circle. He goes by the name Hank; an average looking guy, not very tall, with a boyish face.
“Why don’t you join us, Paula?” he asks; his spiked hair bouncing slightly as he bent to meet her eyes.
“Sure.” With a bashful grin, she accepts the hand he offers. He sits her down beside him, and soon they have taken over the spotlight.
The conversation turns to American Idol. “You’re definitely the star – I think America has suddenly remembered who their sweetheart is,” Hank gushes and Simon thinks he’s going to be sick. Paula flushes.
“She owes it all to me, don’t you Paula?” Simon asks, before he can stop himself.
That is the first time he had addressed her the whole night, causing Paula’s eyes to fly up and meet his for the briefest moment. Instantly the whole room is quiet and everyone is staring at Paula who does not acknowledge this comment, and Simon who is looking away remorsefully. They have all watched Idol, and they all see the tension between the two stars of the show. It takes a minute for everyone to regain a sense of normalcy, and Hank quickly steals Paula’s attention once more.
Bitterly, Simon watches as they get friendlier through the night. Hank only lifts his hand from her knee to get himself another drink and offer her one, which she declines. As soon as he gets the opportunity to steal her away, he does.
“Walk with me?” asks Simon.
Paula hesitates, but agrees. “Okay.”
They walk out to the balcony, not saying anything and just taking in the view. It is the first time they have been alone together since their fight, and the word awkward cannot even begin to describe the air that hangs around them. Simon watches Paula openly now, allowing his eyes to drink in the sight of her, the moonlight highlighting her beautiful features. He does not resist the urge to touch her, his fingers barely tracing the bare skin of one arm. She turns to him, curious as to where he is going and what he might say but he simply caresses her with his fingertips.
“You look nice,” he says softly.
“I... uh...” Paula stumbles, the sensation of his skin against hers clouding her mind. “Thanks.”
“You’re a beautiful woman, Paw-la.” Simon is holding her arm now, looking deeply into her eyes. Why did he have to sound so sincere?
“Is that your way of saying sorry?” she manages to muster, laughing embarrassedly.
“Maybe.”
“Don’t give me that mysterious smile; if you say it, I will too.” Paula slaps his chest lightly, like she had been doing it her whole life.
“If I say what?” Simon raises his eyebrows, pretending he hasn’t the slightest clue what she was talking about. She looks almost annoyed but then begins laughing again and he joins in. “Truce?”
Paula smiles and sticks her hand out for him to shake. He opts for a hug instead, catching her off guard. His hands rest on her lower back and his spread fingers covers most of her. Her face comes in contact with his chest, where she allows herself to rest against for a moment. She squeezes around his waist before pulling back, smile intact.
“If you ever tell anyone that I apologised, I will have to kill you,” Simon chuckles lightly.
“I get it, I get it.” Paula raises her hands like in surrender. “Mr. Nasty’s image.”
They are quiet for a minute or so, leaning against the railing of the balcony and looking up at the moon.
“It’s often just that you know... an image,” he says after a while.
“What?” Paula turns to him.
“I mean – I’m not... ” Simon shifts uncomfortably. “I’m not all bad. There is some good inside here.” He points to his heart with one finger, lips forming a slight pout.
“I know that – I’ve never witnessed it myself, but I believe you.”
“Why? Even when we were sworn enemies, and now merely acquaintances, do you think that?”
“Lucky guess,” Paula shrugs, knowing it is far from the truth but also uncertain of what the truth really is.
“I think we ought to go inside; they might think I’ve kidnapped you or something.” Simon laughs heartily, taking Paula’s arm once more, sliding his hand to her shoulder, and leads her back inside.
Hank is relieved to see Paula hasn’t left, once she returns, but his grin is quickly replaced with a frown, to see who is touching her. He watches as Simon squeezes Paula’s shoulder softly before going his own way, and how she smiles shyly like a schoolgirl.
He manages to exchange phone numbers with her, but his high hopes from the beginning of the night vanished, as she distractedly tells him “I’ll call you,” and kisses his cheek, all the while watching Simon from the corner of her eye.

***
Simon had come into the studio in the evening, a few hours early for whatever reason, humming pleasantly to himself. A few runners had doubled-back, blatantly shocked, but didn’t dare to say anything. He changes his shirt in his dressing room and the make-up artist Mezghan powders his face. He gets dressed early today, smokes a few cigarettes and is positively kind to everyone he sees, smiling. Though the reason for this behaviour is unbeknownst to him, he hasn’t felt this optimistic in a long while and would like to savour it.
The whole time, he has been wondering when Paula would arrive and if she would say hello to him when she does – or if he should wait for her in her dressing room. He feels like being nice, and she of all people would appreciate that. So he does; he walks to her dressing room which is dark and quiet, switching on the lights and collapsing on the sofa. Still humming, the song ‘Singing in the Rain’ stuck in his head oddly enough, he waits.
A faint rustling from nearby makes him open his eyes – was Paula here? Indeed, she had just come into the room, but not from the entrance as he expected, but from the bathroom... wearing nothing but a towel.
“Oops.” Simon grins mischievously as Paula catches sight of him on her couch. She shrieks.
“Simon!” Immediately, she wraps her towel tighter around herself, blushing crimson. She is barely covered, and Simon can see the full length of her legs and a lot of cleavage. His pants become uncomfortably tight as he stares unabashedly – if he thought she was sexy in her videos, he was sadly mistaken because she had the body of a goddess, one that no video could do justice to. “Simon, get out!”
Paula places a hand over her chest, self-protectively and shakes her head. Simon can only watch, transfixed as her damp tresses move and fall over her shoulders. With a swallow, he manages to snap of it and meet her eyes.
“Get out, Simon,” Paula tries again, feeling extremely exposed and vulnerable in this particular situation.
“I had no idea you were here, Paula. I apologise,” says Simon and he sounds sincere. However, he makes no sign to leave – in fact; he seems to be stepping closer to her.
He walks deliberately slowly to her, stopping less than six inches away from her semi-naked form. Paula is breathing deeply, willing herself to step back or run back into the bathroom, but her feet are stuck to the floor. She can smell his aftershave and the stale scent of cigarettes. His hand, with its own mind, lifts to touch her; her neck, collarbone, anything to feel her. He settles with her arm once more, tracing it with feathery touches and watches she goose bumps rise.
“Simon – go.” Her voice comes out choked and feeble. She shivers. She can feel the heat of him, his skin against hers, the tightness of his pants, and she isn’t sure what to do.
“Alright,” Simon says softly, trying in vain to get himself under control. He pulls his shirt down securely and leaves.
By the time the show has started, Paula is fully clothed and even a little conservative. She smiles bashfully at Simon who winks, watching as she blushes crimson. Randy peers curiously at them, not knowing what has happened but he will not be the one to complain. This must be a miracle, he thinks. It is an interesting show, to say the least, the beginning of many episodes alike.