A good time. When was the last time Sienna had one of those? She'd like to think she was doing well, all things considered. How many people could say they survived a murderous clown and came out of it, save for a few scars, unscathed? Though it didn't feel right to brag about. She'd seen the grisly pictures of Allie and her mom in pieces. Every victim that night was identified, and who was left alive to do it all? None other than Sienna Shaw. She couldn't, not in good conscience, allow her brother to see any of them. (Though God knows what the hell that boy googles when she's not around. For all she knew, the Shaws were on some FBI watch list.)
And yet, as she felt Landon's arm snake around her waist, fabric of his sleeve brushing up against her bare lower back, she wanted to take his word for it. She had to. In the name of continuing to live the life everybody who died that night deserved. One that was fulfilling, purposeful, and safe. She had a privilege here, attending no doubt one of the most prestigious, most buzzed-about events of the year. An upscale Hollywood Halloween party. And with one of the most famed directors of her generation. It was almost picture-perfect.
Inside, Sienna did well to follow the director as he made his rounds. Funnily enough, she didn't think about the obvious: Who would she recognize behind their masks and makeup? After all, she wouldn't have known it was Heidi Klum underneath that grotesque worm costume if a headline didn't tell her. Maybe she was passing by icons and she didn't know it. She preferred it that way.
Well, seeing one of the Kardashians was a little cool. Sipping on her themed cocktail (some sort of Deep Red-inspired sangria; that decked-out bar was one of the highlights of her night so far), she listened to Landon bring her into his world. As a newbie on set, she was careful not to step on anyone's toes, especially his. She was in charge of making his vision come to life. Beyond her audition and small talk, there was a line there that she and Landon would've never crossed if it weren't for that fateful night he drove her home. Now, she was stepping past that line. And it felt good.
She giggled whenever he told her of Tobias Fairchild. ...rather stick his tongue down my throat. Maybe it was the sangria bubbling, but she quipped: "Who wouldn't?" And she said it with confidence, too.
The A-list corner made her roll her eyes. Who was too good for horror? Even the queen Meryl Streep herself dabbled in Death Becomes Her, not quite the blood-and-guts horror but horror adjacent. Horror was cool now. "Give it a year or so after Silent Scream comes out," Sienna told him. "I wouldn't be surprised if, like, DiCaprio asked to be your next Bruce Campbell." Saying both names in one sentence made her scrunch her nose. Her teeth closed down on her lip when she felt Landon joking around in her ear.
But she couldn't relish that flirtatious sensation for much longer. A second later, she was wearing a smile—one that was maybe outwardly artificial to the sober eye, but with all the haze from the smoke machines and hookah and booze, she was hoping this lady wouldn't notice. "I'm Sienna, so nice to meet you." She reached out to shake the other woman's hand. Might as well be nice so that Landon can see that Sienna's able to play along. "I've seen a few clips. I think you just came out with that interview with Layla DeLong? I love her."
The conversation went on somewhat shallowly, Sienna taking the backseat while Lavinia gushed about her current projects. Maybe she would've shared more about herself if Lavinia stopped for a second to breathe. When the topic finally shifted to her, she shared, "I'm on the special effects team for Silent Scream. It's coming along really well, right, Lan?"
Sienna's smile dissipated when she noticed Landon's gaze was somewhere else, somewhere far away. Not because he wasn't paying attention, but because she could sense that something was off. Knitting her brows, she asked him quietly, "Hey you. Is everything okay?" // @wynterlanding
