After a rather negative phone call with her agent, Cece decided that the only thing that would bring her joy was a taco from her local restaurant. After waiting in the queue, she sat at a seat by the window and went to take a bite. Instead of enjoying the hot salsa, the taco crumbled in her hand and the red sauce ended up on her shirt. Cece sat in silence for a moment, taking in what just happened. There was no way her day could get any worse. When she looked back up, she realised someone had watched the entire ordeal happen. "I'm going to need you to be sworn to secrecy for my own mental health," she tried to joke, standing to grab some napkins.
"Either all those mimosas I had earlier are finally hitting or you really are Miss Cecily Cassidy!" Marcel had spent the last ten minutes trying to place where he knew the young blonde from before it finally hit him and he excitedly hurried over to take a seat across the table, "I'm joking, of course. I've only had one so far. But you are Cecily, aren't you? Out of all the novelas I followed, Country Roads was one of the best! And it's no coincidence it was up for an Emmy after you joined the cast." He extended a hand, "I'm Marcel Rio. Trust me when I say pleasure is all mine. Have you come to Palmview for a little summer sun and relaxation?"
Cece looked up from her half-drank iced matcha, brought out of her dreamy trance by the sudden appearance of a stranger. A huge smile spread across her lips as it often did when she was recognised, immediately tucking a strand of blonde hair behind her ear and straightening up in her chair, trying to seem more put together for the obvious fan. "That's me," Cece chuckled as she shook his extended hand, her spirits already lifting from the miserable morning she had been having. "I was actually born and raised here," she explained as she leaned back in her chair again. "Just...spending some time at home." It was a lot more complicated than that; not that she wanted to share any of that with a stranger or a fan. "So you liked Country Roads, huh?" Nothing like some caffeine and an ego boost to brighten her day.
He’d watched along for a moment because the scene was partially amusing and equally … interesting. It would’ve been the polite thing to rush over right at the sight of struggle but ; if for a moment there Clem had remembered that he wasn’t necessarily the type of guy who did all the right things, all the nice things, all the good things. A windy day and those who hadn’t prepared for it but had gotten comfortable by the beach anyway were now struggling to keep their things together, keep them from flying off with the next breeze. Someone close by was doing a … more or less great job at it. He’d kept his own things in his backpack aside from the towel he sat on but … – the person he’d been watching for a moment finally lost their hat to the wind. Fine. He wasn’t idiot enough to look on as they lost their belongings and so, after pushing himself off the ground where sand felt soft and gave in to his weight through the towel, he picked up the lost item. A mix of benevolence and considerate distance claimed his features. “ You lost something. “ He holds the hat between the two of them. “ I assume you’d like this back ? “
Cece had been trying to peacefully relax on the beach after taking her selfies in her designer glasses with her performative book in hand when the wind had started picking up. With a huff, she tucked her phone back into her bag, determined to have her quiet beach time. The beaches in California would never be this temperamental, she thought just as her hat flew from her head, almost as if it was Palmview mocking her. Letting out a small shriek, she jumped to her feet just as a stranger picked up her hat. "Thank you," Cece said with a small pout, reaching out for the ridiculously oversized accessory. "It's vintage Prada. Which probably means, like, nothing to you, but would be totally devastating for me if I was to lose it. I thought it was meant to be summer?"
spencer is, admittedly, running on very limited sleep. his body may be awake but his mind might as well be elsewhere, perhaps even in a dream state. he's barely paying attention to what the other is saying, his gaze piercing past them and at the wall behind them. he doesn't even notice he's been zoning out until he can feel his companion's eyes on him. “ what? ” he asks, immediately snapping out of it and bringing a palm to his face. “ sorry, were you saying something? ”
Cece slips into the chair opposite Spencer, an iced latte securely gripped in her hand as wide blue eyes bore into his own vacant ones. "I was just asking if I could perch beside you. Everybody and their grandma is out for coffee today and I need some time to, like, decompress before I try to walk back to my place. And you seemed like you weren't a killer who's going to kidnap me as soon as I let my guard down. But I guess every killer looks like that or else they wouldn't have very many targets. Isn't that what they said about...what's-his-face? Bundy?" Cece finishes her small tangent with a sip through the glass straw she'd brought from home, completely oblivious to the fast-paced monologue she'd just subjected a complete stranger to.
❀ you’re not from around here , are you? i figured because you totally just missed CECILY "CECE" CASSIDY walking by. don’t tell me you don’t know who SHE/HER is? they kind of look like MARGOT ROBBIE and i could be wrong but i think that they might be 35 years old right now. they’ve been living in palmview for the last 2 MONTHS . and i don’t know if anyone has ever told them this before but they kind of remind me of ALEXIS ROSE from SCHITT'S CREEK. if you stick around the town long enough you might catch them in action working at CORAL COVE ACADEMY as a PERFORMING ARTS TEACHER. you see this town isn’t really that big of a place, some folks like to call them the DIVA of palmview! they took a liking to the name too after a while, go figure. oh crap, they must have heard me yapping. they’re coming this way. i got to warn you though, rumor has it they can pretty SELF-CENTRED at times. i wouldn’t take it too seriously though, from the times i’ve spoken to them they seemed pretty GUILELESS to me. we see each other all the time since they live in that THREE BEDROOM residence beside me over in PELICAN STREET / CONDO #341. i better leave you to it. it was nice meeting you!
penned by niamh | 28 | gmt
QUICK BIO
★ name: Cecily Cassidy
★ nickname/alias: Cece, Cee
★ age: 35
★ sexuality: heterosexual(?)
★ occupation: former actress, current performing arts teacher at Coral Cove Academy
★ current residence: pelican street
★ birthplace: palmview grove, florida
★ significant events: left palmview at 17 to pursue a career in hollywood. first significant piece of work was in a soap opera 'country roads' aged 24. became a household name in film and television by 28. married director and producer dalton keyes at 30. public separation at 34 with countless rumours about infidelity on both sides. moved back to palmview following blacklisting at 35.
★ current life situation: currently living in palmview grove, albeit she tells herself it's a temporary situation.
quirks + fun facts
★ favorite food/drink: reese's peanut butter cups, coconut margarita.
★ mannerisms: says 'like' in virtually every sentence at least once. plays with her hair. often avoids eye contact.
A LITTLE MORE .ᐟ
Cecily Cassidy always knew she was destined for greatness. As soon as she could walk and talk, she was performing for her adoring mother. Raised as an only child by a young single mom, Julia Cassidy often went without to provide for her gifted daughter - acting, singing, vocal and dialect lessons to ensure that her baby girl had everything she ever wanted. By the time Cece was ten, she had already starred in various community theatre shows and was the town's local celebrity.
Although Cece struggled with the academic side of school, finding herself receiving extra lessons and failing virtually every test, she thrived on the social side. She balanced being president of the Drama Club with being prom queen, a cheerleader and attending as many parties as she could. The perfect All-American girl. Although her mom was often tight for money and they lived paycheck to paycheck, Cece did her absolute best to keep up appearances and make sure everyone thought she was the perfect girl. A trait that stayed with her for life.
At 17, Cece made the decision to drop out of school and move to LA. She knew college wasn't for her, and she always felt bigger than her hometown. Her mom put all of her savings into booking a flight for Cece, and she knew she had to go and make her mother proud. When she arrived in Hollywood, Cece was quickly hit with the fact that she was no longer the stand out girl in her small town. In fact, LA was full of Cecily Cassidys. She struggled to find her feet for a few years, often failing auditions and receiving brutal feedback on her acting, appearance and even her weight. Still, Cece believed in herself and kept going. When her mom or friends from back home would ask how things were going, she would often bend the truth to tell them she had plenty of jobs lined up, never wanting anyone to worry about her or feel that she was drowning in her new world.
At twenty-five, her breakout finally happened. Cece landed a small guest role in one of America's biggest soap operas - 'Country Roads'. Although she was originally only meant to have a five-episode arc, audiences responded to her so well that they ended up making her a series regular. Overnight, Cece went from being unknown to being the talk of the town. Finally.
Cece stayed in 'Country Roads' for two more years, until the offers outside of the soap opera world became too tempting to ignore. By the time she was 28, she was a household name, booking movies, television shows and plays. Her trips back home became few and far between, her old life in Palmview becoming a distant memory.
Celebrity life didn't come without its scandals: Cece often found herself saying the wrong thing in interviews, or was pictured too close for comfort with a co-star. When less than flattering drunk pictures at her birthday party were published, her team decided that she needed a squeaky clean rebrand, and this included one of Hollywood's biggest names, Dalton Keyes.
Dalton Keyes, one of Hollywood's most influential directors and producers, was ten years older than Cece, and it seemed that they didn't have very much in common at first. Dalton was British, brooding, serious and an artist. Cece was all about fun, unpredictability and lacked an ability to stop talking. Still, in front of the camera, they looked like Hollywood's perfect couple. They married two weeks after Cece's thirtieth birthday, and they fell into a comfortable friendship with each other that lacked any sort of romantic connection.
When Cece was thirty-one, her mom died suddenly of breast cancer. Cece hadn't been home in a few years and didn't even know she was sick. Her brief trip home for the funeral was the last time she visited Palmview, and she vowed she wouldn't be back again. Her marriage to Dalton was stale, and the death of her mother meant Cece needed to find comfort in someone. That someone ended up being the co-star of her recent play, Ryan Dean. Cece fell in love with Ryan, who finally treated her the way she'd always wanted to be treated. He made her feel like she was actually special, and she found everything she'd been missing with Dalton inside him. Still, Dalton was determined for Cece to give him a child, and Cece played the role of wife just like she played so many other roles. Cece and Ryan continued their affair for three years, until an anonymous source threatened to leak the details of Cece's affair and sham marriage in return for a hefty sum. Enraged and humiliated, Dalton demanded a divorce from Cece and promptly blacklisted her from every major studio in Hollywood, spreading rumours that was difficult to work with and lacked professionalism. Ryan promptly dumped Cece when his own career was threatened by the anonymous source, and she quickly found herself alone and jobless on the other side of the country.
Cece tried to stay in Hollywood for another year, but failed to book any roles that could fund her lifestyle in LA. With her tail between her legs, Cece returned to her hometown of Palmview Grove, telling everyone that it was a voluntarily choice to go into teaching instead of performing. She tells herself that it's a temporary setback until the dust settles in LA and she can go back to where she truly belongs.
