27th November 2010
Los Angeles International Airport.
Will had come to pick up June at the airport as she was finally returning today. All this buzz on the internet had made him sneak out for everything.
This didn't upset him though, as it just confirmed his ticket to stardom. As the amount from the box office would take some time to come, Will had taken over a credit card of $100k from George.
He had already told that he would pay back the due himself, so George didn't even bother hesitating. The first thing he did with the money was to rent a bigger apartment in Manhattan.
As his run-down apartment had a risk of being known to the media and paparazzi, and the landlord couldn't be trusted too much, Will simply didn't wish to stay at that place anymore. He had already decided to buy a house when he got the money.
Aside from that, he went to a car seller and bought a car which was named Yundai Sailor, which was simply a copy of the actual Hyundai Equus. It had a luxury look to it and cost him $50k.
Will drove inside the airport and walked towards the waiting area with his new car. Many people were pushing up their luggage and carrying bags. Some couples were kissing, and there were even people holding up signs, waiting for someone.
Seeing that June was nowhere in his sight, he took out his phone and texted her.
[Where are you? I'm at the airport already.]
A reply instantly came back.
[I'm just coming out. Why are you here? I said I can take a taxi.]
[I can't let my girlfriend take a taxi.]
There was no reply after that, and Will wondered if it was because her wifi had suddenly died down. At that moment, a voice called him out.
"Will!"
Raising his head, he saw June coming out with a sliding luggage bag in her hand.
"June!"
Will said a bit loudly, making her gaze fixed on him, her expression lit up like a light bulb.
She immediately ran towards him, with the bag sliding behind her as she checked out from the counter.
Will, who had his arms open, hugged her back tightly as she hugged him.
"I missed you."
She said softly, clinging her arms on his back.
"I missed you too."
He said as he hugged her back, taking the bag from her hands. He kissed her, and they enjoyed the moment together for a while.
Suddenly, Will heard someone shout.
"Isn't that Heather?"
He raised his head up to look at a man wearing a cap pointing at them. At his shout, several people turned to look at them, and many of them recognised June.
"Yeah, she is Heather. Isn't she dead?"
"She's the actress who played Heather. Didn't I tell you that this is a movie and not a real documentary?"
"Should I ask for an autograph?"
"Who's the guy beside her?"
Hearing people look at her and whisper made June confused. She had always craved such type of attention, but when it had happened so suddenly, she didn't know how to react.
"Let's get out of here!"
Will said to her, and after picking up her luggage, they rushed to their car. June didn't even have a chance to be surprised about Will's new car as they drove away from the airport.
"That was intense. I never thought there would be people recognising me."
She said after calming down. Putting a hand on her heart, she could feel it violently beating.
Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.
"Yeah, people have been glancing at me when I go out to buy stuff too. [The Blair Witch Project] is just getting more and more popular, so it can't really be helped."
"I was hearing news about it too. I kept checking the internet and my family was really annoyed. But they were also shocked when we went to watch the movie together."
June said with a happy expression. Will was about to reply to it when his phone suddenly rang.
He took out his phone and saw that it was George. Turning it to the speaker, he opened his mouth.
"George, is it something urgent? I'm driving."
-Yes, it is something urgent. Did June come back from her hometown?
"I'm here. We are driving back to the airport."
June replied in his stead.
-That's good! Drive straight to my office.
"Why?"
-This is something big. Don't ask questions and just drive here. If I answer currently, you will have an accident because of shock.
George said and hung up the call.
Will and June looked at each other, but by the tone of George's voice, they knew it was something urgent.
So, they drove to the Wheel Works studios office.
Reaching the office, Will saw that the crowd and rush around it were way bigger than when he used to come earlier. Without much delay, he went to George's office.
As he knocked, he could see a huge poster of [The Blair Witch Project] stuck on the wall behind his chair, and lots of files and papers arranged neatly in front of his desk from the glass door.
Entering the office, Carl, who was sitting in front of George, stood up to greet the stars with a wide smile. George, too, stood up and shook hands with Will, his face full of smiles.
"Congratulations on the massive success of the movie Will."
George said as Carl congratulated him too.
"It wouldn't be possible without you guys, and don't call it massive just yet. It still hasn't hit its peak just yet."
Will said calmly. George would have called any youngster saying such a thing as arrogant, but Will was a weird case. Whatever he had proclaimed till now, everything has been true.
"What did you call us for? You do know I just landed?"
June asked unhappily, she wanted to spend some time with Will, and then they were abruptly called here.
"Ah…well…ahem."
George coughed embarrassedly as he knew he had disturbed the youths in their reunion, but the matter really was urgent, so he continued.
"You see, we got an invitation from [Night Talks With Tuffin]."
That was all that they needed to hear.
"W-what…?"
June stuttered in disbelief; she couldn't believe what she had heard; even Carl, who was in the room, had an expression of absolute bewilderment. Apparently, even he didn't know what George was calling everyone for.
'It's a bit earlier than expected….but it's finally here!'
Will thought. That he was already expecting this development soon enough in the future, but he never expected the situation would come so early.
[Night Talks With Tuffin] was the most famous talk show in the United States. Its host was the famous Brooks Tuffin. He was a middle-aged comedian and entertainer who had made a name for himself in this worlds' Hollywood.
Appearing in that show would guarantee that your movie would at least reach 2 million people just due to their audience size and popularity.
It wasn't far-fetched to call it the best kind of advertisement and promotion to appear in that show, but of course, such a show only invited a selected few people and had certain standards.
To think that a movie such as [The Blair Witch Project] would cross that standard and some newbie directors and actors would get invited was unheard of.
Soon, George showed the letter of invitation to Will. They had sent both an official letter and an email.
Everyone was happy hearing the news. The invitation was for five people, including Will, June, Marcus, Zach and the distribution company CEO George.
They wanted to capture the show as soon as possible and hence, the appointed time was on Monday, 29th November 2010. And so, George told everyone that they would be leaving tomorrow if Will agreed, to which he agreed obviously for many reasons.
The next day, everyone was ready to go to Chicago, the place where the talk show would take place. They all got in one car equivalent to Land Rover Range Rover from Will's previous life and reached Los Angeles International Airport.
They would take a luxury class flight to Chicago, arranged by the talk show team.
As everyone showed their boarding passes and entered the Aeroplane, Will also sat down on his seat, which was just beside Junes'.
Will had rented a top-end tuxedo just for the show. As it would still be a while till he gets his share from the box office income, he could only rent and borrow expensive clothes.
"It's our time to shine lad; this is the break that will turn you into a real star. People haven't really seen you yet; this would show you on the screens for the first time."
George said while laughing heartily. Will, who heard this, couldn't help but gulp.
He had always tried to act mature and self hypnotised himself to success, but the idea of getting on screens made him somewhat nervous. His nervousness only lasted a minute as June tightly grabbed his hand and smiled at him, making him chuckle at himself.
As the nervousness died down, anticipation and excitement took over.
"Damn man, you really carried us so far…."
"My family is so happy these days that they always talk about dying happily. I can't believe I'm going to be in [Night Talks With Tuffin]."
Marcus and Zach said excitedly as they chatted with George and June.
June, who heard this, couldn't help but get emotional as tears threatened to break out from her eyes.
"I…I really can't believe how much my life has changed. I would still be struggling to get a single supporting role if it weren't for you."
She looked at Will with teary and grateful eyes.
Will just took her hand and kissed her warmly.
"Always remember, whatever heights you reach, you deserved it."
After that, they just had a small chat and decided to take a nap since it'd take time to reach their destination.
***
Preparations for the talk show with Brooks Tuffin and the [The Blair Witch Project] cast was going on a boom.
Brooks Tuffin, the entrepreneur behind such a famous talk show, had himself watched the movie and was very impressed with the person 'Will Evans'.
As the movie's ongoing popularity was still on a massive rise, he decided to call the movie cast to his show, as it would be a win-win situation for both himself and [The Blair Witch Project]. He would even meet up with Will Evans, so it was a win-win for him.