Note: Hello. I apologize for the delay in updating, I started this story with too much faith in myself (I don't understand how those authors who publish a chapter daily without using AI do it, but my respects to them) and unfortunately, I am not one of those writing experts who can update daily. Even so, I hope to upload a chapter at least 3 times a week. Enjoy the reading (remember there are questions for you at the end of each chapter).
....
In just a few seconds, William went up the stairs and reached the room at the end of the hall whose window faced directly onto the patio of his house. Without time to waste, he opened the window. The cold wind of the early morning, still tinged with dark blue, refreshed his face as he slid through the frame.
'In moments like this is when I appreciate that this kid was a parkour practitioner,' he thought, while with the muscle memory of someone who has repeated the route dozens of times, he jumped.
It was an easy move for someone with his experience: from the window to the roof of the back porch, then, from a corner of the roof, another clean jump landing directly onto the grass damp with the night's dew.
"That was easier than the last time," he murmured to himself, but in the silence of the night, his words were heard.
"If it weren't because it's the only way to save time on paperwork..." behind him, he felt a frustrated voice that penetrated his ears.
Will turned around with a cheeky smile. Just two meters away, hidden behind the shadow of a leafy willow tree, was the intruder, or rather, one of his most frequent nocturnal visitors.
"Every time I see you jump like that, I convince myself that in your past life, you were a cat or a jewel thief," commented the familiar voice of...
In front of him, wearing a slightly oversized jacket and with blonde hair somewhat messy from the wind, was Greta Gerwig. She was, and remained after he took control of the body, one of his childhood friends and a companion in cinematic dreams, even coinciding in Film and Theater school for a couple of years until Will graduated a year early and then fell from grace.
'Life always gives you surprises,' were Will's thoughts every time he saw her, since in his past life he was never especially a fan of this woman's career, and yet, in this life, she was one of the women who never held back in giving him a scolding and pulling his ears like a naughty child.
"This visiting schedule is shit, I had already told you, right?" she joked, getting closer. In Greta's eyes, there was a mixture of amusement and reproach that she could never hide.
It was well known by William, thanks to his memories and subsequent conversations, that she had been very worried and angry with him because of the whole situation with illegal substances. Greta had advised, scolded, and cared for him many times, but he never paid much attention to her; hence that "hidden" tone of reproach in her voice that, as a good woman and friend, she would never stop having when talking about anything related to the topic.
"It is a privilege that not everyone has, you know I am a busy man, Greta," William responded, going along with the joke as he approached to give her a hug that she reciprocated with strength.
The truth is that William felt very privileged to have a new life so well-rounded, but beyond the blessings and opportunities, what he loved the most—even if he would never admit it—were the great friendships he had from the second he woke up.
Will's previous life was too lonely and full of interests; while the destiny he intended to reach was also plagued with the same, at least already having several hands to hold beforehand was a blessing in itself.
"I hate having to enter here like an infiltrated criminal but..." she said with her face on his chest while they shared the hug.
"If I use the legal entrance, your supervising officers would have me signing approval documents all day, it's ridiculous," she finished the sentence while separating herself enough to look him in the eyes.
"It's the style of my security guards; many fans lately have tried to enter without prior authorization, it never ends well for them," William defended himself.
"Hahaha, yeah right. Come on, I need to sit for a while," she laughed sincerely and then guided them a couple of steps to the blind spot where there were already two smooth rocks on the ground, making it clear that it wasn't the first time they had done this.
William helped her sit first and then she made a patting gesture on the rock for him to sit by her side. Will sat down with great agility and, without any shame, pulled her into his comfortable embrace just as they did when they were children.
'I'm very glad this life fell to me,' he thought while admiring the last stars of the night that was fading away.
Both remained in silence for a moment, enjoying the complicity until Greta took out of her bag a couple of books that William had gifted her weeks ago.
"I have finished reading them," she said, with a more serious tone. "'Gone Girl' is... fascinating and a bit disturbing in its concept. It's scary to think that women like that surely exist in real life, I'm not surprised it's causing such a stir, it's another one of your masterpieces."
"Thank you for your words, although I should be angry that you haven't read it until now, that was my first novel," Will commented with feigned pain while resting his head against hers.
"I am very busy because of someone who is too close right now," Greta responded with a soft elbow to Will's ribs, forcing him to move away.
"Hahaha, come on, come on, what do you mean my fault? I am a ray of sunshine," he laughed cheerfully while raising his hands in a sign of surrender.
"I know 'Gone Girl' is very good, I wrote it," Will didn't even bother to hide his narcissistic tone, but that wasn't all, "but tell me what you think of the other work of art in your hands."
Instead of answering, Greta arched an eyebrow at her friend's narcissism. She knew it was feigned, but every time it was harder for her to distinguish when he was acting or not. In the end, she could only sigh in defeat and hand the other book into William's outstretched hand.
"Haaaa, you are impossible... Yes, 'Gone Girl' is very good but... this one... 'The Fault in Our Stars' is simply one of my favorite works in all of history. You made me cry twice; it is beautiful, tragic, and so real that it hurts."
And it was no wonder. If there was something Will remembered well, despite not being a faithful follower of her career, it was that Greta was a lover of these types of romantic drama stories, full of messages and with female protagonists with certain character and attitudes towards life.
'The Fault in Our Stars' was a story precisely about that: the message of how we use the time we have, the desire to leave a legacy in this world, loss, fear or courage in the face of death and romance, love, and how it affects our lives when we know it.
"The truth is that I don't know where you get ideas for all these stories, I know you have lived a lot in little time but this... this is simply another level," Greta's thoughts flowed from her mouth without containment while looking William in the eyes.
"Greta, the truth is that I think so many drugs left me in the world of..." before William could finish his joke, a strong blow to the head just above the neck silenced him.
"We don't joke about those things, William!" she sentenced, looking at the bewildered Will who looked at her with eyes demanding an explanation for the hit.
Greta didn't stop hitting him with her gaze several times; if someone entered her mind at this moment, they would probably be surprised to see the ideas she had to correct that shameless attitude of her childhood friend.
He, far from being annoyed, wiped the expression of astonishment and painted a smile on his lips. He didn't want to joke, but he could never fully control himself, and that was fine; it made things more interesting in life.
"Okay mom, I'm sorry," he apologized without much sincerity, pulling Greta back into his embrace. "You know, I want you to direct it in the future, you have that necessary sensitivity for these types of stories."
"I guessed that, I know you too well Mr. Ellison. You dedicated it to me and signed it just like the previous book that would become a movie, that is the reason why I didn't hit your head harder," Greta sighed, resting her head on William's shoulder while speaking. "And I would love to direct it without a doubt, but for that, I need 'Juno' to be a success, and things on set are being difficult."
"I know you never doubted my story even once, so... Problems with the studio?" he asked, hardening his expression while looking her in the eyes.
William had given her that script specifically to be her letter of introduction to the world. The moment William analyzed his situation and his goals after waking up, 'Juno' was one of the first works he copied, all with the goal of Greta debuting as a director, but of course also to earn a name for himself as a recognized Screenwriter as well as a writer.
William even had to convince his brother to intervene with Paramount and with his own investment so that this successful movie would reach the world under his name and Greta's. That the studio was sticking its fingers in where they shouldn't wasn't something that made him happy.
"It's the producers, Will. They think because I'm young and inexperienced I don't know what I want. They are interfering in everything; they did it with the casting, understandable, but also in the pacing of the scenes and they even wanted to change many dialogues. I feel like they are taking the movie out of my hands," she confessed with frustration.
This script covered the story of the early pregnancy of the teenager Juno MacGuff, the situation she found herself in with her family and her "boyfriend" regarding this situation, as well as her own feelings, desires, and responsibilities that brought this new reality.
Will knew that the movie had been a success both in box office and critics despite the delicate subject it dealt with related to teenagers and early pregnancies. So much was its success that in his original world it even won the Oscar for Best Original Screenplay, so if everything went well for Will and Greta, debuting in Hollywood, not only as a writer but as a young screenwriter recognized by the Academy, was not a distant dream; the plan was nothing less than perfect from his point of view. For this reason, instead of believing himself the smartest of writers, he copied the Story of this movie in detail; every shot suggestion and dialogue spoken by the actors was coldly copied and calculated, without flaws.
'This is a serious matter, under no circumstances should there be changes in the script and much less by random people whom I haven't even met in person.' It would be a catastrophe if someone unqualified stuck their fingers into his easy ticket to Hollywood stardom.
William burned with determination from the moment he learned of this situation; it was necessary to intervene quickly one way or another. Without letting his true emotions show too much, he took Greta's hand, squeezing it firmly.
"Listen to me well, Greta. That script is yours to direct because I decided it would be so. Do not let those men in suits kill the soul of the story."
"If they pressure too much, remind them that the legal authorship is ironclad, I will also speak with my brother and my lawyer to pressure on their end... I don't like owing another favor but anything for our future," at William's words she could only sigh and force herself to calm her nerves, thinking and believing every one of her friend's words. She knew his family background well, but she didn't like him getting into debt with them because of her.
"Listen girl, I know what you're thinking. If it makes you feel better I will tell you the same thing as the previous time, this is not just for you, it is my ticket to be taken seriously when I get out of here without having to waste valuable time impressing production companies at least in terms of writing projects," Will reminded her while taking her face to force her to look him in the eyes.
"As soon as I get out of here, we will have our own strength so that no one ever tells you how to direct or me how to write again," Will sentenced, closing the topic by kissing Greta's forehead and wrapping her back in his hug.
Silence followed them when she nodded and returned her gaze to the sky; the early morning began to leave, giving way to sunrise, time to end the visit to her favorite person in the whole world. Greta took the books back and put them in her bag, then said no more.
The silence lasted a while longer and when the first rays of sun began to dye the sky orange, Greta separated and looked at William asking for help with her eyes to stand up.
"I must go before Officer Robert appears with his coffee and his bad mood," she said, giving him a quick kiss on the cheek. "Take care, Will. Two more months and we can go for a walk on the beach."
"Yes, just two more months and our reign in Hollywood will begin, Miss Gerwig," with one last sentence Will said goodbye with a smile while watching her leave.
"I am sure 'Juno' will be a success, Greta can handle it, even so, I am very glad to have had so much planning time," he murmured while turning around to climb back up to the room.
"Now that the good friend left calmer, let's return to our solitary writing, I hope the next visit doesn't take too long, I'm starting to get bored of just writing books and playing with the computer," he said finally closing the window behind him.
....
Note: Is Greta's character okay? I thought of her only as a friend and director but if you want her to join as well just say "yes Greta".
Note: The introduction will be brief, the other part of this chapter and maybe two more before going out into the world and starting seriously with his career in Hollywood beyond the mentions of his books. I want to do the "premiere" scenes of each movie well, that's why I don't go into many details every time he goes to write something, it will be enough with the recording scenes and I don't want to be too repetitive with the same thing.
Note: This chapter was going to be longer but I didn't quite convince myself. Tomorrow I will review it again and if I don't have to rewrite completely, tomorrow there is an update too.