Disclaimers: This is a work of fiction. Any similarities between the characters in this story and real people (appearances, names, etc.) are purely coincidental. This story may contain homosexual material, including love and sex, so if material like this is illegal in your region or if it discomforts you, please leave.
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Fourteen Months Later...
"Will Ember, the twenty-one-year-old actor who is relatively new to the acting biz, has confirmed that he is in fact gay via Twitter just this morning," Joslyn Davis reported.
Ryland Adams joined in, "So he has, Joslyn. You may recognize the young actor from his works in 'Supernatural', 'Grey's Anatomy', 'Lullaby' alongside MacKenzie Foy, his recurring role in 'The Big Bang Theory' last year, and, most recently, in Warner Brother's upcoming romance 'Klein's Heart' opposite Willow Shields' titular character. Will has also been frequently starring in Nick Manon's social media posts, which are the sparks that started the rumours of his sexuality."
Joslyn then reported with amusement, "Will's Tweet was concise and to the point, and even a little saucy. The Tweet, a response to gossip blogger Perez Hilton's Tweet questioning Will's sexuality and his secrecy of it, reads, 'I didn't know that I was keeping my sexuality a secret. I've always been out. I go on dates with my boyfriend. I friggin hold his hand out in public. My sexuality wasn't even a topic for discussion by the public until now. @perezhilton, I have nothing to hide.' Perez Hilton has yet to respond to that."
"Really?" Ryland asked, intrigued. "Perez hasn't responded?"
Joslyn shook her head and answered, "Nope. Which is surprising, right?"
Twenty-Nine Months Later...
"You don't have to be nervous," Nick told Will gently when limousine came to a halt.
"Ugh," Will groaned and laid his head back against the backrest. "I'll never get used to this."
Nick gave Will's hand a firm squeeze as he replied, "You will. I know you will. This is only your fifth red carpet event. Dylan O'Brien was nervous about red carpet events, too, ya know. Now let's get going. The faster we get out, the faster we get into the theatre. C'mon. You'll do great. You always do."
Will, thankful for the support, leaned sideways and delivered a chaste kiss to Nick's cheek. The door then opened, the driver having opened it. So Will got out first, camera flashes immediately blinding him momentarily. The flashes increased triply when Nick got out, too, and grabbed Will's hand.
"Will!" "Will!" "Will!"
Fan after fan screamed Will's name. It made Will blush and smile softly. He dragged Nick along as he approached the fence.
"Hey!" Will said bright to the teen girl as he signed paper in her hand, which was a promotional photo of himself and Olivia Rose Keegan, the two main stars of 'You', the film he was at the premiere for.
"Will! Oh my god, Will!" the girl gushed. "I love you!"
Will giggled with a hot blush as he handed the photo back to the girl and offered a small, "Thanks."
"Mind if I take a photo?" she begged.
"Better make it a selfie," Will replied.
That's how Will greeted the dozens and dozens of fans. He signed papers, photos, clothing, hats, and a baseball glove that a girl said was a replica from a film in which he had a role in called 'The Gamble'. He also allowed any fan, which was all of them, to take selfies with him. Amidst all of that, the camera flashes from the media did not waver.
After signing a baseball cap for the last fan along the fence, Will once again grasped Nick's hand. Nick smiled as he pressed a firm kiss to Will's temple.
"Entertainment Tonight beckons you, my love," Nick told the blonde dramatically, to which Will giggled.
Brooke Anderson smiled brightly as Will approached. Nick released Will's hand and stepped off to the side, off camera to leave Will to be interviewed.
"Hello, Will!" Brooke greeted the young man brightly. "How are you feeling tonight?"
"I'm doing really well," Will answered the reporter with a big smile. But he then dropped the smile dramatically and amended, "Actually, Brooke, I'm pretty nervous. Like, really nervous. I'm talking 'turkey at Thanksgiving' kind of nervous. Oh god, here come the bad jokes caused by nerves. Brooke, I am sorry. So, so sorry for subjecting you to that."
Brooke laughed genuinely. At what, whether it was the joke or Will's acting, Will didn't know.
"You are hilarious, Will," Brooke said into the microphone.
"I like to think so," Will said with a shrug. "In all seriousness, though, I am feeling fantastic. I've been stateside for a few days, enjoying my time with my boyfriend, and honoured to be here at the premiere of 'You'."
"Mm, good to hear. Do you have plans to make Los Angeles your home? Maybe cozy up with Nick Manon permanently? You two have been dating long distance for, what, three years?"
"Three years and ten months, eleven days, actually. But who's keeping count? But no plans to move to the states. Nick and I have talked about living together, making our living arrangements one in the same. I don't wanna leave Victoria just yet, I love it there. I've tried to convince Nick to move up with me, he wants to remain here in LA where he can work conveniently, but he can do his work from Victoria. We're both too stubborn."
Smiling, teasingly so, Will threw a wink to Nick. Will watched as Nick blushed slightly and looked down, finding his feet suddenly so interesting.
"Aww, that's what makes you guys so cute!" Brooke gushed. "Now there are talks about you and Austin Butler being considered for the role of Gregory Alston in the incredible and terrifying true story about said man and his killing spree of vengeance. What can you tell me about that?"
"Yeah," Will agreed nervously. "Well, MGM is calling the film 'Fissure' due to the titular character's mental disorder. And I got the part. Yeah, I know! I'm excited, too! I just signed the contract this morning, after three auditions, and meetings with Mark Burnett and Sam Raimi, and contract negotiations."
Brooke brought the microphone back to her and enthused, "That's great for you! Are you at all nervous? I mean, you're well known for your romance and drama with some action roles, but are now going to be portraying a character that is dark and horrific. Are you nervous about that?"
"Oh yeah," Will answered easily with a soft laugh. "I haven't become bored with acting in the romance and drama genres, but I've done those quite often. A few months ago, I think back in October, I asked Casey to- Casey Jacobs, my agent, to try securing a role in something that would really challenge me. She had no idea what that exactly meant, and neither did I. So it was month after month turning down script after script. As a new actor, I shouldn't be so picky with roles, right? But I know what I want to work on and what I don't want to work on. But yes, I'm nervous about 'Fissure'. Will I be able to portray the man appropriately? Will I have the correct behaviour? Will Burnett and Raimi and MGM be happy with my performance? That's stuff that I'm always on edge about in any role, but more so with this one because it's a new genre for me and demands a whole new set of skills."
"I'm sure you will be great in 'Fissure'," Brooke said sincerely. "Now back to 'You', tell me about your character Dean Edmond. Do you that you and him have any similarities? Differences?"
"Mm, similarities," Will began, thinking. "Well, Dean and I are very caring with friends, and especially with our significant others. We both have such deep feelings, and we aren't afraid to show affection. We are also alike in that there are is only one thing we value most above all else; education. Dean is on the fast track to getting a scholarship to med school while working to support his pregnant girlfriend. And I myself have a year left of college until I get my degree in Child and Youth Care."
"And differences?"
"Well, Dean loves to sing. Absolutely adores the habit. He dreams that he could make a career out of it. I don't. I sing to unwind, and to appease Nick when he asks. Another difference between us is sports. Dean plays basketball and football, which I was terrible at and damned near gave up this role when Kyle Palmer was teaching me to play. I'm more into swimming, and baseball, and gymnastics."
"What was the biggest challenge in playing this character?"
"It was--"
"Hey, Will," Olivia Keegan greeted kindly as she touched his lower back.
Will immediately turned to the side where the young woman stood and greeted her back with a smile.
Brooke immediately asked, "Olivia, mind if we interview you in a minute?"
Olivia smiled at the reporter and answered, "Sure. I'll come back after The Insider, okay?"
Olivia then stood on her toes, and her and Will exchanged kisses to the cheek.
Brooke then commented, "You two seem to be good friends."
"Well yeah. We worked together for four months playing characters in a romantic relationship. She's a great woman and a fantastic actor."
"So, biggest challenge?"
"Right. Other than the sports, the biggest challenge for me in playing Dean was the love scene. I've only done one other love scene in the past, and it seems to be something that I'll never get used to. Even wearing a- a modesty pouch is unnerving, and I wore a speedo at swim meets with fifty to seventy people in the stands. I guess it's being that exposed in a studio where forty people are watching you and you're being filmed. Or maybe I'm just a prude. Olivia made the whole experience not so terrible, even though she wasn't exactly comfortable as well. I can't tell you how many takes we had to do because Olivia and I laughed every so often. Once, we were almost done the scene, and the wretched blanket slid off my- uhh- my backside."
"Ohh-oh, my," Brooke laughed. "Hope you didn't have to do the take all over again."
"Meh, we did," Will said with a shrug. "Because Chris hates us. Or maybe because he's a perfectionist. Not really sure."
"Hard to be sure," Brooke laughed. "Now, without giving anything away, what is your favourite line from 'You'?"
Smiling, Will answered, "Easy. 'Right now it's pretty crazy and I don't know how to stop or slow it down.' Those that read the book will know who says that line. It's beautiful and affectionate in its own way and longing. You can feel the yearning and the pain behind the words. It- uhh- it made me emotional."
"It made us all a little heavy with feelings," Brooke said in agreement. "Last question. Who are you wearing tonight?"
"Umm, I don't- Nick, who am I wearing again? Is this the Givenchy?"
Amused, and smiling, Nick answered, "No, that's the Armani. You remember? The Givenchy didn't hug your butt tight enough?"
Brooke let out a boisterous laugh at the same time that Will let out one of embarrassment.
Will almost never watched the films in which he'd acted. He found it discomforting, and weird. At film premieres, Will kept the backlight of his phone screen as dim as possible and scrolled through his various social media applications. Nick hated it, but he did understand how Will felt.
Will and Nick walked to their friends on the Santa Monica Beach holding hands. Will could see a man with a camera and a giant lens pointing at them. It always irked Will, being in the public and media's eyes. He knew that if he did become well-known that the paparazzi would annoy him.
Will tossed his backpack down on the sand beside Denise Montgomery and said, "Yo, yo, yooo!"
Denise and her boyfriend Garett Neil smiled in amusement and said their greetings.
Patrick Schwarts said animatedly, "Flava flaaave! In da hiz house!"
Allison asked, "How was the premiere last night?"
Resigned, Will replied, "It was fine," as he peeled his tank off his body.
When Will slid his denim shorts down and exposed his swimsuit, Allison and Denise both whistled in appreciation and amusement. Will smirked as he hooked his thumbs in the bottom of his red speedo and adjusted it, letting the nylon fabric smack against his pert butt.
"Whoop!" Iris Bankford cheered. "Nick's got a matching speedo!"
Indeed Nick had. Though, his was baby blue. He teasingly smacked his own ass lightly before he spread his towel on the sand and laid down.
Garett asked, "How was the premiere? Really?"
Lying down on his stomach, Will answered, "Well, I'll never get used to interviews. Other than that, it was great. Chatted with some fans, took some selfies with them."
"You did great," Allison assured Will. "Saw the interview on ET Online last night. You were entertaining and insightful. I think you should do more interviews. Seriously. You may be all nerves inside, but outside, you're calm and collected."
About forty minutes later Allison shouted in annoyance, "Hey, Will! We made TMZ!"
"Yeah?" Will shouted back as he threw the football to Patrick. "What're they saying?"
"Headline says, 'Allison Kellard & Will J. Ember Sighted At Santa Monica Beach'! They have photos! You're pretty damn hot in these!"
Will left Garett and Patrick to tossing ball to run back over to his friends. He dug his phone out of the pocket of his shorts, and opened the TMZ application.
"Oh, my god," Will lamented. "I've been here, what, an hour? And it's already made the news!"
There were a dozen photos posted on TMZ's website. The four photos of Will depicted him lying down to sunbathe, cuddling with Nick in the shade of an umbrella, and tossing the football. All in his skimpy speedo.
Sounding bored, Allison offered, "You knew what you were getting into when you started acting. You've been in the news before. Get used to it, kid."
"Stop calling me that!" Will said with a laugh. "I'm older than you!"
"By a month!" Allison laughed as well. "Women are mentally older than men anyway."
"Says the girl that still watches 'Winnie the Pooh and Christmas Too' every holiday season!"
Allison shot up into a sitting position and fired back, "Hey! You're right there with me on that one, kid!"
Will was about to give a snarky retort but his phone vibrated with a new notification. He looked down at his phone again. At the top of the screen was a Facebook notification that read, 'Nick P. Manon has sent you a relationship request.'
This confused Will, as he had sent Nick a similar request stating that they were dating two months into their relationship. So Will tapped the notification, opening the Facebook application.
'Nick P. Manon says that you got engaged on May 30, 2022.'
"That's today," Will stated, royally confused.
Will sat on his knees and turned to look at Nick. The sight before hitched his breath, and caused his heart to leap out of his chest. Nick knelt on one knee, a gorgeous little black box in his hand.
While opening the clamshell style box, Nick emotionally said, "William Josiah Ember, you are the reason that I smile every single day.
Allowing the tears to fall from his gorgeous blue eyes, Will breathed, "Nick..."
"Even when we aren't in the same city, even when you're not in my arms. No matter our fights or arguments, you fill my heart with immense joy. Will you let me do the same for you? Will you forever be mine? Will you marry me?"
Will had to swallow thickly, for he didn't trust his voice due to the high emotions. But he smiled at Nick through his silent tears before he said quietly, "Y-yes. Yes. A thousand times yes."
Grinning happily, Nick gave Will a lingering kiss. Afterward, Nick removed the silver ring from the box, and meaningfully slid the band onto Will's left ring finger.
Will laughed softly as another tear fell from his eye. He looked down at the thick silver band, and at the line of ten diamonds in the middle. Still crying silently, Will leaned forward, pressing his forehead to Nick's.
Oh, my god," Will said, trying not to cry. "I'm engaged."
Nick laughed softly in his own tears and kissed Will's cheek.
"I'm engaged," Will once again said softly. "I'm gonna be yours."
Nick caressed his thumb on Will's cheek as he whispered, "You were already mine. And I'll always be yours."
"Oh, my god, guys!" Will said loudly. Excitedly, as he turned to face their friends. "I'm engaged! I'm gonna get married!"
Allison, who had been recording a video on her phone, put it down. She squealed in excitement while going in for a hug. Denise, who had been recording a video as well, also put her phone down and grabbed Nick into a tight hug. Garett and Patrick walked back to the group, offering both newly engaged men handshake-hugs.
Will walked on his knees back to Nick and hugged, "I love you so much."
Nick gave Will a chaste kiss wearing a smile, and replied, "I love you more."
Just over a half hour later, Allison laughed loudly and said, "TMZ has another story! 'Will J. Ember Engaged to Long-Distance Boyfriend'! They have photos and everything!"
"Oh, my god!" Will groused, still using Nick's arm as a pillow.
Allison read the article, "'Will J. Ember, famous actor and supporter of cancer research, who was spotted at Santa Monica Beach earlier today, is engaged! Nikolai Manon, who has been dating the Canadian blonde bombshell for just under four years, is seen here on one knee proposing with a ring in his hand. Is it likely, telling by the photos below, that Ember accepted the proposal. And it is confirmed by the pair's individual Facebook profiles as their relationship statuses have changed from In A Relationship to Engaged. Now here at TMZ we have two questions; where did Nick get the ring? And who will make the final move and relocate? Or will both relocate? Stay tuned.' Not even an hour into your engagement and it's already in the tabloids."
"Goddamn vultures," Nick groused quietly. "I haven't even called my parents yet."
"You're totally moving to Victoria, you know," Will stated, voice flat.
"What?" Nick said in shock.
"I'm not moving," Will elaborated, finality and confidence exuding from his pores.
To Be Continued...
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