Isabelle smiled, watching as he side stepped over to her side and smiled bashfully as he raised his brown stuffed bear for all to see.
"A bear. Like Kenai, from Brother Bear." He said quietly, mentioning the animated movie which he loved so much so.
"It certainly looks like him." She ruffled his already messy dark brown hair, she made a note to wash his teddy bear when they got home."High five!"
Noah happily gave her a high five and then asked. "Can we get cotton candy or candy apples or popcorn?"
"Slow down, let's stick to one thing at a time, Noey."
"Yes, I had a ton of fun. Thank you, Ethan" Noah said politely from his place in his carseat and smiled softly as he rubbed an eye tiredly.
Isabelle strapped herself in and watched him through the rearview mirror pleased. "Yes, thank you, Ethan. We had so much fun with you and Bianca both." She smiled at the seven year old through the mirror.
It was the most fun they had out in a while. And most of it, if not all, was because of Ethan and Bianca.
"You're very welcome," said Ethan happily. He was pleased to have made Isabelle and her son happy -- especially after what he had learned about Noah's father. That knowledge made him sad, but he repressed it.
He parked out in front of Isabelle's house and got out of the car to help little Noah out of his carseat.
"I'll see you tomorrow," he said to her with a smile. "Thanks for coming today. We had fun, too."
After all the time it took to film the season, she had never felt so satisfied about anything being completed. And at the same time she was sad to see it come to an end. Working on the set of her favorite show, with her favorite actors and actresses and getting to perform with them all, with Ethan Carstairs. She couldn't have been happier.
And seeing the work they filmed come to an end, it was beautiful. Of course, she died. Well, Grace did anyway, axed by her sister wife. And despite it being a sad end for her, she had to admit she loved acting out that scene the most.
Though, currently she was more focused on not tripping over herself out of excitement and nervous as she walked onto the carpet for the premiere. It felt so unreal, but she sobered up to keep going forward, one foot in front of the other in her long chiffon black dress. She joined the others for their pictures to be taken.
Another amazing season, come to an end. Ethan had had so much fun filming with his closest friends and Isabelle, whom he had grown a lot closer to over the past few months.
He stood on the red carpet with his castmates and directors, and he put an arm around Isabelle's waist and smiled for the cameras so their pictures could be taken.
"Ethan!" called a reporter as they broke apart. "Did you prefer this season or Murder House?"
"I'll have to say, Murder House will always be my favourite," Ethan admitted.
"Isabelle! Is it true you're dating Ethan Carstairs?"
"Absolutely not." Isabelle chuckled softly and shrugged a shoulder. "We're friends." She elaborated, waving the rumor off.
The question embarrassed her, but she didn't let it show.
However, she supposed she could see how that rumor came to a beginning. The had gone grown close over the time, closer than she thought they would. And had hung out a lot over the time.
"Just friends." She smiled, putting it to rest.
Ethan put his hand on Isabelle's waist and steered her away. "You handled that well, you're basically already a pro," he remarked, directing her into the theatre.
They would be watching the first episode of Asylum for the premiere then attend a small afterparty. This wasn't a new thing for Ethan, but it was for Isabelle so he wanted to make sure she was having a good time.
He handed her a small glass of champagne as they settled into their seats.
Isabelle couldn't help her smile from frowning a little more from his compliment. She certainly didn't feel like professional nor was she, but it was encouraging as well as pleasing to hear him say so. And that was a fact.
"Thank you."
She sipped on her bubbly drink, watching the episode start. It was excessively and obviously different than watching it at home from her couch. Besides the environmental difference, it was strange watching each character after truly meeting them, and even stranger watching herself. At the same time, it only impressed her more his great of actors and actresses they all were.
When the lights were on again, she rose from her seat just the same as everyone to clap. And yet, it was the after party that she enjoyed the most.
"How much do you usually drink at these parties?" She asked Ethan from his side. Of course, she was only on her second and that was including the champagne she had earlier.
Ethan had loved and adored the first episode, and judging by the reactions of the people who had been invited, they had loved it, too. He was pleased, as he and a lot of other people had worked so hard to make this season just as amazing as Murder House, even though that was an impossible feat.
"Not much," said Ethan, sipping his drink. "You really can't afford to get wasted in public." The press would have a field day.
Out of the corner if his eye he spotted his good friend Jace Lesecki and waved him and his girlfriend Embry over. "Guys, this is Isabelle King. Isabelle, this is Jace Lesecki and Embry Ashford."
Isabelle set her empty glass on a near by table and took reached out her hand. "It is so nice to meet you." She greeted them both, honestly. It never crossed her mind they'd be here. Her mind was more focused on other things she supposed, but now she was thrilled.
They appeared even better in person.
"You're the one on the screen." Embry smiled pleasingly, taking her hand and shaking it. "It's nice to meet you too, Isabelle."
"I take it you guys enjoyed the first episode then?" She grinned.
"Yep," said Jace happily, shaking Isabelle's hand after Embry. "It was fantastic. And it's lovely to meet you, Miss King."
"Hey, now, no flirting with your fiancee right beside you," Ethan smirked jokingly, nudging Jace in the side with his elbow. Jace just snickered. After some small talk, they left.
"So have Ryan and Brad talked to you about next season?" Ethan inquired. "I mean, I know they haven't written anything yet but usually they talk to the cast members and confirm who's willing to come back."
"If that's how they do it, no. They haven't exactly sat me down or anything yet." Isabelle shrugged a shoulder slowly, pondering over it.
"Unless they talk to you this late in, I guess I may not come back." She concluded after a pause. The idea saddened her a little, but she didn't let that show.
"I hope they do anyway."
"Don't worry about it," Ethan said, rubbing her arm soothingly as they sat down. "They haven't spoken to be yet, either. The only person I know they've spoken to is Leanna because they want her to have some kind of lead role next season."
He shrugged. "They'll see you, don't worry. You were great this season and they'd be mad to not bring you back."
He took a couple of vegetable tarts from a passing waiter and gave Isabelle one of them. "But in the meantime, you can try out for other roles."
"I was thinking I'd do that." Isabelle admitted thoughtfully, crossing her long legs. "I was looking at potential roles to audition for."
"I know I'll have a better shot at earning one after being part if this production." That was the truth. This whole season was practically her debut even with her character being a supporting one, it was still important.
"Do you have any other roles until the next season?"
"Ah, yes. Law and Order." Isabelle murmured underneath her breath."Maybe I will."
"My father loves it, binges on the show all the time." She reflected, smiling as she thought of her father, Henry King. She loved her father dearly, it was clear to see with how warmly she talked of him. "He had gotten super overprotective at one point after watching so much."
"Which reminds me, I have to make sure he doesn't watch the sex scene. It would be sort of awkward to let him see that."
Ethan chuckled and nodded his head in agreement. "Yeah," he said. "You might want to steer him away from that particular scene. I don't want to receive death threats."
Ethan's own parents were deceased, so he didn't need to worry about it.
"If he ever watches it, please tell him that I am a decent young man with honourable intentions where his daughter is concerned," he said. "You might want to add that I have my own daughter and I completely understand his predicament."
"Duly noted. I will make sure the message gets across clearly." Isabelle giggled, with a roll of her eyes. "I can't very well have him threatening my favorite actor. And friend."
She tilted her head and laid her shin in her hand,"Outside of that, he'd like you. You're a really sweet person. And I'm not saying that just to be nice."
She smiled at Ethan warmly, "With you there, looking out for me, it made things a lot easier."
Ethan gave Isabelle a broad, genuine smile. He was truly happy that she was happy, that he had been able to help her through the rough transition into professional acting. All he had ever wanted was for Isabelle to feel comfortable with him and in the industry, and he had succeeded.
"I'm just glad I was able to help you," he told her with a soft smile, reaching out and squeezing her hand. "I didn't have anyone there to help me."
No, for males, no one in the industry cared about their feelings. They were not provided moral support when filming tough scenes, they were not provided with mentors or friendships or anything else.
Ethan had just wanted to make sure Isabelle never felt the same way he had.
