Author's note: Thank you for reading and supporting the story. I hope everyone enjoys this chapter and that I was able to do Hunt justice. I was really nervous about writing him, so please give me your feedback on his POV. I'll be replying to your reviews at the end of the chapter!

PS: I also shared my fancast for some of the characters down there, so say if you agree or tell me your fancast!

Thomas didn't know what to expect at his first class since his dinner party. The things he had said to Isabelle were still haunting him, even if he knew he had done the right thing. However, in that moment, standing in the lecture hall and looking at her empty seat, he wondered if he had actually made a mistake.

He shook any thoughts of Isabelle away and looked at the class. "Today, we'll take a look into–"

The door slamming open and a girl with black and blue ombre hair hurrying to get inside stopped him. The students shifted their gaze from her to Thomas, expecting him to say something. But he wasn't going to, he couldn't bring himself to. There were many things he wanted to say to Isabelle, but none of them could be said there.

She took a seat next to Addison and Ethan and the blonde girl squeezed her hand under the table, probably for support. Isabelle shot her a faint smile.

He cleared his throat. "As I was saying, we'll take a look into the world of romance movies. What makes romance believable on screen? Is it a good script or the real chemistry between the actors?"

Thomas looked at Isabelle and she turned her face; he could still see the same hurt in her eyes that she had only two days before. It killed him to know that it was his entire fault. If only he could… No.

He looked away. "In fact, let me ask you: what is love?"

He felt wrong. Asking that when Isabelle was there, clearly hurt and wanting nothing to do with love, was awful. He was merely doing his job, a lecture that he had planned weeks before, but it didn't make him feel any less like a jerk. A girl in the front row raised her hand and Thomas gestured that she could speak.

"I think that love is a crazy thing. It makes you do things you thought you never would. It's strong and beautiful." The girl smiled, lost in thought, but quickly coming back to reality. "That is, if you have real love and you're loved back. If not, love can be pretty bad."

Thomas raised his eyebrows in surprise. What started as a lovesick answer ended in a very real statement that he could agree with. Isabelle apparently heard the words clearly, as she was looking down and her friend appeared to be holding her hand tighter.

"You're right. In that sense, what qualifies as real love? What we see on the movies most of the time is what's called fake love. The atmosphere created makes you think that what you're seeing is in fact love, when most of the time it's just a rushed, unrealistic portrait of it." Thomas looked at Isabelle again. No, he had to stop doing that. He focused on his words again. "Real love is a rare thing. You'll probably never find it in your life, because you're consumed with the idea that real love is like something out of a movie. You'll idealize someone and then be disappointed when they're not what you created. That's why today your assignment is to–"

"You're wrong." Thomas closed his eyes as he turned around, knowing exactly whose voice it was. Isabelle was standing up, decided as always. "Real love is not rare. As Gabriela said, love needs to be mutual. That's what people are afraid of. So the rare thing is not the love, but the people brave enough to fight for it."

Isabelle's words were strong, and anyone who didn't know her would think she was being strong too. However, Thomas could notice the change of tone in her last words and the slight tremble of her hands. He knew her so well and he hated that. That was why he also knew she had no brakes when she was mad and he had to put a stop to it before she got too far. He wouldn't want things to escalate any further.

"Perhaps you're right." He said calmly. "Let's see what conclusions everyone gets from this week's assignment."

Isabelle hadn't been satisfied with his answer and she tried to stand up to say something else, but her agent friend stopped her. Thomas silently thank the boy; he didn't know what would happen if they kept that discussion going, but nothing good could come from it.

The rest of the lecture went by without any problems. Isabelle barely looked at him the whole time, focusing on the board or on the ground or anything that wasn't him. He kept sneaking looks at her, noticing how she had bags under her eyes and how that usual light she had seemed to be out that day. He wished things were different. He wished he were different.

Little did he know that when she walked out of the lecture hall and shot a sad glance at him, it would be the last time she went to one of his classes.

Thomas loathed himself for knowing exactly what day that was. He wished it were just another regular rainy Monday morning; not the day Isabelle would leave Hollywood U and never come back. But what was even the point, honestly? He had let her go. He was the reason she was carrying all of those boxes to a truck and saying goodbye to her friends.

The only reason why he even knew she was leaving was because Priya told him; she looked a little too eager about that too. He knew he shouldn't have expected Isabelle herself to tell him that after the things he said to her, but a part of him wished she could have just forgotten everything and stayed. She was a good student and Hollywood U could use – in fact, needed - someone like her. It was sad to see her go both as a teacher and as someone who had feelings for her. Feelings that were better off kept hidden, for both of them.

As he watched her through his office window thinking that he looked like an idiot, Isabelle hugged her friends sadly. She was half crying, half laughing and Thomas didn't know how to feel about that. He didn't know how to feel about her, and since he always knew what to do in every situation, being in doubt about Isabelle of all people was very annoying.

She was his student for God's sake; it was obvious why they couldn't be together. It was wrong, end of discussion. Nevertheless, if it really was so wrong, why did kissing her always feel so incredible? Why did his name sound so good in her mouth? Why did it all feel so right?

He felt a clutch in his heart when he saw Isabelle getting into her car and leaving the premises of the university. Her friends waved at her and Thomas could only think that he should have been there, he should have said something, even if it was just an awkward goodbye.

He should have said so much to Isabelle. But things were complicated and she was right, brave people were rare and he wasn't one of them. Missing her would be worst; he was preparing himself for that. Not having her in his classes, not listening to her laugh echo in the hallways, not watching her become the actress he knew she would… The university would be a little less happy without her, and so would he.

He would always regret not saying goodbye.

Thomas hadn't seen Isabelle in over a year when one day, out of the blue, he turned on his TV and there she was walking the red carpet on the premiere of her new movie. She looked different, wearing a red dress that a year before would have been too mature for her, but now it felt right. She looked older not only in her looks. Her hair, once a black and blue ensemble, had gone back to its natural black only color. He wondered if she had dyed it because she wanted to or because of a movie role.

By her side, golden boy Chris Winters smiled widely with his hand on her hips. She was smiling back at him; she looked so happy, and Thomas knew he shouldn't care but he did. Because that smile was supposed to be for him and she was supposed to be walking the red carpet with him, and he only had himself to blame for that. He had to remember that he gave up on her, not the contrary, and so he couldn't say anything. He didn't get to feel jealous just because he dropped the sun and someone else picked it up.

Great, now he was comparing Isabelle to the sun. What was it about that girl that made him think things like that?

He took the remote to change the channel but he couldn't bring himself to do it. Instead, he kept watching as they cut to a live interview with her. For some reason that made him feel closer to her, knowing that she was talking at the same time that he was listening.

"So… Recently, rumors that you two are thinking about getting married surfaced. Any comments on that? The fans would die!" The interviewer laughed.

Getting married. Thomas felt a wrench in his stomach. He knew they were probably just rumors, after all they hadn't been together that long, but still… The thought made him feel uneasy.

"Oh, no, no!" Isabelle took the lead, laughing. "We're not thinking of getting married for now. Sorry to disappoint."

Thomas sighed with relief, scolding himself for that immediately. Why did he care? He hadn't seen her in a year, for God's sake.

"But who knows? I'm not completely against the idea of us getting married." Chris Winters smiled and looked at Isabelle. "I mean, who would miss out on the opportunity of marrying this amazing woman?"

Isabelle smiled and gave Chris a kiss on his cheek. She was glowing by his side. Closing his eyes, Thomas turned off the TV. That was it, no more watching anything related to Isabelle ever again.

(A week later, Thomas watched Isabelle's new movie. He wrote a review about it, and thought of sending it to her. It sat on his drafts for weeks, until one day he finally sent it. She never replied.)

The casting process in a movie, to Thomas, was one of the most important parts of it. Casting the right actor could make a movie, and casting the wrong one could completely destroy it even if the rest of the cast was good. That was why it was so annoying for him to join a project in which almost all of the pre-production work had already been done. What was the point of taking a job that some other director had done half of already? But, in the end, something drew him to it.

A final draft of his contract sat in his desk beside a copy of the movie script. Alexis had an interesting enough story, but what compelled him to take it were the possibilities of what he could create in the end. There were scenes that only someone with his vision could rightfully bring to life, and he couldn't let it fall into the wrong hands.

He looked at his laptop and opened a file with the auditions for the movie. Of course, all of the roles had been already cast, but he wanted to know what he would work with before signing anything.

The auditions had been good enough and, even though none of them really stood out, it was a cast he could shape into something better. Since he couldn't really do a recasting that close to the first table reading and with production already delayed, he would settle for them.

As he was closing the file, Thomas noticed an audition that he hadn't watched yet. He knew why his mind had taken his eyes off it and encouraged him to just close the file in the moment he opened the video.

"Isabelle Santiago auditioning for the role of Alexis." A bright smile took over her face, although she was clearly nervous.

For the audition, Isabelle wore a simple jeans and t-shirt combo. She had always liked to have a simple style and though Alexis wouldn't wear that, it captured the simplicity of the character before her fame. Thomas doubted she had done it intentionally, but it had been a nice touch.

After she read her lines, she said, "For the song, I'll be singing 'Down & Dirty' by Little Mix." She took a deep breath.

I'm tasty, delicious, I'm rough around the edges

My mind is obsessive, my flex is aggressive

Her voice. Thomas had heard her talk, yell, rant, complain, make sarcastic comments, everything, but he never heard her sing. He wasn't sure of what he expected, but he certainly didn't expect that. She had a natural talent for singing, he could tell, and she wouldn't need much work to sound like a professional for the movie.

If we only got one night

Forget about the world outside

Put your hands up real high

Get down and dirty…

While the lyrics were… Not exactly Thomas's cup of tea, he was surprised to see Isabelle sing a song like that. It did fit Alexis perfectly, but it was nothing like something Isabelle would sing. Or maybe not the Isabelle he knew. He had to remind himself that he hadn't even had a conversation with her in years.

As he watched her, he remembered that soon he wouldn't be just seeing her through a computer screen. He would see her in person, talk to her, and he had no idea how that would go. As much as he could control himself, Isabelle did things to him that he would never fully understand. She had some sort of power over him that was absolutely frustrating. Three years had gone by, and the thought of Isabelle could still mess with his head.

Thomas closed the laptop and looked at his contract. Did he really want to direct a movie with Isabelle? Professionally, yes. She was a talented, Oscar nominated actress and with his directions, she would be a winner in no time. However, it wasn't the professional part that bothered him. There were unresolved things between them and he knew Isabelle enough to predict a lot of conflict.

Closing his eyes, he cursed himself. He was a renowned director and an annoying, frustrating – yet talented and hard working – ex-student, would not influence his decisions. He signed the contract and took a sip of his scotch, feeling the liquid burn down his throat.

He had no feelings for Isabelle anymore and working with her would be like working with any other actress. He had done it a million times before, and nothing would be different. He kept repeating that to himself until he believed it.

Thomas rushed through the mansion and closed the door marked with his name quickly, making a loud noise. He would need at least a couple of minutes to get his thoughts in order for the shooting. The events of the morning kept playing in his head like a broken record.

Going to Marianne's atelier, to being with, had been a rushed decision. He knew she was the best option, but there was history with her too and he should have known better than to let Isabelle in the same room as her. That alone had already been a mistake, but entering the dressing room and looking at Isabelle in the way he had, had been an even bigger one.

He wouldn't want Isabelle or anyone else to think he had feelings for her. He knew how easy it would be for her to start jumping to conclusions if he slacked even a little bit with her and that couldn't happen. Anything between them besides professional things were in the past.

Taking a sip of water, Thomas let go of those thoughts. He was about to search for the movie script when a knock on the door stopped him. He opened the door, annoyed by the disturbance, and saw the last person he wanted to see.

"Hunt, can we talk?" Isabelle asked; she looked determined.

A hundred different scenarios passed through his mind. What could she want with him?

"Alright. Talk." He said, only his head sticking out of the room.

Isabelle looked impatient. "Can I at least get in?"

"Must you?"

"Yes." She pushed through him and forced her way into the room. "I know you hate me, but can you last try to hide it?"

How could she think that… He could never…

If anything, she appeared to hate him. He wouldn't blame her if she did. It would make things easier.

"I don't hate you." Thomas narrowed his eyes. "What I do hate is how you're taking forever to say what it is that you want with me."

She was nervous, he could tell. The way she played with her hair was an obvious indication, and she couldn't look him in the eyes. She had been looking everywhere since she entered the room, but not once directly at him.

"I–I just..." Isabelle took a deep breath. "Look, you said I had to be a professional, but you're clearly not being one. You still treat me like I'm just one of your students."

He knew that wasn't true. He had never treated her as if she was just a student. He had never felt like she was just a student. If anything, he had wished many times that she wasn't.

"I am a professional, I guarantee you that. I am merely treating you like I treat any other actors I work with." Thomas lied, knowing it was a bad lie.

He had been treating Isabelle differently, because treating her even a little bit nicely would bring out a side of her that he wasn't ready to deal with. He could deal with mean Isabelle, student Isabelle, stubborn actress Isabelle, but not with friend Isabelle. Not when he had treated her so badly before. He didn't deserve it.

"No, you're not. Three days ago on set, you clearly treated Tracy better than me. And it wasn't because she was better, or more talented, it was because she wasn't me." Isabelle blinked a few times, looking up. "I worked hard to be here, okay? I auditioned to like a hundred movies a month and I networked like crazy and sometimes I didn't get more than two hours of sleep and–and I didn't do all of this to get here and then have you acting like I don't have any talent at all… Like I'm never gonna be good enough."

She was rambling, and Thomas had noticed that was something she did when she was nervous. She played with her engagement ring while waiting for him to say something. That little detail served to remind him that she was engaged; that so many things had changed, and maybe it was time he did too.

He crossed his arms. "I never said that."

She was good enough. Too good, even.

"You did worse, you acted like it." Isabelle's shoulders dropped. "Look, I don't wanna fight anymore. I'm tired of that. But I need you to see that I'm not your student anymore, I'm an actress and a really good one. You can't boss me around like you used to."

She was right and Thomas knew that. Over the years, Isabelle had shaped herself into an actress worthy of his respect. With her demanding it like that, he couldn't deny it.

"You do know that I don't do all of that out of bitterness or just for the sake of being a jerk, right?" Isabelle narrowed her eyes, challenging his words. "I do that because when I see potential, I don't want it to be wasted. And trust me, you need me. You may be a good actress, but you're not an excellent one yet and if you don't listen to the people around you who know what they're talking about, you'll never be."

There it was, his teacher side. His side that cared about his students even when they were being extremely stupid. His side that couldn't seem to give up on someone with talent. Especially not someone as talented as Isabelle.

"I know." Isabelle looked defeated in a way. "But sometimes it feels like you don't respect me and that sucks because even after everything, I respect you."

After everything…

Of course he respected her. Why would she think that he didn't?

"Isabelle…" His voice was too soft and he knew that. "Of course I respect you."

She blinked in surprise. "You do?"

That look in her eyes, he knew it too well. Hope. What a dangerous little thing.

Hunt cleared his throat. "So what exactly are you asking for, Isabelle? Do you want me to just let you run around set directing yourself?"

"No, of course not. You're a good director and I do want your input on things. What I don't want is for you to act as if you're so much better than me." She raised her chin with purpose. "I want us to work together. I want you to listen to me, to help me get better by giving me constructive criticism and not just rolling your eyes at me."

He was sure he didn't roll his eyes at her nearly as much as she had made it sound like, but the rest of her words were right. Working together was the best thing for both of them, and Thomas could admit when he was wrong. Twice in the same day, in fact.

Thomas opened a half-smile. "I think that's… Something I can do."

"So no more long hating gazes and sub tweeting?" Isabelle chuckled.

In that moment, it felt as if no time had passed. The way Isabelle was talking felt exactly like the way she talked to him when he was her teacher. It reminded him of a time when things were easier, even if she was an extremely annoying student.

"Sub tweeting?" He frowned.

"Yeah, don't check my Twitter. There's some… Passive aggressive stuff. Anyways, moving on from that… We're cool, right?"

"Yes, Isabelle, we're... Cool." Thomas rewarded her with a smile. He imagined that standing up to him hadn't been easy for her. "But I am still your director and I will yell at you if you mess things up. Do not mistake me respecting you with me just letting you run around doing whatever the hell you want. This is still my movie."

"Our movie." A playful smirk formed on her lips. "Don't be selfish, Tommy Boy."

Tommy Boy. He hated that nickname with a burning passion, but there was something funny about the way Isabelle always said it to try to get in his nerves. It was almost… familiar.

"Get out." He frowned, and then smiled.

She laughed. "Yup."

Isabelle closed the door behind her. Thomas was still processing their talk in his head. Could they be friends, after all? He knew he had no feelings for her in that moment, but getting too close could be dangerous. After all, Isabelle never came with warning signs.

My replies to your reviews:

Amanda: Hm... You might be on to something there. As for what Hunt was going to say, that's something for later. Now, I'm glad you asked about fancasts because of course I do have some. Isabelle: the beautiful Lindsey Morgan, Thomas: Ian Harding (yes I know this is basically a cliche by now but he fits SO WELL), Addison: Dove Cameron, Ethan: Alfie Enoch, Chris Winters: Chris Pine (like a few years ago).

kylielol: Hunt just moved a step closer to being nice to Isabelle, so we're getting somewhere. And as for Chris... Wait and see.

CatsRtheBOSS: Isabelle's day was a MESS, right? But don't worry, things are looking up for her (and then getting bad again, but oh well). Thanks for the review!