Chapter Text
Excerpt from the article about Metro Magazine's October cover girl Kara Danvers (written by Dana Harries)
Even in the darkest of rooms, you can expect to notice Kara Danvers and how she stands out from the crowd. The 26-year-old actress radiates warmth and sunshine from her dazzling smile to her bubbly personality, easily making her one of the most lovable actresses in the industry right now. Six years ago, the Midvale raised actress starred in the Oscar nominated film Last of Our Days, and since then, her career has only grown. Her face has been plastered on various billboards all over the world, and to say she is immensely lovable is an understatement. Recently, Danvers had starred in five films the past year, but her most notable role was her portrayal as Katheryn Newman in the film Green Room, which won her an Oscar as Best Actress in a Lead Role after two nominations in the past.
METRO: You’ve got such a supportive fanbase! And you and Green Room have gotten such a great reception, how does it feel?
KARA: It feels great and humbling at the same time. I’ve been in the industry for a long time already but all the love that I’ve been receiving still feels very surreal and I’m really thankful for my fans as well as everyone who supported the film.
METRO: Congrats on your Oscar by the way! Was it difficult to prepare yourself for the role?
KARA: It was exhausting! I did most of my stunts so I had to do lots of training with Susan [Vasquez]. Before we started filming, we trained 8 hours a day almost everyday, and I had to change my diet to get into the right shape. I acquired a few cuts and bruises along the way but overall, it was a great learning experience.
METRO: Was filming the movie easier compared to the preparation?
KARA: It was still difficult since I had to keep up my training and rehearse my scenes, but overall everything was lighter. I was able to hang out and relax with my cast mates and it was especially fun being able to work with Oliver Queen.
METRO: Other than Oliver Queen, you’ve worked with other notable names in the industry in your past films already. Who else would you like to work with?
KARA: Definitely Lena Luthor! I absolutely adore her and look up to her. I’ve watched most of her films, and she’s just really pretty and such an amazing actress. It would be amazing to be given the chance to work with her one day.
*
Kara should never have listened to Alex.
Last night was sisters’ night and when Alex had opened a bottle of beer for herself, she had started teasing Kara about how much of a lightweight she is. And Kara, eager to prove her sister wrong had also opened a bottle for herself and immediately downed it. After 3 more bottles (Alex tried to stop her after drink number two) Kara gladly proclaimed Ha! Told you I wasn’t a lightweight, except that she said it all slurred out that Alex could barely understand what she was saying.
(And okay to be fair, maybe Alex didn’t force her to drink but if Alex hadn’t teased her, she wouldn’t have done it!)
Then this morning, she was woken up by a call from Lucy, her manager, about how Cat wants to meet her this morning, which left Kara no choice but to leave her bed.
Which is why she is now walking towards Cat Grant’s office, wearing the darkest pair of sunglasses she owns, which are doing a poor job at blocking out the sun. Kara hears a bunch of I love yous being shouted at her as well as paparazzi asking her a bunch of questions ever since they saw her on the street. This just makes Kara’s head hurt a little more but Kara just smiles politely as she tries her best not to vomit in the middle of the street.
And frankly, the only thing stopping her from doing just that is how:
- There's a bunch of cameras being directed at her right now and,
- She doubts Lucy will enjoy dealing with articles like Award winning actress Kara Danvers caught vomiting in the middle of the street! See the pictures!
By the time she reaches Cat’s building, more people start to notice her and start asking for pictures. Kara stands in front of the building for a while, taking the time to engage in a conversation with her fans while pretending to not have a hangover. Kara loves meeting her fans, really. But she really wishes that they caught her in a better time, preferably when her head isn’t pounding. After a few minutes, Kara excuses herself and says she has to attend a meeting and proceeds to enter the building.
As soon as Kara reaches Cat’s floor, she is immediately recognized by the receptionist and is ushered towards the waiting area outside the director’s office. Sitting on one of the armchairs is a woman reading a magazine, so Kara settles down on the empty couch. She places her sunglasses in her bag and proceeds to bury her face in one of the throw pillows as an attempt to block out the bright lights. She just really wants to rest and she briefly considers lying down on the couch to rest for a few minutes, but she can already picture Cat’s face of disapproval and hear the impending scolding she’ll receive, and it’s almost enough to scare her out of it. Right now though, her head is absolutely pounding and just as she’s about to give in and lie down on the couch, she hears a light chuckle which she assumes must have come from the woman on the armchair.
“Rough night?” the woman asks with a hint of amusement. The voice is familiar, but Kara’s head hurts as she tries to connect the voice to the owner.
Kara just groans and attempts to bury her face even more on the throw pillow. The woman just chuckles and Kara hears something that sounds like the other woman going through her purse, as she calls for Cat’s assistant to bring a glass of water.
“I hope that helps,” the woman says. Kara lifts her head up from the throw pillow to see aspirin and a glass of water on the coffee table.
“Oh god, I love you,” Kara says immediately taking the medicine. She turns to the other woman, hoping to catch a look at the other woman’s face, but her face is blocked by the magazine. This time Kara chuckles, because she finally notices that the magazine the woman is reading is the Metro magazine with her on the cover.
“I um I like the magazine. You a fan?” Kara asks.
“I adore her,” the woman laughs. “I’ve always wanted to work with her plus she’s really pretty,” Kara remembers saying those words in the interview with the same magazine the woman is reading and just as she’s about to ask who the other woman is, the woman puts the magazine down and Kara forgets what she’s about to say.
Oh fuck.
Sitting on the arm chair is one of the most successful actresses in the industry, Lena Luthor. Sure, Kara’s one of the top names in film, but Lena Luthor? She’s an icon. Lena’s been acting ever since she was a child, starting with various commercials promoting diapers and toothpastes and eventually starring in her own TV show as a teen, which Kara may or may not have binge-watched on Netflix in one week (okay so Kara’s a huge Lena Luthor fan, sue her). Now, Lena stars in various high grossing box-office films, and has won numerous awards for them, which easily makes her an A-list celebrity.
Suddenly, Kara feels self-conscious in her jeans and sweater compared to the red dress and black blazer combo Lena’s wearing that makes her look absolutely gorgeous. The actress is smirking at her with her legs crossed (and fuck, Kara feels the need to cross her legs now too) while she’s holding the magazine she had been reading in one hand. Kara’s suddenly aware that she’s staring and that her jaw is probably on the floor, but it’s really hard to stop. Instead, she just starts to pray and hope that she’s not drooling.
Kara realizes that Lena is waiting for her to say something. Her brain has a hard time processing everything that just happened the past minute and between her hangover and Lena Luthor, she’s having a very difficult time to think straight. Not knowing what to say, Kara just blurts out,
“I love you.”
Lena Luthor laughs, and it sends tingles all over Kara’s body. Kara notices how Lena’s cheeks are suddenly getting a pink hue to it, and it makes Kara realize what she just said. Kara feels her cheeks burning up and just as she’s about to give out an apology, her phone suddenly starts ringing and she tugs it out from her pocket to find her mom calling. Part of her feels thankful that she gets to be pulled out of this awkward situation, but part of her is also disappointed that she’d have to leave the other woman to answer her phone.
“Are you going to answer that?” Lena asks with a smile, pulling Kara out of her trance. Kara blushes even harder and excuses herself to answer her call.
*
By the time Kara finishes her phone call, she feels like she’s gained enough composure to see Lena Luthor again. As she heads back to the waiting area, instead of Lena, she is met with one of Cat’s assistants who leads her to Cat’s office, saying that the woman is ready to meet her.
Cat Grant’s office is simple and pristine, with one side filled with windows overlooking the city, as well as a balcony. Kara catches sight of her face in two of the many framed posters of the films that the woman had directed, accompanied by the various awards that she had won. When Kara sees the director, she realizes that Cat isn’t alone. Instead, she’s joined by Lena Luthor on the couch, both of them animatedly talking and Kara felt like her presence was an intrusion. Hannah, Cat’s assistant, calls her boss, and soon the two women stand up in greeting. Cat immediately heads towards Kara and gives her a hug.
“Kiera, so glad you could make it,” Cat grins and Lena lifts one of her eyebrows in question to the nickname.
“Now, I assume you’ve met Lena Luthor before?” Kara shakes her head in response. Sure, she’s attended various award shows and parties where Lena was also in attendance, but Kara never got a chance to meet or talk to the other woman.
And it totally has nothing to do with the fact that every time she sees Lena Luthor, she ducks away and starts a conversation with someone else.
Don’t get her wrong, it’s not that she doesn’t want to meet the other woman. It’s just that she knows that the minute their eyes meet, Kara knows she’ll become a flustered mess and will just stare (see: encounter at Cat’s waiting lounge.)
“We’ve never met actually. Well, we talked briefly earlier,” Kara says. Lena raises her eyebrows when Kara says talked.
“Kara Danvers,” Kara says, holding her hand out for the other woman to shake. “It’s a pleasure to meet you Ms. Luthor.”
“Lena Luthor, and I assure you Ms. Danvers, the pleasure is mine,” Lena says, shaking Kara’s hand with her own. Her handshake is firm, but her hand feels so soft and Lena is smiling at her, and honestly, it’s so unfair how Lena has such a great effect on her. She pulls her hand away, and turns to face Cat who is looking at the two of them with a glint in her eyes that Kara doesn’t understand.
“Well, I must get going now. Thank you again, Cat,” Lena says, holding up an envelope she hadn’t noticed before and giving the director a hug. When she passes by Kara, she gives her another smile, and achievement because despite how hot her cheeks feel right now, she still manages to smile back. Soon, only Kara and Cat are left in the director’s office, and she doesn’t realize she’s staring from where Lena left until Cat points it out.
“Oh Kiera, do stop staring when you can. I doubt that that will get you in my godchild’s pants,” Cat says in a reprimanding tone, and Kara quickly follows the other woman to her desk and sits on the chair opposite the director’s.
“In her pants? Um I doubt that Ms. Grant, uh – there will be no getting in her pants or anyone’s pants for that matter. And actually if you hadn’t noticed she wasn’t wearing pants, she was wearing a skirt, but that still doesn’t mean I’ll get in her skirt – no ma’am! – and I don’t wanna get in there either! Wait that came out wrong! I mean Lena is very attractive, and she smells really nice and, her smile – okay that’s not the point! The point is I respect your godchild a lot and I don’t intend to get in her pants, or skirt, or whatever she may be wearing. And uh wait - godchild?” Kara ends her rambling with a question and she barely hears Cat mutter millenials these days, always in denial.
“Yes Kiera, Lena Luthor is my godchild,” Cat’s voice held a large amount of pride as she said the other woman’s name, and really, Kara can’t blame her. The Luthor name has always been associated with greatness in show business. It’s the kind of name that she’s heard since she was a child, and ever since she started her acting career, the name has been brought up multiple. Lena’s father is a multi-awarded director and writer who is now in retirement, and her mother is veteran actress from the 70s, and Kara can vaguely remember how one of the first movies she watched with the Danvers was a movie directed by Lionel that starred Lillian. Her brother was also an actor but at the peak of his career, he had gone into drug addiction which led him to make various mistakes that eventually cost him his career.
And Lena? Lena’s different.
Lena may have been adopted by the Luthors, but she still possesses the same amount of talent the other Luthors have (even more talent, in Kara’s unbiased opinion) but Lena has this sort of passion that’s pretty rare to find in the industry. It’s the type of passion that just can’t be learned or acquired from practice. Lena has that sort of talent and passion that can make even the badass Alex Danvers cry and start quoting her films. In addition to this, Lena has always been a vocal supporter of LGBT rights and child and women empowerment, which makes Kara admire her even more.
“I also highly appreciate your respect for her, seeing as I’d like you to star opposite her in my newest film,” Cat says, handing Kara an envelope that looks similar to the one Lena was holding earlier.
“I got the part? And I’m gonna be in a film with her?” Kara asks in disbelief.
“Well, the two of you still have to take a screen test, but judging from the tension between the two of you earlier? It’s really just a formality at this point.”
Kara’s about to reply but Cat just lifts her hand up, effectively stopping herself from denying that there was…tension between her and Lena earlier.
After discussing a few more details regarding the film from the plot to Kara’s role, the two women say their goodbyes, and when Kara’s halfway through the door, she realizes something.
“You know, you could have just called Lucy to tell her I got the part,” Kara says.
“Oh she knows,” Cat says offhandedly, typing away on her laptop.
“What? Why did she let me come here instead of just telling me then?”
“To let you miss out on the opportunity of meeting my godchild who you so obviously have a crush on unexpectedly? Now chop, chop Kara, I’ve got work to do.”
*
“Stop laughing, Alex! It’s not funny,” Kara throws a pillow in Alex’s direction from the couch, but Alex manages to catch it. Alex just laughs even harder and sits next to Kara who just groans.
“You just stared?”
“I talked too!”
“Yes, you told her you love her. Twice,” Alex continues laughing. “Oh god, I have to tell Lucy and Maggie about this,” Alex says and starts opening her phone, presumably to text the two women.
“When Lucy told me you were meeting her today, I got pretty excited for you because you’ve been avoiding meeting her for so long, but now? Really Kara? You told her you love her?” Kara just blushes and buries her face in her hands, until she realizes something.
“Wait, you knew I was gonna see her today?” Alex gives her a guilty smile. “And you didn’t say anything?” Kara says as she attempts to grab Alex’s phone, but the other woman manages to keep it away from reach.
“Honestly Kara, I always knew you had a crush on her but I really thought you were smoother than staring,” Alex says as gently pats her sister’s head.
“What do you mean you knew I had a crush on her?”
“Oh come on, Kara! You've watched all her movies at least twice and you literally cannot stop talking about her.”
“That doesn’t mean I have a crush on her. She’s just a really good actress and her work is admirable and she happens to be really pretty,” Alex snorts.
“Is that all you thought when you were drooling while watching that movie where she was in a bikini?”
“I was not drooling!” Kara blushes even harder and starts hitting Alex again with her pillow.
Kara opens up her Netflix and Alex starts to laugh again as she chooses surprise a Lena Luthor film. Kara just mumbles shut up, it’s a good film and presses play.