This Thing We Call Love

“Annd, cut!” Ash yells for what feels like the billionth time that day.
It took a hell of a lot of patience and energy, but we’ve managed to film three scenes completely today. And by three, I mean times twenty. A simple thing could be off and it would piss Ash off, which, obviously, I couldn’t blame him for. It was his job to do so. The most annoying part of it, though, was having to redo a flawless scene, but having to cut because they needed it to be taken at a different angle.
The most exhausting part about filming the three scenes was the one with Andy. Okay, really it was the one where my character had to run around through alleys and shit, but Andy was draining me of all my patience and tolerance. I managed to mostly ignore him though, which was surprisingly easier than I’d thought.
“Come on,” I hear him say from behind me and I turn my head slightly to see him smile at Olivia, which is still the strangest thing to see. Him smiling. I don’t know him, not really, but based on how rude he is to me, it doesn’t seem like he could be even a remotely nice person.
She giggles, “No…” She pushes him away playfully but he grabs hold of her body and holds her still.
“Now, smile!” He chuckles, holding out his phone to take a selfie. She scooches closer to him, smiling a sweet smile which makes her look even more beautiful than she already was, whereas he does a sort of pouty thing where he sucks in his cheeks and raises a brow. It suits him though. Maybe he should call it the douchebag pose.
“Charlie!” I could recognize his accent from anywhere, and as I turn my eyes meet Ben’s blue ones, “You were great in there,” He points with his thumb back to the studio.
I chuckle awkwardly, my arms encircling my body tightly, a nervous habit. “Thanks, so were you,” I say, nervous under his gaze.
From the corner of my eye, I see Andy glaring at us -- or, really, me -- and he quickly apologizes to Olivia before walking toward us. He scoffs at me as he approaches us, throwing his arm around Ben’s shoulder, all man-like, “Hey man, what’s going on here?”
None of your fucking business, douchebag! Go take a walk or something.
I catch his eye, his frown deepening as his shocking blue eyes pierce my plain brown ones, before I quickly look away, blushing.
“Oh, I’m just telling Charlie how amazing she was today with her scenes.”
He frown and looks ahead, pretending to think, “Oh, Charlie…” Dick. “Right, right, I remember her,” He says, looking straight at me.
I roll my eyes.
He smirks slightly. “They weren’t all that great, actually,” He says and I feel my fingers curl and my hands ball into tight fists at my sides, “Really, quite sloppy. Very amateurish.”
I glare at him and Ben says lightly, “Hey now, they weren’t sloppy or amateurish,” He defends me and I give him an appreciative look. “Quit giving everyone that’s new a hard time.”
So it’s not just me that he’s picking on? Good! I mean, not good… but, good?
He rolls his eyes but says, “Fiiiine. You weren’t. You were good.”
I’m unsure if what he said was the truth, but if it was, that’s a huge compliment coming from him, even though I’d never tell him that.
“For a beginner, I mean,” He adds.
And there it is…
He turns to Ben, “So are you coming with us, man? There’s a party tonight.”
“Sure, just give me a second, alright?”
Andy nods and turns to walk away, and Ben whispers to me, “I am so sorry.” His brows are furrowed and he has a frown on his face, which makes his apology seem more sincere.
“It’s okay,” I say halfheartedly, giving him a timid smile.
“Okay, well, we should talk sometime,” Ben says, winking at me, before walking off to follow Andy.
I sigh.
No, it wasn’t okay. Andy’s a dick. But Ben seemed like a sweet guy, and what he did outweighed the bad and really made my day.
-----
I sighed. I’d finished unpacking everything and my car was finally here. Now I was ready to order a pizza, slip into my pj’s, and watch Netflix for the rest of the night.
And that’s exactly what I do.
I debate on rather to call Jake, but in the end, decide not to. I needed some time to myself for once.
After finishing the third movie, the end credits rolling down the screen, I thought that I’d learn more of my lines. So, here I am, running over my lines with myself, a pepsi in my hand.
I flip through the script, avoiding any scenes with Andy in them, and try to find a scene that I have with Ben’s character. He’s just as intimidating as Andy if you compare them on a social scale, but Ben’s nicer, from what I know, so I’d feel a lot more comfortable in his presence.
“‘Oh, come on, guys. You don’t actually believe this fucking bullshit do you?’ (Leo to the others, referring to what Leah had just told them.)” I read Ben’s line and sigh when I see that our characters despise each other.
This is some pretty intense stuff. Apparently only nice girls can play the bitch, and that’s exactly what the director’s saw in me. That, and apparently I wasn’t tall enough for who they were looking for when I auditioned for Gretchen, Olivia’s character.
But I’m happy with Leah. She’s sassy, sarcastic, quick, smart, cunning. I can pull that off. Even if she is the villain.
One reason why I don’t like reading scripts waybeforehand, is because they always change things up. Sometimes they’ll end up removing four to five pages before replacing those hours later where you have to memorize them as quickly as possible.
I don’t want to waste my time, so I’m doing this my way.
I sigh, dropping the script, before heading to my bedroom to get some sleep for another day of filming tomorrow.
-----
“Cut!” Ash rubs his forehead, “Charlie, dear, can I speak to you for a moment?”
Oh shit.
Once he pulls me aside, I brace myself, “Why are you yawning, Charlie? Did you not sleep?”
I’d woken up early that morning, the sun not even shining through the curtains of my windows, and couldn’t fall back asleep, so I’d decided to just stay up.
I regretted that now.
I take a deep breath to prevent from yawning in his face, “I did…”
He sighs, “You’re a good one, Charlie. Don’t make me fire you. I don’t want to do that. But you have to stop messing around.”
I huff in annoyance, but I appreciate that he brought me aside to confront me instead of in front of everybody else. And maybe I did need to get some medication to help me sleep, just in case.
“Charlie…” He waves his hand in front of my face and I blink, “See what I mean?”
“I’m so sorry,” I gulp, realizing the seriousness of the matter once I see Andy in the back looking slightly pissed off since it’s another scene that we’re in together, and since it involves him it has to be done on Biersack standards.
“Just don’t let it happen again. I’ll announce for a short break. Stretch, drink water, whatever you have to do to make it through the day, alright?”
I nod.
“Ten minutes!” He yells and the actors and actresses start to disperse.
Andy approaches me, arms folded, but his presence doesn’t radiate much negativity, to my surprise. He seems calm, but not in a dangerous kind of way.
I prepare myself for the blow, but it doesn’t come.
“Just say it.”
“Say what?” He frowns, but I know that he’s well aware of what I’m referring to.
“Tell me how unprofessional I am. About how you can fire my ass and have it replaced. About how I don’t fit the role of Leah. How you’re so top and superior and I’m just mere trash compared to you. Yeah, about any of those lines would do,” I cross my arms.
“Stop,” He rolls his eyes, “I wasn’t going to say any of that. I mean, I was thinking about it, yes, but I have a proposition for you.”
I frown, but say nothing, expecting him to continue.
He looks around briefly, then takes a deep breathe. Just spit it out already. “I am a very busy man. I’m not sure whether you’re aware of the fact that I, not only am an actor, but I own several clubs in LA, New York, and even in Europe.”
“Uh, how nice for you,” I say sarcastically.
He narrows his gaze at me, but smirks, not an amused one though, one that screams you piss me off.
Good. Glad we’re on the same page.
“Indeed, it is,” He smiles, “My point is that I have a lot of responsibilities, a lot of weight on my shoulders, if you will. And also, very little time on my hands. So, I suggest that you get your shit together and make both of our lives easier.”
Okay… and?
“That being said, me being the man that I am, I’m willing to help you.”
I scoff.
“I’d be willing to give you personal tips and pointers on acting, going into scene, faking tears, the works. I’ll run lines with you to perfection.” He states, “You’d be foolish to pass up on an opportunity like this, Charlie.”
Oh, so he knows my name now? Fantastic.
I roll my eyes.
He continues when I don’t answer, shrugging, “The proposition is there. But I’m not going to beg you. If you let this opportunity slip through your fingers then, well…” He chuckles, “It will be up to you, and you alone, to step up to the plate and prove to us all that Ash made the right choice in hiring you.”
Why is he talking like a fucking robot?!
He hands me a card that I don’t bother looking at as I already try weighing out taking up his offer or not.
“Well, that’s… nice… of you, but I think I can do just fine on my own, thanks,” I turn.
He grabs my arm.
“Are you stupid?” He asks.
I turn to face him, standing a bit too close for my liking, but I refuse to back down.
“No, I’m not stupid, Andy,” I spit, “Are you?”
“I was willing to give you free tuition.”
I laugh, “Tuition? What do you think this is?” I pass him swiftly.
“You’re so in denial,” He follows slightly behind me.
“No, I’m not. I just don’t want your help.”
“And stubborn, too.”
“I’m not stubborn.”
“And defensive,” He adds.
I turn slightly to face him, “Would you shut up?!”
“Fine,” He smiles devilishly, standing in front of me by the back entrance before I can enter, “I won’t help you. Let’s see how well you do today.”
“Fine,” I growl.
“Good luck, babe.”

Notes

Can we get 5 votes by the next chapter? <3 Comment, vote, and subscribe, it let's me know how you guys feel about my story and if I should continue writing :)