Just Friends?

by K E Osborn

  “Of course, when do you need us?”

  “Now. We’re at Universal Studios, stage five. Please come to the gates, give them your names and they’ll be expecting you. They’ll give you directions once you gain access to the studio lot.”

  I look over to Kat who seems to be having a similar conversation.

  “Alright, sir. We’ll come right now. See you soon,” I say and hang up my cell. I wait for Kat to end her call as well.

  “Was that the movie people?” she asks.

  “Yes. I’ll get dressed and take you home so you can get changed. We can go in my car if you like?”

  She nods and pulls a compact out of her purse and puts some powder on her face while I get dressed. I love looking at her without that crap on her face. She’s a natural beauty. We quickly walk through the living room and out the front door without saying anything to Dan or Olsen. We race to the car and Kat looks at me with concern in her eyes.

  “You okay?” I ask as I start the engine.

  “What if they change their minds about me, but they want to keep you? And then you have to go off and be a movie star without me? And then you have some other leading lady to kiss and be intimate with?”

  I look at her and can’t help it as a small laugh exits my mouth.

  “Baby, they’re going to love you. Just do exactly what you did in class and we’ll go from there.” I try to reassure her.

  She nods, but she’s very quiet. After Kat quickly changes at the bungalow, we hop back into my car and I pull out onto the Hollywood Freeway and make our way to the Universal Studios. After a short drive in my Blue Ray Metallic Chevy Impala we arrive at the gates of the studio and the guard leans down to my window.

  “Mr. Sanders and Miss Barrett for Mr. Yanowitz’s Nightwalker movies,” I say to the guard.

  He smiles and opens the boom gate for us to enter giving us directions to studio five where we are being tested. I park the car and walk around to Kat’s side and help her out. I tuck a stray piece of her hair behind her ear and she straightens my shirt collar.

  “Okay. You ready?” I ask, she looks about as nervous as I feel. I feel her little body shaking and I give her a quick hug.

  “Ready,” she says, giving me a quick kiss and we walk into the studio.

  There’s a large table and lots of people sitting around it. At the end of the table are the guys in suits, Director, Wildon Yanowitz, and, Producer, Skipp Aisner.

  No one notices us. I look at Kat, she looks terrified. I entwine her fingers in mine and give them a squeeze, then let go as we walk toward the table. Wildon spots us and stands up to shake our hands.

  “Welcome to the first crew walk through,” he says.

  A young girl finds two chairs for us to sit down.

  “Thank you,” Kat replies quietly and I nod.

  “So guys, are we excited?” Skipp asks as he slides over two copies of the script for us to look at. I open mine and fuck there’s a lot of lines to learn. I look over at Kat, who’s looking overwhelmed, so I place my hand on her leg under the table.

  “Yes, we’re very excited, sir,” I say enthusiastically and Kat nods this time.

  “Alright, I’d like to get down to it. Have either of you read the Nightwalker series of books?”

  Fuck!

  “I have and I loved all four of them,” Kat announces saving me from certain embarrassment. I knew I should’ve read them before we got to this point, but I’ve been so wrapped up in Kat and not thinking about anything else. She smiles at me and places her hand on top of mine on her leg.

  “Kat, we want you to read as Zaylie, and Will, we want you to read as Cohen, just like you did in your audition.”

  I didn’t know that the class was an audition at the time, but I’m glad I’m here with Kat as my leading lady.

  “Alright everyone, opening scene. We’re going to jump straight into Zaylie and her brother Zackariah talking about their parent’s deaths. This should be a moving and emotional scene for the both of you. Oh, by the way Kat, this is Donny. He will play your brother in the movies,” Skipp explains.

  She smiles warmly at Donny and he smiles back at her.

  Keep your distance dickhead, because she’s mine!

  “Action.”

  ~ KAT ~

  We leave studio five hours after we arrived. We did a complete run through of the script and I even added a few suggestions here and there. The Director, Wildon, seemed pleased with us and they all commented on our chemistry. We decide to keep it a secret that we are, in fact, together because we thought it might be frowned upon by the cast and crew. We know what can happen if the lead actors split up and the chemistry is broken between them. I’m positive this will not happen to us because my feelings for him are too strong.

  We even talked about our salary for doing the first movie – five hundred thousand dollars each. I know that’s not really a lot when you’re talking movie money, but it’s an awful lot to us, and we’re both happy with the amount. It would well and truly pay off my student loan and also leave me with a fair amount to do with as I please. The movie’s budget is on the higher end of an Indie film because it has a lot of visual effects scattered through it, especially for the werewolves and vampires. They showed us the green screen and how it’s used. We’re set up to have coaching lessons every day at six o’clock, which we both have to attend to help with our acting and make it all a little bit smoother. I’m actually getting excited instead of my initial reaction of being overwhelmed.

  I had a lot of fun and it was so good to be able to act with Will. We drive back to my bungalow and discuss our new life and the adventure we’re starting out on, together.

  Chapter Ten

  I wake up when my alarm sounds. Even though I’m in my own bed and not Will’s, I still have a smile on my face.

  “Good morning. Someone is happy today,” Charlie says when I sit up. I pull the blankets off my legs and hop out of bed.

  “Charlie, I think I’m going to love being an actress. I was unsure, but now I know that it’ll be amaze-balls,” I say making her laugh.

  “Okay then, don’t forget me when you’re rich and famous,” she jokes while putting her hair into pigtails.

  I hear my cell beep and I look at the text message from Will.

  Morning baby, I slept really well, the only thing missing was you.

  See you in class <3

  I smile at the message and write back.

  Morning, I slept well too, but it would’ve been better if I were with you.

  I miss you <3

  I press Send and start to get dressed for class. I decide to call Mum and Dad to tell them about my day at the studios. Unfortunately, I didn’t check the time difference before I rang and it’s just after midnight there.

  Oops… I’m so not good at this time difference thing.

  Mum and Dad were of course happy for me, but warned me to be careful and not to show too much skin in the movie. I told them that there were no nude scenes and they were happy with that.

  I finish on the cell and make my way to the kitchen to have some breakfast. V is sitting at the table eating burnt toast and I think to myself, that’s taking the love of black a bit too far. I grin at her and she smiles back at me continuing to listen to her iPod and eating. Brooke comes running over to me.

  “So I heard all about it. You and Will are finally together and now you’re both staring in a movie together. Isn’t it romantic?” she gushes and takes hold of my hand. I can’t help but giggle along with her.

  “Everything seems to be going a little too smoothly, I’m sure I’ll break my leg or something dramatic will happen to ruin it all,” I say making Brooke laugh.

  “No, you and Will are perfect for each other and perfect for the Nightwalker movies. You’re exactly how I pictured Zaylie Winters when I read those books.”

  “Thanks, Brooke, but it probably won’t even sell at the box office, so don’t get too excited.”

  I make my way to campus ar
m in arm with Charlie to our vocals class. I see Will talking to Liz when we walk in and they both give me a smile.

  Hmm, that’s strange, if I didn’t know better, I’d think they were talking about me?

  I let it go and walk with Charlie to sit in our usual spot on the sofa at the back of the room. Olsen comes over and sits next to Charlie, but keeps eyeing me.

  He’s just plain creepy.

  Will makes his way over and sits next to me, putting his arm on the back of the sofa. I lean in toward him.

  “Hi,” Will murmurs nuzzling into my neck.

  “Hi, yourself.”

  Liz seems to be watching us intently. I clear my throat to stop him from lingering too long. He kisses me on the cheek, then turns his attention to the front of the room.

  “Good morning, everyone. Today, we’ll be rehearsing our duets and performing them for everyone else to hear how you’re progressing. Then, next time we hear them you’ll be marked accordingly. So first up Charlie and Peter, then Olsen and Jackie, Will and Kat…” she continues on with her list while Charlie and Peter set up their keyboard and guitar.

  It’s our turn to perform and I feel like the song is meaningless now where before, it had such a strong hold over me. Will strums the guitar and starts to sing.

  The song finishes and everyone claps. We take our seat and others perform, but Will can’t seem to keep his hands off me. He runs his finger down my spine and traces little circles all over my back; it is very distracting, especially when he runs his hand under my shirt. I gaze across at him and he smiles at me.

  What are you up to Will Sanders?

  He slowly runs circles along my skin igniting a fire inside me. I cross my legs to try and stop the throbbing, but it doesn’t work. I feel my breathing become shallower while he continues to torment me at the back of the classroom, where no one can see how much his fingers affect me. He knows how much he’s messing with my emotions because he continues with a slight smirk on his face. He moves his hand underneath my bra straps and continues to fiddle with the clips until the final duets have finished. He withdraws his hand from under my shirt and claps along with the rest of the group. I sigh in relief as I thought he was going to undo my bra for a moment.

  I couldn’t help but notice Brandi sending him loathing stares throughout the class. She sent some my way too, obviously for stealing her man. After class, I want to talk to Liz about some things. She’s been like a surrogate mother while my real mother is thousands of miles away. Will and I stand up when the class finishes, and he turns to face me. He gently kisses my nose and Olsen scoffs. Charlie looks at Olsen and watches him watching me.

  He’s starting to really creep me out.

  “Will, I want to talk to Liz for a minute. Is it okay if I catch up with you and the guys at the Campus Café?”

  “Do you want me to order you something for lunch?”

  “Yes, please, whatever you’re having will be fine. I won’t be far behind you.”

  He joins Charlie and Olsen and they head off to the Campus Café. I walk over to Liz, who’s putting away the music.

  “You did great today, Kat. You and Will seem to make a good team.”

  “Yeah, we seem pretty good together.”

  “I couldn’t help but notice a bit of chemistry between you two. Is there more to this than meets the eye?” Liz asks raising her eyebrows.

  “Yeah, I guess, we are in a relationship.”

  “That’s great, but be careful. I know Will, and he has issues with getting hurt, not that I think for one minute that you’ll hurt him. I guess what I’m trying to say is, be careful with his heart. He puts on a tough guy act, but he really is a big softy underneath it all. He doesn’t let people in easily, but when he does its all or nothing. Once he’s opened up and lets you in, he’s in for the long haul. I hope you’re prepared for that.”

  “I am, but how do you know Will so well?”

  “Let’s just say I have inside information. I know his mother extremely well."

  “Thanks, and so you know, I don’t plan on hurting him. Honestly, I’m in love with him.”

  “I know. Just remember, you belong together and the nonsense that goes with the territory of being in a relationship and being co-stars in a movie doesn’t mean anything if you don’t trust one another. Don’t listen to what others say about your relationship. You and Will should know how to work things out when things get tough. He’ll stick with you as long as you trust and love him,” she says patting me on the shoulder.

  “Thanks, Liz.”

  She winks as I get up and walk out of the room. I head toward the Campus Café slowly, thinking about what Liz said to me. She seems very knowledgeable with regards to Will and it really helps me understand him even more. I walk in and see Will sitting with Brooke, Dan, Olsen and Charlie. Will waves me over and makes room so I can slide into the booth next to him.

  “So what did you want to talk to Liz about?”

  “Nothing really, just some ideas I had about the class.” I purposely avoid that I was actually discussing him with Liz.

  He leans in and kisses my cheek as a waitress arrives with our food.

  “I ordered you a cheeseburger and fries.”

  We dig in and then carry on with the rest of our day, including going to our enhancement acting classes at six o’clock. They took us through scenes from the movie teaching us how to act them out in various ways.

  ~*~

  It’s great fun training for the movie. We even attend martial arts classes because we’re required to fend off paranormal entities. The movie is a horror, but based around a love story. The books are a massive success and the talk around the crew is that this movie will either flop or be massive. I’m not sure I’m ready for either outcome.

  Weeks pass and we’re growing stronger as a couple and even stronger as an acting duo. We’ve finished our classes and we started filming at the studios. To say I’m having a blast would be an understatement.

  It’s funny because you’d think they’d film a movie in sequence, but they do random scenes, each day and then they piece it together at the end of filming. We have a joined trailer where we’re able to rest between takes. The crew still has no idea of our off screen romance. Even I thought we’d been busted once making out in the trailer by a runner. We told her we were rehearsing and she seemed to buy it.

  It’s hard being away from Charlie and Brooke and Will’s having the same trouble being away from Dan and Olsen. We talk to them as much as we can after filming, which as it turns out, is fourteen hours a day. We’ve just finished a fighting scene where Cohen and Zaylie stop the leader of the vampire clan from attacking the town. We’re both covered in fake blood and have fake cuts and bruises everywhere as we wrap for the day. We head for our trailer to remove our makeup. After we’re showered and cleaned up we have a couple of days break before we need to shoot again.

  We drive back to Dan’s house and the welcoming committee is there. Dan and Brooke are popping party poppers when we walk through the door. Olsen and Charlie run up and hug us. It’s good to spend some time with our friends again after being suddenly sucked into the movie world. It’s amazing how much I miss Charlie, our girl chats and just spending time with her. I miss her so much. We turn on the television and there are pictures of Will and I dressed in full costume on the set of the movie. I do a double-take at the television to make sure what I was seeing was really us. And as it turns out, yes, it’s definitely Will and I on set.

  “Turn it up,” Will asks.

  “The highly anticipated adaptation of the Nightwalker books by B J Williams is approximately half way through filming the first movie in the series. Its cast comprises solely of debut actors, new to the Hollywood scene. It is reported that Katerina Barrett and Will Sanders are cast to play the infamous on-screen Nightwalker, adaption couple, Zaylie and Cohen. There are rumors of an off-screen romance blossoming between the two leading actors. Guess we’ll have to wait and see how this movie fares when
it screens later this year, but our bet is that it will be a smash hit.”

  “Oh my God! I can’t believe we were just on Entertainment Tonight,” I say looking at Will who smirks and holds onto me tighter.

  “I know. It’s already getting hype. I wonder if they’ll try to follow us now, the paparazzi I mean.”

  “My bestie is famous,” Charlie calls out and giggles like a schoolgirl.

  I shake my head and turn to Will.

  “Babe, are you ready for the onslaught of fans, if this movie is as big as they’re saying?” I ask.

  “I was born to be famous and you’re my leading lady, so it’s only natural that you have to come along for the ride, whether you like it or not,” he jokes.

  “Okay then, but what about if the movie is a flop? Are you ready for the disappointment if no one likes it?”

  Will’s face tightens. “I know the story is solid. I also know even though we’re only new to acting, we’re both performing well. I don’t think I have to worry about failure, I know this movie will be a hit,” he says convincingly.

  I worry about Will and how he’ll take it if the movie does flop. He doesn’t see failure as an option, whereas I’m more of a realist and I know that even though for an indie flick that has a high budget, it’s still entirely possible people may think it’s too strange. But then again look at Quentin Tarantino. His movies are left of center and yet people flock to see them. I must admit I even love his movies. So maybe the quirkiness of this series will be its selling point. I don’t know; guess I’m just a worry wart.

  I nod my head at Will, and Charlie puts on a DVD. Will gently smoothes my hair back from my neck and kisses it gently sending a shiver down my spine. I turn my head and his eyes meet mine with a loving gaze. I smile, kiss his nose and turn around to watch the movie. Daniel Radcliffe appears on screen and he looks much older than he did in the Harry Potter movies.