“Hasn’t it been at least since last Christmas? Devin brought you as his date, right?”
“Quiet on the set!” someone yelled, and I was prevented from speaking.
Robert motioned for me to follow him. We walked a little closer and he pointed to a vacant chair right near the action. He waved and left, so I was powerless to stop him or even to explain the real situation.
I sat down and watched as the cast took their places and someone called, “Action.” It was interesting to see something being recorded and to see the final product. It was a lot of stop and go, perfecting the tone used here or the gesture used there. It was interesting to see how it all came together.
“Cut! Come back in ten minutes!” the assistant director yelled.
Larissa bounded up, followed by Zach. “So what did you think?”
“I mean it’s the first time I’ve watched something like this. But it seems really different from the final product,” I told them.
“Yeah, I still can’t believe how they make it look so awesome after we do so many takes of the same scene.” Zach smiled. “So you came to work with Devin again?”
“Yeah. I wasn’t feeling good this morning,” I told them. They exchanged looks and I realized what they were concluding. “I was hung over,” I clarified. We weren’t even dating and suddenly I had an imaginary possible pregnancy. I had to put an end to their assumptions. Devin and I were not dating. “I’m glad you’re here though, because I have to tell you something.”
“What are you going to tell them, Christy?” I looked over at the sound of Eric’s voice.
My heart was racing, and my palms were sweating. What was he doing here?
“Do you know Eric, Christy?” Larissa asked. “I try to get to know everyone on set. I think it's good for team spirit. He was just hired a few days ago to help…well, to do something behind the scenes. Oh and get this, some guy punched him last night while we were all at the club, that’s why he has the black eye,” she explained.
“It was Dev. Devin punched him,” I blurted. “He was the one who was bothering me last night.”
“Dude!” Zach exclaimed. “What did you do to make him punch you?”
Everyone looked at Eric, including me.
“What are you doing here?” I asked.
“You didn’t know? I work here,” he said as if I didn’t hear Larissa earlier.
“I meant why are you even bothering me? You couldn’t have thought this was a smart idea after last night.”
Eric just smirked at me.
I turned to Zach and Larissa. “Eric pranked me senior year by pretending to love me then embarrassing me in front of the whole school. I was so destroyed, I almost didn’t make it. Dev saved me from myself and so naturally when Devin saw him again, he punched him. He would’ve hit him a few more times, but Eric just fell after the first punch.” I felt relieved to be able to tell others, to portray Eric poorly to the few people that I had come to know.
“That’s just sick,” Zach said, giving Eric a dirty look.
“Wow, what a bastard thing to do,” Larissa agreed. “I can’t even believe someone could do that.”
“She’s making it sound worse than it really was,” Eric tried to defend himself.
“Yeah, because filming the whole thing then making a website to show everyone really makes it less hurtful and bastardly,” I snapped.
Now that I’d told Devin what had happened, it seemed like it no longer had the power to hurt me. Maybe Dr. Stone had been right all along.
“A website?” Larissa asked me. I only nodded my head. “Sick bastard.”
“I’d punch you too if I didn’t think makeup would kill me for messing up their work,” Zach said coolly.
“Two minutes!” someone called.
I looked down at my watch. “I’m actually going to go. Thanks, guys,” I said. “Make sure this one doesn’t follow me?” I asked, pointing to Eric, who looked confused as though he didn’t quite realize what just happened.
“We got your back,” Zach said.
“You’ll text me?” Larissa asked.
“Sure.”
“Looks like someone just found her new best friend,” Zach said, elbowing his cast member.
I stood up. “See you guys around.” I waved as I walked away.
On the way back to Devin’s office, I couldn’t help but realize what had happened and the ramifications of what just went down.
I had made it sound like Devin and I really were together, and if Eric didn’t know who had hit him, he did now.
Perhaps worst of all, Devin and I would have to go on pretending we were really a couple. I couldn’t have Eric find out we weren’t really together. It was the only satisfaction I got last night, to see his surprised face when he thought Devin and I were an item.