"Alright guys, we're about to shoot scene 53 in 10!" The director calls through over the mega phone. Joe and I are sitting on the picnic bench, talking over the scene. We have yet to shoot it but we make a point of talking about our scenes as much as possible before they occur so we can make sure we get our characters right.
"You nervous to kiss me yet?" He jokes, nudging me. I roll my eyes, "You wish. Did you finally figure out how to fold the flag?" He smirks, "Not cool Demi. I messed it up like once during practice." I nod, "Uh huh. Or like five times."
"Yo don't mind us. We're gonna watch from behind the bushes, cool?" Alyson walks up to us with Tess, Anna and a few other cast members. Joe and I exchange a weird look at each other.
"Why?" He asks them as they duck behind the bushes.
"We wanna see the kiss up close." Alyson tells us, raising her eyebrows. They had been joking the past few days about the kissing scene and Joe and I usually would ignore it but the past few days everyone has been way too giddy about it. They swear we have "romantic chemistry" but I just don't see it.
"Ya'll are crazy." I roll my eyes at them. Joe steps down from the picnic table and holds out his hand for me, "You are something else I swear." Joe winks playfully. I slap his arm. "Wow. I feel the love Dems." I step down from the picnic table, "Or reject my hand. That's cool." He acts mad.
Our director, Paul, comes out with the mega phone "Alright. We need the set clear. Demi and Joe get in position. Where's the flag?" One of the crew members hands Joe the flag "Thanks man" he says to the guy. I stand in position, holding the end of the flag.
"Scene 53 take 1. And action."
Joe and I start to fold the flag. "You know I was thinking about keeping this as a souvenir." I turn my back to set the prop flag on the picnic table before turning to face him again. Joe gives me a gentle look, masking his emotions from our playful conversation as he gets into character.
"I can't believe we lost." I take a small breath, giving him a half-smile.
"Every song can't be a hit." I pause to look at him gently. "Isn't that what you told me?" A shorter pause. "Doesn't mean we have to stop singing." He nods, looking down. I can tell that the reason he's looking down and not at me is because he's nervous. I just hope the director doesn't call cut yet. Joe is still doing well in character though. He's a good actor, don't get me wrong. I just know him and I know that he is real emotions are getting in the way.
I change my look to apologetic, imagining that I'm apologizing for a fight we had. I look down and then take a step closer to him, perfectly on cue. "Look I'm really sorry I didn't spend more time with you this summer." I say the line with ease. It comes out so natural. I look into his eyes and he stares back at mine intensely.
Joe changes his tone. "Hey the whole reason I came here-" "Was to get to know me better." I interrupt his line like we'd practiced this a thousand times. My heart starts to race as we look at each other. He smiles at me, still in character, now more than ever. "I've learned everything I need to know." I look at him for a brief moment and then Paul calls "CUT!"
Joe and I just smile at each other. We knew something like this was going to happen.
"Alright, that was good. We just want to get a new angle on the kiss so we'll film that now. Ready? Keep your places." Joe and I change our expressions into our previous ones.
"ACTION!" Paul shouts. I stare at Joe momentarily and then place my hands on each side of Joe's neck, going in to kiss him. I let our lips linger briefly, only pressing into his lips as I pull away from the kiss to stare at him. I smile at him, he smiles back after a second and as we go to walk away from the kiss, I take a quick glance from his eyes to his lips and back up.
"And cut! That was beautiful. I wanna get another shot here in five. Can I see Demi and Joe for just a moment please?"
Joe and I walk over to Paul. Joe rests his hand on the middle of my back as we talk to him. Joe and I have gotten a lot closer with filming, don't get me wrong, it's very very nice but it's just setting up the potential threat that both of us could develop feelings for each other and we've been really good friends for over a year now and I would hate for anything to get in the way of our friendship—including strong emotions. I mean, it's not like it would last. He's Joe. And I'm not like his usual type.
"I want you two to rehearse that scene again okay? I felt the chemistry but I wanna feel a little bit more. So meet me back here in five to film again." Joe and I nod and decide to go out in the woods to talk, like we usually do when Paul suggests we practice a scene.
Joe takes a seat on the edge of the ramp and I sit next to him, resting my head on his shoulder. "How do we put more chemistry into it? I thought that was pretty damn good for the first take." I tell him, staring at the moon on the horizon. Joe pats my leg, "I think he knew we were holding back is all." I lift my head from his shoulder and give him a look, "Joe, I wasn't holding back. You were. I could see it." He sighs, removing his hand from my leg. I grab his hand and hold it, a friendly gesture, at least, I tell myself it is. We do it often when we talk, it's natural.
"I just don't want to put too much into a scene like that." He admits, looking at me. I stare back at him, "Why not?" I say gently. He puts his hand on my cheek, and leans in closely, our eyes still open, staring into each other's as our lips are almost touching. "Because it'll feel like this." He kisses my lips softly, letting his hand on my cheek move to intertwine with my hair. I place one hand on the back of his neck. He parts my lips with his and we let our lips linger. I decide to kiss him back, letting our lips move against each other's like polar opposites until our tongues are wrestling against each other's. Joe takes his other hand and puts it on my waist, squeezing gently. I move in closer to where the front of my body is against the side of his. He pulls away from the kiss slightly, now only our lips are touching again.
"I've been wanting to do that ever since the first movie." He admits with a smile. I smile back at him.
"Why wait then?" He gives me a knowing look, "Dems, you haven't exactly been single the past year. You've got guys lining up to be with you. And I didn't think you thought of me more than anything but a friend." I shrug, "I thought the same about you. I didn't think I was your type." He shakes his head, "You're beautiful Demi. I don't have a type, even though you may think that. My type is you." I kiss his lips gently.
"Does this mean I'm officially Shane Gray's girlfriend?" I joke. He rolls his eyes, "No. Not yet." I give him a curious look, "We have to go on a few date's first." I nod, "Deal." Joe stands up and I take his hand to stand up too.
He kisses me one more time, I have to get on my tippy toes to get into the kiss, he holds on to my hips lovingly. "Demi, I care about you. I don't want you to feel like you have to be anyone besides yourself around me. Always." I give him a hug, it's all I can do at the moment. I'm so close to a breaking point that his words fill the emptiness in my heart. He completes me in so many ways. But it's also frightening. I know the damage that he could bring.
"Nick is waving us down. I think they're ready for us on set. You ready for our kiss?" I smile at Joe as he pulls away, only wanting to hold on to him longer as he does.
"Don't mess up the flag, Joe." I joke, running towards set.