The guys and I only spent around ten minutes helping the lighting director test his colour scheme. I had no idea what that meant, but after posing like his human guinea pigs in front of a few screens, he seemed satisfied.

I probably would have enjoyed the experience, had I not spent the entire time worrying about the whole Crystal situation. Giovanni and his friends had a blast, pulling stupid faces and Usain Bolt poses while the lighting director played around with his equipment.

Back in the green room, a marquee specifically laid out for the extras, I stuck with Giovanni and his friends, whose names I was told but struggled to remember. They stood by the refreshments table, talking in English for my benefit. I grabbed a croissant and some coffee in a Styrofoam cup, and scanned the groups of people for any sign of Crystal, who was apparently MIA.

Giovanni's friends seemed to have noticed me searching for her, as one put his hand on my shoulder, smiling knowingly. "You like her, don't you?" I wasn't sure of his name but I suspected it was Leonardo, or something similar.

"I, er, don't really know what you're talking about."

"I am talking about the beautiful girl that was here earlier – Crystal."

"Oh. Her. That's complicated – she's almost like family."

"I wouldn't worry about it, if I were you," he said, smirking. "If I am not mistaken, I think she rather likes you too."

By the time Crystal finally made an appearance, I was practically pacing up and down, anxiously waiting for her to return.

"Where have you been?" I pounced. "I was beginning to worry you'd changed your mind about this whole thing."

"No, no, nothing like that. I just met Steve Hughes."

No wonder she was looking so happy.

Another girl standing behind us overheard. "Oh, you lucky thing! What's he like?"

Crystal sighed dramatically. "He's gorgeous."

I didn't know what I was feeling for Crystal, but whatever it was, I didn't like the thought of her crushing on famous actors at all. "I've heard he's short," I commented.

"He's average height, but that doesn't matter; he's perfect."

I really needed to get this weird jealousy thing under control.

She found a spare chair and sat down slowly, taking care of her costume. "Don't mind me: I'm just going to savour the moment." Completely oblivious, she waved me away, only half joking.

Wondering when I became so dramatic, I stormed off to the other end of the tent, where the friends I'd made were playing cards. I wasn't sure why I was behaving this way, but I felt wounded. I had been waiting for her to somehow tell her how I felt, but she was too busy gushing over an actor I could never compete with. My mother had always told me I was too proud, and this once again proved that the woman was never wrong.

It occurred to me halfway through a game of poker that I would happily settle down without my soulfinder, if only I could settle down with someone like Crystal. But Leonardo had obviously been wrong about her liking me. Whatever I felt towards her, it was evidently not returned.

…

Filming only began late that afternoon, as they wanted to shoot the scene in question when darkness was just beginning to fall.

All of the extras were gathered around in the center of the Piazza to be briefed about what we needed to do.

"OK, ladies and gentlemen." The director, who I knew from Crystal was named James, was a short, slightly round man, with a thick Irish accent. He wore jeans and a polar neck sweater, with a BlackBerry permanently buzzing in his hand.

"This is the carnival," he explained, speaking in English with a translator repeating everything in Italian. "You have to imagine you have been up all night enjoying yourselves and have reached the hour just before dawn, the darkest and most sinister period when emotions are at their height. You are not so much individuals but symbols of what the carnival means to Venice." He began to delegate roles to people, giving them specific instructions based on the colour of their clothes.

He addressed a few groups, giving them their roles, before he reached Crystal and I. "Red and gold – you are the lovers. I want you standing on the steps doing romance – you got that?"

I started to feel sick. I looked at Crystal, whose expression was just as mortified as I felt.

"Red and gold – oh, it's you, Crystal," James' tone became more friendly as he recognised her. The other extras were murmuring around us, obviously impressed that she was on a first name basis with the director. "You can handle that, can't you?"

"Yes, no problem." Crystal's voice sounded as if she had swallowed sawdust.

"Great. Be careful what you say to each other. I know you are wearing masks and it gives the illusion you can get away with anything but there are lip readers out there who will be writing to me like a shot if you don't keep in character. No wisecracks; no discussions of what's for supper. Decide what your character's story is and remain in it until I say 'cut'."

"You OK with this?" Crystal asked me nervously. "It's a bit more than I expected. Lily said we just had to stand around looking impressive."

I cleared my throat, and did my best to look confident. "Sure. Like you said: no problem. I have a good imagination."

We were ordered to our places. The contents of my stomach seemed to be doing a dance inside of me, and I knew it was not the thought of being on camera that was causing it, but the thought of what I was required to do on camera. I forced myself to take deep breaths as Crystal led the way to our spot – we were going to have to do several rehearsals to get it right before the infamous Steve Hughes showed up.

We reached the flight of stairs where we were expected to act all too soon. I cleared my throat as I slowly wrapped my arms around her. As awkward as things were, it felt strangely normal to hold her like this.

I decided that, if I was going to do this, I was just going to have to pretend that she was any other girl I'd liked in the past.

"You know the theory of infinite universes?" I asked softly, bending my head to meet hers as mist swirled around us.

"No, what's that?"

"It's one of the explanations of how our universe is like it is as all others exist somewhere else."

"What's that got to do with acting?"

One of my arms was angled across her back, keeping her steady on the stairs, and the other hand was resting at her neck, my thumb gently stroking along her jaw.

"I was just thinking that that means somewhere there's a universe where you and I are lovers and this would be real, not make-believe."

I was kind of hoping that universe could somehow be this one.

My mouth hovered above hers. I could feel heat radiating off of her as she licked her lips nervously.

I was interrupted by the director. "And cut! How did that look?"

"If that theory is correct," Crystal continued, "then there's also a universe where you have purple spots and I've green skin."

"True," I squinted, playing along. I studied her carefully. Her eyes shone with a beautiful colour and her defined cheekbones carried a light, healthy flush. "Yeah, green would suit you."

And then the Hollywood actor with the inflated ego and millions of dollars arrived. The girls looked star struck, the guys puffing out their chests as if they weren't intimidated. Was I the only one who looked bored?

"Remember," the director reminded him, "your character has hit rock bottom, doubting his motivation, doubting his soul – these extras are an externalization of your inner demons."

Crystal gripped my arm excitedly. "And that's what makes these films so great – a bit of magical realism threaded through a gritty plot!" she whispered. "Isn't it amazing to see it being created before our eyes?"

I shrugged, nonchalant. "I just like them because they blow up stuff."

She rolled her eyes and hit me in the stomach lightly. "Huh, boys!"

"Huh, girls!" I mimicked, tapping her nose.

"OK, ladies and gents," James' voice carried over set, "this time we're going for a take. Steve, are you ready?"

A thumbs-up came from Steve Hughes at the end of the colonnade. My arms encircled Crystal again, ready for the scene.

"Cue mist… and action!"

I held her closely to my chest and looked down at her tenderly. I couldn't help but smile slightly as I thought about how beautiful she looked. Steve Hughes passed us, but to my pleasure, Crystal didn't appear to even notice him. My finger was slowly stroking along the edge of her mask when the director stopped us again.

"Cut. Right, ladies and gentlemen, men in black I want you to enter a few seconds earlier – you were in Steve's path and I want you clear by the time he reaches the second archway. Woman in white – excellent – keep on doing that. Lovers – that was sweet but I want passion."

Crap.

"Kiss the girl, for heaven's sake, man," James continued. "Think: you've got a babe in your arms, looking like a million dollars and I've given you the excuse you need to lay one on her lips. What are you waiting for?"

I briefly noticed Giovanni smiling wickedly at me. He winked, and some of the other extras laughed, but I could barely hear them over the ringing in my ears.

"Shh. It'll be fine." I whispered to Crystal, gathering her in my arms and rubbing small circles on her back. She was biting her lip nervously, her tension evident. I did my best to comfort her, despite the fact that I felt like throwing up myself. "It's just make-believe. He's right. You do look incredible. A princess. I've been dying to kiss you for days now."

"And action!" The director yelled distantly. It sounded as if I was hearing him from underwater.

I placed my hands on Crystal's waist to still them, hoping she wouldn't notice that they were shaking. I said a final prayer that the coffee from this morning would manage to remain in my stomach, and lowered my head to meet hers.

And then we were kissing.

Warm tingles started to spread down my spine, the sensation of heat growing until it was as if my blood had turned to fire. Within seconds it had spread to all over my body, spurred on by my racing heart, which I could feel pounding in my chest, my ears, and even my fingers.

My thoughts scattered until all I could think about was Crystal – her lips on mine, her hands on my chest. They sent sparks of electricity from where they rested on my shirt to all over my body. It felt as though my bones were humming with energy at every touch.

My hand moved from her hip to cradle her head, tilting it back gently. Our kiss deepened. I forgot that we were surrounded by people – Crystal was all that mattered. Forces of attraction seemed to pull me towards her, like magnets. Time seemed to lose all its meaning. Had we been kissing for a minute, or for an hour? I didn't care – I was aware only of her lips on mine, and of the feeling that I could have stayed like this forever.

My lips travelled to the curve of her jaw, exploring the soft skin of her neck, the audience surrounding us completely forgotten. Nothing had ever felt so perfect, so natural. It was as if we were connected, dragged together by an unexplainable power.

I never wanted it to end. My hands were shaking as they held her close to me. I could feel her heartbeat as I kissed the pulse point on her neck, just below her jaw – her heart was racing just as furiously as my own. My head was spinning, my thoughts and feelings all orbiting around Crystal. I felt as though it was no longer gravity holding me to the planet, but her. Blood pounded and roared in my ears, so loudly that I barely heard the director yell "cut".

I lifted my head slowly. We were surrounded by smirking technicians; I hadn't even noticed them there before.

Crystal stepped back. I tried, and failed, to catch my breath. What was that? We were probably going to have to investigate the possibility of a soulfinder bond again, after what had just happened. A flicker of hope lit up inside of me at the thought of that.

"OK, guys. I'm so pleased some of you really take my direction to heart. Well done, Lovers, that was very… convincing." There were some sniggers and amused looks following the director's comments. "Let's go again from the top."

I was very aware of the fact that I was shaking with adrenaline. Crystal put her hand on my arm, lacking her usual certainty. She was shaking too.

"That was…"

"That was the most amazing kiss I've ever had," I finished, resting a finger on her collarbone and playing with a loose strand of her hair. "Thank you."

Her hands were still resting on my shirt. Heat seared from the point where she touched me, like she was giving me tiny electric shocks. She looked down to where her palms sat on my chest.

"That was my first kiss ever," she admitted shyly. "A proper one, I mean."

For a first kiss, that was exceptionally good. And I was a little too pleased that I was the first person to be on the receiving end of that electricity.

I sighed, and put one of my hands over hers, holding it to my chest. "With kisses like that, I wish this was the universe where you were my soulfinder."

My forehead was resting against hers, ready to repeat the whole thing again for the cameras. I felt breathless at the thought of yet more of those amazing kisses.

"I do too," she whispered, as our lips met once more.

Author's Note:

Argh, they finally kissed! Eek! I hope I did it justice – I wasn't sure about this chapter and I'm kind of nervous about uploading it.

Anyway, thanks for reading and reviewing, etc. The next chapter will be up on Sunday. I hope you're all having an amazing summer! :D xx