Kanan stared down the chamber of the gun as she felt her sweat gliding down her temple with each passing second. She was far too frightened to look away from the metal death chamber that was aimed between her eyes. All that was running through her head were her final words and maybe even some regrets. While near death, she began to notice all the little things in life that didn't matter at the time, but now would make her the happiest girl on Earth.
You might actually have been happy, if you just weren't such a coward.
Kanan's thoughts were drowned out as her heart beat grew louder. That was, until her concentration was finally broken. She heard a sweet, yet broken, voice call out to her ears from behind the revolver,
"I'm so sorry I got you into this."
It was Mari. The girl of her dreams. The person she promised she'd do anything for. Now here she was, tears running past her butterscotch eyes, as she softly hiccupped with each sob.
Kanan was going to put her self-made vow to the test.
She doesn't know how they got into this situation, but what she does know is that Mari doesn't look like she can handle another second in this situation. Her hands shook to keep the gun within her grasp while her body trembled with fear. Kanan refused to let this end badly for the blonde beauty before her. She attempted to get up from the ground she was on, as the ropes that bound her arms to her body added to the struggle. A sharp voice suddenly cut through the air,
"Stop! Get up and I'll end you both."
Behind Mari was a tall man with blinding platinum hair slicked back and sharp pair of blue eyes to go with him. He stared viciously at the young girls before him, as neither of them had bothered to look where the noise had come from, their only focus was on each other. Kanan softly gazed towards Mari as the golden-haired girl attempted to keep up her slowly crumbling composure. With their eyes locked Kanan gently whispered,
"Just do it, Mari. Please. I can't see you get hurt, not for me."
By now, Mari couldn't stop her tears from forming, despite them blinding her vision. She knew Kanan meant every word, but that doesn't mean she won't at least try to keep her alive longer, just to hear that raspy voice for a few seconds more.
"I know you still have one more trick up your sleeve, Kanan. Now would be a great time to use it, please."
Mari held Kanan's gentle gaze even fiercer than before, as if asking her to do something, anything, just for her. All their life it was always Mari getting them in trouble, whether it be with their parents or with the local law enforcement, while Kanan continuously got them out. However, for once it seemed Kanan no longer saw an escape.
"I'm sorry, Mari", Kanan finally broke their gaze as she dejectedly looked down at the dirt she sat upon. Not wanting Mari's last moments with her to be sad however, she faked a smile before finishing,
"It seems we've run out of luck this time."
Mari stared at Kanan, truly taking her angelic appearance in. She wanted to remember each and every detail about the young diver. Wishing their moment could last just a few seconds longer, their time was cut short as the man behind her yelled out,
"What the hell did I say? Just shoot her already!"
The blonde-haired girl raised the gun to Kanan one more time with shaky hands as violet eyes gently observed at her every action. The sheer silence surrounding the two girls was just quiet enough to hear each of the girl's hearts break. Mari put her finger on the trigger, slowly choking back a sob while Kanan softly let her tears fall. No matter what, Kanan always tried her hardest to put on a brave face, just for her. With that in mind, it was no surprise to anyone when golden eyes were shut from view before a screech came crying out,
"I can't do it!"
Throwing her gun to the floor, Mari shattered the chamber into multiple pieces. Gasps could be heard from all around the girls as people stared at each other with worried faces before a furious voice broke the tension,
"CUT!"
The directors voice boomed through the studio as everyone hid their heads, they could tell he was pissed.
"Mari this is the 7th take! Just shoot Kanan and say your damn lines!"
Mari looked at him with red eyes and an exhausted face as she screamed back towards him,
"I want to see you come down here and try this! It's a lot harder to do this when you have to murder your best friend,"
Before finishing her sentence though, Mari spun on her heels, almost as a princess would, as she smiled at her blue-haired beauty before whispering just loud enough for all to hear,
"Whom I love so very much."
The whispers around the studio turned to snickers as they saw Kanan blushing all the way down her neck from the previous statement. Everyone knew there was chemistry between the two actresses, since they were both childhood friends, but they never got to see their sparks up close. From the way they interacted it left many to assume the two had a past fling or something along that nature, but to Kanan's many refusals it left everyone just secretly shipping them. However, the situation of a pissed off director was still there and before it could escalade any further Kanan decided to put a stop to it, also because her face was burning from the stares focused at them. The cobalt-haired girl got up from her seated position while taking her arm out from the stretchy ropes used to bind her. She wrapped an arm around Mari's shoulder to calm her down as she turned towards the director,
"How about we call it a day? We've been shooting for about 10 hours straight anyways and I think I speak for everyone when I say we need a break."
The director only looked at them with frustration leaking from his pores. Despite being upset with one of the actresses he also knew that Kanan's words were correct, he was running his crew dry. He let out a large exaggerated sigh while rubbing his temples as he begrudgingly yelled out,
"Fine! Everyone, go home. Let's pick this up again tomorrow!"
While equipment started to begin moving all around the two girls, Kanan grabbed Mari's hand, already having a place in mind to take her to cool off. She began to make her way towards her trailer and judging from the tugs she felt, Mari was still very upset. Even from within her soft hands, Kanan could feel her tense posture. Her violet eyes searched for her trailer while her mind unconsciously began to rub soft circles on the back of Mari's hand. After reaching the small 1-bedroom trailer the girls let themselves in and were immediately greeted by the cool wind that had been hoarded in the room the entire day. Being able to finally relax, Mari belly flopped onto the couch before shouting out through a muffled cry,
"Ugh Dave always pisses me off! Why can't he see that my character would totally not be able to kill her friend! Especially with our chemistry on that set, they might as well be lovers! You can't kill off a love interest! That makes a bad movie!"
Kanan gently smiled at her as she continued her rant before grabbing two water bottles for each of them from her mini fridge. Hearing Mari's words fade more and more she realized she was finally allowed to talk,
"Well I'm sure the feeling between you two is mutual. But besides that, you already know directors always have different visions for their characters. We're just getting paid to bring them to life, not change them."
Mari looked as if she was stabbed in the back from the blue-haired girl's statement. She turned her body over to side eye Kanan. Her violet eyes showed sincerity in her words while Mari's showed annoyance. She rolled her body back over before she spit out,
"You're supposed to be on my side Kanan. Not his."
Kanan let out a light chuckle as she got up from crouching at the fridge. She strolled over and sat by Mari's feet before handing over the water bottle to the young girl,
"I'll tell you what Mari. Get through this scene tomorrow with no fights or mess ups and I'll take you to the best restaurant in town as a reward."
Mari looked over at Kanan with suspicion in her eyes. She knew the cobalt-haired girl didn't like to be seen in public very often. Especially not with her, since rumors of the two being romantically linked were in full swing thanks to this movie starring them both as leads with no male casting to be seen. Before Mari could overthink the situation, Kanan looked down at her water bottle avoiding eye contact, just as she did when they were younger and she was much more reserved, as she whispered aloud,
"You and me. Just like old times."
Hearing those magic words brought a smile to Mari's face. She wasn't sure if their definition of 'old times' was still the same, but she couldn't help but hope. She sat up quickly and turned her full body in order to wrap her arms around Kanan's torso. While rubbing her face into Kanan's chest she muffled out,
"Oh Kanan, you know you don't have to act so shy when asking me on a date! I would never say no!"
Kanan's face burned a deep red as she attempted to push back Mari's head before exclaiming out,
"It's not a date! It's a celebration for you finally being able to finish a scene!"
Mari continued laughing as she let herself be pushed away. Her giggles slowly faded away as she watched Kanan's embarrassment grow more obvious with her cheeks. Her bright red face was turned away from Mari, but she couldn't have that. With her soft hands, Mari gently cupped Kanan's face to look into her violet eyes. Soon enough the mood turned serious as the room fell silent. All that could be heard was the slow agonizing droplets of the fossette running in the kitchen. Neither one of them were ready to break the silence that held together their precious moment. Their eyes wandered each other's faces and just like old times, their lips met once again for their usual midnight dance. A secret was all that they were and both girls knew that, but they loved to live in their fantasy world where they had never become famous. Where they had just stayed normal countryside girls, who fell in love. Unfortunately, reality always hit and when it struck, it aimed just for a certain blue-haired diver. Kanan's eyes burst open as she pushed Mari away. She knew what they were doing was wrong. Or at least, that is what she told herself when she was met with a pair of heartbroken golden eyes each and every time. Mari was used to this though. She knew all too well how fast Kanan would push her away physically and emotionally, but that never stopped her from believing she would someday change, just for her. She looked back at Kanan with a smile on her lips as she took in her blushing cheeks and dilated eyes. It was about time she took her leave, but not without speaking out the same dialogue she told her love each night since they were young,
"You know I love you Kanan. I'm just waiting for you to realize you love me back."
Hearing those words leave Mari's mouth, Kanan turned her face in discomfort. It always got to this point. They would go too far and Kanan would spend weeks holed up, avoiding her until they were almost strangers. It hurt each time, but Mari would always come back. No other person out there could make her heart skip a beat with a simple smile upon their lips. She was lovestruck by her best friend and she just knew the feeling was mutual. As Mari began her stroll towards the door, she stopped at the frame. Looking down at her fingers running along the doorknob, she paused. She knew she wouldn't be seeing any of this again anytime soon. For a moment she gathered her last bit of strength she had with her that night before gently whispering,
"And I'll wait forever for you if I have to."
She turned the sleek knob to open the door. The cool night air brought her fresh goosebumps as she walked out of the door, gently closing it. She slowly trailed back to her own trailer in hopes that maybe today would be the day Kanan finally chased after her. It's too bad that no matter how hard she wished, this little dream simply wouldn't come true.
Kanan let out a large breath she didn't realize she was holding as she slumped back into the seat. Her body already knew her routine for when these things would happen. Find the nearest alcoholic drink and drown away these thoughts. She got up from the couch she was resting on only to go back to the mini fridge. If she was going to get hammered, then there was no point in needing any more water. She instead reached past the water bottles for her 'celebration' wine she was going to give Mari when the movie was finished filming. She had even imported it from Italy for her. Kanan knew it was such an old woman way to get drunk, but she would do anything to get her mind away from those heartbroken eyes. She popped open the top, drinking straight from the bottle with one hand while loosening her button up shirt with the other. Kanan took a breath as she looked up towards the ceiling. She placed her hand where her heart was rapidly beating. She couldn't tell if it was from the drink, her long day, or just her. Before her thoughts could get too far though, she clamped her eyes shut as she chugged as much as she could, letting the alcohol burn her throat with each new gulp. It was any wonder how Mari could love her voice, she had put it through hell and back because of the young girl. Finally letting the intoxicating liquid hit her, she let her tears fall for a second time that day before whispering to herself,
"I do love you, Mari. And that's my problem."