A big part of pre-production that Maya would come to know is press photos. There she stood dressed in a very simple yet carefully selected outfit from wardrobe. The black top stopped just in the middle of her torso, drawing attention to her toned abdomen. Her normally short legs were elongated by a gorgeous pair of pants that belled near the bottom, a beautiful mix between red and orange that popped against the cool undertones in her skin. Staring at herself in the mirror, layers of blonde hair framed her face in this voluminous blowout, very similar to those of big stars in the nineties.

Bringing a hand to the side of her face, Maya was in awe of her own appearance. Her lips created this perfect pink pout accented by the very natural yet flattering makeup done on her today. "Amazing right?"

Maya looked up in the mirror to see a beautiful woman standing behind her. Her shoulder length red hair accented her striking green eyes. Intimidated by her beauty, Maya shrunk a bit in her chair. "Hi Cassie."

Cassie leaned forward in the mirror and touched up her lipstick. "Isn't it amazing that there are people on this set who are literally paid to make us look good? Thank god for hair and makeup."

Sighing internally Maya tried to sit up a bit straighter. "Were you looking for me?"

"Not really. I just needed to do a few touch ups and you happened to be here but it's always fun to run into you. I mean we've barely had any chances to talk since we've been in pre production."

Maya let out a fake laugh and stood up out of her chair. "Yeah well I've been a bit busy as you can imagine. I should go get out there see where they need me for the shots but it was great talking to you! I'll see you out there."

Maya could not leave that trailer fast enough. Cassandra Carpenter, also known using the mononym Cassie, had been finding little ways to get under Maya's skin for months. Maya heard through the grapevine that Cassie wasn't exactly ecstatic to be playing second lead to Maya. Something about earning the part and giving it to some 'no name' from New York. It didn't help that Maya was already having doubts in her acting abilities but to have someone who she can tell is waiting for her to mess up? That's hard.

Making her way to the set, Maya smiled as she saw Josh already waiting in front of the white back drop that was set up. His hair was messily tousled, allowing a bit of its natural wave to peek through. His chest was exposed, leaving him only in a pair of distressed jeans and pair of sneakers. Maya looked down at her feet and took note of the black boots they put her in. They were probably trying to make her look taller. Her and Josh did have a larger height difference between them than most couples. The shutter of the photographer's camera entered everyone's ears as Josh began to pose solo for the camera.

If anyone was a natural at all of this, it was Josh. Back when they were on America's Best Dancer Josh was a natural at all of the interviews and the camera work, he was made for this. With every shutter Josh gave the camera a new pose, providing the photographer with endless content. Spotting Maya from where he stood Josh winked at her, making her cheeks flush pink. Holding out his hand to her, Maya walked towards him and joined him in front of the camera. Being her most comfortable with him by her side, they fell into a natural rhythm getting exactly what was needed. Soon the other actors were called and Cassie found herself on the other side of Josh opposite of Maya.

Cassie's hand had somehow made its way to the front of Josh's chest. Her red hair was draped over her shoulder as she leaned in to Josh's ear and smirked at the camera. Maya gritted her teeth and continued to smile, trying to ignore the interaction occurring right next to her. Was she doing this because Maya was there? Or was she actually trying to do her job? Whatever it was, it was surely pissing Maya off with every passing second. Just make it through today Maya, that's all you have to do. Maya's thoughts were the only thing that got her through the day as well as thoughts of the date she and Josh had planned for that evening. The day went on and shoots were had, glares were exchanged, and an oblivious Josh was just happy to be there.

.:.

Later that evening Maya stepped out of the hot shower with her hair pinned up, preserving the blowout from earlier. Taking the clip out of her hair, Maya let her big beautiful hair bounce around her shoulders. As she slipped on one of Josh's many t-shirts a heavenly smell entered her nose. Walking out into the living room, Maya walked in to see Josh setting a pizza box down on their coffee table. Looking up Josh smiled. "Hungry?"

Maya nodded and walked further into the room and sat down on the couch. "Did you get olives on this one?"

Josh rolled his eyes and sat down next to his girl, placing an arm around her shoulder. "Of course. Because any pizza without olives-"

"Is like SpongeBob with round pants."

"It doesn't make sense!" They finished together.

Four slices and two full bellies later, Josh sat back and released a satisfied breath. Watching Maya from his seat, he brushed a hair behind her ear. Maya looked at him out of the corner of her eye and rose a brow. "Just admiring you," Josh quelled. "I really like your hair like this. Makes you look like a movie star. Which you are now by the way."

Maya cleaned off her fingers with a napkin and sat back in Josh's arms on the couch. "You are too Mr. Matthews. Out of the two of us, you're gonna be a huge star. You were made for this. You should've seen yourself during the shoot today."

Josh smiled smugly. "I was pretty amazing wasn't I?" Maya rolled her eyes and tried to sit up but was pulled back down by her boyfriend. "I'm kidding!"

Josh's arms wrapped themselves around Maya as she rubbed her hands up and down his forearms. A comfortable silence sat between them as they each thought about the respective issues that were itching their brains. Maya's nerves were starting to get the best of her as she thought about the impending days that were leading up to their first days of shooting. It would be one thing to deal with the fan attention, which Maya had gotten used to for the most part. There was one incident while ice skating but they both choose to ignore that one. Josh on the other hand was just thinking about what Maya could possibly be thinking. He really didn't want any of this to spook her.

Maya picked up her phone that was laying next to her on the couch and opened up her instagram. With Josh looking over her shoulder, they just mindlessly scrolled for a minute or two before stumbling upon a few fan photos that they were tagged in. "We look good in these," Maya mused. Smiling to herself, Maya swiped through the photos stopping at one where Josh was looking at Maya but she was looking away. The look in his eyes was so sweet. Anyone could tell that Josh adored her. You didn't have to know who they were in order to see that.

"Look at that one," Josh pointed out. "Some people have already made fan edits of the movie poster. People are so creative." Maya's lack of response worried him slightly. Easing his way into the conversation, Josh took Maya's phone and turned off the screen before speaking. "You know the media attention is gonna pick up again as we get further into this process. Do you think you'll be okay?"

Maya turned around to face Josh and took her hands to cup his cheeks. "I told you. I'm in for life. No matter what."

Josh shook his head and took Maya's hands from his face and placed them in her lap. "I'm serious Maya. This is probably going to be nothing like what it was on the show. We're talking about on a global scale here. That's a lot and I'm just-"

"Afraid that I'm going to run?"

"That's not what I'm saying-"

"But it's what you're thinking." Maya shook her head and stood up from her position on the couch. "Josh we both ended things when we were in L.A. not just me."

Josh remained calm and took a deep breath. "Maya that's not what I'm saying! We talked about L.A. already. I thought we worked through all of that. I'm not going to just throw it in your face like that, but I am going to express my own worry about how you're going to handle all of this. Things weren't exactly easy when we got back together in New York. Remember the ice skating incident?"

Maya held up a hand as she grew a tight lip. "We agreed to not talk about that ever again."

Josh raised his hands in surrender and stood up carefully. "And I'm not going to. I just can't shake this feeling that this going to be a lot on us. This is more than just competing for a title. We have to balance all of this with lines and dancing and press that we have to interact with this time around. We can't ignore everything like we may want to."

Sighing, Maya ran her fingers through her hair. "I know," she finished quietly. "Sorry for getting defensive."

Josh sighed and looked at Maya who began hug herself. Opening his arms to her, she ran into them. Kissing the hair atop her head Josh thought to himself. What could he do to help remedy the situation? To acknowledge his feelings and also also preserve her own? The idea popping into his head, Josh ran out the room and came back. Maya watched him as he cleared the table and began to scribble on a piece of paper. Silently, Josh handed her the piece of paper and she looked over it.

I, Joshua Gabriel Matthews, agree to the following:

1. To always talk to you about how I'm feeling throughout this experience. It's important that we continue to communicate to avoid any confusion.

2. To never bring up our past. It's in the past for a reason. (Especially the ice skating incident)

3. To always dedicate a time for us and our relationship. If we're serious about forever then I'm going to treat this as such.

4. To not let any of this get the better of me. This is all amazing but you're more important to me.

5. To go through this with you. It means nothing to me if we let this break us apart.

Maya read the paper in her hands and smiled. Taking the pen out of his hand, Maya scribbled on it herself and handed it back to him.

I, Joshua Gabriel Matthews, agree to the following:

1. To always talk to you about how I'm feeling throughout this experience. It's important that we continue to communicate to avoid any confusion.

And I'll do the same. Forgive me if I get defensive, I'm still working on that.

2. To never bring up our past. It's in the past for a reason. (Especially the ice skating incident)

3. To always dedicate a time for us and our relationship. If we're serious about forever then I'm going to treat this as such.

You better, I need more pizza nights.

4. To not let any of this get the better of me. This is all amazing but you're more important to me.

And you're important to me.

5. To go through this with you. It means nothing to me if we let this break us apart.

I, Maya Penelope Hart, agree to the following:

1. I will be open with you about how I'm feeling. You should never have to read my mind.

2. I will not let my inevitable jealousy of all your fan girls get to me. I know I got a hot guy so it comes along with the territory.

3. We will revise our contract and make amendments at the premier.

Josh read over the paper and smiled. Signing the bottom, he handed it back to Maya and she did the same. "So we have a deal?"

Maya smiled and stuck her hand out for him to shake. "It is a contract Matthews and we both signed it so yes, we have a deal."

Josh laughed while shaking his head. Taking Maya's hand into his he pulled her into a hug and kissed her lips tenderly. "We've got this. This is going to be a literal cake walk. We get to dance and have fun and make money while doing it. It's the dream."

Josh's words fell between them as he tried to convince them both that this would be easy. It would be nothing like that.


A/N: Was motivated so I decided to churn out another chapter. There will be no release schedule for this but I'm gonna work on getting you guys quality chapters without super long wait times. Enjoy! and Review! Oh! And let me know what you guys think of Cassandra and their contract! I love hearing your thoughts.