Chapter Twenty-Five:

Out on the set, Yugi felt the strong urge to run for it when he caught sight of Rin.

He made himself walk with Joey over to the group. He wondered if Joey also felt like he was walking the last few steps to the gallows.

This was ludicrous, he told himself. Half a dozen attempts on his life and what was about to make him faint was kissing a beautiful woman? He had to get his head on straight.

"All right, boys and girls," Erica said. "We're about to get split up."

Yugi suddenly realized the group of people they'd approached did not contain Ishio, Sota, Mark, or Tristan, but only Rin, Nadia, and a bunch of tech people.

"Kevin's got the left half of the Inn and is filming everyone who is not here. First time Mark's about to be used. You'll notice you haven't seen him in your scripts. He and Tristan have got their own with their own scenes, and they've done a great job hiding it from you like I asked. Real proud of them."

"Is he the killer?" Joey asked immediately.

Erica wagged her finger at him. "You'll find out. Me, I've got the right half of the Inn and you four. Right. Joey, head on to your room."

Joey glanced at Nadia, who was looking out the window and fiddling with a bracelet she was wearing. He then looked at Yugi.

"Want me to not watch?" Yugi asked softly.

"Um…" And without finishing his sentence, Joey walked into the bedroom.

"Into your room, Nadia, and be quick, please," Erica said. "Yugi, Rin, back up some, so the camera doesn't get you. In fact, stand back here by the viewer."

Where the scenes were running in real time so Erica could watch and start or stop as needed. Yugi went to stand behind the screen, which was just inside the doorway of the room across the hall. Rin stood beside him. She didn't say anything and Yugi couldn't bring himself to either.

'Quick' ended up being Nadia changing into a nightgown. Maybe she'd not been wearing it before to save her having to walk around outside in it.

In her nightgown, nothing provocative, with her glasses off and her red hair slightly tousled, no makeup, she had gone from a cute schoolgirl to a pretty young woman. She was nowhere near as stunning as Rin, but she would turn plenty of heads.

"Wow," Rin said.

There was that reminder that Rin was not at all conceited or cold. She was a very nice woman, and they could get through this together. He hoped.

Erica was standing in the doorway of Joey's character's room, saying a few things to Nadia that Yugi couldn't hear. Then she stepped back and came over to the view screen, sitting in her director's chair. She called action and it started.

For several takes, it was as much of a disaster as the diner's bathroom scene. Joey looked like Nadia was offering Sota's presumed decapitated head and Nadia herself looked nervous to the point of vomiting. Joey's voice was pretty much a soprano squeak and Nadia could barely be heard. Once Erica's coaching had helped them move past that part, Joey almost fell out of the bed going to prop himself up on his palm and being way too far away from Nadia, and she herself kept looking over his head.

Finally, they got to the first kiss.

Sort of. Even on the view screen, Yugi could see they were actually kissing each other's cheeks.

Erica went to coach them again. Yugi watched Joey's embarrassed face and felt pretty bad for him. He knew it was going to be as bad for him as well. At least Tristan, Tea, and Yami weren't here to see it.

Erica came back to the view screen. She started the scene again and this time it went better. Joey didn't sound like a mouse with his tail in a trap and Nadia was audible. As they leaned into each other, Yugi saw Joey hesitate for a second, but even that didn't look unnatural.

This time they were right on target. The kiss looked normal, and Joey's fingers caressed through Nadia's red hair without pause. Her own hands were on his shoulders, then one slid up the nape of his neck and the other down onto his chest. Joey then sat up a bit more, broke the kiss, and tugged off his shirt.

Nadia kissed him again, but Yugi noted her left hand was now curled into a fist against her chest as if she was afraid to touch him. Her right hand was back only on his shoulder.

After a few more minutes, Nadia drew back and reached down for her nightgown. Just as she tugged it up over her head, the camera angle changed, and showed only her bare back.

There was a pause, then both went scarlet red and looked away from each other so fast they almost gave themselves whiplash. Yugi glanced at Erica and saw her smiling in amusement as she stood up and went out to them again.

Yugi suddenly noticed Rin was not beside him anymore. He looked around and found her across the room, holding back the edge of the curtain and looking out over the back of the property. Yugi hesitated, then went over to her.

"That's going to be us in a little while," she said before Yugi could say anything.

"Yeah," Yugi said, having literally no other words he could think of.

She looked down at him and he wasn't sure he could read the smile she gave him. "Do you think Jason and Yuki will make it to the end?"

"I'm not sure," Yugi admitted. "I don't think anyone is."

"It's depressing, isn't it?" She looked back out the window.

Something told Yugi the conversation was over. Confused, he turned back towards the director's station to see that Erica was back in her seat and the cameras were rolling again. Joey and Nadia were staring at each other again and there was a long enough pause that Yugi was sure Erica would get up again, but she didn't. And it turned out she clearly knew how to read her actors, because without further prompting, the two resuming kissing. Joey settled back into the sheets with Nadia draped over him, and his hand rested on her back. Her red hair fell over her shoulders and she drew back to push it out of the way of the shot, which was now angled from the side again and only focused on them from the shoulders up. She smiled down at Joey brightly, seeming all embarrassment forgotten, and leaned down for another kiss. Joey wound his arm around her and rolled them over, and as Kevin had said, just as she wrapped her arms around his neck, the camera angle drifted away over to the window.

"Cut!" Erica called.

One of the sound men came over, still holding one of the big boom mikes, and he and Erica walked off while discussing the scene. It got the green light from Erica and Joey came out of the room, tugging his shirt back on. Yugi went to meet him, but watched him walk down the length of the hall in silence. Concerned, he followed him to see him looking out one of the many windows, a strange look on his face.

"Joey? Are you okay?"

Joey glanced at him, then away, started to say something, then stopped. Yugi reached out and touched his arm, looking up into his face.

"She…uh… She, uh… I don't think she was acting." Joey's voice sounded uneasy. "She was really kissing me, Yug'."

"Well, she does have a crush on you," Yugi said calmly.

Joey looked down at him in surprise. "What?"

"You didn't notice."

"Come on, that's not… She doesn't…No way." Joey shook his head.

"Why is that such a surprise?" Yugi replied archly. "You're cute and funny enough to make me fall in love with you after all."

Joey blinked rapidly, his expression so stunned that Yugi was starting to get upset. He knew that Joey hated it when he suffered self-doubt, and he now knew why. But before he could say anything, he heard Erica calling him and Rin. Ice replaced his blood and he froze up for a moment.

"Yugi, come on, we're losing daylight," one of the sound guys called.

Swallowing hard, Yugi turned around and headed for what was his character's assigned bedroom. He didn't see Rin anywhere, which meant she was at her own character's starting point.

He could do this. He could do this.

Something strange happened. Sudden calmness came over him. He could do this. If Joey could, he could. He was not going to be the one who wimped out and if he could face Marik, Anubis, and Bakura, he could do this. Kissing a woman as beautiful as Rin had been something he'd dreamed about when he was sixteen. It was just a game.

In his character's bedroom, he ignored the cameraman standing in the corner and took a deep breath. Then he settled down on the edge of the bed and waited for his cue.

Knocking came to the door and Yugi said come in. The door opened and Rin appeared wearing a nightgown. It was a little skimpier than Nadia's and her cleavage peeked over the neckline, framed by her wavy hair. Peering around the doorframe at him, she smiled.

"Want some company?" she asked as Yuki.

For a moment, Yugi thought that he'd freeze again, but he found himself responding before he even thought about it. Rin bit her lip and smiled as she slipped into the room, crossing over and sitting on the bed beside Yugi.

They went through their lines, stupid, vapid stuff that meant nothing. Then Rin kissed him suddenly, cutting him off on his line. This was not in the script. Startled, Yugi started to draw back automatically when Rin dug her fingers into his hair and pushed closer.

Yugi didn't hear Erica call cut. Rin was pulling him down with her as she lay back and he caught himself on his hands, almost immediately drawn exorably down onto her. She wouldn't let him go and he finally didn't resist, putting his hands tentatively on her waist and kissing her back. Her grip on his hair was painfully tight and his lips mashed back against his teeth from how hard she was kissing him.

One hand moved down his back and then covered one of his on her waist and moved it down until it was on her thigh at the edge of her nightgown. She maneuvered his hand under the material and then up her thigh and hip, dragging the nightgown up with it. Feeling his face burn, Yugi tried again to pull away, but her grip on his hair hadn't lessened and now one leg hooked over his hip and curled with his, further holding him down.

She dragged his hand up her side against her ribs, then abruptly broke the kiss, kissed his neck, and hissed in his ear, "Just go with it, it's almost over."

She grabbed the hem of his shirt and dragged it up over his head before he could reply, and he had to hastily go with the movement. The sweater was tossed somewhere, and Rin grinned at him, then pulled his face down into her shoulder. Holding him there and almost smothering him, she giggled and then made a sighing, purring noise and scratched her nails down his back.

Suddenly she rolled him over onto his back and straddled him, running her hands from his stomach up his chest, around his shoulders and up his neck, ending with cupping his face and kissing him again, as hard as before. Yugi kind of lay there with his arms at his sides, and she broke the kiss and hissed in his ear again.

"Damn it, touch me so we can get this over with. Help me get my nightgown off."

Yugi had utterly forgotten they were filming a scene, he'd been so startled by Rin's aggression. Trying hard not to blush again, he hesitantly put his hands on her waist, and as she sat up again and smiled at him, he made himself run his hands up her sides, dragging the nightgown up. She grabbed the hem and pulled it up and off, and set it onto the bed beside his head. He had just a fleeting glimpse of the before mentioned body covering before she leaned down and kissed him again, free hand splayed on his chest. He brought one hand up into her hair, then grunted in surprise when she brought both hands down to his belt.

"Cut!"

Erica had hardly said the word when Rin broke the kiss, sat up, grabbed her nightgown, and climbed off of Yugi, all in one movement. She threw the gown on and was out of the bedroom without another word.

Yugi located his sweater on the floor. Pulling it up over his head, he watched the cameramen and sound operators fiddling with their equipment and talking. Erica came in with a big smile.

"That was great, Yugi," she said. "I don't think we'll even need a second take."

Yugi nodded silently, very glad for that. He stood up and left the bedroom. Rin was nowhere in sight and neither was Nadia, but Joey was standing in the hall. He started to say something, but was cut off by Erica.

"Okay, boys and girls, ten minute break, then we need you all back in the bedrooms to finish up."

Rin suddenly appeared. She'd gone back into the bedroom from which her character started, and was now wearing a long, terrycloth robe over her nightgown. Her appearance made Yugi feel awkward.

"Um, Yugi, can I talk to you for a minute?"

"Sure," Yugi said reluctantly.

He followed her back into the empty bedroom. As they went, Nadia came bounding down the hall, also wearing a robe, and went over to talk to Joey. In the bedroom, Rin turned around, and cleared her throat.

"Listen, Yugi, I'm sorry about that. I… I was really nervous and I just wanted the scene over with and I kind of went overboard and I think I bit you and all I could think about were the cameras and those guys just watching us and I just wanted to have to do it only once and I'm sorry, you're really cute and everything and I like you, and you're really sweet, and I was just embarrassed and this was all new and…and…anyway, I'm sorry."

Surprised by her babbling, Yugi was quick to reassure her. "No, Rin, it's okay."

She smiled at him, then leaned forward and kissed him on the cheek. Then she hugged him and said, "I don't think I want to be in movies."

"Me either," Yugi agreed.

She straightened and grinned at him. "So let's get this over with."

She left the room and Yugi followed.

tbc...