A/N: Major thanks to the people who've been chill with how long it takes for me to actually get updates for this ready. Starting to get some development in this one…
Ch. 4
Beca entered the hair and makeup trailer for the first day of filming, already looking forward to the end of the day. She stepped aside as the door opened and Dominque exited, giving her a 'Good Morning' greeting as she passed Beca.
It was six a.m. and she was only moving among the living because of the adrenaline provided by a mix of coffee and a pair of pick-me-ups in capsule form from her mother. She was probably somewhere on set, because of course she was. Beca didn't want to know who she was working or trying to work for whatever her next goal was. Beca didn't care about any of that, she just wanted to do her job and leave.
Once inside, she was spotted by the makeup artist she'd met with a few days before who nodded at her and gestured to an area for her to wait. Beca moved over to the specified area, only noticing when she got there that the nearby chair was occupied.
"Good morning," Chloe greeted brightly from her seat.
"Hey," Beca responded, "Uh, good morning," she ran her hand into her hair and scratched her scalp, "You're…chipper."
Chloe chuckled and turned back to face forward as the stylist continued to work on her hair.
"Yeah, sorry, I'm always a bit excited to start a project," Chloe explained, "Not a morning person I take it?"
Beca hummed, "Morning, afternoon, night."
The artist came over, a blonde woman with pale pink highlights in her hair, and instructed Beca to remove her hoodie and stand up. She did so, Chloe watching in the mirror as the brunette unzipped it and tossed it on the back of the chair. She was struck by the image in the reflection; the gray tank top fit perfectly against her chest and stomach, her exposed arms and shoulders caused Chloe to pull her bottom lip between her teeth.
She didn't realize she was staring so hard until her stylist tapped the side of her neck, "Turn this way."
She cleared her throat and obeyed, turning her head so now Beca was in her peripherals.
Beca stood as the woman circled her a moment,
"Ok," she spoke and referred to her notes sheet a moment, "So according to Gail's notes, Binx is heavily tattooed. So, this is good, we won't have to cover any of yours. I was thinking a sleeve, I made a few designs last night if you want to have a look."
Beca shook her head, "Whatever you think is best."
"Alrighty, do you have a preference which arm?"
She glanced down at the question, looking at the grasshopper donning her forearm and tracing it with a finger for a moment before gesturing to the opposite arm.
"This one," she told her, not wanting the insect to be hidden among the fake ones.
"Great, let's get started," she grinned, "I'll be right back."
"Ok, you're all set," the stylist told Chloe with a smile and a pat on her shoulder.
Chloe gave her a smile of thanks, though honestly, she was a little bummed about having to leave. She definitely wanted to spend more time with Beca. Maybe even just to keep looking at her. But duty called, so she stood up, squeezing by Beca in the small space, close enough she could feel the body heat between them.
Impulsively, Chloe moved her hand enough that the back of her fingers brushed against Beca's arm. Beca glanced down where they touched and then quickly back up to Chloe's face.
"I'll see you out there," Chloe spoke. Something about the whole interaction had Beca's mouth going dry. She swallowed before settling on just nodding in agreement and watched her go.
More and more she was feeling as though this job wouldn't be like any of her others.
X
X
Chloe continued through the rest of the prep departments, still thinking of Beca even while making sure to be friendly with everyone she met with. When she was dressed and on set, it was time for the first scene to begin filming. She made a mental note to keep her excitement to a minimum.
Yes, she'd already gushed a bit to Beca that night at the club about what a fan she was, but now that they were working, she would be as professional as ever. The cool thing about shooting out of order was that she would be sharing her first scene with Beca, even though their characters wouldn't meet until a bit later in the first act.
"To set!" Chloe heard the call, a bolt of fresh excitement hitting her spine; knowing it was time to start.
On the demand, everyone got into position, Chloe taking her place at the table set up in the "coffee shop." She took a breath to ease the first day jitters that started up and got into position looking down at the table.
"Background!"
The extras began middling about around her. The lighting was measured. The scene was announced, and the clapperboard snapped.
"Action!"
Chloe continued to look at the table a moment and then nervously turned over her shoulder. She waited for the appearance of Beca's character, announced with the bang of her dropping into the opposite chair at the table.
"You won't believe this," she heard, Beca declare; her tone of voice different than it had been during any of their brief conversations.
Chloe spun her head back around to deliver her line but was caught by the sight of Beca fully done up in character for the first time. Her dark hair was pulled up in a purposely haphazard ponytail. Several long silver necklaces layered together and hanging down her chest. A black t-shirt beneath an open navy vest displayed the newly applied tattoo covering one arm. A collection of leather bands and bracelets rested on each wrist. Her dark makeup accentuated, her pale skin and deep eyes.
Chloe was…well, she was enchanted. So much so, she completely forgot they were working and that it was her line.
At least, until John's harsh voice cut through her paralysis.
"Cut!" he hollered, "Jesus, already? It's the first scene, for God sakes!"
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry," Chloe apologized as she looked around at the crew. So much for being professional; a whole minute in and she'd already messed up and pissed off the director.
She looked at Beca, unbelievably embarrassed at the terrible impression she'd made. She put a hand to her face, feeling the redness attempting to spread, "I'm sorry."
Beca bit her lip, surprised at the urge to put the other woman at ease. Normally, she really couldn't care less about her co-stars' feelings, and she hated having to redo the same moment over and over because of a dumb mistake. She just wanted to do the job and leave. But, yet again, she had the feeling of how different this time seemed.
So, she poked her tongue between her lips before saying the first thing that came to her mind.
"What did the vampire say when she masturbated in front of the mirror?"
Chloe looked up at her upon hearing the question.
"What?" she asked, more in shock than to continue the apparent joke. Beca continued anyway.
"I didn't see that coming."
The corner of her mouth lifted, and one dark eyebrow went up after she said the punchline.
The sudden laugh took Chloe by surprise as it escaped her. It continued to bubble out of her for a few moments before she was able to settle back down.
"Are we ready?" John asked, his irritation obvious as he continued on sarcastically without waiting for any actual answer, "Great. Grand. Wonderful. Back to one!"
'Thank you,' Chloe mouthed to Beca with a smile.
Beca gave her a wink and rose from the table to go wait for her cue again.
"Let's try this again. God help me; action!"
This time Chloe did it perfectly, her exchange with Beca going flawless for the rest of their scene that ended with them running from the set as the stunt glass exploded around them as if gunshots were truly flying by.
Among the crew, Gail stood having watched the interaction in between filming that put Chloe at ease and then watched intently as the finished it all on the second take. A nugget of a thought came to her mind as she did and she looked down at her notepad she brought with intention to make notes for potential rewrites or adjustments. She wrote one word, knowing when she read it over again she'd know exactly what she'd meant, and circled it twice.
'CHEMISTRY?'
X
X
Hours later, so many hours later, they called it a day for the cast.
Chloe waited near the trailers, hoping to catch a moment with Beca on her way out. She had finished for the day before the other woman and fought the desire to stay on set to watch her work. Choosing instead to get changed and ready as quickly as possible so she wouldn't miss Beca.
She finally spotted her making her way over. Chloe took a second to quickly run her hands through her hair, hoping she still looked presentable after the long day. Beca had been watching her own feet as she walked, so looking up and seeing Chloe waiting beside her trailer caught her off guard. She stopped walking and looked her over; her surprise no doubt showing on her face.
"Hello again," Chloe greeted, lifting her hand in a small wave.
"Hi," Beca answered, "What, uh, what are you waiting around for? Thought you'd be halfway to bed by now."
"You think, right?" Chloe chuckled, "Well, you know how I said I'm always excited before starting on the first day? I'm also pretty jazzed afterwards too. It's always exciting to start a new project."
Beca smirked.
"Trust me, that'll pass."
The cynicism was a bit of a blow to Chloe's mood, but not enough to ruin it.
"Well, um, I wanted to thank you," she began, "Really, thank you for earlier. I don't know what came over me."
That was a lie. Chloe knew exactly what it was that had affected her so much.
"Oh that. It was nothing; just a dumb joke."
"No," Chloe argued, stepping forward, "No, it was something. It made me feel…comfortable; especially after messing up like that. I needed it. I can't thank you enough. If I didn't get it together, John would've thought they'd made a mistake bringing me on. As it is, I'm sure he hates me now."
"Dude forget that guy," Beca waved her arm towards the studio, "He's a jackass. HE doesn't care about this movie."
"What do you mean?" Chloe asked, "Of course he cares."
Beca kept herself from laughing in Chloe's face at her naivety. She found she couldn't be that cruel to her. So, she just explained what she meant.
"Listen, I've worked with all kinds," she started, "I can tell the ones who love what they're doing from the ones just in it for the paycheck. Trust me, that asshole is just here for the dollar signs. Don't worry about what he thinks," Beca hesitated before adding, "We're lucky to have you here. All of us."
She never complimented co-stars, refusing to stroke anyone's ego unnecessarily, but Chloe deserved it. Again, this just felt different; she wished she knew exactly why, but it evaded her. Chloe's brilliant smile at the compliment sent a strange rush through Beca's chest. She knew by that alone she'd made the right decision.
Chloe bit her lip and glanced down briefly.
"So, not that hanging around in fake café's and pretending to run for our lives isn't a blast, but I was wondering, if you don't have your own plans with your bed, maybe we could grab a real coffee," Chloe quickly followed up; realizing it sounded as though she were asking for a date, "I-I mean, to compare notes or…you know, Binx and Maddie do become friends. So, we should probably see how we…mesh. As friends, of course."
"Of course," Beca teased back and Chloe laughed.
"So, how about it?"
Beca took out her phone and looked at the time. She had planned to hit a club for her usual fix and nightly activity back at her hotel. She thought about it for a split second before shoving it back in her pocket.
"You know, that sounds great."
"Yeah?" Chloe hadn't actually expected her to agree.
"Yeah," Beca reaffirmed and the two fell into step to head to the parking lot.
"So, which are you?" Chloe asked her while settling her hands into her pockets.
"Which what?" Beca asked, lighting a cigarette as they walked and blowing the smoke out to the side and away from Chloe.
"The people in it for the passion versus the money," she clarified, "For Bulletproof, which one are you?"
Beca looked towards her, not breaking stride and feeling the beginnings of a smile threaten her lips once again.
"I'll let you know when I figure it out."
X
X
X