Much Ado About Nothing
Chapter 1
Beth rolled her eyes at the TMZ reporter who was going on and on about the latest Justin Bieber scandal. That kid needed some serious help, not more publicity. She glanced at the clock on the wall. She had a few hours before she needed to be at her audition. Maggie, her sister and manager, had sent over the script last night, and while Beth was confident she knew her part for her audition, she wanted to look it over a few more times.
"Breaking news," the reporter said enthusiastically. "We've just received word that the director, Rick Grimes, will be filming a new movie shortly and auditions are being held this week." Beth sighed as she watched the report. Rick wasn't going to be happy that someone leaked that to the press. "But what's really interesting is who is auditioning for the lead roles." The reporter smirked and Beth had a feeling she wasn't going to like where this was going. "Up for the lead female role, we have the lovely, and always delightful, Beth Greene." She watched as a photo of her from the last premier she attended popped up on the screen. "I think we can all agree that we love Beth's work. Well, maybe not this man who is up for the lead male role, Daryl Dixon."
Beth's jaw dropped and hit the floor. How could anyone in their right mind think that putting them on the same movie was a good idea? They hated each other. "Now, it's no secret that Beth and Daryl can't stand each other, I mean, everyone remembers last year's People Choice Awards right?" A video of them announcing together appeared on the screen and things quickly got awkward as they made jokes about each other that were a little better than passive aggressive. "Rick must be out of his mind, especially if he casts these two." Beth turned off the television.
The reporter had at least gotten one thing right; Beth and Daryl did hate each other. She wasn't entirely sure why, mainly for lots of little reasons. If they both got the lead roles she wasn't sure how the hell they were going to make a movie. Rick had to be out of his damn mind.
She sighed and rubbed her eyes. There was no point getting all worked up about it right now. There was nothing written in stone that said she or Daryl was going to get the part. Worrying about it now was only going to make her stress out which would lead to a bad audition.
Beth finished her coffee and headed back to her bedroom. This audition had to go well. It wasn't that she was broke, far from it; Beth knew how to save and invest her money. This audition had to go well because she was bored out of her mind. If she had to sit on her couch and watch one more episode of Jerry Springer, she was going to scream.
With a cleansing sigh, she dropped her clothes and walked into the bathroom, turning on the shower. With any luck she would get the part, and she wouldn't have to work with Daryl. After her shower, Beth got dressed, grabbed her things and called for a taxi. Sitting in the back she looked out of the window and up at the Hollywood sign. Moving to L.A. had never been the plan; acting hadn't been the plan either. Beth had always thought that she'd move to Nashville and get famous singing, that was her true passion. The acting had been sort of a happy accident. But, she was good at it, and she loved it.
And she hadn't forgotten about her music either.
The taxi pulled up to the building auditions were going to be held in and Beth quickly paid and thanked the driver before heading inside. Her hands were shaking as she stepped into the elevator and pressed the button for the fifth floor. She had butterflies in her belly and she only grew more nervous the closer she got. Taking a deep, calming breath she stepped off the elevator and walked down to Rick's suite.
She froze when she walked through the door and saw Daryl sitting in one of the chairs, waiting to be called back. She wasn't surprised to see him there, but when his shocked blue eyes locked with hers, she felt something jolt through her. She pushed it away, smiled as politely as she could and sat across from him. "Morning Daryl."
He rolled his eyes as he crossed his arms over his chest. "No need for small talk, Greene, I don't need to get sick before my audition."
Beth huffed and crossed her arms. So much for being civil. She glanced at the script in her hand and chewed on her bottom lip. She knew looking at it would only make her nervous tension worse. She ran over her character and her lines in her head. When the door opened and a young blonde walked out, Beth jumped, the noise scaring her. She didn't miss Daryl's smug smirk.
Rick leaned in the doorway and looked at the two of them. "Do you two think you can manage to get through an audition together without killing each other?" he asked.
Daryl shrugged his shoulders and stood up, running a hand through his hair to push it out of his face. "I can if she can."
Beth stood and smoothed out her skirt. "Anything you want, Rick."
Rick nodded and let them both into the room. "Okay, next we've got Beth Greene and Daryl Dixon, both reading for the lead roles." He sat back down between the casing director and the producer. "Whenever you're ready guys."
Beth looked at Daryl, easily slipping into character. Daryl had the opening lines of the scene.
Murphy huffed as he watched the train pull away. "Damn it," he swore, kicking a crumpled up flyer for some local indie rock band. He was going to miss his interview now.
"Was that the eleven to Chicago?"
Murphy turned, his eyes landing on the prettiest blonde he'd ever seen. "Uh, yeah, sorry."
The woman frowned, her shoulders slumping down. "Damn, now what am I supposed to do?"
Murphy felt the same way. That interview had been probably his only shot at getting out of the little shit hole he lived in. He held out his hand to the blonde. "I'm Murphy."
She smiled politely and shook his hand. "Emily. I take it you needed to be on that train too?"
He nodded. "Yeah, I had a job interview. What about you? What's in Chicago?"
Emily sighed as they made their way over to a bench. "Family. My daddy is really sick."
Murphy frowned and wracked his brain for a solution, for some way to get them both to Chicago. It was a five hour ride by train, a little longer to drive. Murphy had his truck parked outside. He was taking the train to save gas, but he really needed to make that interview and Emily looked like she really wanted to get home. It probably wasn't the smartest idea in the world, but it was their only option. "I can get us to Chicago."
Emily looked up at him. "How?"
"My truck is outside, I wasn't going to drive because I really can't afford the gas, but if you're willing to split the cost, I'll give you a ride."
Emily's eyes lit up. "Really? You mean that?" He nodded his head. "Oh thank you!" She threw her arms around him and hugged him. It didn't last long once she realized what she was going. They were both blushing as she pulled away from him. "Uh, sorry about that."
Murphy shrugged and grabbed their bags. "Don't worry about it." He smiled a bit and nodded towards the parking lot. "C'mon."
"That was prefect." Rick locked between Daryl and Beth. "I can't understand why you two hate each other. You work so well together." He pulled out two more copies of the script, this time with a different scene. "Take these home and study them. You both have a callback."
Beth sighed as she sat in the back of another taxi, on her way home for the night. Rick had a point, and she couldn't deny it anymore. She and Daryl did work well together; she'd picked up on it while they'd been acting. There was a spark there, a connection that allowed them to read each other and take cues almost perfectly. She had no idea what that meant, but she had a feeling that they were going to be working on this movie together.
…
Daryl jolted awake and looked around his room to make sure he was really alone. He threw back the sheets on his bed and heaved a sigh of relief when he saw that he really was alone. He scrubbed his hands over his face as he fell back against the pillows. He wasn't sure if that had been one of the best dreams of his life, or the worst. It had been hot, and sexy, and had left him with a hard on from hell. The only problem was that it had been a sex dream about Beth Greene. He was slightly disgusted with himself. Out of all of the people in the whole damn world, why did it have to be her? He sighed as he climbed out of bed and headed to the shower. He needed one for more than one reason. Rick had better be as good of a friend as Daryl thought he was. If he was, he wouldn't dream of casting both him and Beth in the same movie. He shuddered as he climbed out of the shower, having a flash back of his dream with Beth. She had a killer body, there was no denying that, but it was Beth for crying out loud. That hadn't been a dream, it'd been a nightmare.
If they were both casted as the lead roles for this movie, he would have to live his nightmare. There was a sex scene towards the end of the movie and he really didn't want to have to do that with Beth. Rick had better pull through for him.
Daryl grabbed his keys and helmet before walking out and climbing on his bike. He headed towards Rick's office for his call back. When he pulled into the parking lot he wasn't surprised to see Beth walking into the building. He sighed and climbed off his bike and headed inside, managing to miss the elevator Beth had taken thankfully. He caught the next one and headed up to Rick's suite and walked inside. Beth was sitting there, looking over the script Rick had given them the day before. He smirked a little and sat across from her. "I'm sure you'll be fine," he told her; loving the dirty look she shot him.
He looked up when Rick opened the door and looked at the two of them. "Oh look, you still haven't killed each other yet." He smirked and let them into the room. Daryl followed Beth in, making an effect not to look at her ass. "So you both read over the script?" Rick asked. They both nodded. "So you're both aware that it's the scene just before Emily and Murphy have sex?"
"Unfortunately," Beth muttered.
Daryl glared at her and opened his mouth to retaliate, but Rick cut him off. "Good, you know, now just act like you're crazy about each other and act out the scene." Rick sat back in his chair to watch.
Emily turned to look out of the window overlooking the city from Murphy's hotel. He was supposed to be leaving in the morning to go back to Detroit and she didn't know how she felt about that. They'd come to Chicago together and they'd spent every day together since they'd gotten here and she really didn't want him to leave.
She felt Murphy come to stand behind her, his arms wrapping around her waist, his chin resting on her shoulder. "What's wrong?" he whispered.
Emily shook her head, turning to look at him. "I don't want you to leave." She wrapped her arms around his neck. "Do you have to?"
He sighed and pulled her close, rocking with her slowly. "I didn't get the job, I can't stay here forever." He kissed her head. She looked up at him, searching his eyes for something.
"Kiss me," she whispered. Murphy cupped her face and slowly leaned in, kissing her.
"Okay, great guys." Rick smirked and crossed his arms, leaning back. "You both got the parts. We start filming in a month."
…
Daryl stared up at the ceiling that night, thinking about what fresh hell he'd just gotten himself into. In a month he would be spending way too many hours with Beth Greene. Sadly he could understand why Tick casted them. He'd picked up on it while they'd been acting out the scene earlier. They did have some pretty impressive chemistry for two people who hated each other. He sighed and rubbed his face. This was either going to be the end of him…or his career.
