A/N: I was pleasantly surprised by the amount of positive reception for this fic, so I went ahead and decided to update a few days early!

Thanks so much for the favs and follows, and those of you who chose to comment! I really, super-duper appreciate it!

Enjoy.

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The Odd Couple - WR Special Edition

Part 2

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I was nervous as hell the first day of shooting.

Performing for a television show was very different than performing for a stage-play. With a TV sitcom you spent little time practicing, but have the fortune or being able to try again if you mess up. Sure, if you repeatedly messed up or flubbed a line you might annoy your co-stars and director, but the fact was that you could retry if you messed up. It was the magic of being on television, after all.

With stage plays, it was sort of the opposite. You practiced and practiced for a single show, and you couldn't mess up that because it was live. People were watching. Of course, if you did flub a line or miss your blocking, your fellow actors were there to pick up the slack. It was a partnership. I was proud to admit that I had never missed a line. Not once in my life.

But… never before had Ruby Rose been there to watch if I did miss a line. You could say that, to me, the stakes were a bit higher than your average high school play.

So, yes, I was very nervous.

I had read the script in full. Multiple times even. I had it committed to memory and I was sure I could hit my lines when I needed to. So, really, I had nothing to be scared of. Nora had even helped me by reading off Ruby's character's lines; she was playing the female version of Oscar, a girl named Olivia — the more 'undisciplined' girl of the couple – and I nailed the entire episode. I knew I could do it.

But when I stepped into the studio and shrugged off my jacket, only to find myself standing in front of Ruby herself, who was also apparently shedding off her own black jacket, I froze like a deer in headlights.

And her smile was the brightest high-beams I ever saw.

"Good morning, Weiss!" The woman chirped happily. "I'm so glad you decided to join the show."

I nodded dumbly, my mouth dry as the deserts of Vacuo. My fingers worked at my t-shirt for lack of anything useful to do, and I forced myself to smile – though I believe it came of as more of a grimace.

Ruby continued, unperturbed. "I was really impressed with how you did the reading at your audition. A lot of other girls took it one way, and some completely off the wall." She chuckled. "Though, I can admire someone who takes the reading and does something totally original. But I enjoyed yours the best." She grinned happily and stuck her hand out towards me. "So, from now on, consider me your co-worker. And your friend." She winked. "But mainly your friend."

I choked, my hand shooting out to latch onto hers. As our hands touched, and I felt her long fingers wrap around mine, I blinked, something curling tightly in my stomach.

Holy. Shit. Ruby Rose was shaking my hand. My hand. I might never wash that hand again.

Only after realizing that I had been holding onto Ruby's hand for what must have been a solid twenty seconds did it occur to me that I needed to let the fuck go! I did so, my hand snapping back into place at my side awkwardly. From her bemused expression, she must have caught onto my nervousness.

"You kinda look like you want to say something." Ruby said, tilting her head to the side. I swooned a little as her shoulder-length hair fell down the side of her face and dusted her collarbone. Why, oh WHY, did she have to wear a wide-necked shirt!?

"Um…" I stammered, using a herculean amount of effort to keep my eyes locked onto hers.

Again, her lips quirked up into a grin. "Don't be shy. Go ahead."

I cleared my throat to give my mind a kick-start. "I um… I wanted to thank you, Miss Rose—"

"Ruby." She cut my off, her face shifting into a flat expression as easily as water pouring over rocks.

"What?" I blinked, caught off guard by the change. It was one thing to read about her natural ability to change facial expressions and see it on the television, but quite another to see it up close in person. It was truly a masterful talent.

"Please call me Ruby." The woman emphasized. She suddenly smirked and leaned close to me, as if to impart a great secret unto me. "Miss Rose is my mother." She stuck her tongue out as her joke and giggled, promptly causing everything in my belly to turn to mush.

"I… um… yea. Of course. Sorry, Ruby." Her expression returned to a bright smile at her name. Taking a deep breath, I continued, "I, um… I have been a fan of yours ever since I was young. If fact, it was you that inspired me to become an actress. So… I guess I wanted to thank you for giving me that." I was not going to mention stalking her online profiles and hoarding her pictures and movies like some kind of creeper. Definitely not a great idea. But the sly smile that flitted across her face at my admission made me a bit nervous.

"Since you were young, huh?" She grinned lopsidedly. "Aren't you, what, twenty-three?"

"Y-yea," I admitted bashfully. She was only about one year younger than me, so I didn't see what the big deal was. "When I was thirteen and saw you in a milk commercial. I still remember watching you on that day and thinking to myself 'Wow… she's so cute.' And I was inspired to go online and…" I trailed off, the blood draining from my face. I most certainly hadn't meant to say that. And from Ruby's wide-eyed expression, it was obvious she hadn't expected me to either.

But, the consummate actress she was, Ruby's shocked look melted into a smile, her cheeks pinking only slightly, and she giggled. "Oh, wow… that one? That was, like, one of my first gigs way back when. Barely anyone remembers those anymore." Her words were nonchalant, but I had an ear for tones; I could tell she was embarrassed at my admission. "It was totally unprofessional. And the direction was really off-the-wall." She paused, her finger tapping at her lower lip. "Though, as I recall, they had really great cookies."

I could tell she was making light of it to make me feel better but my vocal blunder, and I could appreciate that. But as I had already pretty much told my idol that I had been a stalker for nearly ten years, I may as well finish what I was going to say.

"Regardless, I still wanted to thank you for giving me a goal in life. I wanted to be like you, and that led me to acting."

Ruby nodded, her eyes searching mine. She tilted her head to the side, as if weighing me in her mind. Finally her grin returned and she lifted her chin. "No problem. In that case, I am glad my cute little twelve year old self could…" She smirked lightly. "Inspire you… to be an actress."

I blinked. Twice.

"Um…" I mumbled, my face heating with what I'm sure was a heavy blush.

Giggling, Ruby twirled on the spot and strutted – strutted – away. "See you on set!" She said, her tone a playful sing-song.

After she disappeared around the corner, I fell against the wall of the hallway and gulped, my hands moving up to cover my face in shame.

Holy… fuck. My first face-to-face meeting with Ruby – my idol and long-time crush – and I pretty much just outed myself as a full-on wierdo who perved on her when she was twelve.

This was going to be just fucking awesome.

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An hour or so later I was fed, briefed on the scene, dressed in costume – a pretty green blouse, a nice pair of beige slacks and heels– and had makeup applied.

Apparently, that was another thing in which television differed from stage. In theater, stage makeup was applied liberally to make it easier for the audience to see the details of your face. Eye and lip makeup, wrinkles and crow's feet… all were given a one-hundred and fifty percent upgrade when you were performing on stage.

But on television liberties could be taken. The camera was usually much closer to you, so such details in your face didn't have to be emphasized, unless the scene called for it. And edits could be make post-production. Personally, I was pleased I didn't have to cake on stage makeup. I never did like the stuff all that much.

I gave the script for the episode that day another once-over in preparation for the first take. I had it completely memorized, of course, but it wouldn't hurt to be prepared. Especially in front of Ruby. Everything had to be perfect. During the interview I had been nervous, and stuttering… not to mention the fact that the woman had to remind me where my script was. Not like I needed it to read from, anyway.

But I was determined to be on top of things this time.

I nodded to the crew, all of whom I had been introduced to when I arrived on set, and my fellow actors and actresses, who would have smaller parts than both Ruby and I at different parts of the episode, and then entered the set.

As sitcoms sets went, this was a fairly nice one. The original work written by Neil Simon in the sixties was designed to be a typical apartment; a large multipurpose living room, attached kitchen and dining room, with a few different luxuries like a television, stereo and such, along with doorways leading to the characters separate bedrooms, and the hallway outside. The female version in the eighties was very similar, updated for the times. For this television re-imagining, the main set would be the same apartment - modeled with a contemporary taste in mind, apparently - but also had different set locales designed for different scenes and episodes. I was reminded of the a few other sitcoms I had seen when I was younger when I first was shown the set, and it definitely had similarities.

All in all, it wasn't a bad way to spend as my first introduction to television.

I caught sight of Ruby waving to me from the dining room table on set and I approached her.

"Hey Weiss," She said, giving me a once over. "You look nice, the outfit suits you."

I blushed lightly, mumbling my thanks as I looked her over. Her character, as opposed to mine being very neat, clean-cut, and by-the-book, was very messy. She wore baggy jeans torn at the knees, scuffed sneakers, and a faded T-shirt that had some symbol of an old American rock band on it. Her hair was tied into a short yet sporty ponytail and wore only as much makeup as was required for the scene itself.

She looked simply delicious.

Looking away from the woman, I cleared my throat. "S-so, um… you have any advice for me?" I asked in an attempt to keep my mind focused. I was a competent actress. I knew I was. But Ruby was a legend. At least, to me she was. I would take any and all words she had to give me.

She was silent for a few moments, tapping her finger on her lip in thought. It was a gesture I had seen her use twice now and I was beginning to see a pattern. Then she grinned slyly and giggled. "Just relax and let inspiration guide you."

I groaned, letting me face fall into my hands. "You aren't going to let me live that down are you?"

The woman laughed aloud. "Nope." I scowled at her through my fingers, and she laughed again. Then she stood up and stretched, her arms rising above her head. The bottom of her shirt rode up a little, giving me a peek of milky white skin just above her jeans. I groaned again.

"Well, it's about time. Stephen is giving us the look." She nodded her head towards the director's chair, where the man himself was gesturing his hands around, clearly giving instructions to the cast and crew. I knew enough film lingo to understand that filming was about to begin, and dipped my head towards Ruby.

"Thanks for the advice." I said to her honestly. It was clear she meant to both as both a tease and true advice, and I was greatly thankful. She grinned at me and I smiled in return.

"Okay, ladies!" Stephen called from his chair. "You know where you need to be, yea?"

I did, having been briefed on the scene earlier while eating breakfast. I moved to my place in the kitchen, and Ruby moved back to hers at the table. The scene we were shooting was, surprisingly enough, not the very first scene of the pilot, but a middle scene where my character – Florence – was cooking breakfast for Ruby – Olivia - and she was still in the process of waking up with a particularly difficult hangover. It was a perfect example of our respective characters' personalities.

I did find it odd that we weren't shooting the very first scene of the pilot at the beginning… but then again, this was television and could shoot and edit whatever we wanted before airing the episode. I supposed I would have to get used to the random sense in that.

Regardless, I knew what I had to be doing, and I waited at my spot for the scene to start.

The dialogue in the scene was easy enough; in the script I would start off by making a few comments to Olivia about staying up late drinking, and that while it was fine now that she is young, it would get harder and harder for her as she got older. She would reply back to my with a scripted tired, resigned comment about me being a 'mother-hen' and say she won't go out drinking anymore… much. And the rest would continue on in that fashion until the end of the scene.

It was easy, understandable, well-scripted, and the jokes in the dialogue was humorous to the target audience. I could definitely see the appeal.

I caught the five-second light out of the corner of my eye, and took a deep breath to center myself. As the seconds dwindled, I flicked my eyes to my co-star and idol. She locked eyes with me, and grinned cheekily, winking quickly as the call was made.

"Act two, scene one. Take one! Action!"

I started shifting around in the kitchen, moving the frying pan I was standing at as if I was cooking bacon and eggs. It was a simple action, and I had long gotten used to the particular gestures needed for pantomiming. After a few moments, during which time I turned my attention to my hung-over friend, I sighed, setting down the frying pan.

"Honestly, Olivia," I said, coloring my tone with exasperation. "You brought this upon yourself; staying up all night drinking with you friends. That's all well and good now, when you're young. But this sort of behavior will only get hard and worse for you as you get older." I stepped around the kitchen counter and crossed my arms over my chest, staring at Ruby resolutely, and waited for her scripted response. She would raise her head up tiredly, and respond to me that I shouldn't need to be so overprotective, and that I was acting like a 'mother-hen', then I would scoff and reply that I most certainly did need to be overprotective, that—

Ruby's loud groan from the table interrupted the lines in my mind, and I blinked repeatedly.

That groan… wasn't in the script. I stared at the girl sprawled over the table, and I couldn't help my mouth popping open in shock as she raised her middle finger at me.

"Wha—" I stammered, confused. "I—You…" That… definitely wasn't in the script. I would have remembered that. According to the script, she was supposed to respond how I had practiced. Not just groan and flip me the bird.

I stood there in silence for a solid ten seconds, staring at the woman before me. Eventually she craned her head up to blink at me blearily, her disgusted grimace clear for all to see, and the sneered at me.

"The smell of that bacon is really fucking with my stomach, Flo. Can you please go eat in your room?"

I blinked again, trying to make sense of her words. They still weren't her lines. Hell, they weren't even part of the script – I'd know! She was… she was making up her own lines!

I shot a quick look towards the director, barely making him out past the lights on set, to see him calmly regarding the two of us. It was as if… he knew what she was doing. As if he knew she would be making her own lines and not following the script.

Not following the script…

Suddenly, it dawned on me.

A memory of a short, almost unnoticeable article I read a few years ago online in regards to a part she played on a lower-budget movie. Under most circumstances, most people wouldn't even know about it. But myself being a huge fan of Ruby's, it wasn't all that difficult to hunt down the article that mentioned her.

In the interview with the director, the topic came up of how it was working with such a prolific, young and talented actress like Ruby Rose. The director laughed and shook his head, responding, "It wasn't at all how I expected. I wasn't sure if she would be your typical child star, or someone hardworking and by-the-book… really follows the rules, you know?"

He laughed again.

"So, Miss Rose wasn't at all like that?" The interviewer asked.

"Oh, she was certainly hard working, I won't begrudge her for that. She's talented and really knows her stuff. But I think it would be difficult for some people to work with her."

"What makes you say that?"

The directed grinned, and rubbed the stubble on his chin. "Well, the thing about Ruby is that she is a prodigy. She is a genius at personal interaction and reading people as they talk, as they work, and how they carry themselves. A person is every-changing, and very fluid; never static and never immobile. She believes that, to truly capture the nature of a particular scene and make it organic, that one can never follow the written dialogue."

"So… what you mean to say is…"

"What I mean to say is Ruby Rose never follows the script." The director leaned forward and smiled. "Ever. Oh, she reads it, memorizes it, and knows it. But she never follows it. She knows how to get from the start to the finish; from Point 'A' to Point 'B'. But everything in the middle? The written dialogue? Doesn't do it. Says it 'never truly matches the interaction between the characters' and 'isn't real'. So she just uses her own words in a scene; improvises everything."

"How does that work with her fellow actors?"

A smirk. "Well, they either have to get used to it and work with her in an organic way… or they simply can't make the cut. Her fellow actors just get taken along for the ride. That's the price of working with someone like Ruby Rose."

At the time when I read that article I had barely paid it any mind, simply attributing it as another reason why Ruby was worthy of being idolized by me. I would never get to work with her anyway, so it was never something I put effort into remembering.

But now, standing here in front of the woman herself, I felt as though I had stepped into a playground for high school students when I was just a middle schooler. That I was now participating in something completely out of my league.

A script was something I always had followed. I was not good at improvisation, at least on stage. As long as I had a script to fall back on, then I was in my comfort zone and I could perform ably. If it was taken away…

Then I was left with no defense against someone like Ruby Rose.

Just me and her - nothing in between.

"Oh… fuck me." I murmured aloud. Well, the scene was already pretty much shot anyway.

Ruby raised her head up again, a cheeky smirk spreading across her lips. "Well, if you insist Flo. But only after I brush my teeth. I still taste vomit."

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End of Part 2

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A/N: Poor Weiss. TFW you are crushing on a girl and you forgot how much of a boss she can be.

She'd better shape up! :D

Thanks for reading!

***Will work for glomps***