"We found Wonderland. You and I got lost in it." -Unknown
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"And that's a wrap for Joker and Ophelia!" David's voice rang out throughout the studio as applause filled the large room from crew and other cast members.
They had just finished filming their last scenes together and Jared was relieved. Daphne was smiling, but her smile had been a bit stiffer in the past few weeks. She had also been much quieter with everyone. In the weeks since the attack, no new information was discovered and they had basically been told to forget about it and move on. Johnny seemed to be able to calm her down a good amount and the press was happy to see the three of them out and about. He had only stayed for a few days, but it made all the difference in Daphne's behavior. Jared never told her about his conversation with him.
Jared smiled as crew members and other members of the cast came and congratulated he and Daphne. Will Smith gave Daphne a big hug, picking her up in his arms.
"You two are amazing together," he said. "I really hope we see you in other stuff."
Jared smiled at Daphne and pulled her to his body. "It's all this one's fault," he said. "She's just so damned good looking," he laughed, planting a small kiss on her neck.
She shrieked and shied away from him. "Stop," she said laughing.
After a few minutes of conversation, they went to their trailers to get changed and relax a bit. Daphne always felt like she was leaving behind a piece of herself whenever she left a role. With each role it felt a little different, but the overall concept was still the same. She always felt like she was leaving SOMETHING behind. For 'Rings' and 'Harry Potter' it was the family she had developed there. For 'Risk' it had been part of her innocence in the form of her ability to sleep easily at night. But for some projects she felt like she actually gained something when they ended.
On 'Dark Knight', she gained Heath, even though their relationship had been a very brief one. With 'A Great and Terrible Beauty', she gained confidence as a producer of the film. As always, she was grateful to have had the experience of filming in whatever location she found herself in with whomever she found herself with. But she always felt a little bit empty after the cameras stopped rolling.
"Are you coming to New York City with me?" Jared asked, nudging her as he walked by. "I talked to Kelly. She said she's got a few days off now that filming is done and that you're completely free."
She shrugged. "I don't know. Maybe."
"Come on," he said. "Take a break. Come have fun. I'm going to hang out with Terry. Maybe we'll do a photo shoot. Could be fun."
Daphne sighed. "Won't you be spending time with String Bean?" she asked, referring to Valery Kaufman, who had been a girl he'd been caught with by paparazzi the month prior.
He laughed. "I haven't spoken with her since the attack. She called to see if I was okay. But that's it."
She glanced up from the paperwork she'd been reading when he said that. He climbed into her trailer and sat next to her on the sofa.
"Come on, Daph. Shannon's going to be there, too. You work way too hard," he said, running his finger across her cheek.
Even as they spoke, she was reviewing her script for the first episode of the next season of 'Burnout'. She had about a week before it started filming in Vegas. She sighed and turned to face him.
"Fine I guess I'll come," she said. "But I really do need to learn these lines."
"I can see your grandfather didn't pass his lack of preparedness on to you," he said with a chuckle.
"Yes, I'm a fucking Boy Scout," she said sarcastically. "Now get out so I can change," she said, pushing him out of her trailer and shutting the door in his face.
He smiled. That was the old Daphne. She was slowly getting back to herself. Jared had been very careful about his affection, though. After his conversation with Johnny-which hadn't really scared him as much as it had made him realize a few things- he had been much more conservative in his physical contact with Daphne. If she really was to remain a friend, then he had to wean himself of her slowly. He was planning on taking some time off to write and recharge after filming. He had been going pretty non-stop since 'Dallas Buyer's Club' had been released. Between press for it and then touring for the new album and then awards season publicity and now this film, he needed a break. He needed to write and play and relax.
He was a little concerned about how Daphne would handle them separating from each other. Not that it wasn't expected. She had to go to Las Vegas and work, she'd known that before she even started filming here. But he wasn't sure if she was expecting him to remain in contact with her or how it was going to happen. Usually with filming there was a period following where the cast would remain in contact, but it usually only lasted a few weeks before everyone resumed their normal lives again. He didn't think that would happen between them. She had many friends in the industry. She was an expert at keeping up relationships. The trick was making sure both people actually tried. Usually she ended up having dinner with the person whenever she was in town or even staying at their home if she was staying long enough.
They left Toronto on separate flights, to try to dispel the rumors that were still floating around. Even with the police report released, there were still rumors going around that they'd been caught for public indecency or whatever in the park. Why else would she be wearing his clothes and he'd be shirtless if they hadn't been in the throes of passion when they were discovered. Because that was the only logical answer, of course. They were both staying at Terry's place-he had offered it and Jared preferred to stay with friends and not in hotels. After being in one for the past two months or so, he was ready to sleep in a place that seemed more like a home. At that point he didn't care about the rumors, he just wanted to relax.
Terry Richardson had been Jared's friend for a long time. They bonded over their fucked up childhoods and similar tastes in art, music, and just about everything else. Every once in a while, when he needed some fun, he'd go in and do a photo shoot with him. They never really amounted to anything more than photos taken by friends of friends, but it was still fun and a great stress reliever. Terry had done several photos of him as Rayon as well as other characters. Jared was also excited to see his brother. They hadn't really spoken much since the attack.
Shannon had been livid when he arrived the day afterwards. He was in typical big brother mode. Their mother, Constance, had been a bit more level-headed about the whole thing, but she and Daphne had had several long talks and they seemed to get along very well. He found it even funnier when Johnny had come to lunch with them all one day, much to his mom's surprise.
Overall, Johnny was a really great guy, when he wasn't worried about Daphne. But Jared assumed it was because of his protective nature. She was like a daughter to him. They shared some great stories about her grandfather, much to his mother's delight. But one thing Johnny did tell him before he left stuck in his mind-aside from the likely death threat.
"Keep an eye on her eating," he had said.
Jared gave him a confused look. "What do you mean?"
"When she's stressed, she doesn't eat as much. It's something she's had for as long as I can remember. Just make sure you see her eat something-but don't be too obvious about it. She hates the feeling of being on display," he told him. "She doesn't puke it back up," he added with a bit of a laugh. "She just needs to be reminded to eat sometimes."
The information had caused Jared to become slightly more observant of Daphne's eating habits. He noticed the way she tended to play with her food and move it around more. He also noticed that she had a habit of using her hands to eat and she often chose to eat finger foods instead of things that would normally need utensils. He found it particularly hilarious that she ate her tortillas by tearing small sections apart and rolling them up like little joints before biting the ends off. But he did notice that she tended to eat very small amounts and have meals very rarely on her own. Usually Kelly was providing her with them so she had no choice but to eat.
Jared smiled happily when Daphne arrived at Terry's apartment building. He was waiting in the lobby, glad that people hadn't followed him and happy to be free of the weight of the Joker on his shoulders. It had been a really big role to fill and he was just glad his part was done. Now it was up to the director and editor to make it look good.
"Hey," he said, standing and embracing her. "Did Kelly get off alright?" he asked.
Kelly had caught a different flight, headed back to her hometown for a few days, leaving Daphne alone. She seemed relieved actually. "Yeah, she was actually happy to go. I think she's getting tired of all the jet setting and time zone changes."
He nodded, all too familiar with the same feeling. He took her hand and led her to the elevator. "You've never shot with Terry before, have you?" She shook her head. "Terry works in a different way. He's much more shocking, so don't get offended or anything. Don't be afraid to say no or something if you're uncomfortable. More than likely though, it'll just be fun and we'll just be messing around."
They arrived on the floor for Terry's apartment and Jared took her hand, leading her down the hallway. Daphne was apprehensive. She'd heard some of Terry's shoots could get wild and crazy. She was used to being in front of a camera-it was half of her life. Photo shoots were second nature to her. She was so good at getting the shot right that several photographers told her she could be a very good print model. She didn't know what to expect when Jared opened the door.
What she saw was Shannon laying on a sofa watching a hockey match and an older man with glasses wearing a red flannel over shirt rushing around with a camera in his hand. There was another young woman there as well, sitting in a chair and looking out the window. Everyone glanced up when the door opened. Daphne saw that the young woman was Valery Kaufman and she felt Jared stiffen slightly next her.