I don't want to spoil this crack fic so have fun hahaha :)

The alleyway was dimly lit, save for a flickering lamplight in the distance, and a hint of fog hissed around the bricks. Steff desperately wished for an opportunity to run but she had been cornered, staring as Cole kept his smug gaze on her.

He yanked at Steff's wrist, narrowing his eyes although a smirk played on his lips. "Are you really stupid enough to fall for something like that, Stephanie?" he hissed, his tone low and dangerous. "I don't need you anymore, love"

Shrinking back, Steff blinked up at him, the words seeming to become stuck on her tongue. "I-...I...Cole..." She had to swallow nervously to continue, feeling trapped as she pressed her back against the wall. "Fine." The words shook as she spat them out and she looked away to avoid his sneer of satisfaction. As he pulled away, he curled a finger in her hair before letting go, taking a step back with a laugh.

"Good." His brown eyes glinted as he slipped on a pair of black glasses. "Stay away from me. You're not welcome here."

"Cut!" Rose snapped her fingers with a giggle and the few people with the cameras looked up, stopping the footage. "That was really good. I think we can use this."

Sighing in relief, Cole pulled the glasses off, walking off set to toss them aside on a padded chair. "Oh, good. I was starting to get a headache from those lenses."

"Hey, I'm the one getting all picked on and my wrist is starting to hurt," Steff sighed, her fingers already working at undoing her braid. She glanced around at the waiting actors and other crew with pride before her gaze fell on Rose and she started over. "Hey, Rose, have we filmed the third chapter of the Hunt plot line? I really want to edit the lines there. I was thinking of adding in a new character from Aspen's past, just to shake things up."

"A new character?" Rose squeaked. "Last time we added a new character, people started to get iffy. I mean, ratings were still high but views declined a little, itty bit. Alaric is dreamy, though."

"I know, I know." Brushing off her concern, Steff slipped off her cardigan to hang it on the back of a chair. "But I needed to develop my character after I entered in Cole again after he escaped. People were starting to get...bored. This is...really important to me, Rose. I can't let Aspen be a one-level character like everyone says he is. I want to film a lot of episodes in their separate plot lines before I air it in the right order."

Strolling over, Cole smiled and reached over to muss Steff's hair. "Oh? And what about me? Am I going to be a mean loon forever?"

"Stop it-" Steff complained and batted away his hand with a laugh. "If you keep bothering me, I'll make you the annoying villain forever."

"I read she's planning to erase you as her love interest," Rose piped up, raising a pencil as she flipped through some papers with a smile. "And maybe enter a new one?"

"A new one?" Cole raised his eyebrows. "Am I being replaced?"

"By me, I hope," Connor said jokingly as he walked in, wiping away a bit of fake blood from his cheek. His brother trailed behind him, picking off pieces of grass and blood from his clothes. "We just filmed his death scene...Ah, this really sucks, you guys. You know how long we've been acting for this show?"

Steff watched them enter a little forlornly. They had been some of the faves of the fans, but writing the screenplay took cuts and she couldn't help but kill one of them off.

"Hey, I can still be your stunt double," Cadyn pointed out, wiping dirt off his hands. "But really-...why did I have to be the one cut?"

Rose darted over to the sink to wet a washcloth for Cadyn, always the first one the clean up makeup messes. "Well, if we're fair, Connor's character is closer with Steff than you are with hers," she said, hopping over to him to wipe the smudges from his face. "But hey! You still get actor benefits! And I'll style your clothes and help you pick out some new stuff anytime you want."

"Thanks, Rose," Cadyn grumbled as he took the cloth from Rose, although he wasn't comforted as much as he'd like. "But hey, any makeout scenes with him and I'll murder you all."

"Oh, no worries," Cole said lazily, pulling his tie off and reaching for his sweatshirt, "Your brother and I finished that scene months ago. Remember? Season two, episode five, 'The Balcony of Lu'-"

"Shut up, Cole," Cadyn said and hit his arm as he walked past. "I'm a little sad about the whole Cole-Steff thing being terminated. I thought that was the first major love story of the show?"

Sitting back in a plush armchair, Steff reached for the papers Rose had been looking over and pulled a pen from a side table. "Cole's character is mean, manipulative, and makes loads of dumb decisions. I don't see how anyone supported that love story."

"Well, we were betting on character development," Cole remarked, zipping up his sweatshirt, "For me."

Crossing out a few lines, Steff scribbled a few things on the paper. "I'll give you some character development, I promise. Rose suggested that we start to soften you after season six once Connor starts to confide in my character."

"We haven't had a serious love triangle yet." Tapping the side of her lip with her finger, Rose tilted her head to the side as she looked back and forth between Connor and Cole. "I was thinking that Connor, when he starts to confide in Steff, he realizes that he's madly in love with her but still has a bit of trouble with his whole brother situation and so he doesn't want to confess, but Steff only sees him as a friend but still feels bad for him so she gives in just a little, but then Cole starts to realize that she's slipping away and he really tries to reform and-"

"That was not the idea," Steff said quickly, glancing over at Rose. "I mean...Connor's character just isn't like that. He's awkward, just lost his brother, and hasn't even ever dated a girl before. He's just not in the position to enter in a love story."

"No offense, but I think my character-" Cole gestured to himself, "-has been way too much of a douche lately. I mean, doesn't he have some sort of motive?"

"I have that written out. Trust me," Steff replied, looking up at him with a hint of a sympathetic smile. "At least the girls in the ratings still love you. Well...most."

Connor coughed. "Oh, yes, how could they not love a psycho that has relationship problems?"

"But really, I don't want to be like every brooding...blonde guy that graced the TV." Raising an eyebrow, Cole crossed his arms. "I mean, Draco, Spike, that guy from that godawful Beastly movie-"

"Fine, Cole, I'll develop your character," Steff conceded, rising to her feet to turn towards him, "If you go out and buy us lunch."

"Consider it done. You better start writing," Cole responded, dipping down slightly to kiss her cheek affectionately. "I'll be an hour. I have to go back to my apartment to feed the cat."

Setting the papers aside, Steff smiled sweetly. "He's starting to grow on you, isn't he?"

"The next time you find some stray, don't dump him on me," Cole laughed as he started out and Rose cleared her throat delicately to catch their attention.

"Alrighty, everyone, I'm going to send the footage to sound editing! That was really good, you guys." Clasping her hands together, she gave an excited squeal. "Oh, goodness. We're really going to make a splash this year when we debut season six! Hot guys, pretty boys and girls, love stories and epic storylines...It'll be amazing."

"Thanks, Rose. Email me when the scenes are pieced together," Steff requested, brightening when Rose nodded. She pushed a bit of hair from her face, excited to finish the new episodes. "I'll be back. I'm going to go discuss some details with the others before they get too busy."

"You mean I...I have to get naked?"

"It is a...romance scene," Steff sighed, reading over the screenplay as she walked with the young actor, trying to calm his nerves. "But, I mean, it's not like you have to take everything off. Just acting, remember?"

"I don't see why you had to write one in for my character." Aspen pulled his cloak on nervously, walking past the sound stages to get to the one he was going to shoot in. "Is it the one you've been meaning to give me...with Finn?"

A little embarrassed herself to be discussing such a scene, Steff nodded quickly, heat rising to her face. "Yes, it is. He's down to do it-"

"-He's down to do anything...Don't tell me that I'll have to film one with that Caspian character later. You know I'm not particularly fond with him. And he doesn't like me."

"Well-" Steff drew her mouth to the side. In her scenes, she had always portrayed the shy one, and perhaps the naive one, and she fought to prove to others that she wasn't afraid to take risks in real life - as herself. "I want something that is more...provocative. We need a character like yours for diversity in types of people."

Pulling ahead, she grabbed the door to open it for him, ushering him inside and to his set. Although she hadn't been so close with some of the actors, the entirety of the cast and crew had become something like a family, wanting to include all of them in the episodes in any way she could. 'A family and friend business', she jokingly called it, but it worked and everyone seemed to hit it off with at least one other person that worked there.

It was funny, since she hadn't meant to include her character in so much of the screenplay, but Rose was more than encouraging and her personality was infectious through the others and her characters. Besides, the fans of the show seemed to like it.

Alaric was already standing by the set, which had been styled to look like the woods, a green screen placed near the back for their design manager, Aric, to work his magic with later. Caspian was silent as he stood in the midst of the fake grass, running over his lines quietly. When he noticed Aspen approach, he looked away and frowned.

"Hey, Cassy. Enjoy it," one of the actors, Finn, called across the set. His arms were slung over the shoulders of two side character girls, who whispered sweet things into his ears. Finn, Steff remembered, hadn't been too excited about playing a character with largely different tastes, but he was a good sport and she reckoned that he enjoyed playing an amusing character that had become popular with all.

"I'm really sorry," Aspen mumbled as he made his way on set, his black sclera contact startlingly dark against the delicate nature of his features. "I think you have to kiss me again."

"Whatever," Caspian sighed, wishing he could just ignore Aspen as he moved to stand beside him. "Kissing you is just part of the job. Maybe you should be professional and just suck it up."

"I would have been much better at your character," Finn announced over at no one in particular, raising his eyebrows. "I take a challenge and approach it with gusto."

"Guys," Steff said, having to repeat herself to get everyone's attention. "We need some quiet to start the next scene."

Watching as they started their lines, she gestured at Alaric for him to direct the cameras, wanting them to tighten in on a shot. Caspian reached for Aspen's hand gingerly in a scene she had written to encourage their development, not wanting to leave them as side characters as she had originally planned. They had been wildly requested by a large group of their viewers and she had to comply, adding in more and more scenes with them until they had become full characters.

"The lighting on the side is off," Alaric said under his breath once he was back by Steff's side. "Aric will have to edit it to make the shot clearer."

"I think it's good, though, for the most part." Steff watched with a smile as the words she had written unfolded, the lines running smoothly as Caspian and Aspen exchanged affectionate words. She supposed it was the only time they'd ever be civil with each other.

Then Aspen faltered slightly on a line when he leaned in for a kiss and Alaric was already calling for a cut, looking displeased that he was the one that had to oversee the shot and not Rose.

"Sorry-...sorry," Aspen sighed, the demure look in his expression now looking less coy and more awkward by the second. "I thought about it too much and I forgot my line."

"That's alright. We'll just try it again," Steff said encouragingly, waving her hand for them to get back in their places. "After this scene, I promise you guys can get a break."

"That's easy for you to say, Steff," Caspian muttered, fixing his hair. "You're out there on set making out with your boyfriend and I'm here having to kiss him. He can't even get through a single scene without flaking."

Finn rolled his eyes at his complaining. "Oh, ladies. Just get over yourselves. My role is much more difficult, I know, but I just make the most of it."

"Let's just get started on the scene again." Tapping her foot, Steff was quick to stop the argument she was sure would follow. "And trust me...It would be good to get comfortable with each other-" she looked down at the screenplay in her hand, "-because there are going to be a...lot of scenes with you guys to come."

Waving around a feather, Steff watched in amusement when Cole's cat leapt at it with kittenish excitement, batting at it with a striped paw. She left her book discarded on the table to amuse herself with the cat, reaching over to pet it with a smile. It had taken it a while for it to warm up to the both of them- and for Cole to warm up to it- but it was all the more accomplishing when the cat finally did start to show some affection.

After a minute, the cat yawned and padded away to curl up on the bottom of a bookshelf, tucking its nose into his plumy tail. After a moment, Steff picked up her book again to delve back into a story that she had read over a dozen times.

"Everyday, your character becomes more and more like the real you," Cole remarked as he arose from the kitchen with a mug of coffee and another one with tea. "And yet mine remains the...imprudent fiend."

"Well, I'm just making you more and more like the real you." Setting down her book again, Steff reached for a bookmark to put between the pages although she doubted she needed it to find her spot anyway. In fact, she was sure that she could nearly recite the words by heart.

Cole set the mugs down, sitting on the carpet across from her to peer at what book she was reading.

"Yes, but while you read your princess books, I'm here having to suffer with an insufferable character that believes he's so smart," Cole commented, his blonde hair pushed back from his eyes. "Stephanie, that lends me no confidence in your ability to make me into someone at least a little bit likeable."

"You will be likable, I promise." Steff reached for her mug of tea, blowing on it lightly. "And...and I do not read princess books. They're classics."

"Ah, if you say so," Cole said with the sort of self-satisfied look that often made Steff want to hit him-...lightly, of course, but she still had the urge to push him over sometimes. "You are the boss, anyway. I relinquish my control."

Steff sipped at her tea. "Now you're just being snarky."

"I'm being honest."

"Don't bother me. I'm contemplating important plot ideas."

Skepticism laced Cole's expression. "Like what?"

"Well," Steff sighed loudly and smiled slightly. "I guess you'll just have to wait and see."

So I just had a funny idea thinking what if the characters were playing their characters in a show but -some- actually had different personalities in real life ahaha. Most of the plot ideas somewhat tie into the canonical plot line of the rp (but a bit out of order) hahahahaha It's so weird I'm sorry ahaha I might write more for this if I get more ideas. Sorry this was super duper rushed so it's pretty unfinished. I literally just wrote this in like two hours between watching TV