Behind The Limelight

08: Brunettes Or Blondes

"Fair enough," Tabitha hummed. "Are you into her, though? She's a good friend, I can try and arrange a date or something!"

"Uh," Ryker paused. "I'm afraid not."

"Oh," the excitement on Tabitha's face fell at the blunt answer, making her frown. "That's a bummer, she's a nice girl."

"She must be," Ryker muttered. "But I'm not looking to date. Besides, she's not really my type."

"What is your type then?"

"My type?" Ryker once again looked at Ashton, this time the other actor was facing away, acting as if he wasn't listening though it was impossible not to, considering their proximity. "I don't know."

"Come on," Tabitha urged. "Everyone has a type! Don't be shy. Spill!"

"I like..." Ryker trailed off, still staring at Ashton. "Someone who's passionate. Someone who's kind and understanding. Someone that is fiesty too and isn't afraid to say what's on their mind and go after what they want. Someone that has a fire within them."

"Damn," Tabitha whistled lowly. "I was expecting more along the lines of whether you like brunettes or blondes, but this is a good answer too."

"Don't know about that but I'm a sucker for blue eyes," Ryker added.

"Ooh, like Ashton's?"

Ryker laughed awkwardly in response, and the conversation died down after that. Ryker was the first to be done with his make-up, despite being the last to arrive. All of them got dressed later, and it was finally time for the shoot to start.

Ashton had his game face on, the first scene was with him and Ryker and he had to mentally prep himself for that. The movie's plot was about two best friends that fall for the same girl, and end up hating each other because of it. It felt ironic, in a way, and for the first time Ashton could relate to a character so much.

The scene they were going to shoot was of when the two were still friends, and Ashton took a deep breath in as he stepped on the set. This was the beginning of the most important movie of his life, and he had to give it his best, despite the circumstances.

"And action!"

~~~

Ashton sighed tiredly as he wiped his forehead. It was a long day and he was glad that it was finally over. But he loved it though. He loved the feel of being done with a shoot, especially a successful one. He was especially proud of himself for not letting his personal feelings come in between him and his work, and for working alongside Ryker as if everything between them was normal.

No matter how many times he wanted to roll his eyes or say something snarky between shots, he kept it all in. He acted exactly how Erick wanted them too, as if he and Ryker really were the best of friends.

"Good job today, kid," Erick said as he patted Ashton's shoulder. "Head home now and get some sleep. See you tomorrow."

"See you. Goodnight," Ashton replied with a smile, before making his way to his trailer.

Ashton removed his own make-up as he freshened up and changed into some comfortable clothes. He was humming, a smile on his face as he got ready to get back home. He exited his trailer and walked to the parking lot when he noticed that his car wasn't there. He took his phone out of his pocket to notice that he had several missed calls from his driver a few minutes ago. He hadn't even realized when his phone was vibrating.

He called him back, and his driver informed him that his car had a flat and he had taken it to the shop. He told one of Ashton's other staff members, and someone was on their way to pick him up. But considering that the set was over an hour away from his house, and that traffic would be pretty bad at that time of the night, it might take a while.

Ashton cursed internally. He had a lot of qualities, but patience wasn't one of them. He hated waiting, and he was really looking forward to reaching home and sleeping in his own bed after the tiring day he had.

"Everything okay?" Ryker asked, making Ashton flinch as he didn't even notice when the other man walked up to him.

"Yeah," Ashton muttered.

"You look pissed," Ryker noted.

"My driver's late," Ashton finally answered.

"How late?" Ryker asked.

"Don't know," Ashton replied with a shrug. "Will probably take him an hour or two."

"Damn," Ryker said lowly. "Want a ride?"

"From you?" Ashton scoffed. "Thanks, but no thanks."

"Come on," Ryker sighed. "I know you hate me and shit, but a ride home isn't going to kill you."

"Who knows? Maybe you've got an axe in your trunk," Ashton retorted.

"I have no interest in going to prison, so don't worry, you're safe with me," Ryker said.

"I'll wait in my trailer," Ashton was adamant. He took his phone out before speaking up again. "You can leave."

"You can accept help at times, you know? You don't have to hate me any less to be in the same car as me," Ryker added.

Ashton said nothing as he opened the maps app to check how far away his house was. He whispered a 'fuck' as he saw how bad the traffic was. He was going to have to wait for longer than he previously thought.

"Fine. Be here alone, then." Ryker was about to walk away when Ashton called out for him.

"Wait!" Ashton spoke up. "I, uh, I..."

"Follow me," Ryker muttered. Ashton nodded without a word as he walked behind Ryker, maintaing a good amount of distance.

After being at Ryker's house, Ashton wasn't very surprised to see when Ryker got into the driver's seat. Of course, he drove on his own. Instinctively, Ashton was going to go for the backseat, but he bit his lower lip as he opened the passenger's side door instead, finally getting in.

This was going to be a long car ride, and Ashton wasn't ready for it.

***

oops, y'all really thought Ryker wouldn't go back on what he said?