Shoot Day

I stared back into the mirror as their stylist finished my hair.
"You guys really go all out for these huh?" I laughed, turning to Sam who sat in the chair next to me. He shrugged, giggling to himself.

"They insist." He sighed. "Gotta look our best, I guess."
"But you guys always look great." He smirked, his cheeks turning red.
"Yeah, yeah, you clean up nice too." He laughed.
"Thanks, Sam."

"So are you excited? Your acting debut." He said sarcastically, looking back at himself in the mirror.
"I'm nervous." I laughed. "I don't even.. what do I even do?"
"I'm sure that it'll.. come naturally." He smirked over at me. My cheeks burned.
"What do you mean?" I asked.
"I mean, you and Josh-" He stopped himself as Jake walked in, holding two coffees.

"Here you go." He said, handing me one, leaning down and kissing me on the cheek. I smiled up at him, feeling my heart beat faster. I'm glad over the past few days he had at least calmed down about the whole thing. I don't think I could've actually gone through with it if he had stayed that angry.
"Thank you." I said, reaching up, pulling him back into into a kiss. I felt him smile.
"You look.. beautiful." He said, staring back down at me.

"I'll give you two a minute." Sam laughed, getting up and making his way out of the room. Jake came around and sat down next to me, pulling his chair in close.
"So.. are you excited?" He asked, smiling back at me. I appreciated him at least pretending he was okay with this now, despite how much I knew it was killing him.

"I'm nervous. I don't wanna make you guys look bad." I giggled to myself, feeling my cheeks burn. He smiled back at me.
"You're gonna be great." He sighed, holding his stare on me. I couldn't help but smile, pulling him back in to another kiss. He reached his hand up, pulling me closer, kissing me back harder. His smile grew as he backed away.

"Well aren't you being extra friendly." He giggled to himself. I ran my fingers through his hair, staring back at him.
"Well.. I just think you deserve a little extra loving today." I said softly. He smirked, his cheeks getting red.
"Thank you." He whispered, biting down on his lip.

"It'll all be over before you know it." I sighed. "And then.. we can have some time alone together." His smile grew.
"Oh.. that sounds good to me." He said, leaning in, kissing me again. "Though, I really didn't miss how cramped the bus is."
"There's plenty of room in the back room with me." I said, holding onto his shirt, pulling him closer. His cheeks burned, his smile growing.
"Good, I missed it back there." He laughed, pulling me into another kiss.

There was a knock at the door.

Jake sighed, gently kissing my forehead and went over to open it.
"Hey, we're starting." Josh said, keeping his eyes locked on Jake, but I knew that he saw me. My heart started beating faster. The last time him and I talked I had my head in the toilet. I still wasn't feeling great, but I figured I was just overthinking things. I'm sure I was just run down. I hadn't gotten much sleep lately as it is, but I hadn't bothered to tell anyone. I didn't want them to worry.

Jake, especially.

Jake stood in front of the doorway, blocking as much of Josh's view of me as he could. I knew it was his goal to make sure Josh and I spent as little time together as possible.

"Do you need me?" I called out.
"We're doing out shots first, and then I'll come get you when they need you, okay?" Jake said, turning to face me, flashing me a smile. I nodded, turning back around. I heard Jake shut the door and come back over, sitting close.
"You alright?" I asked. He bit down on his lip, nodding.
"Yeah." He said, forcing a smile. I reached over, gently touching his cheek.
"So you want me to stay in here?" I giggled. "You don't want me to watch you guys?"

"I mean, if you want to come and watch me, I won't stop you." He smirked. "I just figured you'd want to stay in here."
"You know I always want to see you play." He cheeks burned.
"Alright, alright.." He sighed, rolling his eyes. "Come on." He reached his hand out, intertwining our fingers. I followed him closely as he lead us out to the set.

They already had their instruments set out in the open field as the sun was just beginning to set. It was beautiful. No wonder they didn't want to delay anything. It looked straight out of a movie.
"This is gorgeous." I said softly. He turned back, smiling at me, squeezing my hand tighter.

"You can wait over here while we're filming." He said, bringing me over to one of the chairs off to the side. He quickly leaned down, kissing my cheek before going over to his guitar on set.

"Hey.. Jess?" I heard. "Hi! I'm James, the director. Thanks for doing this. Josh, uh.. he told me about everything." He laughed, shrugging. "But there was no way we could reschedule this. So thank you. I mean, look.." He said, motioning towards the set. "It's gorgeous. It's gonna come out great. And I know Josh is excited to work with you. So, once we get everything shot with the whole band, it'll just be me, you, and Josh for the more intimate montage scenes. That's how he requested it."

My heart started beating faster. Of course that was how he requested it. But honestly, I was thankful that Jake wouldn't have to see. It was for the best that he wouldn't be around. Though, I knew that would mean he'd never want to watch it either.

"Okay, great." I said, forcing a smile. He nodded, and made his way back over to the set. I started to feel nauseous again, but I figured it was just nerves. I'm sure everything would be fine once it was just the two of us.

Just the two of us.

I looked over at Josh who was already on set, standing behind the microphone, laughing with Sam. My cheeks burned. I still hadn't gotten to talk to him since I heard him fighting with Jake in the hallway, so I was sure that's what he would want to discuss.

My stomach turned again. I got up and quickly made my way back to the dressing room, making it to the bathroom just in time. I really hope no one saw. The last thing I wanted them to think was that I was too sick to do this. I'm sure it was just once; I just had to get it out of my system.

As I made my way back, they were already filming. I quietly walked around, going back over to my chair. Thankfully they had some water out on the catering table; I went over to watch Jake from the side where he flashed me a smile between takes. It was amazing how they could just "turn it on" for the camera like that. I was going to stick out like a sore thumb on camera.

I knew this wasn't a good idea. I felt my stomach start to turn again, but I took a big sip, forcing away the urge. I just had to keep it together for a few more hours. My heart started beating faster.

As they finished their final take, the sun had made its way down, leaving the sky a golden orange. It was stunning. Jake quickly made his way over.
"So how was that?" He asked, flashing me a smile. "How'd I look?" I reached up, wrapping my arms around his neck.

"You are so cute." I sighed, staring back up at him. He smirked, his cheeks burning red.
"Cute?" He said, smiling back. "Rock and roll isn't cute!" I laughed, pulling him in, kissing him on the lips.
"Well, I hate to break it to you, but you're adorable." He sighed, rolling his eyes.
"Alright, coming from you.. I'll take it." He laughed, kissing me all over my face.
"Jake!" I laughed, trying to pull away, but he held on tighter, pulling me back in.

"Okay Jess, I need you and Josh now." James said, coming up behind us. I saw Jake's face drop, his grip on me getting tighter.
"I'll be back." I said, looking back up at him. "I'm sure it won't take too long." He sighed, biting down on his lip, pulling me into another kiss.
"Alright." He said softly, gently running his finger across the collar of my dress, pulling out his necklace from underneath it. I smiled back at him, shaking my head.

"Just so everyone knows." He giggled to himself. But I knew who he really meant by.. everyone.

"I love you, I'll see you later." He leaned in, gently kissing my cheek.
"I love you, too." I sighed, letting go and following James over to the field where Josh was already waiting.

"Hey.." I said softly, going up behind him. He turned to face me, his eyes lighting up.
"Well, look at you." He said, flashing me a big smile. "You look beautiful."
"Thank you." I said, biting down on my lip. My heart was racing. He looked.. so handsome. My cheeks burned as he reached out, gently touching my dress. I giggled to myself, twirling around.
"They have good taste." I laughed. His smile grew, his eyes staying locked on me. I could see out of the corner of my eye that James had already started filming.

"So this is all they want, huh?" I asked. He nodded, taking my hand.
"See, easy day. All you have to do is just spend some time with me, and pretend like you like me." My heart jumped.
"Pretend." I laughed, he smirked, peeking back at me. "So where are we going?" I asked, following him close, intertwining our fingers. James did his best to try and keep up.

"I think it's looks nicer further down here, you get more of the sky this way." I nodded.
"You're the filmmaker, so I trust you." I saw his smile grow, his cheeks getting red.

"Here is good." He said, sitting down. I sat down close next to him. He reached out, helping me move my dress to the side.
"Thanks." I said, smiling back at him. He bit down on his lip, giving me a subtle nod, his eyes moving back down to my dress. I felt my stomach turn again, but did my best to repress it.

"So.. are we gonna talk about it now?" I finally asked. He looked back up at me, his face turning red.
"You want to talk about it?" He asked, holding his stare. I nodded.
"Y-yeah." I sighed. "I do."
"Well, there's a lot we can talk about with that." He said softly, reaching out for my hand again. I felt my skin get hot where his fingers lingered.
"No one's gonna be able to.. hear any of this.. right?" I asked, smirking back at him. He smiled, shaking his head.
"No.. that's just for us." I nodded, looking down.

"You told Jake you loved me." I finally said.

"That's not how I wanted you to find out." He said softly, intertwining our fingers again. "You know, I never really got the chance to.. have those moments with you. I feel like.. all of our firsts have just.. come out wrong. I always get the short end of the stick when it comes to you. It's like everything always works out in Jake's favor and I.. I never get a fair shot to show you.. how I feel. And.. you don't owe me anything, I know that, you feel how you feel, I just.." He stopped, his grip on my hand getting tighter. My heart began to beat faster and faster the longer we sat in silence. I leaned in close.

"Is this for the video.. or is this real?" I whispered. He peeked up at me.
"Real." He whispered, moving in closer. I bit my lip, nodding.
"Okay."

He turned to face me, moving his hand up to my cheek. I felt my face get hot. I really hoped you couldn't see how much I was blushing on camera.

"Jess, I think we would be perfect together." He said, his thumb gently tracing my cheek. "And you never really gave yourself time alone to realize that. Jake made sure of it, I know that, because I think deep down he knows that we're better for each other. I know you love him, and.. I'll respect that. But I'd hate myself if I never got everything off my chest." I bit down hard on my lip.

"Video or real?" I whispered. His smile grew.
"Real."

"You can call me crazy, cause.. maybe I am, I don't know." He laughed. "But.. I do love you. I don't know what else I would call it. And I'll always be here for you, no matter what happens. I'm not gonna try to keep you from Jake, if that's what you want, but you deserve to know exactly how I feel.. if you're gonna make the right choice.. for you."

I didn't know what to say. None of this felt real.

"You know, it would look better if you were just.. a little bit closer to me." He giggled. I couldn't help but smile, crawling over to him. His smile grew as he reached out, helping me move my dress around. Why they thought it was a good idea to have me in a field with this long of a dress, I have no idea. I reached up, gently touching his cheek. He stared back at me, his cheeks getting redder.

"So.. how do you feel?" He asked, his eyes in a daze, a subtle smile spread across his lips. I tried to contain my smile. The sun had gotten lower, the light now shining right in his face.

He was glowing.

"You're beautiful." I sighed. He flashed me a toothy smile, his cheeks getting redder.
"So are you." He whispered, reaching over putting his hand on my waist, gently pulling me towards him. Then I saw him look over at James, who motioned something at him. He quickly looked back.

"What does that mean?" I asked. He smirked.
"He.. um.. he said we should kiss." He said softly. "But you don't have to do anything you don't want to do. I'm sure this looks good enough." He said softly, running his fingers through my hair. My eyes moved from his down to his lips, my heart racing.

"What we say stays between us.. right?" I asked. He bit his lip, nodding.
"Mhm.. anything." He said softly, leaning in closer.
"I feel.. a lot when I'm with you, too. I.. I don't know what I would call it, but I feel it too. And it may not make any sense.. but sometimes I feel like we would be perfect for each other too, and that's why it scares me. Cause if it didn't work out with someone like you.. I.. I don't know." He stared back eagerly, his hand moving from my hair down to my cheek.

"I love Jake." I sighed. "I do.. but.. the way I love him feels.. different than the way I love you, and it's so confusing for me and I don't know-"
"Wait.. what?" He said, cutting me off, staring back at me wide-eyed. My heart jumped.

I had said that I loved him.

"You said-"
"Yeah." I whispered, cutting him off. He held his stare on me. My heart felt like it was going to beat out of my chest. I didn't know what else to say. Maybe because there was nothing else to say.

I reached up, gently holding his face in my hands, pulling him into a passionate kiss. I felt him tense up before finally moving his hands to my waist, pulling me up into his lap, pressed up against him, kissing me back harder.

I backed away, leaning my forehead against his, now feeling lightheaded. He stared up at me, beaming from ear to ear. He leaned in close, hiding his face from the camera.

"Video or real?" He whispered into my ear. I stared back at him, my heart pounding out of my chest.
"Real." I sighed, leaning in, kissing him again.