Just Another Actress

ACTION

"No, fuck you, Layla!" Sage yelled, running her hands through her hair out of frustration.

"Fuck me? Fuck you! You won't even explain why you're mad at me! You're just yelling at me for shits and giggles, and it's pissing me off, Sage!" Layla argues, her patience quickly wearing thin. "You've been acting like an asshole ever since we got back from Tommy's party, and I don't know why! And now you're cursing me out! Care to explain?"

Sage groans, turning her attention to the ceiling rather than her red-headed best friend. She crosses her arms over her torso, a clear sign that she wants to be done with the conversation at hand. Layla, however, doesn't let the argument dissipate so easily.

"Oh, now you're going to be quiet?" the ginger scoffs in disbelief. "What was it, Sage? What did I do that's making you so mad?" When she's met with silence, Layla decides it's time to take a different approach, one that she knows works every time. "Why. Are. You. So. Pissed. At. Me." With each word, the red-head takes a step towards the brunette until the latter is backed into a corner. Layla leans close, her jaw clenched tightly, and repeats her question: "why are you so pissed at me?" She cocks her head, waiting for a response.

Sage exhales shakily, both equally mad that her best friend is able to get a reaction out of her and flustered at the close proximity between the two. "You kissed James." Layla takes a step back, confusion clearly written across her face as she furrows her eyebrows.

"That's what you're so upset about? Do you like him or something?"

"No, Layla." The brunette carefully avoids her best friend's eyes.

"But, if you're so pissed that I kissed James, and you don't like him, then that means—" Silence blankets the two as Layla takes another step away from the brunette, her mind reeling with the new information. "Oh."

"Yea, oh," Sage repeats, her cheeks heating up. She glances at the red-head quickly before drawing her attention to the carpeted floor, deciding that the small stain on it is much more interesting than the conversation that the two are having.

"You like me?" Layla asks. She knows the answer, but she needs to hear the other girl say; she needs the confirmation.

"Yes," Sage nods, her voice trembling and barely above a whisper.

"Sage, I'm sorry—"

"It's fine! I-I should go," the brunette stutters out quickly, the words falling out of her lips faster than her mouth can move.

"No! Don't." Layla grabs her best friend's wrist gently before placing her free hand on the shorter girl's jaw, forcing her to make eye contact. "You didn't let me finish."

"Trust me, you don't have to."

"Yes, I do. I was going to say that I'm sorry, and, uh...line?"

"CUT! Take ten!" the director shouts, narrowing his eyes at Sadie. She shrinks slightly beneath his gaze, embarrassed about the fact that she's already messed up the scene three times.

"I'm sorry I keep messing up," the red-headed actress mumbles to her co-star. For someone so confident in front of the camera, Eden has found that she's quite shy in real life—or at least, she is on set. "It's just that—"

"It's the first scene that we're filming together and it's nerve-wracking," Eden finishes for the girl. "Don't worry, I totally understand." Sadie nods, smiling at the brunette gratefully for understanding where her nerves are coming from.

Hair and makeup run out, fixing up the girls' appearances once more to make them as pristine as they were in the beginning. One of Sadie's makeup artists gives her a script to refresh her memory.

"Do you want to rehearse while we wait for the crew to reset the scene?" Eden asks, already having her lines memorized.

"Sure," the red-head nods, though her hairstylist quickly scolds her for the movement.

"I'll take it from where we left off." The brunette closes her eyes to get into character, and when she opens them, there are tears that are just waiting to be shed. "Trust me, you don't have to," she mumbles in character.

"Yes, I do," Sadie argues softly. "I was going to say that I'm sorry, and I wouldn't have kissed James if I knew that you liked me."

"What do you mean? Why not?"

"Because, Sage. I like you, too." The red-head smiles and watches as her co-star's teary eyes immediately light up with joy.

"You do?" Eden asks.

"Of course I do. In fact—"

"Everybody back on set!" Sadie is interrupted by the director calling for the actresses to step back into their places. The red-head hands her script to the same makeup artist as the woman hurries off of the set.

"Sadie," Eden starts, waiting until her co-star looks at her. "We got this, okay?" 

"Yea, we got this."

"And, ACTION!"