An Object in Motion

Chapter 6: Acceleration

"Now that you've said it, that's all I can see." Once his laughter subsided, Tom approved of the comparison. "Like a little, charming Nosferatu."

"So he told me this dress is pretty. That's a sign, right? Like what guy says a girl's dress is pretty if he's not flirting with her?" Arden asked Claire, gushing over the arm of her makeup chair.

"I don't know." Claire shrugged and yawned, having been on set the longest that day and not fully invested in Arden's personal drama. Harlow made sure to stay in her own bubble on the other side of the trailer, reading her book and hoping she could stay awake enough to avoid more coffee and uppers. "Maybe he was just being nice. I mean Cody said my shoes were cute the other day."

"Yeah but Cody is like gay." Arden rolled her eyes. "No offense, Codes." She looked to her left at her costar, who was staring at her blankly.

"Say it a little louder for the people in the back who didn't hear you." Cody responded. "Nothing says America's teen heartthrob like a twenty two year old homosexual."

"Oh come on, Cody, it's not a big deal. Plenty of people are gay." She turned back to Claire with an eye roll. "Anyway, so like it's not a lot to go on, but people always say the English are so uptight with their emotions so maybe it's his way of making a move."

"Like he'd want to listen to you drone on and on about what Katy Perry song is your favorite." Cody cut in. "And for the record, Ardes," His voice was laced with a mocking irritation that made Harlow wonder if the two would be able to go back to playing love interests in thirty minutes when filming picked back up, "if he said your dress was pretty, he's not interested. He likes women who are 'cheeky' or 'charming,' of which you are neither."

"Only slightly charming, though." Harlow joked with a hesitant giggle, hoping her ears weren't as red as they felt. "Oh thank god." She gushed as Bahaj, the wig stylist, came over with a dishwater blonde wig in hand.

"Isn't Virginia a redhead?" Tom noted as Bahaj took the wig off the styrofoam head he had used to transport it, having Harlow slip her fingers into the front so he could fit it over her head.

"She is." Harlow said. "But we all know that couldn't have been her natural color. So if we're doing a flashback to a younger, more naive Virginia, I suggested we make her a little more like what she likely would have looked like as a teenager."

"Hm." Tom hummed. "Maybe I should have put that level of thought into Joseph Williams, rather than begging them to find me a looser hold hair gel."

"Maybe you should." Harlow teased and laughed when Bahaj made a joke about Tom's privileges as a white man. She rather liked teasing Tom.

"So what are you filming today?" Harlow asked Tom as Bahaj worked on gluing down the hairline of her wig, Tom letting Amira style his hair with a gel that looked stiff but brushed out relatively easily, much to Tom's delight.

"Some early scenes, Joseph at work and asking about Cleary's connections in politics. Really riveting stuff. And you? A flashback, you said?"

"Yes, also equally as riveting." Harlow agreed, holding very still as Bahaj adjusted the finger waves he had made before Harlow had put on the wig. "But it's nice. The low stakes stuff, that is. Feels like you can try anything out and no one's looking too closely."

"True." Tom agreed. "You've never done theater acting before, have you?" He continued when Harlow shook her head. "It's sort of like that with the theater as well. You spend night after night getting to know the character and all of their thoughts that there comes a time when you've memorized the words but the way you say them changes. You try out new things and you know the moment you've found the right expression, the right inflection. And when you do," Tom glanced at Harlow out of the corner of his eye, trying to avoid moving too much, "you never want to let that feeling go."