An Object in Motion

Chapter 6: Acceleration

"What made you come back to film?" Harlow asked. "It sounds like you've really found your stride in theater but you seem to come back to film every so often."

"Are you stalking me, Dawson?" Tom suggested dryly, smirking when Harlow sputtered for a moment.

"Of course not, it's just sort of hard to not hear about whatever blockbuster you're in when they come out."

"I know, I'm just having you on." Tom quipped. "There's, er, a subtlety to film that you don't get in the theater." He explained. "The stamina needed and playing to the back of the room are all well and fun but..."

"But you're tired of overacting."

"A touch." Tom conceded. "I just miss it. There's a level of nostalgia I feel for film."

"I can understand that." Harlow hummed in agreement. She also felt a level of nostalgia for certain periods of her life, specifically those when she go to work with talented, passionate people who fought hard to make their work important to someone. The way Roy's daughter had told Harlow that Charlotte and the Singers was important to her. The way Harlow hoped what she was hoping to do with Virginia would mean to someone. Anyone.

"It would also be nice to be out of England for a while." Tom continued, and Harlow remembered that Tom had mentioned when they first arrived for filming that he wasn't the greatest fan of his family sometimes.

"Well, moving back to film isn't a guarantee to get back to America." Harlow kept things light, gesturing to their surroundings. While she wanted to know more - while she wanted to know everything - it wasn't the time or place given the hair and makeup crew in the trailer with them.

"Very true." Tom chuckled.

"Sorry to interrupt," Mei interjected as she came into the trailer, and Harlow shifted her focus to her PA. "They're ready for you, when you're done."

"Apologies for the delay, her hair is ready." Bahaj confirmed, turning to the makeup artist to do final touches around Harlow's hairline before she stood, removed the smock she was wearing to reveal her late 1920s costume underneath, and turned off the recording on her phone.

"Speaking of getting to try things out, do you, uh, think I could borrow an evening of your time to review some of Joseph and Virginia's scenes? Or a morning if that's better for you? Whatever makes sense with your call sheet?" Harlow found herself asking Tom without even realizing it. She really did want to do a deeper dive into Joseph and Virginia's dynamic, but she hadn't planned to suggest Tom needed to spend his free time with her. They had been working together for over a month at that point and Tom had never expressed an interest in anything more than polite banter in the hair and makeup trailer, it was far more likely than not that he didn't want to be around Harlow more than necessary.

"All right." Tom agreed, pulling Harlow from her thoughts.

"Y-yeah?" She asked, her voice quiet and much higher than she expected.

"Yeah." Tom agreed with a bob of his head. "Mei and Allison can coordinate a time that works? I've got some press to do next week to wrap up for the stage production I'm coming off of but any time around that works for me."

"Okay." Harlow agreed. "Yeah, um, that sounds good. I'll see you later."

Harlow found it difficult to focus clearly while filming that day, her mind wandering places she knew better than to let it wander to, but realistically, Harlow only expected for at most, a handful of this footage to make it to the final movie, if it wasn't all left on the cutting room floor in review. While Harlow wanted to do Virginia justice, a big part of her would be okay if that happened. The work she and Roy had been doing was far more valuable to the film, and if they pulled it off, not much of this flashback would be all that useful in the end. She felt badly not giving her and Roy's script to Dean and the writers but knew it was for the best; that if they had time to think it over, they'd end up saying no. So if a reshoot for this flashback was needed in the end, so be it.

Two weeks later (and just a week before Roy was done filming), Harlow finally received the call sheet that included Virginia's stand off with John Cleary. She was nervous, but not nearly as nervous as she would have been if she had been trying to pull this off on her own. All things considered, she probably wouldn't have bothered trying if Roy hadn't agreed to help her. Especially not with Finn's eyes on her back every day. He hadn't made any off-color comments since the one that had landed so horribly about Roy but it was clear he was eager to be part of the production.

Ad-libbing wasn't approved with films of this caliber so when they had suggestions they wanted to make, they needed to be submitted to Dean and the writers in advance for their approval. So far, Finn had submitted six requests for more character development for Michael Lowe and only one had been accepted. His attitude reflected his annoyance with being boxed out of the conversations, and part of Harlow knew that if she and Roy pulled off such a major change, Finn's "jokes" would be back in full force.

But it would be worth it, right? To make the movie better? To face her own demons?

A text from Roy came through, having received a similar call sheet himself, and Harlow distracted herself with his message - a reminder to get a good night's sleep and that she had his full support tomorrow. When watching old reruns of British tv shows she didn't recognize couldn't keep her attention any longer, Harlow laced up her sneakers and slipped out into the chilly November night. The cold air sliced through her lungs like tiny knives, sharp and alive. It was grounding, steadying her for whatever the next day would bring. By the time she returned home, the weight of the night still clung to her skin, and she followed the rhythm she had set: a cold shower, and no blow-dried hair as she crawled into bed, just the quiet hope that the chill would keep her sharp, her mind clear, prepared for the rejection she was bracing for.