Cliché || H.S.

Chapter 10

I expected to feel miserable about going to work on Monday morning but I'm actually kind of excited. My week of nothing was severely needed, but I'm beginning to feel restless. The morning was spent filming scenes on my own, and it's amazing how much quicker things go when you aren't working with other people. On my last take other members of the cast start filtering in, ready to film some group scenes. Most sit quietly in chairs getting prepped, including Harry.

Once our director Diane yells "cut!" I am met by a makeup assistant who immediately starts to touch up my face. Diane wanders up next to me and begins speaking, "Hey great job this morning, you were amazing. I'm going to get Harry over here and I'm going to go over the rest of the plan for the afternoon. Can I grab you anything?"

"Thank you, some water would be great please," I just spent the last two hours forcing tears out of my eyes and I can feel the dehydration consuming me. Diane yells away from me towards a group of production assistants, "Someone get Harry Styles to me! And bring Lily some water!" All of the PAs begin to scatter and I have to hold in my laughter. They're all terrified of Diane but the woman is harmless.

Harry meets us in no time flat, and the first thing I notice is that they trimmed his hair. They cropped it shorter for the movie and it just finally started to grow longer, more out of control. He looks younger with it cut, I notice. His jawline looks more defined too. Harry catches me staring and I switch my eyes to Diane, feeling my cheeks begin to heat.

Luckily Harry doesn't have time to notice my blush because Diane begins to speak to the two of us, "We're still going to do today as planned but because of last week we need to fast track a little. You two are staying after to do scene twentyfour, page 137."

"Is that-" Diane cuts me off before I can finish the sentence, "the reunion, yes. Do you know the lines?" The reunion. When my character Amelia is reunited with James, once she finally realizes that she's been in love with him all along. The moment they kiss.

"Um, yeah I know it," I tell Diane, but my words lack the confidence I'd prefer. Harry nods his head in agreement. "Alright, then. Lily, you go get changed and let's bust through this!" I walk as fast as I can to wardrobe, desperate to get out of that room. I can feel my nerves deep in my stomach, and I can't say I'm a fan.

Here's the thing; I've kissed plenty of guys, on screen and off. It's really nothing to worry about, it's not like I don't know what I'm doing. However, I have never kissed Harry Styles. As much as I try to ignore it, I know how big of a deal this guy is. I've known I was going to have to kiss him from the beginning, but I thought I would have time to mentally prepare. Longer than the time it takes to film one scene.

I try to remind myself of what an on screen kiss is like. "Romantic" is not the word I would use to describe it. First of all, you have about fifty people watching you between the directors, assistants, and crew. Second of all, you have someone guiding you through it; "hold there", "tilt your head a bit more", "okay now pull away, "slower", "okay not that slow". Kind of weird right?

By the time I return to set I feel a bit more under control. I at least look collected, but my stomach is still in knots. Everyone is already set up, so a crew member leads me to my mark and goes over what I assume has already been told to everyone else. I nod to each of his words even though I'm not one hundred percent sure I'm following.

It's obvious how poorly I listened when I mess up the second we start filming. "Cut! Lil, you don't come in until after Safia says 'okay'. Go back to one," Diane directs while everyone returns to their positions. I shake myself off and silently curse myself for the slip up. The rest of the scene goes in a similar fashion, me messing up my lines and marks. I feel like my head is completely out of the game.

Once we finally get a solid take we break for lunch. I take mine into my trailer so I can eat while my face and hair are transformed for the next scene. I'm thankful for the reprieve. I use the opportunity to go over lines last minute so I don't have a repeat of earlier.

When a PA is sent for me I pull my shoulders back, making sure to project confidence while I step back onto set. I am the picture of serene and I know it, my wrecked nerves disguised. I strut to Harry and Diane, ready to get the show on the road. Diane gives us our instructions and Harry and I both make our way towards our starting marks.

"Are you nervous?" I ask him with a teasing tone. I nudge his arm with my elbow playfully. He flashes me a smile, green eyes boring into mine, "No, I think I can manage to kiss a girl."

He looks at me with a smug expression, like he expects my knees to go weak. I'm not going to lie, my stomach does do a little flip, but I refuse to let him win this little game yet.

"Just a warning, this kiss will be different than any kiss you've ever had in your life," I try to make my voice sound sultry, even though I want to burst out laughing. Harry's eyebrows shoot up in surprise but he recovers quickly. He plants himself with his arms crossed, and the smug look returns to his face.

"Why? Are you really that confident in your skills?" He cocks his head raises one eyebrow, a challenging look in his emerald eyes. I can't help myself anymore and begin to laugh. I never in a million years imagined that I would be trying to seduce Harry Styles, and I can't take it anymore.

"I'm sure you've never had anyone directing you how to kiss. Be prepared for a lot of intervention. Oh and I call bottom lip," I practically skip away, leaving him standing there in his confusion.

"You call a lip? What kind of kiss is this?"

While I wait for Diane to signal us to start, I focus on getting myself into character. I'm emotional, I'm passionate, and I'm confident. I'm really getting into the headspace when I hear "rolling in three... two..."

I open the prop door and run through, my dress trailing elegantly behind me. Harry is facing away from me, but when he turns around I only focus on his face. "You're here," he says breathily, but I don't respond like I'm supposed to. Instead I take his face in my hands and pull his lips to mine. He's tentative at first, a bit unsure, but then he wraps his arms around my waist and pulls me to him. He feels completely solid pressed against my front and I feel like I couldn't possibly move any closer to him. The kiss deepens and I tangle one hand through his hair, the other sliding down his chest.

It feels like electricity is buzzing from my lips down to my toes. Heat spreads throughout my body, and at this moment it's only me and him. I start to shift my weight to my toes, desperate to get closer to him. My tou-

"Cut!"

I jump away from Harry and the two of us avoid eye contact, staring at our feet. I clear my throat and smooth my dress, trying to collect myself. I feel lightheaded and completely disheveled. I'm fucked.

"Wow that was great guys I think we got it in one take."