Today for the obx promo, we were invited by Glamour to film for their famous youtube serie «the friendship test». It's gonna happen by groups of 2. Madelyn and chase, rudy and JD, madison and carlacia then me and drew.
I've watched a couple of those videos from other casts and they seem so fun to film. I'm also excited to test my friendship with drew. We've become close friends since the beginning of filming of this season partially thanks to the amount of scenes we have together. it really helped us grow closer.
We all got ready in our separate hotel rooms. My stylist came earlier to give me the clothes she chose for me and i'm obsessed! It's a really cute wide legs jean with a square neck light blue top.
We arrive on set for the interview and are almost immediately ask to start shooting.
«are you guys ready?» the director on set asks and we both nod.
"let's go!" exclaims drew and his enthusiasm makes me chuckle.
We stand where they marked the ground and wait for the questions.
"ok so first we're gonna ask both of you alone to describe the other person. We're gonna start with y/n" someone tells us and i get nervous.
"is he gonna stay here and hear everything??" i ask and i hear drew chuckle next to me
"if it makes you uncomfortable, drew you can wait in the other room" the director says and i sigh in relief
after drew left the room, they scream action and i start to describe him
"well, drew is the best friend you want to have. he's sweet, attentionate and really hard working. he's also a really good listener and i haven't found that in a lot of people. he's too selfless for his own good. i don't know what i would've done without this guy and he truly is one of the best thing that's happened to me this past year. i hope to cherish him forever." i say and they scream cut.
"that was good! we don't need a second take. someone go get drew please." the director says.
"missed me?" drew jokes as he makes his way to me.
"you want me to leave too?" i ask him
"nope. i want you to hear everything." he says looking at me with longing eyes??
"alright" i say before making my way to the side
"action"
"y/n... i don't even know where to start. you're the person i appreciate the most in my life. you've helped me through so much even when i didn't know i needed that help. ever since that first day on set i knew you were gonna be it for me. you're kind, affectionate and inspiring. you truly light up every room. you're always learning new things and trying to better yourself. our cast is better because you're in it. i'm so lucky to be someone you call your friend." he says and they scream cut.
"wow man that was awesome! we're gonna try to keep everything in the video" the director says
"you better" drew says before looking my way
i'm absolutely speechless. i can't even move. that was the most passionate thing someone's ever said about me. i even get teary eyed before the director's voice tear me out of my thoughts.
"okay y/n you can come back we're gonna start."
As i make my way to drew i feel butterflies in my stomach. i don't pay attention to them more but i grow more and more aware of how much i love this man.
"thanks for everything you said" i start, whispering to him. "it really touched me" i admit and he gives me a soft smile.
"of course sweetheart" he says and i melt.
"okay, the first is exercise is look into each other's eyes for 3 minutes."
"oh man" i joke «this is gonna be awkward. i hate eye contact.» i say because it's true, i can't hold eye contact
"it's gonna be fine, just pretend it's a staring competition and the one who looks away is a loser" he says making me smile
"ready? action!"
I start the game feeling a little uneasy. Though he does have really pretty eyes. i've never had the opportunity to truly look at them. they're a gorgeous shade of blue. his eyes switch between my left eye and the other. i'm not sure if he's smiling right now but his look seems soft. like he's also analyzing my eyes. i notice my face in his eyes and chuckle.
"what?"he says, not breaking the eye contact.
"i can see myself in your eyes"i say
"wait really? oh yeah i can see myself in yours too" he says and it's so adorable
"you have really pretty eyes. i've never really had the chance to stare at them like that before" he says and i can feel my cheeks burn.
"thanks! yours are gorgeous too. that shade of blue is so pretty" i says and he blinks softly at the compliment
"thanks" he whispers.
"10 seconds left" they tell us and i'm almost sad it's over. "and stop!"
Drew lingers a little, still looking at me then looks away
"whew that was cool. i feel weirdly closer to you now" i say
"same over here" drew says
"alright, next exercise is give each other compliments. here or notepads you can write them on."
they hand us the notepad and a pen and we start writing.
i can feel drew peaking at my paper making me gasp.
"don't cheat!" i exclaim
"i'm not! i wanted to see what pen color you got" he says and i laugh
"sure" i tell him.
"you guys are done?" they ask us from behind the camera
"yup" we both reply in sync
"y/n you can begin. action!"
"drew, I admire your determination when you strongly believe in something. You have impeccable manners and are really humble." i start
"thanks" he smiles, looking a little shy
"you have a great sense of humor. you always bring out the best in other people. your style is awesome, i wanna steal all your hoodies." i say smiling at the last one
"please do" he replies
"and you are a wonderful listener. I always feel understood by you." i finish feeling shy myself to look up from my notes.
"wow thank you. can i hug her?" he asks looking at the director
"sure!" is all he needs to hear before he grabs me in his arms.
"thank you, you're an angel" he says near my ear almost just for me to hear but the microphone definitely captured it.
"alright drew your turn. action!"
"y/n, I admire your bravery to speak up about things that matter to you. i love your ability to set boundaries and take care of yourself. you balance play with work so well and remind me not to take myself so seriously all the time." he starts
"aww thanks" i say and i swear i can feel my heart beat faster
"you give the best advice" he continues. "You have a calming presence and make others feel safe around you. and you have an ear for good music, I love every playlist you make." he finishes and i waste no time to give him the biggest hug.
"thank you!!" i say and he holds my tightly
"i love this shoot" drew says once he pulls away making everyone in the room laugh
"the next exercise is hug for one minute" the directors says
"well that'll be easy" drew says
"yeah we hug all the time" i add "not for a whole minute tho" i say
"come here" he says and i don't know why but it makes me feel some type of way
"action!"
i come closer to drew and he wraps his arms around my shoulder as i put mine around his torso.
"mmm you smell good" i say and i feel his chest move as he chuckles
"i was about to say that about your hair" he says and i remember that he must be referring to the lavender shampoo i used this morning
i feel his hands gently rub my back and i snuggle more in his neck. then i feel his hand move up and he softly caresses my hair. i almost fall asleep at the soothing gesture.
"can we add 2 more minutes?" i mumble in the crook of his neck
"yes please?"drew agrees and the staff laughs even tho i'm pretty sure both of us were dead serious
this feels so right.
"3,2,1 stop"
"fuck. already?" i hear drew mutter and i smile
"you liked that a little too much" i say jokingly even tho i know i enjoyed it a lot too
"i did" he says before lowering to whisper in my ear "but i know you did too" he finishes before backing away living me all flustered
"okay guys the last exercise is the trust fall. y/n you can start whenever you're ready"
"oh god i hate this" i say getting anxious
"what?! you don't trust me?" drew ask faking being shocked by putting a hand to his heart
"ughh no i trust you it's just i hate this game" i explain "i have like this trauma from middle school. we played this game once and the kid who was supposed to catch me pranked me and let me fall. i hit my head and felt my head throbbing the entire day" i say remembering the memory
"damn kids are ruthless" he says jokingly and i slap his arm " no but for real you don't have to worry about this. not with me" he says sincerely
he takes his place behind me and i turn around in front of him.
"whenever you want" he says but there's no rush in his voice.
"okay 3,2,1.." i mumble to myself as i try to fall back but i can't do it "i'm sorry i'm like stuck, i can't get myself to do it" i say feeling embarrassed
"hey come here" drew says, mentioning for me to come closer to him
once i'm close enough he gently grabs my arms making me look up at him. by now they called cut cause they understood i needed more time.
"if you don't want to do it, it's completely fine. don't force yourself." he starts "but if you want to i promise you i won't let you touch this ground. okay?" he promises
"i know, i trust you that's no the problem. i just can't seem to fall. i'm like stuck by the nerves" i say getting annoyed of myself
"ready?!" they yell behind the camera, unaware of my nerves
"can you give her some time? damn" drew says making my eyes widen
"hey, no need to be rude" i whisper urgently " i'm fine, i'll do it" i say a little louder so they hear
"okay. action!"
i concentrate all my thoughts on the fact that drew is the one behind me and that he would not let me hit the ground. i take a deep breath and when i try to fall i'm surprised that i'm actually falling back.
before i get to even think of it, i'm grabbed by to strong arms that wrap around my waist. i exhale in relief.
"i got you" he whispers in my ear
after that, drew's turn goes pretty easily and i manage to catch him because he doesn't put his whole weight on me.
"well guys we're done for the video!" the director exclaims and everyone sheer and applause
"thanks for having us" drew starts "that was really— eye opening" he says before looking my way with an indistinctable look.
"yeah.." i say looking at him confused, a bit taken aback by his choice of words " it was really fun" i say looking back at the crowd of crew members
as we step aside from the green screen we're met by our managers who are also close friends with us.
"that was some real chemistry out there" says Rachel, my manager. making me roll my eyes because i know exactly what she means
okay i maybeee had a crush on drew at the beginning of filming and i maybeee told her about it. and she hasn't stopped trying to play cupid ever since. well i might still have a crush on him actually. but i'm trying to let it go cause it's so painfully not mutual.
"yeah friends chemistry. get over it" i say, playfully rolling my eyes. and as i look over at drew i can almost see hurt in his eyes.
what was that??
"yeah you two are a cute couple of besties" leah, drew's manager, says before chuckling
"you guys need to leave us alone" drew jokes
"anyway, you guys can go back to your dressing rooms" rachel says and that's my cue to leave this awkward exchange
i enter my dressing room and take off some makeup. i decide to not change now because my outfit is not really uncomfortable, i'll change into my pyjamas back at the hotel.
i'm interrupted by someone knocking on my door.
"yeah?" i say
"it's drew. can i come in?" i hear him say and when i tell him yes, he opens the door.
i see him walking in with his hands covering his eyes and i chuckle.
"i'm dressed dumbass" i say and he drops his hands to his side.
"that's too bad" he mumbles but i hear him
"gross" i joke
he makes his way to me as i'm sitting on my makeup chair. he stops right between my legs and i have to look up at him.
"today was fun" he says softly, looking me dead in the eyes.
"it was!" i start, trying not to get flustered by his proximity "thank you again for all those sweet things you said about me" i say
"of course." he replies "i meant every single word" he says leaning his hands on my chair's arms, bending a little so his eyes are on the same level as mine
"its cool that it's still early. we have time before we have to go back for dinner. what do you wanna do?" i say desperately trying to change the subject because he's making me feel some type of way
"i can think of a few things" he says seductively and i almost fall out my chair
what is he doing??
i'm starting to feel my cheeks burn as he gets closer and closer to my face. his eyes drop to my lips for a moment before looking back at my eyes. i start holding my breath. his hand reached my face and he softly puts a strand of hair behind my ear. i feel the tension grow and i know he can tell i'm nervous. his other hand makes its way to my thigh and i feel goosebumps everywhere
our lips are so close but before i can try anything he smirks and then suddenly pulls away. he then walks over to the little couch in the middle of the room.
"i'm hungry. where are we eating tonight again?" he asks in the most nonchalant way, like nothing happened
wtf??
what the actual fuck?
"what was that?" i ask not even thinking, just really needing an answer
"what?" he asks like he has no clue what i'm talking about. even tho i can still clearly see his smirk
"you're annoying" is all i say before standing up and grabbing my stuff to leave
okay that looks really dramatic but i'm just really flustered and it was just really awkward and i tend to want to immediately leave awkward situations
"wait y/n!" i hear drew say but i'm already in the hallway ready to join my manager to go back to the hotel
he wants to fucking tease me? but why?? he never implied seeing me in that way.
but one thing's for sure. two can play this game.
once i'm back in my hotel room i call maddie to check on her
"heyy" she says after answering the phone
"hey mads! what are you doing?" i ask
"nothing much. we got back from the interview a few moments ago" she replies
"oh so you're in your hotel room??" i ask excited to tell her about me and drew's weird situation
yes she knows i like him. well "liked". or like. i don't knowww i might still do
and yes she ship it. she's actually the captain of the ship
"yup i am! why?" she asks and i can hear the suspicion in her tone
"i have to tell you something and i need advice asap!" i say
"ouhhh girl come right now!" she says and i chuckle at her curiosity
"coming" i say before handing up
as i look at my notifications i see that drew texted me 10 minutes ago.
drew: you okay?
i zone out a little, not knowing how to respond and then agree to text back with the help of madison.
"knock kno-" i start saying but maddison beats me to it and opens the door. "well hello" i joke
"come on!" she says, gesturing for me to come in.
"sooo" i start teasing as i sit down on the room's couch
"so??" she replies
"drew was being really weird today" i say and i watch her furrowing her eyebrows
"he always is" she says which earns a laugh from me
"no i mean he was being...a tease" i say whispering the last word for dramatic effect
"like an annoying tease or hot tease?" she asks, lifting one eyebrow, already completely absorbed in what i'm saying to her
"hot" i say and she widens her eyes
"oh girl you better tell me more right now" she says
"i don't know, we were in my dressing room after the shoot and he came like really close to me and started touching my face and my thigh, and looking at my lips but then he just...walked away smirking" i explain still frustrated
"oh man" she starts "this man is teasing you" she says
"yeah i gathered that. but why now?" i ask confused
"i don't know. did something different happen to you two today?" she asks and i lean back into the couch as to help me remember
"umm not really. we were just being a cute couple of besties." i say remembering all the sweet things we both said about or friendship at the shoot
"besties..." she says almost in disgust
"i know. but that's what i am to him so i'll accept it" i say
"you don't know that" she replies
"well he's never made anything to make me think otherwise" i say sighing "until today" i add
"okay well now it's your turn" she says, so sure of herself
"to?" i ask confused
"well to tease him duh" she says and i chuckle
"yeah that's actually why i needed your advice" i say and i can see the excitement in her face
"ouhh girl you asked the right person!" she exclaims. she thinks for a bit before breaking the silence; "tonight!" she says pointing at me "at the restaurant we're all invited to!" she says and i tilt my head a little to tell her to keep explaining
"tease him there. sit next to him, be hot, get him back" she says dead serious
"at the restaurant" i repeat in a pensive way "that actually seems fun" i say smiling
"you already know what you're gonna wear?" she asks
"yup. the short black dress with the v neck that i wore for your birthday" i say and i watch her eyes grow bigger
"omg YES! this one is perfect" she exclaims and i laugh at her eagerness
"oh before i forget, can you help me text him back? i kinda left the dressing room in a hurry when it happened and he texted me if i'm okay but i don't know what tone to use to answer" i say and she chuckles
"just say like "yeah why wouldn't i?" just to make him think that you decided to pretend like nothing happened. he'll be even more surprised to see you get him back tonight" she says and she's a genius.
me: yup why wouldn't i?
done.
it's 9pm and we're all at the entrance of the restaurant waiting for JD and rudy to show up.
"sorry guys!!" we hear rudy say as they both make their way to us
"ready for the plan?" madison whispers to me before we enter the restaurant
"i think so" i say still not fully sure how to start
"okay so there's no designated seats so feel free to choose where you wanna sit" one of our managers tells us
i obviously wanna sit next to drew but i decide to start my plan and pretend to go sit next to rudy.
in the corner of my eyes i can see drew watch my every move as i make my way to rudy who's already seated.
i go to sit down but before i can, i feel someone stop really close to me. i look up to be met with a very confused drew. he bends down a little so his lips reach my ear
"come next to me" he whispers looking at me with pleading eyes. "please"
oh man this man's gonna be the death of me.
"sure" i nod following him to the banquette on the other side of the table.
as i sit next to him i catch madison's eyes as she's sitting on drew's left side. of course she had to have front seats to observe my teasing.
we all order our food and chat about random stuff while waiting.
i scooch over to get closer to drew until our thighs touch. i hear him take a quick inhale at the contact of my bare skin to his fitted pants.
"y/n i need to tell you something!" madison says and i'm a bit confused as to why she has to announce it like that
"what?" i ask
"no, come closer" she says and now i'm even more confused
"i can't come any closer, drew's right there" i say pointing at him next to me and i hear him chuckle
but then she grabs my hand making me bend over drew's lap. my other hand drops to his left thigh to steady myself and it hits me! she's helping me
this bitch is smart!!
"just pretend i'm actually saying something interesting" she whispers just for me to hear.
as we pretend to talk i squeeze his thigh just a little and it's enough to hear a shaky exhale from him.
"oh man it's SO working" she whispers, as she's more allowed to glance at drew's face over my shoulder than i am
"what is he doing?" i mutter
"he's red as a tomato" she chuckles "slide the hand higher" she says and i furrow my eyebrows
"no thank you, i'm not assaulting him" i reply and she rolls her eyes but don't push any more.
"okay fine" she says "well you can go back to your seat, that was a good start to the plan" she says
i grip his other thigh to steady myself as i straighten to my seat
"sorry about that" i tell him softly
"it's fine " he says, quickly glancing at me before staring right back in front of him. not in an annoyed way but more like in an embarrassed one. i let my eyes travel his face and he is in fact really red and he's clenching his jaw. oh man what am i doing to him?
oh well that's too bad.
by now we've all received our food and are eating while talking about different things.
"omg guys i bought this perfume the other day, its smells SO good" madelyn says making me look at her
"is it the one you're wearing right now?" i ask her
"yes!" she exclaims
"oh well then that's the one i could smell on you in the car. it does smell fucking good" i say earning a chuckle from everyone
"language" drew says smirking making me roll my eyes at him
"drew's perfume smells really good too right now" maddie says staring at me then quickly nodding his way. and i catch that she wants me to smell it
she really is a genius damn
"really? let me smell" i say bringing my face closer to his neck
my nose slightly brushes his skin and i feel him tense. at that moment i'm glad everyone else got back to chatting together so the attention is not on us anymore
except for madison's eyes that i can almost feel on my head
"mmm" i mumble in his neck after inhaling his scent and i hear him gulp. i gasp a little when i feel his hand softly grabbing my thigh. "it does smell really good" i say backing away a little "which one is it?" i ask
"its— um, its noir extreme by umm tom ford" he says stuttering
and i smile at his cutenesses. but i immediately forget the cuteness when i feel him squeeze my thigh making me look up at him.
"what are you doing?" he whispers
"what am i doing?" i ask faking confusion
"don't be a smartass" he says making me smirk
"i don't know what you're talking about" i say tilting my head in a seductive way while staring at him with innocent eyes
we all go back to eating but after a moment he bumps my shoulder to make me look at him
"about earlier today... in your dressing room" he starts, looking embarrassed "i'm really sorry" he says
okay no, what i'm not gonna let him do is feel bad about something that i actually really enjoyed
"hey no it's fine, it didn't bother me" i smile
"i just didn't mean to make you uncomfortable" he says and i smirk
"i felt a lot of things but uncomfortable was not one of them" i say teasingly, then put my attention back to the table
from the corner of my eye i can see him still staring at my face
oh yeah did i mention that his hand is STILL on my thigh??!
well i doesn't bother either of us so it's staying here
okay wait he's pulling it away now
no no i like this too much
without thinking i grab his hand and force it to stay on my thigh.
"oh yeah?" i hear him murmur to me
"mm hmm" i acquiesce
"drew that scene with the boat was crazyyyy" JD says to drew making him turn his attention from me
"dude yes! how did you handle the boat by yourself?" chase asks
"i meannn" he starts, in a timothée chalamet way, "what do you want me to say? i can drive a boat" he says smirking
i decide to tease the cockiness out of him by sliding his hand higher on my thigh.
am i taking this too far? yes. am i enjoying this way too much? absolutely. but he seems like he's enjoying it too so i don't feel bad.
"you're filming the underwater scene soon?" rudy asks drew
"uh— yes.. yes i am" he says struggling to keep his calm as his hand wraps around my inner thigh.
"you're gonna be cold as fuck i'm telling you" chase tells him
"yeah" he says, coughing awkwardly
while everyone goes back to their conversations, he leans to my ear.
"join me to the bathroom, i need to talk to you" he says before standing up, excusing himself to the bathroom.
i let some time before speaking up "umm i'm done eating i'm gonna reapply my lipstick" i lie
i'm nervous as i make my way to the bathroom.
well if this isn't the consequences of my actions.
there's only one bathroom for one person. i knock on the door and drew is quick to open it and gesture for me to come in.
as soon as the door closes he steps so close in front of me that my back hit the door.
"i'm gonna ask you this one more fucking time sweetheart" he starts, his face only an inch away from mine "what the fuck are you doing?" he asks
i let out a shaky breath before glancing at his lips.
"eyes are up here" he says, gently grabbing my chin with his fingers to make me look up.
"i— i wanted to tease you" i admit, impossible to lie under his pressure
"why?" he asks and i feel his hand make its way up my body before stopping on my waist.
"to get you back... for the dressing room" i say and by now i can feel my cheeks burning
i feel him tense at the memory of the dressing room and he backs away just a little
"ughh y/n... i'm really sorry about earlier i didn't mean to make you uncomfortable" he says, looking down and sighing in guilt "i just... i don't know it just pissed me off i guess that you kept making sure everyone knew we were only friends and i guess i wanted to see if that's really how you felt." he admits and my face softens
"drew" i say, grabbing his cheek to make him look at me "i liked it" is all i say and i watch his eyebrows raise
"wait. what?" he asks
"do you only see me as a friend?" i ask to make sure i understand where this is going
"fuck no y/n" he exhales like he was exhausted of pretending he was "i want you more than you can imagine— but if friendship is all i get from you, i'll take it" he admits and i feel my heart warm at that statement
this confession is enough for me to close the space between use and crash my lips to his.
i hear him groan at the contact of our lips and i smile in satisfaction.
"baby.." he whimpers in the kiss and i feel my legs weakening but he steadies me by grabbing my hips with both hands
"mmm hmm?" i try to reply
"this is too fucking good-" he starts, struggling to catch his breath "i waited way too long for this. we gotta stop or i'll take you right here, right now" he says and i back away to look up at him
oh man he looks gorgeous. his lips swollen from the make out session, his hair in a cute mess from my wandering hands and his eyes oh so pleading for more.
"i want you drew" i sigh, pouting my lips
"oh baby" he smiles, leaning down to peck my lips "i do too but they're gonna get suspicious back there" he says mentioning the rest of the cast still at the table.
i lean my head back against the door and sigh. he takes advantage of it to plant kisses on my neck.
"please let's get out of here" i beg and he chuckles
"baby—you're gonna be the death of me" he says "we're almost all done eating. and when we get back to the hotel i promise you you're gonna stay in my fucking room" he says so sternly, leaving no room for rejection.
and God i certainly wasn't gonna disagree.
i contain my disappointment and give him one last kiss before making my way to the mirror. and oh man now i actually have to reapply my lipstick.
"yeah sorry about that" he chuckles nodding at my stained lips
"well it was a job of two" i joke
he goes back to the table first and i join them a couple of minutes later.
"hum" i hear maddie cough.
as i turn to face her she's staring at me with wide eyes
"did you—??" she whispers only for me to hear but drew did too which makes him chuckle.
"kiss? yeah" i whisper back proudly
"oh em gee!!!" she exclaims making me laugh
the rest of the evening goes by painfully slowly.
we order an uber van and all get inside. i'm sitting next to drew and he instinctively holds my hand on his lap.
looking up i can tell the others saw that but they're trying to play it cool and ignore it to not make us uncomfortable. which i appreciate.
back at the hotel we all go to our own room and drew and i walk to mine
"you're still sleeping in mine tonight" he reminds me
"i know" i chuckle "gotta go get my pyjamas tho" i say
we enter my room and i think we really underestimated our need for each other because as soon as the door closes he grabs my hips making me jump and wrap my legs around his waist.
he kisses me while making his way to the bed.
"what about my pyjamas? and your room?" i joke after he sat us down on the bed
"nah we're staying here. and for your pyjamas—do we really need it?" he asks smirking
"i guess we don't" i tease
"oh man i really fucking like you y/n" he sighs "today was so hard to handle with all the friendzone going on" he admits making me laugh
"if it makes you feel better i also felt really friendzoned" i say
"i still meant every single thing i said in the shoot" he says, his expression looking more serious
"i know" i nod, softly caressing his cheek "me too" i say
"please let me take you on a real date. i want to do this right. you deserve it" he says and i feel like crying of happiness
"i would love to" i say before going in for the most affectionate kiss i've ever experienced.