~Ben's POV~
I looked at myself in the bathroom mirror. I couldn't help but notice that the person staring back at me looked like a different person. I'm not trying to be dramatic or anything, but the sideburns that I"ve had to grow for the movie are total monstrosities. I barely recognize myself.
But no matter, I am a dedicated actor who is fully committed to this movie, even if my character has bad taste.
Today is the first day of the actual shooting of the film. The past four weeks are finally over with and our singing and dancing skills have been pushed to perfection. A cappella boot camp kicked our asses (even though I didn't have to do as much as the rest of the cast).
Luckily, the scenes we're shooting today don't involve singing and dancing for our characters. Jason Moore said we would film Beca's arrival to Barden University in the morning and the activities fair later this afternoon.
Skylar has forgiven me for barging in on him. He knew it was a misunderstanding and said everything was ok since I didn't see any of his junk.
"Just remember this," he said, getting a little serious, "make sure to knock on the door more often."
We agreed to never speak of it again, to ourselves or anybody. I was dying to tell Rebel Wilson about it but decided not to since I clearly saw that Skylar was buff; he could beat me to a pulp.
~Skylar's POV~
Ben and I arrived on set at 8:30 sharp, just like the schedule asked. Right now we're shooting the scene where Beca arrives at Barden. Ben doesn't have to be here since his character isn't in the scene, but he is very supportive. Despite the incident, Ben and I have become really good friends. He's reliable and just a fun person to hang out with.
He also came because he's probably sick of being cooped up in our hotel room; the same goes for me.
The campus at LSU was buzzing with excitement. Outside the school grounds, the film crew and extras were preparing for shooting Anna Kendrick's character getting into a taxi. People don't often realize that it can take a good amount of time to shoot a 5-10 second take. Everything has to be perfect.
It was even more of a zoo inside the school grounds; the activities fair scene was next and all of the little tents and booths were being set up. The warming sun kissed my skin and I felt relaxed. Even though it was December, the Louisiana weather was beuatiful. It was the polar opposite of the chilling winter air of New York. A part of me felt a little homesick.
"Skylar!" Jason Moore said, walking over to us with a clipboard. "We're gonna shoot Beca's arrival so I need you to head down the street to that taxi. I'll catch up to you after I'm done taking this call." Jason pointed down the street to a swarm of cars. There were a lot of taxis and I didn't know which one to go to. One of our producers walked out from behind one and waved me over.
~Ben's POV~
"I'll catch you later, Ben," Skylar said as he jogged down the street, leaving me and Jason Moore alone.
"Isn't he great?" Jason asked. "You picked a good Jesse!"
I wanted to dish to Jason how perfect Skylar was, but I only replied with, "Yeah, he's working out pretty well."
"So, do you like coming to work early, or did you just wanna get out of that hotel room?" Jason asked.
"Both," I said back. It was true, I did need to get outside. But I also wanted to have a front-row seat to Skylar singing "Carry On My Wayward Son" out of a taxi window.
When the scene finally came, it was 9:30, and I was bored out of my mind. When Jason Moore said "Cut!" and moved on to Skylar's scene, I jolted back to life. Being behind the camera and in front of it are two very different things. With this moment right now, I felt like I was on the edge of both, where the line between reality and fiction began to blur.
"Action!"
Anna Kendrick stepped out of the taxi and took her laptop bag out of the trunk. I couldn't get over how cute she was, even with all of the scary ear piercings. If I was straight, I'd be attracted to her. Anna then gets approached by one of the helpful guides. The guide says hello and asks what dorm Beca will be staying in. When the guide starts giving directions to said dorm, another taxi pulls up on the road. The windows are open and loud rock music is playing.
And there he is. God, he is attractive.
Skylar, as Jesse, continues his solo and starts singing to Beca from the window, who looks pretty unimpressed.
"...Don't you cry no more, NO!" Halfway through the guitar solo Anna Kendrick starts cracking up at Skylar's performance.
"Cut!" Jason Moore yelled through a megaphone.
Wow, I thought to myself, what I wouldn't do to make Skylar sing for me...
~Skylar's POV~
After the lunch break and the hilarious shooting of "Carry On My Wayward Son", it was time to shoot the activities fair scene.
Jason Moore is talking to some producers, which gives us time to relax and admire the setting. The film crew did an awesome job of setting the activities fair up. Who knew there were so many clubs on one college campus, each one stranger than the other. Some of the standouts include DJ's (Deaf Jews), Quidditch Club, and some organization that's just a bunch of kids running in a circle.
We were about to film Jesse and Benji's first encounter with the Treblemakers and Ben is looking pretty nervous.
"You ok?" I ask.
"What? Yeah, I'm fine," he answers, not looking fine at all.
"Ok, well most people who are fine don't usually pace around and bite their fingernails in rapid succession."
Ben gave me a worried look. "Well, maybe I'm not fine. This is my first movie and I'm nervous. I'm not sure if I can put myself through this."
"Hey, look at me," I said, putting my hands on his shoulders. He looked utterly shocked that I was doing this, but I knew it would get his attention. "You'll be fine. I was the exact same way when I first did it. After a couple of minutes, you'll just go with the flow."
I took my hands of his shoulders. He smiled. "Thanks."
~Ben's POV~
Wow, that felt pretty nice. I feel better already! Skylar's pep talk made me feel a lot more confident.
We shot our scenes just fine, with only a little retakes in between. Adam Devine was in our scene, which made it lot harder to keep a straight face.
That night, the entire cast went out for drinks to celebrate a successful first day of shooting. A cappella boot camp had forced us together so we were already good friends and had no trouble socializing. We found a local bar and ordered some drinks.
A couple people wanted pictures with some of us (Anna Kendrick especially). Going out in public was something I didn't have to worry about, since I was a relative unknown. A part of me felt jealous. Would this movie change all of that when it came out? Would random strangers want to take pictures with me?
By nine o' clock we were all pretty buzzed. Skylar ordered a round of shots for everyone. We all took ours, some more hesitant than others. I put my hesitations aside and downed the liquid fire. Skylar was impressed, which is what I was aiming for.
By 10:30, it was time for us to go. It would be another early day tomorrow and we had to get some sleep. It felt like staying up late on a school night. Skylar was probably the most drunk out of all of us. I actually had to carry him a little. We all flagged down cabs that took us back to the hotel.
We made it upstairs to our hotel room, stumbling a little in the hallway. We entered the room.
Maybe it was the alcohol, but I forgot how much I missed this room, even though I had wanted to get out of it this morning. Skylar wobbled into the bathroom, singing showtunes. He still sounded good, even though his drunkenness made him slur every line.
"Wow, you're really drunk right now," I said. "I don't think you're gonna remember any of this." I walked over to the air conditioner on the wall and turned the settings down. It was actually kind of hot in the room.
I turned around and started walking, only to run right into Skylar...
...and our lips locked for the very first time. My eyes bulged in pure shock. It lasted for a couple of seconds. My mind exploded with a thousand thoughts.
Skylar suddenly fell to the side on the bed, sighing on his way down. He instantly started snoring. He had passed out.
It had happened so fast. I had run into Skylar on accident and kissed him. The he passed out and didn't even notice!
Oh my god, I thought. Is he going to remember this?
To be continued.. ;)