"when you got your arms around me, it feels so good i had to jump the octave! i think i got an ex but i forgot him..." nonsense; sabrina carpenter
I WAS SO incredibly beyond nervous for today. It was the day that we were going to film the most important Percabeth scene in season one; the tunnel of love. My acting for today had to be spot on. I also had to jump into water today, which wasn't going to be fun. The pool was going to be warm, but the Vancouver air was going to freeze us to death as soon as we jumped out of the water.
"So today, we're filming the Tunnel o' Love." I spoke into the interviewers camera, with Walker sitting beside me.
"This is where Maya and I really have to hide our hate for each other." He teased, earning a solid slap on the arm from me. "I'm kidding. I love her. She hates me."
I giggle. "No, I love him too. I'm just scared to jump into the water."
"What do you guys think about this scene?" The man behind the camera asked.
"Uh, I think it's probably the most monumental scene in season one. Annabeth goes into the cave thinking Percy's a blubbering idiot, and comes out respecting him. Personally, I think the tunnel of love is the moment where Annie starts crushing on him, but that's up for debate." I said, turning to Walker.
"I agree. This scene is really different from the books as well, but I think it's a good change. Personally, I kinda prefer this to the original version." Walker spoke, shrugging. I nodded in agreement.
"How do you guys feel about the future development of Percy and Annabeth's relationship?" Dan, the producer, asked.
"I think Percabeth is the greatest love story of all time. Best slow burn, best she fell first he fell harder, best enemies to friends to lovers, all of the above." I gushed, earning a smile from Walker.
"I honestly can't wait to act out their relationship in the future seasons." Walker admitted. "Percabeth was the first love story I'd ever read, so I'm excited to re-enact it through my perspective."
"You just wanna kiss me." I teased.
He shrugged. "That as well."
——
My stomach still fluttered thinking about the words Walker spoke before. Admitting that he wanted to kiss me. I knew It was a joke, but I wanted it to be real so badly. I was still thinking about it as the pair of us were shoved into a boat together, and pushed down a stream.
"Fuck I'm scared. OH! Sorry, I forgot this was Disney." I said, turning to the camera man who was filming for the documentary. The crew laughed.
"Sorry about that one. She's a little unhinged." He whispered, jokingly.
I glared at him threateningly. "I'll push you in."
All he did was grin happily. "And I'll cherish those moments where your hands are on me."
I screwed my face up at him. "I know that was meant to be cute, but ew."
The little boat steadily moved down the stream, as the producer finally shouted "Action!"
We fell into a nervous silence as the boat slowly passed. Then What is love started playing, echoing throughout the tunnel. I couldn't refrain from laughing. "Sorry! I'm sorry!" I giggled as the boat was pulled back up the channel, and we restarted the scene.
We had to redo it 4 times before I stopped laughing.
"What is happening right now?" I said, acting disgusted and confused.
"I feel like I've heard this before." Walker said, looking upwards. "I think at my orthodontist office, maybe."
A colourful projection lit up the wall of the tunnel, dancing around in light spectacles.
"I know this." Walker said. "This is Hephaestus' story."
We acted out the scene just like we had ran over countless times. Then, it was time for my least favourite part of the show.
Jumping into the water.
"Okay! We can only do this once, so this has to be perfect. No pressure." The stunt director instructed.
We stood up in the boat, facing the way we were jumping. It rocked slightly, and I grabbed Walker's hand for balance. "You can't hold my hand when we do the shot, you know that May."
I blushed slightly. "I know, seaweed brain. Shut up." I responded, smiling sarcastically.
"Are we ready?" Someone called out, and we both agreed. I released Walkers hand as they counted down from five. On one we both jumped.
Subconsciously, I did grab the blonde boys hand during the jump. He squeezed it back.
We arose from the water, hand in hand. Walker pulled me up to the platform on which the golden shield stood.
"That was great guys! Okay, before you dry off, we're going to film the scene now." Dan said, allowing us a few minutes to prepare. This consisted of me trying to throw Walker back into the water after he told me that I looked pretty with wet hair.
I didn't know how he felt, but I was scared. I didn't have to pretend to have a connection with Walker, because we already had one that was bigger than the whole sky. But acting this out, revealing our souls in front of a camera, that was different. I didn't do well with feelings, and opening my heart and mind to an audience of people was daunting, to say the least. Annabeth and I were so similar in so many aspects, and talking about her emotions and her struggles was almost like talking about my own.
We laid before the statue in preparation for the scene. I was on my stomach, kicking my feet back and forth giddily as they set up the cameras. Walker looked at me and beamed.
"Three, two, one... action."
"How are we supposed to get that thing down?" Walker said, both of us kneeling now. I peered at him curiously before gazing up at the shield. I brought myself up to stand.
"These things are connected somehow. It's a machine, but how do you start the machine?" I spoke in a hushed manner. Walker glanced at me with a hint of adoration in his eyes. It took everything within me to refrain from smiling at his perfect face.
I listened carefully while Walker recited the story of the golden throne in front of us. I furrowed my brow, glancing nervously between the boy and the mechanism. "The chair is the bargain." He finally said, making intense eye contact with me. "One of us goes in, the other gets the shield."
"I'll do it."
"What, wait a minute." Walker grabbed my arm, protesting frantically. I glared at him.
"Who ever's going in isn't coming out. That seems pretty clear." I attempted to reason with him.
"I know that's why I said wait." He abruptly responded.
"This isn't the arch, seaweed brain. You're not pushing me into the stair well again." My voice held strong, emotion welling behind my eyes. I was determined to tell a story, to portray the character with such depth that the audience could feel the tension through the screen. It helped that the same tension between Percy and Annabeth was also between Walker and I.
"Yes I am."
"I'm not going to let you this time." I bit back, almost cutting him off. "It doesn't work that way."
"It's why you're here." Walker bluntly said. He never broke eye contact with me, which wasn't in the script, but I would be lying if I said I didn't like it. I examined the boy mere inches before my face as if I'd never seen him previously, as if I hadn't memorised every aspect of his features before.
"Excuse me?"
I almost got lost in Walker's words as he recited his lines with such ease and clarity, emotion slipping through ever syllable.
"Maybe this isn't something we can dodge forever."
"The gods chose you!" I cried, tears welling in my eyes.
"It isn't about that."
"What could it possibly be about if it isn't about that?"
"You're better at this than I am." He exhaled, reaching his hands forward to mine, brushing our fingers together before pulling away, guilt overwhelming his expression. "You just are. And you know it."
My mouth fell agape. I knew we were just acting, but the feelings felt so real. The way our eyes never separated had my stomach doing flips.
The scene continued, the cast around us watching intently as Walker pulled the pen - sorry - Riptide from his pocket and held it out towards me. My hand hovered for a moment, my tough exterior crumbling as I took it from him.
I breathed harshly, chewing on my lip slightly as Walker walked up to the golden throne. A tear fell down my face, disappearing amongst the water droplets from before. As the blonde boy sat down on the chair, a let a sense of urgency fill me.
"This was a bad idea. Stand up." I demanded, envisioning the gold encasing Percy. Walker merely stared at me sympathetically, as if Annabeth was the one being wounded in the situation. In a way, I guess she was.
"I can't." His voice quivered now as he spoke.
"Percy stand up, I mean it!" I raised my voice, pleading with the boy. I grabbed onto the ring hanging around my neck, tugging on it furiously.
"It's okay." He assured me, nodding slightly. "I'm okay."
"I'm okay." He said for the second time, not only comforting me, but himself, as well."
"And, cut! Incredible work you two!" The director shouted, and a smile broke onto Walkers previously solemn face. I laughed, out of breath, running my hands over my face.
Walker stood from the chair, wrapping his arms around my back as he sunk into me. "Good job, Wise Girl." he whispered. "You almost had me believing that I was really dying."
I chuckled, hugging him back. We were leaning on each other, using us as a support stand. The use of such emotions tired us both. "To be honest, it felt like you were. You're also deathly pale."
"Uh, okay. What the fuck, man?" He leaned back slightly, allowing me to have a glimpse of his beautiful - but deathly pale - face. I buried my head into his chest.
"I am not your man, Walker William Scobell." I said, my voice muffled by his wet t-shirt.
"You're right. You're my girl."
——
Walker watched proudly off camera as I did my individual scene, and his spot in the chair was taken over by a life size golden model of him. He did ask if he could take it home, but I had no idea where the hell he'd put it.
I let my emotions reign through as I spoke, envisioning Walker in all of his spirit.
"Eat or be eaten. Power and glory and nothing else matters! Ares is that way. Zeus is that way. My mother is that way." I paused, inhaling sharply.
"He isn't that way. He's better that." I strongly spoke to the man stood above me, on the ledge. The man who played Hephaestus. "Maybe I was that way once. But I don't want to be that way anymore."
Me voice broke as I talked. I saw Walker out of the corner of my eye. He watched me, with his head tilted, his lips turned up slightly. I almost got distracted by how gorgeous he was, but then I remembered that he was currently supposed to be solid gold.
We finished up for the day after we shot the scene of Walker becoming human again. As he rose from the throne, I clung to his arm subconsciously. We shared many stolen glances and soft touches, the journey out of the tunnel all too different from the one in. I had come to terms with my feelings for Walker, but after a day of pretending to be in love with him, I was falling faster than I'd ever imagined.
Sunny was right. It was moving too fast.
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i don't know how i have not spoken about this but i went to the eras tour in sydney and it was the best experience of my life. i saw sabrina and taylor in the same day. insanity.
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