I decided to go with some different POV's in this chapter to give a different perspective. I feel like I've been spotty with certain things so hopefully this can fill the gaps :)
...
Rami
"Is Aria okay?" Joe asks Ben when we all go to hair and makeup to change out of our outfits and take off our wigs.
Ben shrugs. "She's okay, she's just...broken. Like she broke and then put herself together but with school glue instead of the super strong kind," He says.
Aria had come back into filming earlier, her eyes all red and swollen, with Ben. She seemed fine but we could all tell it was fake. Might I also add she is excellent at faking it. She's probably been doing it for years.
"It was a lot for her," Gwil says. "I mean Bryan was a no show and on this scene nonetheless. I heard a rumor Brian and Roger didn't even want to come in for it,"
"Aria didn't want to come in for this scene," I add. I sit down in one of the chairs in the room and take my fake mustache off, careful not to ruin it. "She told me that back when we first met way back when. She's supportive of the whole movie but some scenes are just too much for her,"
I had met Aria probably a year and a half before the other cast members were even being considered. She was insistent on having a say in who plays Freddie and she recommended me after seeing my work. We became relatively good friends since and she's been coaching me nonstop on how to portray the most accurate version of Freddie.
"I didn't know that," Joe says, quietly.
"There were a couple of scenes where Aria didn't want to come in. This was one, obviously. She made it very clear that she respected what we did but it was too much for her," I continue.
Ben and Gwilym hang up their wigs on the head mannequins. Joe struggles to take his hair piece off.
"Damn perm," he mumbles.
"We're watching a movie tonight," Ben tells us, changing topics ever so slightly. "To take her mind off of things,"
"They grow up so quickly," Joe says, fake crying. He sniffles and wipes his eye.
"That'll be nice," Gwilym says.
I step behind one of those changing screens and strip off my outfit, putting my regular clothes on. I step out and take my wig off, realizing I still have it on.
"I knew you guys would be perfect for each other ever since I met you, Ben," I say. I put my wig on the last mannequin head. I catch Ben's eyes in the big mirror in front of us.
"Yeah?" he says.
"Yeah. I can't explain it but there's something about each of your personalities that just mold together,"
"I hope it works out. I really do,"
"As long as I can be the third person in your relationship," Joe adds. I roll my eyes at their 'bromance' they have going on. They instantly clicked from the moment they met. Not that we all didn't but with them it's different.
"Of course, Joseph, I would never leave you," Ben says. He throws him a cheeky smile.
Gwilym looks at me. "Does that mean I can lean on you, mate?" he asks, outstretching his arms.
I look around the room to make sure it is just the four of us in here.
"I hate to be the bearer of bad news to you Gwil, but I sort of have a thing for Lucy," I say. "However you can also be our plus one like Ben and Aria have going on,"
This grabs the attention of everyone .
"What? Since when do you have a thing for Lucy?" Joe asks. They all give me wide eyes. "I mean I can't say I'm surprised,"
"Since we met I guess," I answer vaguely. "It's a work in progress. Let me get back to you on that,"
"Don't worry Gwil. If Ben, Aria, Rami, and Lucy go on a double date we can go as a third couple," Joe says to his friend.
"I'll take that deal," Gwilym responds. They're ridiculous.
I must say I'm incredibly happy with all these people I've met. We grew insanely close in a short amount of time. During rehearsals especially we bonded a lot. Literally the first day we all met each other it was an instant connection. I remember we all took a group picture with Brian and Roger, and Ben and Joe hit it off right away. It was just different than any other acting experience I've been in. I know that I'll be friends with these guys for a long long time.
...
Brian
"Why the hell was Bryan not here today?" Jim Beach asks me as we walk to our cars, with Roger, at the end of filming.
"I wish I knew," I respond. I find it highly inconsiderate on his behalf that he could not even grace us with a phone call saying he was not showing up. An hour after he was supposed to show up Aria decided to take over. As executive producer she is his right hand man so I knew she could handle it professionally. Mentally is what I worry about.
"He was fine at the start of filming," Roger points out.
"This whole project has been messy. Part of me just wants it over with," Jim says. I sigh. We finally find a director willing to take on this project after ten years, give or take, and suddenly he has an attitude and doesn't show up.
"I want it over with because of all the drama. There's no need for it," I say, referring to the drama our own crew is starting. "I remember Bryan talking about family health problems? But he never followed up on that,"
I vaguely remember Bryan mentioning that someone in his family is struggling with health and he needs to be there for him or her, but he never actually confirmed that with anyone. It was more or less a comment. Whether that's why he's not here I don't know, but something's been incredibly off with him lately. I'm starting to get nervous we made the wrong choice with director.
"What was up with his whole spiel with Aria the other day?" Jim asks.
We reach our cars, which are parked next to each other, but we stand outside continuing our conversation.
I shake my head. "He's under the impression that Aria is going to distract Ben and that she's making production look bad because she's dating one of the actors. It looks like Ben is with her only to get the role,"
"Which is not true," Roger adds.
"He told you that?" Jim asks.
I nod. "He apologized for his outburst to Roger and I the other day. He didn't apologize to her or Ben though, which doesn't quite make sense," I say, realizing how virtually nothing makes sense.
"He's consumed with image and once word gets out about Ben and Ari then a lot will change," Roger explains. "Tabloids and paparazzi will be all over it, looking for anything they can feed off of. It'll be a nightmare,"
"I wish it wasn't like that," I say. I think back to her last relationships and how she got ripped apart for them. Everyone judges who she is with. They didn't last long for other reasons, but the spotlight constantly on them didn't help.
"Can we stop that from happening?" Jim asks.
I put my hands in my pockets, while Roger crosses his arms.
"We could ask them to keep it quiet but I don't want to strain them," I answer. "It's also none of our business and quite frankly I don't want Bryan getting that satisfaction of us trying to cover it up,"
"They're good kids. Nothing bad will happen," Roger says.
I fear that though. Of course we know that they aren't bad kids. But the truth of the matter is the paparazzi likes to manipulate the public into thinking otherwise. They bring drama to where there is none and Aria is a victim of this. She keeps her private life very private and this drives interviewers and them crazy, so made up stories get leaked. It's hard to watch. I just hope that her relationship between her and Ben does them more good than harm.
I worry about her. I do consider Aria a daughter to me. Freddie really wanted to have a child and when life was finally in his favor, he did with a mutual friend of his before he met Jim. After Freddie was diagnosed, Aria's mother left and Freddie asked me to take care of her for after he passed. Of course I agreed. She was one of the things that kept me strong in my hardest times.
We still don't know where Aria's mother is. She never reaches out. She might not even be alive for all we know. Aria used to ask but she hasn't made the effort to bring her up in years. The woman, Valerie, was a friend of Freddie's but she freaked out when she found out about Freddie's diagnosis. She up and left the next day and left a note saying how it was 'too hard for her'.
Freddie was indifferent about it. He had his beautiful little girl that he was raising. Jim Hutton helped too. Aria called him "papa" when she was younger. However, Freddie asked me to take care of her instead of Jim, for various reasons. I think they had talked it over previously. Jim wasn't upset with it, but I let him come over all the time and made sure he was still in her life because he did genuinely love Aria. It was a shame when he passed.
She hasn't had the easiest life but she's made the best of it. She opens up to me and Roger, but I know heres always going to be that part of her that will only open up to that one person. I just hope Ben is the right person.
I get a good feeling he is.