BOTH POVs
You sit in your trailer in silence, staring into the mirror as you try not to smudge your make up while wiping away your tears. You knew you'd have to go and film with everyone else, you had no excuse. You run a hand through your ponytail, emotionally drained as you sigh. This was meant to be the best filming day of the season, but your heartbreak keeps holding you back.
"Y/N, it's Skeet. Can I come in?" You close your eyes, breathing in deeply before putting on your best fake smile.
"Come in." Skeet comes in and closes the door of the trailer, smiling at you empathetically as you smile back.
"You don't have to pretend to be okay, kid. I know you're hurting." You release your fake smile and begin pacing around the room as the older actor takes a seat.
"We have our major scene together in less than an hour and I don't know what to do!" You want to yell in frustration at this point. "I can't act normal with him there. I don't want to have to face him, why can't I just disappear from the Earth?" Skeet chuckles, grabbing you by the shoulders before sitting you down and talking with you.
"You're going to have to face him sooner or later — you are two main characters in a TV show, who just so happen to be love interests." You groan in annoyance.
"I know, that's what makes it so much harder." You look at Skeet, a distraught look on your face. "Those scenes we have together as Betty and Jughead, I don't have to act for that. Just being around him makes me so unbelievable happy and when he holds me, it's like we're the only people in the whole world. I don't want things to be awkward, I just wish he loved me back." You stop yourself for a moment, realising what you said as Skeet cracks a huge grin. Unbeknownst to both of you, Cole and KJ are standing outside your door. KJ looks at Cole with a smirk as Cole smiles gratefully.
"You admitted it, you love him." You smile sadly.
"Quite sad, really. An unrequited love." Skeet pats you on the shoulder.
"Channel this sadness and pain and anger into this next scene. I promise you, things are going to work out a lot better than you think."
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A quick costume change and hair fix and you're whisked away to the set of Jughead's trailer, where you've just found the drug lab. You prepare yourself mentally, pacing around and biting your fingernails anxiously. Cole watches you out of the corner of his eye, not wanting to freak you out too much before the scene.
"Aren't you going to talk to her? The girl looks like she's about to explode!" Madelaine asks urgently and Cole shakes his head, a plan in his head.
"Don't worry, you'll see what I have planned after this scene." Madelaine accepts the response, knowing that if Cole had a plan, everything would fall into place. Everyone gets in position for this scene and you allow yourself to sniffle. You stand beside Cole and follow as Skeet says, channeling all of your emotions into this one scene.
"This scene is a very emotional and intense scene for Betty and Jughead and we need to be able to feel it. Sing your heart out and give it your all. I know you both will." Cameras begin rolling and you begin the scene.
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"Tonsils called it in." The two of you glance around at the drug trailer set up. You can feel your heartbreak at the tone in Cole's voice. The man beside you just wants to turn to you and hug you tightly, but he had to remain serious for the scene. All of these pent up emotions are finally bubbling to the surface.
"Oh my god." You glance over at him as he stares almost angrily at the messy area. You know that he's very good at channeling what Jughead's feeling, but from what you can see, Cole's acting is coming from a place of genuine pain — and it kind of scared you.
"This was my childhood home. My mom destroyed it." He tries to hide his crying as he walks into the next section. 'Pull yourself together!' The man thought to himself as cameras focus on him again. You linger in the kitchen for a bit, trying to pull yourself together and stay focused on the Bughead scene before following. Cole walks slowly, almost painfully towards the couch, making sure to pretend to inspect the entire room. "And how the hell did it get here? When did our lives go from worry about who was going to sit next to us on the bus to drug lord mothers?" Cole sits down, feeling Jughead's agony. You follow suit, sitting beside him but not making eye contact.
"And serial killer fathers." You glance at Cole, your hands resting together as he shook his head, holding back Jughead's tears. It isn't just that, they're his own. It hurt, not being able to talk to you, you running away — part of his heart is breaking. "And unstoppable cults." You look down for a few moments, unsure of what to do.
"What are we gonna do?" Cole exasperates, throwing his beanie in frustration and running his hands through the sides of his hair as he finally allows himself to cry. He's so done with having to hide his feelings, especially from you. His whole life, everyone expected the best from him, for him to be okay all the time — he was finally letting go. You try not to cry as you watch the man that you love in pain — real or not, you weren't sure. You take a deep breathe before continuing.
"I've got a crazy idea." You sigh, not needing to act to bring tears to Betty's eyes as you continue the scene.
"Let's be normal, see bad movies, sneak a beer and watch TV." You put your arm around him comfortingly, gazing at him as he continues to stare at the ground, improvising the scene just as instructed. They want emotion, well they'll get it. "We'll bake brownies or go bowling. Don't you want a life with me?" You lean your head against Cole's, allowing the tears to leave a little as he looks away again, slowly pulling away. "Can't we be seventeen? That's all I want to do. If you could let me in, I could be good with you." Cole stands up, walking away from you and glancing around the set of the trailer. He isn't okay and he's finally okay with that. He's finally allowing himself to tell you everything and finally allowing himself to be with you, to have happiness.
"People hurt us," You follow, standing up and watching him as 'Jughead' mentally debated with himself.
"Or they vanish."
"And you're right, that really blows." You admired Cole and how much he really committed to Jughead's character, his voice sounding exhausted emotionally and physically.
"But we let go."
"Take a deep breath."
"And go buy some summer clothes." He turns around to face you and it scares you, knowing this man could break your heart again.
"We'll go camping." He shrugs and you can't help but smile. You notice the bags under his eyes and you want to frown, had he been stressing about what had happened? You continue anyway, singing softly.
"Play some poker." Cole continues to stroll towards you, stopping in front of you and it made your heart go crazy. Cole looked at the woman in front of him and allowed himself to accept what his heart yearned for — you.
"And we'll eat some chilli fires." You brush your hand over his cheek, pushing his hair behind his ear and resting your hand on his neck. Cole has to stop himself from shivering at the action. You have some kind of control over him and as much as it scares him, he's transfixed by you.
"Maybe prom night, maybe dancing." You bring other hand up to his neck and have to hold back a shiver as your forehead brushes against his.
"DON'T STOP LOOKING IN MY EYES — YOUR EYES!" Because Madelaine and Vanessa were filming their scene later, you sing their lyrics as well to fill the gap in for filming. "CAN'T WE BE SEVENTEEN?" You shift your hands around Cole's body, your faces never leaving the two inch vicinity as his hands rested on your back. "IS THAT SO HARD TO DO?" The two you belted out the lyrics with passion, a firey burning deep within you as your voices blended together beautifully. Cole's eyes closed as he sang passionately. "IF YOU COULD LET ME IN, I COULD BE GOOD WITH YOU." You gasp slightly as you feel Cole's hands move to your waist as the two of you began to partner dance. You knew he was improvising, just like the two of you had been told, but it shocked you. "LET US BE SEVENTEEN." You follow his lead, the two of you drift apart before pulling each other back in, your hands landing in a waltz pose. It's driving you crazy and you're unable to stop smiling as the two of you dance together beautifully. "IF WE STILL GOT THE RIGHT!" You have to hide your surprise again as Cole moves his hands up to your higher back and dips you slowly. You don't fear falling when he does, gazing into his eyes. Your heart feels as if it's about to explode as he lifts you back up. Cole has surprised himself when he began dancing with you, but it felt right as he lead you around the room.
"So what's it gonna be? I wanna be with you." You ask, almost sincerely. It reminded you of yesterday and you wanted to run again. Cole kneels down, his hands still on your arms. He smiles genuinely for the first time since yesterday as he dips you and his heart leapt when you looked at him with trust and love.
"I wanna be with you." That familiar spark reappears in his eyes as he kneels in front of you, taking your hands. Hypnotised, you follow him, kneeling down right in front of him and trailing your hands to his face again.
"TONIGHT!" You belt out together again, your noses barely touching. You don't seem to notice the cameras spinning around the two of you as the two of you are lost in your own little world. During the short musical break, Cole pulls you into an unexpected kiss and you have to play along with your character, your lips brushing his profusely and responding to him. You hum with delight, your hands on his cheeks again before slowly pulling away. Your cheeks flush as you try to regain your breath in time. You open your eyes again, revealing your vulnerability as you sing the last lyric. "You're the one I choose." The song finishes and you feel trapped as the two of you linger on your gaze. It makes your heart ache and you know that it's time to leave before you feel something that you'd regret. You go to pull away, but Cole grabs your wrist, his grip firm but not rough.
"Cole, I-" Your costar pulls you towards him again and crushes his lips on top of yours. You gasp as his hands fall to your waist, pulling you flush against him. You respond, all thoughts melting away and your heart taking the lead. You moan softly into his mouth as the man you loved caressed your cheek before running his hand through your hair. The two of you soon have to pull away for air and realisation strikes you. You furrow your eyebrows, unable to form words after the wonderful experience you just had with your love. He looks at you, smiling genuinely and softly — a smile that made your heart flutter.
"You're the one I choose." Your heart stops as the tuneful lyric left his mouth. Everyone on set is silent as you place a hand over your mouth, tears forming in your eyes. You practically tackle Cole in a hug, burying your face into his neck as you cry with joy and relief. Cole wraps his arm right around you, keeping you as close as possible. "I'm sorry I messed up so badly before. You know that my past relationships didn't end well for me, so when you admitted your feelings, I couldn't comprehend that someone could actually want me for me." He whispers in your ear, slowly stroking your hair comfortingly. You pull away, a small but love filled smile on your face as you allow your tears to fall in front of him - a sign of how much trust you had in him.
"You are one of a kind, Cole. I never want to let you go." Cole brushes your tears again with his thumb, resting his forehead against yours as you finally notice the cast going absolutely mental.
"You don't have to, love." You giggle through your tears and stay in his embrace for a while longer. The two of you stand up and you gaze at each other again.
"Our love's too good to lose."