Alive (Phan)

SIX

"Wait, wait, so you're actually hanging out with her after the shoot?"

"No need to sound so surprised," I said, feeling a little insulted.

"I'm just a little shocked- you're sure she meant- you're definitely, like, more than friends?"

"I mean, I think. At least, that was the impression she gave..." I said, staring at the ground, embarrassed.

"Kendall? Kendall!" We turned as Di's voice met our ears. She did not sound happy. To be fair, I probably wouldn't have been overjoyed to be in her place either. It was her first day of shooting and it was going... well, hellish.

The majority of the film was only Phil and me, so in order to make scheduling easier, Di had decided to film every scene with other actors in it first. This had sounded like a good enough plan at first but turned out to be a complete headache for her. Two of the actors who I had never met had had a massive breakup the night before so neither of them showed up which meant Di and PJ had to act as their characters. On top of that, Chris showed up hungover with none of his lines memorized and Phil overslept which set us 45 minutes behind schedule.

"Do you have scene 6 memorized yet?" she demanded. She was running her hands through her hair frantically which I took as a bad sign."I really do not have all day, Kendall!"

"Oh really?" Chris asked, throwing an arm around her shoulder. "Why don't you have all day, Lady Diana? Is it possible you have a previous engagement later?" He winked in my direction. I thought Di might combust, but instead, she grabbed Chris's arm from behind her neck and twisted it around, pulling him into a headlock.

"I'll have you know," she said, "I have a month to produce the best film I have ever made for my last year in this film festival and I am on a very strict schedule and apparently working with a completely incompetent crew. So I would greatly appreciate it," she tightened her grip, making Chris' face contort in pain, "if you would take some responsibility for once in your bloody life!" Di let go, dropping Chris to the ground. "We're shooting scene 6 in five. Will you be memorized or do I need to have your darling boyfriend make cue cards for you?"

"No worries, Captain," Chris choked out, brushing some dirt off his pants. "It's all up here!" he tapped his temples with his fingers.

"Good, don't disappoint me," she said, "Hi Dan," she added before walking away.

"Real catch you've got there, mate," Chris chaffed when Di was out of earshot.

"I think she's badass," I shrugged.

"That she may be," he said, "I prefer cuddly in a relationship personally but to each his own! Now, I must be off!"

"Going to memorize those lines?" I called after him.

"Are you shitting me? I'm going to have Peej make me some cue cards!"

I chuckled to myself and sat against a nearby tree. We were filming in Di's living room but in order to keep background noise down anyone not filming had been kicked out into the yard until they were on. I pulled out my iPod and closed my eyes as I slipped my earbuds in.

Girl, you really got me goin'. You got me so I don't know what I'm doin'.

Yeah, you really got me now, you got me so I can't sleep at night.

The Kinks, nice.

I was just feeling myself slip out of consciousness when I felt a hand on my shoulder.

"Can I sit with you?"

"What?" I blinked my eyes open, "Oh, hey Phil. Er, what?" I pulled one of my earbuds out.

He laughed, "Can I sit?"

"Oh yeah, sure," I said, scooting over so that he could lean against the tree too. "I thought you were in this scene."

"Yeah, well, Chris is getting a good long ass-chewing by Di so I figured I'd duck out before it got too nasty." he laughed. "It could be a while."

"Di and Chris don't seem like they get along very well," I observed which made Phil laugh even more.

"They get along fine," he said, "Work together, eh, not so much." He smiled and tugged at the grass as he spoke. "Di and Chris are just very different people. Di is a hard worker, Chris likes to bank on his talent and never work hard at anything. Neither compromise well. It makes for a rough time for everyone, but they love each other."

"Couldn't tell that from the way they act."

"If Di didn't like Chris she wouldn't keep casting him in her films," he said, wrapping a long blade of grass around his finger.

"I guess that makes sense," I said.

"Di isn't a particularly tender person, she doesn't show affection very often," he turned his smiling face to me now. "Although recently, she has seemed a little more tender than usual."

"Really?" I asked, jokingly, a slight blush rising in my cheeks.

"Really," he mocked, "You wouldn't know anything about what could have caused that would you?"

"No idea," I said, trying to keep a straight face.

"Well, if the cause of Di's sudden change of character does come to light anytime soon, try not to piss her off, eh? I'd hate to see anything bad happen to you."

I laughed and punched Phil in the arm, "I think I got it under control," I said.

"Do you?"

"No," I admitted, causing Phil to laugh. I couldn't help but join him. "But, seriously," I said, "Di asked me to hang out with her later."

"Hang out?" Phil looked shocked, "Like today?"

"Yeah," I nodded, "After the shoot."

"Like, here?" Phil leaned in.

"I guess. I don't know what to expect. I wasn't nervous but then--" as if on cue, Di's voice came bellowing out of the house.

"USELESS, LAZY PRAT THIS IS THE LAST TIME I EVER--"

"I wouldn't worry too much," Phil reassured me, "You're into bondage right?"

"Wait, what?"

"Kidding!" Phil laughed, "Honestly, I know nothing about Diana's romantic side. She's never really been into anybody that I've known of. We all thought she was a lesbian."

"Really?" I gulped. "Then, why me?"

"Dunno," Phil shrugged, "You're probably the first straight guy we've ever hung out with. Maybe that's it."

"Well, thanks."

"You memorized your lines and showed up on time. That's enough to get on Di's good side," he returned his attention to tugging at the grass. "Big brown eyes and a devilish smirk can't hurt though," he added. I felt my face flush at his words. I looked away so he wouldn't notice.

You're such a fag. 

I shook my head, trying to silence the voices swirling in my mind. 

"I'm not hitting on you," Phil reassured. "I'm just saying."

"No, no I know," I said. But did I know?

Did I want to know?

"Lester??" the voice billowing out of the house redirected to Phil, "Where the hell is Lester??"

"That's my cue," Phil sighed, standing up. "Pray for me."

"Good luck," I smiled up at him.

"You too," he winked, "You need it more than me."

I chuckled and desperately hoped that he was wrong.