Method Acting || Joe Keery

T H I R T E E N

Robert, Maya and I all stand on the front porch of Joe and Gemma's house, waiting for someone to answer the door after arriving together in Roberts car.

The door opens and Gemma is standing in the door way. She smiles at us.

"Ah, you three! I'm so glad you guys came, everyone else is already here," Gemma says, hugging us all as we come inside.

Gemma leads us into the living room where Charlie, Natalia and Dacre are all sitting down.

"Joe, they're here!" Gemma calls out.

Joe comes in from what seems to be the kitchen, holding a bottle of wine. His eyes lock with mine and he swallows.

"Joe!" Maya shouts happily, breaking our eye contact.

She moves over to him and gives him a big hug, while Robert and I follow closely behind. After hugging Maya and Robert, Joe stands awkwardly looking at me. I lift my hand up in a little wave and laugh.

"Hi," I say to him.

"Hey," Joe replies back with a chuckle.

"You look amazing," He says softly, looking into my eyes.

He remembers the others and looks at them too.

"You all look amazing! I love your clothes," Joe says to everyone smiling.

"Joe, the wine?" Gemma reminds Joe.

"Oh right!" Joe says, his face moving with recognition.

"thirsty?" He asks the three of us.

We all nod enthusiastically, and he runs back to the kitchen to presumably get more wine glasses.

"Come sit down," Gemma says with a smile, leading us to the couches in the living room.

Robert takes a spot next to Dacre, who smiles at him as he continues his conversation with Natalia and Charlie, while Maya and I sit together and Gemma sits across from us.

As Joe comes back in with the glasses, he hands one to each of us as he pours the wine. When he's done, he takes a seat next to Gemma, and she starts rubbing his leg affectionately. The pain in my stomach hums as it threatens to return, and I start drinking my wine.

"So, Gemma. What are you doing lately?" I ask, trying to get make conversation before it gets too awkward.

"I'm looking at a few different scripts, but I'm not working on anything right now," She replied.

I nod and finish my wine, reaching for the bottle to refill it. It's called liquid courage for a reason right?

"So how are you going on set? Are you enjoying acting? Joe tells me you're great to work with," Gemma asks.

I drink more of my wine before answering.

"It's going great! Everyone is so friendly and helpful if I have questions. Joe is great to work with too," I say, smiling directly at Joe who shifts uncomfortably.

"Ah, I think dinner is probably ready by now. Should we move into the dining room?" Joe asks Gemma.

Gemma nods and invites us all into the dining room. I sit next to Maya and across from Gemma and Joe.

Conversation starts to flow around the table as we eat, when Charlie asks Gemma about how her and Joe met. Joe smiles at Gemma as he tells the story, reaching over the table and holding her hand.

Maya instinctively slips her hand into my hand that is resting on the table, and gives my hand a squeeze. She leans close to me and whispers.

"Are you okay?"