The Extra (A Tom Hiddleston Fanfic)

Glimpses

She stood shaking in the pouring rain, hair plastered to her head watching him walk towards her. Menacing, brandishing a dagger, snarling down at her with barely concealed rage and contempt. She looked up, staring into his icy blue eyes with defiance, waiting.

"Tell. Me." He bellowed into her face "I KNOW you have it here" he made a grab for her, pulling her to him, spinning her round, her back pressed against his chest, his arms wrapped round, crushing her. His breath was hot on her neck "If you tell me quickly, I might not have to kill you." he said into her ear. He held the dagger at her throat, it's blade pressing into her soft neck. She swallowed and closed her eyes. She couldn't betray them, they were the only hope to stop all this madness.

"No" she whispered, "find the stone yourself, you're the clever one." She knew she'd signed her own death warrant. She only hoped it would be quick. He spun her back round to look at him, his face contorted into a manic grin, his eyes fixed on hers. Strangely all she could think of was how beautiful they were, blue and mesmerising. She felt calm, as if all uncertainty was gone. He leant closer, pulling her in, he whispered into her face,

"Yes, little Midgardian. I am." And he plunged the dagger into her heart, pulling her close, watching her face as she gasped, twitched and died. He dropped her into the mud and stepped over her. "Such as shame," he mused, "she was really quite pretty" and stalked away leaving her lying face up in the rain, the blood trickling away into the dirt.

"And CUT!"

Rosie opened her eyes and sat up, wiping the dirt and blood from her face. She was now grinning like a lunatic. A strong pair of hands reached down and helped her up, a gentle laugh accompanying her attempts not to slip in the mud.

"Well done Rosie, you have a future as a murder victim alright!" Taika laughed. "I didn't expect you to be quite so convincing to be honest, under other circumstances I think you could have given Loki here a real run for his money! I might have to think of some re-shoots!" with that he walked away, speaking into his director's walkie talkie and getting the next shot set up. She stood for a moment and just watched as the set went on round about her. What made it all the more surreal, was it was all happening in the field outside her own house.

There were rumours of course, Big Hollywood production, A-listers, location shooting and even maybe extras needed but until a few days ago, rumours were all it had been. Rosie hadn't paid that much attention, there had been film crews locally before and no one had got within a mile, so she just dismissed it out of hand. These things always grew arms and legs anyway, a small-time actor became a major Oscar winner, a made for tv became a Blockbuster Epic. That was until today. Today it became something much, much more than she ever imagined.

The local weather had played havoc with locations and schedules. Extra shooting locations were needed and since she lived on an estate in the middle of a secluded wood, it became apparent that they wanted to do some catchup in the fields behind her house. Normally, residents got some sort of remuneration for the inconvenience, bright lights, noise, extra traffic, that sort of thing. When the team had approached Rosie however, she had a different proposition. A walk-on. That was all, just a walk on, to be part of the process. Probably to end on the cutting room floor but a part nonetheless.

Meeting Taika, the director, had been surreal and fun, he was eccentric but reasonable, agreeing that she could play a part immediately. In fact, because they would end up staying more than the original 48hours they asked for, he offered her a small speaking part. A murdered part, but a part. And when she discovered Loki was to be her assailant, she almost died anyway.

Tom arrived on set the first morning already costumed, but since they used her house as a makeshift green-area for the actors, when she saw him, sitting in her kitchen sipping tea, she could have screamed with excitement. He looked up and smiled, winked and said "So this is my willing victim eh? Don't get too close my Pet, I may be tempted to do wickedly evil things to you!"

She blushed scarlet as she thought to herself "oh please do!" but all she said was "Mr Hiddleston, so nice to meet you - big fan of Coriolanus - oh and Loki of course!" she stammered and held out her hand. Tom stood up and crossed the room, his green cape swishing behind him, emphasising his height. "Please, it's Tom" he smiled and held out his hand, "If I'm to kill you, the least we can be is on first name terms...Rosie isn't it?" she gazed up into his eyes and felt herself losing the power of rational thought and speech.

"err yes, Rosie, yes" she almost whispered and he changed the handshake to the warmest hug she had ever felt. Tom pulled back and nodded,

"Thought so, beautiful name by the way." He smiled again, and she could have sworn she heard angels singing somewhere. They looked at each other for a moment, then someone called his name and he snapped his head round to them, still holding her hand.

"Yes?" he sounded a little exasperated, "Is it me already? I was just getting to know..." he looked back at her "Sorry love, duty calls. See you in a little while Midgardian!" and with a squeeze of her hand he was gone. Cape swishing, hair blowing in the breeze of his own fabulousness. Rosie just stared after him until a voice said in her ear " roll your tongue in young lady, it's not a good look!". Startled, she turned to find Taika at her shoulder, grinning wickedly. "He has that affect on most women, sadly he doesn't see it. Crushing insecurity. Me on the other hand? I know I'm amazing." With that he wandered off, laughing like a crazy person and pointing at her "I think he likes you too though, he never holds hands....be outside in 5 please, time to die little one!".

So now, three takes and several stabbings later, it was all done. Well, she was at any rate. Shooting would continue for another 3 days. 3 days to watch and wonder and just generally soak in the atmosphere of her absolutely 100% favourite movie franchise. Her friends and family teased her mercilessly about her Marvel obsession and more specifically her adoration for the man who played the Asgardian Bad Boy Loki. Now she could laugh at them instead. He'd been in her home. He'd actually killed her - 3 times! Pity she thought, this would probably be the only time she would ever meet him and now it was over. In her fangirl imagination, they'd gone for tea, discussed Shakespeare and bonded over a shared passion for lost causes and bad jokes. The truth was she had been his mortal enemy and ended up covered in dirt and blood, sprawled in the mud. How glamorous. How typical.

Sadly, she didn't see him for the rest of that day. Once she had showered, changed and walked back outside to mingle with the crew, she saw shooting had moved away to the far side of the field and Tom was nowhere in sight. Sighing she went back to the house and hid herself away in her little study, opening her laptop and catching up on some email. A copy of Coriolanus on her desk caught her eye, maybe she wondered, just maybe she could get him to sign it before he left? Putting it carefully to the side, she started to type. Sometimes, she decided, life just let you glimpse what you could've won and then took it away.