𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐞𝐱𝐭𝐫𝐚 || 𝐚𝐮𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐧 𝐛𝐮𝐭𝐥𝐞𝐫 ✓

Chapter Eight

A/N: hellooo welcome to chapter eight! I know I keep leaving you all with cliffhangers but this chapter is pretty tame. please let me know if you enjoy it! (:

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March 2020

I have been holed up in an apartment for weeks without being able to leave. I've been stuck in a relationship where I wasn't held to an acceptable standard. I have been through the wringer with my ex, trying to figure out how to get out of the tense situation without ruining our new friendship, if you'd call it that. I got through all of those things. But I had never felt so stuck before in my entire life until Austin told me that an entire movie, a person's life story, and the hope of fans worldwide now fell on me. And I don't know if that's something I can get to the other side of. Apparently, I look enough like Priscilla to be her character and have enough acting experience. Besides, desperate times call for desperate measures, and if an extra has to be used in the main cast, it wouldn't be the end of the world. But it felt like it was the end to me.

Baz decided that everything we have filmed so far will be refilmed after the six months are up. Not just because I was recast, but because he felt it would be better that way. I have to stay with Austin during these six months because I have to gain chemistry with him or instead gain chemistry back. Whatever we have going on right now isn't a good kind of chemistry to work with, so we have to fix that. Also, I can't really go home anyway. Everyone has been told that wherever you are right now, you should probably stay if possible. The virus has become too dangerous. I broke the lease to my apartment and had everything I brought with me here transferred to Austin's condo, thanks to Tyler. He's slightly upset that we can't have movie nights anymore in each other's apartments, but he understands completely. Jess is feeling better. Luckily, their coronavirus case wasn't extreme, and they don't have any long-term side effects.

Dacre and I are still friends; we've actually grown closer since quarantine. Sometimes it makes Austin feel weird, but he isn't as jealous as he used to be. Luke and Dacre forgave Austin for his unhinged comment. But they made sure to tell him that even though they were cool, they would physically harm him if he hurt me again. Tom checked up on us every other day until he and his wife got the virus. His case is really bad, and everyone is very worried about him. On the bright side, Olivia has gotten a little better and has been really supportive of me replacing her part. I still feel like I'm betraying her in a way, but she has assured me that I could absolutely do this- that I'm capable of playing Priscilla. Even Priscilla herself has reached out to me to tell me that based on what everyone has been telling her, she was pleased to "have a great woman" like me to play her. That alone was enough to wake me up. I need to play this part whether I like it or not. Whether I want to be famous or not.

It's been a struggle for the last two weeks. I had to make sure to tell Austin that I wasn't mad at him and I didn't hate him. And that if I was distant, I just had a lot to think about. I had to think about how I would play a serious, life-changing role as an actress with little prior experience. I really, really had to think about how to go about living with Austin again now that we had to forcefully. I also had to think about our relationship, whether it was romantic or platonic. Our characters are romantically involved, so we have to work on our dynamic. We can't fight anymore or let anything come between us while filming, or else it would be challenging to maintain chemistry. Apparently, there's an on-screen kiss that we have to prepare for, too. I don't know how ready for that Austin or I will be, but I guess we'll cross that bridge when we get there.

I have decided to wait until Austin and I get out of this weird patch before thinking any harder about pursuing our relationship again. I don't want the foundation of our rekindled relationship to be built on any hesitance or negative emotion. I told him I'd think about it, and I have, but I won't think on it more than I have to until it's necessary. Luckily, I think we're beginning to move out of the awkward phase anyway. It shouldn't be long before we're entirely out of it.