𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐞𝐱𝐭𝐫𝐚 || 𝐚𝐮𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐧 𝐛𝐮𝐭𝐥𝐞𝐫 ✓

Chapter Twelve

A/N: it's been a long time, baby! it's been a long time. but chapter twelve is now here, my beloveds. I'm sorry I've been so busy. every occurrence that I have free time, I'm either doing classwork, trying not to scream, having to do super fun adult stuff like grocery shop, or I'm resting. please enjoy this chapter even though it's fairly drab IMO!!

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September 2020

I'm clutching a coffee in my hand and trying to ignore my incessant trembling. The caffeine and lack of food this morning are stoking the nerve-wracking anxiety I feel. Today is the first day back on set for everyone and my first day playing Priscilla. Every time I try to recall my lines, my mind goes blank. Being an actress instead of an extra is new to me and has me so worked up that I'm worried about lines I don't have to recite yet. Hopefully, I'll settle into my role enough to remember my lines when I do need them later. One awkward thing, though, is that I'll be sitting next to Luke for the duration of the scene, and knowing that he kind of likes me makes me feel even more nervous. I shouldn't care because I'm with Austin, obviously. Still, the nagging feeling of someone always thinking about me in a non-platonic way makes me self-critical. So that just adds to the pile of nerves today.

My stylist pauses every now and then to let me wiggle in my seat. She's in the process of preparing my hair for the wig I have to wear, and I cannot sit still for the life of me. The coffee, anxiety, and restless energy are all teaming up to make me an annoyance to my stylist. Styling me takes the longest for this scene, even after Austin, who has to wear prosthetics and extra hair. My eyeliner in this particular scene in the movie is very intricate. I'm busy burning my eyes into my coffee cup when someone walks up to me, and it's no other than Austin.

"What do you think?" Austin says, turning in a circle to let me have a 360 view of his leather jumpsuit.

Seeing him with the full get-up- the hair, the sideburns, and the tan- is much more surreal than seeing him in just the outfit at rehearsals. He has become Elvis. Even more so than when filming initially began.

"You look uncanny," I giggle as the stylist gently places the wig on my head.

"And you look beautiful," Austin smiles, and a wave of calm suddenly comes over me.

The nerves are still there, but they aren't as erratic. Having Austin around is enough to make me feel better. Maybe I can do this after all. With him here, everything is a little easier. He eventually wanders over to someone else to strike up a conversation with. All that has to be done for my outfit now is the makeup, and I'll be ready to film. The '68 Comeback Special is being shot today, so I'll be hanging with everyone but Olivia from our group. I still feel like I've betrayed Olivia somehow, but I don't let it bother me too much. I have big shoes to fill, and I have to keep my head straight on my shoulders. Olivia has often reassured me that it's okay that I have her role, and that it was meant for me to play Priscilla instead. I hope she's right. I guess we're about to see.

After wiggling around in my seat a few more times and precise eyeliner being applied to my eyelids, I'm finally done with makeup and ready to head to the set. My stylist gives me one last look over, picking at my outfit and wig and eyeballing my makeup like a hawk. She gives me the go-ahead, and I take a deep breath before heading to where I need to be on the Comeback Special's set. I spotted Dacre getting his makeup touched up after finishing some of his filming this morning. After the beginning of the Comeback Special is filmed, Dacre has more scenes to run. I make a beeline to him because I won't see him for a day or so if I don't talk to him now. I hadn't seen Dacre in person since before we stopped filming.