WOMEN |H.F|

19

HAVAN FLORES

Heavy breaths leave my throat, I halt in front of his dressing room. Arden stops right next to me. I raise my hand and knock rapidly on the wooden surface. "Jace? Jace, you in there?" My nervous voice shakes. When my knuckles turned all red, the door swung open.

"Have you got any idea of how much trouble you two caused?!" He erupts. Both of us try to swallow the lump in our throats. To answer his question we nod and lower our vision by staring at the grey carpet that covered the hallway floor. Jace pokes his head past the doorframe to check if we're alone. He gives us a quick nod to go inside when he sees that the coast is clear. Arden sits down rather fast, her hands shaking and tears starting to form in the corners of her eyes. Jace leans against his desk looking at us for an explanation. I sit beside Arden and hesitate for a second but then lay my hand on her knee, trying to sooth her by tracing small patterns on the fabric of her pants.

A stern frown grows on Jace's face. The young man looks disappointed, frustrated and a bit startled. Just a bit. "Go on, tell me what's been playing between you two." He grumbles. I swallow thickly, my throat running dry within seconds. "I uh," I pondered about what I should say next, "What does this look like to you?"

Jace raises his eyebrows in surprise, not expecting this kind of response from me. He sighs and states; "This is wrong and you know it. You could lose your jobs! Have you thought about that before you two went fooling around in closets?!"

"We have, okay. We know the consequences of this action, but we both agreed to take that risk. So you don't get a say in this, we're old enough to decide for ourselves." Arden huffs and crosses her legs.

I take back my hand and gaze at her with admiration. I'm speechless but I oh so adore her, the timid girl from before sits up right as a vigorous young woman. The buzzcutted adult shows a glimpse of defeat on his face. His reaction gives me the courage to tell what's been on my mind.

"Weren't you in our place once? I bet you tried anything to forcome this too but you were once young too and you too liked someone." His eyes softened and a frown made its way on his lips.

"She's my-, she's really special to me, Jace. Arden makes me happy, so please don't take that away from me." I bite the inside of my cheek as my hands tremble.

An arm snakes around my waist, pulling me closer. Arden gently squeezes my side, reassuring me. Jace pinches the bridge of his nose and closes his eyes, a frown forming on his visage. He huffs, stands up and opens the door. The young man gestures to leave his dressing room, leaving us confused. "Go, you guys have a scene to shoot."

Both of us stand up, letting go of each other. "Are you going to tell Mike?" Demands Arden. Jace shakes his head, "No, now go before they come looking for you." 

We hurry off to set, revise our lines and get back to our spots, waiting for Mike's signal to start, "Three, two, action!"

ARDEN KELLY

Havan sat down on the couch in the Man's Nest as I walked in. This scene is just about us, a scene where Chapa and Eden get to know each other better. "Oh hi, I didn't expect you here."

"I work here, why wouldn't I be here?" Responded Havan quite bitterly. Havan's character still needs to warm up to having a new member in the team. I sit down on the other side of the couch giving her enough space. "I just didn't expect you to be here so early. How long have you been here, Chapa?" I questioned.

"What is this? An interrogation? Jeez." Her face grows more annoyed.

"I'm sorry, I was thinking that maybe we could start over new. Our acquaintance wasn't the best." I mumble. Havan rolls with her eyes and remarks sarcastically,"No kidding."

My character has to get really irritated by Chapa's response, that's why I have to stand up fast and yell slightly at her. "Look, I'm sorry if you don't like me. I'm just trying to be friendly with you so that missions would be easier if we get along in the future. You do realise we have to fight crime together but if you can't even be a little nice to me then how do you treat the civilians? Either you like it or not, you're stuck with me!" I exclaimed as I ran out of the building. Havan gapes at the table in front of her, totally flabbergasted by Eden's outburst. She jumps up and runs after me, screaming; "Eden, wait! Don't go!"

"And cut! That was great, thanks girls! Take five, then we'll do the next scene." Announced our director.

I sigh and sink down in my chair, chugging water down my throat. That outburst took a lot of energy out of me. Havan's presence doesn't go unnoticed by me, she puts a hand on my shoulder, "You did great." I smile softly at her, not feeling great after my small performance. Havan notices and sits down beside me. "Are you okay, Ar?" She asks, concerned.

"I guess but it didn't really feel right to scream at you like that, not after what happened before shooting this scene." Havan places her hand on my arm, smoothing her thumb over the fabric of my shirt. "Don't be sorry, you had to scream, it was part of the script. Of course I know you didn't want to yell at me." She whispers.

"But it felt like I was taking all my frustrations out on you and I don't like the thought of that." 

Havan took a sip of water from her bottle and softly squeezed my arm, trying to reassure me, telling me not to worry about it. Jules quickly fixes my hair a bit and gives me thumbs up, "You were amazing, honey!"

Some assistants ask Havan and I back on set. "Alright next part is up!" Shouted the co-director, Alexander.