Backburner, Charlie Bushnell

Times Like This

One ✶ Times Like This

Stepping out of the car, headphones blasting loud music, the wind blowing her hair away from her face. The young actress stood with her head held high as she tried to warm herself before entering the restaurant.

It was late September and the weather was getting colder day by day. As she begins to walk towards the entrance, somebody taps her shoulder. Turning around she sees her castmate, Charlie, with a smile on his face.

She takes her headphones off and hugs him from the side. "Hey Neomi, did you just get here too?" The boy tilts his head as he asks. She nods in response.

"Yeah, I was just trying to warm myself up before going in." Neomi shrugs, rubbing her palms to each other and placing them on her shoulders. Her mother's voice rang in her head telling her to wear a sleeved top instead of what she chose to wear in case she'd get cold.

Hana was right all along.

Breaking her out of her thoughts, Charlie speaks. "You can have my jacket for now if you want." He suggests as he starts to unzip his jacket. Her mouth gapes open but no words come out. The boy takes that for an answer and places his jacket over her shoulders.

He looks at how the jacket cages her in, taking in how small she looks in it. A chuckle leaves his mouth and Neomi blushes softly with a smile on her face. "Thanks, Charlie." She tells him while putting her arms in the sleeves.

"Come on let's go." As he says this, he puts an arm over the girl's shoulder, leading them to the restaurant.

The pair walks inside, instantly going to the private rooms rented for the cast and some of the crew. Their voice could already be heard even with the door closed. Charlie steps in front and opens the door, a smile instantly gracing his face as he walks in while leaving the door open for the girl behind him.

The whole cast cheers as they finally arrive. Neomi gave them a wave before she saw Sofia who was giving her a teasing look. Charlie smiles at her before taking his arm off her shoulder, leaving to go over to the boys in the cast.

"Neomi! We gotta introduce you to the newest member of the cast!" The director, Ashlynn, tells her excitedly as she places her hands on the young girl's shoulders. She leads them to where the said member is sitting, speaking to another actor. "Neomi, this is Devyn. She'll be playing your older sister in the show." The older girl's eyes widened as they were introduced.

"Oh my God! I've been waiting to meet you the whole night!" Devyn exclaims and they both smile. Ashlynn leaves the two actresses together, giving them space to get to know each other. Neomi tried to figure out how they cast her as her sister as they both had different facial features besides their eyes but as Devyn spoke, there was always a hint of enthusiasm with every word she said. Then she realized what they had in common. The two girls found it easy to connect and talk to each other. Talking about movies, songs, and their other roles.

As they spoke for a while, Neomi remembered there were more people with them. "Have you met the rest of the cast?" She asked the girl and she shook her head. "I've only met David and well, you."

The two actresses look around the room, Neomi's eyes immediately finding where the curly-haired boy was sitting. They make eye contact and he tilts his head as a way to call her over. A smile graces her face which doesn't go unnoticed by Devyn. "I'll introduce you to them!" She gets up from the booth and walks to the other table across the room.

Half the cast was here including Sofia, David, Mason, and of course, Charlie. "Hey you guys, this is Devyn!" As she was introduced, a chorus of hello's and hi's were said. They all scoot over and make space for the two to sit on but Charlie had other ideas.

He stands up and lets the girls sit on the couch while he gets two chairs for the others to sit on. Neomi thanks him with a smile and he feels something in his stomach, which he chooses to ignore.

The group talked about everything and anything before the catered food arrived. Before they all got their food, Neomi excused herself to go to the bathroom and Sofia followed behind her. "Neomi, wait up!" Sofia calls out for her.

She walks to her, curls bouncing slightly. As they entered the bathroom she spoke.

"So... You and Charlie huh?" Sofia teased with a playful smirk. Neomi stopped in her tracks at what she said and looked back at her. "What about it?" The girl tried to act oblivious as to what her friend meant before going into one of the stalls.

Sofia waited for her to be finished before continuing their conversation. "Oh, nothing. Just thought there was something in the air around you two. " She now wiggles her eyebrows as she spoke.

Neomi shakes her head while turning the faucet on to wash her hands. "We're just friends and I'm sure he's just being nice." She smiles to herself as she remembers the jacket she was wearing.

As they got back to the private room, their seats from earlier had already been taken and the group had split so they could fit in the booths. The boys and girls were separated which was alright as the girls could have time alone. The boys were louder than they were as the three of them were still getting to know each other more.

The adults also visited their tables to see how the cast was doing, making sure everyone felt welcome. However, Ashlynn was the one that stayed the longest at the tables. Asking about the food, their fellow castmates, and the like. She leaves after speaking with the actors and retreats to her table.

As everyone was in the middle of eating their meals, Ashlynn called their attention by tapping her fork on her glass. "Hey everyone, I know we're all eating right now but I just wanted to thank everyone that was able to come here today before we start filming next week. I hope everyone was able to meet and get to know the people they'll be working with and at least made a friend!" She looks around the room and smiles.

"After this week, we'll be filming 'Missing Piece' until we finish the 10 episodes, so I hope you're in for the long haul!" The room laughs right after she speaks and she chuckles. "Regardless of that, enjoy the rest of the night!" They all clap and cheer as their director walks back to her booth and continues eating.

Once everyone finished, Neomi greeted each person goodbye. She reminds herself to give back the jacket and thank Charlie once she gets to him.

"Hey," Speak of the devil — Charlie was behind her already, right after she had bid goodbye to Sofia. She turns around and smiles up at him. "Charlie! Thanks so much for the jacket. I... It kept me warm the whole night!" The brown-eyed girl's smile does not leave her face once. This makes him smile.

The moment she removes the jacket from her body, he stops her. "You can keep it," He pauses. Thinking about what to say next. "I wanna see how long it'll take you to grow into it 'cause you're just so small." He jokes and this receives a scowl from the girl.

Neomi hears him chuckle to himself then she laughs with him. "Oh, so this is how it's gonna be for the next few months huh? Just wait 'till I get taller, Bushnell."

He snickers at her while shaking his head. "Anyways, bye. I'll see you when I see you." She says before dapping him up goodbye.

"See you, Neo."