SPOTLIGHT (Colt Seavers) ✔︎

5 | Night Shoot

As I walked towards the bus stop, a few odd stragglers doing the same, I put in my earbuds, blocking everything out. Today had been an eventful day. I'd been yearning for a life like this, but I was beginning to think I wasn't quite cut out for big studio productions.

I looked up when I approached the bus stop. Only a few people were there, meaning a bus must've just gone by. Damn.

My mood lifted when I noticed a familiar figure standing next to the curb. "Colt?"

He looked up from his phone, doing a double take as he recognised my face. "Hi," he said. He looked back up at the road. "Is that bus coming back?"

I checked the time on my phone. 5.13. "Should be in a couple minutes."

"Cool." Colt nodded, pocketing his phone. "Do you know where the nearest car rental is from the stop?"

I thought about it for a moment. "Hmm. Probably the airport." Colt nodded. "I can give you a lift, if you want."

"Thanks," Colt replied graciously. A loud horn drew our attention to the oncoming bus. "Finally."

He gestured for me to board first and I nodded in thanks, making my way to the back of the bus. Colt slid into the seat beside me, placing his bag on his lap. He copied me and put in his earbuds, both of us falling into comfortable silence for the duration of the drive.

***

When we arrived at the car park, we got into my car and headed towards the airport. It wasn't far and when we arrived, Colt got out, thanking me profusely for the lift.

"It's fine," I assured him. "Really."

Colt gave me the thumbs up. "Let's see if they have any right-hand drivers."

I watched as he strolled towards the employee, talking to him for a few moments, before he turned back to me, giving me a thumbs down. I chuckled, rolling down the window.

"No luck?"

Colt shook his head. "They've got one coming in tomorrow."

"You want a lift?"

Colt smiled. "You sure?"

"Sure I'm sure." Colt got back into the passenger seat. "What's the address?"

***

When we pulled into the driveway of an insane apartment block on the Darling Harbour harbour, I became suspicious. "Nice place."

Colt chuckled awkwardly. "Uh... I wish." I side-eyed him sceptically. "It's uh... It's actually Tom Ryder's place—"

"—Tom Ryder?" Colt nodded. "Why the hell are you staying with him?"

Colt barked out a laugh, shaking his head quickly. "No no no. I'm just checking on him because he didn't show up to set. Gail asked me to."

"I see," I replied, calmly. "Well, I'm coming."

"What?" Colt retorted. "Why?"

I shrugged. "I wanna see where the Tom Ryder lives when he's in Sydney."

Colt sighed, unbuckling his seatbelt. "Fair enough." I did the same. "Let's go."

We both got out of the car and then—without warning—Colt leapt up, grabbing one of the supporting poles of the adjacent boardwalk and climbing onto it. "Seriously?"

Colt stopped and looked down at me. "Oh, right. Sorry." He reached down, gesturing for me to grab his hand. Hesitantly, I did. Colt pulled me up onto the narrow ledge. I tried not to look down, conscious of my lack of support. All I had was my hand, tightly gripping onto Colt's. "You okay?"

I nodded quickly. "Yep." Colt didn't look convinced. "Can we just keep going?"

"Okay." Colt pried his hand out of my own and pulled himself up onto the deck. He looked around briefly, before reaching his hand down to me once more. "Come on." I grabbed his hand with both of my own, gripping for dear life. He pulled me up, high enough for me to grab on the edge and haul myself the rest of the way up and over the rail. "There you go. Wasn't so bad, was it?"

I rolled my eyes, leaning my hands against the rail, slightly out of breath. "Right..."

Colt just chuckled to himself as he walked over to the door, peering in through the dark window in search of any movement. "Hey, Colt," he muttered under his breath as he pushed the doorbell. "Why you gotta be such a pussy bitch?"

"What?" I asked from behind him, causing him to turn around in embarrassment. "What are you on about?"

"I guarantee you, that is exactly what Tom will say wen he opens the door." I just shook my head in disbelief. "To which I will respond: Tom, I will have to ask you not to refer to me as a pussy or a bitch."

"Diplomatic," I observed with a smirk on my lips. "He'll definitely listen to that."

Colt just rolled his eyes and pressed the bell again, but still no answer. "But, Colt," he said in his nasally Ryder impersonation. "You're got hurt like a pussy and you're acting like a bitch..."

I nodded. "Fair point." Colt pulled a post-it note out of his pocket and punched in the code, unlocking the door. "Isn't this breaking and entering?"

Colt walked in first and I cautiously followed. "I'd say it's just entering."

We entered the dark house, letting the door close behind us. The only light came from the appliances. It was a little unsettling.

"Tom!" Colt called out into the darkness. "It's Colt Seavers; just checking in on you."

"I really don't think we should be here," I whisper-shouted and we crept through the house. "This feels really wrong."

"Shh," Colt demanded, much to my frustration. But I complied nonetheless. "Jody needs you back on et, pal." We entered the main part of the house, with big floor-to-ceiling windows, displaying a breathtaking view of the harbour. I stopped to look as Colt continued further in. "Alright, I don't wanna be a part of any breaking in, role-playing games."

I was  so mesmerised by the view that when the lights suddenly switched on—acompanied by blaring music—I more-or-less jumped out of my skin.

"What the fuck—" I caught myself, hand over my heart as Colt howled in laughter. I glared at him, unable to stop the embarrassed smile making its way onto my face. "Shut. up."

Colt chuckled as he did a dorky dance past me, rapping along to All I Do Is Win by DJ Khaled. I shook my head with a smile, walking over to where he was looking at a big, glass display case. "Wow," I observed as Colt picked up a prop pistol, admiring it.

Colt nodded, removing the  magazine, which had BLANKS ONLY printed on it. He put it back down on it's shelf, then looked over my shoulder, his eyes widening in excitement. "Hell yeah... Coffee!"

He immediately ran over to the kitchenette, where a coffee machine sat on the bench. While he busied himself with making a coffee, I made my way over to the windows, pressing my face really close to block out the reflections of the room. As I looked out at the view, I could see Colt's reflection in my periphery.

"You want one?" He called out. I shook my head. "You sure?"

I turned around to face him, preparing to decline, when my eyes landed on a speeding blur, heading straight towards Colt. "Look out!" I screamed.

***

A/N: I couldn't stop laughing when that DJ Khaled song started playing. That scene was honestly so funny, with the post-it notes and the glass in Colt's hoodie.

What is your favourite line from the film?

As an Australian, mine would have to be when Iggy Starr says "They won't let you in there looking like a povo" and Colt replies "What's a pah-vo?" That cracked me up, because Americans always mispronounce Australian words and it's the funniest thing ever. I just appreciate that they put in that joke, instead of making fun of the aussies. Made my day.