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chapter TWENTY SIX excitement & sadness .
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the studio hummed with the electric buzz of anticipation. every inch of the set was lit up with that familiar, soft glow, casting the perfect evening shadows that would frame the film's last scene. but for mason, it felt different today. the final scene—the one everyone had been building towards—was here, and he could feel the weight of it pressing down on him, almost suffocating.
it wasn't about the movie, though. it was something else. something he'd been trying to work out in his head for weeks now, ever since they'd started filming those intense emotional scenes where miller's walls began to crumble and clara pushed him to confront what he'd been running from: love.
mason stared at his reflection in the mirror of his trailer, the script resting on the counter, untouched. did he dare? did he tell starr what he'd been struggling to keep hidden, what he could barely admit to himself?
because the truth was—he did love her. and now he'd have to stand in front of her, in character, but more himself than he'd ever been, and tell her everything his heart had been aching to say.
his fingers drummed against the counter, tension coiling tight in his chest. would it ruin everything? they'd built this fragile, private thing between them, something that had been through endless complications and PR messes. saying it now—making it real—what if it ruined that?
he took a deep breath, shaking his head. no. he'd play the scene like any other. he'd be miller, not mason. he wouldn't let the lines blur.
but deep down, mason knew they already had.
on the opposite end of the lot, starr was busy trying to shake off the strange mix of excitement and sadness that simmered in her stomach. she sat cross-legged in her trailer, her script crinkled from being folded and unfolded a thousand times. it was hard to believe that this would be her last time playing clara, a character who'd become so much more than a role.
and it was even harder to believe that, after today, she'd have to see mason with ahliya, pretending to be her boyfriend for the cameras and the media, pretending like the past few months hadn't changed anything between them.
starr sighed, running her fingers through her hair as she tried to keep her focus on the lines she already knew by heart. no use thinking about what couldn't be. she had a job to finish, and she'd do it with everything she had, like always.
she stood, straightening her outfit—clara's signature casual but stylish look—and stepped outside. it was time.
the set was quiet, almost reverent as mason and starr took their positions for the final time. the cliffside setting, their characters' favourite spot, was bathed in the golden glow of the setting sun. it was perfect—too perfect, maybe, because the moment felt far too big, too overwhelming.
"you good?" starr asked softly, sidling up to mason as they waited for the camera crew to set up. her tone was casual, but there was an undertone of something deeper.
mason glanced at her, lips twitching into a small smile. "yeah, you?"
"always." she smirked, but her gaze lingered on his for a beat longer than necessary, as if searching for something. then she shook her head, grinning wider. "don't tell me you're getting stage fright now, hotshot."
he laughed under his breath, grateful for her banter, for the way she could make light of anything, even this. "nah, just making sure you won't forget your lines."
"me? forget my lines?" she scoffed, nudging him lightly with her elbow. "keep dreaming, miller."
mason chuckled, the sound soft, almost inaudible over the quiet murmur of the crew. but as they continued their back-and-forth, he found himself inching closer, drawn in by her presence like a magnet. starr noticed it too—her breath hitching just a little when his arm brushed against hers, the warmth of his body radiating into her space.
"what's the matter, mason?" she teased, though her voice had dropped to a whisper, her gaze flickering down to his lips before darting back up. "getting distracted?"
"maybe," he murmured, his voice equally low. his smile turned into a playful smirk, but there was something serious in his eyes, something that made starr's heart race. "or maybe i'm just finally realising that i'm not as good at pretending as i thought."
starr blinked, caught off-guard. before she could respond, before she could process the way he was looking at her, the way his voice was nearly a caress, she heard mark call out from behind them.
"we're ready to go whenever you are, guys."
both of them straightened, stepping apart, but not quite letting the moment go. starr's heart was still pounding as she nodded at mark, then at mason. "let's do this."
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