Behind the Frame

Act 1.2- Comfort Zones

She felt a tap on her shoulder.

"We need to rehearse the scene. No matter how many times it takes us to get it perfect." He was determined and assertive and it showed in the way he spoke.

She could only nod and follow him to one of the green rooms. She recognized the route instantly. It was one that she and the lead actress used.

"They won't be back for a good hour or two. Their fans want more scenes and that means a lot of time in front of the camera for them." He shut the door after her.

"Ok, let's start." She clutched her purse.

"I'm just going to ask you. Are you uncomfortable?" He said bluntly.

"We are rehearsing; you need to—get into your character. He's not this blunt." She offered sassily. She had clearly got into character; her stance was more confident.

"But I am blunt. And we can't really get into this scene unless we talk about it. Are you uncomfortable with me? Be honest." He made sure to keep a respectable distance from her.

"I..I don't want to talk about it. Let's just...just do the scene." She shook her head.

"We did. More than thirty times. And every time I got anywhere near your neck, you panicked. Don't deny it. Do I make you uncomfortable?" he felt anxious. Scared of her response.

He'd never been so unsure of himself and it was a feeling he did not like much.

She bit her lip.

"I'm...I'm not used to.." she stuttered.

Silence.

Her eyes were focused on the ground.

She looked up at him, her eyebrows raised a little.

He knew that one.

"Notusedtointimacy" she admitted.

"Woah slow down" he raised his hands in surrender.

He saw her cheeks turn a slight pink. If he wasn't used to her flustered blushing, he would never have noticed the slight blush, especially with her dusky skin.

"I'm... I'm not used to intimacy "she refused to meet his eyes.

He was stumped. Of all the things he had considered, this had not been one of them.

"I mean, I'm used to intimacy but only with people I'm very close to. And I'm not close to many people." She smiled.

"Umm..." he could almost hit himself. Of course she was comfortable with people she was close to. He should have figured it out, considering the fact that he had been working with her for a year. In one of her interviews she had said that she was an introvert.

He could have kicked himself for not adding up the obvious sooner. Atleast it was something that they could remedy, something that they could solve.

He was relieved that she was not feeling uncomfortable with him, just with the intimacy that they were supposed to portray. The closeness scared her, not him.

He smiled at her, hoping to reassure her. The last thing that they needed was for her to feel like a stupid person. Or worse, for her to feel ashamed of something that was perfectly natural.

"Hey, it's okay. Thank you for trusting me enough to tell me about this. " He put his bag down on the floor and took a seat on one of the chairs in the room. "Now that I know, we can try to make sure that you are a bit more comfortable with me. "

Her eyes widened. "You aren't angry?"

"What would I be angry for? It's completely normal for you to be uncomfortable with someone you don't know much of. I'm hoping you'll be less uneasy around me though. I really want the people who watch and like the characters to know that we understand their feelings. And I like working with you. I'd hate for the writers to have to change stuff and give us less scenes."

He was not used to talking about feelings this way, but then she'd been getting out of her comfort zone when it come to doing scenes with him onscreen.

It was only fair that he made an equal if not better effort to make sure she was as comfortable with him as he was with her.

"Th..Thank you. I like working with you too. And I do feel the same way about people who ship our characters, they deserve our best." She slowly took a seat on the chair next to him. "So, how are we supposed to..." she inhaled " I know my behavior right now is annoying and unprofessional but I promise I'll try my best to not be so awkward with the scenes next time."

That was the longest thing she had said to him off screen. She had also maintained eye contact and there was a smile on her face.

He smiled back at her. "We'll have to start talking more. You'll have to tell me what makes you feel uncomfortable. That's the only way we can handle things. We need to communicate. I promise I won't laugh at you. That's probably the side you've seen most often but I can be a very good listener and a friend. I'd like to be your friend and I'd like you to be mine." He extended his hand to hers.

She waited for a few seconds and then took it, feeling his hand envelope hers "I...thanks for understanding me. I feel better about it all."

And that, he reckoned, was progress.