Are You Mine?

Starring Role

By the time Blaire had booted up the program and adjusted everything to be the way she liked it. She heard her name in the distance. "Blaire." She heard someone call, she looked around and couldn't see anybody. "Blaire!" The voice said again. She couldn't figure out where it was coming from. Then she remembered. Blaire looked up to the ceiling to see Chris suspended in from a support beam on the roof. She almost had a heart attack, then she remembered this guy is a professional.

"Oh, Chris. Yeah, sorry." She said looking up at him.

"It's fine," He laughed. "Can you bring the ladder over for me?" He asked pointing towards at the ladder that lay resting against the wall opposite them. 

"Oh yeah, of course." She said getting up out of her chair. She picked up the ladder which was much heavier than she had expected and pushed it towards where Chris was hanging. He helped her position it in a way where he would be able to use it to get down. 

Chris descended the ladder carefully, Blaire held it steady for him as he climbed down. Once he'd returned to earth he helped her store the ladder away. She wiped the sweat from her forehead, Chris clapped his hands together after locking up the storeroom. "Thanks, dude." He smiled.

Blaire shrugged. "No problem." She liked that he called her dude. When a guy calls you dude, you know he's not trying to make a move on you. Not that Blaire would have minded too much if Chris had tried to make a move on her, he was pretty attractive, but this was the workplace, strictly professional.

"So, you're filling in for Marcus I hear."

"Yeah, just for a while."

"That's cool." He said, "You know how to work this stuff?" He motioned to the set.

"I have a rough idea." She replied.

"Well, that's good. I think you'll be fine." Chris stuck his hands in his pockets. "You wanna go to the staff lounge? It's Thursday, so they have tacos," he said awkwardly.

Blaire laughed. "Yeah, I like Tacos." She said equally as awkwardly.

He smiled. "Alright, I'll show you where it is." He said leading Blaire down the hallway. "right this way!" He announced. Blaire giggled.

They walked down the hall for a bit before Christ took a sharp right into a big open room. "Ladies first," He said instructing Blaire to enter before him. She smiled. The room was huge, it had several large couches where people would sit and chill out on, along with this great buffet table that took up the entirety of the east wall. 

"Wow," Blaire muttered to herself as she looked around. 

"It's pretty good, eh?" Chris added as he went over to the bar on the north side of the lounge. "You want a drink?" He asked. "Like, we don't have alcohol because this is a place of business, but I can get us a couple of sodiepops." He said

Blaire laughed loudly. "Yeah, I'll take a sodiepop." 

Chris smiled back, "Oh and help yourself to the buffet. I'll be there in a minute." Blaire took his advice and walked over to the table. There was a grand array of all kinds of food. Vegetarian and Vegan options, gluten free options, there was a little something for everyone. Blaire felt overwhelmed. she eventually settles for some tacos. She took her food and sat down at a table on the other side of the room. Chris soon joined her, carrying too tall glasses of Pepsi.

Blaire took her glass. "Thank you, good sir." 

Chris bowed. "Not a problem, M'lady."

They both laughed as Chris pulled up a chair and sat across from her. "Are you going to get something to eat?" She asked.

"Already have." He said pulling out a paper bag. Out of his backpack.

"You brought food from home?" She asked.

"Even better." He said. "I have been stockpiling tacos from the buffet all day so I can eat on the go." Blaire laughed hard as he pulled a taco out of his paper bag.

"You're so weird!" She laughed.

Chris shrugged. "I embrace it." He said before taking a bite.

"What's the best part about working here?" She asked him.

"The environment really, it's really chill and you get to meet cool people and what not." He said with a face full of taco.

"I mean like, working on the twenty-first floor." She explained.

"Ah," he said wiping his greasy hands on a napkin."How close to all the action you are I reckon."

"Yeah?" She replied. "Like, do you get to work with the actors?"

"Well, I don't personally. I am the lighting guy. I think you will, though. Like if they are out of frame or something you gonna need to speak up about that. Marcus was like co-director almost. Like if something was wrong with the calibration of the motion capture suits, he'd have to work with the actors to get it right."

Blaire's eyes lit up, and Chris must have noticed. "Yeah, it's a pretty good job, you probably won't want to leave when Marcus gets back."

"I think you're right," Blaire said. 

Chris watched as two guys walked in. He got this wicked grin on his face as he watched them head over to the buffet table. "Speaking of actors," He said. "Don't look now but Steven is getting a fruit salad." 

Blaire's heart jumped out of her chest. "Are you fucking joking?" She whispered.

"I'm not joking." Chris smiled, trying to make is look like he wasn't watching him. It took all of Blaire's will power to not turn around. "Okay, he's got his back to us. Take a quick look." She did.

When she turned back around all the colour in Blaire's face was blooming. Chris laughed at her. "Oh, I know. That was me on my first day." Chris said, sipping his Pepsi. "God, he's so cute." Blaire was shocked to hear that those words didn't come out of her mouth. She looked at Chris with surprise. He smirked. "Oh, did I not tell you?" He said. "I'm gay," he said really casually.

Blaire giggled. "Oh okay," She said awkwardly. She was still star-struck. "That makes sense."

"Yeah, sorry to disappoint but..." Chris motioned to the space between them. "This isn't going to work out."

Blaire laughed. "I figured, yeah."