The Couple Experiment

Halfway There

Two months went by and Lethal Desire was almost done filming. Ramsey and Jared hadn't resumed their lustful actions, not for lack of trying on his part. She would reject every advance he made towards her, but she still thoroughly enjoyed being sought after by him. Just recently, though, he seemed a little distant. He stopped flirting with her as often and wasn't very talkative towards her. She didn't understand why. They lived together and they couldn't escape the presence of one another, so it was strange to have him acting this way. However, since Liam's bombshell, they were sure to be seen together every few days or so. They didn't pack on the PDA or anything, they only did what they had to do to keep the public's attention. Liam's 15 minutes of fame seemed to be dwindling down.

Today was going to be Ramsey's last day of filming. She knew her character dies, but she didn't read the part of the script that revealed why. She initially told Jared that she didn't want to know how her character dies, she wanted to find out by watching the finished product, and he admired that about her. Unfortunately, her last day of work would not be an easy or fun one. They were going to film the scene when Eric sees Jessa dead in the secluded woods outside of the city.

At this point in the film, search parties have been sent out for the missing woman. Jared's character had joined the police during a search when they find his wife's lifeless body among the brush. Ramsey looked on as they captured Jared's utterly distraught and hysterical response to being told that her body had been found. His face muscles tightened and the veins in his forehead bulged out as he screamed out in agony. It was quite the contrast of his rather subdued demeanor form earlier as he walked about the pasture with an expressionless look on his face. It could only be the behavior of someone who had been exhausted from lack of sleep and dealing with the pain of being without the one person that they love dearly and having them taken away so abruptly and without explanation. Eric also had to carry the weight of being a possible suspect in the case, as most spouses of missing people are.

After finishing that scene, it was time for Ramsey to be dead. She was placed in the brush and the makeup artists smudged dirt and makeup all over her to make her look like she'd been there for days. She'd been training herself to slow her breathing down for weeks. She closed her eyes, ready to shoot the scene. She heard James yell "Action!" The next thing she heard was a whisper of leaves being crunched on the ground. Jared's knees, she thought. For the scene he was to be on the ground a few feet away from her.

She couldn't see him, but she faintly heard him sniffling quietly and breathing laboriously. He sat back on his legs, trying to breathe as tears fell down his face. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry." He said quietly. Soon, the policemen actors carefully lifted him off of the ground and to his feet. One man stayed at his side and kept an arm around him for support as they walked out of frame. "Cut! That's a wrap for today, everyone, which sadly means we say goodbye to our lovely Ramsey Burton."

Ramsey opened her eyes and was helped up from the ground. Jared came back over to her, and they were ready to embrace each other. "No! Let's get her cleaned up. He still needs that outfit for the rest of the shoot." James said, stopping them in their tracks. The cast and crew all drove back to the city. Jared and Ramsey had to meet with James and the costume and makeup departments. Ramsey wiped off all of the makeup and Jared got back into his own clothes. Ramsey hugged James as they prepared to leave. "Thank you so much for the opportunity. This role has meant a lot to me." She said gratefully. "It was an honor to have you. You're definitely the light of the film." James responded. He turned to Jared, "I'll see you later in the week. It won't be too much longer before we're finished. Have a great night, you guys." He smiled politely before walking out of the building.

Once James was gone, Ramsey threw her arms around Jared. "You were great today." "Thanks." He replied. On the way home, she looked over at him in the driver's seat and asked, "Can we got to the beach sometime? The weather lately has been perfect. We don't have to even be photographed. Just the two of us hanging out." "We're always together." His response was emotionless. She looked down at her hands awkwardly for a moment, then looked forward. "Okay." She said quietly.

They got home and sat at the island to eat. "So, Scott got me a part in a comedy series. It's not a main part, but it's a recurring character." Jared looked at her and nodded, "That's great." To her surprise, he actually seemed genuinely interested. "What's it about?" "Well it's these two people that hookup one night and the girl gets pregnant. So, I guess the show is going to be about them figuring out what they're going to do." "What part are you playing?" "The girl's sister I think. It's called Halfway There." He took a drink from his glass, "And it's a comedy? Sounds interesting."

Jared's phone rang as they were cleaning up the dinner mess. He answered it and took the call into his room. Ramsey watched him leave then started washing dishes. She could hear his voice from the kitchen, but couldn't make out what he was talking about. He reemerged minutes later. "I'm headed out." "Oh, where?" "I have a date. Don't worry, I told her about you. She's sworn to secrecy." She looked down into the dishwater. "Have you been seeing her long?" She suddenly put it together: he was seeing someone, which explains his sudden lack of interest in her.

"A couple of weeks or so." He said. She decided to open the can of worms. She looked at him intently, "So that's why you don't want anything to do with me lately?" He frowned, "What?" "Don't act like you don't know what I'm talking about." She drained the water in the sink and dried her hands with a dish towel. He looked at her dumbly, "You obviously aren't that into me." She sighed. "I just liked the way things were." "Well I'm sorry, I got bored." His statement made her mad. "Wow, thanks." "Look, I like flirting with you too, but I need more. We could really be together, but you won't let it happen. I either need a relationship or lots of sex, and you're not giving me either, so I found someone else."

She felt a tender pain in her chest. She didn't know if she wanted to rip his head off or force him into her bedroom. She threw herself into his body, kissing him roughly. He kissed her back and held on to her hips. She put her hands on either side of his face. His mustache tickled her lip, but she didn't mind. He pulled away from her suddenly. "Burton, I gotta go." He released her and headed for the door. "Halfway There." he said as he turned slightly to look back at her. "Kinda like us. We've got the makings of a relationship- shit, we live together, but we're not quite right at the moment."