Flare

Chapter 1

It was 4am and Emma was meant to be at the airport in a matter of hours but she couldn't sleep. She lay staring at the ceiling, the fan whirring overhead watching as it went round again and again listening to the movement and trying to coax herself to sleep. She knew deep down it wouldn't help though, she was terrified of messing up this job. There were so many things to worry about, what if she turned out to be a terrible actress and Joel, the director fired her? Or she didn't make any friends onset? And then of course there were the dreaded sex scenes. She'd seen a rough version of the script so had a bit of an idea what to expect but Joel was big on improvisation which just made matters worse really. Maybe she'd have felt better if she knew who she would be acting alongside. Filming started in a couple of days and there still had been no word on the male lead, the last she'd heard was that Joel wanted an unknown actor. She sighed, the ceiling fan whirred on in the background as she swung herself out of bed. A movement outside her window caught her eye, she padded over and peered out, it was early dawn and the sky was a gorgeous smoky blue but she couldn't see anything amiss. Clearly worrying about later had made her paranoid as well, she rolled her eyes. Walking into the bathroom she looked at herself in the mirror, dark smudges - which she could blame on all the worrying that kept her up at night - lay underneath large brown eyes. Then there was the hair, thick, wavy and chestnut coloured with natural streaks of straw-coloured blonde woven throughout. Her fair skin was almost translucent in this light, her tiny pale chickenpox scar on the side of her nose shone silver. Emma's phone gave a bleep and she grabbed it to see a text from Joel.

'Aldren James just signed on for male lead, you'll meet him at LAX'

Aldren James? Who the hell was that? She grabbed her laptop from her room, no IMDB page, no Instagram, nothing, who was this guy? Joel really had gone unknown, was this man even an actor?

Despite the early hour the airport was already a hive of activity. Professionals rushed about the place in starchy polyester outfits with coffee cups clutched in their hands. Emma gave a small wave at a few paparazzi's who were stood near the entrance, she wasn't entirely sure they knew who she was but they took a few pictures anyway. Walking around the terminal her mind drifted, it took colliding with another passenger to jolt her back to her senses again. 'I'm so sorry!' she exclaimed jumping back from the large broad chest she had tumbled into, 'I'm just really distracted this morning and I wasn't thinking so I didn't see you and I-' she looked up to see a man not much older than herself peering curiously at her with murky green eyes. He was huge and very handsome, Emma had to crane her neck to see his strong jaw and tousled brown hair. He was every good-looking-guy cliché come to life. Her mouth went dry and her stomach went tight as she took him in. The man's lips curled into a small smile his eyes gazing down at her, 'it's no problem, I was distracted too' he said softly, he stooped down and pulled the strap of her bag which had crumpled to the ground back on her shoulder his fingers lingering unnecessarily long on her shoulder, he flashed her a grin and strode off. She watched him retreat taking his gorgeous face with him, despite his size he was incredibly graceful, gliding across the terminal with no effort whatsoever.

While her heart was busy returning to its normal rhythm she went to find a screen to find her gate. As it was a private flight, most of the cast and crew would be at this gate, she was going to be with with these people for the next three months, first impressions were important. Breathing deeply, she plastered a smile on her face, as she ambled over to the gate trying to look nonchalant and relaxed. Joel was already there as well as some of the other cast she knew about. Joel began introducing everyone, there was Cecelia Ames who she'd vaguely met at a press event a few years ago. Cecelia was playing her mother, and the tight hug she gave Emma felt very motherly indeed. Then there was Daniel Crossey, drop dead gorgeous with sandy blond hair, piercing blue eyes and an athletic body. Everything you'd expect of an LA born and bred Hollywood actor. He gave her a smouldering grin as he shook her hand and she wasn't entirely sure if this was just his normal look or he was trying to seduce her. There were a couple of other supporting actors there including a gorgeous slim brunette with skin the colour of burnt sugar. 'I'm Belizanna' she said with a smile which grew wider as she spotted the paperback sticking out of Emma's bag 'you like to read? Please say yes' she said excitedly, 'I might actually go insane if I have to attempt one more conversation with Crossey, another bookworm to gossip with would save my soul' she exclaimed dramatically with her hand on her chest. Emma laughed as the girl swooped in for a friendly hug.

They were already deep into a conversation about their favourite fictional heroines when Joel called her name, turning around she saw him talking to the dazzling stranger she'd bumped into earlier. She could feel her lungs decide to stop working as the man turned and gave her a smile, Joel was grinning at her slightly manically, his grey beady eyes jumping between the two of them, 'Emma, this is Aldren James, Aldren this is Emma'. Aldren stuck out his hand just as she remembered to breathe again, her own hand was dwarfed by Aldren's which was thick with callouses. She could feel Joel watching them both closely, 'you two are going to be seeing a lot of each other' he laughed once 'both figuratively and literally' he added with a smirk. Joel seemed to be getting some strange enjoyment out of this situation, she gave him a strained smile as he scarpered off. She turned back to Aldren who was watching her with a curious expression on his face. She tried to make some comment about the weather like the sad individual she was but before she could finish Aldren interrupted her, 'You're not what I expected' he stated cocking his head to one side. He looked at her like she was a puzzle and he were trying to fit the pieces together. She blinked, 'you expected?' she countered raising an eyebrow. He gazed at her for a few seconds more before nodding. She had no idea how to respond to that and it didn't help her brain had decided her cerebral cortex wasn't allowed to function in the presence of a gorgeous guy, she eventually stammered 'is this -, I mean, have you acted before? I just couldn't see anything on the internet about you so...' she trailed off. He shifted, stopping his visual interrogation and laughed crossing his arms across his chest 'I am very experienced in many things but acting in movies isn't one of them' he said with a sly smirk. 'Oh so you're from a theatre background or...' she asked trying to keep the conversation flowing. He smirked again, 'something like that' his eyes watched her as she swallowed nervously, her body betraying her as a deep blush filled her face. She thought she could have cried with relief when Belizanna came bounding over to introduce herself taking the attention of her. This was going to be horrendous, how was she meant to act in any scene with this guy when she could barely function around him? He wasn't like other actors either, something about him seemed off or different, she didn't like the way he seemed to be picking her apart in his head. Frissons of stress sparked throughout her body giving her dull aching headache. She tried to keep smiling and playing along with the rest of the cast while they boarded the flight but she couldn't shake the feeling that he was still watching her, judging  and analysing.