Lights, Cameras, Outsiders!

Chapter 89

LCO 89
Beer cups were passed around and more Adam Ant was blared before the party finally started to die down.
"We're gonna head out, Essie. We have a plane to catch," Dee Dee came up to me.
"Aw, really?" I said.
"Yeah. But you will call me for your hair for the wedding. I'll do it for free," she said.
"Yes, of course!"
"Good. Good luck to you and Matt," she said.
"Thank you," I wrapped her in a hug when Jack sprung on us.
"Goodbye, Essie. We'll see you for the wedding. You have our phone number?" he said.
"Yes, I do. Thank you so much."
"Thank you," Jack kissed my cheek, gave me one more hug before they walked off.
"Essie, don't you dare start crying now," Tommy said.
"I'm not," I said.
"Hey, babe," Matt walked up and wrapped his arm around my shoulder, "how about we go somewhere a little more private?"
"Why?"
"I just wanna talk to you for a little a bit," he said.
"Okay. No one leave without telling me goodbye!" I yelled. Rob and Emilio waved me off. Matt dragged me outside and made his way to the truck. I climbed in next to him, and he locked the doors.
"We're not doing it in the parking lot," I said.
"No, no, I don't want to do it right now. I wanna talk to you," he said, his back facing the door so that he was staring at me.
"What?" I giggled.
"You're just...so beautiful," he said. I smiled.
"What did you want to talk to me about?"
"I just wanted to let you know how much I appreciate you being with me these past couple weeks...you know, when I got shot and then a couple weeks ago with the knife fight..."
"Yeah, well, I wanted to be with you during this."
"And I wanted to say I'm sorry."
"For what?"
"I don't know, just...everything," he raised his elbow to the top of the seat and laid his ear on too.
"Everything?"
"Well, that I got cut up in a fight when you told me I shouldn't and not really involving myself with the apartment or the wedding or taking care of you-"
"Why do you need to take care of me?"
"Your heart. Just because it happened a while ago doesn't mean it's not there. I haven't been taking your pulse or making you any less stressed or tired...I feel like all I've been is a pain in the ass," he said.
"You're not."
"No, I am. You should be more focused on us, the wedding and the apartment, not on my wounds and bandages."
"Matt, I don't mind. I like taking care of you."
"You do?"
"Well I don't appreciate you asking for foot rubs, but yeah, I like taking care of you."
"Why?"
"Because....look, you're like this big actor, being in some big movies and you're all tough and someone to look up to. But then when these things come along, it doesn't matter what your image is because you let me take care of you," I said. He smiled.
"Thank you... For everything you've done for me. You don't know what it means to me," he said. I moved myself closer on the seat and leaned forward. He met me halfway and pressed the border of his lips with mine and pressed down for a while, until we heard the sound lips make when they disconnect.
"I love you," he said, nudging his forehead with mine.
"I love you too." He gently grabbed my back and pulled me in for a hug. I secured my arms around his neck as he kissed the top of my head.
"Let's go back in," I said.
When we did, more of the crew left, and we heard Francis was going to make a small speech so more people could leave. I checked the time. Nearly midnight.
"Does he want any of us to make a speech?" I heard Ralph said to the huddle of people surrounding him.
"Nah, I think he and Susie are," Patrick said.
"Hey, what's up?" Matt intruded the circle and Emilio pulled me in.
"We don't know if Francis would want one of us to make a speech," Leif said.
"It's alright. He probably won't," Matt said.
"Hi! Hello! Hello!!! HELLO! Yes, that's better, silence. Hi, I'd like to just say a couple things before everyone goes home tonight!" Francis stood on a chair above everyone else. No one spoke, we all just faced Francis.
"Tonight is very bittersweet for the obvious reasons. And tomorrow will be very hard because we may not have to wake up at four am to go film a sunrise across Oklahoma. But I want to say something to the crew. You made this film possible. The hair, the wardrobe, the special effects makeup, the machinery, the food, the location hunters, the editors, the producers, everybody that has step foot on this set has made this movie better. You have become part of a fantastic journey, and we can't let it go unnoticed. Can we give the crew a hand?!" The whole building erupted in applause and then silence fell over us again.
"Now for the cast...you've done an amazing job. This were hard shoes to step in, and you did it. Every single one of you gave it your all and your best. You went through hell, getting injured. Like Matt being shot and Tommy getting knocked out cold on the second night of the rumble. And it's been freezing and you got in fights, and yet, you're still here. So, thank you to the cast. You have beautifully depicted these characters. You've worked hard at this craft, you've gone through so much just to be standing here today, and that deserves some recognition. Now can we hear it for the cast?" Again, the building applauded and then died down.
"I'll let Susie say a few words now." Francis stepped down, Susie stepped up and she beamed, looking over all the people.
"Okay, don't mind me if I get emotional...okay, uh, I'll just start and say that this has been the most amazing experience I could ever ask to be a part of in my entire life. Because of every single person here, you've turned my dream into a reality. I'll be honest and say I thought the movie was going to be better than the book. And I'm probably right," the crowd laughed.
"But this, here, all of you, have made me the happiest person alive. Between all the hard work that's been done and all the work that's going to be done, I'm so grateful I've had the chance to do this. Crew, you've made this a very lovely time. You've cleaned up after us and looked for locations and cooked and done the hair and dressed everyone. It's not easy doing your job but you manage to do it. And the cast, you've made my characters come alive, and so perfectly at that. I was scared one of you would screw up, but you didn't. I cannot thank you all enough for taking part in this movie. So, I hope you go on to bigger projects and continue and...uh... Thank you," she wiped underneath her eye and stepped down from the chair as we all clapped.
"No speeches for us...cool," Emilio said.
"Okay, well, I gotta head out. Plane to catch," Leif said.
"Okay. You're coming to the wedding, right?" Matt said.
"Hey, hey, hey...no. The wedding's for the talent," I joked and the whole group started busting out laughing.
"I'm kidding. Please come," I said to Leif.
"Yeah, yeah, I will. Bye! See you guys!" He gave me a hug and started off towards the door.
"Yeah, I should heading out too," Ralph said.
"What? Why?" Christine said.
"I got a plane tonight. If I don't leave soon, I'm gonna miss it," he said.
"Now can I cry?" I said.
"Yes, you can cry now," Matt said.
Ralph walked forward and wrapped me in a gigantic hug.
"I will call you two. I live in the city so you can visit me anytime you want," Ralph said.
"Yeah."
"I'll see you guys soon anyway. You'll be up in New York in a couple days, huh?"
"Yeah," Matt said.
"Alright. I'll see you guys really soon. Come on, Essie, don't cry. I'll see you in like five days," Ralph said, kissing my cheek and giving Matt a hug. He started to move around to the other guys.
"We're gonna head back to the hotel to pack up. We'll see you in the morning," Rob said.
"Okay."
"Bye," Christine hugged Ralph before walking off with Rob.
"We better get packing. We'll see you in the morning too," Emilio said, grabbing Cruise by the shoulder.
"Yeah. We'll see you at breakfast. You can cry then," Cruise said.
"Alright." They both kissed my cheek and headed out.
"Let's just go now. I'll say bye to Aunt Susie and Francis and then we can leave," I said to Matt."
"Okay."