Hero's POV
I cannot express how fortunate I am to receive this role. Although I'm grateful, I can't stop the pressure that overcomes me. I havn't even even read all the damn books. I want to portray this character the best I can, for Anna, and for the supporters. I wonder how the girl who plays Tessa will be like. What was her name? Josephine.
"Earth to Hero!" Samuel snaps his fingers in front of my face.
"Oh," I didn't realize how spaced out I must've looked.
"Everything okay?"
"Yeah I'm all good."
"God where is she? She was supposed to be here yesterday." Inanna chimes in.
"Who?" I question suspecting she is referring to Josephine.
"Josephine Langford. I really want to meet her! And you should too, I mean she's playing your love interest."
"I heard Anna say that she is arriving tonight."
"Tonight? We have to wait that long?"
I laugh at her remark. I don't mind Josephine coming late, I'm just glad that I won't have to be spending my months working with Julia. Even though I won't say it out loud, I'm glad that Anna decided to switch the actor for Tessa. Quite frankly Julia was a bit rude, I knew we wouldn't be able to get along but I had to keep it professional.
I jitter at the sound of the door in the break room knock. I get up from my casting chair and twist the door knob swinging it open.
I clear my throat, "Hey Anna."
She looks relieved to see me, before I can ask her what's wrong she answers my question.
"I was just looking for you! Come out, I have someone for you to meet."
I give her a nod and close the door behind me. As I follow Anna, Dylan approaches me.
"Hero! Josephine just arrived," he places is elbow on my shoulder.
My jaw tenses, I thought she was coming tonight? I don't mind that she's here earlier than I expected but I hope she isn't snarky like the last girl.
Before I could give Dylan a response, I spot Josephine giving Khadijha a hug.
She has long wavy blonde hair that's parted on the side. She wore high waisted blue jeans along with simple white t-shirt that looked like it had been cropped. I stop studying her when she looks at me.
"Hi, Hero right?" Josephine asked me, her lips turn into a perfectly round slope creating a smile. Her upturned eyes were a million hues of blue with a tiny touch of green radiating her pupil.
"Yeah, that's me," I say pulling her into a hug.
Jo's POV
The casts is friendly which I'm excited about. Although, Jenny Gage seems a bit imperious.
When I turn my head spot a tall dark haired man who I suspect is Hero. He's tall like a giant. His hair is slicked back and he's wearing casual clothes, a black hoodie, sweatpants and slides. I find myself gazing at his features.
When our eyes meet, he gives me a warm smile, relieving the sliver of pressure I had on my shoulders.
"Hi, Hero right?" I say, already knowing the answer.
"Yeah, that's me." Before I realize it, his arms are around me which catches me off guard. I wrap my arms around his back and then pull away.
Once again, he smiles. I assume he was going to say something but he gets interrupted.
"Guys we are going to go back to the hotel. You can do whatever you want there but make sure not to stay up late for tomorrow," Jenny instructs.
"Gotcha," Inanna obliges.
I walk to the entrance, grabbing my backpack and suitcase. I pull up my suitcase handle and attempt to throw my backpack over my shoulder.
Hero's POV
Khadijha and I are lounging on couch the as we wait for the rest of the cast to get their things. I notice Josephine in the corner trying to lift up her heavy blue backpack with one hand, her other hand on her suitcase. She removes her hand from the suitcase and attempts to lift the backpack with both hands, pulling it over her shoulder. I turn my head back and laugh, rubbing the back of my neck with my hand finding her struggle slightly amusing.
Khadijha smirks and tilts her head eye towards Jo.
"Ohh, I see." Khadijha winks at me.
"What?"
"What?" She mocks my accent.
"You're terrible at that," I playfully insult her.
"Don't change the subject, I saw you staring at her."
I give her a look, silently questioning why it matters. Once again, she smirks and gets up from the couch.
Anna calls an Uber to drive us to the hotel. The car doesn't hold enough people we need so we call two cars.
When the Uber arrives, Samuel, Dylan, Jo and I get in the car while everyone else gets on the other Uber.
After Jo places her bags in the trunk, she climbs in the car first, along with me and everybody else. The car holds about six people, Sam and Dylan are in the back while Jo and I sit in the front right behind the driver.
When the car starts moving I notice Jo being oddly quiet. She has her head leaned on the window but her hair draped over her face. I tap her on the shoulder.
Her head turns to me as her eyes flutter open. She was sleeping, but that thought didn't cross my mind. She tucks her hair behind her ears and gives me a weak smile.
"Sorry, didn't mean to wake you up there." I laugh trying to ease the situation.
A soft shade of pink takes over her cheeks. "It's okay. I shouldn't be sleeping anyways, when I get back to the hotel I need to unpack."
"You could pack tomorrow," I suggest. She shrugs off my words and stares at the window.
A minute goes by and I get the feeling that she has fallen asleep, despite her words from earlier. I scoot over a few inches to give her some space but instead her head drops onto my shoulder. I argue moving her head back to lean on the window but she looks too peaceful. I let her head rest on my shoulder as I inspect her elegant features. Her eyelids were tinted a warm brown shade, lips parted.
I feel my eyelids get heavier and let them close as I drift to sleep.
