FALLING AGAIN ON SET

CHAPTER 5

Chapter Five

Valerie

My head was killing me.

I opened my eyes slowly and immediately regretted it. The sunlight coming through my curtains felt unnecessarily bright, and the slightest movement made my head throb.

I groaned and pulled the blanket over my face.

"What did I do last night?" I mumbled.

The last thing I remembered was being at the club with Chloe. I remembered the music, the drinks, seeing Ethan at the bar, and then Evelyn walking over to him.

After that, there was nothing. Absolutely nothing.

I pushed myself up and reached for the glass of water on my nightstand. After taking a few sips, I grabbed my phone and called Chloe. She answered after a few rings.

"Good morning," she said her voice cheerful as always.

"Don't sound so happy," I muttered.

She laughed. "Someone's hungover."

"I have a headache."

"That's called a hangover, Valerie." Chloe persisted.

"I know what a hangover is." I rubbed my forehead. "What happened last night?" I asked. My brain is so foggy right now.

There was a short silence.

"Nothing."

I frowned. "Nothing?"

"Well..." Chloe hesitated. "You had a little too much to drink."

"I know that. I mean, how did I get home?"

"I drove you obviously, how else could you have gotten home." Chloe replied, i could literally hear the sarcasm.

"Okay." I nodded slowly. "And?"

"And what?"

"That's it?"

"Pretty much."

Something about her voice made me suspicious. "Chloe."

"What?"

"You're hiding something." My instinct was telling me i did something stupid, i mean i drank so much just because i saw Evelyn with Ethan.

"I'm not hiding anything."

"You are." I shot.

"I promise you, you didn't do anything terrible." Chloe quickly replied.

"Why did you say terrible?"

"I didn't."

"You literally just did."

Chloe sighed. "Look, you were drunk. That's all you need to know."

I narrowed my eyes at the phone.

"What did I do?"

"Nothing stupid."

"Chloe." I groaned.

"Valerie." I rolled my eyes. "You're annoying."

"But you still love me." Chloe laughed"Now get ready. You're going to be late."

"I know." I rolled my eyes. She ended the call. I stared at my phone for a moment.

Something told me she hadn't told me everything.

Still, I didn't have time to think about it. I got ready and headed to the set. The moment I arrived, I saw Ethan.

Of course I did.

He was standing near the rehearsal area with Vincent, dressed in a simple dark shirt with the sleeves pushed slightly up his arms and loose pleated pants. I looked away before he could notice me staring.

"Morning," he said.

"Morning." I mumbled. His eyes moved over my face.

"Headache?"

I frowned. "How did you know?"

"You look like you're trying to survive."

I gave him a look. "Very funny."

"I wasn't joking." He frowned a bit, i almost recognized that look, like he wanted to come closer, comfort me but he couldn't.

"Well, I'm fine." He nodded.

"Good."

I started walking away.

"Valerie."

I stopped but didn't turn around.

"What?"

"You really don't remember?"

I slowly turned to him.

"Remember what?" Dread fill me. Remember what? Last night?

He studied me for a second, then shook his head.

"Nothing."

I narrowed my eyes. "You're being strange."

"Maybe." He muttered looking away.

Before I could question him, Vincent called us over.

"Both of you. We're starting."

I walked toward the set.

The first rehearsal was one of the more emotional scenes between our characters. We were supposed to be meeting again after years apart, when we were separated at childhood after playfully confessing our love for each other while we were kids.

Vincent gave us a few instructions before stepping back.

"Don't force it," he said. "Just listen to each other, okay, you are Lucas and Ella now"Vincent said, his director demeanor evidence.

I nodded. Ethan looked at me.Then the scene began.

"Action!!"

"You really came back," he said.

"And you really look different," I replied.

"What do i look like now."

I looked away, a shy expression written in my face. "Like a grown good looking man who could capture any girl's heart in a minute."

He took a step closer."And what did i look like then?" His voice was calm, smooth, and soft.

"Like my childhood sweetheart" The word ringed in my ear. Right now i was no longer Valerie, i was Ella and this man right here is Lucas, i can't afford to be distracted.

"So do I capture your heart right now, Ella?"

I swallowed.

"Um.." i coughed,.."Only my heart can tell, Lucas"

The room became strangely quiet.

His next line came softly.

"Then let me have your heart, i never stopped wanting it since the first time i set my eyes on you."

Something inside me shifted. His voice. The way he was looking at me. It reminded me of something.

I blinked.

Then suddenly—

Music. Loud music. Bright lights.

Ethan standing in front of me.

My hand on his shirt.

I frowned.

No.

Another image flashed through my mind.

I was pointing at him.

"Why did you leave me?"

Ethan was holding my arm gently.

"Valerie, you're drunk."

"I know I'm drunk," I slurred. "That doesn't answer my question."

He sighed. "You should sit down."

"No." I stepped closer.

"You left me." My hands gripped his shirt tigher.

"I know."

"Why?" He didn't answer.

I remember staring at his face.

Really staring.

Then I lifted my hand and touched his cheek. "You became handsome."

He blinked. "What?"

"You did." I nodded frantically. "Very handsome." A slurry laugh escaped him.

"You're drunk."

"I can see perfectly."

"You can barely stand."

"I can stand, i won't even fall for you, not again." I felt him froze and his throat bobbed up and down.

My foot slipped. Ethan caught me around the waist.

I looked up at him.

"What did you say about not falling, hmm?" He asked, a sigh leaving his lips.

"I slipped."

I remembered grabbing his shirt, bringing him closer to me, and sniffing him. "You smell nice."

He looked at me like he didn't know whether to laugh or worry. "Where's Chloe?, your friend?"

"Over there."

I pointed in the wrong direction.

Ethan looked over.

"That's not Chloe."

I frowned.

"Then where is she?"

He looked across the club and finally spotted her with Mason and a few others.

"Come on." He tried to guide me toward her.

I resisted.

"No."

"Valerie."

"I don't want to go."

"You need to go home."

"I don't want to go home."

"Why?"

"Because I don't want to leave you with her."

He paused. "With who?"

I stared at him. "You left me."

His expression changed. "I know."

"I waited."

"Valerie..."

"I waited for you."

He didn't say anything. I remember my eyes burning. Then I pushed against his chest. "I hate you."

"I know."

"You became handsome."

He laughed quietly.

"I heard you the first time."

"Good."

Then I leaned against him again.

"Don't leave."

The memory stopped. My eyes flew open. I was back on the set.

Ethan was still standing in front of me, confusion written on his face.

Vincent was saying something, but I couldn't hear him.

My face felt like it was on fire.

Oh.

My.

God.

I remembered. All of it. I had called Ethan handsome.

Twice.

I had touched his face. I had practically thrown myself at him. And I had told him not to leave me. I looked at Ethan, He was watching me.

Did he remember all of that?

Of course he did. I took one step backward.

"Excuse me."

Vincent looked confused. "Valerie?"

"I need a minute."

I turned and walked away. "Valerie, we're still—"

I didn't hear the rest.

I practically ran into my trailer and shut the door.

I stood there with my back against it, breathing heavily.

"Why did I do that?" I covered my face with both hands. "Why?"

My phone buzzed. Chloe.

I answered immediately.

"You lied to me." There was silence.

Then Chloe said, "About what?"

"I remember." Another silence.

"Oh."

"You said I didn't do anything stupid."

"I said you didn't do anything terrible."

"You changed the words!"

"I was trying to protect you."

"I told Ethan he was handsome!"

Chloe burst out laughing.

"This isn't funny!"

"It is a little funny."

"I touched his face!"

"Okay, that's pretty funny."

"I hate you."

"No, you don't."

I groaned. "I'm never leaving my trailer again."

"You're going to have to eventually."

"Maybe I'll quit acting."

"You're being dramatic."

"I'm serious."

"You're not quitting because you got drunk and flirted with your ex."

"He's not..—"

I stopped.

Chloe laughed again.

"What??don't you dare finish that statement, i only let him off last night because you were drunk."

I ended the call. I stared at myself in the mirror. I couldn't believe I had done that. And the worst part? I could still remember the way Ethan had looked at me when I'd told him he was handsome. I shook my head.

"No." I was not thinking about that.Absolutely no. After a while, I forced myself back onto the set.I tried to act normal.Then I saw Ethan and Evelyn rehearsing together.My mood immediately dropped.

It was their affair scene.

Evelyn stood close to him, smiling as she delivered her lines. Ethan responded naturally, completely focused on the scene.I folded my arms. It was acting.I knew it was acting, i should no better. Still, watching Evelyn touch his arm made some unpleasant twist in my stomach. I lasted less than a minute.

"I'll be in my trailer," I muttered, to no one in particular, maybe the staff there heard me. I turned and walked away before anyone could stop me.

****************************

Ethan

I watched Valerie leave again. I knew something had happened.

She had been avoiding my eyes all morning, but after our rehearsal, she looked like she'd suddenly remembered something she'd rather forget. I couldn't help smiling. I knew exactly what it was. Last night had been difficult to forget. Valerie had been drunk enough to lose every bit of the restraint she'd built around herself. She had spent several minutes accusing me of leaving her, then complimenting me, then getting angry again.

At one point, she'd looked at me with the most serious expression and told me I'd become handsome.

Twice.

I still hadn't decided whether that was supposed to be an insult. Then there was the way she'd grabbed my shirt and refused to let go.

I had tried not to smile. I really had.But seeing her like that had brought back a version of Valerie I hadn't seen in years.The girl who used to say exactly what was on her mind.The girl who had once fallen asleep on my shoulder during a movie and then denied it the next morning. The girl who would steal food from my plate and argue that it tasted better because it was mine.

I shook my head.

Five years later, and somehow she could still make me smile without even trying.

"You're smiling."

I looked up.

Mason was walking toward me, i remember calling him to come drive me back to the company.

"I'm not."

"You are." I looked away. Mason followed my gaze toward Valerie's trailer.

"Oh."

I sighed. "Don't."

He grinned. "You're still in love with her."

"I'm not having this conversation."

"You don't have to. Your face already had it." I laughed quietly.

Mason leaned against the table.

"So, let me guess. Drunk Valerie was entertaining." I looked at him.

"You have no idea."

"She called you handsome, didn't she?"

I stared at him.

"How did you know?" Mason laughed.

"Because you look like an idiot."

I shook my head. "She was drunk."

"Still counts."

"It doesn't."

"Sure."

Mason suddenly frowned. "Wait. Chloe."

I looked at him. "What about her?"

"The girl I was talking to last night."

I realized what he meant."You were talking to Chloe?"

"Yes."

"She's Valerie's best friend." I said flatly.

Mason stared at me.Then he pointed at me. "You ruined my chances."

"How did I ruin your chances?"

"She's probably going to hate me because I'm your friend."

"She already hates me. You'll survive."

"That's not reassuring."I shook my head.

Mason smiled. "Seriously, Ethan. If you want Valerie back, don't take forever."I looked toward the trailer again.

"She's probably met a hundred actors by now."

The thought irritated me more than it should have. Mason noticed. "Oh, you're jealous."

"I'm not."

"You are." I ignored him.

He laughed. "Time doesn't wait, my friend."

I looked down at the script in my hand. He was right about one thing, Five years had already passed.I wasn't going to spend another five watching Valerie move further away from me. Maybe she was angry, she's mad at me, i deserve it. Maybe she didn't want me anywhere near her.

But I knew one thing.

I still wanted her.

And this time, I wasn't going to walk away.