49 Five Minutes

Five minutes. I'll give myself five minutes to cry and then I need to get back to work. Pulling out my phone, I set a timer for five minutes and then set it down on the timer. I can feel myself shaking. I want to scream and wail, but I can't alert anyone to how I'm feeling. So I put my hands over my face and choke back my cries as the tears roll down my face. I can hear his voice in the back of my mind. Calling me a little slut and a whore. I swear, I'm not anything like that. I didn't want to do it. I wanted to stop. Why couldn't he just stop? Why does she have to see me like that? What did I do to deserve this fate? I kept my head down and never tried to draw attention to myself. Why does it have to be this way? I can feel the agony in my heart. It hurts me physically. I clutch my heart in an attempt to stop the pain. Why does my heart hurt so much?

The timer goes off and I know I have to get it together. Splashing my face to get rid of the redness, I remember I have to control myself. The pain may still be there but no one shall know. What's the point? The honest people will talk about me in disgust to my face. The fake ones will be kind to my face and then talk about me behind my back. Calling me a fake and a drama queen or an attention whore. I grab a couple paper towels and blot my face. All I ever did was try to be kind to others. Why do they have to be so cruel? It's fine though. As long as I play into the game and pretend I'm okay, no one will bother me. I may be damaged goods but as long as no one finds out, I'll be okay. I straighten myself out and give myself a final lookover to make sure I look normal. Giving myself a nod of approval, I walk back into the main area.

"Make sure you don't forget anything in there, Astra."

"Today's a beautiful day. Why don't you go and take a long walk off a short pier?"

"Not in the mood for a swim."

"How are you feeling?"

"What makes you ask that?"

"Well, you're going to have to be working with your ex girlfriend. That's kind of rough."

"I almost feel bad for her. She walked in here assuming that the pretty girl is the one who ends up with male lead."

"And she doesn't realize that you're playing Perseus."

"Exactly."

I start chuckling when I hear this.

"If it wasn't for the fact that I just got out of an argument with her, I'd deliver the happy news to her myself."

"If you do it let me know. I'd love to watch." He says with a wicked smile.

"You'll be the first to know. Still, you need to be careful. She clearly joined this movie to get closer to you. She may try to start rumors about you both getting back together."

"Wouldn't be the first time." He says while lighting a cigarette.

I whack it out of his hand and take it to the bathroom to snuff it out.

"What the hell, Astra?"

"No smoking inside. You wanna kill your lungs that's fine but don't take mine out along with them."

"Ugh, fine."

"Still, I wonder. This is supposed to be a movie that no one knows we're filming. Yet all sorts of people are finding out about it. How did she find out you were filming here?"

"Could've been Xander who told her. They are pretty close."

"I can ask him if you want."

"Doesn't matter. She's already here and she probably paid a lot of money to do so."

"What do you mean?"

"Isn't it obvious?"

"Apparently not. What am I missing?"

"Why do you think they changed the plot of the movie, the script, and added a character they didn't even need?"

"Publicity? She is pretty famous."

"Yes, but in our circle she's known for having one hell of a temper. Someone invested in the movie to get her in. Could've been her or a backer."

"Are you telling me that the only reason she is here is because someone leaked that you're working on this movie and she came here to win you back?"

"That's exactly what I mean."

"Ugh, I'm going to need a drink after today."

"That makes two of us."

"Oh no."

"What?"

"I just realized I left poor Dillon out there with her. Alone."

"I left Dillon alone."

"So? Oh no."

"And I left him alone with Cassiopeia."

We both look at each other and then bolt out the door to see what happened. Cassiopeia is glaring at Dillon as if he stole Christmas, and he is calmly sipping on some tea. Looks like he got some after all. I decide to try and break it up before anything happens."

"There's my favorite bodyguard. We need to go."

"We do?" Dillon asks.

"Yes, we do. Will is about to film his next scene and I need to be there to see if he needs anything. Naturally my bodyguard would also be here to make sure nothing happens to me."

"Alright. We can always finish this conversation later, Cas."

"Giving her a wink he walks over to me and she stomps off in the opposite direction."

"Should I even ask?"

"Depends on how many details of our relationship you want to hear about."

"Maybe we should save that one for another day."

"Good idea."

When we get to the set, I can see that Will has already stepped onto the set with the actor playing Chiron. This time they're in an office that has a similar theme to the training center. There's a desk separating the two. Will is lounging on a chair lazily. He's back in character. Once they're both done getting touched up, the director starts the scene.

"And action!"