A New Friend and An Old Foe

"Oh good, they know each other! No need for further introduction!" Winston clapped his hands loudly and everyone began moving away, while murmuring amongst themselves.

Natalie and Simon stared at each other for a long time, until Anna interrupted them.

"You know him?" She whispered in Natalie's ears, breaking the spell.

"Wow, if it isn't Natalie Freeman...who would have thought?" Simon chuckled arrogantly.

With every fiber of her being, Natalie wanted nothing more than to wipe off that fucking arrogant look on his face but she settled for walking away.

Good thing, Anna didn't follow.

Natalie wanted to run into the restroom and scream her gut out but she wouldn't give Simon the satisfaction of thinking she was still the same Natalie back in highschool. She sat down and seethed in anger.

Fucking Fletcher, he was a good for nothing rich motherfucker who derived joy in oppressing those he thought weaker than himself. It all started back in highschool, she had gotten a scholarship into Crystal High and began the new semester with them. Everything was going smoothly, she was doing well academically, passing her tests with nothing less than an A-plus and this made her popular amongst the students and teachers as she had bested their overall best student. One day, she was in the library, reading as she usually did with her friend, when he approached her with two of his accomplices.

She had heard of him -- Simon Fletcher, the goodlooking rich teenage boy who enjoyed being an asshole. She hated him and made sure to steer clear of him, so what did he want with her?

He ordered her to help him cheat in their upcoming Math test and she blatantly refused. Ever since then, she became his target -- he pestered her everyday until she ended up with the nickname, 'Simon's pet'.

"You've been glaring at him for the past five minutes, you guys not on good terms?" The woman, probably in her mid thirties, who walked up to her asked. She wore her hair in a tight bun, had red gleaming lipstick on and her ears were literally on standby -- she gave off all the signs of a gossipmonger.

Natalie chuckled awkwardly and looked away.

The woman sensing that she wasn't going to say anything, rolled her eyes and sauntered away shamelessly.

"Alright, gather around people!" Winston called out and soon, they began shooting.

They went through the first scene without much hitches as it was just the pilot of the movie, but then it got to the second where the female and male lead had to appear.

"Alright Fletcher and Freeman, look alive!" Winston exclaimed.

Natalie stood shakily, took a deep breath and walked up to the make-shift stage. Simon came up too with an almost bored look on his face.

All eyes were on the both of them. At a corner, Natalie could see Anna giving her a thumbs-up.

"Alright, you both stumble upon each other on your way to work and there is a spark. I need to feel the chemistry between you two, got it? Alright, ready and action!" Winston pointed his finger to the stage and the lights became more focused on them.

*

The busy city street was bustling with people on their way to work. Among the crowd, their eyes met. Adrain was tall and well-dressed, and Sylvia was petite and dressed in a professional yet stylish outfit. As they walked past each other, their eyes lingered for a moment longer than they should have. They both felt a spark, but kept walking, their minds racing. He turned around and saw her disappear into the crowd, and she turned to see him walking away. They both felt something special had just happened, but neither of them knew what it was.

*

"Cut!" Winston shouted angrily. He paused to remove his glasses and held his nose as though in pain.

"What the hell was that? Natalie, you look like you saw your worst enemy."

"She's not trying hard enough," Simon shrugged.

Natalie scoffed in disbelief, "What? You're the one not trying hard enough."

"Alright, enough of this crap!"

They looked at him quietly as he murmured something to himself. Then he glared at them.

"We go again and you both better give it your best fucking shot. Ready and action!"

And they were at it for the next five hours until Winston called it a day.

"Freeman and Fletcher, can I have a word with you both?" Winston said at the end of the shoot.

Natalie stood aside and Simon joined her, still with that bored look on his face. She made sure that they were some distance apart.

"You both need to tackle your differences." He said finally.

Natalie frowned, "I've got nothing against him."

He raised an eyebrow, "Uh huh...then why are you standing away from him like he's infected with a virus?"

"Am I supposed to stand close to him?" Natalie snapped. When she realized her mistake, she murmured a low apology.

Winston glanced at the both of them.

"I don't know what's between you both and I don't care. You just have to fix it because the success of this movie is priority, got it?!" He admonished and walked away from them, leaving her with Simon. She proceeded to walk away without glancing at him but his baritone voice stopped her from taking a step forward.

"The nerdy Natalie Freeman who wore baggy clothes and never let her hair down, hmm you turned out real nice." He smirked and swept his eyes over her body in a manner that caused her to shiver.

"Get away from me you asshole." She snapped.

He sighed in annoyance, "Stop being a baby, Natalie. You're what now, 27?"

She resisted the urge to slap him. Instead, she walked away furiously and this time, he let her.

***

Anna watched Natalie angrily walk away from Simon Fletcher. Was he her ex? She thought. Their conversation was pretty intense.

Simon on the other hand, watched her leave with his ever-ready smirk.

She still couldn't believe he was right there in the flesh. Should she go ask for his autograph? Would he mind?

"They're sure going to be a handful." Someone whispered behind her.

Anna liked how the British accent rolled off their tongue -- she has always had a thing for accents. Standing beside her was one of the supporting cast, the lady playing the role of the waitress at Choice restaurant. Was her name Joyce? She couldn't remember. Now that Anna saw her up close, she was quite pretty in a boyish way. She also had a tongue piercing.

"Your piercing's beautiful." She blurted out.

Fuck, she hadn't meant to say that out loud.

The lady tilted her head amusingly, "Thanks. You don't strike me as someone who might like piercings...you know, with the rosary hanging off your neck?"

Despite the fact that piercings and tattoos were prohibited in Christianity, especially by her parents, Anna had always liked them secretly -- she had almost gotten a tattoo on her thigh back in highschool but feared her father too much to go through with it. Now that she was older, nothing had changed -- she still feared him.

"I just admire those who do them, the process being painful and all..." She trailed off with a smile.

The lady shrugged in response, "Eh, you get used to it eventually."

They fell into a comfortable silence.

Anna suddenly found herself staring at her plump lips. The butterfly tattoo on her neck was really beautiful and she wondered if she had tattoos and piercings at other parts of her body.

"You're staring," The lady pointed out.

Anna looked away in embarrassment, "I'm so..."

"You should at least tell me your name if you're gonna be staring at me like that." She smirked.

Like what?

"Anna," She answered instead.

"Joyce." The lady replied.

She had been right about her name.

"Nice to meet you, Anna. Wanna hang out tomorrow?" Joyce asked.

"And if I say no?" Anna replied jokingly.

"I guess I'll move on, but why should you? You're not the type of Christian who discriminates against sinners, or are you?" Joyce laughed.

Anna liked the sound of her laugh, it made her heart flutter. Was she that excited to have a new friend? Is that why she was feeling this way?

"Actually, I am not." She answered confidently.

"Good, so that's settled. Where would you like to go?"