First day of production meant meeting the rest of the talent.

That meant Lance would be meeting his co-star in about ten minutes and the coffee he got him was quickly approaching lukewarm in his hand.

The rapidly cooling drink didn't help soothe his nerves about the project and his partner for it. But, he was a professional so it was all set aside for excitement.

He still didn't know who the guy was yet since that wasn't disclosed when he was cast for this movie. All he knew was the guy was supposedly really talented.

Hopefully he's not an asshole about it.

Lance may be big now but his mama would smack him upside the head if his ego ever grew with him. He held that same expectation for everyone he worked with as he wasn't one for the whole 'better than thou' thing.

He's made a lot of friends through projects like this though so maybe this guy could be his friend too. I mean what's not to love about him? He was Lance 'ladies man' Mcclain afterall!

He was great at wooing people into being his adoring fans. That's how he got so popular in the first place. It's also how he secured his best friends Hunk and Pidge.

He grew up poor with a big family but his personality and talent helped him create a life for his family that was more than the stack of bills on the kitchen table.

Ever since he found out about this talent for acting he'd been working to make his family happy and whenever he was able to succeed in doing so, a burst of pride would light up in his chest.

He's been doing projects since he became a child actor at the age of 13, starting out in a movie where he played a kid with superpowers that dreamed of being a regular kid.

It wasn't a great film but it got his foot in the door in the industry.

So much so that he even got the opportunity to work with people like Allura Altea, the director of this movie who was widely praised by the industry.

Now he was only growing in popularity, getting movie deal after movie deal as his skills and good looks strengthened his chances of success.

And he was really thankful. He worked hard for this and it paid off.

This movie was one of his biggest opportunities, promising a big paycheck and even bigger turnout.

It was going to be great for his career and afterwards he might even be able to convince his agent to allow him to take a break and take his family on vacation.

Fuck yeah.

"Lance? Are you ready to meet the rest of the cast?" Romelle asked with her clipboard clutched tightly to her chest. She was Allura's assistant and he met her like an hour ago when he got the coffee.

Oh yeah. The coffee. It had gone nearly frigid by now so he left it abandoned on the table he was leaned up against and pushed off to his feet to follow.

"Uh yeah I'm ready. Lead the way, pretty lady." She blushed in embarrassment before turning on her heel and leading them down a few halls and into a break room of couches.

People sat on the furniture with varied degrees of excitement, all except for an emo looking man brooding in the corner.

It was like a highschool party without the cheap beer and hookups. Hooray.

Meeting the cast and crew always was a bit awkward at first but thankfully he was blessed to be a social butterfly straight from the womb.

"Uhm. This is Lance. Please get acquainted. Okay bye!" Romelle let out some sort of panicked squeak as she fled the doorway and Lance shot her a look of concern over his shoulder.

She seemed really shy and jumpy to be a director's assistant but hey who was he to judge?

"Hey Lance. I'm Nyma." A girl with bleached blond braids told him as she stood to meet him by the door, her roots desperately needing a retouch.

"It's nice to meet you Nyma. Who do you play?" He asked to be nice. He wasn't really interested in talking to her. He wanted to meet his co-star!

Her expression darkened a little at his inattentive tone, barely noticeable under her wide smile. "I play no one dear. I'm the head makeup artist."

He nodded in acknowledgment at that, filing it away in his head. They engaged in small talk for a bit before he felt it was polite enough to move on.

She was pretty but seemed a little too cocky for his tastes. He may flirt with her a bit later on but not to get into her pants. Just for a little fun to pass the time between scenes.

Partially though because he was a gentleman. She really was pretty, bad dye job and all.

He greeted the others around the room, noting their names and jobs until the only person left was the boy in the corner with earbuds in.

He seemed like a bit of a hermit. His hair was thick and overgrown, left to cover his face in his hunched position. But his body... it was like a library of muscles shoved into tight black skinny jeans.

Goddamn.

Wouldn't he like to check something out from there.

He almost let out a whistle of appreciation but thankfully refrained before it could leave his mouth.

Control yourself Lance. He's not a horny teenager anymore.

He's got a job to do.

He waved a hand in front of the man's face to get his attention and was met with stunning violet eyes framed by inky strands of black hair.

He slowly lifted a hand to remove his earbuds and raised an eyebrow as if to say 'go on'. That should not have been as hot as it was. Fuck.

Wait he knew him. He's seen him in movies a ton of times. Keith Kogane. If celebrity crushes still counted for him he would be it.

Even Ronnie could admit he was unfairly attractive and she was a lesbian.

Please don't be my love interest in the movie. Please please please...

"The names Lance. Aren't you the uh, the guy who did that movie with Shiro?!" He snapped his fingers as he placed the connection with a grin.

As if he really had to think. He probably could name every movie this guy has done without skipping a beat.

"Yeah. I'm Keith."

Lance fought off the urge to roll his eyes and be like 'I know'. He had to play nice until he formed a teasing friendship with this guy. Or more...

No! Focus!

He mentally smacked himself with a newspaper like they did in the cartoons and refocused on the conversation.

"So you play Akira?" He asked, trying to keep the overwhelming interest out of his voice.

Why couldn't the hot guys be extras on set for him to ogle instead of being his love interests?

He was very openly bisexual and made sure to represent that in his work but sometimes he wishes he took into account what a disaster he is around hot people before signing a contract.

"Yeah, I'm assuming you're Leandro."

He nodded as Keith stared blankly back. "I'm excited for this movie. It seems like a good project. Not that the other things I did weren't but..."

"What other things were you in?" Keith asked like he's never heard or seen Lance in his life which stung a little because he probably was just as popular as him.

Just in different genres of film.

Keith normally stuck with sci-fi and action movies while Lance did romantic comedies and horrors.

"You don't know who I am?" He asked after a few beats too long of silence. The hurt was clear in his voice despite trying to hide it.

"No, sorry." Keith furrowed his brows in apology but otherwise seemed unbothered.

It made his blood boil a little.

"Have you ever heard of a killer love story?"

Keith seemed to think for a moment before slowly shaking his head.

"What about the road to romance?"

Another head shake.

Damn.

"The girl in green?"

Nope.

"The gays of gator boulevard?"

"My brother likes that movie I think."

Finally! One! We've got him boys!

"Did you like it?" The words left his mouth before he could stop them and he prepared himself to be met with crushing disappointment.

Keith pursed his lips before answering, as if pondering his response. "Never watched it myself. Just know it." Was what he settled on.

Lance could just scream.

What. The. Fuck.

"You need better taste in movies! You've been deprived of my beauty and talent for too long Keith!" His tone was joking but Keith seemed annoyed by it.

He got an eye roll in response and watched as Keith shoved his earbuds back in. He walked away soon after, a small smirk on his face.

He was glad to see him go and stubbornly refused to enjoy watching him go.

That's it. They were officially rivals.

Onscreen love story be damned.

••••
Wrote this at 3 AM💪
-Red