None of my lines were completely memorized by the next day, but I did spend a majority of my night practicing facial expressions and different voice inflections in the mirror, script in hand.

It could be a lot worse, I thought. At least Alex was a good looking guy.

I even imagined the kiss scenes. As awkward as that was to do in the mirror, at least I had a bit of an idea of how it could work. The good part was that no one was around when I was rehearsing to see or hear what I was doing.

***

Returning to set, I was still jittery and uncomfortable, but at least I had a bit of confidence this time. I was still scoping out the cast, getting to know them, sticking to the walls and letting them come to me.

Alex spotted me across the way, and he and Keanu came over.

"Hey," Alex said casually.

"Hey guys," I smiled. Keanu was about a head taller than me, and his dark hair hung in his eyes. He bounced a bit on the balls of his feet. He reached to shake my hand, and my small one was completely engulfed by his.

"Hey, I'm Keanu, Keanu Reeves. We didn't really meet yesterday."

"Yeah, hi. I'm Katie," We shook hands, and I smiled.

"I'm Alex," Alex said after running his hand through his curly hair. It looked really tempting to do the same for some reason. He gripped my hand tight and shook it, a charming smile on his face. "It seems we'll be getting to know each other a lot for this movie."

I scuffed the ground with my feet.

"Yeah, I guess. I was reading the script last night...,"

Alex chuckled, "Dave had a feeling you'd be kinda worried about that... scene."

"I'll live," I shrugged, chuckling a bit and fiddling with the pages of my script.

"You ever act before?" Keanu asked, not wanting to drop the conversation.

"School plays, yeah. It's my first time on screen though,"

"You're in for a riot," Keanu promised. "I've worked with Alex before, he's great."

"You're just saying that," Alex rolled his eyes, "Don't get all sentimental on me, Keany."

Keanu chuckled so casually and flicked the hair from his eyes.

"Anyway, you guys wanna run lines until Dave gets here?"

I nodded and Keanu grinned. There was one awkward moment before we all simultaneously gestured to the floor and took a seat in a small circle. We all sat cross-legged with our knees together.

"Well I don't know what to do next!" Keanu was reading, "Everything I try just blows up in my face."

"Does it look like I can help with that?" Alex countered. For a second, he sounded genuinely angry.

"Will the two of you shut your blasted mouths for once in your lives?!" I cried. They stopped and looked at me, just like the script had directed. Alex skimmed his script, murmuring to himself after he lost his place looking up.

"Crap, uhh.... Wow Elaine. Got something to say, do you?"

We laughed, though, because the mood was broken after he missed the line.

The arguing scene was fun and all, but honestly, I was curious to see what the director's vision was for the blocking. Were we reading it the right way? What would the set look like as we're yelling at each other.

Keanu rolled onto his stomach and held his chin in his hands, staring down at his script, reading it, but not out loud.

"You guys wanna hit up the snack table?" He offered. Alex got up quickly and offered me a hand, pulling me to my feet.

"Yeah, man, sounds good,"

We walked over together just in time for Dave to come in, so the cast sat down in front of him so he could make an announcement.

Some of the cast members sat on the start of the sets, the skeletal frame of what looked like a castle, others in various spots on the floor or chairs. Keanu and Alex grabbed the entire platter of chicken fingers and gestured for me to follow them toward the back so we wouldn't get in anyone's way.

"Okay, everyone," Dave started, having to shout to be heard by such a large crew. "We're doing another read-through today. This time, try and put a bit of acting into it. Feel out your characters.

"First and foremost, I want to see your take on these guys, so you can make them your own. By next week, maybe we can start a bit of staging, maybe some costume ideas. Alright?"

There was a bit of applause to show that we understood, and Alex even raised his chicken finger in acknowledgement.

We pulled out our scripts and went through our lines, fleshing it out and getting comfortable. For nost of the first part, Keanu didn't have to talk much, so he kinda laid his head on my lap, and I left him to it. He followed along with his script above his face while Alex passed him food.

I liked that they got comfortable with me so quickly. They had a charming aura to them that made me want to be their friends.

We read along, trying to define our characters' personalities.

When we got to the bedroom scene, Alex raised his hand.

"'Scuse me, Dave, do we have to act this part out right now?" He called.

The cast laughed and I flushed red in fear of his answers.

"Maybe?" Dave answered awkwardly with a shrug. "You will eventually... do what makes you comfortable right now, though."

I believe Alex translated that into "crank up the energy," and "absolutely go for it no matter what," because he let out the most disgusting noise I'd ever heard that made my skin heat up immediately. I felt like I was invading his privacy just by hearing him as he sat, so casually next to me.

The cast erupted in laughter, and Keanu shot up only to double over on himself, holding his stomach in laughter.

"Down, Alex," I said, the only joke I was able to manage through my embarrassed laughter.

Reading the scene was embarrassing to say the least, but at least Alex managed to make it fun. I really could only imagine what actual filming would be like. There was no way I could do this without dying of embarrassment and laughter at the same time.

***

For the second time, we completed the whole script. The movie would be probably 2 hours, judging by the lines, if you could ignore the outbursts or people getting lost.

"Winter and Williams, can I talk to you two for a minute?" Dave said as he dismissed us. Keanu waited by the possible castle set, picking at a pastry he'd snagged from the snack table.

Alex and I went up to Dave, getting through the crowd. A few people lingered with questions, but waited patiently.

"Okay, I know it's only the second day, but I do have some notes. It's just stuff I noticed. You're not in trouble," he assured us. "I like the vibe you guys have going already. Tomorrow, I think I'm gonna bring in some costumes for you two to mess with. I got something in mind for you two today. Don't tell the others.--" He winked, "--Great job, guys. Keep working on those lines."

He went to talk to the others who were waiting, and Alex stopped me, pen in hand. He tore a piece of paper out and scribbled on it for a second.

"Since we're gonna have to do a lot of stuff together," he started, using his knee to write on, "I figured I'd give you my number. Maybe we can meet up, run some lines, get to know each other. Whaddya think?"

"Sounds good," I said, taking the paper from him and reading over his number. I put it in my pocket and fumbled around for a pen so I could return the favor. "Feel free to give this to Keanu, too."

I slipped him the paper and he grinned. For a brief moment during the handoff, our hands brushed. When I looked at him, he had a grin on his face.

"Thanks. Hey, I'll see ya tomorrow,"

"See ya," I smiled back. "Later Keanu!"

Keanu grinned and waved.

"Hey wait!" He said as I started away from him.

"What's up?"

"You need a ride?" His head was tipped slightly to the side, innocently. It really showed off his angular jawline. It pulled a smile to my face and I hated saying no.

"Actually, I'm alright today. Maybe I'll take you up on that another day,"

That smile on his face didn't really fade. "That's alright. Yeah. Maybe another time." He nodded at me, and my smile pulled wider.

He made a movement toward me, then stopped, then went for it again. He hugged me, kinda. We both reached the same way, then didn't know where to put our faces and consequently almost kissed.

We laughed it off. Alex seemed cool about it, but I felt awkward and embarrassed, but still couldn't stop laughing either way.

"Thanks," I said, then went out of the set to my car with a little blush on my cheeks. It felt nice to have met such awesome guys. I replayed the day in my head my whole way home.