SHILOH BOUNCED on the tip of her feet as she held her script in her hands. She was dressed in her cheer costume from the movie and yet again had a dozen or so hair extensions slapped to her head as she ran through her plan one last time.

She let out a deep breath before making her way over towards Quinn with a bright smile on her face.

"Hey, Quinn," She smiled, "do you have a minute for quick question?"

Quinn looked up quickly, "For my leading lady, 30 seconds."

Shiloh only chuckled, playing with the hem of her skirt as she held the schedule in her hands. "Um... So, I was looking at my schedule and I noticed that all the scenes I have left, apart from the big reunion song with everyone, are all with Mack in this part of the school."

"Fifteen seconds, still no question."

"I was just wondering if we could shoot like crazy and get it all in the can, as they say. Like, today."

Quinn slowly looked up, looking over at Shiloh with an almost false expression on her face, "Wow. What an exciting idea. Listen, not only is it not your job to set the shooting schedule, but getting it in the can would require a lot of time and a seasoned cast, which frankly, you are not." Quinn said standing to her feet.

All Shiloh did was take in a deep breath as she looked down at Quinn. But, she soon felt a hand gently press against her back and she turned, seeing Mack standing next to her.

"But, Shi has been killing it" He smiled," and I think it'd be a relief for the crew if we got ahead of schedule."

"Okay, kids, here's some great advice." Quinn scoffed, "No is a complete sentence. Thanks."

Shiloh rolled her eyes as Quinn sat back down in her seat. The girl quickly looked over at Mack before sighing and looking back over at the director.

"You know what, I'm sorry for asking." The girl scoffed, "I guess it was silly of me to think that just because Maria Jay said that, "Directing is a team sport," in her cover story for The Hollywood Reporter, that you would be similarly inclusive. I guess it's true, no two directors are alike."

"Maria Jay?" Quinn questioned, looking over at the two, almost disgusted. "That hack that directed This is Where the Money Went? A faint shadow on my Sundance runner-up film. Where Has All The Money Gone?"

"Yeah," Shiloh smiled, "I heard the cast bought her a Tesla. Do you have a Tesla?"

"I'm hearing award buzz." Mack quipped.

"Oh, yeah. Oscar? Maybe even two?" Shiloh added.

Quinn turned, grabbing her microphone before standing to her feet. "Listen up, everyone. Change of plans. Today is going to be a marathon because I, Quinn, the director of this film, have decided so by myself."

Shiloh smiled as Quinn marched her way down the halls. She turned towards Mack with the same smile as she thanked him.

But his mind seemed to turn as he caught glance of Ashley talking to Victoria and Gina from close by.

Shiloh turned, sighing at his almost sudden admiration for the girl. She rested her hand on his shoulder, which drew him away from Ashley's sight and onto Shiloh's.

"Thank you for the back up."

Mack nodded. "No problem."

"In return, I'll tell you this." Shiloh smiled, "Ashley is the shyest girl I know and whatever she may feel for you will always be sincere. She's obsessed with any superhero Lego movie, specifically The Lego Batman Movie, and she's always pictured her first date being in the park, sharing desserts, and listening to Harry Styles and SZA on repeat."

Mack nodded, looking back over at the girl who turned, looking over at the duo and gave them a small wave.

Mack turned back, his back now facing Ashley who furrowed her brows in confusing before looking back over at Gina and Victoria.

Shiloh rolled her eyes. "You aren't helping yourself."

"Look," He pointed, "you have me 4:00 and until then, I'm allowed to be a mess."

She watched as the boy made his way down the halls and into the classroom where the movie would be filming first.

She followed after, holding her script in her hands as she read over the lines she tried to remember in the next few minutes before they began to film.

"All right, people." Quinn called, entering the set, "Hi, yes. Today. we are attempting to shoot 22 pages. If we make our day, we will break the record famously set by the crew of The Revenant who shot all of the forest stuff in an hour because the bear was in heat." She explained with a smile before turning towards the cameraman.

Shiloh looked down at her script once more, but soon felt a tap on her shoulder. She turned. Of course it was Mack who was sitting on the desk in front of her.

"So, you ready to crush it?" He smiled, "No prisoners today, just gotta nail that chemistry. That's our only job... until 4:00."

Shiloh let his words flow in one ear, rest, and let it fly out the other as she held a picture of her and Ricky from Gina's party on top of the script.

She hadn't heard from him still and was only growing more concerned about his whereabouts. He wasn't at school and Shiloh had her phone taken not that long ago so she could get ready to film.

Mack held a soft smile before playfully punching her shoulder.

"Sorry, I'm just trying to find some motivation for the chemistry." She sighed, folding her script, careful not to ruin the picture. "Let's do this."

She passed her script to Victoria who passed by the duo and tucked it carefully under her arms.

Shiloh gave Mack a soft smile, bumping their fist together as Quinn called out action.

They went through the scenes with ease. It almost felt too easy, but maybe that was a good thing. The faster they get this done, the faster Shiloh could get the hell out of there.

Quinn had quickly snapped a photo of the scene in front of her. Shiloh as Bailey and Mack as Sam, sharing a kiss. Quinn smiled down at the photo, posting it onto social media.

Just in time for Ricky Bowen, who had been safely in Salt Lake at the local college with EJ Caswell who attended the school.

Ricky looked down at the photo with great distaste. Seeing his girlfriend and some "washed-up" actor kissing all over Instagram wasn't very ideal for boy who was already slightly spiraling due to college, his relationship, and simply being liked by the people who Shiloh called her family.

He heavily sighed and slammed his phone against EJ's bed. He didn't bother looking over at EJ who opened the door and asking his Ricky wanted to grab something to eat.

Ricky's emotions only fluttered as he looked up, chuckling awkwardly as EJ approached him.

"You okay?" EJ asked.

"I am great. Super good."

EJ only held furrowed brows and grabbed Ricky's phone and flipping it over to see the picture of Shiloh and Mack on Quinn's Instagram.

"That's..." EJ sighed, "Mmm-hmm. Mmm-hmm."

EJ sat down on his bed next to Ricky, the curly-haired boy still not looking his way as he sat.

"I'm here for you." EJ said, "Unless you want to be alone."

Ricky sighed, looking down, "I remember when I wanted to tell Shiloh that I loved her. And even though she was already my girlfriend, I never thought, even for a second, that she might feel the same way." He paused, looking over at EJ, "I'm sorry. Is it okay if I talk about this? I mean, you did break up with her after two weeks."

EJ held a tight lip before looking over at Ricky. "Too late." He chuckled.

Ricky returned the small smile before standing to his feet, "My senior year was supposed to be the best. Me and Shiloh together. The musical. We even wrote a song together."

"Really?"

"Everything was perfect, for like, a second. Just like it was with my parents, just like it was with me and Nini, just like it was with my dad and freakin' Miss. Jenn. It's like, everyone's only allowed to be okay, for, like, 10 seconds. And then everything falls apart." Ricky sighed.

His rant was valid. He was allowed to feel this way. He went through a roller coaster of a junior year and it wasn't really discussed with Shiloh, his dad, or himself. He kept it all inside because it felt easier than dumping it out on people who might not care.

Ricky continued, "And then Shiloh gets this great opportunity, and this guy is hanging' out all the time. She's been in the spotlight since our junior year and... I can't stop her from going into any further. And it's like, I-I don't know, I don't wanna get in her way... but I don't know what else to be but hide."

Ricky finally sat back down, looking away from EJ.

"Well, do you know what she wants?" EJ asked.

"I don't know. I'm too afraid to ask." Ricky paused, looking over at EJ, "Are you ever, like, um, afraid of the truth?"

"I mean. not so much anymore."

"It's like..." He paused again, grabbing EJ's pillow to hold to bring him some comfort. "I never respond to my mom's texts 'cause I don't wanna hear if she's back together with Todd. I'm basically tanking my entire senior year instead of applying to colleges or focusing on my grades, I'm just distracted at the fear of losing more people. Ugh! It's like..." He sighed, moving onto the floor, "I'm tired. I'm tired of losing people."

EJ only looked down at the boy. He felt for him, he really had.

It almost made him think about his talks with Shiloh prior to breaking up with her. EJ was smitten with the girl, even bought her homecoming dress.

But how Ricky felt about her and just life in general was something that came with the heavy truth.

That day, that first day of filming with Shiloh as Bailey wasn't method acting. It was truly how she felt, why she wanted to keep things under wraps, why she was scared to let go.

She didn't want to lose anyone, but she had worked so damn hard for everything in her life.

What Ricky and Shiloh hadn't know was that the two of them felt the same was.

— lucy has something to say !!

ricky needs a therapist so bad like im not even kidding someone please tell him it's okay to get a therapist

bye :))))