The Making of…

Chapter 11

I Never Said That The Drinks Were On Me!

After canoeing, we got back to the hotel and the guys agreed to meet down in the reception area at six, and we’d go out to dinner and – as Billy put it – ‘Hit the town’.

I went back to my room and took a shower, before getting ready for the night ahead. I dressed in a lilac, floaty cami top, and my black skinny jeans, topped off with my sandal high heels. I grinned at my reflection and skipped over to my bed, where my phone was lying, and checked my messages. There was one waiting from my agent, Maxine.

‘Hey babes! Sorry I haven’t called you yet but I’ve been super busy! How’s everything going down there?

Maxi xo’

I smiled at the message from my agent and quickly replied.

‘Hiya! Everything’s fantastic! Filming is amazing and everyone is so nice! Thank you so, so much for telling me about this job! You’re such a superstar!

Ki x’

Once I’d sent off the message I looked at the clock on my bedside table – it was almost time to go meet everyone. I grabbed my handbag and turned off the music that was blaring from my speakers before heading downstairs.

Everyone was already gathered by the time I got there, except John – who was going out with some other friends from the set, and Sean Astin, who was spending the night with his family.

“Hey Ki,” Billy smiled, “Ready to go?”

“Yeah.” I grinned, slipping my bag over my shoulder as we left the hotel.

We walked to a restaurant, and halfway through our meal we were recognised by a small group.

“Hey,” A guy nervously said, approaching us flanked by a few of his friends, “You wouldn’t happen to be the guys from The Lord of the Rings, would you?”

“Yeah we are.” I smiled warmly.

“You’re the first people to recognise us!” Orlando laughed.

“People notice Elijah all the time.” Dom pointed out.

“Yeah, but we haven’t been recognised as a group yet.” Orlando argued.

We signed a few signatures for them, they were nice, even though they didn’t really know who we were, they’d just seen the cast list. Maybe with a bit of luck, those signatures would be valuable in the next few years? I smiled to myself as we finished our meal and paid.

“Well guys, we’re officially famous!” Billy whooped once we were walking down the street.

“Being recognised once counts as famous?” Dom chipped in.

“Why not?” I laughed, “Let’s just enjoy it!”

Billy and Dom took us to a bar where we sat down and talked for a while. Orlando and Elijah spotted a couple of girls up at the bar and went to chat to them. My phone buzzed in my pocket and I checked for messages.

‘Hey Ki! Have you been too busy with your hot actors to even text me? Haha!

Luc xo’

I smiled at the message from my best friend and was about to reply when Billy reached across the table and snatched the phone out of my hand.

“Hey!” I cried, “Give that back!” Billy waggled his eyebrows at me and read the message.

“Ooh, who’s Luc? Your boyfriend?” He cooed, holding my phone out of reach. I may have imagined it, but I thought Viggo tensed a little beside me.

“What? No!” I cried, trying to grab my phone. “Anyway, it’s not pronounced like ‘Luke’ is like ‘Lu-ce’, its short for Lucy, she’s my best friend back home.”

“Oh, well that’s boring.” Billy huffed, tossing my phone back. I caught it one handed and punched in a quick reply before safely stowing my phone in my back pocket.

I looked over at Dom, who looked a bit glum.

“You ok Dom?” I asked as he looked up and shrugged. Billy leaned over to me and whispered in my ear.

“He’s bummed because his girlfriend dumped him before we started shooting. She made him choose between her and the movie.”

“That sucks.” I muttered, “Cheer up, Dom, it sounds like she wasn’t worth your time.” I tried to comfort him, laying my hand on his arm. He gave me a sceptical look and then looked back down at his lap. “Look, if she was really in to you, she’d have gladly followed you out here and supported you, but instead she tried to get you to blow the biggest chance of your career! She doesn’t deserve you mate.” I shrugged and he looked up again, looking like a depressed puppy.

“Y’ think so?”

“Yep, you should be up at that bar with the guys!” I grinned, giving him a playful punch in the shoulder, “Any girl would be lucky to have you.”

“Thanks… But I think I’ll leave it for now.” He sighed. I rolled my eyes and grabbed his wrist.

“Come on.” I grinned, edging past Viggo and dragging Dom with me. I pulled him up to where Elijah and Orlando were chatting to three girls. “Hi guys!” I smiled cheerfully, shoving Dom into the small circle. “We thought we’d come join you! I’m Kira and this is Dom.” I grinned, elbowing him a little.

“Hi.” He mumbled, sounding uncomfortable. I gave him another elbow and he forced out a smile.

“That wasn’t so hard now, was it?” I whispered so only he could hear me over the loud music in the bar. He shrugged a little and I looked back at our table, pretending to hear one of the guys say something. “Oh, I think the guys want me to get them some drinks. Have fun!” I waved, walking back to the table and taking my seat on the sofa behind it.

“Thanks Ki.” Billy smiled, “He’d have been moping all night.”

“It’s nothing.” I shrugged, “Why aren’t you up there?”

“I’m not looking for anyone.” He smiled, “Long-term relationship.”

“Neat.” I grinned.

“So what about you?” He asked.

“I’m not in the market.” I smiled, shaking my head, “I’ve had a couple of bad relationships in the past, so I’m sort-of lying low for now. But if the right guy comes along, who knows?” I shrugged, taking a sip of my drink and sitting back, watching as Dom became acquainted with the girls at the bar. “Do you guys want anything?” I asked, nodding towards the bar. I quickly took their orders and walked up, leaning on the counter as I waited for the drinks.

“Hey.”

I turned to see a tall guy wearing a football top and baggy, low-hanging jeans nod to me. His face looked like he’d had his nose broken once or twice. I smiled a little and turned back to the bar, all my body language indicating that I didn’t want to talk to him. “Can I buy you a drink?” He asked. I shook my head.

“No thanks.” I smiled again, but in my mind I was screaming ‘Piss off creep!’ He kept persisting that he wanted to buy me a drink, and I kept refusing as I became increasingly uncomfortable. I glanced over at Dom, Orlando and Elijah, but they were all deep in conversation and didn’t even notice that I was having a small predicament.

“You want to come outside for a smoke?”

“I don’t smoke.” I said firmly. Why wouldn’t the bartender hurry up with the drinks? Finally they arrived, but I realised I wouldn’t be able to carry them all over at once. I’d have to make two trips. “Right, well I better get these back to my friends.” I said as cheerfully as I could, turning away, but he caught my arm roughly.

“Look-” He began as I started to get pretty scared, but I felt an arm around my shoulder. I looked up to see Viggo and Sean standing beside me, Viggo had his arm around me and was smiling, but I could tell he wasn’t happy. There was a coldness in his eyes that I hadn’t seen before.

“Hey Ki.” He grinned forcibly.

“We thought you might need a hand bringing the drinks back.” Sean smiled as I sighed with relief.

“Thanks guys.” I sighed. I meant it in more ways than one. They lead me away quickly, firing dirty glances at the jerk who’d been trying to pick me up. He’d backed off quite quickly, and I couldn’t blame him, Viggo and Sean could be pretty intimidating. We sat back down and I smacked my forehead against the table.

“Are you alright Kira?” Viggo asked, with his hand on my shoulder.

“Yeah…” I mumbled, sitting up and slumping back in my seat.

“That guy was huge!” Billy murmured with raised eyebrows.

“He was even bigger from where I was standing.” I muttered under my breath.

A few uneventful minutes later, after I’d calmed down a bit, my phone suddenly buzzed in my pocket again; I checked it and saw that my mum was ringing me. “I’m just going to take this outside.” I smiled, “See you in a moment!” I jogged outside and found a quiet, dark spot away from the smokers before I answered the phone.

***Viggo’s Point of View***

I watched as Kira left and I kept my eyes on the guy from earlier, watching to see if he’d follow her. Thankfully he didn’t.

“Remind me to never let her wander off in a bar again.” I sighed, sipping my drink thoughtfully.

“I’m sure she would have been able to handle it.” Sean smiled.

“Would she?” I asked sceptically.

“Did you not see what she did to me and Dom earlier in the boats?” Billy joked.

“No offence, but you two are pretty small guys.” Sean teased. I laughed along with them, but my thoughts were still on Kira. I was worried about her. What would have happened if we hadn’t stepped in? Maybe I just had to have faith in her. I knew she was stronger than she looked, and she had enough wits to get her out of most situations, but I still wanted to make sure she was safe. I spotted the guy who had been hitting on her move towards the door, so I stood.

“I’m just going to go check on Ki…” I muttered, walking out the door. I saw the guy standing with the other smokers, but I couldn’t see Kira. I turned and saw her leaning against the wall a few metres away, her head lowered as she stared at the blank screen of her phone, as if in a daze. As I walked closer, I saw the lights from the bar reflected in her eyes, and in the tears that rolled down her cheeks.

“Kira?” I murmured quietly. She looked up quickly and tried to wipe away the tears on the back of her hand. “Kira, what’s wrong?” I asked, my concern apparent as I saw fresh tears appear in her eyes. I quickly pulled her into a hug and she buried her head in my chest, gripping my shirt with shaking fingers.

“I’m… I’m sorry.” She whispered as I held her.

“Ssh, it’s alright.” I hushed her, feeling her body tremble with silent sobs. “What’s wrong?” She was quiet for a moment as I gently stroked her hair, trying to get her to calm down.

“I-I just miss everyone at home so much…” She whimpered.

“You’re homesick?” I murmured, she nodded a little.

“I’ve been away from my family before… But I’ve never been so far away.” She sniffed, loosening her hold on my shirt as her breathing became less rapid and she started to calm.

“I understand.” I said softly, “I know it’s hard…” I trailed off as she nodded.

“I’m sorry.” She apologised again, “I’ve probably wrecked the evening, haven’t I?”

“Don’t be stupid.” I smiled, “You’re allowed to be homesick.” I hugged her tightly and then released her, but keeping my hands on her arms. She smiled weakly and wiped away her tears.

“Thanks Viggo.” She whispered.

“No problem.” I smiled, “Do you want to go back in or…?”

“No…” She sighed, shaking her head, “I think I’ll just head back to the hotel.”

“I’ll come with you then.” I decided quickly.

“You don’t have to…” She protested quietly.

“You really think I’d let you wander the streets of Wellington at night on your own?” I smirked. “I’ll just go inside and tell the guys that we’re going.”

“Ok…” She nodded as I walked back into the noisy bar. I found Billy and Sean quickly and caught their attention.

“Hey guys, Kira’s not feeling well, so I’m just going to take her back to the hotel.” I explained, making an excuse for Ki.

“Too much to drink?” Billy joked, even though he’d had more in the past half hour than she’d had all night! I shrugged and waved.

“See you later anyway!”

I jogged back outside and found Kira where I’d left her. I walked to her side and took her hand as a form of comfort. “Are you alright?”

“Yeah…” She smiled, squeezing my hand a little. “Thanks.”

“Anytime.” I laughed, looking at my watch. “It’s still early, do you want to do back and watch a movie?”

“Sure.” She said a little more cheerfully, seeming to brighten up. I smiled as we started to walk back along the streets to the hotel.