The Making of…

Chapter 58

Raise Your Glass

The wrap party was being held in a massive warehouse in Wellington, and when we arrived, it was already full of people – most of whom I didn’t even recognise, but I knew they must have had some part to play in the making of the films.

“Viggo! Kira! Over here!” I heard Orlando yell over the music that was blaring loudly and it took me a moment to locate him amidst the heaving mass of bodies. He motioned for us to follow him and we weaved through the crowd until we reached a large stage set up at the far end of the warehouse. “Peter wants the entire main cast up on the stage for speeches!” He shouted.

“Speeches?” I cried, “Nobody mentioned speeches!”

“Come on!” Viggo laughed, lightly shoving me up the steps onto the stage. I went and left my guitar at the back beside Billy’s and then went to join the crowd of people already on the stage. Pretty much everyone was already here – even people who I hadn’t seen for months, like Liv, Cate and Hugo. I smiled and chatted with everyone as we stood in a large group; Viggo and I kept our arms around each others waists – I wanted to maintain contact with him for as long as possible, because tomorrow it would be abruptly cut off. Elijah came around with an armful of drinks and tossed us a beer each, just as I heard that awful high-pitched screeching sound a microphone makes blare out of the surrounding speakers. I cringed away from the sound and then turned to see Peter sheepishly apologising into the microphone as the lights dimmed and a spotlight hit him on stage.

“Ugh, sorry about that guys.” He grinned, tousling his mad hair. I almost laughed as I realised that he was still wearing his trademark shorts and polo shirt. “I’m sure you all know why you’re here – because I wanted to personally say thank you to every single person who’s contributed in some way to this film, no matter how small.” A loud cheer went up from the crowd as he said that and carried on with his speech, and before long, he had passed the microphone over to Elijah. One by one, each cast member stepped up and delivered a short speech and all too soon the microphone was thrust in my face. I blushed as the audience cheered and I nervously stepped into the spotlight.

“Wow… Um, hi.” I smiled, “I guess I just want to say thank you to everyone in this room who helped make these films a possibility – especially Pete, who at some point a few years ago thought it would be a great idea to try and bring Tolkien’s masterpieces to life… And it was a great idea; it was a bloody brilliant one.” I laughed and ran one hand through my hair, “And he picked the most amazingly beautiful country to film it in-” The crowd cheered again when I said that, “So, thanks for bringing us here, and thanks for introducing me to all these amazing people.” I blushed, turning to smile at the group standing behind me. “Because that was bloody brilliant too.” The crowd laughed as I sighed and finished up. “Thanks everyone, it’s been great.” I grinned, feeling myself tearing up as Viggo appeared at my side and planted a kiss on my lips, resulting in several wolf-whistles. He wrapped his arm around my waist and held me to his side as he made his speech, and then we stepped back as he handed the microphone to Orlando. I felt a tear slide down my cheek and Vig gently wiped it away, kissing the top of my head and holding me close.

“I love you.” He whispered.

“I love you too.” I murmured softly, looking up to watch as the last few people made their speeches and the microphone was returned to Peter.

“Right guys, all I have left to say is, thanks for being a part of this, and enjoy the rest of the night, you deserve it.” He smiled as the crowd cheered loudly and the music started up again. I smiled as we climbed down off the stage and went to find somewhere to sit along the edge of the room, but it wasn’t long before Viggo pulled me up to dance. Unlike the first time, I had no objections to dancing with him tonight. I wanted to be as close to him as possible until the moment we were separated tomorrow – which was probably why we spent most of the song kissing instead of dancing.

“Do you two ever breathe?” Karl joked as he and Rylee passed us and I rolled my eyes.

“Who needs breathing?” I muttered against Viggo’s lips, causing him to laugh as the song ended and he pulled me back over to our seats.

“May I have this dance?” I looked up to see Elijah smiling jokingly down at me, holding out his hand.

“Go on.” Viggo grinned, pushing me up onto the floor again. I jumped around for a few songs, going between Elijah, Orlando and Billy, until the music stopped and I looked up at the stage to see Liv standing up at the microphone.

“Hey guys.” She smiled, “I noticed that a few people brought their guitars tonight,” She glanced down at me and Billy as I stared back, open mouthed, shaking my head and mouthing ‘No’ over and over again, she only winked at me knowingly. “I think we should get them up on stage!” The crowd cheered in response as Billy laughed and grabbed my wrist, pulling me up towards the stage.

“Billy, I have not nearly had enough to drink to play in front of this many people!” I cried.

“Come on Ki, live for the moment!” He grinned as I rolled my eyes.

“Fine, but you have to play with me!” I sighed reluctantly as we climbed the steps to an intimidating applause. I smiled nervously as I went to retrieve my guitar and Billy did the same. As I took it out of the case and pulled the strap around my neck, I glanced at him anxiously. “What are we going to play?” I hissed.

“Good Riddance.”

“Eh?”

“We’re playing Good Riddance.”

“Oh… I thought you were telling me to go away.” I laughed as we walked across the stage, grabbing two stools to sit on and positioning them in front of the two microphone stands that Liv had conveniently set out for us.

“Ready to go?” He asked and I bit my lip, before nodding hesitantly.

“Yeah, let’s do this.” I grinned, “Three, two –” The word ‘one’ was lost as we both blasted out the first chords of the song. “Another turning point a fork stuck in the road…” We sang, and I was relieved by the fact that Billy actually sang with me, “Time grabs you by the wrist, directs you where to go… So make the best of this test and don’t ask why, it’s not a question but a lesson learned in time.” I smiled as we sang on and neared the chorus “It’s something unpredictable, but in the end its right, I hope you had the time of your life…” I glanced up and the crowd and my eyes picked out Viggo smiling up at me, standing beside Karl and Rylee who were waving their arms in the air in time to the music and singing along.

“So take the photographs and still-frames in your mind. Hang ‘em on a shelf in good health and good time.” I couldn’t help smiling as I thought of the makeup bus, totally plastered with photos and memories. “Tattoos and memories and dead skin on trail…” My mind flashed back to sitting in the chair in that shady tattoo parlour, “For what it’s worth, it was worth all the while…” Hell yeah, it was worth it. “It’s something unpredictable, but in the end its right, I hope you had the time of your life.” I glanced over at Billy as we reached the final lines, and strummed vigorously, “It’s something unpredictable, but in the end its right, I hope you had the time of your life… It’s something unpredictable, but in the end it’s right… I hope you had the time of your life.” I smiled as the crowd responded with thunderous applause and I gave Billy a high-five.

“Nice one Boyd.” I laughed, unable to believe that I’d sang in front of so many people.

“Right back at ya Forest.” He grinned, “How about another one?”

“You bet.” I smirked. “What next?”

“Remember that day by the river?” He asked, and I knew what he was hinting towards.

“Yellow it is then.” I sighed.

*

It was a good half hour before Billy and I climbed down from the stage, I was still in a bit of a daze after the whole experience.

“Thanks for getting me up there.” I thanked Billy as he grinned.

“No problem!” He replied, disappearing into the crowd. Suddenly, I felt a pair of familiar arms wrap themselves around me from behind and I smiled as Viggo kissed my neck.

“That was amazing.” He murmured.

“Thanks.” I laughed, turning in his arms to hug him tightly. “I never thought I’d have the guts to do something like that…”

“Maybe you should look into a musical career.” He joked.

“Pfft – hell no.” I scoffed, wrapping my arms around his neck as we swayed to the music that was playing. He laughed and lightly kissed me, leaning his forehead against mine as we continued to dance.

It was getting towards three in the morning before the few of us who had flights to catch tomorrow decided to head back to the studio. I made sure I fought my way through the crowd so I could say a personal goodbye to Raven, Erin and Rylee before we left, promising that I’d see them all soon. Due to the fact that we’d all had a few drinks, we walked back. I didn’t have a car anymore anyway; its rental had expired a week ago. It was a short walk to the studio, and when we got there I said a tearful goodbye to everyone except Viggo, Billy and Orlando. I’d be spending the night with Viggo and I was flying back with the other two.

“See you all in a month or two!” Elijah called, waving as he headed back to his trailer. We’d all be meeting up again in a few months for The Two Towers premiere, so at least we didn’t have to wait too long before we were reunited. Viggo laced his fingers through mine and squeezed my hand as we walked back to my trailer. I opened the door and walked over to the bed, setting my guitar case in the corner and lifting my suitcase down beside it.

“What time is your flight at tomorrow?” Viggo asked.

“Twelve.” I sighed, still utterly resenting the idea of leaving.

“You should probably get some sleep then…” He mumbled as I kicked off my shoes and sat down on the bed.

“I don’t want to sleep.” I grinned, grabbing his shirt front and pulling him down on top of me. “This is our last night together for a while and you want to spend it sleeping? I can sleep on the plane.” I smirked as his lips crashed against mine.

“If you insist.” He mumbled against my lips, kicking off his shoes as he reached for the light and turned it off.

[I couldn’t finish this series without putting Good Riddance in there somewhere; it’s just an all-over perfect song! Only one more chapter to go! Don’t worry; I’ll be doing an epilogue! That way it comes to 60 chapters! (Yes, I’m still determined to get an even 60…Because I’m weird.) Get the tissues at the ready because the next one’s going to have me bawling!]

Werewolf65

xxx