A Kind of Magic

Even after all these years, Gerard still thought his favorite star was stunning.

The round lights of the vanity mirror reflected off of her features and made her seem to glow, even beneath all the makeup she was forced to wear. Her midnight-black hair lay in a pile of curls on top of her head, and it took him a moment to realize she hadn’t straightened it yet. As many times as he tried to convince her it looked beautiful when she left it alone, she almost always found an excuse to flat-iron the strands into submission. Shades of radiant purple and blue flattered her eyes, and currently she was drawing a thin, dark line around her lips. He leaned against the wall, only a tiny bit saddened that she made it so far through her usual routine.

She caught his eye in the mirror and smiled. “What’s wrong, Gee?”

“You’ve already got your lipstick on,” he said with a fake pout, walking over to her. “It’s too late for-”

That was as far as he got before she latched her fingers around the black silk of his tie and pulled him into a surprisingly deep kiss. He almost laughed as he gently pushed her away after a few seconds.

“Practicing for the scene later?” he asked, running his tongue over his lips and winking at her. Lyn rolled her eyes.

“Did you forget that I can do my makeup in about five minutes, Gerard?”

He smirked. “Never doubted you.”

“Now go away. I have to get dressed,” she said, standing up and herding him through the door. He spent some time walking along the various portions of the set, pointing out things that needed to be changed. Except for a few misplaced potted plants, he thought everything was perfect. He smiled softly as he remembered the days when he was a starving, unknown writer, often thrown off of his own movie sets because he didn’t look professional enough. He had always tried to explain that he really did belong there, that he just couldn’t afford a suit yet, that his girlfriend was in the cast, but few security guards had ever believed him.

Gerard finally took a seat in his director’s chair and closed his eyes for a moment. He could easily picture every aspect of the scene in his mind; the detective would be sitting at his desk, framed by the blinds in the background, symbolizing how he was trapped by something. A short lamp would be illuminating his workspace, and he would be writing, frowning at the paper so much the audience would think he was trying to prematurely age his face. He would be a no-nonsense character; pressed shirt, dark tie, pinstripe suit, with an overcoat and a fedora waiting on the coat rack. There would be no photographs of family or pets on his desk because he lived alone.

Someone would knock on the door, and he would glance up, squinting through the layers of shadow to determine who stood opposite the frosted glass window bearing his name and job description. The camera would pan to the door- no, it should cut, Gerard decided, shaking his head. A pan would have to be too fast. Or maybe the camera should simply stay in place for a few moments and then cut to an over-the-shoulder shot showing the point of view of the fantastically beautiful but terribly distraught woman that would burst into the room.

“Mr. Way?”

He opened his eyes and glanced to his right. “Yes, what is it?”

“Do you still want the whole thing shot in black and white?” the man asked. Gerard nodded and watched as he scuttled over to tell the lead cameraman.

“Still think you must be crazy, tryin’ to sell a gray film nowadays,” someone called. “Shootin’ it on the old sixteen-mil, no less.” Gerard had to laugh. He loved black and white films. The resolution was incredible, and it put all the focus on the movie instead of the colors. Also, he had already vowed that he would never shoot digital movies as long as he lived.

“I’m ready for my close-up,” said a rich, sultry voice from behind him. He turned around halfway and stared. Lyn certainly fit the part for a classic film, he instantly decided. She wore an exquisite white dress slit high up her right thigh, the beaded fabric glittering in the light as she struck the perfect pose, shifting all her weight to her left leg and bending the right slightly so it balanced on a pointed toe. Her left hand rested on her hip while her right was angled towards her face, holding an unlit cigarette in an antique holder that made the ugly habit look gorgeous. Luxuriant furs were draped over her shoulders, and black gloves of ruffled velvet crawled up to her elbows. Her lips were slightly pursed, and her heavily shadowed eyelids had closed partially over her stunning eyes. A fake beauty mark dotted her left cheek, and Gerard noticed with a flutter of joy that she had left her black hair in curls, beautiful, lavish curls that cascaded over her left shoulder.

She broke the entire façade and giggled. “Stop drooling.”

“I can’t help it. You look amazing,” he answered, reaching to take her left hand and placing a light kiss on it. She laughed again.

“I feel like Cruella de Vil.”

She walked away to take her place. The noise in the room gradually began to swell in Gerard’s ears, so he sent out the call for quiet on the set. Hundreds of people dressed in black scurried around to take their places and ready their equipment. An eerie hush fell over the set, prompting him to yell out the magic word.

“Action!”

Frank Iero, one of his longest-standing friends, was playing the lead role. Looking at him now, Gerard was convinced that Frank could easily have stepped out of any classic film; his character was all class. He wrote feverishly but with an exhausted expression on his face, pausing to rub his eyes for added effect.

An offstage knock on a door caused his head to snap up. Gerard saw the cameras move into position as Lyn walked through the door with a mildly distressed look on her face, clearly meant to appear feigned. Gerard smiled again. It may not have been exactly how he pictured it, but the more subtle actions brought the scene alive even better than he could have imagined.

“Do you need help with something?” Frank asked with a light sigh.

“Yeah, I need help with somethin’,” Lyn answered. She stepped forward, stilettos leaving deep impressions in the carpet, and slammed both of her palms on the desk, careful to slide the cigarette holder out of the way. “My husband’s dead.”

Frank raised an eyebrow and stood, mirroring her stance and looking her straight in the eyes. “I’m not a homicide detective, lady. Go call the police.”

“I can’t,” she said flatly. “I’ll be next.” She leisurely walked around to the other side of the desk and lifted herself up onto it, using the end of the cigarette holder to flick the material of her dress out of the way to reveal the almost full length of her legs. She leaned toward him slightly. “I don’t want that to happen.”

“And just what do you want from me?” he asked with a slight glare, taking a few steps away from her to grab something out of the nearest filing cabinet.

“Thought you could find out who’d want him dead,” Lyn said coolly.

“Well, do you have any enemies?”

She scoffed. “I could write a book about ’em.”

“Look, lady, you seem nice, but I think you’ve come to the wrong person,” Frank said with a frown as he sifted through hopelessly disorganized papers. “Get someone else.”

As he was speaking, Lyn hopped off the desk and turned his leather chair around, then draped herself over the arms, still managing to show off her legs. She carefully propped herself up on her elbows.

“Really?” she asked in that velvety voice she had used earlier. Frank turned around and looked at her with one raised eyebrow. “I don’t want to get someone else.”

He walked closer to her, holding a file under one arm. He lowered his voice to a murmur and glanced around to see if anyone was watching him. It was just the kind of paranoia Gerard wanted in a scene so early in the movie, perfectly in the film noir style. “I already told you no, alright?”

Lyn pushed herself forward with one arm and wrapped her spidery black fingers around his tie. “Oh, shut up and kiss me.” She violently pulled him forward so both of them were hidden behind the chair, and Gerard had to stifle a laugh. She always had the cleverest ways of avoiding scenes like that.

“Cut, cut,” he called after a few seconds. The buzz of sound returned to the area as Frank backed away from Lyn and helped her get back on her feet. He clapped a few times to get everyone’s attention. “That should just about wrap it up for tonight.” He almost felt bad that Lyn had to get all dressed up for just once scene, but when she walked over and kissed him with absolutely no warning, he decided it didn’t particularly matter.

“Was that okay?” she asked.

“You were perfect,” he answered. “Nice touch at the end there.”

To his surprise, Lyn looked away just slightly, and her smile vanished. “I’m sorry, but…I don’t think I could ever actually kiss Frank. He’s my best friend, after you.”

Gerard laughed, jumping down from his chair to wrap her in an embrace. “It was perfect, Lindsey. I wouldn’t have filmed it any other way.”

She walked back to her dressing room and closed the door. Gerard went outside to wait for her, lighting a cigarette to pass the time, and thought about the movie. Despite his attempts to focus on the composition of future scenes and how to refine those already filmed, his thoughts kept drifting back to Lyn. She always was a perfectionist, picking out insignificant details of her performances and constantly chiding herself for not doing better. He wished she would see how spectacular she looked on the silver screen, how she always mesmerized audiences no matter what role she was playing. But she always viewed things with a critical, almost condescending eye.

“Hey, you ready to go?” Lyn asked, stepping through the door. He ground the half-finished cigarette into an ashtray and linked their arms, giving her a smile and thinking of the most overused movie line in history.

“Let’s get out of here.”

They strolled through the backlot, wandering from one set to another beneath the glow of the full moon. Long, dark shadows stretched from the walls, making the silver light seem that much brighter. Gerard couldn’t help but smile a little; the scene was just like the black and white movies he loved so much. He loved parking as far away from the studio as possible so they could walk through all the outdoor sets, too.

“Remember this?” Lyn asked, standing still for a moment. Gerard’s eyes wandered over the city scenery, and he smiled.

“How could I forget? It’s from the only movie I’ve ever been in. With you, no less,” he added with a laugh. “I’m glad it was only a five-second role. I may be able to direct, but I’m a terrible actor.”

“Nonsense. You were brilliant,” she said with a flamboyant toss of her hair, rolling her shoulder back. She placed a hand on her hip and looked at him with eyes that simply sparkled. Gerard stared at her for a few seconds, unable to break away from her gaze, but when she started laughing he found himself joining her.

“Hey, come here. I want to show you something.” Gerard darted up a staircase on the side of the nearest building, letting go of her for the moment. She laughed and followed him.

“What is it?”

“It’s a surprise.”

He waited in the shadows until she had climbed to the top of the stairs, then leapt out from behind her and clasped a hand over eyes, wrapping his other arm around her waist. She laughed.

“What are you doing, Gee?”

“Shh. You’ll see.”

He carefully led her forward to the railing and turned just slightly, sliding his hand away from her eyes and embracing her from behind.

“Open your eyes.”

He heard her gasp, and he managed a small smile. From the top of the building, they could see rows of twinkling city lights spiraling out in every direction, forming a sparkling sea before their eyes. The glowing dots vanished into darkness upon reaching the studio’s fortress of walls and fences, but the moon painted everything with silhouettes of silver and dark blue. Gerard moved enough to see her face, and just as he knew would always be true, she looked more radiant than anything the sky could conjure up, a star among stars.

Lyn closed her eyes for a moment and leaned against him. “Thanks, Gee. I don’t know what I would do without you.”

“I love you too,” he breathed into her ear, smiling a little more when she shivered. However, when she let out a light gasp and her body kept shuddering slightly, he realized something was wrong. “Why are you crying, Lyn?”

She took a deep, painful-sounding breath. “I’m not a very good actress, am I?”

“What are you talking about? You’re incredible!”

“I’m not,” she continued, shaking her head. She turned back just enough to look at him, and he realized with more than a touch of heartache that tears lined her striking eyes. “Do you have any idea how many scripts I’ve turned down just because of a few scenes where I’d have to kiss someone else?”

“Seventeen, but who cares? You’re not the first person to do that,” Gerard said as he hugged her tighter. “Don’t let it bother you. In my opinion, it makes you an even better actress because you know how to work around things.”

Lyn turned around and embraced him as tightly as she could, still crying just a little. Gerard waited until she calmed down, feeling a twinge of guilt. She was so powerful on the screen that sometimes even he forgot that underneath all the makeup, all the lights and all the fame, she was still a person, and she still needed him. He ran one hand through her hair and hugged her again.

She pulled away just a little and glanced up at him, on the verge of a smile. “You don’t care if I never get an Oscar for anything, then? Or if I keep us from making any real money?”

Gerard swiftly moved so he was holding her as if they were dancing, then spun her around and dipped her low to the ground for a moment. Her eyes widened just a little at the sudden motion, but when he drew her into a passionate, deep kiss, she wrapped her arms around his neck and happily returned it. He wasn’t sure how long he waited before he pulled away just enough to whisper,

“Frankly, my dear, I don’t give a damn.”