Retarded In Love

When we were in front of a green Suburban, Johnny let go of my hand and pulled me into a light hug, kissing my cheek. I knew he was trying to see how far he could get for the skit, and he knew he was pushing his luck. "Alright, we'll do that then. We'll see you later," Johnny said. I turned to walk in the other direction, just like Jeff had told me to do. I returned to the lot, and soon Johnny drove up in the Suburban, with Jeff in the passenger seat. Johnny got out, and Jeff went to leave the Suburban on a different nearby street.

"Keep your lips to yourself, Johnny." I told him as we started off again.

He grabbed for my hand. "Oh, come on, Ellie. We've got to make it look believable."

"It won't look very believable if I kick your ass on the street, will it?" I took his hand. "This is ridiculous, and you're lucky I even hold your hand."

He chuckled. "Alright, I'm sorry. It won't happen again."

+ + +

Later that day, when we had all finished filming, we met back at the hotel and were told to meet in room 186 in fifteen minutes. I stepped into my hotel room and scurried over to my bags. It took me a good part of the fifteen minutes, but I finally chose an outfit I felt comfortable in. I threw a plain black tank top and camouflage mini skirt over my bikini, brushed my hair, grabbed Dico's hat, placed it back on my head and made my way out of my room. One van had already left.

"Ellie, you're with us." Johnny smiled at me.

I climbed into the van and found myself squashed between Ehren and Dunn. Dave, Chris, and Johnny were squeezed into the back along with some camera equipment. I looked up to see Rick and Jeff in the front seat, chatting away.

"Where are we going?" I asked.

Rick stopped talking and looked back at me. "This river about a half our from here. We've got a set built up there for some stunts." He then turned away, and continued talking to Jeff.

A few minutes later, my phone rang. I squirmed and wriggled my phone from the small pocket of my skirt and answered it quickly when I recognized the number flashing on the front screen to be David's.

"Hey!" I was excited to hear from him.

"Hey... Are you busy?" He sounded upset.

"No... Why?"

"Look. I'm not going to beat around the bush. That's not right to you. I don't think this is going to work at all with you gone and stuff..."

All the noise around me seemed to fade away as his words sunk in. It took a while for them to register, but when I finally got it, I swear I could feel my heart snap in two. "So... We're..."

"Done," he finished my sentence.

"Alright." I hung up my phone and tried to stare out the window, but my teary eyes met with Dunn's worried ones and before I knew it my face was buried in his chest and I was fighting tears.

"What happened?" He whispered into my hair.

"David..." I mumbled into his chest.

"Yeah... I'm tired too." He squeezed my arm lightly. I knew he was just saying that to make the guys think I was just tired, and not bawling into him. Dunn pulled his phone from his pocket and dialed a number before squeezing my arm once more.

"Hey... Is he there?... Good.... Make it a surprise." Dunn hung up the phone and patted my shoulder lightly.