Falling From the Sky

As the day wound down, I was the last one to still be shooting. They'd wanted to finish everything with me in this one day. The last shot... oooh the last shot. I needed to cry. They had this thing that looked like chapstick kind of, but it would go under my eyes.

"We need you to scream, okay?" the guy from earlier told me. "Just go, just-" he threw his head back and howled a scream. I chuckled as I nodded. The make up lady put the stuff under my eyes then touched up my eye shadow.

"Ah! Is it going to get messed up?" I asked, remembering the crazy work she'd done.

She smiled "Don't worry about it, it's what's supposed to happen."

I nodded as I felt my eyes start to burn a little. I looked over to see the director talking to Andy. Yup, there my nerves were; I knew they wouldn't be gone long.

The way that stuff made my eyes water freaked me out. It was like I was almost balling over here, but I had no way to control it or stop it. They did a few straight on shots and close ups. They circled me once or twice and I was able to ignore Andy's presence.

"Okay," the director started as he placed a hnad on each of my shoulders, "the scream. We'll probably do three or four takes okay? Just take a deep breath and let it roar." he smiled. I smiled back, feeling weird because I was still crying and God only knows what my makeup looked like by this point.

The familiar beeping started.

"Okay, on three babe." the director said before counting off. I noticed Andy standing, arms crossed and watching intently. I took a deep breath and let it out. Everything with Andy and Ben came to mind and I let it tkae over.

It was like a fucking war cry.

"Perfect!" the director yelled once the first take ended. It felt so good I just wanted to stand there and jump up and down. After a second take, I noticed Andy turning away quickly. He grabbed Jake and they left. It made me feel weird and I wanted to know what that was all about but I couldn't leave; not just yet. I finished the last take and a roar of applause filled the room. I got a few hugs and was told to go change.

"Awesome," I sighed as I looked at myself in the mirror. The lady cleaned my face off... what a mess. I thanked her and the hair lady like crazy before grabbing my stuff and heading out to find the band.

Jake was just outside with Ashley. They began applauding when they spotted me

"You are in for it Jake." I said as my face turned red.

"BUT!" he yelled hopefully.

"But I get to keep the dress." I smiled uncontrolably.

"Hey, it was Andy's idea and there was no way you'd come if you knew." he smiled as he continued to defend himself.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah. So what are we doing?"

"Hotel, change and clean up, dinner... party?" Ashley told me with a devious smile.

I practically fell asleep in the van on the way back to the hotel. I'd gotten a little antsy at learning Andy had taken off with a guy who works for their sponser make up company. Anyways, that annoyance disapeared as soon as the van started moving.

Ashley pulled me over his shoulder and carried the half conscious me to our rooms. Everyone started getting ready. I just changed into sweatpants, told Sandra I was going to skip out and sleep, then climbed into the bed and passed out in a mater of minutes.

I woke up hours later. I didn't want to move because I knew there'd be nothing more comfortable than being buried and tangled under this amazing comforter. It was heaven. With... a scent of... cigarettes? My eyes slipped open and I rolleld onto my back. Andy concealed a smile as he looked down at me. There he sat; up against the pillows next to me, legs straight out and crossed at the ankle. I pulled the blanket down a bit as I streatched.

"What time is it?" I asked quietly.

"Almost ten," he relpied as his eyes settled on me.

"Why are you here? They've gotta be at a club or something, I mean..." I trailed off and ended in a shrug.

"Hmm," he pressed his lips together, "didn't want to leave you alone." he told me. Well that definitely shut up anything I was going to say. "Look, I need to talk to you Lei." Andy said after a short awkward pause. I winced a little at the nickname. My parents or family only ever called me Lei or Leiken. It was just weird to hear it from anyone else.

"That I'll start off with." Andy said, noticing my reaction. "I'm choosing to call you by your name. I refuse to call you Jamie because after getting to know you I know that Leiken suits you better." I said nothing and he took it as a sign to continue. "Trust me, I'm aware of my fuck up. I shouldn't have yelled at you. But you need to understand that I couldn't help it. I saw you doing something that was dangerous and I wanted to keep you safe. I wanted you to realize how bad an idea seeking revenge was. I was trying to protect you, and I know I blew up a little but... I..." he didn't say anything else.

His words echoed trhough my mind; the desperation in his voice evident. It made me feel horrible and sad. My head got stuffy as I thought about this huge, ridiculous fight we'd had. "And what exactly happend with that hospital bracelet?" he asked a little softer.

I felt a tear slip down my cheek as I closed my eyes.

"Please... don't say I told you so." I hardly whispered as more tears fell from my eyes. The bed shifted as Andy scooted down and lay facing me. He brought his hand to my cheek, pulling my face towards his. I opend my eyes wishing I hadn't let myself cry.

"Leiken I would never do that." he whispered to me as he whiped a few tears with his thumb. "You're okay. It's okay. Just calm down." he soothed as he kissed my forehead gently. I moved away from him and pulled on the comforter. Andy crawled underneath and I buried my face in his chest. He pulled an arm around me squeezing as close as he could.

Everyone got back anout an hour later. By then Andy and I had been sitting indian style, knee to knee in front of eachother. I'd been telling him about everything that had happened with Ben. Jinx was totally tispy so Andy took to getting him calmed down and into bed. Sandra, Ashley, their other friend and I had made our way into the other room and found The Lost Boys playing on TV. We all sprawled out and stared at the screen. To my surprise, I wound up falling asleep again.