CHAPTER SIXTY-ONE

viewfinder

"you're drunk. you shouldn't be telling me this," i said, or aurora said, to caleb with a slight smile. "a therapist would be more suitable, or someone you haven't only met ten minutes ago."

"you're right. i did just need someone to talk to and you were probably just about to leave," caleb admitted, cup in hand.

"yes. but i'll stay... and give you my thoughts on your situation."

"please do." he stood up straight.

"you need to confess to her." aurora paused and let that seep into caleb's inebriated head. once he made the expected expression of defiance, she continued and explained herself. "listen, i know you just said that you're scared of rejection and all, but you're wasting your time. if you don't tell her how you feel, you'll end up in a continuous cycle of wondering whether you should be picking petals off flowers or giving her a bouquet. trust me."

"okay, sure. but like you said, i did just meet you ten minutes ago. how do i know you're not sabotaging me?"

"because that's why i did what i did, when i did, to the fake friend in the other room. i didn't want a repeat of the last time someone treated me like shit for much longer than i should've allowed. so, whoever she is, you can't let her unknowingly dictate your life."

caleb comprehended aurora's admonishment and nodded firmly. "wow. you're right, again. i'll go tell her now." he searched for a place to put down his cup.

"what-- you can't now! you're drunk--"

caleb set the cup down on the floor, giving up and into his new impatience. "she's here, in this house. now's my chance!"

he rushed away to find emily, and aurora let out a disappointed sigh. then, i myself let out a sigh of relief -- the last take of the last segment of dialogue was recorded successfully. we were done filming the party scene.

"and, scene!" cried maeve, loud enough for the revelers in the room next to us to be interrupted by a truman show scare.

connor's eyes went wide as he involuntarily caught the camera, which maeve threw to him from a few feet away. she ran to me to give me a big hug, spinning both of us around as she cheered, and we both laughed wildly.

the party scene was the last to involve cast members apart from walker and me, so i motioned for everyone else to join in on the hug. "come on!" i insisted.

one by one they all piled into a group hug, even jordyn, who begrudgingly shuffled in after some hesitant consideration. and over someone's shoulder -- i couldn't tell whose thanks to the poor lighting and swarm of hugging arms -- my eyes locked with walker's shining ones. he looked at me with admiration and a smile.

once the conjoined mass of limbs managed to untangle, maeve and i made sure to express our gratitude. that was, of course, after a few rounds of "you go first" were exchanged.

"alright," started maeve after a deep breath. "we came up with the idea for this film in eighth grade. can you believe that? and over two years later, it's coming together thanks to you guys. thirteen-year-old me, with her braces and all, would be smiling so big right now (and that says a lot). like, we should go and pull out the party city decorations right now because this deserves a celebration all on its own."

"i totally agree," i added. "thank you so much for bringing our vision to life. sure, making hats isn't over yet, but our chances of getting into a decent film school are already starting to rise! we'll remember you guys when we win oscars, and every time we see a shockingly long blooper reel.

"in all seriousness, though," i said, glancing around at our small but mighty cast, "this really couldn't have happened without you. and your passion and incredible talent. and other than the hollywood star that happened to join us," -- i gently grabbed walker's hand -- "this was everyone's first shot at making a movie. i was shit-scared."

"same-- we didn't know what to expect," said maeve. "and now we know that the process is stressful as hell but also so rewarding. hard work really does pay off."

"you all made this process not only bearable but actually fun!"

"yeah, and thanks for letting us boss you around without filing complaints. it means a lot," she teased.

then maeve mouthed a count-down of three to cue our synchronized bow. we had planned to do so back in eighth grade, when we had only just discovered our shared interest and fantasized about this moment. it was so cringey but we had to pay tribute to those girls.

"can we get a round of applause?" jordyn quipped.

the scattered clapping from the six of us in the secluded dining room might have sounded thin and lifeless to an outsider, but i felt the connection we had built through this film filled in the gaps.

˚ʚ♡ɞ˚

it was past eleven o'clock when the party finally started dying down, leaving the cast and crew to clean up the empty or half-filled cups and trash and messes left behind by the extras and/or invaders.

jordyn's hardy friends were nice enough to stick around and keep guard of the upstairs throughout the entire night, and they helped clean up too. the cash i saw my cousin slip to them as they left at midnight was much-deserved remission.

i hadn't known how dreadful chores on steroids would be, or, consequently, how sorry i would feel for jordyn because he compared his daily tasks to them. violet made it bearable, though, by telling us how her conversation on the porch went with jake. apparently, he told her he didn't realize how cool she was, and she was convinced that if he had a few more sips he would have kissed her.

"everyone's ended up with someone throughout this filming process," pointed out connor. "who am i destined for -- this trash bag of beer bottles?" he held up the unwanted subject with a huff.

"i know this one barber--" started maeve before i elbowed her.

finally, it was time to go home. connor's house returned to pre-x project condition and his star crossed lovers were all headed to the dump with the pizza boxes in jordyn's car. i said my goodnights to everyone except walker, who found me alone on the sidewalk. he must have had that helpless image of me still imprinted somewhere in his head because of that darn red gatorade bottle: the man would never let me go home after dark without him.

"excited for tomorrow?" i asked in place of a greeting.

"as long as the forecast keeps its promise of rain and the label on your camera isn't lying that it's waterproof, it's gonna be perfect. that's mother nature and maeve's problem, though. we got our part down."

"right, right." i smirked.

"i really liked your speech, by the way."

"you really liked the shout-out, you mean," i said sarcastically, then took his hand again. "but thanks."

"of cour--"

"no, but really. thank you."

"i think you're welcome." he was slightly confused.

"you know i could have made an entire speech just about you, walker."

he paused, a little flustered. "really?"

"really."

walker laughed, a little nervous but mostly amused. "well, now i'm curious."

i shrugged playfully, grinning. "maybe next time. you'd probably cry, though, so we'll save that for the oscars."

that was a lie. i had too much to thank him for, like the simple way he'd come into my life, to put into one speech. so instead, i just looked at him -- letting my eyes say what i couldn't.

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thank you for reading chapter 61!