Secrets of My Hollywood Life #2: On Location (14 page)

Austin has explained lacrosse to me before, but it's all a bit hazy now. I know he's an attackman, which means he's the guy who gets the goals, but beyond that, I'm lost. Rodney somehow knows a little about the sport, which he's happy to share after I've sent Hayley down to the Snack Shack to buy out the brownies the Key Club is selling.

"Austins got great stick skills!" he marvels. "You see how he made that save? He's a natural."

"He is?" I feel proud watching him run down the torn-up field cradling the stick, dodging his opponents. I pay strict attention to the rest of the game, even turning off my cell phone and Sidekick (Nadine and Laney are going to kill me) so that I can watch Austin's every move. Well, when I'm not greeting students, that is. I have such guilt over my disguise at Clark that I don't let Rodney turn away anyone who wants my autograph or a picture. By the fourth quarter, I've seen al most everyone I knew, including my old history teacher, Mr. Klein, who still looks peeved that I didn't hand in my extra-credit paper.

With the score twelve to six, and two minutes left in the game, I'm standing on my feet screaming along with the rest of the school and Rodney, who is jumping so hard the stands seem to be swaying. When the final buzzer sounds and the students have officially beat Coach Connor and the rest of the faculty, I hug everyone around me. One guy holds on so tight that Rodney has to pry him off. According to Hayley's bookkeeping, Austin scored one goal, two saves, and one assist.

People pour out of the bleachers and descend upon the field to join in the celebration. I see Lori push her way to wards Austin, but thankfully the crowd is too large for her to get to him. I watch Austin and the other lacrosse players hoist a large jug full of Gatorade over Coach Connor's head. Ice rains down on Austins dictatorial coach, and he actually laughs.

"Aren't you going down there?" Rodney asks. The two of us seem to be the last ones in the bleachers. I shake my head.

"I think I'll let Austin enjoy the moment." I watch Austin take the mic and hush the large crowd.

"Thanks to everyone for coming out today to help us raise money for our trip," Austin's voice echoes across the field. "Man, you guys are generous. The total isn't official yet, but it looks like we've raised over three thousand dollars. Thank you!" A loud roar erupts from the crowd.

A camera flashes in our direction and I look down to see a few people taking pictures of me instead of the jubilation on the field.

"Your being here is definitely going to make the papers," Rodney growls, staring at one of the amateur photographers.

I shrug. "It was worth it," I add as the team finally leaves the revelers behind and heads up the path to the gym to get to the locker rooms. As they pass by the bleachers, one of Austin's teammates points to me. My heart seems to stop al together as he turns and bounds up the steps towards me. Rodney slips away and parks himself at the bottom of the section to keep the spies at bay.

"Hey," I squeak as Austin stops short at the bench below mine. I stand perfectly still with my hands clenched in my jean pockets, trying to think of the perfect supportive girl friend thing to say. "Great game," I blurt. UGH. Lame.

Austin takes a swig from his water bottle. "I didn't expect to see you here." He's out of breath.

"At the last minute, I got the afternoon off," I explain. "I'm glad I got to see you play You--you've got great stick skills," I stammer, trying to repeat what Rodney told me. "And that assist you made in the fourth quarter was amazing."

Austin smirks. "Since when do you know lacrosse-speak?"

"I've been studying," I lie. "Today I know you scored a goals, two saves, and one assist."

Austin laughs. "Keep going. It's going to take more than knowing today's score to get you out of the hot water you're in, Burke."

"I knew you were mad about that scene I did with Drew!" I say accusingly. "Why didn't you say anything?"

"Thinking about Drew kissing you was driving me crazy," Austin admits. "But I hate fighting over the phone. Lori and I did that all the time and it drove me nuts. I think it's bet ter to talk about things face-to-face, like we tried doing last week." Austin wipes the sweat from his drenched hair. "With your hectic schedule, I wasn't sure when that would be so I kept talking about the charity game to keep us from talking about the real problem here."

"Oh." I pull my hands inside the sleeves of my sweater. "Can I talk first? I want to apologize for jumping down your throat the other day. When you started talking Hollywood with me, I got bent out of shape."

"I was trying to help you." Austin takes a seat on his bench and I sit alone on mine. The sun has slipped behind the gathering clouds, and I shiver. "Has anyone ever told you you're not very good at taking advice?" he asks.

"Occasionally." I think of Nadine and Laney. "I wanted to finish our discussion after I shot the scene. But you bailed out of there without even saying goodbye."

"Can you blame me?" Austin asks indignantly. "I wasn't going to sit there and applaud. Who wants to watch his girl friend suck face with another guy?"

I think of how I felt to watch Lori near Austin again. Truthfully I wanted to rip her to pieces. "Nobody," I agree. "But I had no idea Drew was going to pull a stunt like that. We didn't have a kiss scheduled. Do you really think I would have invited you to watch me shoot a love scene?"

HOLLYWOOD SECRET NUMBER TWELVE: You've probably heard actors claim this and I can attest that it's really true: filming love scenes is not a romantic experience at all. On screen, a make-out session looks like three minutes of pure heaven. But it's not. Those three minutes took HOURS to film. HOURS. Imagine lying there, in some cases, half-naked (though I'm not talking about myself, since I have a "no nudity" clause in my contracts), with a camera inches from your face, a crew of twenty standing around you, and a director yelling things like, "Use more lip, Kaitlin! Turn your head slightly to the left. Now hold it! Drew, put your hand on Kaitlin's hip, stay there, and action!" Then you have to do the shot again, from several more angles. It's too technical and awkward to be romantic, even if the guy you're kissing is cute. And don't get me started about the guys I've locked lips with who've skipped the Listerine. Ewww...

Austin grabs his head with his hands and groans like I'm killing him. "I'm sick of fighting. We've been fighting on and off for over a week."

I slide down next to him. "I know. I don't want to fight anymore either. I'm going to make things up to you," I prom ise. "I'm taking you on the best date EVER."

He looks at me skeptically. "When?"

"August twelfth."

He laughs loudly. "That's a month away! Is that your next day off?"

"No, it's the date of the Teen Titan Awards. I'm hosting with Drew." Austin raises an eyebrow. "But you're going to be my date," I add.

"Seriously?" He's intrigued, I can tell. "Do I have to, like, escort you down the red carpet or something?"

I think for a minute. "Yeah, and you get to be my date at all the parties that night and at the cool gift suite they usu ally have backstage. There's a lot of perks to sticking with me through this lousy movie shoot," I point out. "I'm also book ing you for the Hollywood Girl Awards, which are coming up. They're honoring me and I want you to be there."

He touches my cheek. I close my eyes and enjoy the warmth of his hand. Who cares if my cheek is probably black and blue from Sky's jab?

"Is that a reason to date you, Burke?" Austin asks. "To go to awards shows and swanky parties? You should know me better than that."

"You're not like that, I know," I say softly. "I just want you to realize how much I want you in my life. This is the first time I've hosted anything before, and I want you there."

He leans forward and grabs my hands in his own, which are rough and dirty. "Then it's a date," he says.

I lean into his chest and he wraps his arms around me tightly. The warmth from his body seeps through my sweater, and I don't feel cold anymore.

"I heard from Principal P. that someone made an anony mous thousand-dollar donation to our lacrosse camp fund," Austin says. "You wouldn't happen to know anyone who would have that kind of money to donate, would you?"

"Not a clue," I mumble into Austin's chest.

"Well, if you find out who did it, tell them I said thanks," Austin whispers. "Now about that kiss with Drew," Austin continues. "Let me show you how it should have been done." I look up and Austin kisses me softly on my bruised lips. My whole body melts like marshmallows in hot cocoa. I guess Austin was just the medicine I needed.

FRIDAY 7/6

NOTE TO SELF:

Hook A up w/Nadine to get duds for Hollywood Girl party and TT Awards. :)

The Untitled Hutch Adams Project

SCRIPT CONTINUED

115 INT. ROB'S BEDROOM

We PAN ACROSS Rob's ultra-neat bedroom from the closet to the bed, where Rob is sleeping. Carly peeks out of the closet and hurries across the room to the edge of Rob's bed.

CARLY

Rob. Wake up. It's me.

ROB

Carly! Are you okay? We've been looking everywhere for you!

CARLY

Rob, you've got to listen closely. Get dressed. You've got to leave with me before they come after you too.

ROB

Carly, you need help. Let us help you.

CARLY

Us? Rob, don't tell me they've gotten to you.

(She begins looking for an escape as Rob talks.)

ROB

You don't have to be afraid anymore, Carly. Just come downstairs and talk to Mom and Dad. Tell them you were wrong. Everything will go back to normal.

CARLY

Listen to yourself. They're brainwashing you! They're mak ing you think the changes that are happening to our bod ies and minds are a good thing. Do you think normal people can leap across buildings, Rob?

ROB

They're doing this for the greater good. You're missing what's at stake here.

CARLY

(backs up to the window and tries to pry it open behind her without Rob seeing)
There's still time, Rob. Leave with me.

ROB

I'm sorry, Carly. You obviously don't get it and you've left me no choice.
(yelling)
MOM! DAD! MRS. MURPHY! SHE'S HERE!

THIrTEEN:
Matty's Debut

"There's still time, Rob," I whisper breathlessly as I try to pry the window open behind me. "Leave with me."

Matty stands across from me wearing a long-sleeved blue flannel and gray sweatpants. His blond hair has the perfect bed-head look. His expression is steely. "I'm sorry Carly," he says coldly. "You obviously don't get it and you've left me no choice."

Wow, Matty sounds so convincing! My eyes widen and I express a range of emotions quickly--shock that my brother is betraying me, hurt that he doesn't believe me, fear that I'm about to be captured. I know what I have to do. I pull the fake window up and place one leg over the frame, pretending to look down at the ground, which is supposed to be three stories away. It's actually only six feet down. I can see the air mattress and two spotters waiting for my fall. I look back at Matty with a look of horror. He points at me.

"MOM! DAD!" he yells at the top of his lungs. "MRS. MURPHY! SHE'S HERE!"

Footsteps approach rapidly and seconds later the door to Rob's room is being rammed open by two large men who look like they were borrowed from World Wrestling. One of them is Rodney.

"STOP HER!" he bellows menacingly as he charges towards me.

With one last fleeting look at Matty or should I say Rob, I throw my other leg over the frame, duck my head, and jump. I hit the soft pillow and bounce up and down for a moment, enjoying the adrenaline rush.

"EXCELLENT work, you two!" Hutch says through his megaphone. The dark-haired spotter offers me his hand and I grab it and jump off the mattress. I walk around the fake exterior wall behind Rob's bedroom to the front, where the three-walled two-story set is constructed down to the tini est detail (there's a half-eaten veggie burger sitting on Rob's nightstand). Hutch and the crew are in one corner and my parents are congratulating Matty in another. While the crew sets up the next angle to be shot for the scene, I run over and give Matty a fierce bear hug.

"I'm so proud of you," I gush. "You were unbelievable in that scene. I seriously feared for my safety."

Matty blushes. "Did you really think I was good?" he asks anxiously.

"You were great," I reply truthfully. "After that scene, I'd act alongside you any day" Matty smiles shyly.

"Matty, you had such inner strength," my mom marvels.

"It was definitely a leading-man moment," my dad seconds.

Matt takes a swig of water from the bottle he's holding. "It was nothing really," he says, sounding more confident. "I knew if my sister was going to betray the organization I loved, I had to take her down." He stands perfectly still as the makeup artist applies powder to his shiny nose. She turns to me and adds more powder and another swab of pale pink lip gloss.

"What about me?" Rodney says as he joins us. "Was I intimidating?" He seems very excited. This was Rodney's first scene too.

"Definitely," I agree. "I jumped, didn't I?" He punches me softly in the arm. "How are you doing, Mr. B., Mrs. B?" Rod ney asks my parents. "Have you been to Matty's trailer yet?" While my folks have been to the set numerous times al ready, even if it's just to drop off some new tabloid story, this is the first time they're seeing Matt's home away from home.

Hutch interrupts us, putting an arm each around Matt and me and I feel myself tense. "We're not going to do an other take, guys," he says, tugging on his goatee. "I think we have all the setups we need for this shot. You can take a well-deserved forty-minute break while we set up the library set. I want to look over the script one more time and see if anything needs tweaking." What? Hutch sounds bizarrely cheerful. "Enjoy it and keep that motivation pump ing, Kaitlin and Matt," he adds. "We'll see you over there." Hutch winks at my mother, shakes my dad's hand, lowers his trademark shades, and is gone.

"He doesn't act like he hates you, Katie-Kins," my dad whis pers encouragingly. "
Hollywood Nation
must have it wrong."