Seeing Stars By Jason Ulloa Original story by Moonsong Continued with her permission. Chapter 2 Darien drove back to his apartment with his car radio blasting full force, in hopes that it would cause him to forget all about his uneasiness over beginning tomorrow's shoot. 'Maybe Andrew's right,' he repeatedly thought to himself. 'Maybe Serena will have forgotten all about the drink incident by the time I start tomorrow.' But, as he came closer to home, his doubts and apprehensions began to haunt him again. He parked his car in the parking lot of the apartment complex where he lived. He quickly slipped on a steering wheel lock and climbed out of the car. During the first month since he first moved into these apartments, his car had been broken into and was quickly hot-wired and taken for a 'joyride'. Luckily, the drunken theives were caught before too much damage had been done, but since then he decided not to take any chances with his car being stolen again. He locked all the doors and headed over to his apartment. It was a simple studio apartment; one large room, one bathroom, and the kitchen. The apartment came furnished, so he didn't have to worry about furniture. The kitchen was tiny and so was the bathroom. The bedroom wasn't that much bigger, either. In fact, the bed was the kind that doubled as a couch to save space. Yeah, there's no place like home. Darien tiredly tossed the script onto the small round table and walked into the bathroom, which was also where his closet was. He changed out of the clothes he was wearing and into a light T-shirt and shorts. He then left the bathroom and headed over to the couch/bed, grabbing the script on the way, and sat down, sprawling out all over the couch. He stared at the script again, or rather the front page of the script. "Total Eclipse, huh?" he said to himself and flipped the pages until he reached the part where his character came in. "So, my character's name is Jack Terrance. Let's see...." He skimmed forward a few lines. "Hmm... He's a private detective who begins to stumble into whatever the evil plot is and ends up with some valuable info which leads him to become a target. Cliché sounding, but then again, with Amy Anderson working on this project, this'll be a new twist on the cliché. As if switching the gender roles wasn't enough," he added with a grin. As he read on, the plot began to get more and more interesting. He was only meant to be a minor supporting actor and Serena was meant to do most of the final parts alone, but he could see where, with a little rewriting, his character could be fitted in as a partner instead of just set off-screen until the ending scenes of the movie. Despite his apprehension towards working closely with Serena, he found himself looking forward to playing the role. At least, most of the first few scenes were by himself. Darien spent most of the night, reviewing his role and memorizing his lines. Afterwards, he began to act out his scenes all the way up to where he first meets Serena's character. He found it was easy to fall into character, and he could almost imagine that he was Jack Terrance. After he decided to stop for the night and go to bed, the last thought that he had before falling asleep was that he was definitely going to enjoy playing this role. ************************************** The alarm clock blared at around 5am for at least 2 minutes before Darien smacked it with his pillow, silencing the stupid thing. For a few seconds, he forgot why he had set it for so early. He had never needed to get up this early before.... The movie shoot! He threw the blanket aside and all but leaped into the shower. A short time later, he was out, dried, dressed and flew out the door with his script. He returned one minute later, after having realized that he had left his car keys on the table, and walked out the door in furious indignation. It was around 5:50am when he arrived on the set. He had stopped briefly for a quick bite to eat at a fast-food restaurant and was ready to begin his first day of acting. Now, where was he supposed to go...? "Excuse me," he called out to the security officer standing at his gate post from his car and showed him his license for an ID and his script. "Do you know where they're shooting this movie?" "Oh, yeah," he replied, nodding after he had checked for Darien's name on his list of names for authorized entry. "Let me call ahead to Ms. Anderson, and I'll tell her you're here. Just go straight down this street here and turn left at the second stop sign. Turn right at the second stop sign after that and it'll be the first building on your right. That's building number...," he briefly glanced down at the map next to him, "...number 46. Don't forget to have the producer give you a studio ID. I can't let you in next time without it. Have a nice day." "Thanks," Darien said and drove onward after the security officer raised the gate. The trip was a short one and someone was waiting for him outside when he got there. The man was kind of geeky-looking, right down to the huge coke-bottle glasses "You're right on time," the man told him, reaching out to shake his hand. "That's good; a rare thing in most actors. Well, you're just starting, so you've got a while to go before you become arrogant and lazy as well, eh?" The man started to laugh at his own joke as Darien just shook the man's hand and said nothing. The guy was just trying to make small talk and doing a horrible job at it. Since it was his first real acting job, he figured he'd better find out who to ignore and who to put up with. Hopefully, this guy could go on his 'ignore' list.... "Anyway, Miss Anderson is waiting for you inside," the man continued and turned toward the building. "Oh, I forgot to introduce myself," he said, pausing for a moment, reaching into his shirt pocket. "I'm the producer for this movie: Melvin Van Holst. I'm supposed to give you this." Melvin handed Darien a small ID card with Darien's name on it. "This is a temporary ID until a photo ID can be made. That's why I had you come so early. That and Miss Anderson wanted to talk with you before the rest of the cast arrives." Darien blinked in surprise. 'So much for being able to ignore him...' "Oh, okay," he said, pocketing his ID as he followed Melvin into the building. The producer led him through several hallways, stairways, and doors until they reached a set of double doors on the second floor. Melvin gestured for Darien to proceed him, and followed him in. "Hello, Mr. Shields," a blue-haired young woman greeted seriously from the head of a long boardroom table. "Please, come in and have a seat." She gestured for him to take the seat to her right. Darien took the proffered seat as Melvin took the one across from him. "Thank you for choosing me for this role, Miss Anderson," Darien began. "I'm flattered that you...." "Mr. Shields," Amy cut in, giving him an intent look, "do you know why Mr. Van Holst and I chose you for this role?" "Uh...," Darien faltered. "Um... my agent told me that you thought I looked the part of Jack Terrance. Is there another reason?" Amy grinned in amusement. "You think you got the part because of your looks? If that was it, then I would've chosen a more experienced actor with similar features." She gave him a flat look. "There are actors who fit my mental picture of Jack Terrance better than you." "I see," Darien said quietly, humbled slightly by Amy's cold words. "If you don't mind, Miss Anderson, why did you hire me?" Amy grinned again, this time her smile took on a friendly tone. "There are a couple of reasons, Darien," she explained, "your features being one of them. You see, I heard about the drink incident you had with Serena Moon...," she laughed softly as she heard him groan in embarrassment at the reminder, "...from Melvin, who was a producer of that movie as well." 'I don't remember seeing very much of him at the last set I worked at,' Darien puzzled to himself. 'I guess that was because I was only worried about reporting to that one other producer, Molly... something. What was her last name again?' "I saw the whole thing," Melvin added. "I remember feeling sorry for you for being fired at Serena's demand. It wasn't your fault. An accident like that could happen to anyone." "You hired me out of PITY?!?" Darien exclaimed indignantly. "No, no, no," Melvin replied quickly. "Don't jump to conclusions! We haven't finished yet. Well, when Miss Blake sent us your picture per our request for the role of Jack Terrance, I instantly recognized you from that incident." "That's when Mr. Van Holst told me about your little... mishap," Amy continued. "I asked Miss Blake about your acting history and learned that you had mostly extra work. No real acting experience, but from what I've heard from her, your work as an extra was pretty good." "At the time we were reviewing the possibilities for the role, Serena came up to us and complained, for the fifth time, about the other actors she was working with," Melvin added. "She said, and I quote, 'The extras could act better than they can!'." He grinned widely. "What she said stuck in our minds as we looked at your photo." Darien couldn't help but grin as well. "So, you found an extra to play a part opposite to her. But, still," he asked, still puzzled, "why me?" "The whole crew is growing tired of Serena Moon's arrogance," Amy explained. "Melvin and I decided that we needed to do something about it. Miss Moon has a contract with us to complete the entire movie. Until then, we cannot fire her, nor can she quit, at least, not without serious consequences. So, we decided that we would have her play opposite an extra, a nobody; no offense meant, Darien." "None taken," Darien replied. "But, let me get this straight: you chose me because I was most likely to piss Serena Moon off if she was forced to work with me?" "To be honest, that was only one of the reasons," Amy replied seriously. "But, you have done good work in the past, and I believe that, given the chance, some extras could perform just as good as any movie star, even Serena Moon. I'm giving you that chance. It would even be a bonus to us if your acting skills are just as good as Miss Blake says that they are." Amy grinned again. "That would really show Miss Moon, and I could begin to rewrite some of the script to include you in more of the movie." Darien smiled in relief, while silently doing seven different dances of joy inside. According to what he could understand from Amy, there was no way that Serena could force them to fire him if they didn't want to. His role was also going to depend on his performance. If his acting was up to Amy Anderson's standards, then his role could be extended and expanded to encompass a good portion of the movie. That would REALLY boost his career. Then again, there was still Serena Moon to deal with. If she was still upset at him with the drink incident, then she would probably try to make his life a living hell as long as he was here. "Well," Darien said quietly, "as long as Serena can't get me fired, I'm okay." "Great," Amy and Melvin said, pleased at his decision. "Now," Amy continued, standing up from her seat, which prompted both guys to stand up as well, "I'll have someone show you around the set and we'll get started at around 7:30. It was nice to meet you, Darien. Hopefully, this will work out for all of us." Darien nodded, wondering how hiring an extra to play opposite a big star like Serena Moon was going to help Amy and Melvin with their problems with the high-and-mighty actress. He turned and left the room, pondering the problem as a young woman began to escort him around the set. After the short tour, ending on the set behind all the cameras, near craft services. He hadn't eaten anything since that small breakfast sandwhich and coffee this morning and he went to get himself something to eat. At around 7:15, a blonde woman haughtily walked onto the set, flipping back her long, almost knee-length hair away from her shoulders. Upon spotting Darien at craft services, her beautiful, elegant features took on an angry scowl as she pointed an accusing finger at him. "YOU!!!" she screamed fiercely. "Uh-oh...," Darien muttered apprehensively. **************************************** To Chapter 3 **************************************** Author's Note: Ah, it's longer this time! ^_^ Anyway, the inevitable reunion of Darien Shields and Serena Moon has begun, and Serena is NOT happy to see him. What's gonna happen between them when she finds out she's stuck with him? *shrugs* I don't know, I haven't gotten that far yet. Oh, well... I guess we'll find out soon enough.... Disclaimer: All original materials belong to their respective owners. Sailor Moon belongs to Naoko Takeuchi and a bunch of big companies. No copyright infringement is intended. This story belongs to Moonsong and myself, and I would appreciate you emailing her or myself for permission before posting it anywhere else. Thank you. Prologue Copyright © January 24, 2000 Moonsong. Other Chapters Copyright © August 12, 2000 Jason Ulloa. All Rights Reserved.