It was Wednesday afternoon. Owen was at a café. Filming took place from Monday to Friday, with half-days on Saturday. Sundays were days off. Only two days remained until the shoot was finished. Thursday would be the last day.
Owen wasn't alone. He was with Sophie, sitting at a table near the window, each with a cup of coffee in front of them. After finishing that day's shoot at five in the afternoon, they had come here for coffee.
Sophie had taken advantage of the fact that her mother left work at midday due to some matters, so she asked Owen to come for coffee and rehearse a little.
They were going over some scenes from the movie. These weren't the tense, frightening scenes from the climax where both characters are already mentally unraveling, but rather the ones from the beginning of the film.
Scenes that showed the connection between the two characters, the kind that, depending on how well they acted and delivered the dialogue, would make the audience empathize with them and not want them to die, or feel sad as they grew increasingly tormented by the demonic entity.
"I think this line of Drake's is really stupid," Sophie said, lifting her gaze from her copy of the script and looking at Owen as he sipped his coffee.
Her finger tapped lightly on Owen's copy of the script so he could find the line she was referring to.
'Always so direct, 'Owen thought with a slight smile at Sophie's bluntness.
To everyone, he was the screenwriter of Paranormal Activity, so saying something like that about his dialogue could be considered rude. Other writers might take it the wrong way, but he didn't. He knew she didn't mean it negatively, it was just the way she spoke.
"And why's that?" Owen asked, not finding anything particularly wrong with Drake's line. It wasn't especially good or bad.
"Look, let's act it out and you'll see what I mean," Sophie said. "Drake sets the camera in the kitchen, so both characters walk into frame. Just so you can picture it," she added, clearly wanting Owen to visualize it.
"Well, aren't you meticulous," Owen said.
"Shut up," Sophie replied with a faint smile forming on her face, giving Owen a small playful kick on his shoe.
"Alright, action!" Sophie said, slipping into character.
"Seriously? You still don't get how serious this is? A ghost is terrorizing us and you're still making jokes! You can't take it so lightly, Drake," Sophie said, a little exasperated but also with clear concern in her voice.
"I'm not going to let a ghost bother my girlfriend, especially not in my own house," Owen said, his tone defiant.
Hearing his response, Sophie stopped the dialogue and looked at him. "See? Drake's always mocking the situation or challenging the ghost, even though he's the one who set up the cameras to see what's happening at night," she said.
"And after everything they've been through up to this night, he should at least have a little awareness, don't you think?" she added, making a small gesture for "a little," as if to say Drake should at least show a minimum of reflection.
"Maybe…" Owen nodded, conceding her point.
"And then after that line where Drake plays the tough ghost-busting protector, he kisses Katie, who accepts his kiss even though he showed zero seriousness like she asked. I don't think it works," Sophie said.
"We could have Drake tell Katie that it's not that he doesn't take it seriously, but that he tries to avoid carrying all that growing tension, so he jokes around to lighten the mood," Owen suggested, resting a hand on his chin.
"That's good. The scene would carry more weight. It would show that despite the jokes, Drake really is taking things seriously," Sophie said with a nod.
They both grabbed their pens and began crossing out the original dialogue, replacing it with what they had just discussed. After fine-tuning the exact wording, they had the new dialogue ready.
Sophie lifted her head, looking at him with curiosity. "And what about the kiss?" she asked with greater interest. "Do we keep it or cut it?"
Owen stayed silent for a few seconds, thoughtful. Finally, he replied, "We'll keep it. After Drake's response, having a kiss will feel more meaningful. If Drake truly takes it seriously, Katie would see it, and appreciate it."
Sophie nodded; she thought the same.
"Alright, let's try again. Action!" Sophie said, her expression sinking back into character. Owen did the same.
They delivered the new lines, and they worked much better, but the kiss was still missing.
Owen leaned in slowly, never losing sight of Sophie's eyes. When they were close enough, both closed their eyes and kissed.
What should have been a quick kiss stretched longer than usual. Sophie returned the kiss, letting herself get lost in the moment.
At last, they pulled apart and looked at each other in silence. Neither seemed to know quite what to say.
"Well… I think that kiss was a little longer than it should be for the scene," Owen said, breaking the silence.
"Why? The scene allows for the kiss to be a bit more passionate and longer than usual, don't you think?" Sophie asked, trying to sound as indifferent as possible, but a faint blush on her cheeks betrayed her. She tried to downplay the moment, as if the kiss hadn't affected her at all, but it hadn't been entirely true.
"You're right… it could work that way," Owen admitted, finding logic in Sophie's argument.
"But you'll have to convince your mother about that. I don't want her filing a complaint or something," Owen added, half-joking, half-serious.
Sophie let out a small laugh, knowing exactly what he meant. "Yeah, I know. My mom is… complicated," she said in a conspiratorial tone.
"But don't worry, I'll handle it. The kiss will stay this long," she added in a tone that left no room for argument.
After that unexpectedly long kiss, which left Owen and Sophie with different emotions, they went on talking about the movie and other topics related to the entertainment world. New releases, series they had watched and recommended, and so on.
At one point, Owen brought up the viral marketing idea he had in mind. If he had Sophie's help as Katie, they could make it much better, and with their performances, it could go viral on TikTok.
He had chosen this platform because it would be strange for "Drake" to suddenly create a new Instagram profile, since that's something everyone usually already has. On TikTok, though, they could gain more popularity and visibility since it was booming.
He was planning to reach out to some horror influencers/YouTubers and pay them to post videos about the strange case of Drake and Sophie. Obviously, they shouldn't reveal it was all fake. That way, he would get a big boost, but the marketing campaign hadn't started yet.
Sophie listened attentively while Owen explained his viral marketing idea. Her eyes sparkled with interest when he mentioned TikTok and how they could use the platform to push the project.
"That sounds… interesting," Sophie said thoughtfully. Then, a mischievous smile appeared on her face. "And yes, it'll be pretty fun to trick the internet, if we can pull it off, of course."
"Great," Owen said with a smile at Sophie's approval.
"I'll just have to talk to my mom… you know, she'll probably say this wasn't in the contract or something like that. Don't worry, I won't make you pay me a single extra dollar," Sophie said with a grin, as if she already knew what her mom might say about it.
Right at that moment, Sophie's phone rang. She looked at the screen and saw her mother's name on the caller ID. She glanced at Owen with a grimace and said, "Speak of the devil."
"Hello?" Sophie said, answering the call.
"I'm rehearsing with Owen at a Starbucks," Sophie replied in a slightly more serious but relaxed tone. However, as soon as she heard her mother's response, her expression changed quickly. Her tone shifted from serious to exasperated.
"Mom, I'm 20 years old! I won't let myself get kidnapped, and I won't take candy from strangers! Stop being so controlling. I'll be home in a couple of hours, but please, let me work in peace, okay?" Sophie said, frowning in irritation.
"Bye… My God. I swear, if she installs some tracking app on my phone in the future, I won't even be surprised," Sophie said, setting the phone down on the table and looking at Owen.
"Seems like your mother really cares about you," Owen said, not entirely sure what to say in situations like this.
"I know…" Sophie sighed, resting her head on one hand. "But I'm not a kid anymore. It's exhausting, you know? Since we came to Los Angeles, I haven't managed to make a single friend. And guess who's to blame? Her! Everyone's scared of her."
"Well, except you," she added with a strange look at Owen.
Owen could only smile faintly at the remark.
He knew Sophie was from Chicago and had left her hometown a year and a half ago to come to Hollywood and pursue her dream of becoming an actress. She already had several supporting roles in important series under her belt, but after a streak of bad luck, she decided to come to the heart of cinema to look for roles.
Her mother had come with her, while her father and the rest of her siblings stayed behind in her hometown. Sophie had told him all of this not too long ago, during one of the shooting days when her relationship with Owen had started to improve.
"She may be a bit extreme, yes," Owen said. "But you also have to admit it's good that she came with you and that she believes in your dream. Not every rookie actor has someone supporting them like that… especially as an agent."
"Ugh… you're right. I'll try to talk more civilly with my mom…" Sophie said with another sigh.
Then she looked at Owen with one eyebrow raised. "You're very wise, Owen. I could call you Shifu from now on."
Owen laughed. "If you're going to give me an Asian title, at least make it sound more impressive. Something like Owen-sama or Owen-dono, maybe."
Sophie couldn't help but look surprised. Not many people knew how to use -sama or -dono.
"Wait… do you actually know Japanese culture, or are you just an anime and manga fan like me?" Sophie asked, narrowing her eyes.
"Let's just say I've watched my fair share of anime. Plus, when I was younger, I used to watch a lot of Dragon Ball," Owen replied.
Sophie leaned her arm on the table, looking at him with even more interest. "Uh-huh… and if I say 'Omae wa mou shindeiru,' what do you reply?"
Owen raised an eyebrow and answered without hesitation, "Nani?"
They both stayed silent for a second before bursting out laughing at the same time.
"Never thought someone like you would be an anime lover," Sophie said after catching her breath.
Owen raised an eyebrow, amused. "Oh yeah? And what's that supposed to mean, someone like me?"
Sophie opened her mouth, hesitated for a moment as if she didn't quite know how to explain, and said, "You know…"
"No, I don't know. Enlighten me," Owen said, crossing his arms with a faint, playful smile.
Sophie sighed and finally admitted, "Because of your looks."
"My looks?" Owen asked, a little surprised. He hadn't expected that answer.
"Yes. I don't know, your first impression doesn't scream 'guy who watches anime' or has those tastes that people used to label as weird. Although nowadays there isn't as much prejudice as before," Sophie said with a shrug.
Owen looked at her for a second before smirking smugly. "So you think I'm handsome, huh?"
"That's not what's important here," Sophie said, feeling the warmth rise faintly in her cheeks.
"Oh, but it is. You just admitted it," Owen said with a slight, teasing smile.
"And to think I almost believed you were wise," Sophie huffed, rolling her eyes and looking out the window.
Owen laughed at her reaction, resting an elbow on the table as he watched her with amusement.
"Relax, don't get like that," he said with a smile. "Besides, to be fair, I think you're pretty too."
Sophie quickly turned her head to look at him, surprised by the unexpected compliment.
"And if we're talking about surprises, I didn't expect you to know about anime either. Even among girls, it's not that common, and much less among pretty girls, if you know what I mean," Owen added.
Sophie narrowed her eyes, a confident smile spreading across her face. "Well, at least you've got good eyesight," she said proudly, enjoying the compliment.
"What irritates me is that you don't even seem to get nervous when you say things like that," she added, crossing her arms.
Owen shrugged with an amused smile. "What did you expect? I'm an actor."
Sophie opened her mouth to reply but froze for a second, before turning her gaze away in frustration, a faint blush coloring her cheeks. 'Damn it. He was right.' She was an actress too, but she clearly didn't have the same control over her own reactions.
Clicking her tongue, Sophie decided not to give him the satisfaction of seeing her embarrassed any longer. She hated losing an argument.
"Anyway," she said, abruptly changing the subject. "What about your family? You haven't told me anything yet."
She had already told him she had one brother and one sister, that she lived in Chicago, and a few other things. The only thing she knew about Owen was that he'd lived in Los Angeles since birth.
Owen couldn't help but tense his jaw slightly at the question. It wasn't something he liked to talk about. After all, it wasn't his family… but the original Owen's.
"Well…" he began, carefully choosing his words. "There's not much to say. My family is… complicated."
Sophie raised an eyebrow. "Complicated how?"
"Let's just say we're no longer in contact. Irreconcilable differences," Owen replied with a feigned relaxed smile.
"That serious?" Sophie asked, surprised by the gravity of it.
"Something like that." Owen shrugged, looking away. It wasn't a lie, but it wasn't the whole truth either.
If he told her about the original Owen's past, Sophie would see him as a walking disaster, and he had no intention of ruining the good relationship they were building. At least not now. There were only two days left of filming, and it was essential they maintained good chemistry for the sake of the movie.
He would tell her the truth later if their relationship continued to improve and there was no way to avoid the subject anymore.
There was no way Sophie, or anyone else, would believe he was a completely different person inside Owen's body. It was absurd. And even if someone did believe him, he would never let them tell anyone. That secret would die with him.
So when the time came, he would simply make it look as though he had changed, as if he had hit rock bottom and was now trying to get better. In the end, it would be up to her whether to believe him or not.
There was a brief silence before Sophie rested an elbow on the table and looked at him intently. "Hmm… there's definitely an interesting story behind all that."
'More like disastrous…' Owen thought, knowing the original Owen's past, which had been mostly a mess ever since he graduated high school and began adult life, living alone and going to college.
"I don't want to ruin the mood with my family drama," Owen said lightly, trying to close the subject.
Sophie studied him for a moment longer, as if trying to read him, but eventually sighed. "Fine, I'll leave you with your secrets for now, Owen-dono."
"Thank you, Sophie-san," Owen said with a smile.
She rolled her eyes but couldn't help letting out a small laugh. "Idiot."
The mood between them relaxed again, though Sophie couldn't help wondering just how complicated Owen's story really was.
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