Herophine: Second Chances

Chapter 13

Jo's POV:

When I awoke this morning, I'm no where near as rested as I should be. I woke up a few times throughout the night with thoughts of Hero and I's argument racing through my mind. I'm not used to sleeping alone since I've been here and as mad as I am with him right now, I just want to be held.

I turn my alarm off on my phone and lie in bed, staring at the ceiling for a minute before I look and see that I have two more missed calls from Hero; one from just after midnight and one from 2:33am. He must not have slept much either.

I climb out of bed and begin to clean the coffee pot out in the kitchen from the previous morning. As it starts brewing, I make my way into the bathroom and turn on the shower, undressing as the water warms up.

My eyes are slightly puffy from my crying last night, and I'm hoping it's not too noticeable by the time I get to set later this morning.

I don't spend long in the shower, and after I get dressed, I don't bother to fix my makeup or hair because that will be done once I get to the studio, just like it always is. When I enter the kitchen again, the strong smell of coffee hits me and I suddenly feel sick. I grab a bottled water from the fridge and take a sip which seems to help a little.

I guess with how eventful yesterday was, I never ate a proper dinner and my nerves are still shaken up from everything else that took place.

I gather my phone and my room key as I slip into the hallway, the door locking itself behind me. Just to the right of my room is the stairwell, and I decide to take it instead of the elevator this morning to be sure I don't run into Hero. I'm not dumb enough to think I won't have to see him today, I just want to prolong it for as long as possible.

When I reach the set, crew members have already begun racing around, making sure things are in order before we begin for the day. I'm greeted with smiles and 'good mornings' as I walk to the dressing room area. My clothes for the first part of today are hanging up in my private dressing room and I quickly change and head towards hair and makeup.

Anna is there and quickly hugs me as she's furiously responding to emails on her phone. She asks me how my day off was and I give her a vague outline of everything that took place before things blew up.

She sits on the couch behind me as a member of the crew curls my hair and another begins placing makeup on my face. Talking with her has somewhat taken my mind off of Hero, until I see his reflection enter the room.

We never make eye contact. I turn my attention to my own reflection in the mirror but I hear him and Anna greet each other from behind me. After they say their hello's, Anna excuses herself from the room while taking a phone call. Hero sits down in the chair to the left of me and I pretend to scroll through my phone.

The woman that did my makeup has now finished, and she makes her way over to Hero. I continue to look down, my eyes studying the screen of my phone but I can feel Hero's eyes burning into me through our reflections in the mirror.

"Oh, shoot! I'm out of hairspray. Let me run down the hall and grab another can really quick," the woman behind me tousles my hair and exists the room. Great, one less person in here with us.

"Good morning," Hero's voice says softly from a few feet away from me.

"Hello," I reply, still refusing to look up.

"You never returned my calls," he says. The woman standing behind him, fixing his hair acts as though she doesn't hear either of us.

"I fell asleep," I say, somewhat telling the truth. 'I did fall asleep only after I felt like you ripped my heart out and cried myself into a panic attack' I want to say.

I'm relieved when I see the second woman come back in the room. The sound of her putting the final touches on my look for the day make it just loud enough so that Hero stops talking.

The moment I'm given the okay to head to set, I don't waste any time as I return back to my dressing room, place my phone on top of my normal clothes folded on the couch, and walk down the hallway onto set.

So far during this process, we've jumped around from scene to scene, not really going straight through from beginning to end. Today, we're starting with when Hardin returns back to his and Tessa's apartment with his mother, only to find Tessa there as well.

After a couple of hours, take after take, I'm glad that there haven't been any need for Hero and I to touch, much less kiss, on camera so far. My character is still upset with Hero's, and honestly, I completely understand.

Towards the middle of the afternoon, we begin to shoot the third part of the scene. Hardin and Tessa are supposed to lie in bed together, each moment building until they can't deny themselves of each other anymore. Great.

Hero takes his shirt off and I am now dressed in something that looks like I'm ready for bed. We lie down on our backs, both of us on either side of the bed, as crew members position lights and microphones around us.

"ACTION!" Roger yells seated a few feet away from where we are.

I begin to deliver my lines, followed by Hero. He positions himself on his side, facing me as the script calls for. I continue to keep my eyes directed upward, careful not to meet his. As the scene goes along, he begins to run his fingertips just above the waistband of my shorts. My breathing has become heavier now and I can feel goosebumps forming on my stomach. With that, also comes a sudden feeling of dizziness and I feel like I might be sick.

I sit up abruptly and Roger yells for the crew to cut.

"I'm sorry, I just need a minute," I say, making my way off the bed. A member of the crew rushes over to me, offering me a bottle of water. I take a sip and sit on an open folding chair just off view from the cameras.

"Let's all take five. We're almost done for today guys," Roger announces to the room. I look up to see Hero making his way over to me, pulling his shirt back over his head in the process.

"Are you okay?" He quietly asks, standing above me.

"I'm fine." But am I? This is the second time today I've felt weird. I feel weak, off balance, sick to my stomach. Did I eat something bad and it's just now catching up to me?

After much longer than five minutes, we reconvene and within the hour, the scene is complete. Everyone congratulates each other for a hard day's work and the room empties not long after.

I change back into my own clothes, leaving the ones my character wore today on the counter in my dressing room. I don't see Hero as I leave set, and quickly make my way back to the hotel, taking the stairs again up to my room. I am exhausted and just want to take a hot bath. As I enter my room for the first time all day, I lie down on the couch, closing my eyes for a moment before I try to motivate myself to walk to the bathroom.

Just as I'm about to stand up, I hear three knocks at my door.