Behind The Scenes

99. Hero

We've been at the bookstore since noon. Jo and I promised to stay strictly professional before we got out of the car, we kissed one last time and we got here.
We are about to make our entrance and you can hear the chatter of the audience. It will be a really interesting day, and it's just the first of many others.
Jo wears a black, long-sleeved dress, fitted to the waist and continues with a slightly loose skirt. She has heels and legs bare, and I happen to be madly in love with them. Shit, they're really hot. But I need not think about it. At the end of the day your face will be buried between her thighs, Hero.
Fuck, focus.

"Shh!" the girl that will interview us says to the public. "They're here and they're waiting for silence!"
The crowd falls silent.
"Well. The lead actors Josephine Langford and Hero Fiennes Tiffin and the writer of After, Anna Todd!"
We make our entrance and the audience screams and applauds. I'm so proud of us, and the movie isn't even out yet. I have the impression that they have very high expectations, I hope they appreciate our hard work.
While the audience continues to call our names and shout like at concerts, we take our seats. Jo is sitting on my left, Anna sitting next to the interviewer on my right. I already have the microphone in my hand and wait for them to turn it on before saying anything.
Jo turns left and waves to some parents, probably, filming the moment and the hundreds of people in the bookstore scream louder. She looks at me and laughs. "I feel special!" she says laughing, her laughter is contagious.
"You are," I smile at her.
Oh, the microphone is on. I bring it to my mouth and say, "Hey!"
The crowd continues to scream.
"Hello!" Jo exclaims into her microphone.
A collaborator from the event approaches me and gives my microphone to Anna, telling me that Jo and I can use one for both of us.
The interviewer introduces herself — she says her name is Ariana — and then she starts talking to us. "Welcome guys. Okay. Did you just get in today or...?" she asks.
"Two days ago," Jo says.
She hands me the microphone, "Two days ago," I confirm. And the audience shouts. I'm flattered but I'll get a headache.
"So, let's get right into it." Ariana turns to Anna. "After, it came out in 2014, right? And so almost five years now. What does it feel like to be sitting here and seeing this?" she asks.
Anna smiles, I sense that she is a little nervous. "Great. It's really exciting and I'm happy for you guys to be able to see them" — she points to Jo and me with a gesture — "and see the movie soon, so it's just exciting, yeah."
They continue to talk about how Anna has seen fans' passion grow for this book series to this day, less than a month after the movie's release. She says she didn't expect all these people here today. Me neither.
"But the fans aren't here just for me," Anna says and looks at me and Josephine.
I take the microphone. "Well, it's only thanks to you!" there could be no truer thing. "We love you guys."
They scream, and scream again.
Ariana turns to me and Jo. "You know, as the fans walked in, so many of them were saying to me, 'Can you please tell them I love them?' so I'll tell you now."
Aww, what a cute thing. "Thank you very much, I really appreciate that," I say looking at the crowd, and Jo chuckles.
We change subject. "What was it like being on set? Let's talk about this now."
I take the floor again, "Busy... fun... Yeah, not... we didn't—" People keep screaming and I can't finish a sentence. "We didn't have much free time, but when we did we spent it—" Shit, too many screams.
Jo is doubled over with laughter. The situation is funny, actually.
"Jo, do you wanna say something?" I hand her the microphone.
She laughs and then tries to say something. "Hello?" she just says. Result: screams. Then she tries again, and she succeeds. "Yeah, it was busy. We shot for two months in Atlanta, it was great. It was... " She doesn't know what to say anymore. Of course, there is obviously a lot more to say, but we can't.
After that, the interviewer asks her how she felt when she read the script and maybe even the books.
"I've read the script on the plane, and the books too for the last few months," she glances at me. "I think I read the first four pages on Wattpad when I was 14, by accident. I don't quite remember how." She pauses. "Yeah, well... I didn't know how huge it was." She concludes and hands me the microphone.
"Yeah, I was shocked when I found out," I start to say, and they shout. "Oh, gimme a break!" I exclaim laughing, but I'm fucking serious.
Finally they are silent and I manage to say something. "Yeah, I was shocked that I'd never heard of it, unlike you guys." Short screams. "I know, I know..." I giggle. Indeed, it's terrible. How could I not know?
We talk about my followers now. I can't deny it, thanks to this project they have grown a bit, but I don't care that much.
"Anyway, yeah, it's a big change that I still have to get used to, I'm still a little puzzled by all of this," I say.
"Well, they love you, they said so," Ariana reminds me.
I chuckle. "Thank you, thank you," and they scream again. I never expected it, I really mean it.
Anna talks about how they chose us for our respective roles. She says it was difficult at first, then they saw me, and when they saw Jo's face for the role of Molly it looked very weird. She says she is grateful for having watched the shoot, which was amazing to announce that we had the final product.
Jo takes the microphone from my hands. "What was it like?" she asks Anna.
"What was it like? Well, I mean, I liked it," she chuckles. "How was it, Josephine?" she asks her ironically.
Jo laughs in turn, she's gorgeous.
I take the microphone and say, "I watched it for the first time this morning on Anna's laptop — because mine broke, so she let me use hers," in Jo's company, I would add. Fortunately, she ignores it. We are keeping our strictly professional promise. "So... yeah, I'm excited for you, can't wait for you to see it!"
This morning, after we woke up, Jo went to Anna to ask if she could lend us her pc. We settled on the bed, tangled in the sheets and the computer next to me. Jo had her head resting on my chest and one leg between mine.
"Oh my God, how ugly," she commented during the first scene, in which Tessa is lying on her bed.
"Lie. Shut up and look at you," I jokingly scolded her.
Arriving at the scene of the first meeting of the two, the first in which I appear, we burst out laughing when Hardin — that is me — says "Just don't seeing it." It was fun to shoot it.
While the montage with the song Someone To You, we remembered how good we felt together. Most of the stuff was improvised, and when we were lying on the lawn chatting, joking and kissing the cameras were just filming us.
"Those tears were real, remember?" she told me as we watched the Bet scene.
I remember. It was one of the hardest to shoot. We both had to cry — pretend of course — and it was exhausting. We filmed it so many times that at one point Jo was exhausted and she burst into tears saying she couldn't make it, that she was tired.
"Yes, it was awful."
But after all, we are proud of what came of it. Jo told me that the book is completely different, and that I should read it. For the millionth time, no. I'm happy with our faces on a screen instead of millions of words on paper.
End of the flashback, my mind goes back to the present, at Barnes & Noble.
"What was it like for you to play roles that many people are attached to?" the interviewer asks us.
I speak once again, the microphone is already in my hand. "I think if we hadn't had Anna on set every day it would have been very difficult, so that really helped a lot. She knows everything. You can't go wrong with her next to you, because she controls you."
The whole audience laughs cheerfully and, of course, shouts every time I speak.
I have a feeling that Jo spoke little. Fuck, I was the only one talking actually.
"Jo?" I hand her the microphone to allow her to say something.
She pulls it to her lips and an adorable giggle escapes her. "I think when you play a character that so many people know and love... it's a privilege and it's something you definitely want to do well."
God, she is beautiful. I can't stop staring at her as she talks, and her legs are so perfect... I instinctively lick my lower lip. Hero, remember, strictly professional. It is not what it seems, I wouldn't like to fuck her now, I would not like to savor her very good taste. Concentration, Hero.
I come back to reality when the audience shouts again.
Ariana asks if there was any funny episode while we were making the film. Oh, there are plenty!
Anna mentions the snake episode, but in the end Jo ends up talking about the one where we were shooting the scene at Blind Bob's, after the one at the lake, when Tessa says she doesn't like ketchup. Jo says she took the bottle and circled the burger with a ton of ketchup, and we couldn't stop laughing.
"... and we really felt good together," Anna says. And it's true, we did — and do.
"Well, that's great," says Ariana. "Can't wait to see it, and thank you so much for being here. Thank you so much to all of you!"
We applaud and thank the audience as they try to get our attention with shouts, compliments and I love yous.
I already feel exhausted, and it has only just begun.