FEELINGS IN THE SPOTLIGHT
Chapter Four

It was 9:35, and Jack and Rose were still at the burger place. They were joking and throwing fries at each other. They would sign autographs for people and talk to them. They were having a good time until Rose noticed the time.

"Jack, it’s already 9:40. You were suppose to be in your apartment forty minutes ago," she said. He just smiled and got up.

"Oh, I hate time! When you are going through hell, it seems to slow down, but when you are having fun, it goes by so fast," he said, and helped her up from her chair. She smiled and followed him outside.

"So, you were having fun?" she asked.

"Uh…yes. Duh!" he said, smiling. He walked her to her car and held her jacket.

"Well, I guess this is really good-bye. I hope we can grab another burger some other time. I will sure miss you, Jack," she said, hugging him. He hugged her back and buried his face in her neck.

"It’s a good thing that this is a small town. There aren’t any paparazzi to take pictures of us. Then they’d make up a story just because we are hugging," he said. She smiled and hugged him tighter. She closed her eyes and wished she could stop time and not let him go. Without noticing, she said something that made Jack pull away.

"Oh, I love you, Jack," she said. He pulled away, and with a confused look, smiled at her weakly.

"What?" he asked.

"You are like my best friend. I love you like a brother," she quickly said.

"Oh. In that case, I love you, too," he said, and gave her one final hug. "Well, I guess I’ll see you in a few weeks, weirdo," he said, and opened her car door for her. She got in her car and turned it on. She waved good-bye to him and left. He waved back and watched her leave until her car disappeared.

*****

The weeks passed and Rose was feeling lonely. She was alone in her rented apartment, watching TV, when the phone rang. She got up slowly and answered it.

"Hello. This is Rose."

"Hey, weirdo. What are you doing?"

"Jack?"

"Uh…duh. It’s me. Who else calls you weirdo?" he asked, laughing. Her heart started to beat faster and her sad afternoon quickly cheered up.

"Well, just you, creep. So, what is this miracle?"

"What miracle?"

"You calling me. That is a true miracle! I believe in miracles now, thanks to you, Jack!" she said, laughing.

"Oh, hush, I was calling to tell you that I have missed you, and this is the way you re-pay me? It hurts, Rose. It really hurts."

"Oh, shut up! I miss you, too, goof!" she said, and both started to laugh.

"You won’t believe this, but we are done filming the war scenes! We are going to Washington, D.C. now."

"Well, it’s about time! It’s been almost two months. Well, I’m happy, because I get to see you again."

"Yeah. Me, too. I can’t wait to get back. I can’t stand this place anymore. I feel like I’m at war for real."

"Like I told you before, Jack, it’s all fake. Don’t be scared, hon," Rose said, laughing. They were both laughing when Rose heard a voice on the other line where Jack was.

"Who are you talking to, Jack?" Rose quickly realized whose voice it was. "Say hi to Regina for me," Rose said and wanted to hang up, but something told her not to.

"I’m talking to Rose; I’m telling her that we are done here. Oh, and Rose says hi," Jack said. "Sorry about that. Regina is sort of jealous. She wants to know everything that I do," he said in a sweet voice.

"It’s okay, but how come she is over there? I wouldn’t think she would like to be in a junglelike place."

"Oh, she is here for the same reason she asked who I was talking to."

"Jealous?" Rose asked, laughing.

"It’s not funny, weirdo! So, I guess I’ll talk to you later. I have to go, but we’ll see each other very soon. Okay?"

"Okay, creep!" she said, and they hung up the phones.

*****

Jack and his agent were having dinner in a restaurant, talking about his next movie and his salary.

"Look, Jack, you get paid fourteen million dollars a movie; I think you should raise it up. I mean, you are on every magazine cover and on every teenage girl’s wall. You are very talented, and the most important thing of all is that you put asses in those seats," the agent said.

"I thought the most important thing was talent," Jack said, smiling.

"Yeah. I have been your agent since you were fifteen. Remember when talent by itself didn’t get you the job? We struggled like hell until you hit puberty, and luckily for you, it didn’t ruin your life. It actually made it better. You are good-looking! Then we started to get jobs."

"We? Look, Joe, I don’t remember that my character Lee, the drug addict, required me to be good-looking. But I would to like a raise, too. Don’t get me wrong."

"Sorry, Jack. I think I insulted you. You are very talented; I mean, who else could play Lee like you did? You were truly awesome."

"All right. Stop kissing ass and tell me how much we are asking for."

"From fourteen million dollars to twenty million dollars. Doesn’t that sound great? I’m going to start asking for that much after What Do the Stars Say? comes out. That chick flick will get you more attention."

"Wow. Twenty million dollars. Well, that does sound great. But that movie isn’t a chick flick. It’s a great movie."

"Okay. Whatever, but now that we are talking about it, how has it been?"

"It’s been okay, I guess. It’s getting tough, but I’m having fun. You know, Rose is a cool person to work with! She is so amazing. We have so much fun. She is a great girl and an amazing actress. I mean, that girl can cry her heart out," Jack said, smiling.

"I hear she is very pretty."

"She is…I mean, why do you ask?"

"Oh, Jack, don’t even think about it."

"Think about what?"

"You know what could happen to your career if you start to date her."

"What do you mean, date her? I said she was pretty, not that I wanted to date her."

"Well, I’m just warning you. What will the media say and write when they find out you dumped your model girlfriend for your co-star? It will ruin everything, and I do mean everything. You are considered a serious actor, not a media lover. Just don’t let the idea of Rose Bukater as your girlfriend cross your mind," Joe said.

"All right. I won’t! She is just a good friend," Jack said, and finished his dinner.

*****

A few days later, Rose was called and told she was to go on set and get ready to shoot some scenes. To Rose’s disappointment, these scenes did not involve Jack. She was sad in the movie, thinking Jason was dead, and in real life, she was sad about not seeing Jack. She would shoot some scenes and then take a break alone, with no Jack to have fun with. Judy would do her makeup and try to make her happy.

"You know, you are only supposed to be sad in the movie. You are not Angie in real life, Rose," Judy said. Rose just ignored her and walked to her trailer, but a voice stopped her.

"Rose! Hey, weirdo!" She turned around and saw Jack walking towards her. Her sadness quickly fell to the floor, and she gave him a smile. She ran to him, hugged him, and he hugged her back.

"Oh, my God. I have missed you so much! What are you doing here, creep, anyway?" she asked, letting him go.

"Well, I just decided to stop by and see you. I have missed you, too, weirdo. Besides, I’m going to be shooting with you in a few days," he said, smiling.

"Well, isn’t that just great? What the hell happened to you?" she asked, seeing that he had facial hair and longer hair.

"I have been to war! What do you think? The script says that Jason is not the same guy anymore and he doesn’t care how he looks. I just thought a little facial hair would help the story," he said.

"Yeah, a little hair," she said, laughing.

"What are you trying to imply?" he asked, smiling.

"Oh, nothing. Ha ha ha." She laughed, and he laughed with her. He looked at her and stopped laughing.

"What’s wrong, creep?" she asked. He just looked at her for a minute, and then he walked towards her and started to tickle her. She started to laugh so hard that she almost cried. She pushed him away and walked towards the set.

"I have to work now, Jack, but I’ll see you later. Okay?"

"Okay, but promise me we’ll go get a burger after this."

"Okay. I think I could eat a whole cow, I’m so hungry," she said, smiling, and left. Jack smiled at her, walked to his car, and left.

*****

A few days later, Jack and Rose were working together again. They would spend most of their time together and would always laugh and have fun. Jack loved to talk to Rose, because she always listened to him and shared her advice. He would tell her things he wouldn’t tell Regina. Rose felt special, as she knew he trusted her like no one else.

As they were having lunch one day, Randy gave them the script for the next few scenes. They were reading it and almost choked on their drinks as they read what was going to happen next.

"A…love scene? Well, won’t that be fun?" Jack asked in a sarcastic tone of voice, and laid his script down on the table. Rose looked at him and smiled as she read on.

"But I like what happens after they…you know, do that…it’s a very emotional scene. I think that is what is more important. What are you thinking, Jack?" she asked as she saw that he was staring at the table.

"Uh…nothing. I just have this headache. I also have been thinking that we are almost done making this movie. We just need, like, four scenes, and we are done. It seems like just yesterday I signed on to do this," he said with a weak smile.

"Yeah. Does it make you sad that we are almost done, or are you glad we get to get out of this city and set?"

"A little of both. I mean, I just really want to go home and take a long break, but then again, I’m sad that I won’t get to hang out with you anymore."

"We can still be friends, Jack. Just because we are not making movies together doesn’t mean we can’t be friends."

"Yeah. I guess you are right. So, will we still talk when we are finished here?"

"Yes, for sure."

"Promise we will always keep in touch."

"I promise, Jack," she said, smiling, and he smiled back.

"What if we stop talking for a while?" he asked.

"Well, I don’t think that will happen, but if that if ever happens and you want to talk to me, just send me a few white roses with a card. I have always loved white roses. That will make me happy."

"White roses?"

"Yes. Just that, and nothing else."

"Okay. I will remember that," he said, and got up from his chair and walked to his trailer.

*****

A few days later, Jack and Rose were getting ready for what would be their first and only love scene. They were both very nervous and were scared of making a mistake.

Randy sat Rose down and talked to her about the scene. He tried to calm her down, as he could tell she was nervous.

"It’s okay, Rose. I know this might seem like a tough scene, but it will all be over before you know it. I didn’t think you would be nervous. This isn’t your first love scene," he said.

"I know, but…I’m not nervous. I’m just a bit scared that I might screw up. I mean, you said it was a scene that you would not stop. I mean, it’s just going to happen, and then…"

"Well, I want it to be as real as possible, or look that way, I mean. Ha ha. Don’t worry. Jack won’t bite," Randy said. Rose started to laugh. She went to get ready. Judy did her makeup and Rose got into her 1960’s clothes. She walked to the set and noticed that Jack wasn’t there yet. She sat in a chair while a few people put water on her. The scene supposedly happened after Jason and Angie were talking outside while it was raining. They made her look sort of wet. Rose was waiting and waiting until Jack appeared. She stood up, smiled at him, and he smiled back.

"Don’t worry, Rose. I won’t bite," he said, laughing. She smiled and walked to her spot. Randy talked to them and explained exactly what he wanted. They got even more nervous.

"I think the only thing more nerve-wracking than doing it for the first time is doing it in a movie," Jack said, laughing. Rose laughed, as well, and they got quiet when Randy made a sign.

"Action!" he yelled.

Chapter Five
Stories