Behind The Limelight 11: Running Lines

“So,” Malcolm began, “how’s it going? You and Ryker threaten to kill each other yet?”

“Contrary to popular belief, I do not have anger issues and I can do my job without letting my personal feelings get in between,” Ashton retorted with a roll of his eyes, making Malcolm let out a laugh.

“Well, good, you better do your job and do it the best that you can,” the agent said. “Neither of us can afford for you to get fired.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Ashton muttered. The two stayed quiet for a bit as they ate dinner, before Malcolm spoke up again. 

“Your mother came by the office today,” he dropped the bomb out of nowhere, almost making Ashton choke on the pasta that was in his mouth.

They were at a Michelin star restaurant, enjoying the chef’s special, and Malcolm just had to bring up Ashton’s mother and ruin everything. The poor actor could not relax for a single night without something or the other happening, it seems.

“Why? What does she want now?”

“Apparently you haven’t been answering her calls lately,” Malcolm said. “She heard that you were working with Eric Tate through one of her little birdies.”

“Of course,” Ashton chuckled bitterly. “She only cares to reach out because of that.”

“Doesn’t matter. You should call her back,” Malcolm replied.

“Later,” Ashton grunted.

“That’s between you and her, I’m just the messenger,” Malcolm shrugged nonchalantly. “But she said she’s been wanting to see you for a while now.”

“If that’s the case then she could’ve stopped by my house instead of your office,” Ashton retorted. “She probably just wanted to confirm the rumors, which you did.”

“You know that she’s a very…complex woman.”

“Complex? That’s an understatement.”

Silence fell between them again, as Ashton played around with his food. Despite having an absolutely delicious meal in front of him, his appetite had died instantly at the mention of the woman that gave birth to him.

Ashton had spent his entire life trying to make his family proud. He thought he was finally over it, finally done hating himself for not being good enough for them, but one word about his mother and he felt like he was once again a fourteen year old boy listening to his parents lecture him about how he would never amount to anything. How he was a disgrace to the Archer legacy.

“Your food is getting cold,” Malcolm said. Ashton didn’t say anything back, he didn’t even look at his agent, making the older man sign. He was probably regretting talking about family when they were out having a good time. “You don’t have to call her back if you don’t want to.”

“I will,” Ashton’s voice was low. “Later.”

“Okay. It’s up to you,” Malcolm said. “Anyway, did you watch Lily Darwin’s latest interview? What a disaster. I feel terrible for her PR team, they’ve got their work cut out for them if they want to salvage her reputation.”

“She’s getting absolutely roasted online,” Ashton noddes.

“Poor girl.”

Ashton was about to say something back when he heard a familiar laugh. A sound he hadn’t heard in a very long time. He looked to the side, his eyes widening in surprise as his gaze fell on Maria.

As if feeling that somebody was looking at her, she turned too, their eyes meeting.

~~~

Ashton exhaled deeply as he rested his head back on the couch. He had just taken a shower in his luxurious trailer and was ready to relax for a couple of hours until his next shoot. He was contemplating whether to take a nap or not when there was a knock on his door.

He tightened the belt of his robe as he got up. He wasn’t expecting Ryker to be there, but that’s who he saw once he opened the door. He raised a questioning brow at the other man, wondering what he was doing there. Ryker simply passed Ashton a tight lipped smile as he shifted on his feet.

“I was wondering if you wanted to run lines together for the next scene?” Ryker asked. “I could use some help.”

Ashton frowned slightly, unhappy that his downtime was disturbed, but he nodded nonetheless. Had any of his other co-actors asked him this, he would’ve agreed in an instant. As he had sworn to himself that he wouldn’t let his personal problems with Ryker come in the middle of their work, he had to show him the same courtesy.

“Sure, come on in,” Ashton answered with a vague shrug.

Ryker seemed surprised, as if he wasn’t expecting Ashton to actually agree. He nodded, Ashton stepped aside to let the other man in, before closing the door shut behind them.

“So—”

“Just give me a second,” Ashton interrupted, “I need to get dressed.”

Ryker nodded once again as Ashton walked over to his wardrobe. He took out a pair of sweatpants and a plain black t-shirt, before unwrapping the robe and dropping it on the floor.

He knew that Ryker could see him, but it wasn’t like he was fully naked. He was wearing a pair of briefs underneath, and as an actor and model, Ashton was comfortable undressing in front of people. He accidently dropped the t-shirt, cursing quietly as he bent down to grab it.

He quickly put on the clothes that he had picked out, before joining Ryker on the couch.

As soon as Ashton turned around, Ryker looked down at the script on his lap. He was staring at the paper with so much intensity, as if it was written in some extinct language that he could not make any sense out of. Ashton must’ve been mistaken, but he felt as if he saw a tinge of red on Ryker’s cheeks.

Nah. That could not be it. There was no reason for Ryker to blush.

Ashton sat down next to him, unaware of how fast Ryker’s heart was beating.

“So, which scene?” Ashton asked.

“Actually,” Ryker cleared his throat before continuing. “Could you help me with my next scene with Tabitha?”

“Shouldn’t you ask her to run lines with you then?” Ashton deadpanned.

“She’s busy right now, her fiancé is visiting the set so she’s showing them around,” Ryker answered, making Ashton nod in understanding.

“Right,” Ashton said. “Fine. What are the lines?”

Ryker pointed at the script on his lap, it was the only copy he had. Ashton shifted closer to him, enough so that their thighs were touching. Ashton bent slightly as he grabbed the paper, he gave it a quick read, frowning a little when he realized what the scene was.

“I don’t really think I’m the best person for this,” Ashton muttered, flipping through the pages.

“You’re an actor, Ash,” Ryker retorted.

“But this is, uh, this is…”

“This is what?” Ryker challenged. “Can’t do a little emotional bit? I thought rom-coms were your speciality?”

“I can do emotional just fine,” Ashton grunted. “But this is sort of romantic. And you’re…”

“I’m what?”

“A man,” Ashton answered.

“You won’t become gay if you run lines with me,” Ryker said.

“That’s not what I was—” Ashton paused. “Nevermind. Let’s just start.”

“Awesome,” Ryker grinned. “I owe you one.”

“Let’s call it even,” Ashton replied. When Ryker looked at him in confusion, he explained. “For the ride home last week.”

Ashton still thought about that car ride from time to time. It seemed like for whatever reason, it had caused things to cool down a little between the two men. Ashton still hated Ryker, obviously. But he couldn’t deny that their lives were once very intertwined, and he cared about some aspects of the past. Those aspects mainly being Ryker’s family, who Ashton was quite close too.

They probably showed him more love and care than his parents ever did. Ashton couldn’t even recall how many Thanksgiving dinners he ate there, and how many Christmas nights he spent at Ryker’s house because his parents were too busy. They always had a present for Ashton under the tree too. Ashton would forever be grateful for those memories. Without them, his childhood would have been bleak.

Times had changed since then. He hadn’t seen Ryker’s family since their falling out, and now he spent the festivities either alone or at parties of people that he did not care for at all. Quite frankly, he preferred the former over the latter by a huge margin. Only when it came to times like these.

“Oh,” Ryker hummed. “Cool.”

“Can we begin already? I really want to squeeze in a nap before the next shoot,” Ashton said, seeming annoyed.

“A nap?” Ryker asked. “Don’t you always end up getting a headache after you nap?”

“I’ll pop a painkiller or something later,” Ashton muttered. He hated that Ryker knew him so well, though he was surprised that the other man remembered such a small detail. He never would’ve expected him to.

“That’s not very healthy,” Ryker sighed.

“Unless you went to med school during your two year break, please don’t lecture me about shit,” Ashton retorted.

“It’s not really rocket science to know this,” Ryker mumbled.

“Yeah, it’s medical science,” Ashton replied.

“Can you go one day without arguing with me about something stupid?”

“Can you go one day without saying something stupid?”

“Can you go one day without—”

“Do you want to rehearse or are you just here to fight with me?” Ashton cut him off.

“Yeah, I’ll start,” Ryker paused, before turning to look at Ashton with a serious expression on his face. “I’m in love with you. I have been for so goddamn long but you don’t have a single clue.“

***