June 2004, Pittsburgh, PA, USA

  "I'm a little nervous about the shoot today, Troy," Emma said softly while sitting beside me. "I don't think this role is suitable for me."

  "Nonsense," I shot down her insecurities. "It is unsuitable for you only if you think that."

  Emma didn't say anything for a few moments. "I saw the repy of the first week of filming. I see that I'm far from being the best actress."

  As much as I wao, I couldn't disagree with that pletely. While I had grown to love Emma a lot over the years, I didn't want to lie to her face. She is the sweetest, most uanding, and most supportive girlfriend a guy could ever ask for, but she wasn't the best actress. And that's fine. Not everyone has the raw talent that a few actors, like Emily Stone, possess naturally. Even Jonathan Groff and Lea Michele were much better actors than Emma.

  However, that didn't mean I was stupid enough to say that to her face.

  "sider this to be a learning opportunity," I said carefully. "I'm not the best actor either. I take each day as a challenge."

  "You? Not the best actor?" Emma scoffed. "Whenever I see any of your performances, I feel so inferior. You are just one year older, but your ag is so far ahead of me. I don't think I ever catch up." She looked away from me, slight shame visible in her eyes.

  I grasped her and lightly turned her face bae. "And why do you feel the o catch up with me? You are you, and I'm me. We will never be the same. And that's why I love you. Have you seen hant I am? I need someone like you to ground me or I'll fly off into space with the big head I have."

  "Stop making it about us," Emma said tiredly, pushing my hand away from her face. "It's not about us at all. I'm just saying that I'm not sure if this profession is suitable for me. The worst part is that because of all this [Harry Potter] fame, I don't think I'd be able to do anything else ever."

  I looked at her to see if she was being geh her words. From what I could see, she was.

  "I really didn't want to do this film right now," she tinued. "I had thought I would get some ag csses to improve my skills before doing anything else besides Hermione. But you pleaded so much I couldn't say no."

  Now I was feeling shitty. I didn't want this for her at all.

  "You still leave if you want," I offered. "We will reshoot all your ses with someone else." It would be a little expensive, but the money was not more important than Emma's happiness. "I never meant to make you—"

  "No," Emma cut me off. "I don't like dropping things off iween. Why do you think I didn't drop Hermione as well when your dad came to me with a tract renewal?"

  "You were thinking of dropping out from [Harry Potter]?" I asked.

  She shrugged, "Doesn't matter. I didn't. I will finish this film just as I will [Harry Potter], but you have to promise me that from now on, you will never ask me to do a role like this."

  "Even if it's a very good Oscar-worthy role?" I asked.

  "Even then," she affirmed. "I think that we o set boundaries between our work and personal—"

  "Hey guys!"

  Emma and I turned in unison toward the interruption, which just happeo be Lea Michele.

  "Hi, Lea," Emma greeted her with a smile that didn't reach her eyes. "Troy and I were just talking about the se. Would you like to run lines with us?"

  I resisted the urge to snap at Lea and took a deep breath. I silently sent a look to Emma that said we weren't doh our talk before turning back to Lea with a forced smile. "Yeah, it would be good for everyone if we could run our lines."

  "Great!" Lea beamed at me. "You are such a good actor, Troy. I know I learn a lot from you."

  I couldn't help but sigh inwardly. Why did she have to exclude Emma so btantly right when she was having doubts about her skills?

  "Yeah," Emma agreed instantly, but I could detect the hint of sarcasm in her voice. "Troy is so good, we all learn from him."

  "Why not?" I said relutly. "Only a fool would say no to such beautiful dies."

  "Aww," Lea cooed before snaking an arm around mine. "You are so cute. I 't believe that you're still single. I'll happily be your first if you want."

  "Let's keep things professional here," I hastily separated my arm from hers. I didn't have to look at Emma to know the daggers she must be throwing at Lea with her eyes. As much as I liked having Emma around, she was right. We have to set clear personal and professional boundaries between us.

  I had made a great error by invitio this film without sidering her feelings. Maybe that's why most actors don't work with their signifit other ons. Would I even have offered the role to Emma had I not seen the inal film? I'm sure one day my foreknowledge will get me killed.

  (Break)

  "A!"

  Hearing the magical word, all of us went into our serious ag mode. There were seven of us sitting around a table, with hollow cups in front of us, pying the game of truth or dare. Lea was sitting on my left, while Emma occupied my right.

  "Truth or dare?" The actor pying Bob asked Jonathan.

  "Who are you talking to?" Jonathan said with a grin, wagging his eyebrows, making it obvious that he wouldn't accept anythihan a dare.

  "I dare you to kiss Alice," Bob oward the girl sitting beside him.

  Jonathan growled pyfully while sidlio Alid saying dramatically, "Gird your loins, procreator." He was such a joy to wat his element.

  "Mary Elizabeth," Craig, Sam's older boyfriend, said to Lea, "Samantha told me you got into Harvard. gratutions."

  "Thank you!" Lea beamed, hugging me closer to her. "This oill hasn't gotten me flowers, but I five you." Then she kissed me on the cheek. I didn't even have to fake how unfortable that made me, given Emma was sitting on my other side.

  Jonathan the on to kiss the girl pying Alice before turning to me.

  "Let's see… I pick, Charlie. Truth or Dare?"

  "Truth," I said fidently.

  "How's your first retionship going?" he asked.

  "It's so bad, that I keep fantasizing one of us is dying of cer so I don't have to break up with her," I said with the straightest face I could muster.

  "Charlie," Jonathan called out again. "Hey! Truth or Dare?" Lea physically shook me out of my daydream as everyone else chuckled at me.

  "Dare?" I said a little hesitantly. I had already seen the sequence of pig truth in my head, so it was better to stick with dare this time.

  "Okay," Jonathan said excitedly. "I dare you to kiss the prettiest girl in the room on the lips." He then grinned cockily. "And notice that I charitably said girl and not person, because let's face it, I'd smoke all you bitches."

  While everyone chuckled at his joke, I didn't. My mind was set ohing only — I had to kiss the prettiest girl in the room, which just happeo be my girlfriend. Without thinking too much about it, I turo her and kissed Emma on the lips. She pulled back hastily and turo Lea with a ed look.

  Lea, who pyed Mary Elizabeth, was supposed to be my character, Charlie's girlfriend during this time. By kissing anirl, I essentially decred that she wasn't as beautiful.

  I looked around the table, and everyone else was looking at me as if I had grown a sed head.

  "Oh, that's fucked up," Jonathan summed up the situation eloquently.

  I turned bay supposed girlfriend and said apologetically, "Mary Elizabeth. I'm so sorry." Without waiting for my response, she got up and walked out of the room. "It was a mistake, I'm sorry." I turo Emma. "Sam, I'm sorry. I really didn't mean anything by it."

  Emma gave me a disappointed look before asking, "What the hell's wrong with you?" Theurned around and walked out of the frame as well.

  "Cut!" Chbosky's voice rang out in the room. "And that's done, guys. Perfectly, I must say. Now everyone else go if they want, we have to shoot Troy and Lea's se iy minutes."

  I removed the mic attached to me and saw Emma doing the same. I hated doing this part.

  "I don't think you should stay here," I said softly. "I wouldn't like seeing you in such a se either."

  "No way in hell am I gon you aloh Lea of all people," Emma shot back.

  "What's wrong with Lea?" I asked, though I didn't have to. I could see the eyes she was making at me from behind Emma. "Don't ahat," I said, realizing my mistake. That girl wouldn't know the meaning of subtlety even if it hit her in the face.

  "Also, did you fet that I am in the se as well?"

  I had fotten that. Emma doesn't have any lines in the se, but she appears for a brief moment to kiss me.

  "Troy," my e dy walked up to me before I could reply. "You o ge for the se."

  "Go," Emma instructed. "I have to ge as well. See you soon." With that, she turned and walked over to her dressing room.

  I sighed but followed the e dy to ge for the se. The uping se was Charlie and Mary Elizabeth's first kiss. We were shooting the film in reverse order so that the rest of the cast members could be free early and wouldn't have to stay all day long for their se.

  It didn't take long for the actors and the set to get ready for the se.

  "A!"

  Hearing that word, Lea started dang around the room slowly while I was sitting on the couch. "Don't you just love old music?" She asked me.

  "Yeah?" I half-asked nervously, fully in character.

  "Good. Cause I made you a mix of it," she said while sitting beside me, her haing on my shoulder, making me even more nervous. It didn't help that Emma, Emma's mother, Lea's mother, and a representative of the child welfare association were keeping a fixed gaze on my as. Logically, either of my parents should have been here as well, but that meant flying all the way over from London for just a day, so they signed over that duty to my lovely assistant/maobias.

  "This is a nice house," I remarked nervously.

  "When I'm done being a lobbyist, I'll move into a simir house in Cape Cod. Sounds nice, doesn't it?"

  "Yeah," I nodded more than was strictly necessary to increase the hirity of the se.

  Lea inched closer to me a a hand on my chest, makiake a deep breath. "Your heart's beating really fast."

  "Uh huh," I nodded nervously.

  "Charlie," she whispered while ing closer. "Do you like me?"

  "I think so," I nodded rapidly.

  "Don't be nervous," she said softly before taking my hand and pg it on her shoulder, dropping her dress down, revealing her bra. Then she guided my hand over to her chest. I didn't move it at all aed all trol to her, aware of all the eyes on me.

  Lea moved forward, pg her lips on mine. Her lips were soft and moist, making me fet where I was for a moment. Her hands grabbed the bay ned pulled me along on top of her as we made out, but I made sure to keep my too myself. Lea was not so professional, and I could feel her tongue around my lips, but I didn't give in to the temptation.

  We kissed for a very long time because Chbosky couldn't just get the right shot. By the end, I even lost t of how many times I kissed her that day.

  "Charlie," she whispered after pulling away from my lips. Then she y down ay p and said, "I didn't know how tonight was gonna go, but it was really nice, wasn't it?"

  "Uh-huh," I nodded nonittally.

  "I just 't believe that you're my boyfriend," she said excitedly.

  I made a wtf face as the camera pao me. The two characters alked about being a couple, so essentially she forced Charlie to be her boyfriend with that statement.

  "Shit!" She suddenly got up. "My parents! Zip it up!" She turned her bae and barked orders fiercely. "Just like a normal zipper! Hurry."

  I scrambled to do as she said, before hearing, "Cut! Perfect! Let's move on! Emma, it's your turn."

  I rexed immediately. It was already awkward to kiss a girl while everyone was watg. It was worse when yirlfriend was o as well, and within moments you had to kiss her too. I just wao get this over with so I could go home and rex for the night.

  I turo see Emma, who had walked over to me. By the looks of it, she didn't look happy with what had just happened. I don't uand girls sometimes. Why does she have a problem with me kissing Lea Michele, but not when I kissed Léa Seydoux in [Goblet of Fire]?

  "Are you okay?" I asked heless.

  "Yeah," she nodded nontly. "Why wouldn't I be?"

  "A!"

  Emma kissed me, and I realized the differeween Emma and Lea. Emma was very good at kissing me. I knew her lips like my own. Probably better than my own. With her, I had ation at all.

  Emma separated from me for a moment and looked at me longingly. A look I returned in character.

  "Cut!" Chbosky yelled out. "And we are done for the day, people. That erfect, Emma, Troy, that too on the first take."

  I smiled at Emma, "Guess I'm too good at kissing you to need retakes."

  Emma didn't reply to my jab. Instead, she got up, removed her mid walked back to where her mother, Jacqueline, was waiting for her. Jackie sent me an angry/sad look before walking away with Emma. I could only scratch my head in fusion.

  What the fuck did I d now?

  I didn't want to let the situatioer a worse, so after removing my mic, I got up and followed after Emma. Before I could go very far, Tobias stood in my way.

  "Troy," he said urgently. "Something has happened. We o talk about it."

  " I talk to Emma first?" I asked, not uanding the urgency of the situation.

  "Oh yes, this involves her as well," he said somberly. "e on, it's better if I tell both you aogether."

  I didn't know why, but dread built up in my gut. Did something bad happen? Why was Tobias ag so weird? Seeing how he was looking around nervously, I didn't want to force him to answer where anyone could overhear, so I silently followed him to where he was taking me, which turned out to be Emma's dressing room. He knocked politely before asking, " I e in, Emma?"

  "Yes," came the immediate reply. Tobias didn't wait any longer befoing in. Inside were Emma and her mother, Jackie. Usually, Jackie didn't e with Emma to shoot, but because of the nature of some of the ses, it was decided that parents/guardians of all underaged actors should be present o.

  "Emma, Jackie," Tobias greeted them in quick succession. "Let's not beat around the bush—photos of Emma and Troy have been leaked to the media."

  "What!?" Jackie said in e.

  "hotos?" I asked calmly, but my eyes never left Emma, who looked mightily distressed by the news.

  "It is a photo of you two kissing," Tobias expined. "And not the ones for the film either. They have not yet been published, but an au was held by a paparazzo where the photo was sold for 300,000 to TMZ. Warner came to know of the au, and they informed your father about it, who called me a few ho."

  "And you're telling us now?" Jackie asked heatedly.

  "What difference would telling them earlier have made, huh? They'd have performed worse o and wasted a day of shooting."

  That made sense, but ohing didn't. "Why didn't Dad or Warner participate in the au and outbid TMZ?" I asked.

  "Because they couldn't get the information on time," Tobias said matter-of-factly. "ed media house like Warner would publish the image because of the ethical s because of ye. So only tabloids like TMZ were informed of the image."

  That sucked.

  "Also," he tinued, "irrespective of when the photo is published, the hat you two are together is out. Tomorrow, this pce will be teeming with paparazzi, trying to catch either of you off-guard. I don't mean to sound ung, but this was iable. You two are not very subtle, after all. All things sidered, I'm amazed that you two could keep your retionship hidden for so long."

  "Isn't this illegal?" Jackie asked. "They are minors."

  "As long as they were out in publid the photo is used to report a news rather than anything obse, no w is broken." Tobias said. "Ethically its wrong, but when has ethics stopped tabloids?"

  Suddenly, Emma got up and turo Jackie, " we go home now, Mum?"

  "But Emma–" I began saying.

  "No, Troy," she shook her head. "I don't want any more drama in my life right now. Especially not when I feel so vioted at having my privacy breached so btantly. Also, don't think I didn't notice how you took more thaakes to kiss that hussy, and you were doh me in just one? I… let's just go, Mum."

  I stood there shell-shocked as Emma and her mother left Tobias and me in the dressing room without addressing the elephant in the room—what would we say to the media when the news is officially leaked tomorrow?

  ___________________

  AN: After some reader pints, I checked some online sources to see if such a sario is illegal for the paparazzi taking the picture or the tabloid publishing it. The ao the best of my knowledge is, it's not. As long as the photo was taken in a public space, and it is not used for advertisement or anything obse, it's perfectly legal. You are more than wele to correct me, but this plot line will remain unged.