November 25th 2010.
As Emma had promised, she was treating him today.
He had risen early as always, done his morning training, showered and was currently dressing.
He opted for casual black jeans, a 'not penny's boat' t-shirt that he had thought clever and a leather jacket. He put on his beige colored chukka boots as well.
He went down for breakfast and ordered a dozen pancakes with chocolate chips to go with his orange juice.
When he was done, he went strolling through Sunset Boulevard to kill some time. He had enchiladas for lunch and a crepe for dessert.
When it was 4:30pm, he took a taxi to the place he and Emma had agreed to meet up at.
He waited for her to show up near the theater, and almost doubled back laughing when he saw her approaching. She was wearing a ridiculously oversized hat and sunglasses big enough they covered half her face.
"Hey." she said in a low voice, making sure to check right and left after greeting him.
"Hey… What, exactly are you wearing?" Jay asked.
"Ugh. A disguise, duh? This is Hollywood Jay, you never know when a paparazzi is gonna pop out.
"Right… So, which movie do you want to watch?"
"How about The Social Network? I heard it was good."
Jay almost groaned. He had hated that movie the first time, he doubted it would be different but hey, the lady had chosen.
"Sure, let's go. Do me a favor, lose the hat and sunglasses inside, I doubt a paparazzi would go inside." he helpfully added.
"Alright."
***
So, the movie was as terrible as the first time he'd seen it, but the company was great. It was already 7pm by the time it was over.
"What do we do now?" Emma asked.
"Hm… How about dinner? Do you know a good place?"
"Well, I did promise I would be your guide." Emma smiled and hip-checked him, "Come on, I know this awesome Chinese place, you're gonna love it."
And he did too. It was a small restaurant in an inconspicuous corner of L.A. They offered a wide range of delicacies for a cheap price, it was amazing. Jay ordered fried wontons, egg rolls and chicken chow mein, while Emma took beef chop suey and shrimp egg foo young.
When asked for beverages, Jay got a non-alcoholic beer while she went with iced tea.
"So," he opened after a moment of silence. "What's with your tattoo?" he asked, pointing at her left wrist.
Emma chuckled, "I was wondering when you were gonna ask."
"Really?"
"Yep; saw you peeking at it a few times."
Jay softly smiled, "I was… thinking of getting one of my own, and yours got me intrigued."
She raised an eyebrow at that, "You're a little too young for that, right?"
Jay let out a laugh, "Seriously? Thank you, mom."
Emma shook her head, "I didn't mean it like that. Mine is pretty… meaningful. I don't know if I would've gotten one otherwise."
Jay stayed silent. He knew how things worked, if women had something to say, staying mum was the best way to let them.
His lady friend opened up after a few mouthful of her drink, "My mom… used to have breast cancer. She battled with it for two years, and she won recently."
Jay put his chopsticks down, he was afraid he'd drop them if he didn't. He stared at the redhead in front of him, encouraging her to continue.
"It was… a relief, you know? And I wanted to do something to sort of, mark the event I guess." she paused and her lips arched in a giddy smile, "My mom's favorite song, is Blackbird by Paul McCartney."
"Ah, fine taste." Jay commented in approval.
"Right? And so I reached out to him. Asked him if he would mind drawing birds feet so that my mom and I could get matching tattoos out of it." she beamed.
"Your tattoo was drawn by Paul McCartney?"
"Uh-huh, pretty cool, right?" she impishly grinned.
Jay debated what to answer for a second before sighing in defeat. "It is." he finally admitted to her delighted laughter.
The server came by and tried to ask them in broken English if they needed anything else. Emma asked for some napkins but the man failed to understand her.
"Yǒu cān jīn zhǐ mā?" Jay translated and although the server was startled, he nodded and hurriedly departed.
Emma looked at him in wonder, "You… speak Chinese?"
"Mandarin, a little." he curtly responded.
The server came back with napkins and Emma thanked him. When he had left, she turned to Jay.
"You said you wanted to get one of your own? A tattoo, I mean."
He took a gulp of his beer before answering, "Yeah. You know that I've been in a coma for six years, right?"
Emma carefully nodded, "I heard from Steve… I didn't mean to pry so I never brought it up."
Jay smiled, "Thanks, I appreciate it. I see it as being given a second chance, you know? I'm genuinely grateful, and it's soon gonna be a year since I… woke up. I want to get my first tattoo then."
She eyed him silently for a moment, pondering. "What do your parents think?"
"... They don't know. I think I might get my dad on board, but my mom will probably be a hard sale." he admitted.
"I think you should tell her your reason for wanting it, I doubt she'd oppose." she said.
"What makes you think that?"
Emma rolled her eyes at him, "She let you come to Hollywood. I had to make my parents a PowerPoint to convince them."
Jay laughed at that, "Seriously?"
"Yeah. It was a pain too. I'm technology challenged." she grunted.
"Is that why you're not on social media?"
"No, it's more like, I don't see the point? I don't know, it feels like it wouldn't change a lot in my life." she reasoned.
"... We just went to see The Social Network."
"Ugh, I know. I hated it." she groaned and moved her hand to support her chin.
"What?! Why did we go to see it for then?"
"I went to see it for you!"
"I hated it too!" he let out in disbelief and she stared back at him before they both burst out laughing.
"That's a double whammy." Emma commented and he couldn't have agreed more.
When they were done eating, he raised his hand and hollered at the server.
"Fú wù yuán!" (Waiter!)
He figured it would be quicker to just speak to the guy in his native tongue, or they might be here all night. It was good practice too.
The man came up to them with a business smile, "Èi?" (Yes?)
"Mǎi dān." (The bill, please.) Jay said.
The server nodded and brought back the total. Jay paid in cash and added, "Bú yòng zhǎo le dāng xiǎo fèi ba." (No need for change, keep it as a tip.)
Emma looked at him in annoyance, "I said I'd pay half."
"You already paid for the theater, now we're even." he shrugged and looked at his watch. "It's late, let's go back?"
Emma acquiesced and they shared a taxi. He first dropped the lady at her place before going back to the hotel.
It had been a good day, and he had made a friend.
***
December 1st 2010.
Today there was no filming, they would instead play the models and shoot multiple stills for the movie promotion.
It was morning and they had to basically recreate some of the movie scenes, but in better quality.
The first one he had to do was with Kevin Bacon and Steve Carell. Jay would be in the middle while the other two were hanging on his neck and holding onto his clothes.
It would've been a fun scene to shoot if it weren't for the asshat of a photographer they had to deal with.
"Hey Aslan, I told you to look angry, not fucking constipated! Do you have a broom up your ass? 'Cause it looks like it from where I am!" Lorenzo shouted.
Speak of the devil, Jay thought. The guy was seriously annoying, but he was good at what he did so no one would ever hold it against him. Glenn Ficarra swore by him, and sincerely believed that if the guy wanted to shit down your throat, you had better let him since his artistic sense was unrivaled.
Apparently Ruby hadn't gotten the memo though, because she descended on the poor guy like a dog in a meat house.
"Hey, you asshole! You don't talk to him like that, he is fifteen!" she hissed, inches away from his face.
"Wha-what? Who are you?! G-get away from me, you're invading my personal space! I'm just doing… doing my job, okay?" Lorenzo stuttered.
"Yeah? Well, so am I! You can take pictures without being an ass, alright? Just tell him what he is doing wrong instead of insulting him. You swore more in the last hour than a goddamn truck driver does in a week!" she spat out and it looked like the photographer was gonna pee himself.
"Hey, Jay, if I ever offend you, let's settle it in private, no need to involve your agent." Steve whispered and Kevin nodded in agreement.
Jay felt it funny but couldn't bring himself to laugh, he was too busy trying to remember whether he had personally offended her in some way. He hoped not, she was scary. He suddenly really missed Lou. He needed to be healed.
In the end, Lorenzo toned down on the abusive language and the shooting went by smoothly after that.
Ruby 1, the industry 0.
December 5th 2010.
He and Emma had gotten closer and that was a good thing considering the following scenes they were about to shoot.
John Requa came up to him at the beginning. "Hey, Jay. You good to go?"
"Uh, yeah?" Jay answered, puzzled.
Requa cleared his throat, "Look, sorry I haven't asked that before but… have you ever kissed before?"
Jay finally realized what the man was worried about and chuckled. "Yep, I'm good, John."
The director visibly relaxed at that and patted his back, "Great." he clumsily commented before going back behind the cameras.
They were filming at the Stage 19 of the Warner Bros. Studio, since the bar was a fake.
Jay and Emma as well as all the figurants got into place.
"Ready… First Take and… action!"
{ [after storming out into the rain from her celebration party Hannah goes back to where she met Jacob, she finds him and kisses him passionately] }
Apparently the two had stayed entangled too long because John's yell came after a while.
"CUT! Seriously guys? Breathe will you!" he added to the uproarious laughter of everyone on set.
Jay and Emma separated and sheepishly looked at each other; it'd been a great kiss.
"It was a bad take, right? Should we do that again?" Jay innocently asked and Emma laughed.
But it wasn't happening, John had more than enough material and so it was on to the next lines.
"ACTION!"
{ Hannah: Do you remember me?
Jacob Palmer: Yeah.
Hannah: Still find me attractive?
Jacob Palmer: Yes.
Hannah: Still wanna take me home?
Jacob Palmer: Yeah.
[she kisses him again]
Hannah: Let's go. }
"And cut! It's a wrap, nice job guys!" Requa said.
"Anytime!" Jay added. And he meant it, the kiss had been great. He knew Emma had felt the same since she had also spaced out in the middle. It was only acting though, he wasn't sure how it would go otherwise.
***
December 12th 2010.
They were shooting at Jacob's crib again, on top of Hollywood Hills. The mansion was seriously awesome, no matter how many times Jay saw it.
Glenn quieted everyone down with one of his trademarks yells, before getting down to business.
"Alright, this is scene 104. It's the last day we have the house available to us, so we have to finish shooting everything related to it today. Everyone in place!"
Jay sat on the edge of the couch while Emma stood a little away, still wet from the rain.
"... First Take… action!"
{ [at Jacob's house after leaving the bar with him]
Hannah: So, is this how it normally works?
Jacob Palmer: What?
Hannah: You know, you like put on the perfect song and you make them a drink. And then you sleep together.
Jacob Palmer: Um…yeah.
Hannah: I'm very nervous.
Jacob Palmer: I'm getting that.
[...]
Hannah: Take off your shirt.
Jacob Palmer: Why?
Hannah: Please, can you take off your shirt? Cause I can't stop thinking. I need you to just…
Jacob Palmer: Okay! Okay! Okay! Okay!
Hannah: Alright!
[he takes off his shirt and just stands in front of her awkwardly]
Hannah: Fuck! Seriously? It's like you're photoshopped! Can I…
[she walks towards him and touches his stomach]
Jacob Palmer: Ah! You have cold hands. And I need you take off your dress.
Hannah: No!
Jacob Palmer: Yes.
Hannah: No way! Not with all that goin' on. No, thank you! Is there a dim lighting somewhere? Oh, God! }
The take was apparently not good enough and the directors had them try it two more times before they were satisfied.
Jay felt slightly awkward because it was the first scene he had filmed where he was shirtless for so long. The one with the dirty dancing lift had been cut short by Emma's meltdown and they had wisely chosen to take a double instead.
After this scene was shot, they did the one in the bedroom.
Jay positioned himself on top of Emma on the bed, still shirtless. The room was dimly-lit and it just served to add to the already palpable tension.
"Alright, action!"
{ [as they are kissing on Jacob's bed]
Hannah: This pillow forms perfectly to the shape of my head.
Jacob Palmer: Yeah.
[Jacob continues to kiss her but she pulls back again]
Hannah: Is this one of those foam pillows from Brookstone?
[Jacob gets frustrated with her and sighs]
Jacob Palmer: Yeah.
Hannah: Yeah? I always wondered who actually buys them! The hot guy from the bar buys them! Of course!
Jacob Palmer: Jacob.
Hannah: Mm-hmm. Jacob. Sorry for that.
Jacob Palmer: Yeah.
Hannah: I'm sorry, continue.
[Jacob resumes kissing her, but Hannah pulls back again]
Hannah: You don't have one of those ridiculous um…those massage chairs, do you?
[Jacob hesitates in answering]
Hannah: [laughing] You do?
Jacob Palmer: No.
Hannah: Yes, you do!
Jacob Palmer: Yeah, I do.
[Hannah laughs hard]
Hannah: Oh, my God!
Jacob Palmer: I don't! I don't! I do! Who'd have that? I would! I have that.
Hannah: How much was it?
Jacob Palmer: Five thousand dollars
[this makes Hannah laugh even harder]
Jacob Palmer: Ask me how many times I've used it?
Hannah: How many times have you used it?
Jacob Palmer: Twice.
[laughing harder]
Hannah: That's twenty five hundred dollars a message. }
They had to retake this one many times more, and the following ones as well. When they were done, everyone was pooped but it had been a fulfilling day. Jay went to sleep in satisfaction.
***
December 14th 2010.
Lou had been calling a lot, and although Scamp had kept her busy for awhile, he could tell she was upset whenever they FaceTimed.
"How… how much longer are you staying Jay?" she softly asked.
"Five days sweetie. I'll be back before you know it." he smiled and changed the subject, "How is Scamp?"
Lou perked up at that and smiled, "He's fine! He's very naughty, he chewed on daddy's shoes!" she giggled.
Jay laughed, he would've paid gold to be able to see his dad's face at the time.
"Hey, Jay? They're ready for you!" one of the staff members came to warn him and he nodded.
He turned back to his sister and apologized, "Let's talk later, I love you. Hug mom and dad for me, okay?"
"Alright, bye Jay, I love you!" she waved at the screen and hung up.
Jay went back to the set, they were filming at the Equinox Fitness center and next scenes required him to be naked. Sort of. Ryan Gosling would have been but Jay was fifteen and it wasn't exactly appropriate.
They put green colored underwear on him, that way it could be touched up with CG and he would appear to have been naked thanks to the camera's angle. It was more for propriety's sake than anything else since they would use a body double when part of his ass was supposed to be shown.
The first scene was shot in the locker room, and the second in the sauna.
It was uncomfortable and the tissue on the back would sometime ride up his butt which he hated. He sucked it up for the movie's sake though. Ruby had laughed at his predicament when she was assured he wouldn't be completely naked. The traitress.
And the day uneventfully passed by.
***
December 18th 2010.
It was finally over. They had shot the final take of the final scene, which was the graduation one, and everybody was present.
Steve broke the champagne bottle on the set to the cheers of everybody.
He raised his champagne glass and got everyone to quiet down before he started his speech.
"This," he began, smiling and eying all those present, "has been one hell of a ride everyone, and we made it!"
Everyone cheered and applauded.
"I want to thank all of you, for doing such a great job. I want to thank Jay in particular, who has been amazing at coping with our demands that might've sometimes seemed unreasonable because of the rushed race to get this movie wrapped. It's his first movie and I think that's something to be proud about!"
Jay felt embarrassed and simply raised his orange glass to the man as thanks. Many people came by and congratulated him, Emma included.
She gave him a bear hug and kissed his cheek, "Keep in touch, don't be a stranger." she smiled and left, she had an interview scheduled and didn't have time to stay.
Everything had gone way too fast, and it was soon time for him to jet.
He bade everyone farewell and Ruby and him caught a flight back home.
He wouldn't see the others until they started promoting the movie well after the New Year, but the good thing was that he had already gotten his paycheck. A whole two hundred and fifty thousand dollars.
He would be able to buy his close ones awesome gifts this Christmas, and it was gonna be with his own money.
He looked out the plane's window and smiled. Life was good.