[Edward POV]
The black SUV with dark tinted windows entered the studio district in Hollywood. I could see the Paramo*nt Pictures set, and a few other studios around.
The buildings were beige in color and seemed lifeless from the outside. But inside them? It was filled with various sets ranging from an Old West Town to the New York city streets.
It was my first time entering the sets, but, interestingly enough, not my first opportunity to do so. Apparently in our school, the teacher could bring the students here for a field trip. However, I had never gone before, nor was I in the drama club.
"Damn. Marvel got a huge ass studio. They have upgraded!" I muttered as I stood in front of the set for Iron Man 2. Starting from facing bankruptcy and a low movie budget, the studio managed to revive their company with the production of the Iron Man movie.
"We have arrived." The Singh (Punjabi) driver said with a thick accent. I nodded and asked, "Renaldo?"
"He's coming." The driver said. I nodded and got out of the car before waiting for Renaldo at the entrance of the studio.
A skinny Guatemalan man walked hurriedly towards where I was standing and said with a thick accent, "Mr. Newgate. I'm Renaldo."
"I know. Can we get in?" I asked after reaching my hand out for a handshake with him. He was mildly startled before he grabbed my hand and shook it. He flashed a sincere smile and said, "Yes. Unfortunately, the interview is already over."
"Wait. Are you serious?" I asked exasperatingly as the only reason I went there was to provide some moral support for the girls. "What about-"
"They made it. And now they are fitting for the Ironette bikinis." Renaldo said, accurately guessing what I wanted to ask.
I nodded and opened my mouth to ask, but he interrupted me again.
"They want to meet you. They gave you a pass you can use to get to their dressing room. However, I don't recommend you to go there." He said with concern while fiddling with a white card shape key in his hand.
"Why not?" I asked in confusion.
His eyes shook as he thought whether to tell me the truth or not. Finally, he decided to put his trust in me. "Well…All 20 girls are basically naked inside the dressing room as they are fitted for the outfit."
"Ah. I understand." I said.
Renaldo breathed in relief as he saw me being respectful to the girls. I saw his expression and shrugged, "Well, if the room is only for the 2 of them, I will go in. But if there are other dancers, I won't invade their privacy."
Renaldo heard my words, but he was confused regardless. "Then why are your hands slowly trying to reach the keycard?"
I was startled and retracted my hand hurriedly. "Damn. You notice that huh?" I said jokingly, causing Renaldo to laugh for the first time in front of me. He usually tried to keep a professional manner, but today I managed to close the distance between us.
Just like Pepper, Renaldo shared the same loyal trait which made me want to befriend him sooner than usual. Of course, if he fell in love with Pepper earlier– just like in the original timeline, then I wouldn't have any objections to it.
"By the way, is Dwayne…single?" Renaldo asked me bashfully while leading me to the film set.
"..."
Right after I walked into the studio, I met with the set executive and she gave me a couple of rules to follow when I was inside the studio. First, I should not interfere with their work. Not that I needed to have it said after all it was common sense that shouldn't even be included in the guideline anyway, but you would be shocked to know how many dumb rich people there are.
While she was explaining the rules, suddenly a pompous, and a bit condescending voice sounded from behind us, making me turn my head to the source of the voice.
"What's a teen artist doing here? Kid, if you want to audition for the Ironette role, it's too late."
I saw RDJ walking towards me with a smile on his face. Just to be clear, he was in his Tony Stark persona as they were currently shooting, therefore he was playing around with a kid who he assumed was a lucky fan.
"But Mr RDJ, I'm sure if I put on a wig and dance, I will be better than anyone you casted. So give me a chance?" I said with a pitiful voice as I persuaded him.
RDJ's face froze while Renaldo looked at me– mouth agape in shock.
"HAHAHA!" RDJ laughed hard enough for most people in the set could hear and he couldn't help but break his character. He returned to the still pompous but kindhearted RDJ and patted my shoulder as he laughed.
"Kid, no matter what color wig you wear, there's no way you're dancing on that stage."
"Ah, that's fine though cause I only come here to support my friends who're auditioning."
RDJ nodded and said, "You're the singer right? The one who sang "Shivers" when you did that interview?"
"Yes. I'm surprised you know me." I said with slightly widened eyes as he guessed my identity.
"Well. I didn't at first. But I was stuck at my friend's child's birthday party, and you were all the kids were talking about." RDJ said before he waved the exec away. After Iron Man 1, he completely changed people's impression of him from a druggie to a highly capable and respected actor.
I thought that I would geek out when I met with him today, but surprisingly, Bruce Wayne's identity management skill helped me to maintain my usual character. It was a surprise, and a good one. This way, I wouldn't simp out on a short few people that I knew in my previous life if I accidentally meet them in the future.
"Friend? Is it Don Cheadle?" I blurted out without thinking much. RDJ was shocked for real this time and replied with a stammer, "Y-Yeah…How do you know?"
I shrugged and said, "Just gossips."
He sighed and said, "So. It got out huh."
Terrance would no longer be joining the Marvel movies after Iron Man 1 because of a disagreement on his actor fee. I was surprised that this happened in this universe too, but I guess I shouldn't be too surprised as a lot of things stayed the same.
"Let's walk to the buffet." RDJ said and led me to where the stars dined. I couldn't meet the dancers at this moment because they went directly to practice the choreography with the director.
"Wait. You guys are shooting the scene tonight?" I asked in shock as I was in awe with the studio's efficiency.
"Well…We could do it sooner, but filming in Monaco took a very long time. So we're rushing to meet the schedule" RDJ said, hinting that I shouldn't try to cause any trouble.
"You guys don't look that busy though." I said dismissively.
He looked at me with narrowed eyes and said, "You know I don't usually act as a tour guide, but I never expected to guide such a rude guest my first time in."
I chuckled a bit and said, "You didn't really become a tour guide from the kindness of your heart right? I asked as I could see that we were both really bored right now."
RDJ smiled as he had been exposed and walked to the buffet table to pick up some walnuts. He propped a few of them at once into his mouth and said, "You got me. Unfortunately, there's no correct prize for the right answer."
I shrugged and said faux-pitifully, "Damn. And here I thought I could get you to sign 1000 copies of the Iron Man poster."
"Kid, I will sign it, but I want you to appreciate it because my signature is expensive- Wait. Did you say 1000?" He stopped and looked towards me in disbelief.
I nodded and said casually, "Yeah. I want to sell them on Ebay for some pocket money."
"AREN'T YOU RICH?!" RDJ breathes sharply while in disbelief. He turned to pick up a plate and changed the subject quickly as signing 1000 posters would be a nightmare for him. "Try the chicken salad. A staff member brought it from home."
"My autographs?" I asked puzzledly.
"Try the lasagna too."
"My 1000 posters-"
"This muffin is also great." He said as he plugged my mouth with the muffin. I glared at him for a second before tasting the sweet muffin cream. It was sweet and chocolatey, so I forgave him.
I stopped teasing the anxious RDJ after he broke into a cold sweats while trying to eat. I smiled and picked up a plate before scooping some of the chicken salad. However, my nose picked up a strange smell as I sniffed the food."
"Wait. How long ago did the staff bring the salad here?" I asked as I stopped RDJ from
"Hmm? She just opened it now." He said in puzzlement. I was confused too and I tasted the salad a little, only for me to spit it back out and grimaced hard.
"It's starting to go bad. It's better not to eat it." I said before wiping my mouth with a napkin. Even though I'm immune to bad food, I still couldn't torture my taste bud by putting rotten food in my mouth.
RDJ didn't believe me and he sniffed the salad on his plate. "But it smells fine?"
"I don't care if you don't want to believe me. Just don't blame me if you get diarrhea after this." I said and threw my plate to the trash bin before picking up a new one.
[RDJ POV]
I thought he was a geek, but I never thought that he was actually a nice kid. Previously, I lied to him about not knowing who he was when I first met him. I knew instantly who he was because Susan couldn't stop talking about him.
She even joined his fan club, and even asked me if I could help her get in touch with him before. Too bad that none of my connections could help me cause the kid's company was basically a new and rapidly growing company.
Also, I admit his songs were great. Although, I liked 'Believer' more than the others. He didn't know this, but him coming here was no longer a secret as the Ironette dancers had basically declared his presence to everyone here. And apparently John wanted to meet him for some personal reason.
Susan wasn't a new fan of his. In fact, she had met him a couple of times behind the curtain at a symphony. I didn't know what happened there, but she cursed the kid's mother a few times when she got back. And she almost cried when watching his interview before.
'I should get his number after this.' I secretly reminded myself as to not sleep on the couch again when I go home next time.
I have a good impression of the kid. But now, him denying me the opportunity to eat the chicken salad that I had been eyeing for so long made my impression on him conflicted.
'Is he lying to get attention? Or is there something really wrong with the salad?' I thought to myself. I sniffed the salad, but I couldn't find anything wrong with it.
"Oh well." I said before stabbing the salad with my fork and wanted to bring it to my mouth, but stopping at the last minute. "Damn it!" I cursed and threw the salad away.
"Kid, if you're wrong I'm going to kick you out!" I said to him as I called the staff nearby. He didn't even react and was enjoying a slice of chocolate cake with an intoxicated expression. To my horror, his hand reached out to take the last slice of the cake.
"WAIT THAT'S MINE!" I screamed and snatched the cake with my fingers before eating it messily, without even trying to use a spoon or a plate.
[3rd Person POV]
As the celebrities walked away while bickering with one another, the staff member that RDJ called before, got to work quickly and took the salad away from the buffet table.
"Is it really gone bad? Janet will be sad if she knows." He said as he took a confirmation sniff on the salad. "There's nothing wrong with it though?" He said with some confusion before smiling bitterly as he thought of something.
"That must be it. That kid is lying to get RDJ's attention."
Then, he decided to put the salad back on the table and left the buffet table to do his actual work instead.
[Edward POV]
"Kid, you sang at a concert before right?" RDJ asked as we walked to the stage set. It was the set of the Stark Expo exhibition stage. The one where Iron Man performed together with the Ironettes to announce the beginning of the Stark Expo.
We walked to the stage where almost a hundred people were waiting and stood at the center of the stage. "Yeah. I have." I said with a melancholic tone.
"Wait. Don't you miss performing at concerts right now?" RDJ said in disbelief. "You know you're an artist right?" He asked sarcastically.
I shook my head and said, "It's not that. I'm just too busy right now."
He asked me about a few things. About the experience of facing thousands of people, how I handle my crowd control, and a few others in which I replied to all of his questions honestly.
He was gathering data for his performance, and I didn't want to snub his enthusiasm. Not to mention he brought me to many places around the set and even introduced me to a few other people. I was looking around to see ScarJo in a leather suit, but too bad she wasn't in the studio today.
RDJ seemed to understand something and started to pry, "I know that your age is a secret. But can you tell me? You're at least 16 right?"
I shook my head.
"Then, 17?"
I shook my head again.
"15?" He asked while gulping his saliva.
I shrugged and said, "Around that. Yeah." He breathed sharply and looked at me up and down with disbelief in his eyes.
I smiled wryly and RDJ felt weak on his knees.
"I really thought you were a junior." He said, feeling a bit intimidated as my height had already surpassed his in such a young age.
"I haven't even finished middle school yet." I said casually, adding to RDJ's disbelief.
"Mike check. Sound check." The sound system staff suddenly tapped the microphone in at the stage to check the speaker quality.
"Should we move?" I asked.
"Kid…I mean, Ed. Can I call you that?" RDJ said carefully with a smile on his face. He was leading me around as a senior, but I guess he felt a bit awkward to strike a friendship with a teenage boy. After all, he didn't share the same interest as the individuals who had visited a certain island.
I was weirded out and said, "Sure. if you really want to."
"Do you want to test for the Spiderman role? I think it'll suit you." He said.
"Nah. I don't want to date Zendaya."
"Huh? What?" RDJ was confused, but I wasn't elaborating anything.
"Also, doesn't Sony still hold the rights for the movie?"
He smirked and said ambiguously, "Yeah. I'm not talking about now…Wait, but it'll be hard in the future too. After all…" He looked at me up and down again and said, "You're still growing."
I opened my mouth to retort, but then I understood what he was talking about. I nodded in acceptance and asked, "Not that…I do admit to having some interest in becoming Spidey…Why did you ask me about that anyway?"
"You don't know, do you? I guess you never checked the articles about you." RDJ said in contemplation. I was confused and said, "What articles?"
I was clear about most of the articles written about me in the music industry, so I was confused as to what he was talking about.
RDJ suddenly shook his head and said, "Wait. Not an article. More like a fan cast. Your fans said you can be Spiderman as you have the intelligence. But seeing your reaction, I guess that's exaggerated. You're not THAT smart."
"Hey Mike. Let the kid do the soundcheck!" RDJ suddenly said and dragged me to the microphone before I could react. I was startled but I let myself be dragged so as to not accidentally injure the man. They couldn't film without the main character after all.
"My voice is expensive though." I said cheekily as I made the money gesture with my finger. RDJ rolled his eyes and said, "The payment is not kicking you out of the set."
"I actually don't care much if I get kicked out. I only came here to meet Anna and Kaya, who I recommended for the interview. I'd rather be home now and continue working."
RDJ was stunned and he asked with a tiny voice, "Really? I thought you came here to visit the set."
"Yeah." I replied casually, making him stunned again. He then shook his head and grinned evilly. He said, "1000…no, that's too hard. I will GIVE you…a signed Iron Man helmet instead."
"Deal!" I said and we shook hands.
[3rd Person POV]
Renaldo had returned after calling Kaya and Anna out of the choreography practice as they were on a break.
As the scene was short, there wasn't a lot of choreography for them to handle, and being professionals, they had already trained the choreography to perfection, even surprising the head choreographer.
The trio passed the buffet table to get to the stage where Ed was waiting, however the other dancers were gathering around the buffet table instead as they had just finished practicing as was famished. Of course, for dancers who took care of their body, they avoided sweets and high carbohydrate food and instead settled on the…chicken salad.