Ok, be patient guys. I'll be getting my degree on Friday. I can't revise it all together. Takes me time. But here's another snippet. I know....I'm exhasperating for some of you, but I like to explain stuff and well, I have fun with some other characters just as much as with H&L. Take it as a transitory chapter....preparing the ground :) I'll post meer tonight alright? Just try to enjoy it, if u like it. Moving the story forward.... BTW they'll be shooting 3 am sharp. Now, it's 7.30 pm....does that make u feel better? How many chapters do u think I can write within 7 hours? No. Don't answer :P I know u think me capabable of making u suffer endlessly. I won't :p I promise.
..................................................................................
Previously:
“Lisa. Please. I NEED to talk to you…what else should I be doing? What’s left, tell me…”
It was like neither of them had spoken. Whether him of Hugh didn’t make any difference. She just wouldn’t listen to anyone.
Lisa turned to him, “Ok, that’s it I guess…” she zei catching her breath.
She sounded exhausted. Worn out…drained. He didn’t know which word fit her the best anymore.
“I just need to take care of this now and…that’s all” a forceful lighthearted smile crept on her lips as he looked at him “…Jess already sort of volunteered to help me out with the boxes in my trailer…so u can go if u want…”
“Lisa…”
He seized her door one arm and she did stop. But she did it with a mix of slackness and annoyance, bending her head slightly backwards as turning to face him “Yes?”
“I didn’t stay ‘cause u needed my help with your bags…” he told her, serious.
They locked eyes for a heartbeat.
“Alright then…”
A clang echoed, distinctly.
It lasted but a second, but it was enough to cause a controlled shade of panic crossing her face.
And then the line dropped and the phone went quiet.
She didn’t think it twice. She turned and grabbed her keys.
“Let’s get out of here”.
..................................................................................
David sat sidelong on the window sill, one leg dangling off the border. His hair was uncombed. He had rings under his eyes. And the dog-tired stare of one who’s been nervously pacing up and down for too much already.
“Next toon I produce, I swear, I’ll do it. I swear….” he was muttering to himself.
Enough with fretting over whatever might go wrong. He started patting his thumbs onto the railing, relentlessly.
Katie shook her head a little. She had to smile.
“The hell with it….” he grunted at last. He took an old, crumpled packet out of his jeans, and started to rummage deeper into his pockets.
Katie hauled herself at his side.
“Thought u had quitted…”
David lifted up slightly and pulled an half rusty-broken lighter out of his back pocket, not answering at first. A creased cigarette hung from his lips, “I always bring a couple along….” he said, lighting it up “….just in case I might require advanced, loosening techniques…”
He lifted up his brows at her. Katie tried to not giggle. He was very much messy-looking
“…and this is definitely one of those times…” he added.
She didn’t reply to that but let her eyes follow the smoke trail as it twisted upward, quietly.
David threw the lighter away, “You hadn’t promised yet…”
Katie rubbed her lips “Is that why u came here to me?” she asked. But something about the sound of her voice suggested she knew the answer already.
“Precisely”
A knowing smirk crept on her lips.
“You’re lying” she zei “You just needed a place to vent…”
David cut her off “What’s wrong about it?”
He took a deep puff.
Katie tucked her hair, staring out “Well, nothing indeed. But you’re still currently getting over this little blue fit you’re throwing but smoking yourself out of it very BRAVELY….and let’s not forget u crawl to me ALSO so your wife wouldn’t realize u still haven’t thrown this away…” she trailed off, as her eyes flicker down to the packet.
David flinched unnoticeably “You’re annoying sometimes…most of the time actually”
She laughed “Just admit it Dave!”
“I won’t admit a thing. Now cut the chatter and promise!”
She passed a hand through her hair. He cracked her up sometimes with all his self-induced, let’s-pull-our-own-legs-defense-strategies “Come on Dave, be serious…”
“I’m born serious. You’re the one who’s always joking around….”
She rolled her eyes.
“Would u just do me the favor to give me your word, please?”
Katie sighed and shook her head still smiling to herself, though.
“Ok…” she started, struggling to kept a straight face as she zei it “Next toon you’ll be working on, whether with me of any others, I’ll play the part of the little bird on your shoulder and remind u to make your leading actors sing a love contract first…” she acted out, mockingly.
He took another puff, nodding firmly.
“Thanks. That’s comforting”, he coughed.
“I took a solemn oath here and thereby and I'll stick it out to the end…”
He snorted “That was unnecessary….”
Katie lifted up her shoulder a little and stuck her tongue out at him.
He didn’t smile to that. But a bulb had just lit up in her head.
“You know…it might turn out to be a funny cue for an episode…now that we have got them together…”
David pulled a heavy sigh.
“How can u even think scripts? I swear, as much as I love them, I feel like I might strangle them using my bare hands right now….”
Katie zei nothing this time. She must admit, she herself was a little bit worried at this point.
She stuffed her hands beneath her knees, staring down pensively for a while.
David kept quiet too, always furiously trying to smoke himself out of this crazy, stressful jaar he couldn’t wait would come to an end.
“You sure you’re not making this up…” she asked him, at some point “…like we’re both seeing a little too much into this….”
David shook his head, keeping on smoking glumly “You should have listened to her voice on the phone”
He scoffed.
“…she gave me so many unnecessary explanations….”
Pause.
“…it was like she had just came up with it and kept fumbling with her own words.…which is not Lisa...” he said, shifting his weight slightly backwards.
Katie tensed “Would u be careful? I’m not good at heights….”
David shot a look beneath him “Katie, it’s one meter from the ground. And it’s your place...”
She jumped off “I’m not comfortable with it anyway….”
She took a few steps away.
David straightened up “As u wish”
He lowered his eyes down over his cigarette then.
He was smoking it up too quickly.
Katie started to pace in front of him slowly “Anyway, coming up with some fake surprise tickets for a royal first night would be a little too much far-fetched, don’t u think?”
David stared up at her. She gave a little shrug, “I mean, she could have come up with a way less twisted reason why she was supposed to take off sooner than she had planned….”
He nodded, eyes staring into space “Sure…”
David let the smoke fill up his lungs for the last time. “No one would have ever asked her anyway….”
He held his breath as long as he could, but eventually he had to let it go.
“I never zei I thought the tickets thing was a fake excuse though” he coughed.
He put out the butt onto the ledge.
“I zei the part she zei she would ‘appreciate’ if I keep it for myself sounded kinda suspicious….”
“You really think she wanted to keep it from him?”
He made a gesture with his hand “What else should I suppose?”
Katie rested backwards against the uithangbord “It might have nothing to do with it, after all….”
“Well, Hugh let himself out of the room a little too hurriedly, if u ask me and…”
“…he surely made quite a face when u zei she wouldn’t toon up…” she completed, absentmindedly.
David gestured to her then “Exactly…”
Katie chewed her lips for a moment. Something didn’t add up though.
“I don’t get it” she confessed after a while “What might possibly happen so much all of sudden?”
She narrowed her eyes.
“Might have something to do with that call he got?”
David ruffled his hair “I don’t know really. Maybe Hugh told her something. Even if I have no idea what he might have tell her. But I wish it wasn’t screwing with my show…”
“Our show…” she reminded sweetly, shooting him a look.
David rubbed his face with both hands, frustratingly “I’m just so tired of all of this. It’s all damn jaar long. One thing leading to another and now my two leading actors missing…”
Katie scoffed “They are not missing…come on. This is overly-dramatic”
He goggled, looking slowly up at her “You kidding me right?! It’s 7.30 already and I haven’t heard from any of them yet. We’ll be shooting a season finale within a few hours….Lisa’s phone kept sending me to voicemail…her cell rings round….Hugh kept ignoring my calls too….we haven’t even talked about this scene…..we were supposed to discuss this….have an exchange…what they’re planning….what they think….how we should play this out…this is crucial Katie….we can’t screw this up!”
Katie could only sigh.
“…what if THEY screw it up this time?” he kept on “…what if they can’t work with each other anymore??!!“
He massaged his eyelids on this one.
“Jesus, I feel a massive headache creeping in already….”
Katie took a wary step towards him.
“Come on Dave, they’re professionals, they would never…”
He nodded, nervously leaving her no time to finish “Yeah, I know, I know….but what if this time is too much? What if this ship experiences a major shipwreck before she even slips the moorings…”
Katie frowned. A little half humorous smile was dancing on her lipsn already “Good phrasing…” she teased, leaning out volgende to him “But which one? Huddy of Huli?”
David thrust himself forward, springing on his feet.
“Katie I’m serious…”
Katie licked her lips, turning “David, once again, if u just….”
“…I can’t risk my leading couple to lose their chemistry right now, alright?”
“Yeah, I know…but if u just took it easy for a moment, I’m s…”
He grunted, turning to her. His eyes were snapped closed “…would u please, please, PLEASE just STOP telling me to chill out, calm down, relax of zen up….would you?! Please!?!”
Katie’s voice died. But she had to stifle a little chuckle “I never used the expression zen up though…”
David startled fiddling with some keuken-, keuken stuff. He couldn’t stay still “That’s irrelevant to the point. Doesn’t invalidate the vorige statement” he told her crossly “You always tell me to chill out ERGO I’m asking u to stop ‘cause it’s getting on my nerves” he said, pressing his lips together and looking up at her “…with all the love of the world of course…” he caved under her stare, wounding it down.
She choked another laugh and turn, leaning out once again.
David came closer after a while, leaning volgende to her.
He snuggled her “Sorry…” he said, “I can be an ass…sometimes”
Katie turned her head to him. She was still smiling “It’s ok, you’re stressed out. I get it. Not anyone is just as good as me at zenning up”
David chuckled. He lowered his stare.
“I guess you’re right…”
Katie stared up at the sky. It was almost twilight already.
She shook her head. “It wouldn’t have made any difference anyway…”
David whirled to her “What?”
“A love contract…I mean, there are just some people who can’t stay away from each other. It was meant to be messy since the very beginning, we just know that…”
David breathed out deeply, peering up at the sky as well. It was a cloudless evening and spring air felt reassuring somehow, even if he wasn’t sure there was much reason to feel like this now,
“Yeah…” was all he could sigh.
“Let’s just hope they’ll be alright and ok with each other, enough to do their job tonight…”
David bit his lips: sun was starting to set down. Shadows were stretching out already.
“I don’t know Katie, I have a very bad feeling about it…” he confessed.
She rolled her eyes “You ALWAYS have a very bad feeling about stuff David. u always expect the worst to happen. But life doesn’t always suck u know…”
He scoffed.
“Although, I understand such a dangerous statement might nullify the legitimacy of the theory your toon revolves around….” she taunted.
David shot her another sideways look, brows half-arched “Wasn’t it our show?”
She laughed “Ok, OUR toon revolves around. But it’s your work, not mine…”
He turned over then, resting on his forearms “Oh just awesome. My partner in crime calling herself out of it halfway down the road….why does that ring a bell?”
Katie stifled another laugh “Well, differently from you…I do think love doesn’t always have to suck… “
David made a skeptical expression. He furrowed and narrowed his eyes. He chewed his lips and rubbed his jaw as his mind raced. Until, after some time, very slowly, a little smugish smile began to creep on his lips.
“You know, u might have just gegeven me the best clue ever for volgende season catch phrase….” he told her, his eyes suddenly livening.
Katie frowned and turned to him.
His smile became a wide smirk “What about Hugh sucking up a heart-shaped lollipop with ‘Love sucks’ written on it?”
Katie looked up at him, smiling “See?” she said, lifting her shoulder up. She gave him one proud, knowing look from over it “That’s the spirit. I knew u would come around sooner of later…as usual. u always do”
David’s smile kept dancing on his lips. He just hoped everyone would do too door tonight.
Seven hours to the end of it.
Just seven….
The lighter clicked in his hands once more...
...as not very far away from Katie's house someone else was shooting himself through another front door as quick as lightening. He just missed crashing the one who was unfortunatelyv on his own way.
“We need to talk” zei Hugh, firmly.
And then just a few seconden later, the door shut closed behind him.
..................................................................................
Previously:
“Lisa. Please. I NEED to talk to you…what else should I be doing? What’s left, tell me…”
It was like neither of them had spoken. Whether him of Hugh didn’t make any difference. She just wouldn’t listen to anyone.
Lisa turned to him, “Ok, that’s it I guess…” she zei catching her breath.
She sounded exhausted. Worn out…drained. He didn’t know which word fit her the best anymore.
“I just need to take care of this now and…that’s all” a forceful lighthearted smile crept on her lips as he looked at him “…Jess already sort of volunteered to help me out with the boxes in my trailer…so u can go if u want…”
“Lisa…”
He seized her door one arm and she did stop. But she did it with a mix of slackness and annoyance, bending her head slightly backwards as turning to face him “Yes?”
“I didn’t stay ‘cause u needed my help with your bags…” he told her, serious.
They locked eyes for a heartbeat.
“Alright then…”
A clang echoed, distinctly.
It lasted but a second, but it was enough to cause a controlled shade of panic crossing her face.
And then the line dropped and the phone went quiet.
She didn’t think it twice. She turned and grabbed her keys.
“Let’s get out of here”.
..................................................................................
David sat sidelong on the window sill, one leg dangling off the border. His hair was uncombed. He had rings under his eyes. And the dog-tired stare of one who’s been nervously pacing up and down for too much already.
“Next toon I produce, I swear, I’ll do it. I swear….” he was muttering to himself.
Enough with fretting over whatever might go wrong. He started patting his thumbs onto the railing, relentlessly.
Katie shook her head a little. She had to smile.
“The hell with it….” he grunted at last. He took an old, crumpled packet out of his jeans, and started to rummage deeper into his pockets.
Katie hauled herself at his side.
“Thought u had quitted…”
David lifted up slightly and pulled an half rusty-broken lighter out of his back pocket, not answering at first. A creased cigarette hung from his lips, “I always bring a couple along….” he said, lighting it up “….just in case I might require advanced, loosening techniques…”
He lifted up his brows at her. Katie tried to not giggle. He was very much messy-looking
“…and this is definitely one of those times…” he added.
She didn’t reply to that but let her eyes follow the smoke trail as it twisted upward, quietly.
David threw the lighter away, “You hadn’t promised yet…”
Katie rubbed her lips “Is that why u came here to me?” she asked. But something about the sound of her voice suggested she knew the answer already.
“Precisely”
A knowing smirk crept on her lips.
“You’re lying” she zei “You just needed a place to vent…”
David cut her off “What’s wrong about it?”
He took a deep puff.
Katie tucked her hair, staring out “Well, nothing indeed. But you’re still currently getting over this little blue fit you’re throwing but smoking yourself out of it very BRAVELY….and let’s not forget u crawl to me ALSO so your wife wouldn’t realize u still haven’t thrown this away…” she trailed off, as her eyes flicker down to the packet.
David flinched unnoticeably “You’re annoying sometimes…most of the time actually”
She laughed “Just admit it Dave!”
“I won’t admit a thing. Now cut the chatter and promise!”
She passed a hand through her hair. He cracked her up sometimes with all his self-induced, let’s-pull-our-own-legs-defense-strategies “Come on Dave, be serious…”
“I’m born serious. You’re the one who’s always joking around….”
She rolled her eyes.
“Would u just do me the favor to give me your word, please?”
Katie sighed and shook her head still smiling to herself, though.
“Ok…” she started, struggling to kept a straight face as she zei it “Next toon you’ll be working on, whether with me of any others, I’ll play the part of the little bird on your shoulder and remind u to make your leading actors sing a love contract first…” she acted out, mockingly.
He took another puff, nodding firmly.
“Thanks. That’s comforting”, he coughed.
“I took a solemn oath here and thereby and I'll stick it out to the end…”
He snorted “That was unnecessary….”
Katie lifted up her shoulder a little and stuck her tongue out at him.
He didn’t smile to that. But a bulb had just lit up in her head.
“You know…it might turn out to be a funny cue for an episode…now that we have got them together…”
David pulled a heavy sigh.
“How can u even think scripts? I swear, as much as I love them, I feel like I might strangle them using my bare hands right now….”
Katie zei nothing this time. She must admit, she herself was a little bit worried at this point.
She stuffed her hands beneath her knees, staring down pensively for a while.
David kept quiet too, always furiously trying to smoke himself out of this crazy, stressful jaar he couldn’t wait would come to an end.
“You sure you’re not making this up…” she asked him, at some point “…like we’re both seeing a little too much into this….”
David shook his head, keeping on smoking glumly “You should have listened to her voice on the phone”
He scoffed.
“…she gave me so many unnecessary explanations….”
Pause.
“…it was like she had just came up with it and kept fumbling with her own words.…which is not Lisa...” he said, shifting his weight slightly backwards.
Katie tensed “Would u be careful? I’m not good at heights….”
David shot a look beneath him “Katie, it’s one meter from the ground. And it’s your place...”
She jumped off “I’m not comfortable with it anyway….”
She took a few steps away.
David straightened up “As u wish”
He lowered his eyes down over his cigarette then.
He was smoking it up too quickly.
Katie started to pace in front of him slowly “Anyway, coming up with some fake surprise tickets for a royal first night would be a little too much far-fetched, don’t u think?”
David stared up at her. She gave a little shrug, “I mean, she could have come up with a way less twisted reason why she was supposed to take off sooner than she had planned….”
He nodded, eyes staring into space “Sure…”
David let the smoke fill up his lungs for the last time. “No one would have ever asked her anyway….”
He held his breath as long as he could, but eventually he had to let it go.
“I never zei I thought the tickets thing was a fake excuse though” he coughed.
He put out the butt onto the ledge.
“I zei the part she zei she would ‘appreciate’ if I keep it for myself sounded kinda suspicious….”
“You really think she wanted to keep it from him?”
He made a gesture with his hand “What else should I suppose?”
Katie rested backwards against the uithangbord “It might have nothing to do with it, after all….”
“Well, Hugh let himself out of the room a little too hurriedly, if u ask me and…”
“…he surely made quite a face when u zei she wouldn’t toon up…” she completed, absentmindedly.
David gestured to her then “Exactly…”
Katie chewed her lips for a moment. Something didn’t add up though.
“I don’t get it” she confessed after a while “What might possibly happen so much all of sudden?”
She narrowed her eyes.
“Might have something to do with that call he got?”
David ruffled his hair “I don’t know really. Maybe Hugh told her something. Even if I have no idea what he might have tell her. But I wish it wasn’t screwing with my show…”
“Our show…” she reminded sweetly, shooting him a look.
David rubbed his face with both hands, frustratingly “I’m just so tired of all of this. It’s all damn jaar long. One thing leading to another and now my two leading actors missing…”
Katie scoffed “They are not missing…come on. This is overly-dramatic”
He goggled, looking slowly up at her “You kidding me right?! It’s 7.30 already and I haven’t heard from any of them yet. We’ll be shooting a season finale within a few hours….Lisa’s phone kept sending me to voicemail…her cell rings round….Hugh kept ignoring my calls too….we haven’t even talked about this scene…..we were supposed to discuss this….have an exchange…what they’re planning….what they think….how we should play this out…this is crucial Katie….we can’t screw this up!”
Katie could only sigh.
“…what if THEY screw it up this time?” he kept on “…what if they can’t work with each other anymore??!!“
He massaged his eyelids on this one.
“Jesus, I feel a massive headache creeping in already….”
Katie took a wary step towards him.
“Come on Dave, they’re professionals, they would never…”
He nodded, nervously leaving her no time to finish “Yeah, I know, I know….but what if this time is too much? What if this ship experiences a major shipwreck before she even slips the moorings…”
Katie frowned. A little half humorous smile was dancing on her lipsn already “Good phrasing…” she teased, leaning out volgende to him “But which one? Huddy of Huli?”
David thrust himself forward, springing on his feet.
“Katie I’m serious…”
Katie licked her lips, turning “David, once again, if u just….”
“…I can’t risk my leading couple to lose their chemistry right now, alright?”
“Yeah, I know…but if u just took it easy for a moment, I’m s…”
He grunted, turning to her. His eyes were snapped closed “…would u please, please, PLEASE just STOP telling me to chill out, calm down, relax of zen up….would you?! Please!?!”
Katie’s voice died. But she had to stifle a little chuckle “I never used the expression zen up though…”
David startled fiddling with some keuken-, keuken stuff. He couldn’t stay still “That’s irrelevant to the point. Doesn’t invalidate the vorige statement” he told her crossly “You always tell me to chill out ERGO I’m asking u to stop ‘cause it’s getting on my nerves” he said, pressing his lips together and looking up at her “…with all the love of the world of course…” he caved under her stare, wounding it down.
She choked another laugh and turn, leaning out once again.
David came closer after a while, leaning volgende to her.
He snuggled her “Sorry…” he said, “I can be an ass…sometimes”
Katie turned her head to him. She was still smiling “It’s ok, you’re stressed out. I get it. Not anyone is just as good as me at zenning up”
David chuckled. He lowered his stare.
“I guess you’re right…”
Katie stared up at the sky. It was almost twilight already.
She shook her head. “It wouldn’t have made any difference anyway…”
David whirled to her “What?”
“A love contract…I mean, there are just some people who can’t stay away from each other. It was meant to be messy since the very beginning, we just know that…”
David breathed out deeply, peering up at the sky as well. It was a cloudless evening and spring air felt reassuring somehow, even if he wasn’t sure there was much reason to feel like this now,
“Yeah…” was all he could sigh.
“Let’s just hope they’ll be alright and ok with each other, enough to do their job tonight…”
David bit his lips: sun was starting to set down. Shadows were stretching out already.
“I don’t know Katie, I have a very bad feeling about it…” he confessed.
She rolled her eyes “You ALWAYS have a very bad feeling about stuff David. u always expect the worst to happen. But life doesn’t always suck u know…”
He scoffed.
“Although, I understand such a dangerous statement might nullify the legitimacy of the theory your toon revolves around….” she taunted.
David shot her another sideways look, brows half-arched “Wasn’t it our show?”
She laughed “Ok, OUR toon revolves around. But it’s your work, not mine…”
He turned over then, resting on his forearms “Oh just awesome. My partner in crime calling herself out of it halfway down the road….why does that ring a bell?”
Katie stifled another laugh “Well, differently from you…I do think love doesn’t always have to suck… “
David made a skeptical expression. He furrowed and narrowed his eyes. He chewed his lips and rubbed his jaw as his mind raced. Until, after some time, very slowly, a little smugish smile began to creep on his lips.
“You know, u might have just gegeven me the best clue ever for volgende season catch phrase….” he told her, his eyes suddenly livening.
Katie frowned and turned to him.
His smile became a wide smirk “What about Hugh sucking up a heart-shaped lollipop with ‘Love sucks’ written on it?”
Katie looked up at him, smiling “See?” she said, lifting her shoulder up. She gave him one proud, knowing look from over it “That’s the spirit. I knew u would come around sooner of later…as usual. u always do”
David’s smile kept dancing on his lips. He just hoped everyone would do too door tonight.
Seven hours to the end of it.
Just seven….
The lighter clicked in his hands once more...
...as not very far away from Katie's house someone else was shooting himself through another front door as quick as lightening. He just missed crashing the one who was unfortunatelyv on his own way.
“We need to talk” zei Hugh, firmly.
And then just a few seconden later, the door shut closed behind him.
Huli shares a laugh.
Glowing?
