Behind The Limelight

05: Bodies Talk

Dinner was awkward, to say the least.

The food, though, was outstanding. But obviously, Ashton wasn't going to admit that or say anything about it to Ryker. He didn't want the other man's ego getting more inflated than it already was.

Ashton's empty plate spoke for itself, though. They ate mostly in silence, the only time one of them spoke was when Ryker asked Ashton to pass him the salt.

Once they were done eating, Ashton was shocked once again when Ryker washed the plates himself. He couldn't even fathom doing that, but out of basic courtesy he offered to dry them.

"How about a movie now?" Ryker asked. "Or do you want to play some Fifa?"

"Movie. I haven't played in a long time," Ashton answered.

"Really?" Ryker's brows rose up in surprise. "You used to love video games."

"Then I grew up and got busy," Ashton replied with a shrug.

"Right," Ryker muttered. "Alright, a movie it is. What are you in the mood for?"

"Anything works."

"You'll have to be a bit more specific here, Ash," Ryker retorted. Ashton thought about it for a second, before speaking up again.

"Anything that doesn't star either of us," Ashton said.

Ryker let out a soft chuckle, making Ashton feel weird in his stomach. No matter how much Ryker's appearance had changed over the years, his smile was still the same. He still got the crinkles by his eyes when he grinned, and his laugh was still enough to light up the room.

"What about something animated? Lion King? Up? Or-"

"Ratatouille."

"Ratatouille." Both of them said simultaneously.

Ryker's face immediately lit up with a bright smile as he stared at Ashton, whereas the corner of Ashton's lips moved downwards. When Ryker noticed Ashton's frown, he mirrored the expression. It seemed like he was confused by Ashton's reaction.

"This is stupid," Ashton spoke, looking away from the fellow actor. "Eating dinner together or watching a movie isn't going to do jackshit about the years of bad blood between us. It's all so stupid. We hate each other and nothing is going to change that."

"Right," Ryker muttered. He pressed his lips in a thin line as he looked down at the floor.

"We don't need to do this," Ashton said. "Let's just, I don't know, shake hands and call a truce till we're done with this movie. After that we never have to pretend to like each other ever again. We can go back to how things were."

"It's going to be hard pretending that I like you," Ryker's tone was curt. Devoid of any emotion.

"Same," Ashton shrugged, not noticing the edge in Ryker's voice. "But we have no choice but to give it our best shot. We're actors. We can act like we can tolerate each other for a few months."

"If only they had an Oscar for that category," Ryker replied. Ashton let out a bitter laugh as he nodded.

"Yeah, let's not talk about awards already," Ashton mumbled. It was Ryker's turn to chuckle dryly.

"What do we-"

"I'm going to head home," Ashton cut him off. "It was, uh, good food, I mean but, yeah, let's not do this again."

"Got it." Ryker bit the inside of his cheek, his hands were in his pockets as he paused for a moment before speaking up again. "I believe you can see yourself out, then?"