Behind the Scenes

Chapter 5

HARRY

Kicking my bare feet up on the coffee table in front of me, I slung an arm over my head, hooking it over the back of the couch. The leather whined under the influence of my weigh, my bare back sticking to the surface. It was an uncomfortable feeling, but I ignored it, enjoying the relative quiet of my living room. After the last week of interviews, phone calls and emails, I was taking a little time to myself before the shit storm of filming began.

It was hot as Hades in L.A., and even after a long swim in my pool after my workout, I still couldn't seem to cool off. Hence sitting around in my boxers scrolling on my phone.

Ever since it was officially announced that I had been cast as the lead in Life After You, the media frenzy that followed me endlessly seemed to multiply. I had been warned that taking on this role, one that was originally a fan fiction based around me, would launch my acting career. But I had never expected it to happen even before filming began.

My Twitter timeline had been filled with mentions, memes, fan made videos of how they expected the show to be. It was almost comical how many thirty second 'episodes' of the show already existed on YouTube thanks to fans, it almost made making the Netflix version seem pointless. Messages praising me, congratulating me, telling me how excited they were to see me play...well, me, flooded my screen for weeks now, and it didn't seem to be ready to ease any time soon.

I guess I underestimated my fans obsession with reading fictional adventures and exploits staring me. The entire concept of fan fiction was bizarre to me, and no matter how many times I tried, I just couldn't read any of it. It was awkward and invasive, the way people would take me and mold me into what they wanted; how they wanted me to act, think, feel, be. It would have been funny, if it hadn't been so disturbing. They all wanted me to be this shy, brooding loner secretly longing for my soul mate, all the while hiding some big secret that could tear my world apart. Every fucking one had the same premise executed with minor differences but the same conclusion; romance, fluff and bullshit.

The fact that Life After You had taken off into he stratosphere still made no sense to me, even after I read the script three times. It was decent, I will admit, but I still didn't understand the draw of having a hero so self deprecating and wounded. It just wasn't me, so for it to be entirely based around me was just odd and off putting.

I still had yet to read the book, and knew I probably wouldn't bother. I had the role, so what was the point now? All it would achieve would be to make me cringe at all the love, desperation and flowery laced crap. No thanks.

The sound of my front door opening caught my attention away from my phone and yet another rather humorous fan edit of me and the hot actress who was cast as my leading lady joined in a passionate embrace. Looking over my shoulder with mild interest, I found Markus strolling in with a white plastic bag in his hands.

"Didn't even bother putting pants on today, huh?" he asked, setting the bag on the table and eyeing me with judgment.

"It's not as hell, and I'm in the privacy of my own home. You're lucky I'm not walking around naked." I said without shame, sitting up to tear into the bag of Chinese food he had brought.

"Please don't. I still haven't recovered from the last time." He groaned, throwing himself onto the couch beside me. I heard him pull open the mini fridge at the side of the couch before two beers appeared on the table.

We ate in silence for a long while, our attention now on a soccer game on the massive television that dominated my living room, until Markus decided to ruin it.

"So, you still stalking that girls social?" he quipped, eyeing me with a smirk.

Immediately, my lips pulled down into a frown. I knew I should never have told him that I had found Kate Garrett's social media accounts. That I had been checking out some of the posts she shared, and interaction with her fans. And I sure as hell shouldn't have told him that I had looked her up on Google, just out of curiosity.