Gabe's interest was piqued. He looked over at Anthony who just shrugged. Neither of them knew about anything going on that warranted what seemed like such a serious conversation. As far as they knew, today was the last day of filming and that was going to be that.
There was going to be a small premier in the coming weeks of course, but nothing huge or elaborate. A wrap party was on the books. Pretty typical for a small, indie film. Nothing that would require such a stern look.
Then again Tom always managed to make a bigger deal out of things than he needed to. Which, considering how Clyde was now berating half the crew, was hilarious. Call it creative ego, or the passion of a true filmmaker, but both men were always so intense and serious about everything they did.
“You can't just keep us hanging, man,” Tony said sitting up.
He too looked serious again. His brow was furrowed and he ran a hand anxiously through his hair, no longer smiling. Gabe knew that technically Tom could do whatever the fuck he wanted. He was the boss. If he wanted to keep them hanging all day, he would. There was little they could do about it except hope he showed them mercy and just told them.
“Tell you in a second,” Tom assured them. “Need to wait for Clyde on this one.”
Gabe sighed, but he had to admit, that tiny little hint of news would be weighing on his mind. And he figured that it would probably weigh on Anthony's too. Gabe didn't think it was the smartest move to mention something seemingly big and heavy like this right before shooting the most important scene in the entire movie.
Thankfully, Clyde finally turned his attention away from the crew and walked over to where they were standing. Even though his face was bright red from all the yelling, he managed to give them both a smile and a pat on the back.
If there was one thing Gabe learned through all of this, it was that it was never, ever a good idea to piss off your director. No matter how big or small they are in the industry, indie or not, you never wanted them mad at you because that could have serious repercussions on your career. Gabe was silently grateful that Clyde appeared happy with the two of them.
“I was just telling them we needed to talk,” Tom said, giving Clyde a look that Gabe couldn't make out. “I thought you should tell them the news.”
Clyde's smile faltered, but only for a moment. “I thought we'd discuss this after filming.”
The look on his face was screaming that if he could get away with it, Tom would be crucified right then and there. But the two men, while they had their differences and would sometimes bicker over creative visions, always respected one another. They didn't berate one another, at least not in front of the cast or crew. Who knew what went on behind the scenes. Rumor had it that they were more than just partners in filming, that they were partners in the bedroom as well.
They'd discussed it a couple of times, but for the most part, Gabe and Tony stayed out of that. There was no reason to get dragged into the rumor mill. Not that it mattered anyway. What the two men did behind closed doors didn't matter to him. Not in the grand scheme of things.
Gabe's heart beat a little bit faster, not knowing what this other shoe that was about to drop was about. Clyde must’ve noticed the look on their faces because he turned to them, smiling once again.
“It's not bad news, don't freak out. It's just that the media has taken an even larger interest in the film than we previously anticipated. Word is getting around and we're suddenly drawing a whole lot of interest in this film.”
Gabe's heart shot from his chest straight into his throat. “Wait, what does that mean?”
“It means,” Clyde said, eyes growing wide, “that you two are going to be more famous than you probably expected. And there will be additional work on all our parts.”
Gabe's head was spinning. Fame? Already? He found it almost too easy to think of himself being famous after his first indie film. Sure, it was everything he'd ever dreamed of and more, but this was completely unexpected. And more than a little bit terrifying.
What if his family heard about it?
Anthony, on the other hand, seemed thrilled. His grin stretched from ear to ear. Gabe understood how he was feeling because along with the fear, he felt that excitement as well. Oh, he was excited, all right.
Underneath the fear there was a feeling of absolute joy that permeated through his entire being. If he could simply forget about his family he knew things would be pretty amazing.
“Additional work?” Gabe asked, knowing he was probably focusing on all the wrong things. Anthony shot him a curious look.
“Yes,” Clyde said, arms crossed in front of him. “More premiers, interviews, media relations. That sort of thing. All fun stuff, of course. We will have a PR person speak with you about how to conduct yourselves during interviews and whatnot. Learn from them because having a good showing on the promotion junket is going to help you advance your career. And the film too, of course.”
Gabe nodded. That all made sense. Nothing sounded too out of the ordinary. But still he wondered, how big did they expect this to get? Which media outlets had expressed interest? Was it print? Television? What was the buzz going around? And how big was it?
Looking at Clyde though, he realized that now was not the time to ask those kinds of questions. They still needed to film the movie.
“This is why I didn't want to bring it up until after filming,” he said, casting another pointed look at Tom who looked somewhat abashed. “I figured it would come up at the wrap party.”
Gabe looked over at Anthony who was looking back at him with that mixture of fear and excitement in his eyes.
“Look,” Clyde said. “I'm sure there are thousands of questions going through your minds, and trust us, they will get answered. Just not right now. We have a little more work to do yet.”
Anthony and Gabe nodded as the two directors walked away, ready to get started with the filming. Anthony was beaming, staring straight at Gabe.
“This is awesome,” he said. “Did you ever expect to hit it big on your first film?”
“Nah,” Gabe said, failing to meet Anthony's eyes.
He didn't want to give his trepidation away, didn't want to rain on the other man's parade. After all, this was good news. Better than good news. This was amazing news. And he knew that he should be excited, doing back flips, and screaming with joy to the heavens. He just didn't have it in him at the moment.
“I'm beyond stunned.”
“Is everything okay, man?” Anthony asked.
But before Gabe had to answer the question, they were thankfully called to get into places. Anthony would probably probe into the matter later, but for now, Gabe would keep his thoughts to himself and try to figure out what to tell the other man.
Closing his eyes, he tried to push back all the fear and the stress, trying to focus on the task at hand. He was no longer Gabe, he was Chase. As he got into the right mindset, he felt his body slowly start to loosen up. Anthony's hand on his shoulder was the only thing that brought him back to the here and now.
Looking up, he found himself staring into Anthony's hazel eyes. His shirt was open, showing off that chiseled chest of his, and it was well within Gabe's reach. Part of him wanted to reach out, to touch him, to feel the softness of his skin as well as the hardness of all that muscle.
Gabe couldn't explain it, really. Perhaps he was finally in character, finally feeling the same raw emotion Chase would feel. That had to be it.
Gabe knew that the directors wanted natural chemistry. They wanted real heat. And because the scene wasn't heavily scripted, the developing of that had been left up to them.
“Places, people,” Tom called. The usual background noise fell away as the directors called for the cameras to make ready. Once everyone was in their place to handle the equipment, Tom nodded once at his actors. “And here we go. Action.”