"Hi, Owen," Madison greeted, taking a step forward.
Owen studied her carefully: sleepwear far too light for someone wandering the hotel hallways at this hour, the script in one hand. Nothing about this screamed professional visit.
"Hi… do you need something?" Owen asked, narrowing his eyes.
"Yes. I was thinking… should we practice a bit of the scenes we have together on Monday?"
Madison lifted the script slightly. "They're the most important ones for our characters."
Owen didn't answer right away.
"I don't know…" he said at last. He knew he should refuse immediately, but slamming the door in her face would only strain their professional relationship.
And on Monday they were filming Cassidy and Sutter's most delicate scene: the emotional conversation between two exes.
If Madison ended up feeling rejected or humiliated, that tension could bleed onto the set. Owen liked his scenes perfect. And unnecessary friction could ruin them.
"Come on…" Madison pressed when she noticed his hesitation, offering a confident little smile, as if she'd mistaken his reluctance for hope. "We have the day off tomorrow."
The silence stretched for a few seconds, and Madison didn't waste the opportunity.
"It's cold. Excuse me…!"
Before Owen could react, she stepped forward naturally, nudging the door and slipping into the room.
Owen froze at the threshold for a second, staring inside with a resigned expression. He had hesitated too long. Now that she was in, he couldn't just order her out without causing a scene.
But he had no intention whatsoever of allowing an improvised "rehearsal" at this hour. He closed the door calmly and walked down the small hallway toward the main room.
When he arrived, Madison was already settled on the double bed, sitting cross-legged and flipping through the script as if the situation were perfectly normal.
"You know I have a girlfriend, right?" Owen asked, taking a seat in the chair near the desk, not on the bed.
His relationship with Sophie was completely public.
They had photos together on social media, mutual mentions in stories, and even their profile pictures on Instagram formed a matching set: Owen had Mufasa and Sophie had Sarabi.
It still amused him that Sophie, with her more alternative personality and tastes, had been the one to propose something so corny.
People already identified them as a couple online. When Owen was announced as the lead in The Spectacular Now, plenty of fans even asked for Sophie to be cast as the co-lead, knowing it was a coming-of-age romance.
Madison smiled, a rehearsed kind of smile meant to look casual, "Yeah, I know. But we're just going to rehearse. Shall we start?"
Owen smiled too. His expression shifted from cautious to a convincingly enthusiastic act. "Yeah, it'll be great to really prepare for Monday," he said, as if he'd finally agreed.
As he spoke, he picked up his phone from the desk, unlocked it, tapped the screen a couple of times, and brought it to his ear.
Madison frowned slightly. "What are you doing?"
"Well, if we're going to rehearse," Owen said in a perfectly reasonable tone, "I thought I'd call Jenna. She has scenes with you too. It'll be useful for the three of us to go over the sequences."
Madison's confidence drained from her face. Her jaw tightened for a second. She clearly hadn't expected that move, but there was no way to object without exposing her intentions.
"Oh… sure. Yes. That'll be great," Madison said, trying to put her smile back together.
'Come on, pick up, Jenna…' Owen thought. She was his only chance to avoid telling Madison to get out and risk leaving things tense between them. It was the diplomatic route, so to speak.
…
POV Jenna
The call came in just as I was halfway through an episode.
I had a tub of ice cream resting on the blanket and the room was dark, lit only by the TV screen. It was my favorite way to end a day of shooting.
When the ringtone buzzed, I frowned. I wasn't expecting anyone to call me at this hour.
'Mom?' I wondered.
I paused the show and glanced at the screen. It wasn't my mom, it was Owen.
That surprised me. We'd exchanged numbers three days ago, mostly for work convenience. And yes, we'd gotten along well this week, maybe well enough to say he was the person I talked to the most on set, but a late-night call from him wasn't something I would've predicted.
I answered and brought the phone to my ear. "Hello?"
[Hey, Jenna. Am I bothering you?] Owen's voice came through, far too neutral.
"No. What's up?" I asked, genuinely curious.
[Do you want to rehearse?] he asked.
"Rehearse?" I echoed, raising an eyebrow.
For a moment I thought it might be an awkward attempt at flirting. But the thought vanished as quickly as it appeared.
No. Owen didn't seem like that kind of guy. He had a girlfriend, and in the six days we'd been filming, and the days before when I first met him, he seemed 100% focused on the movie.
So something was off. I stayed silent for a second, waiting for him to elaborate.
[Yes, rehearse. Madison's in my room, and we wanted to go over some scenes. You also have scenes with her.]
"Oh…" I said, whatever came to mind first.
I understood immediately what was happening. Madison had been glued to him these past few days, praising him constantly, she wasn't the only one, but she definitely was the clingiest around him.
It was almost obvious she had tried something. Whether she knew he had a girlfriend or not, which was hard to believe, considering she seemed to know half his résumé, this was in character for her.
"Sure, I'm coming," I replied casually. "Room 47, right?"
[Yeah.]
"Perfect. See you there."
I hung up. I put the ice cream back in the little freezer, slipped on some shoes, and grabbed my script, just in case the façade of a late-night rehearsal needed to be maintained.
As I stepped out of my room, I noticed there was a small smile tugging at my lips. It was strange seeing Owen in an uncomfortable situation. All week he'd seemed so calm, so immune to distractions, that shaking him even a little felt almost impossible.
I had to give Madison some credit: managing to make someone like Owen nervous wasn't an easy task. Though I wasn't about to applaud her for trying to get close to a guy who had a girlfriend, especially taking advantage of the fresh glow of his fame.
I walked down the quiet hallway until I reached the door with the number 47. I lifted my hand and pressed the doorbell. A few seconds later, the door opened and I saw Owen. He was dressed comfortably, same as me.
"Hi," he greeted. Then he made a tiny gesture with his eyes and head, somewhere between go ahead, come in and please save me.
Very subtle, but perfectly clear.
"Hey," I replied with a slight smile as I stepped inside. Owen closed the door behind me.
Upon entering, I saw Madison sitting on the double bed, script open on her lap. I greeted her with complete normalcy, as if nothing strange were happening. Just coworkers rehearsing on a night off.
"Hi, Madison. Ready to go over the scenes?" I said, slipping into the professional tone I use during formal rehearsals.
Madison smiled, though it was obvious it wasn't a particularly happy one. "Hi, Jenna. Yes, of course…"
"It's admirable, your work ethic, Madison. Rehearsing at this hour shows real commitment," Owen commented.
The irony was so subtle it could've passed as a genuine compliment.
I nodded. "Yes, very respectable. I was watching a show and eating ice cream. It never crossed my mind to rehearse on a day off," I added, equally admiring and equally ironic.
Madison, of course, took it as a compliment she couldn't refuse, "Thanks. I always try to do my best," she said, adjusting her hair.
We started rehearsing, from scene 32. It was interesting. What had begun as a rescue maneuver unexpectedly turned into a real rehearsal.
Once Owen slipped into character, his transition into Sutter was as smooth as ever.
And me, well, keeping focus is something I've been good at for a while.
Even Madison took it seriously. Which was a good sign, though maybe it was simply because she had no other choice and realized she'd look bad if she didn't commit after all the "praise" and the whole excuse of coming to rehearse.
Half an hour passed without me noticing. Until Madison closed her script. "I think we're more than ready for Monday…" she said, looking at both of us.
I nodded, and Owen added, "Good work."
"Well, I'm going to get some rest," Madison said.
She said goodbye, and Owen walked her to the door. I stayed seated, letting out a quiet sigh as I closed my script.
"Mission accomplished," I murmured.
I heard the click of the door. Owen came back into the room, and before he could thank me or anything like that, I spoke first.
"Seriously, you couldn't just tell her you didn't want to rehearse and politely close the door?"
I didn't say it as a reproach, just the logical observation anyone would make.
If you have a girlfriend and someone tries to force a late-night rehearsal while dressed… questionably, the normal reaction would be to turn them down.
Besides, Owen didn't strike me as the type who had trouble saying no.
"I hesitated too long and she just walked in," Owen said.
"And if I rejected her outright, it could've affected her mood and messed with Monday's scene. It's an emotional sequence. I couldn't risk tension or resentment," he added.
It wasn't that he couldn't say no. He simply chose not to create a conflict that could later affect the work on camera.
Pragmatic and professional. And I doubted Madison would try anything again after what had happened. She'd probably realized Owen wasn't interested, so that problem was solved too.
"Wow. You're more professional than I am," I said with a short laugh.
"Thanks," Owen replied with a calm smile. "And thanks for the help, really."
"No problem. And the impromptu rehearsal helped anyway. It wasn't wasted time," I said with a shrug.
"Yes. It was effective," he said, as if he were pleased not only to have escaped an awkward situation but also to have used the time to rehearse.
I leaned back slightly in the chair and said, "You're lucky Madison leaves on Tuesday. You'll finally be able to eat breakfast without her constant compliments."
Madison had one of the most important supporting roles in the movie, but her scenes were concentrated and would be done in a few days.
Owen nodded. "Yeah, and the other flatterers too."
He said it with a curious mix of sarcasm and exhaustion. Joshua and several others would also finish soon and disappear from the hotel.
"But more supporting actors will come in for other scenes… you might get new admirers," I joked.
Owen let out a soft laugh. "Let's hope not."
"You shouldn't seem so approachable, you know?" I said, crossing my arms, in the tone of someone giving practical advice.
Owen tilted his head slightly. "What do you mean?"
I adjusted myself in the chair, searching for the right words. "I'm not saying you should be cold or rude. Just… keep a minimal barrier. Especially now that your movie is making history. People are going to try to get close for all kinds of reasons," I said, shrugging. "Having boundaries saves you from situations like this."
That's how I worked. Partly because of my personality, partly due to experience.
I didn't reject people who approached me respectfully, like Owen or some coworkers from past projects. But I didn't allow immediate familiarity either. Keeping some personal space was better.
And it was good to get along with your direct coworkers, particularly the ones you shared most scenes with.
Owen nodded slowly, as if he was genuinely processing what I'd said, "I'll keep that in mind. Though it'll probably get me uninvited from their outings," he said with a dry smile.
"Outings you would reject anyway?" I said, raising an eyebrow. His smile widened.
"True."
I was about to stand up when, without thinking too much, I said, "Hey…"
"What?"
"I haven't been too standoffish with the others, right?" I asked, not entirely sure why I was saying this aloud.
Owen blinked once, surprised by the question. "Why would you think that?"
"I heard Madison, Joshua and the others went out for dinner and a movie, and they didn't even invite me," I said with a slight grimace. "It's not that I wanted to go, I would've turned them down, but it felt odd. It didn't happen to me on other shoots."
Owen smiled, amused by my concern.
"It's not funny," I said, half reproachful, half resigned.
"That's not it. They just saw that you always kept to yourself unless it was work. They didn't think you were standoffish, just busy and focused. They assumed you wouldn't be interested, or at least that's what I think," Owen explained, and it eased my mind.
"That makes sense," I admitted.
"Don't worry, your last character didn't consume you," Owen said with a smile that carried a teasing edge.
I blinked. "My last character?"
"Wednesday Addams," he clarified.
I nodded, amused. "Did you see the trailer?"
"Yeah. You acted amazingly, I have to say. The character seems completely cold, sadistic, and uninterested in anything social," Owen said.
"She is," I replied with a soft laugh. "And I hope I don't resemble her too much or I'll have problems with everyone."
Owen shook his head. "If you had even a bit of that character left in you, you wouldn't have helped me. You would've hung up the moment I said 'want to rehearse?' and answered something like: 'don't bother me.'"
I rolled my eyes, smiling. "That would be very Wednesday."
A comfortable silence filled the room before I stood up to leave.
Owen stood up as well, but at that moment I saw him pick up his phone and stare at it for a few seconds, his eyes moving as if he were reading something.
"Is something wrong?" I asked, curious.
He locked the phone immediately, almost instinctively. "Nothing," he said calmly.
He sounded convincing. But he had definitely seen something. I didn't push. I usually don't. He walked with me to the door and opened it.
"Thanks again."
"No problem. Get some rest."
"You too."
I stepped into the hallway and headed to my room. Once inside, I was about to resume the episode I'd left paused. But curiosity made me scroll through my phone, and a headline caught my attention instantly.
DEADLINE – 12:14 AM (Sunday, October 23)
"PARANORMAL ACTIVITY (2022) Breaks the All-Time ROI Record, Surpassing 'The Blair Witch Project'."
I opened the article, clearly intrigued.
Deadline – Breaking News
Preliminary Saturday numbers are in, and "Paranormal Activity" continues its unstoppable climb at the global box office.
The independent film written, produced, and starred by Owen Ashford, and distributed by A24, with an estimated budget of just $20,000, grossed $4.75 million worldwide this Saturday, bringing its global total to $86.2 million.
With this figure, the film reaches a return on investment (ROI) of 4,310 times its budget, finally surpassing the absolute record held by "The Blair Witch Project" (1999) for over two decades with an ROI of 4,143.
Praised and criticized in equal measure for its cultural impact, Blair Witch had seemed untouchable. Yet Ashford has achieved the unthinkable: breaking a record no production has managed to surpass since 1999.
Many are already describing it as the indie miracle of the decade.
Sunday is expected to perform similarly and approach or surpass $90 million, getting closer and closer to the $100 million mark, which is almost certain to be reached on Halloween.
...
I stared at the screen for a few seconds.
'Wow,' I thought.
It wasn't easy to impress me.
But breaking a twenty-year record, and doing it with a budget that in Hollywood doesn't even cover one day of catering, was insane. In the best possible way.
Then I realized why Owen had looked at his phone a few minutes earlier with that subtle, contained surprise. He must've seen this article, or one like it, or someone texting him about it. News like this would make anyone's phone explode.
And despite that, he didn't say a word. He didn't bring it up to brag. Just a perfectly neutral "nothing."
I let out a soft, amused exhale. "That's incredible," I murmured to myself. I put my phone away and finally went back to my show.
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