Things ran fairly smoothly at the studio on Monday and Tuesday. A number of important scenes were shot and Justin was pleased with his work. He got along really well with the Director, and his excellent work ethic showed itself proudly. He also had a good rapport with his fellow actors, which was a good thing since some love scenes were coming up rapidly between Rage and JT. The first kissing scene was to be shot on Wednesday which, just coincidentally, was also the first time that Brian was scheduled to come in for a meeting with the Producers and Director.
Justin was nervous about the prospect of Brian being on the set when he and Dirk had their first kissing scene. He knew that Brian had a ton of experience with other guys, but he had seen none of it since the two had gotten together. He really had no way of judging how seeing his lover smacking on another man would affect Brian. They had had dinner over at Debbie's house Monday night and Michael had arrived with Ben. Somehow the conversation got around to how Brian didn't have a jealous bone in his body, since he had even gone so far as to have shared Ben with Michael once upon a time, although it had been unwitting when it happened. Michael didn't like the direction the conversation was heading even though he had started up the topic of jealousy, so the conversation was dropped abruptly.
Justin marveled at the complicated relationship between Brian and Michael. It was obvious that Michael adored Ben, but there were undercurrents of longing for Brian that simply couldn't be denied. Justin wasn't so sure he could be as comfortable with Brian as Michael seemed to be, loving and wanting the man so much, if the feeling wasn't reciprocated. He finally put it down to the fact that their friendship was so long lived and had started when they were so young. He just knew that he was glad that Brian had remained unencumbered all these years so that he could have a shot with the ad man for himself.
Wednesday finally arrived and Brian dropped off Justin at the studio on the way to his office, which had become a daily occurrence. He wrapped his hand around Justin's neck and pulled him in for a toe curling kiss before the young man could exit the vehicle.
"See you in a little bit, Sunshine. "
"Looking forward to it," Justin returned, only half truthfully. He was also nervous as hell. Brian's opinion meant everything to him.
It was just after lunch when Justin was sitting on the sidelines of the alley set waiting to be called. The four actors who were playing the bullies who beat up JT were waiting to take their places on the ground. All four guys looked as rough as the worst thugs you'd meet in an alleyway, but Justin had discovered that all four of them were real sweethearts. Three were straight marrieds with kids and one was a gay guy in a longtime committed relationship. They all made a good living playing bullies and tough guys in dozens of movies. Jimmy sat next to Justin fidgeting uncomfortably in his tight latex costume. Dirk hadn't come back from lunch yet.
The scene with the beating itself had been completed and in the can after only three takes the previous day. Justin had no lines in the scene, but he had to be pushed around a lot. A stunt man had come in for some of the rougher sequences, but Justin had to endure a few of the falls himself. His adrenaline had been pumping. He had actually pictured his father hitting him in order to arrive at the right look of fear on his face. Apparently it worked because Brett couldn't praise him enough after the final shot.
Now it was time to shoot the after-beating scene. The bullies would be stretched out on the ground with a battered, bleeding JT lying on the ground near them, waiting for Rage to lift him up in his arms and bring him back to consciousness with a tender kiss. He and Dirk had discussed whether they should rehearse the kiss beforehand but had agreed that it should be more spontaneous since it was the character's first kiss. Justin was secretly relieved... not because he had any qualms about kissing a man, but because the guy just wasn't Brian.
Dirk finally showed up, followed close behind by Brian. Justin smiled as they approached, enjoying the contrast between his fake lover and the real one. Dirk was Hollywood pretty, unlike Brian who was beautiful in a different way. Brian had a masculinity about him that Dirk simply couldn't muster. Dirk wasn't an A list actor, but he was pretty high up on the B list. He had quite a few leading roles under his belt, but this one was his first gay role. It was a well known fact on the Hollywood circuit that Dirk was gay in real life, but you couldn't tell his fans that. He was always seen on the arm of the cutest starlets at parties and premiers. His agent had tried to talk him out of playing the part of Rage, but he had commented that he would be praised for having the courage to play gay. It didn't hurt that he owed his ex-boyfriend, Brett, a huge favor either.
The Assistant Director called the actors to the set and Brian gave a little wave back at Justin as he trundled off to take his position, bloody and battered with a torn shirt that exposed his smooth pale skin. Brian knew it was acting, but he felt his heart give a painful skip and his stomach do a little flip at the sight of Justin in his authentic looking makeup. He shook it off and moved in closer to watch the action.
The AD called for places. The actors took their spots. Justin/JT stretched out on the ground, raising his knee up to match the image that Lindsay had created for the comic book. The Director yelled Action! His bloodied arms stretched out beside him. He let out several painful sounding moans. Dirk/Rage approached him slowly and bent down beside him. Jimmy/Zephyr stood nearby with his arms crossed, watching the action in front of him. Dirk/Rage slid his arm under Justin/JT and lifted his upper torso up, using his other hand to cradle the battered head that flopped back lifelessly. He bent down slowly, and then lowered his lips ever so gently onto the young blond's mouth. He began to move his lips against Justin/JT's lifeless ones. Slowly those lips came to life and began to respond to the gentle pressure, eventually opening and welcoming Dirk/Rage's tongue inside. Justin/JT slowly lifted his arm from the ground and wrapped it around Dirk/Rage's back. The Director yelled cut. Brian let out a deep breath he didn't even know he had been holding.
Dirk hesitated one second too long after Justin released his hold on the man, and Justin pulled away quickly. He gave Dirk a disgusted look and sat up rapidly. He heard Brett in the background praising the actors as they all rose from their spots.
"Perfect," he announced. "That won't even need another take."
Justin was relieved. Dirk wasn't a horrible kisser, but his mouth tasted all wrong to Justin. There was no sweetness to it. If that scene looked so good on film, then Justin decided that he deserved an Academy Award for this movie role. He was more than ready to join Brian, who sat poker faced at the edge of the set.
"So, what did you think?" he asked Brian cautiously.
"I think you are one hell of a good actor. I'd swear you were really into that scene," he frowned. Less than a second later he grinned. "Of course, they don't know what your face really looks like when you are into it. I do. Not so good, huh?"
"Well, he is no Brian Kinney," Justin laughed.
"Who is?" Brian replied, tongue firmly in cheek.
Brian hung around for several more shots being filmed in the alley way before moving off to keep his meeting with the Producers. Brett soon left to join them while the actors went off to makeup to get cleaned up. By the time Brian returned from his meetings to discuss the direction of the advertising for the film, Justin only had one more shot to film for the day. This shot was in the secret lair of Rage. It had barely been set up when one of the employees came running in to announce that there was a huge hubbub going on outside the front entrance to the studio. The majority of the actors and staff headed for the large double doors to the studio.
As everyone spilled out onto the streets, they were greeted by several dozen demonstrators carrying placards condemning the making of the queer film and fags in general. The noise was almost deafening as someone shouted hateful phrases through a bullhorn. Someone must have already placed a call, because the sound of police sirens could be heard in the distance fast approaching. Within minutes a number of squad cars pulled up and a dozen officers began working crowd control, shoveling the protestors to the other side of the street.
Justin stood to the side of the front entrance, next to Brian, and felt his whole body turn cold. He had seen this kind of hatred on television newscasts before but had never been so close to it. His face registered his discomfort. He had trouble understanding where so much vitriol came from. Brian, on the other hand, understood it fully. He had witnessed this kind of hatred several times in his life. The most recent had been when a gay-hating police chief had tried to run for Mayor. It was in part because of Brian's tireless efforts to expose the man's ugly underbelly, that the man failed in the election. There had been plenty of name calling and anger between bible thumpers and gays during this period.
Brian was surprised that news of the theme of the movie had gotten out. He had been instructed to keep it all hush hush and only focus on the super-hero theme when he had been hired on. Even Hollywood trade papers only referred to it as a super-hero action flick, never alluding to the sexual nature of the story. It was just this kind of thing that the studio had been trying to avoid, at least until the entire film was in the can. Now the cat was out of the bag. It was definitely going to be harder to get things done. Brett was beginning to wish he had picked a more gay friendly town to film in, such as Toronto, Canada where diversity was welcomed. It was too late now. The film was only a 6 week shoot on actual location with the rest of the work done in Hollywood. It was almost a third complete already, so they would just have to do their best to protect their actors and staff and get the work here completed as quickly as possible.
Brett gave one more disgusted look at the still shrieking crowd and ordered everyone back inside. The cast and crew went back to their stations, but with a lot less enthusiasm than they had when arriving that morning. The rest of the day progressed quickly, with everyone anxious to get back to the safety of their homes or hotels. Brian had originally planned to go back to Kinnetik after his meetings and pick Justin up later, but he hung around after calling Ted and giving him the lowdown. Most of the cast and crew had parked in the back lot behind the studio and were able to leave without too much hassle. Brian had parked in front in his usual spot.
When Brian and Justin left, they were dismayed to see that the majority of the crowd was still outside. Most had relaxed a little bit, letting signs lay on the ground next to them, but their presence was still blatantly threatening. Several police officers were still assigned to make sure that nothing untoward happened, but the crowd became active again at the sight of the two men making a beeline for a nearby parked Jeep. Brian told Justin to ignore the crowd, but at the last minute he did look over at the gathering. Shock covered his face when he recognized a familiar figure standing off to the side of the crowd. He carried no sign, but the look of hatred was clear on his face. It was Craig Taylor.
To be continued...............