Chapter 16: 16. A Change of Plans

Shiro

The inside of Birchwood studios is sleek in a corporate way. White walls, grey floors, everything is cast in monochrome. Only the doors offer a splash of faux warmth with their wooden decor, but at least it isn’t freezing in here. The opposite, in fact. A heat wave assaults us when we enter, prompting a mad shedding of all the layers we put on so carefully before. 

“So, where to now?” Katie asks once we’re not in danger of not sweating to death. 

“There’s an info panel over there,” Lance says, but he’s interrupted by a slapping of shoes as a tall, lanky guy rushes toward us.

“Ms. Holt, Mr. McClain, and Mr. Shirogane?” He asks, targeting us with a look as he lists our names. 

“Yep, that’s us,” Katie says.

“Hi. I’m Curtis, the production assistant. I’m supposed to give you a tour and bring you in for the fitting.”

“Actually, I have a meeting with Keith. Mr. Kogane. Keith Kogane.” 

Lance snickers at my inability to keep it together. I clear my throat and rally.

“You wouldn’t know where the conference room Mordor is? I’m Shiro, by the way.” I offer Curtis a hand. He wraps his long fingers along mine and squeezes gently, a slight grin tugging at his mouth when our eyes meet. 

“Sure, I can show you. It’s on the way.” 

He leads our little group through the labyrinthine building—why are all these office spaces so convoluted? I guess it stems from the need to cram inside as many people as possible, but it makes getting around a nightmare.

“Here you go, Shiro.” We stop in front of a glass door with a tiny steel plaque saying ‘Mordor.’ There’s a picture of Sauron’s eye next to the name. Cute. My inner nerd is happy. Curtis offers me another smile, ignoring Katie and Lance, who shuffle nervously behind his back.

“Thanks.”

The door cracks open a sliver, and Keith’s head pokes out. 

“Hey, Shiro. Your ETA was off. It’s been 14 minutes and counting.”

“Hi, Keith. I promise to work on my time-estimating skills.” Keith deigns to lift the corners of his mouth. For a moment, I forget about Curtis and my friends staring at my back, caught in the spell of Keith’s purple gaze. It shouldn’t be possible for him to get hotter in those weeks we didn’t see each other, should it? Yet somehow, he accomplished it. Dressed in tight black jeans and a dark blue button down that brings out the color of his eyes, hair artfully falling into his eyes, he looks better than I remember and every bit the famous actor he is. 

“So, will you catch up with us for the tour?” Curtis’s voice snaps me out of my daydreaming.

“I will take him,” Keith says. “Don’t know how long we’ll be.” The dismissal in his voice is unmistakable. I barely manage a tiny wave goodbye at everyone before he ushers me inside, where two guys are sitting at a table, staring into their laptops, waiting for me. I recognize Mike, our director, from the auditions, so the other one, a middle-aged guy with thinning hair, must be Ben.

“Shiro, nice to meet you in person.” He raises to greet me. “Ben Kowalski, the producer on the show. You’ve met Mike, right?” The director stops studying his laptop, reaches over to shake my hand, then drops his gaze back to whatever is so interesting on the screen. 

“Nice to meet you. Yes, during the auditions.”

“Great. Can I get you anything? Water, coffee?”

“Thanks, I’m good.”

“Okay, straight to business, then.” 

I claim a seat next to Keith. He’s drumming his elegant fingers on the table, impatient. A curious urge to grab his hand for moral support slams through me. Why is this meeting necessary? Lance and Katie didn’t need one. Are they going to fire me before the shooting even started? Now when I uprooted my entire life and moved to Canada for the next six months? God, I hope not. It’d only prove Adam being right about how insane this idea was.

“So, guys, I talked to the execs yesterday, and we have a slight change of plans. Provided you agree, of course.”

“What is it?” Keith asks. “I thought the writers had already completed the scripts for the first four episodes. No, scratch that, I don’t think. I know because I personally went over them as a part of my EP duties.”

“Hold your horses, Keith,” Mike says, shutting his laptop. He has a mop of dark curly hair and eyes that seem to glitter with amusement behind dark-rimmed glasses. “We all want the show to succeed.” 

“Yes, and it always goes great when the higher-ups get involved.”

“In this case, they might have a good idea. They want to shift the romantic focus from Fala and Akira to Akira and Ryou. Apparently, people like the idea of the two of you together. Plus, you know.” He shrugs his shoulders, suggesting there’s an ulterior motive that everyone in the room but me understands. 

My ears must be glitching. The director didn’t just suggest presenting a queer couple as the main romantic plot on the show? Once I get over the initial shock, I’m hit over the head with another realization. I’m supposed to be a part of said relationship. Me and Keith. Keith, who looks like he’d like to murder both Ben and Mike with laser beams shooting out of his eyes.

“No. Absolutely not. I’m not doing that.” His voice could easily freeze a small nation to death. Ouch. And here I was, thinking we were friends. I wouldn’t have pegged him for a homophobe. Beth and Mike ignore his little outburst and shift their attention to me.

“What’s your opinion, Shiro? We’re aware of your inexperience, even though your contract contains approval for shooting intimate scenes.” 

To think my answer through, I stall a little, rubbing the scar on my arm, which started twinging again during our talk. Could stress be a trigger? No, more likely, this nervous gesture is becoming a tick. Dropping the hand and avoiding Keith’s eyes, I say: “It’s a little daunting, but putting the love story between two men front and center sounds interesting. Especially if the women on the show are framed as action heroes. It might be a nice subversion of the tropes.” 

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“Well put,” Mike says while Ben types a note.

“No. It’s just a cheap attempt to score brownie points for representation. Plus, the scripts have been finalized. It’d cause a delay to change everything at this point.” Keith says, fixing all of us with a glare. 

“Everything is a fucking grab at brownie points, Keith. Are you new? It’s what the execs want. Shiro is on board. I asked the writers, and the scripts don’t actually require that much reworking since they already wrote Akira and Ryou as having a close, loving relationship. This is just making things a bit more explicit.” 

“You mean a bit more pandering?” 

“I don’t wish to make Keith uncomfortable,” I say, interrupting their discussion.

“Keith’s here to do a job, not be comfortable,” Mike argues.

“Look, this is a sensitive issue. We’re not going to force anyone.” Ben rakes a hand through his hair.

“Perhaps Ryou could have another romantic interest. Keith isn’t the only guy on the show, is he?” 

“Well, it’d lose a bit of impact, considering Akira and Ryou are the leads. It’d also mean more digging through the scripts to make it work, but possibly… What do you think, Mike?”

“Could work.” 

“Would the network agree to it?” 

“Let’s talk to them.”

They completely forget about our presence, discussing their plans for the show. Well. Can’t say the idea of playing a couple with Keith didn’t hold a certain appeal, but it’s probably best if we don’t pretend to be in love, even only on screen. Too much confusion for my abused heart. 

“I’ll do it,” Keith says through gritted teeth. It’d sound more convincing if he didn’t look like someone who just agreed to walk through a hallway full of tarantulas. 

“If you’re not feeling up to it, we can make it work with someone else,” Ben says.

“No. Anything for the show. It’ll mean less work on the scripts, right?”

“Great. I’ll get the writers on it and send you the revised version. You too, Shiro.” 

“Um. One question, though,” I say, and three sets of stares drill into me. “How explicit are we talking here?” 

“Relax. It’s not porn. We need to stay within our rating, which means keeping things pretty tame. PG accessible. So, intense gazes, the occasional touch or a hug, maybe a kiss or two. Stuff like that. Nothing that hasn’t been covered in your contract.” 

“Okay. Sounds doable,” I say, not meeting Keith’s eyes. If I did, I might lose my composure.

“Are we all done here?” Keith asks, voice raspy with displeasure. Clearly, he didn’t expect things to turn out like this. 

“Yes. You’re both needed for the final wardrobe fitting, anyway.”

“Great. Let’s go, Shiro; I promised you a tour.” 

Ben and Mike are both buried in their laptops again, typing as if they’re going for a record, so they both miss the nod I direct their wave before following Keith outside. He’s leaning against a wall, tapping something into his phone, a frown pulling his mouth down. A mouth I might be kissing in a couple of days. So not what I should be thinking. 

“Sorry for putting you on the spot like that,” I say. He raises his head, and the frown tilts upward.

“Not your fault. I know how these things go. Whatever the network wants, they’ll get, one way or another, and I don’t want to be labeled a troublemaker. Once you gain a certain reputation in this business, it’s tough to shake.” He uncoils from the wall, each motion filled with lazy confidence. “My agent is going to give me hell, though.” 

“Why?” I ask as we fall into step together. Keith shrugs.

“He wants me to present myself a certain way, and this isn’t it. But hey, if I have to deal with kissing a guy on TV, so will he.”

Keith stops in front of a door that has “Wardrobe” on it. No fantasy reference this time. 

“I’ll try to make the experience as painless as possible,” I say. The joke lands awkwardly, leaving only tense silence behind. 

“Okay.” For some reason, he blushes furiously, then shakes his head and motions for me to go ahead. 

Dammit. Did I say something wrong? The shooting has barely started, and things are already much more complicated than I could’ve ever expected.

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