Chapter 11

 The Lies Between Us

11 – We Did It Offcam

"I really appreciate you visiting me here, Lis."

"It's a no brainer. Even if we're not scheduled to fly here, I'd still make a way to visit you." Lis smiled at her best friend while a faint sound of instrumental music was playing inside Ross' tour bus. 2 days after their plane landed on Perth, she made an excuse to go straight to Ross and Soo's location.

When news came about Ross' sexuality, it left a sour taste on Lis' mouth. She felt like she's a bad friend for not knowing. Looking back, she's noticed that Ross did treat her a lot better than anyone else. She came to her to say sorry and to finally clear things between the two of them.

"You must've been shocked..." Ross said softly feeling the warm cup of her tea.

Lisie nodded. She heard a thud on the door when the silence grew.

"You can just get in here, Soo." Lis called out but then she heard footsteps retreating.

Ross giggled.

"It's really good to see you again. I miss you so much." Lisie couldn't help herself and pulled her best friend to a tight embrace.

"I miss you too..."

"I just want to let you know that even though things happen between the two of us, you'll always have me, okay. And, I'm so, so, so sorry for distancing myself, for not appreciating your efforts to get our friendship back again."

"Lisie...about that scandal..."

"Shh...you don't have to explain. I completely accept you and will never judge you for who you want to be..." Lisie lets go of her, smiling at Ross.

"I'll admit, I really do got confused about my...sexuality. I also thought you're the person I'll love the most in this lifetime but..."

"You've fallen in love with someone else?" Lis continued for her. "Jace?"

Ross smiled with sadness.

"Come on Ross, it's okay. You know I'll always choose you." Lisie promised.

"You know what's funny? I know he only wanted a relationship with me because he wanted to use me. He knew I was confused about my feelings for you and he..."

"What?"

"He didn't love me like I love him." Ross muttered biting her lip. She was trying not to cry again because she'd already shed a lot of tears for that guy.

"In a way I was thankful that scandal broke out. Maybe it was him who published that story to the magazines, I really don't know. But at least I was free of him. He can't use that secret on me anymore."

"What do you mean?" Lisie couldn't believe what she found out.

"Jacey doesn't want us to be friends. He always get angry every time I try to come to you. I don't know why he did what he did."

Lisie held her hand comforting her. She knows why Jace had the audacity to meddle in between the two of them. Ross may not see it, but the guy really do love her.

Lisie would give a hundred bucks to bet that Ross is probably the only person who doesn't know about the guy's true feelings for her. Because if Jace knew Ross has the possibility to fell for Lis back then, he'd definitely use Ross' fear to get Lisie out of the picture. And he was successful. Until now.

"I'm sure he'll pay for what he did," Lisie muttered to herself.

"Huh?" Ross didn't quite catch what she said.

"Oh I said I'm sure Jace would get karma..."

Jace was a jerk. Lisie will never help him get back with Ross not because she'll want him for herself. She'll punish him for what he did to them both.

After hours of catching up with Ross, they were disrupted by the continuous knocking from the door. The person was not trained to be patient so she invited herself in.

"So I was told Ms. Moore was supposed to have dinner with her fellow castmates in Mandurah at 6pm but she and her bodyguard told me she's free tonight. Who's lying here, Lis?" Soo looked at her with accusation.

Lis pursed her lips before answering, "I can always ditch dinner with those people. You guys are here..."

"So you lied..."

"I'm really free! Why should I have dinner with them when I can spend my time with you guys! Don't you miss me, Soo? Ross misses me!" She argued, her hands flying everywhere.

"You know how important production dinners are. I already told you about that. It gives you a good rep. When other directors ask your director about you; if you act accordingly, it will be easier for you to get casted on future projects..."

"So if I miss one dinner then that means, I do not behave well?" Lis raised an eyebrow trying to be cheeky.

But Soo was cheekier.

"It means you don't want to be with your costars." Soo smirked. "And it's not just one dinner by the way. I have another source and she said you've missed 4 dinners now."

Lisie pouted. She looked at Ross for help but the latter was clueless about what's happening.

"Lisie...what happened?" Soo asked enunciating the words clearly.

Lisie looked at her best friend for a solid five seconds and decided it's best to keep it to herself. "Nothing! I'm just tired." She picked a pillow and hugged it tightly.

"You're always tired but you never complained like this before. To the extent of missing your own social gatherings and all..."

Lisie kept quiet. Ross and Soo looked at each other like they know something was definitely not right about how their odd friend behaves.

"You can tell us about it..." Ross urged.

Lisie shook her head. "I came here to check on Ross and to bond with you guys like old times. Can't we just do that tonight?" She begged.

But Soo was not having it.

"No, I'm not going to let this go. We're going to bond alright but after you tell me what's going on?" Soo encouraged.

"I'm really fine guys. It's just I need to cool down..."

"Did you get in trouble with someone?" Ross asked. "Some actress bullies you?"

Lisie shook her head. Ross kept asking her questions but stopped when Soo clapped her hand in realization.

"It's gotta be Tait Kingston. There's no way you'd act like this unless it's about a guy." Soo pointed out.

"Oh yeah, when you got jealous with Jacey with another girl one time, you avoided him like a plague for a week." Ross supported Soo's theory.

"No! Ross, I thought you were on my side?" Lis complained making Ross speechless. The latter was not in favor of taking sides. She was only saying the truth.

"What did the bad boy do to you? I swear to god if he abused you in some way I will not just sit here and do nothing. I will get him fired and sued until he rots in jail. I heard rumors about his rep about his leading ladies. If he disrespects you in any way you have to tell me."

"You got to keep me in the loop here Lis if you want us to help you overcome this...this fear of yours." Soo continues.

Ross' eyes kept shifting from Soo to Lis then vice versa.

Lis still kept quiet while Soo waits for her to talk. But the silence continues and it was killing Soo's short patience.

"That's it, I'm calling Jane!" Soo exclaimed revealing her source making her younger friend panic.

"We kissed, okay!"

Soo stopped dialing to squint at Lisie. "People always kiss in movies. What, did you do bad? Did he embarrass you?" Soo assumed thinking it's not a big deal to kiss when doing films.

"No...we did it..."Lis hesitated.

"....offcam."

Lis' revelation made Ross' jaw to hang wide open. "Wow..."

Soo dropped herself on the couch. "Oh here we go..."

"I just don't know what to do now after finishing takes. I'm just sure I'd rather not talk to him or see him..."Lis said all the while her head was hiding behind a pillow.

"Did you regret it though?" Ross asked lowly while twirling her hair on her thin fingers.

Soo raised an eyebrow and waited.

"I don't know..." Lis answered.

"Oh wow, we haven't been hanging out a lot so I'm assuming he's not your first kiss because maybe Jacey was your first-"

"He's my first kiss."

"Who? Jacey?"

"No, the other guy." Lis talked like she's empty and uninterested.

"Lis, you got to be professional with this, okay? Let's get something clear. Do you or are you developing feelings for Tait Kingston?" Soo asked trying not to laugh at Lisie's reactions.

"W-what? No! No way. It was just..." Lis gulped. "It was just a whirlwind thing! I'm sure he's forgotten all about it."

"I say you be honest to yourself at least. You can lie to our faces my dear friend but you can never hide from yourself." Soo said looking at Lis straight in the eye. "Word of advice, in case you really do fell for Tait Kingston, you have to be sure he's worth the trouble. Because honey, relationships in this industry is like signing a contract from hell."

"It's not going to be enough to love each other. You have to be able to fight for each other." Soo winks.

Lisie avoided Soo's piercing eyes and just nod. She didn't like the idea of falling in love because the last time it happened...

Her eyes drifted towards Ross who was looking at her with concern.

Soo got their attention again when she clasped her hand. "Okay, so here's what you're going to do-"

"I'm so not going back there at this hour!" Lis retorted in advance.

"Of course you're not. I'm not going to send you back there dummy. Let's just practice your being professional around your crush."

"He's not my crush."

"Okay, say his name then."

"Taykingstn..." Lisie muttered fast and low.

"Louder."

"T-tait...King...son...something..."

Ross cackled in amusement.

"Repeat after me Lis," Soo commanded, now giggling.

"No! You're just making fun of me!"

"Again! His name is...Tait..."

"His name is..."

Ross continued for Lis "Tait..."

"Tait..." Lis gave up.

"Kingston," Soo and Ross in unison.

"Kingston..." Lis sighed.

"Tait Vincent Kingston," Soo mentioned his full name.

Lis groaned. "Goddamit, Tait Vincent Kingston!"

Then as if he was being summoned, Lisie's phone rang and it was Tait Vincent Kingston. She immediately threw her phone in midair that made her two best friends panic. Luckily, Ross was able to catch it.

"Oh my gosh, it's him." Ross giggled excitedly giving the phone back to it's owner.

"No, You answer it Suzane! This is all your fault!" Lis accused her best friend getting as far away as she could from her phone.

"How is it my fault? All we did was chant his name." Soo took the phone instead. "I'll set this on loud speaker so get ready Lisette."

"No, please! I'm not ready. I promise I'll talk to him tomorrow, I'll be professional if that's what you want."

"Ready or not," Soo smirked and pressed the answer button.

Lis scrunched her face dropping her bum back on the couch as Tait's low and husky voice greeted her.

"Hello? Lis?"

Soo acted like she was about to pass out when Tait called Lisie's name.

Lis cleared her throat first then made a face to her friends to let them know they should zip it.

"Hey, you called." Lisie tried to sound calm but failed.

"Yeah, you know I'm not really that stupid."

"What?" She grimaced.

"You think I haven't noticed? You've been avoiding me ever since that night." His voice suddenly went lower.

Soo was mouthing words to her now: See! I told you so.

"I'm not avoiding you, if I am then I would not have turned up the next morning and film kissing scenes with you." Lis bit her lip remembering how many takes it took for them to get the scenes perfectly.

"Whatever. If that kiss really bothered you that much then please know that I only did that because in that moment I felt like doing it. It's not because I love you or anything. I was just worried for you."

Lisie was taken aback by what he confessed. Somehow, she was disappointed.

"Look, I know that kissing you offcam was uncalled for but we're actors Lisie. These things are normal," he sighed. "In the long run, you'll find yourself in the same situation with another actor."

Lisie could see his point but whatever it is that he's talking about is sending daggers to her ego. She felt her heart beating fast like she's doing a marathon. Her eyes are getting watery and she didn't know why. It felt like she was getting scolded by a mentor. She got her phone and turned off the loud speaker.

"Yeah, I get it. I'm sorry if I ever made you feel...responsible." She said turning her back on her friends so they wouldn't see her react.

"No...don't say sorry. It's no one's fault."

"Hey, please accept my apology. It's the least I can do after how I have been acting. Honestly, you were right, I really felt awkward because of that kiss."

"I understand," he spoke softly. "Are we good now?"

"Of course."

"I'm only going to accept your apology if you'd agree to tour the city with me tomorrow." He snickered. "It wouldn't be like a date. We need to do this to get in character for the next scenes we're going to film. There's going to be a lot of tears needed for that so I thought we need to get into our characters heads together...like Abe and Vaia..." His voice turned a little higher like he was planning this beforehand.

"Sounds fun," Lisie stopped herself from feeling like a lovesick teen. She's got to remember to do a rain check on her feelings every now and then. Tait is obviously a professional when it comes to these things and if she doesn't guard herself too well, she'll fell on the pit.

"Of course it's going to be fun," He answered eagerly.

Now she can understand why women fell for this man they dubbed as king.

"I'll go with you then." She nodded surprising herself. But after what happened, she felt like she needed to prove to herself that she can do this.

"Cool."

"Then, I'll see you tomorrow? Four o'clock?"

"Okay."

"Good night."

"Night."

When she ended the call, she put on a proud face before facing her friends. "Guess that was easy." She smiled. "Can you believe Tait Kingston called me out. Lol."

Soo and Ross looked at her questionably. They could tell that the call made Lis uneasy especially after hearing what Tait Kingston had to say about that kiss.

"What did he want?" Soo asked seriously putting an arm around Lisie's shoulders.

"It's just acting rehearsals I guess." Lisie shrugged. Soo took her answer without questioning it. It looked like Tait Kingston was a smart-ass who didn't like to be ignored by a costar. But is it only just because of that? Soo thought. She knows her two best friends too well that she could tell what Lis truly feels for this superstar. But what about Tait? Was he only worried because of this movie or was his concerns go far beyond that?

It's too early to tell but judging from his words earlier, Soo doubts he's interested.

"Hey, do you want to hear Ross' new song for the album?" Soo suggested making Lis excited and forget what just happened earlier.

"Really? I can have that privilege?" She looks at Ross.

"Of course! I can even sing it live for you." Ross proudly offered.

Lis chatted with Soo for awhile as they wait for Ross to finish tuning her guitar. When she started the song it gave her chills.

To see her best friend grow from a shy country girl to a confident independent woman makes Lis emotional. She sings so passionately now like there are thousands of people listening to her instead of two.

She noticed how the song resonates so much about Ross' feelings for Jace that she couldn't help her tears from falling.

Another story that's sad and true? I can feel the pain, can you?

You had to be the one to let me down, to color me blue

Looking back, her love for Jace was nothing close to what Ross felt for him. Because Lisie didn't experience heart break like what Ross is feeling right now. And that's what's scary about love. It's like a bastard who trespasses in the night and leaves like he did not commit a crime in the morning.

Hate to see you with someone new

I'll put a curse on her and you

Ain't no looking back, now you're dead and gone

My love is gone too

All my love is gone

All my love is gone, gone, gone, gone

All my love is gone

All my love is gone

Now you're dead and gone

The next day, Lisie prepped herself to dress comfortably since Tait didn't tell her where he's taking her. She arrived five minutes earlier than what they talked about at Kings Park. She brought her camera with her and took photos of the scenery.

She was in awe while taking in the beauty of the place. One couple took notice of her but not because she's a celebrity. They just wanted someone to take pictures of them.

"Can you please take a photo of us?" A man a foot taller asked.

"Sure," she smiled. After taking the picture, the couple thanked her and even received compliments.

"Are you famous?" The lady asked.

"Nah, I just have that face," she giggled.

"Thank you so much," they called and left.

Lisie was smiling while her gaze remains at the couple when Tait showed up. She didn't even notice him come up to her.

"Hey, who was that?" He was wearing simple outfits too but his low key style didn't get him enough disguise.

The lady from earlier looked back whispering something to her man. By now Lis knew the lady has probably recognized the both of them.

"Just tourists I guess," she turned around facing the opposite direction.

"Are you okay?" He asked crouching a little to catch her eyes. His confused face made her chuckle. It looked like he was making a troll face in purpose.

She made him stand up straight. "Stop it, you're being funny."

"Alright, come on, there's a place I'd really want to visit," He pointed somewhere; then just like every time they go together, he grabs her hand.

If at first this made Lis a bit delighted, now it's not the case. She refused to get confused by this guy and for the first time, she took her hand from him placing her camera instead.

"I'll take a picture of you," she insisted. Lis looked through the viewfinder zooming her lens to his face. He wasn't smiling at all.

"Come on, just one picture." She teased him acting like nothing happened.

"This isn't fair, I should be taking your photos," he hinted.

"One, two..." As Lisie clicks her camera she whispers a curse. "If someone's going to cry in the end for not being true, then let it be you."

She looked at his photo in the preview and smiled.

To be continued...

A/N

I am sooo excited for Chaeyoung's soloooo. I'm thinking if I should make a short story about Rosekook since tea is hot on them as well but gotta focus on Taelice first.

Question guys, who do you ship Jisoo with in Bangtan?