Rose gazed at Don tenderly as her delicate hands rested on his arms. Their faces inched closer until their lips touched and locked.

"Cut! Cut!" The director vehemently yelled, making Rose anxious. "Don, can you kiss Rose a bit more passionately?"

Don suppressed his anger and responded, "What do you mean, Steve?"

"You're like kissing a pole, Don! I thought you were a great actor; what the living hell happened?" The director complained as he walked towards the two. "How can your fans believe you two are a couple?"

"I'm really sorry about that. Can we do that again?" Rose politely asked.

The director vigorously shook his hands in the air and refused, "We can do it tomorrow! The one hundred seventh takes were enough for all of us!" He slammed his script to a nearby table, startling the other film crew nearby.

The director ignored them and shouted to all the cast and film crew to rest in their tents as Don sat down on the bench on the set and frowned. Rose sat with him with a warm smile.

"Don, don't worry. We will get it right tomorrow!" Rose was comforted.

Don rubbed his hands against his face and shrugged his shoulders. His fingers have messed up his curly hair. "Well... I didn't know I was such a shitty kisser until someone pointed it out."

Rose laughed and smacked Don's arm lightly, "Oh, Don. Verlice is just a really... really strict director."

"Maybe you're right. You know what, let's go home. We may need more strength for tomorrow," Don said as he picked up his coat from a chair. "Besides, It's been a while since I annoyed Mallory."

The two went to Don's car and drove to Rose's apartment. On the way home, they dealt with a stalker in a car. Don glared at the man, making his camera burst into flames. Rose became shocked but her attention was diverted to Don who grabbed a bouquet and spoke after pulling up, "Here we are."

Don and Rose walked towards the apartment room. Rose came in and hugged Mallory while Don stood, hiding the flowers in his back.

"How was your day?" Mallory asked casually, stirring a coffee cup in his hands.

Rose grunted and tossed her bag on the sofa, "Insanity! We had trouble with the climax scene!"

Don grinned at Mallory, whose face was obscured behind the bouquet.

"Oh, hey there," Mallory said snippily. Rose was smiling as she watched the two.

Don gently gave the bouquet to Mallory and  kissed him on the cheek after closing the door. "Can I stay here for the night?"

"You just let yourself in, so why not?" Mallory said as he rolled his eyes but was slightly amused while examining the flowers with his fingers, "You can stay on the sofa."

Rose slowly and audibly let out a "Sheesh" as Don shrugged his shoulders. Mallory glimpsed at her and walked to the kitchen. Don followed Mallory, despite Rose's tiny and reluctant protests about the possibility of making Mallory angrier.

"Mal? Sweetheart," Don sing-sang.

Mallory sipped his coffee and replied tiredly, "What?"

"I missed you," Don whispered.

"Tsk," Mallory let out a flustered smile and sighed. "Well, we all have been busy. Aren't we?"

Don embraced Mallory from behind and asked, "How was your band?"

"One of my bandmates had a fit over stupid things. Besides that, nothing much," Mallory replied while he stood still and contemplating what room to go next.

A moment of silence fell after Mallory looked at the distance. The silence broke as he spoke up, "I'm surprised you're still here, Don."

"You are?"

"You should've left by now," Mallory softly said.

"Why would I? I like being with you."

Mallory crossed his arms and exhaled, "I am so used to people leaving me. This felt really strange, you know."

Don did not know what to say. He became silent until Mallory who continued to speak, "Oh, sorry for making you uncomfortable. I should---"

"No, come on. I won't mind," Don interrupted. "I was just reflecting. I know how you feel."

"You do?"

"Yes," Don said with a bitter tone in his voice. "...You remind me of someone, Mallory."

"Who?" Mallory asked curiously.

Don regretted immediately what he said, frozen in the spot. He pretended to casually yawn and patted Mallory on the shoulders, "...I'll talk about it next time, okay? I don't want you to worry about me."

"...Alright, you must be tired. Goodnight, Don," Mallory uttered, hiding the suspicion  on his face.

Don slowly left. He became oddly nervous as he said something about someone else.

Mallory became lost in thought as he blankly stared at the kitchen sink. "Someone else? What happened with them?" He pondered deeply.

-----------

Mallory was practicing with his band in the recording booth until Rose came barging into the studio the next day.

"Mal! Mal! Mal!" Rose called, gathering the attention of all the band members, "We need you!"

Mallory removed his guitar strap, walked out of the recording booth, and approached Rose.

"What's wrong?" he asked with a puzzled tone in his voice.

Rose whispered loudly as she slightly jumped up and down in excitement."I'll tell you later! it'll be quick, I promise you!"

The friends drove to the film studio and walked to the movie set. Rose pulled Mallory to face the director, who was in the middle of talking to someone.

"Director, excuse me! This is the one I'm talking about!" Rose chimed in, "All we need to do is dress him up!"

The director gazed at Mallory and became very confused. "Wait, have I seen you before?"

"Yes, we actually did---"

"You're the emo crossdresser Don was with," The director spoke, audibly recalling the details. Mallory glared at him as Rose chuckled.

Rose held the director's arm and shook his arm violently like a child, "Please! Director! So we can get over the kissing scene so much quicker!"

"Okay! Okay! Stop ripping off my arm, Miss Red!" The director removed his arm and called a make-up artist.

"You, get this... Uh, what's your name?" He asked Mallory.

"Uh, Mallory."

The director then resumed talking to the female make-up artist, "Get Mallory to the dressing room and get him ready! I want to get this over with!"

The make-up artist nodded and guided Mallory to his dressing room and gave him the same clothes Rose wore. She noticed Mallory being a bit shaky. "What's wrong?"

Mallory meekly answered, "I can't kiss Don on camera."

"Don't worry; nobody will see your face. And besides, everybody is deathly afraid of the director to try gossiping about it," she assured.

After a while, Mallory was directed to the set, where another make-up artist was grooming Don. His eyes lit up as he saw Mallory. He also was about to laugh out loud at Mallory's attire and red wig but resisted it.

"Mallory!" Don discreetly called out, "So, this is what Rose meant with a perfect solution."

Mallory talked to Don nervously, "What do I do?"

Don positioned Mallory, making only his back visible to the camera. "Just relax, okay?"

"Get into your positions!" The director sat on his camping chair and yelled into his megaphone, "Action!"

Don grabbed Mallory's waist and pulled him closer for a kiss. Mallory put his hands on Don's head and closed his eyes. The two made a genuine love scene that finally satisfied the director.

After the two released, applause erupted in the studio. Mallory covered his flustered face as Rose approached him.

"Jesus Christ, I thought we were going to take a thousand takes for Don to finally make it right!" The director cried out.