Gemma

The week after the news broke that Tom and I were back together, I was on a plane to England. Tom had to meet me there because in all the chaos with the fake cheating scandal, he'd left Billy the Kid in the middle of filming to come see me and work through it. He had one extra week of filming in Canada left while I settled down in our apartment. Or as he called it a "flat". I was already in love with the moodiness of England the second the plane landed in the rain. 

I got a call from Suzanne not long after I had gotten to baggage claim. She asked how my flight was and went on to say how relieved she was that Tom and I were able to work through the bullshit and stay together. I was beyond relived too. After we caught up on personal matters, she asked if I had dyed my hair back to Livia's dark brown yet. 

"Not yet, I was just about to book an appointment with one of the hair salon's my manager recommended." I said back to her.

"You being blonde works perfect, they won't have to to strip your hair. For the opening of this movie Livia is in a much different place than where you find her at the start of Royal Bloodline. Remember this is the prequel to that story. She's filled with rage at the start of this film, having just watch Coriolanus and Lucy Gray win the Hunger Games. I thought we could start this film with cherry red hair. Call it Maroon. I think it will encompass rebellion." She said.

"I'm so down! I've never done that color before. It will be so fun. I like that, it really gives Livia a character arch from when she officially takes on the role of the first lady, verse when she's on the road to revenge. I think it makes sense for her to look different in this part of the film versus where you find her when Coriolanus returns from District 12." I said as I texted my manager to book a hair appointment. I had Suzanne send me inspiration so I could get the color right and I headed over to the salon. The jet lag was not going to get me. I had too much to do.

"Tom." I said as my boyfriend answered my Facetime.

"Gemmy.." He yawned probably because while it was noon here it was only 7:00am in Canada. 

"Sorry did I wake you!" I said.

"No babe, I'm already on my way to set. So what do you think of the apartment?" He asked.

"I love it, and you decorated it yourself?" I asked him.

"Okay maybe my mum helped a little." He said making me laugh.

"She has great taste. But I called to tell you, I'm dying my hair maroon. Suzanne has this vision for the first part of the film when Livia is in her revenge era because she's livid that Coryo won the Hunger Games." I said.

"I love that idea, like my hair cut changes with my character development...your hair color does too. I'm a sucker for symbolism. Please send photos when you're done. I can't wait to see you cherry." He said.

"Back at you snow." I said as he stared at my neck to see that I had taken the T pedant from the necklace he got me and and added it to the heart necklace chain. "I personalized it a little more so I could wear them both at once." I said. He smiled and stared at me. 

"I can't wait to get there. After that month without you...Gem I just..." I could tell Tom was still having a hard time with us almost breaking up over the photos. I was doing my best to let it go because I'd been on both sides of the rumors and lies in the media. And after hearing Nuria confirm the photos were fake, I had no reason to think otherwise. 

"Tom, you have me. I promise. Forever." I said as I blew him a kiss. We both struggled to hang up on each other as he pulled up to set. I walked into the hair salon and within three hours I was maroon. I sent the photo to Suzanne and she had it posted on the Hunger Games: Queen of Disaster official instagram page. I reposted it with red hearts on my story and headed to set for my first fitting and night shoot. This would be the first time I would meet Callum Turner in person. He was playing Livia's love interest before Coryo. But he plays a pivotal roll in Coryo and Livia's relationship becoming so close. Because Coryo is the jealous type and he wants what's his. It takes him a while to realize Livia belongs to no one but herself.

I ran into the building we were filming the opening seen of the movie in, paparazzi trailing me as the door slammed behind me. I thought the red hair would've been a good disguise. It turns out it was more of a reason to get a photo of me. Callum swung the door open and pulled me in. "Some entrance" He teased me.

"That's Livia for you." I joked as I we introduced ourselves to each other. We sat down did a scene read through so we could get familiar with the character relationship. The second we were in costume and standing outside in the rain waiting for our cue, paparazzi were doing everything they could to get photos of us. " I know everyone is trying to get a photo so they can edit it and every tabloid can post it. They almost broke Tom and I up once. I won't let it happen again. I know better." I said. 

Callum shook his head in agreement as the cameras set-up for the next scene. " I know what you mean, every time I was with any of my cast outside of filming Masters of Air, I was dating one of the girls. This is work, and we're both professionals. There's no need to make it something it's not." He said back to me. 

"I appreciate that point of view. I love Tom, I would never do anything to throw that away. But the second we have to work with people of the opposite gender, rumors start rising. I'm not going to say I will love watching Tom and Nuria make out in this new season of Billy the Kid. But he dealt with all the Outerbanks drama with Chase and I when I left the show. And now he's going to have to be on set when we film our scenes. I know our "romance" scenes are innocent. But the photos won't make it look that way." I said with sigh. 

"I get it, don't worry I'll make sure Tom knows he's got a great girlfriend." Callum teased me as we got into position for the scene. We were out in the rain for hours filming the same kiss scene over and over. While I'm sure the cameras of passerbys caught the kiss, no one besides the director's cameras caught the slap I gave Callum after. 

"Oh god was that too hard!" I cringed as the Francis yelled cut.

"No that was perfect." Francis said

"Speak for yourself, that one...burned." Callum said holding his cheek. I placed my hand over the spot on his face and apologized. He smiled up at me and nodded. "It's going to really make the scene, don't worry Gemma." He said as Francis called it a night. I decided to walk back to Tom and I's flat in the rain because I loved it. It just felt like a movie. My life was a movie, and I was just hoping I had made it through the rising conflict and was about to reach the resolve. Before I went to bed I posted on Instagram some behind the scenes of my red hair. Francis wanted us to show as many teasers as possible. Especially with the Bloodlines premiere right around the corner, any publicity for the Hunger Games at all was great for our prequel franchise.

But before I could even his post on my photos on set E!News had managed to post their own, showcasing...you guessed it. Only the scenes of Callum and I caught kissing in the rain.

It really annoyed me that every tabloid could create their own narrative of a movie they barely knew the plot of. No one had any idea that Callum was playing the real villain in this movie. That he was using Livia to get what he wanted by trying to romance her. Coriolanus would see that and he would spend half the movie trying to rectify it. Although this theme took a back seat in the book, it was going to be pivotal in the movie. The colors worn and the hair were also used for symbolism. This movie wasn't centered around the two men in Livia's life. It was centered around her and it was time she was given that respect.

While the cast and I may have goofed around and played into it in the comments, that was more for the publicity and fan interaction than it was to give into the bullshit the media was spreading. Tom and I's relationship was a hands off matter. I didn't want it discussed in anyway if it wasn't spoken of correctly. 

Callum and Tom new just how to interact with each other on social media to get people buzzing about the movie. But you could see it always went back to Tom and me. We were doing our best to have fun but at the same time play it safe. Which was easier said than done with all eyes on you all the time. I only had a few more days of filming to get through before I was back in my boyfriend's arms. And with the buzz surrounding my love life in the movie...it was seemingly nearly impossible to get through.