A good morning to you all! Chapter 9 is here, and I've done a trip to memory lane for this chapter. It's finally nice that we're getting progress here between the lovebirds. There's a flashback in this chapter (from ACCIDENTALLY LOVING MR. STEP-FATHER's Chapter 1). Thanks for reading! I love you all.

"Nothing ever gets me high like this. I pick my poison and it's you. Nothing could kill me like you do. You're going straight to my head. And I'm heading straight for the edge."--Poison, RITA ORA

The past week has been better for me, and it has been a week since Nero and I hung out. After the date, it feels like we've grown closer, and he's been nothing but sweet to me. He keeps telling me words that I've been wanting to hear since I started having a crush on him, and it feels good to finally hear him say it. Nero is a hopeless romantic.

Caleb, the others, and I have been working on our short film. I was able to write a draft script, which I think can be improved more. Nobody seems to have any idea how can it be improved, though. I feel like the script lacks some essence, a purpose, but I can't quite pinpoint where I could have gone wrong. The plot, the settings, the conflict, I managed to come up with a story, but each time I look at the script, it doesn't bring me satisfaction like I've hoped.

Blue-haired girl Helena, her hair pulled in a bun, takes a look on the script that I've worked on and tells me she doesn't have much insight as it's not her forte, although she'd tell me if a great idea pops into her head. Kurt checks the script, squinting his eyes as he reads between conversations of the main characters. I wait for his feedback, but when he shakes his head, I let out a groan.

"Seriously, dude, I don't see any issues with it." Kurt comments as he fixes his bangs, paying little attention to me. "If you and Caleb act, you'd feel that there's something missing. Let's try what you wrote first, and from there, we can check what could be improved. But honestly, I like it."

"I agree with him," Daryl says as he pats my back. "Okay, I've got the camera!"

We head to the nearest restaurant to shoot the first scene. Since we have limited equipments, we have to improvise. Caleb and I prepared our first scene, and it's taken us a few days to memorize the lines. I check the script again, hoping that I may be able to change something, but my mind remains out of ideas.

CAMERA ZOOMS OUT:

INT. RED & BLACK CAFÉ, MIDDLETOWN – EVENING

The shop isn't usually packed as it always is on an evening day. The staffs are able to breathe as there's not much customers today, which means they get to breathe for a while. As the camera pans to several empty seats, the sweet aroma of coffee wafts all over the shop.

LUCAS
Jaime broke up with me again!

As the camera rises, there are four students who enter the shop. They take a table near Lucas and his friends. They look like they just got out of meeting as they are dressed in suit. Lucas' friends, named Lana, Dana, Matthew, and Cory, look at the men. The girls gush, but Lucas pays no attention.

TWO MEN
Whose turn is it to treat us coffee?

The guy raises his hand, and a cheer erupts. His name is Mateo Davis, 26, and is the most handsome guy in their group. He is quiet, a good-natured person, and a real entertainer. He looks like the type of person who would do everything to make a person happy when said person is down. His friends are named Thomas, Joshua, and Hudson, who are 28 years of age, making Mateo the youngest of the group. The 3 men are loud, a bit obnoxious, but are good friends with Mateo. They've been working for 2 years and have developed a strong friendship over the time.

Mateo notices Lucas wailing, and a weird look crosses his face. Mateo remembers someone who accidentally bumped him when he was taking a jog in the park with a coffe in his hand. The coffee spilled on him, and good thing, the coffee was just warm. The lad didn't apologize, and somehow, Mateo thinks that it's Lucas. The lad never said sorry.

MATTHEW
Dude, that's the fourth time he broke up with you.

CORY
You deserve better. Don't get back with him. It's not healthy for you.

Matthew and Cory coax their friend who got dumped for the fourth time in a span of 2 months. Matthew takes a quick sip of his coffee and makes a face of disgust. He never likes black coffee, but he has read on the internet that it's good for the health. For as long as he remembers, he's been drinking coffee with 2 sugar cubes and 4 packets of cream, but since diabetes runs in their family, he'd need to take less sugar.

The two girls keep their focus on the men who entered the shop, who seemingly forgot their friends and Lucas who wants their attention on him so he can vent out. Both girls are single — they are quite weird as well, and in they've been single for almost 3 years.

Mateo looks at the girls, who let out a small squeal, then glances at Lucas. For some reason, Mateo wants to ask him if Lucas was the rude guy who made him spill the coffee on himself without apologizing. Mateo just wants an apology, but Mateo is a sucker for cute people, being bisexual and all, and he figures that it's not the best idea to approach the guy at the moment.

For some reason, the start doesn't sit with me. The first scene lacks of something — like a magic. I review again the first part and shake my head disappointingly. The idea was good in my head when I was writing this, but now, it seems dull and unnecessary. Definitely, there's a room for improvement, but I don't know which part I should work on more. If the first scene doesn't sit with me, then what about the audience who's going to watch this film?

Caleb puts a hand on my shoulder. He must have sensed how disappointed I am. He gives my shoulder a squeeze and a smile, which makes me smile, too. I take a deep breath and put down the script. If the guys are okay with this work for now, then I will not bother myself.

We head to the restaurant to shoot the first scene. Caleb looks well in a suit, and the other guys as well. In such a short notice, they were able to get a suit for themselves (and it's entirely my fault for telling them late about it). As expected, the shop doesn't have a lot of people. It's actually Carla's idea to put this shop as part of the setting, as there aren't much people in the afternoon, unless it's morning where everybody tries to get a cup of coffee before going to work or school.

We've hired a few people to make a few scenes with us. Since we don't have much money, fortunately, they agreed to be paid only a little, with food and drinks provided. We didn't receive complain about it, which is another good thing.

It takes us a lot of takes to finally film the first part. Kurt keeps laughing throughout the scene, and the rest follows him. No one is really good at acting, even me, and Caleb is trying his best to suppress his laugh. It's hard to get mad, considering that I'm joining them. I tell them that we've got only several hours to shoot the scene as it's going to get dark soon, which would mean we'll have to get back the next day to re-shoot the scene.

Forty-five minutes have passed, and finally, we're able to shoot the first scene. Caleb was really into the character, but as for me, I can't quite click with Lucas. It's funny to think that I created him for this story, played by me, yet I can't connect with him. Despite the fact that we've shot the scene, and it turns out good as said by Daryl, a part of my says that what I'm doing is wrong.

"See, that wasn't so bad," Caleb chortles as he gives me a pat on the back.

I let out a smile yet it doesn't reach my ears, but I smile enough just not to raise suspicion that I'm not satisfied. We pay the extra people per day, depending if they are needed on a scene, and buy them food.

"Okay, so Daryl and I will start editing the shots we took," Matthew says as he checks the recorded scenes we shot. "Just give us 2 days tops since we're going to experiment with editing. We'll have to cut videos in each edit, so we'll have a lot of options. Is that okay?"

"All right," Caleb responds, giving Daryl a high-five.

Since we're done for the day, Caleb and I head back to his dorm. We really don't have a plan today. Of course, we could always study, what is there to study? I'm not in the mood to read, let alone, work on the script. The group is fine with the results of our first scene, so there's nothing to work on that part.

Caleb decides we should work on our acting skills so we can grasp our characters. I agree with him, nodding my head as he reviews the script I've printed for the rest of the actors.

Along the way, Caleb's lips twitch, which gives me an idea that he's holding back a laugh. Am I that bad of an actor? A few minutes later, when we get to arguing part, the conflict phase of the story, we burst out laughing.

After practicing the lines, I decide to head back to my dorm, tiredness creeping up on my body like a wildfire. When I get to the dorm, the room is empty. Nero is nowhere to be found. I take a seat on my bed, letting out a sigh before sprawling on the bed. I stare at the ceiling, thinking of our film and Nero. I never thought writing a script, making a film, and shooting scenes are exhausting and quite hard. On top of that, we have to put a lot of time and effort to memorize the lines and get into the character we're portraying.

I check the time, and it's just 8 in the evening. It's too early to sleep. I get my laptop and smile to myself, finally getting an idea to write a new script. A script just for fun. When the laptop turns on, I immediately open the word and surprisingly, the words spring naturally in my head. I stretch my arms out, finally getting the momentum. A huge smile tugs on my lips, and my heart drums rapidly in my chest.

CAMERA ZOOMS IN:

SKY INTERNATIONAL HIGH SCHOOL – MORNING

As usual, the school is packed with students roaming around. Gloss and Noah, Derek's friends, have just entered in a relationship officially. Students mingle in the busy hallway, and a lot of them are being paid attention to as the jocks are just hanging around near the lockers.

Nero, a young boy whose age is 18, with his dark hair brushed to the side, is making Derek swoon. Nero is in a bad mood, as his friends have teased him about Derek. There's intensity in his eyes that Derek can't fathom, but despite that frown on his face, Nero still looks amazing, like he has been blessed by Aphrodite, the Goddess of Beauty. Their eyes meet.

CAMERA FOCUSES ON NERO AND DEREK:

NERO

What are ya' looking at, lad? Enjoying my look?

Derek wants to be honest, but something in Nero's reaction triggers something. He decides to tease the poor guy to get a reaction from him. There's a look of annoyance in Nero's face, which pushes Derek to say the first thing that came to his mind.

DEREK
Why would I enjoy the look, when your look is like a krisa?

The word used is a Russian word for rat. A look of confusion replaces Nero's annoyance. Derek made sure to thicken his Russian accent. Nero looks at his friends, trying to figure out the word when Derek's friend steps in to help the lost Nero.

BEAU
The word "krisa" means rat.

Beau and Derek share a good laugh. Meanwhile, their other friend, Gloss, is shaking his head and murmurs something in his boyfriend's ear. They kiss and Gloss heads off without saying goodbye, but Derek can see a small smile playing on his friend's lips.

DEREK
Don't always flatten yourself, Nero. I just want to say that Jeric is hotter and way, way more handsome than you, seksual'en.

NERO
That's not true, you Russian man! And what does seksu-whatever the Russian word means?

Derek is well aware that Nero can't speak Russian, so he threw that sexy word since he knows Nero will not be able to understand him unless he searches it on the internet. Nero's face is flushed, and Derek receives the reaction he wanted to see from Nero. A job well done.

DEREK
Try to figure that yourself.

CAMERA ZOOMS OUT:

He walks out and, in the distance, he can hear Nero's friend, Karl, explaining the word to Nero. Derek turns to look over his shoulder, finding a red-faced Nero. A smirk tugs on his lips as he looks at the man who caught his attention.

KARL
I may or may not be able to speak or understand Russian, but I think it means sexy.

TOMMY
Oh my God! Love is in the air.

I look at the first part of the script, and a smile graces my lips. The memory is still fresh in my head. This was the first time I called Nero a rat, and this was the time where he was being constantly teased by the jocks that there was something going on between us.

My heart flutters at the memory. It holds a special place in my heart because it was the start of our misadventure to love. Nero may not remember this, but I do, and it's enough to make me happy. It's a memory that I'll always remember. My eyes catch sight of the polaroid he took of us while I was sleeping. Beneath the picture, it says: potatoes <3 xoxo.

Remembering that there's a yarn in my drawer, I grab it and stretch it out, then cut a few strands. I get the scotch tape and put the cut yarns on the wall near my bed. Surprisingly, there are wooden clothespins in the drawer. I shrug, grabbing the polaroid pictures Nero took and pin it on the yarn using clothespins. I admire my work, suddenly having the urge to take as much picture as possible with Nero, enough to fill the yarn.

The doorknob jiggles, and when Nero enters, his eyes immediately meet mine, then flick to the art on the wall I just made. He walks towards me and wraps his arms around me, pressing his lips on my temple. I wish it landed on my lips, but hey, there's going to be a right time for that.

"Come on," Nero grabs his camera.

We both pose on the camera, his arm slung around my neck, pulling me close, as we smile at the camera. He takes a couple of pictures of us being goofy, and when the pictures have developed, Nero helps me pin them on the yarn. Unfortunately, the clothespins are only limited.

"I'm going to buy for more so we can hang all our pictures up there," Nero says.

"Really?" I ask, my heart somersaulting as our eyes meet once again.

He nods his head, smiling. "I'll also buy some LED lights just to put around that." I squeal and hug him. He chuckles, his hands resting on my hips. Nero leans down, close enough to let the tip of our noses touch. "We'll take a lot of pictures, just the two of us, and we'll clothespin them."

"I'd love that."

Nero kisses my forehead again and, since we're both tired, decide to sleep on my bed this time. I rest my head against his chest, loving the feel of his heart beating. I trace the exposed skin on his stomach with my index finger, loving how firm it is. Nero shudders from the touch, and it makes me happy knowing that I have this effect on him.

Deciding to tease him, I pull some hair on his bellybutton, which makes him groan. He gives me a playful glare, and I laugh at him. He raises his index finger, wagging it in front of my face, and begins tickling me.

The next day, Nero has gone to his class a bit early. I admire the polaroid pictures we took yesterday. I take a picture of it using my camera, and share it via Messenger to Gloss and Beau. I tell them they should keep quiet in the meantime, and that Nero and I aren't still officially dating.

After showering in the communal bathroom, which fortunately isn't packed with naked men, and dressing in my dorm, I head to my class. The group is not planning to shoot some scenes today after what happened yesterday. We decide that should just rest for a day, then shoot another scene tomorrow. That setup works for everyone, considering that we have different schedules.

"So what are your plans today?" Caleb asks me.

"Well, for one, I'm going to watch a lot of movies today," I tell him, earning a nod from him. "Mostly romance, and maybe I'll surf the web and review sample scripts. I'm still not satisfied with my work, so I need ideas."

I think back of the draft script I wrote — the story of Nero and I, but it holds a special place in my heart, so that's not going to be turned into a film. I like to reminisce the story of us.

"Count me in," Caleb chortles. "What movies are we watching?"

"Uh, mostly LGBT. There's a lot on Netflix."

"Cool," Caleb grins. "Let's watch gay stuff together." I blush, pushing him lightly.

"Fine, let's watch gay stuff together." We both laugh.