Page 2 of Stunts and Sparks

“You know I will.” Heather hung up feeling much better than she had before her mom had called. It was nothing new. Her mom was always able to talk her down and give her some achievable goals to reach for. Today, the goal was to convince Stephanie not to bring pizza when she showed up for dinner. Very achievable. Maybe a compromise was in order. Veggie pizza with a thin crust could work.

Heather left her apartment and locked up, thinking all the while about whether she should talk her mom into healthier takeout or compromise on the pizza. Or flatbread with sauce and cheese. She smiled to herself on and off all the way to the studio.

Everything was going to be okay. No matter what happened, she had her mom on her side. It felt childish having that thought, but Heather was fine with feeling childish every once in a while. She knew what it was like to lose family, so she treasured anyone who stuck around, and she didn’t see anything wrong with that.

The stylist sat Heather in front of a mirror and began combing out her damp hair. Then she dried it and worked one braid into the upper-left side of her head. The braid pulled the hair on the bottom half of her head tight on that side, and the stylist teasedthe upper half to give it more volume. The style gave her hair the vague appearance of an asymmetrical undercut, just enough of an edge without being intimidating. Her character was meant to go against the grain, but the director wanted her to look relatable, too, since the film was primarily from her perspective.

Heather turned her head to the left and to the right and appreciated the style. It really did look fantastic on her, even though it wasn’t something she would have chosen on her own. The streaks of blues and greens complemented the green of her eyes, although that wouldn’t likely be anything anyone would notice, considering she was the stunt double and not the star.

“Let’s get you into costume,” the stylist said, holding up a pair of black leather pants. The dressing room was bursting with clothes racks full of costumes. Heather often wondered how the costume people kept everything straight, but they seemed to have a system that worked for them, no matter how chaotic it came across.

Heather began to strip out of her loungewear and squeeze into the leather costume. “I swear I didn’t gain weight since you took my measurements,” she joked.

The stylist laughed. “Don’t worry. It’s meant to be tight. It stretches. You’re going to look so perfect in it, and once it’s on, it’s surprisingly comfortable.”

“Have you been lounging around in this or something.” Heather winked at the woman helping her.

“Well, I had to try it out, didn’t I?” She winked back. “No, there’s no way I’m squeezing into that. But I know that material.” She helped Heather into the rest of the costume and began straightening it out, buttoning the right buttons, and lacing theboots just so. Then she turned Heather around so she could see herself in the long mirror on the far wall. “Honestly, you look fantastic in it, don’t you think?”

Heather tried not to smile too much at her reflection. She did look good. She looked like someone else entirely, but at least she looked good. Maybe this wasn’t such a bad look for her. She lifted her arms a bit and turned one way and then the other, admiring the work of the costume designer and her assistants. Today, Heather looked like exactly the sort of person who could get revenge on the powerful mafia boss who she blamed for her sister’s death, which was essentially the plot of the movie they were shooting. “Thank you,” she said to the woman who had helped her. She struggled to remember the name of this particular assistant, which the assistant noticed.

“Kim,” she said, shaking Heather’s hand briefly. “We’ll probably be working together again. They like to keep us on the same shifts, so the actors get comfortable with us. Unless you hate me, that is.” She grinned wide. “Then you can go ahead and have me moved to another time slot. No worries.”

“Oh, I’m keeping you,” Heather said. “I don’t know how you managed to make me look this convincing, but I think I might actually try to get into hacking, just in case I have some hidden talent.”

Kim smiled into the mirror and turned back to organize her workstation. “You should see the other guy,” she said. “Your counterpart. He looks pretty good himself. I’d even say he’s better looking than the star. Let’s just say I wouldn’t turn him down for a date. You’re lucky.”

“I’ll be anxious to see him.” Heather took a deep breath and turned away from the mirror. “But as for his appearance, youknow what they say — don’t judge a book by its cover. He could be a total asshole, right?”

“Oh, we’ll see.” Kim winked like she knew something Heather didn’t and left the room.

Heather made her way out of her dressing room to greet her new coworkers. The set was almost to the level it would be for final shoots. She’d been rehearsing with a director-chosen partner for scheduling reasons. It wasn’t the person she’d eventually be acting with. They’d only really work together for test shoots and final shoots, so she hadn’t actually met him yet.

Mingling with the rest of the cast was awkward to say the least. Everyone kept mistaking Heather for the star of the movie, and she kept having to tell people she was “just a stunt double.”

“Well, well, well,” people would respond after she corrected them. “You two could be twins.” Heather was sure they were exaggerating to excuse their mistakes until she actually met the star herself.

It was like looking into a mirror. Her reflection reached out to shake her hand. “Hey, I’m Jessica. Most people call me Jessie. And you are?”

Heather caught her breath. “I’myouapparently,” she said. “They did a really amazing job in the costume department. My name is Heather.”

“Casting did great, too.” Jessie smiled and shook Heather’s hand. “We could be twins.”

It was the one person who could have said that to Heather without her wanting to roll her eyes. And now that Heather was seeing Jessie up close for the first time, she could see whyeveryone appeared to be saying the same thing. They really did look like they could be sisters, right down to their figure. Jessie had the same small chest and wide hips that Heather had. She was too curious not to ask. “So, are our counterparts just as well cast, or do we win the prize here?”

Jessie shrugged. “They’re pretty close, but I think we win.” She pointed to someone in a crowd. “That’s him there.” The man she pointed to was wearing what looked like a very expensive suit. His dark hair was slicked back and his jaw had the perfect length of stubble. He looked exactly like the sexy, young villain he was meant to be.

“That’s Simon?” Heather asked, meaning the other star of the film.

“No, that’s Cole. He’s your shooting partner. You’re going to be fighting him, lucky girl.” Jessie grinned at her, and Heather looked back at her stunt partner with wide eyes. He was gorgeous. She hadn’t seen a man that gorgeous in her whole life, not outside of movie posters. “I’ll introduce you to Simon if you want,” Jessie said, “but fair warning. He can be kind of a jerk. Maybe his stunt double will have a better personality, though, and a smaller head.”

After her talk with Jessie, Heather went around being introduced to other cast members, other doubles, and crew. But she couldn’t help glancing over to wherever her counterpart was, watching him do the same. She was both eager and terrified to be introduced to him. All she could hope was that, in this case, the cover really did reflect the book.

CHAPTER 2

COLE

From the moment he woke up that morning, Cole Reynolds could feel his good luck beginning to wane. He had gotten the job of his dreams, doubling for the main antagonist in an action flick that he was certain would wind up being a huge success. But the day he was meant to be on set for the first time, his alarm didn’t go off. He shot up and ran to the bathroom to start getting ready. Of course, he stubbed his toe on the way there. Nothing was going according to any kind of plan. He had spent the rest of the morning hopping around his studio apartment on one foot, throwing on his clothes, calling a taxi to pick him up outside, and hoping his foot didn’t swell up enough to affect his performance.

---