Chapter 14
WALTER WASmiserable. He had two very distinct voices warring in his head. One said quite clearly that he was not an actor and was in way over his head. The other one—Monkey’s voice—said he was brilliant, powerful, and could fly on a cloud, not to mention flatten every stuntman in the state. The problem was, both were true. Monkey was indeed powerful and could fight like a god. Walter had no idea about flying on a cloud but felt sure he should try that at some point. But every Marvel hero knew that superpowers didn’t make a guy any less of a geek. It only made him look really cool as he screwed up. And that was what he was doing right now.
He couldn’t act worth a damn, and everyone here knew it.
“It’s not that bad,” Taide kept saying.
“It’s not that good either,” Walter answered.
Taide shrugged. “Maybe it’ll get better in editing.”
“And maybe I’m not the right leading man.”
The two remained silent as they looked at each other. Finally Taide shook his head. “Who could you get out here now?”
Bing.
“And we’ve already got a ton of footage with you.”
Walter knew that could be fixed with CGI.
“You’re just new to this,” Taide continued. “All actors go through some rough times, but they get through it.”
The good ones did. The bad ones were just bad.
“Sleep on it tonight. We’ll talk in the morning,” the director said, patting him on the shoulder.
“Yeah,” Walter agreed. “In the morning.”
Taide went about closing up the set for the night. Fortunately Walter didn’t need to do anything but walk to his tent. He was thinking longingly of a hot shower. And Bing. He wanted to take a long hot shower with Bing. And he wanted to drop his head into Bing’s lap and hear that everything would be okay.
That wasn’t going to happen. He hadn’t seen Bing since he’d had the man thrown out in a fit of pique. It was hard enough to perform for the cameras. Acting in front of Bing, when Walter knew he wasn’t as good an actor as his friend was, felt like stripping naked in front of a jeering audience.
Three months ago Bing would have understood Walter’s insecurities. The guy had often had to prop him up when the words wouldn’t come out right. But this Bing? The one who had disappeared for eight weeks and come back as a werewolf? Walter didn’t know if he’d be supportive or shred his confidence like a cheese grater.
Which meant Walter had to buck up on his own.
It was after dark, and the air had a cold bite to it. He hated Wisconsin, but Auntie Sand had insisted, and the whole rental had been so cheap, he hadn’t been able to refuse. He made it to his tent without really looking where he was going. He wanted to sit in silence with no one staring at him. He unzipped the tent and stepped in, pleased when the temperature inside was warm. Someone had turned on the space heater for him, which was really nice….
Oh shit.
No one would do that for him unless they were already sitting inside. It didn’t take long for him to see that one of the shadows had shape and form.
Bing.
“I haven’t the strength to argue right now,” he said.
“Good,” Bing answered, “because I need you to listen.”
Walter felt his temper rise, or maybe it was Monkey’s. Either way, he pitched his voice hard and… well, a little whiny. “I’m in charge here. When I say no, I mean no!”
Bing tilted his head. Walter expected him to argue. But instead Bing’s voice was gentle. “Tough day?”
“You know it was.”
Bing nodded. He was sitting on the bedroll, his legs folded in such a way that Walter knew he’d been meditating. Now he stretched out those long, beautiful legs and prepared to rise. “You’re probably tired. Want to lie down for a bit?”
Yes. In his lap. “You don’t have to move. You were meditating.”
