The next two weeks were the most agonizing of Chris' life. All he could think about was her. He felt like he was cracking up. He'd never been so obsessed with anyone, or anything, for that matter, in his entire life. He had trouble sleeping. He could never remember what he was dreaming about when he woke up in the middle of the night, but he always woke up sweating, heart racing.
The tv show powers-that-be gave him a call a few days after the audition.Chris was already distraught by the fact that he could very well never see Larissa again. He remembered sighing with relief after getting the call about the part on "So This is Life". He felt like he should have felt more relieved that half the battle was won,at least. But he wasn't. In fact, that's when his mental state worsened. Chris asked the man on the phone who would be playing the female part opposite him. Cryptically, Chris was told that information wasn't available and that he would just have to find out the first day of shooting.
It was a beautiful, early May morning. Clear blue skies, high 60's. He didn't normally remember little details about anything unless it involved acting. Even that had changed since he met Larissa. Chris arrived at the studio early, both trying to beat the morning rush of traffic and to get his hair and makeup done. And, of course, his ulterior motive of trying to find out if Larissa had gotten the part opposite him.
As he walked down the hall of dressing rooms towards his own at the opposite end, Chris scoured the names on the doors. His heart sank when he realized they had only listed the last names of the guest stars on the temporary dressing room doors. The one next to his read "Olsen". He and Larissa had never exchanged last names. Chris couldn't help himself and knocked on the door. And waited. And waited. Shoulders sagging, he resigned himself to his adjacent dressing room.
The hair and make-up ladies came to his room, which he found unusual. He had never done any tv work before, so maybe it was normal. What did he know? The longer he waited through their primping, the more his anticipation was replaced by nervousness. His stomach started knotting up about 30 minutes before shooting started. "Suck it up, Pine," he scolded himself. "You're here to do a job, remember?" A knock came at the door.
"Mr.Pine, you're on in 10," a younger man's voice called.
"Ok, thank you!" he called, even though he knew the man was probably already walking off to whatever task awaited him next. That was the way of Hollywood: Rush, rush, rush. Chris shook his head at himself. "More cynical than usual today, aren't we?" he thought. Chris gave himself a once over in the vanity mirror, took a deep breath, and headed out of his room towards the stage.
Chris stopped in his tracks and gasped as he caught sight of the commotion on stage. Among the dozen or so people milling about, fixing furniture, going over directions with the actors, etc., stood Larissa, going over something on the script with one of the studio employees. He knew it was probably just him, but the way the lights shone on her made her stand out even more, like she was the center of everything. Chris tried to compose himself and walked slowly toward the stage.
As he stepped up she saw him and stopped talking mid-sentence, mouth falling open, staring at him. She clearly had no idea he had been cast opposite of her either. The look on her face was priceless as he approached her. Chris was so happy he wanted to cry. In fact, he had to fight back the water that dared to pool in the corners of his eyes as he smiled broadly and held his hand out to shake hers.
"Chris Pine," he waited for Larissa to gain her composure as well and take his hand. She fought valiantly to hide it, but her eyes glimmered with wetness too as she tried to control her smile.
"Larissa Olsen," she finally took his hand and played along. The studio employee who Larissa had been talking to, who had watched their entire exchange in silence, finally spoke up.
"Do you two know each other?" she asked with a raised eyebrow.
"Yes and no," Larissa answered. Chris stifled a chuckle. It wasn't until the woman looked down at their hands that either of them realized they were still holding on to one another.
"I'll let you two get acquainted, I guess," the woman gave them a strange look as she walked away to speak with one of the regular actors on the show.
"This is crazy," Larissa whispered as she finally let go of Chris' hand. He wasn't sure what to say and just stared at her for a long moment.
"I, I know!" Chris grew excited. "I can't believe you're actually here!" Larissa cocked her head to the side.
"Not that I'm saying you're a bad actress. Hell, I don't know. I've never seen you act before. That's not what I meant," he began rambling. She couldn't help but smile at his awkwardness.
"You don't strike me as the type that gets easily flustered," she teased.
"I'm not. Usually. This is the..."
"Find your places, everyone!" a director interrupted. "We roll in two!"
Chris couldn't wait again. He knew he would see Larissa for the show, but he had to know if she intended on keeping her promise.
"Larissa Olsen, will you go out with me?" he looked earnestly into her eyes.
"Of course," she squeezed his hand as she walked to her place on the opposite side of the stage.
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