#Jake Dunn

[herejusttosufferalong]

The thing that is super weird about those pics is how they couldn’t manage to grab a single one well he at least looks at her?

It’s bloody Nicola Coughlan! I wouldn’t be able to look anywhere else.

And they got them from multiple povs.

What do you think about this ?

It really is odd because someone else can’t look away

[darcytaylor]

It's not lost on me.

It's not lost on me that when things became super toxic for me within the fandom, it was when people tried to push the narrative that Nicola was dating Jake.

It's not lost on me that people really tried to come up with cold, hard facts about a situation they know nothing about.

It's not lost on me that even Deux Moi thinks this is nothing more than a rumour started by people who just want to start a rumour.

It's not lost on me that it's really disheartening when speculation becomes so entrenched that some fans treat it as truth.

It's not lost on me that the fact Deux Moi, which thrives on rumours, finds this one unfounded - it says a lot.

It's not lost on me that when even gossip platforms push back on something, it highlights how far people will go to create and latch onto a narrative, sometimes just for the sake of it. It seems like this rumour has taken on a life of its own because people want something to talk about, not because there's solid evidence behind it. (And no, I don't think that being friends, attending a concert together, or even sharing a hat makes for a relationship. If you do—I'm sorry about your relationships.)

It's not lost on me that when people dig their heels into narratives like this, it becomes harder to have rational conversations, and the pressure to conform to their version of reality can become exhausting.

EDIT: It's not lost on me that I will lose followers because I am saying this.

[beeutifultruthteller]

JAKOLAS ARE THE BRAIN CELLS FIRING YET!? JD is our Pretty, Pretty, Princess 👸🏼🏳️‍🌈 It’s not that complicated; just open your eyes 👀 Please stop shipping this man with Nicola. He is literally one of her very best GBF!

[emkayewrites]

Lukola fanfiction from Luke's POV- Luke and Nicola are filming the carriage scene but both of them secretly like each other - and both of them are unavailable.

(Excerpt taken from my fanfiction 'Curtain Fall')

5th November 2022 – London (UK)

It was a surreal experience to be on a soundstage, even though he had been on dozens of them by this point in his career.

The Bridgerton production did soundstages like nowhere else.  Everything was huge, and everything was opulent.  He stood in front of a dark blue, four-wheeled carriage.  It was elegant with an exterior adorned with intricate gold-leaf patterns and lacquered wood that contrasted sharply with its’ gleaming brass fittings.  It stood looking rather out of place in front of a giant green screen, in the middle of the chasmic space that was Soundstage 12. 

He was dressed in the finest formalwear that the Regency Period had to offer, and he was covered in what he approximated to be about twelve layers of make-up and two entire cans of hairspray. 

He usually felt a mixture of nerves and excitement before filming a scene as crucial as the one they were about to film.  Today, he was just plain nervous.

He was hardly able to take note of the other people on the soundstage.  At one far end, there were several chairs and tables surrounded by a small group of the hair and make-up team.  At another end, there were a handful of crew members working with cables, rigging and lighting fixtures.  Usually, he would be approaching them all, making small talk, trying to ease his own racing mind but he felt too unsettled to make conversation.

He knew that the way he was feeling was not just about the nature of the scene they were about to film.  It was about her.  She stood several feet away from him with Erika and John adding touches to her make-up and clothes.  She was resplendent in a shimmering baby blue gown that was cinched in a way that flattered both her waist and her ample breasts. 

Breasts he would have to touch again. 

All he wanted to do was to touch her again.

He felt nauseous.

At the same time, he knew that was the very last thing he should do.

He sensed there was something different in her since that night in his trailer too.  She appeared to keep more of a distance, the bantering dialogue they usually had was reduced to a few quips.  He could not be sure, but he felt some sort of frustration emanating from her.  As if she wanted to say something but could not.  He could also be imagining it. He did a lot of that recently.  Imagining conversations with her.  Imagining being with her.  He then got angry at himself.  Then he felt the inevitable anxiety that always came when he realised that he was having strong feelings for the woman he would now have to act like he was having strong feelings for. 

His fathers’ advice echoed in his mind: Keep the work as work, and don’t neglect your real life.  How could he do that when the real life was becoming his work, and the work was becoming his real life? 

Six burly-looking men of various ages approached the carriage.  Andrew trailed behind them, a headset wrapped around his neck and clipboard in hand.  Andrew, their director, was a slight man in his earlier forties with a refined yet approachable air about him.  He gestured for both Luke and Nicola to come towards him.

“Guys, guys… you both look incredible.” Andrew’s eyes beamed with enthusiasm. “Wow!”

In that moment, Luke felt thankful that it was Andrew who was going to be taking them through these scenes.  There was nothing like having a director that not only led you through your scenes, but also lifted you up and empowered you throughout the process. 

“Right, so the way we’ll do this is – the camera will be in the carriage with you guys, we’ll be back over here with the monitors to give that added illusion of intimacy in there.” Andrew explained, pointing to the monitor setup a few feet away.

“And these lovely men…” Andrew motioned to the guys standing by the carriage. “They will be our carriage hydraulics!  We can’t have the carriage attached to real horses for a scene like this, so this was Netflix’s next best offer.”

“Well, we’ll try not to make it too long of a shoot day for you guys.” Luke found himself saying with a nervous chuckle. 

“Right, so we’ll get you guys up into position…” Andrew nodded towards the carriage. 

Luke felt the instinct to go to Nicola, to take her by the hand and guide her up onto the carriage, but one of the carriage men beat him to it.

They stepped into the luxurious interior and seated themselves opposite one another as the script requested.  Andrew looked in through the window at them.

“So, we’ll be on the monitors and the camera will follow you from there…” He motioned to the other side of the carriage, where a camera was positioned, looking in at them through the window.

Luke watched Nicola orient herself, taking note of the cues Andrew was outlining.  He was taken aback by how intimate it all felt now that he was inside the carriage.  It was just going to be them and one camera.  

“That looking good to you, Luke?” Andrew interrupted his thoughts.  Luke was not sure he had taken everything in, but he felt compelled to nod. 

“Alright, so we’ve got this mixture of anger and hurt – but there is a tension running underneath it all.”  Andrew’s eyes lit up again. “It’s the tension of longing.  And that tension finally breaks to give us – the carriage scene!”

“Let’s do this!” Nicola high-fived Andrew, matching his excitement.

He could not ignore how she lit up when she smiled.  He thought about how it did not help that she was made up to resemble an actual Goddess on earth.

“Alright, great! On my cue, guys.” Andrew pulled the headset over his head and moved away from them.  They heard his echoing footsteps recede as the entire soundstage became eerily silent.  The lighting around them dimmed.  Suddenly, the carriage started to move in an undulating way. 

Luke’s eyes met Nicola’s and for a second, they both stifled a giggle at the ridiculousness of it all. 

They heard Andrew’s shout: “ACTION!”

Then their masks came down.

Nicola vanished, and the misty-eyed Penelope sat before him, a look of anger etched on her face.

He fixed her with a stoic look as he spoke: “You cannot marry that man. He will leave you, and he is too particular.”

He watched her watching him, her face getting angrier.

“And he is – he is just not right for you, Pen.” He continued, part-insisting, part-pleading.

She shook her head furiously at him. “He did not propose.”

He stared at her, stunned. 

“In fact, he rejected me because of you.” She practically spat the words out.  “Because the scene you caused led him to believe you have feelings for me.  An idea so preposterous, I do not know what to do besides laugh.”

There were times when she was acting that he found himself lost in what she was doing.  The way she conveyed emotions with so much power and grace.  He watched her with awe.

She continued, through gritted teeth: “Now, will you please leave me alone and let us ride home in silence?”

His heart was racing and there were tears in his eyes as he leaned forward.

“I cannot.” His tone was defiant.

“Please!” She snapped at him, near tears herself.

“I cannot!” He found himself snapping back, a hot, angry tear rolling down his cheek.  He could no longer tell if they were acting tears, or tears of real frustration. 

“Because…” He swallowed, as if mustering up his courage. “What if I did have feelings for you?”

He felt the nausea again. He wanted to remind himself that this was acting, that he should not be having such a visceral reaction to those words but at the same time, he knew it was helping his performance. 

“What?” She blinked at him, still frowning.

He moved so that he was closer to her and then knelt before her.  He was aware he was shaking.  His breath was laboured.

“I have spent so long trying to feel less, trying to be the kind of man society expects me to be.”  He reached forward for her hands, his nerves increasing as he was aware she was surely able to feel the sweat on his palms and feel how much he was shaking.  He found himself squeezing her hands tightly, as if to anchor himself.

“And for a moment, I thought I had succeeded.” He continued. “But these past few weeks have been full of confounding feelings.”

Where did Colin end and he begin?  He thought to himself.  He felt himself getting choked up.  He felt the weeks of frustration and conflicting emotions rising inside him. 

“Feelings like a total inability to stop thinking about you. About that kiss.”

She reacted to his words with a small gasp.

“Feelings like dreaming of you when I’m asleep.  And in fact, preferring sleep because that is where I might find you.  A feeling that is like torture.”

Speaking these words felt terrifying, electrifying and cathartic all at once. Another tear rolled down his cheek.

“One which I cannot… do not… and will not give up.” He spoke emphatically.

“Please. Do not say things you do not mean.” She shook her head at him, disbelieving.

“But I do mean it.  It is everything I have wanted to say to you… for weeks.”

An expression of confusion and pain appeared on her face.

“But… Colin, we are friends.”

Even though the rejection was merely playacting, it still stung.

“Yes, but we…” He spoke with hurt in his voice.  He wanted to say more but swallowed back his words and recomposed himself. He moved back to his seat. “Forgive me. I do not know what I was thinking.”

“But I’d very much like to be more than friends.” 

He stared at her with a mixture of amazement and desire.

“So much more.” She added, a look of longing in her eyes.

He moved closer to her, and for a moment, their faces met, and they took each other in, both breathing heavily.  All he wanted to do was to kiss her, but he was also terrified of what that would do to him.  Then, their mouths met in a passionate kiss.

He found his mind and body travel back… back to the inside of his trailer… back with his hands all over her.  Her mouth and body responded to his with a willingness and desire equal to his own.

He felt the stickiness of her lipstick smearing around the corners of his mouth, her hands in his hair – neither of them having any thought for their hair or make-up.

And then suddenly, he heard it as she did because they found themselves springing away from one another at the same time.

“CUUUUUUUUUUUT!”

A bright light exploded in their faces as the spotlight above them came back to life.  Andrew and Liam, the cinematographer, were stood by the window next to the camera.  Andrew surveyed their messy faces and hair with wide eyes.

“Woah, you guys were really into that.”

Luke instinctively wiped at his lips with the back of his hand as Nicola smoothed out the front of her dress.

“We’ve been yelling cut for over a minute while you did the kiss – we even timed it!” He laughed.

“Don’t say we don’t give you one hundred and ten percent.” Nicola joked.  Despite her humour, Luke sensed that she seemed unsettled.

“That’s for sure!” Andrew agreed. “Alright, let’s get hair and make-up in here and then we can get the next angle.”

Andrew and Liam moved away from the carriage.  Luke could hear the rest of the crew outside the carriage also dispersing as the normal noises of set life resumed. 

He watched Nicola as she touched gently at her own hair, assessing it for damage.

“You look beautiful.” He found himself saying out loud.

She stared him with a look he did not recognise.  She did not reply.

Quick little authors note: I watched the many interviews Nicola and Luke gave about the carriage scene, about how intense it was, and about how in one instance, they were so caught up filming that they did not hear ‘cut’ being called by the director. It inspired me to write a short story where Nicola and Luke really like each other, but don't know how the other feels, and have to hide it on set. In my mind, that was the only logical reason that this scene was so intense for them. It couldn’t possibly be that they are just such great actors ;) Anyway, that short chapter became the fanfiction I'm STILL writing about these two! So I hope you enjoyed what was actually the very first chapter of this story that I ever wrote -I built the rest of the story around it!

[nicolaandjake]

Nicola, Jake and Camilla with Evan Ross Katz @ his IG Story. https://www.instagram.com/evanrosskatz/

[ratchie610]

Still on the ship. I believe they are nothing more than friends.

[deeplightblue]

HOES MAD

How could you be so bitter after seeing her so cute and happy around him?

[lovepinkqueens]

Nicola’s Guy Best Friends👍🏼 ♥️ She’s one of the Boys kind of Gal♥️👍🏼

[glitter-sprinkling-capricorn]

I really want to be delulu, I really do. In Delulu Land it's warm and cosy, pink candyfloss clouds everywhere, unicorns🦄, swirlies🍭 and rainbows🌈 and of course Nicola and Luke together in a relationship, happy, after good sex, cuddling in bed. I would like to believe that. ❤️

But I can't.

What follows are my thoughts and feelings, I'm not saying it's true, I've been wrong before...

On 24 October my plane🛩 landed on German soil at 1:45 a.m., I had mobile data again after 7.5 hours and thought: you had the feeling that something was going to happen tonight, but you're an adulting adult now and don't look at your mobile phone.

Then the people on the plane were too stupid to get off. They were all scrunched up at the back, the plane went up at the front and everything stood still. And I sat there with my broken arm, annoyed and exhausted and just wanted to go home.

Then I thought: oh yes... then take a look.

dudumm....

What will I see first? JD and Nic....

You know I didn't notice any sexual tension. Even after NY I was still like: yeah well she got scared... I wasn't worried - in hindsight, I just didn't want to see it.

So I thought: ok JD and Nic then so if they are happy go ahead....

Although to be honest I have a problem with the age gap for various reasons which I can go into if anyone is interested.

But because from the bottom of my heart I am a person who means it when I say: if she is happy, I am happy.

I think JD is a nice guy and I could imagine that they have a lot in common. For example photography, they have the same circle of friends, so why not.

And that doesn't stop me from believing in Lukola in the long run.

Second topic and the reason why I'm writing all this: Luke and Antonia:

I just ignored her for a long time. She was simply non-existent in my orbit, now you know how delulu I can be 🤣

I always thought I was getting weird vibes from her, kind of arrogant, not real, fake smile. And that wasn't someone I would want for Luke. I also thought for a long time that they weren't even together anymore and then her Spain photos came along. I grudgingly accepted it and continued to ignore her as much as possible.

Yesterday I saw a video with her and her friends and I saw a real, lively, funny, friendly girl.

And somehow, without actively wanting to, I made my peace with her. If this girl in the picture is what she usually shows of herself, I can understand what Luke might see in her.

Again, I'm not thrilled with the age gap. But again: if it makes him happy...

And again: that doesn't stop me from believing in Lukola in the long run.

I would like to believe what is so beautifully portrayed in delulu, that JD is just the distraction and that Luke and Antonia are long gone, but....

I can't.

I will always sprinkle glitter but I also have a rational side and it can't overlook certain things.

I had to get rid of that. It all boiled inside me for a while.

[wildflowerspollinator]

No, the girl shouldn’t have recorded Nicola Coughlan & Jake walking down the street and posted it online. The real danger came from the IG user who publicly shared Nicola's location 30 minutes into a 2hr 45min show, tipping off where to find Nic. Never share her current location, people. Keep her safe. This fandom is wild.

[herejusttosufferalong]

Me, unamused, having to look at this shit:

[atouchofireland]

So...What is funny to me is, even though I'm still skeptical about any serious Nic relationship; with her being more private, it'll be in her best interest to just confirm it and move on. We've seen it with many other actors turned lovers, what keeps *most* people meddling is the "what if's* and intrigue of it all, where they can dream up a million scenarios.

The current-day blueprint is Tom and Zendaya. They were costars, then friends, then rumored, then confirmed by them and now they can have their separate careers and shared life with excited fans, but not all the intense online ferocity to stalk their every move.

It is almost like the shows an audience watch the actors in: once the "will-they-won't-they" couple gets together, many lose interest.

[beeutifultruthteller]

NO NEED TO SPIRAL LIKE 🐜 PASTA 🍝

🛑PSA BEFORE YOU COME AT ME: ALL OF THIS IS PUBLIC KNOWLEDGE ON JD’S PUBLIC IG PAGE. 🛑

All Jake’s closest friends constantly call him a TWINK….

-A young attractive gay man with a slim boyish appearance…

It’s not rocket science to understand that he and Nic are NOT dating.

Quite funny how Lukola shippers are called delulu when we ship based of years of flirting, chemistry and unhinged behavior.

Jakeholes base their shipping off a couple of pictures indicating friendship and the opinion of DM 🙄🤯

Honestly, I know common sense and independent thought is a rarity now a day, but just do some fucking research! 🧐

[emkayewrites]

Lukola snippet from my imagination. One cold night, Nicola and Luke are rehearsing their most intimate Season 3 scenes in his trailer when they get a little carried away...

(Excerpt taken from my fanfiction 'Curtain Fall')

2nd November 2022 – Salisbury (UK)

Nicola stepped out of the make-up trailer and onto the sludge that had once been a green, well-kept field.  Several days of non-stop rain had not been kind to the grounds of Wilton House and wellies had become essential wear for the cast and crew.  It was a bitterly cold night with a bright moon hanging overhead. Nicola pulled the big brown fleece she was wearing more tightly around herself and made her way determinedly towards his trailer.

She was equal parts exhausted and frantic.  It was a strange way to feel.  It had been a very long day of filming so she should want to do nothing more than go to bed but her mind would not let her rest.

After all, she had spent several hours on set with Claudia, filming some very emotional scenes that occurred between their characters.  Several takes had been needed because of lighting problems and because Claudia was struggling with a chesty cough.  They had finished their night seated in front of their respective vanity mirrors as the make-up team helped them scrub off the layers of foundation and lipstick, and they had talked about how desperate they were for the warmth of their beds.  Nicola had not entirely lied; she was eager to be warm.  Yet, sleep was the last thing on her mind. 

In less than two days, she and Luke would be filming the most exposing and intimate of all their romantic scenes together.  For several weeks, they had been meeting discreetly in their trailers to rehearse kissing, touching and even tentatively exploring the idea of seeing each other naked.  This had been done without the knowledge or involvement of anyone else even though Lizzy had made it clear to them that the production team would not support the rehearsal of intimate scenes without a coordinator.  Regardless, Nicola had felt that their extra rehearsals were giving her confidence but as the big day approached, she had been losing sleep.  It did not help that since Ezra had arrived less than a week ago, she and Luke had had no time together to privately rehearse.  It also really did not help that she had not seen any part of Luke under his clothes until just a few days ago.  The sight of his tight abdominal muscles, the way his jeans hung just low enough for the revealing V-shape of his obliques to be visible – she shook her head as if to try and shake the image from her mind.

How am I going to have that body on top of me and act?  She thought.  It was not just his body.  It was the fact that she already found his personality attractive – so to find him physically appealing as well would be torturous.  She reasoned that exposure would help.  She was just overwhelmed at seeing him in such great shape for the first time but repeatedly seeing him would surely dull the effect.

So, she had been grateful for the exchange of texts that had happened between her and Luke as she was having her hair and make-up undone for the day.

Luke N: Plans for tonight?

Nicola C: Staring at my ceiling for four hours before my alarm goes off. You?

Luke N: Wow, same.

Nicola C: Rehearsal would probably be a good idea.

Luke N: Definitely.  When do you finish?

Nicola C: Being de-Peneloped in make-up right now.  Can be with you in 10?

Nicola stared at her phone.  She had sent him that message over half an hour ago and there had not been a response.  She tapped out a message as she approached his trailer door.

Nicola C: You better not have fallen asleep.

“BOO!”

She was so engrossed in her phone that when the noise came, she squealed and jumped several inches off the ground.  Her phone slipped from her hand and into the mud. 

Luke was stood behind her in a black button-down t-shirt, carrying a small Styrofoam takeaway box and laughing.

“Jaysus fucking Christ!” Nicola snapped, and immediately bent down to rescue her phone.

“Oh shit, is that your phone?” The smile disappeared from his face.  “Is it OK?”

Nicola peeled the phone off the ground using only the tips of her fingers.  It was completely covered.

“Why would you do that?” She glared at him.  The intensity of her own anger took her aback.  Perhaps it was the very long day of filming or maybe it was the heightened adrenaline she had been experiencing since Ezra had arrived – either way, she was not able to do what a well-rested, clear-minded Nicola would do: laugh.

“It looks alright.” Luke spoke softly and carefully, recognising that a line may have been crossed on his part. “See, the screen’s still lighting up and there’s no cracks…”

Nicola narrowed her eyes at him.  Before she was able to fully form a thought, she found herself thrusting forward, grabbing him by the arm and then smearing the gloopy mess that covered her phone across the cotton fabric of his top.  He let out a shocked yelp and jumped back, pulling his arm away from her but it was too late, the front of his shirt was completely covered.

This time, Nicola laughed.  He looked down at his clothes in disbelief and then at her.

“Happy now?” He sighed.

“No.” She replied, holding her phone up. “My phone is still disgusting.  You’ll have to do the recording tonight.” 

It was true, her phone did not look any cleaner, instead it looked like the mud had just been more evenly spread across the phone’s surface.

“Peace offering?” Luke gestured to the box in his hands. “I got us some chips.”

“You remembered the vinegar?”

“I would throw myself down in the mud right now if I hadn’t.” He attested, leading the way up his trailer steps and inside.

Nicola stepped inside and was hit with the blast of warm air from the space heater that stood by the paisley patterned sofa.  Opposite this was a small kitchenette area with a sink and work surface where Luke placed the box of chips. 

“Oh my God, I feel like I’m melting.”  Nicola sat down, pulling the fleece off herself to reveal a black vest underneath.

“That heater only has two settings – on or off.”  Luke apologized.�� “It’s better on then off right now.”

She watched him as he pulled out his phone from his trouser pocket and started to stage it on the work surface before him.  He propped it up against a cup so that it was stood upright with the camera lens facing her on the sofa.

They had taken to filming their rehearsals so that they could watch them back together to see how their performance looked.

He started to unbutton his shirt, trying to avoid touching the dirt where possible.

Nicola watched him, hawk-eyed, as he pulled the shirt off his shoulders to reveal the very sight that she had not been able to get out of her mind.  

How did he still look that ripped at the end of a day?

“I’m sending you the dry-cleaning bill.” He joked, balling the shirt up and pushing it into a laundary bag.  He grabbed at a white t-shirt that was hanging off a hook behind him.

“No.  Keep it off.” She noticed herself gulp as she said the words.  He froze and looked at her.

“I mean… for the scene.” She continued.

“Right.” He let his arm drop away from the hook and he moved towards her. 

Why was her heart racing so fast?

Jesus, he was beautiful.

He has a girlfriend. You have almost got a boyfriend. A very hot boyfriend.  A boyfriend with abs. She repeated in her mind, trying to remind both her mind and body of the facts.

He sat inches from her and a mischievous smile spread across his lips. “If I remember right, we’re both topless in at least one of the scenes.”

Nicola laughed; she knew he was joking but she could not resist commenting: “These are coming out once and once only.  When I’m being paid a crap-ton of money for it.”

“Should I be charging for this?” Luke looked down at himself.

“I think you should be paying me for this.” She quipped and placed a hand on his chest.  She felt him shiver a little at the coldness of her touch, which amused her.  They both stayed in that position for a moment, sat on the sofa, leaning towards each other, her hand on his heart.  He felt warm and his heart was racing.  She looked at him in surprise.

“Nervous?” She found herself asking.

“With you?” He half-smiled. “Always.”

She was not sure how to take his words.  She was sure a look of confusion was spreading across her face.  His heart seemed to thud even faster under her hand.

I make him nervous?  She thought.

What happened next felt natural.  

He leaned forward and pressed his mouth against hers, one of his hands was on the back of her head, holding her face against his.  It was the epitome of a closed mouth acting kiss.  

They had gone through these very movements so many times, it would have been odd for it not to feel natural.  Yes, this was what regular rehearsal and being in your comfort zone with your costar felt like, she was sure of it.

She was not sure how other than the fact that every part of her mouth longed for it to happen but suddenly, her tongue was in his mouth.  Tentatively at first.  He did not pull back.  In fact, his tongue seemed to greet hers with glee.  His hand gripped the back of her head even tighter, and he wrapped his other arm around her waist, pulling her so close to himself that the hand she had placed on his chest was now squeezed between their two bodies.

Wait - what scene was this even?  The question swirled very faintly in some corner of her mind that was easy to ignore. 

All she cared about was how ferociously hungry he seemed to be for her.  He held her so tightly it was almost as if he was afraid to loosen his grip for fear that she might slip away.  His lips left hers so rarely that taking in oxygen was not the easiest thing.  She didn’t care.  Oxygen no longer mattered. Barely being able to breathe felt too good.     

She could hear his breathless panting as he pulled the strap of her vest down and she felt the warm air of the room against her naked breast.  It was the wake-up call she needed to come back into her own body.

What are we doing? 

You should not be enjoying this.

The voice in her head was louder now.

What scene is this even?!

She found herself prying her lips away from his, her hand still on his chest, his heart still beating furiously.

He pulled back, breathless and looked at her.

“I-um, I…” She was at a loss for words.  She knew what she wanted to say but she did not know how to say it.  She wanted to ask him what he was thinking.  She wanted to know what he was feeling.  She wanted to ask him if he felt as crazy as she did right now?  She did not say any of this. 

Instead, she took a breath and pulled her vest back over her breast.

“Boobies out, time to stop.” She gave a chuckle that came off nervous when she had wanted it to come across nonchalant.

“Sorry. I, uh, I got caught up in it…” He trailed off. 

The energy between them was weird.  She knew it and she knew he knew it too.  They had never discussed a line that could not be crossed in rehearsal.  They had only agreed to try to be comfortable with each other and to try to portray the intimacy of their characters with authenticity.  That was the problem though.  This felt too authentic for her.

He has a girlfriend.

He has a girlfriend.

“I actually – you know, the night is just hitting me.” She sounded like a bumbling fool, but it was the best she could do in that moment. “I think I should just go to bed.”

She saw a mixture of emotions cross his face; upset, surprise, concern. 

“OK.” He had settled on agreeing with her, although she could sense he had wanted to protest. “Are you alright?”

“Yeah, just – exhausted.” She reassured him. “Are you?”

“I could keep rehearsing but… I didn’t have a ten-hour shoot day.” He gave her a smile. “I’ll walk you to yours.”

“It’s fine, Luke.” She was already on her feet with her fleece wrapped around her.  She stuck her mud-encrusted phone into her pocket.

As she headed to the door, she suddenly remembered his phone.  She turned and looked over at the work surface where it stood.

“Luke – I would delete this one.” She iterated to him.  He nodded. 

Moments later, she was back out into the night.  She was still exhausted.  And her mind was still racing.  In fact, it was worse now. 

I really fucking like him.

And that was a problem.

[nicolaandjake]

At New York, October 5 2024. Good Things Come to Those Who Wait

[dontcallmenelly]

new bts content 🥹🥹 louisa is such a cutie pie i’m obsessed with her