Auditions for the brand-new Twilight film adaptation were finally underway. It was September 2007 — barely two years since Stephenie Meyer’s first book had hit shelves — and already the story had ignited something electric in the industry. Everyone wanted to know who would bring the brooding vampires and star-crossed romance to life.

Catherine Hardwicke, the director, had her answer for Bella Swan almost immediately. She’d admitted that while reading the novel, she kept picturing you — the quiet resilience, the understated presence, the way Bella’s thoughts folded inward. Your acting talent only sealed it for her; you were Bella before you ever stepped into the audition room.

Then came Robert Pattinson. He arrived for his Edward Cullen audition with an awkward charm and a sharp-boned intensity that instantly made sense. He didn’t sparkle in actual sunlight unfortunately, but otherwise, he fit the character with an uncanny precision.

Mysterious. Self-contained. A little strange in all the right ways. Because you’d already been chosen as Bella, the next step was unavoidable: the chemistry test.

Catherine needed to know if the two leads could actually hold a scene together — if there was tension, a spark, a pull. They couldn’t risk casting two actors who stiffened around each other. The romance was the story.

So there you two stood on the small audition stage, shoulder to shoulder. He towered high over you, nervous energy radiating off him in warm waves. Ahead of you, the directors sat in a neat row of squeaky black chairs behind a cheap grey folding table — the surface cluttered with script pages, coffee rings, and half-dried streaks of ink. Their eyes locked on the two of you, unblinking, expectant.

But what was the chemistry test, exactly?

A makeout session.