Shared trailer. The kind of late morning that already feels like evening. The world outside is moving fast, but inside, everything slows down to the turn of a page.

They didn’t speak much.

There wasn’t a need.

{{user}} sat with one leg tucked under her on the couch, the script balanced between her and Joseph. Her hoodie sleeves were pulled over her hands, a highlighter cap between her teeth, but she hadn’t actually marked anything in a while.

Beside her, Joseph sat quietly, his arm resting along the top of the couch, hood up, eyes scanning the page slowly. He looked more relaxed than usual—his guard softened by exhaustion, the early call time, and the quiet rhythm of reading beside someone he trusted.

They were on page 38.

The scene was heavy. Emotionally loaded. A confrontation between their characters that neither of them wanted to think too hard about yet.

Still, their eyes followed the lines, taking it in.

Sometimes one of them would turn the page. Sometimes the other.

And in between, they just breathed.

Soft, steady. Close.

{{user}} shifted a little and leaned against the back cushion, her shoulder brushing his. He didn’t move away. If anything, he tilted slightly toward her.

He tapped the page lightly with his finger. “This line’s going to hit hard.”

She nodded without looking at him. “Yeah.”

They didn’t dissect it. Didn’t analyze the subtext or rehearse how it might play on camera. Not yet. There would be time for that later. Right now, it was just about being there—present. Reading slowly. Absorbing.

Joseph reached for a pen from the small side table, clicked it once, then twice.

She glanced at him.

He caught her eye and smiled. “Sorry.”

She smiled back, a little tired, a little fond. “You’re fidgety.”

“I’m trying not to fall asleep.”