The Treasure She Never Asked For

The two of them left the restaurant after paying and walked towards the mall. It was already 9 pm, and the movie was showing an hour later, so the two were not in any rush and just strolled leisurely as they chatted. Marcel, who had stopped Avian from detoxing the alcohol he consumed, turned to look at Adrian, who was facing forward, unaware that his date was slightly tipsy.

"Have you… ever done a shoot like this?" Marcel asked him, unable to restrain his curiosity.

"It's my first time," Adrian answered as a relaxed smile appeared on his face.

"Me too," Marcel chipped in as he put his hands in his pockets. Occasionally people would stop and stare or point at them because they were so conspicuous with two cameramen following them. Marcel could even hear a couple of people asking each other if they were filming footage for a drama or movie.

"I experienced this when I went out with Lauren earlier today, but I can't help but feel a bit annoyed now," Marcel said in a low voice.

"Lauren must have enjoyed the attention. Am I ruining the atmosphere?" Adrian asked Marcel with a smile, and Marcel stopped for a moment to look at him. When Adrian noticed that he was falling behind, he also stopped and looked back at him inquisitively. Marcel just smiled back and fell into step next to him, and the two continued to walk to the mall.

When the two of them arrived at the mall, they made a beeline to the cinema. After printing their tickets, Adrian insisted on buying the drinks and snacks since Marcel had paid for dinner. Fifteen minutes before the movie started, people started going into the theatre. There weren't a lot of people since it was a Monday and most of the people had already seen the movie when the hype was still big. After more than a month, the audience had also reduced.

The two sat next to each other as they waited for the lights to dim. Fortunately, they weren't being followed by the crew members since recording was not allowed in the movie theatre. The two sat in the back row and the few people that came to see the movie were spread out all over the theatre as if no one wanted to interfere with anyone's business.

After a while, the lights dimmed, and advertisements on the sponsors started playing. At this point, Marcel wasn't able to hold himself back from munching on the popcorn they had bought. They were quite addictive, to the point when the movie started. He was already halfway done.

The two of them were silent as they watched the movie, with Marcel relaxed against his chair while leaning in Adrian's direction. The actress in the movie they were watching was the same one that he is going to be acting with over the weekend, so he was seriously observing her acting style. 

"Does she normally play roles like this?" Marcel asked Adrian, who was sitting next to him.

"Mmmh, she mostly does action and martial arts movies," Adrian said in a low voice.

"I bet she always acts a cold beauty, or a reserved and detached character," Marcel said and stuffed his mouth with popcorn.

"Now that I think about it, you are right," Adrian answered after a pause. 

"I wonder how she interpreted her character this time," Marcel mumbled out loud.

"Pardon?" Adrian asked and leaned in closer, as he didn't hear what he said. Marcel turned his head to repeat his words, but they were stuck in his throat after he realised just how close they were. They were so close to each other their noses were almost touching. 

"I was just wondering how she was interpreting her characters," Marcel repeated, but made no move to pull back or move away. Adrian swallowed self-consciously, not having heard what Marcel said. He could only register the nutty smell of popcorn that flooded him when Marcel spoke. Seeing him frozen in his surprise, Marcel couldn't stop himself from smiling mischievously. 

"Did you fall for my charms?" he asked while tilting his head, snapping Adrian out of his trance. If someone saw the two of them from a specific angle, they wouldn't think that they were just talking. It was fortunate that they had picked the back row, so there was no one to witness this moment. 

Adrian cleared his throat and refocussed his gaze on the screen in front of them, his cheeks and ears turning red when he heard Marcel let out a low laugh.

Adrian was quite confident in his own appearance, and even though he already knew that Marcel was very handsome, having a sudden close-up of him left him in a daze. With his thick lashes and teardrop mole at the corner of his eye with the tiny dimples that would appear whenever he smiled, he couldn't help but feel that it was a bit too much.

Was it fair for someone to be so beautiful and handsome at the same time? And as if the heavens were acting against him, the next scene was a rated one, which made him feel even more embarrassed. He couldn't help but wonder if Marcel decided to watch this movie for inspiration, too. .

After that small episode, nothing else happened besides Adrian offering Marcel his popcorn after he had finished his own. The two remained in their seats even after the movie ended, the credits started rolling. 

"What did you think?" Marcel asked as he digested the movie.

"It was alright, the action scenes were really good, but the romance aspect fell short," Adrian said honestly.

"What do you think they lacked?" Marcel asked, suddenly interested in his answer.

"The female lead was a bit too stiff. I wasn't convinced she loved him as much as they tried to portray it," Adrian continued as he tried to find his words.

"They lack chemistry. She looks at the guy coldly, even when she isn't supposed to," Marcel concluded. Marcel didn't have to watch her other movies to know that this was a shortcoming that appeared in all of them.

"So, do you have any ideas for our shoot?" Marcel asked Adrian and didn't receive a reply.

"Not really," Adrian answered honestly. His head was a mess. He could hardly think of anything at the moment.

"Well, should we go with a sėxy concept? The others either hate each other or are too unfamiliar with each other to pick such a daring concept," Marcel suggested seriously. He knew Nick and Lauren wouldn't be able to pull off this concept smoothly. It was also impossible for Chloe and Lydia, as Chloe didn't like her partner at all. Micah and Alistair were too possessive with each other, so they were more likely to go with something that wasn't too intimate.

"But we are men," Adrian reminded.

"Hm? Is that a problem? If you are uncomfortable with it then we can think of something else," Marcel said and looked at him while widening his green eyes. For a moment, Adrian was in a trance before he shook his head and looked away. Why did he feel like he was being played?

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