Avery walked onto Stage Seven with the kind of calm she only had when she’d rehearsed it in her head a dozen times. The behind-the-scenes promo team had already set up lights, two cameras, and a semicircle of chairs on one of the show’s apartment sets. Everything looked polished and cheerful in a way that annoyed her on instinct.
She checked her watch. They weren’t late, which she hated, because it meant she had no excuse to postpone any of this.
Mia and Liam were already there, talking quietly with one of the marketing assistants. Both snapped to attention the second Avery appeared, like they still didn’t know how closely they were allowed to act around her after the last few chaotic days.
“Morning,” Avery said.
“Morning,” Mia replied, a little too politely.
Liam gave her a nod. “Ready for the circus?”
“Not even a little,” Avery said.
Kayla walked toward them, a tablet in her hand. “All right, team. Quick rundown. This is a casual group interview. Fun, relaxed, love-the-job energy. You don’t have to be fake. Just not miserable.”
“That’s such a low bar,” Liam muttered.
Kayla pretended not to hear. “Avery, you’ll sit between Evan and Mia. Liam, next to Mia.”
“Because symmetry looks happy on camera,” Avery said.
“Yes, actually,” Kayla replied.
Avery rubbed her jaw. “Fine.”
Kayla lowered her voice. “You two synced up last night?”
Avery didn’t react. “We talked.”
“Good. Don’t overthink,” Kayla said. “Just don’t freeze.”
Avery glared. “I don’t freeze.”
Kayla smiled like she knew better but was choosing not to say it out loud.
Before Avery could walk away, she heard familiar footsteps entering the set. She didn’t have to look to know who it was.
Evan.
He wasn’t doing anything dramatic. He wasn’t even looking at her yet. He was just greeting the camera operators, handing his coffee to Jonah, and rolling up his sleeves as he crossed the space like he belonged in every inch of it.
Avery hated how aware she was of him.
“Hey,” he said as he reached her.
“Hey,” she said back, hoping her face looked neutral.
“You okay?” he asked.
“Define okay.”
“That’s what I was afraid of,” he said.
Mia watched them with the kind of quiet curiosity that made Avery straighten her spine. Liam kept glancing between them like he had theories he planned to keep to himself.
Kayla clapped her hands. “Let’s get seated.”
They sat in the semicircle, Avery in the middle like Kayla wanted. The interviewer—a young guy who looked like he practiced smiling in mirrors—stood behind the camera.
“Thank you all for doing this,” he said. “We’ll keep it light and short.”
Avery didn’t believe that for a second.
The cameras started rolling.
“So,” the interviewer began, “this show has quickly earned a reputation for having incredible on-set dynamic. What’s the secret?”
Avery took a quiet breath.
This was exactly the kind of opener she and Evan had prepared for.
Evan jumped in first. “We trust each other. That’s the base of everything.”
Mia nodded. “Yeah. There’s a comfort here. We can take risks because we know the others will be there to catch it.”
The interviewer grinned. “And Avery? You run the ship. What’s your view on the cast dynamic?”
Avery answered steadily. “They work hard. They listen. They push each other in good ways. Makes my job easier.”
Evan glanced at her, and she caught a hint of approval in his eyes, like she’d hit the exact version they’d rehearsed.
The interviewer moved on. “Any moments this season where you felt that teamwork really pulled things together?”
Liam pointed at Mia. “Her fire escape scene. She almost slipped—”
“I didn’t slip,” Mia protested.
“You did slip,” Liam corrected. “I caught you.”
“And then Avery yelled ‘reset’ before I could even process my death,” Mia added.
Avery lifted a brow. “If you were conscious enough to complain, you were fine.”
Everyone laughed—including Avery, though hers was small.
The interviewer smiled wider, sensing the energy picking up.
“Now, the fans online already love the chemistry between the leads—”
Avery’s stomach dropped.
Here it was.
The one topic she and Evan had decided to dodge with precision.
Evan smiled at the interviewer without a hint of strain. “We work well together.”
“That’s an understatement,” the interviewer said. “People say the tension feels real.”
Avery kept her breathing steady.
This was manageable.
All she had to do was keep it about the work.
“It’s acting,” she said. “They’re talented. That’s what you’re seeing.”
The interviewer turned his attention back to Evan. “Do you think there’s something special about the way you two collaborate?”
Avery’s jaw tightened.
She expected Evan to keep things clean.
Instead, he hesitated—not long, but enough time for Avery to feel her pulse start to climb.
Then he said, “Yeah. There is.”
Avery’s hand curled on her knee.
This was *not* the script they’d agreed on.
Liam and Mia both turned their heads toward Evan like they were waiting for him to dig either a small hole or a very, very deep one.
The interviewer leaned forward. “Can you explain what makes it special?”
Avery could feel the back of her neck heat.
She shot Evan a quick look—one meant to say don’t do this.
He saw it.
And he kept going anyway.
“It’s easy to trust someone who doesn’t let anything slide,” Evan said. “Avery pushes me. She pushes everyone. She sees things before they fall apart. Working with someone like that—it’s rare.”
Avery blinked once.
The room went quieter, like even the equipment was listening.
The interviewer brightened. “Wow. High praise.”
“It’s true,” Evan said simply.
Avery felt something uncomfortable twist in her chest—half tension, half something else she refused to name.
She forced the attention away from herself. “Let’s move on.”
“Of course,” the interviewer said. “Next question—”
The interview continued smoothly at first, until the questions shifted into more personal territory.
“What’s something surprising you’ve learned about each other?” the interviewer asked.
Mia went first. “Liam is actually funny. Not always on purpose, but still.”
Liam pressed a hand to his chest. “I’m wounded.”
“You’ll live,” Mia said.
The interviewer turned to Avery.
“And you? What surprised you about working with Evan?”
Avery nearly choked on nothing.
She felt every person on set tune in for her answer.
She could lie.
She could dodge.
She could recycle something generic about professionalism.
But she could also feel Kayla’s stare from behind the monitor—the kind that said, *Don’t shut down. Not today.*
Avery kept her eyes on the interviewer. “He listens.”
Evan’s head tilted slightly, like he hadn’t expected that.
Avery continued, “A lot of actors say they listen. Evan actually does. It makes scenes easier.”
“That’s a great compliment,” the interviewer said.
“It’s not a compliment,” Avery said. “It’s a fact.”
Evan looked down briefly, and for a moment Avery thought he might actually smile. Not his usual charming smile—something smaller.
The interviewer moved on. “Let’s talk favorite moments on set.”
Avery stayed quiet, letting the cast answer. She knew better than to give any moment that could be interpreted the wrong way.
Mia talked about long nights that turned fun.
Liam talked about learning stunts the hard way.
Evan talked about a scene where Avery refused to stop until they nailed a difficult emotional beat.
“She doesn’t let you leave the work halfway done,” he said. “It makes you better.”
Avery looked at him sharply.
He wasn’t supposed to keep doing this.
Jonah, off to the side, mouthed silently:
*He’s not helping your denials.*
Avery pretended she didn’t see.
The last portion of the interview was lighter—fan questions, favorite props, who breaks character the most. (It was Liam. Everyone agreed.) The energy in the room finally felt like something she could breathe in.
“Okay, last one,” the interviewer said. “What’s one thing you appreciate about working on this show?”
Mia answered first. “It’s my first big job. I appreciate everything.”
Liam said, “The crew. They make the hard days survivable.”
Evan answered, “The people.”
Avery felt his gaze shift toward her before he looked away again.
She didn’t add anything.
She didn’t trust herself to.
The cameras cut.
“Great!” the interviewer said. “Thank you all—this was perfect.”
Avery stood, smoothing her hands down her jeans, ready to escape before anyone tried to analyze any of her expressions.
But Mia caught up to her almost instantly.
“Hey,” Mia said softly. “Can I ask you something?”
Avery braced. “What?”
Mia glanced around, then lowered her voice. “Are you and Evan… okay?”
Avery blinked. “Why is everyone asking me that this week?”
“Because you look at him like you’re trying not to say something,” Mia whispered. “And he looks at you like he’s waiting for you to say it.”
Avery stared at her. “We’re working. That’s all.”
Mia nodded, but she didn’t look convinced. “Okay. Just—if you ever need someone to talk to, I don’t mind. You don’t have to keep everything inside.”
Avery opened her mouth to respond, but Mia squeezed her arm gently and walked away before she could.
Avery stood there, feeling strangely unsettled.
Jonah approached next. “You didn’t explode. I’m proud.”
“Shut up,” Avery muttered.
“Seriously,” he said. “That was one of your best interviews.”
“I hate interviews.”
“And yet you survived,” Jonah said.
“Barely.”
“Want me to block anyone from bothering you for the next twenty minutes?”
“Yes,” she said. “Actually, yes.”
Jonah saluted dramatically and walked off.
Avery took a single breath of quiet before someone else joined her.
Evan.
She didn’t turn.
He didn’t speak immediately.
They just stood side by side in the quiet part of the set.
Finally, Evan said, “You handled that well.”
“No thanks to you,” she replied.
“You didn’t want me to lie,” he said.
“I also didn’t want you to cause a headline.”
“I didn’t,” Evan said. “Everything I said was about the work.”
“That’s debatable.”
He looked at her, really looked at her. “Did I cross a line?”
Avery wasn’t used to people asking her that.
She hesitated, then said, “No. But you got close.”
“I’ll stay on the right side of it,” Evan said. “If you tell me where it is.”
Her chest tightened.
She didn’t have a good answer.
She didn’t know where that line was anymore.
“Evan,” she said quietly.
“Yeah?”
“Don’t make this harder.”
“I’m not trying to,” he said. “I’m trying to help you breathe.”
“That’s not your job.”
He nodded once. “Maybe not. But I’m doing it anyway.”
Avery felt the words like a small impact—something soft, but impossible to ignore.
She stepped back. “I have to go review dailies.”
“Okay,” Evan said. “I’ll see you after.”
“After what?” she asked.
He smiled slightly. “Whatever comes next.”
Avery turned away before he could see how much that affected her.
She walked toward the monitors, but halfway there she stopped.
She felt it.
The thing Mia had pointed out.
The thing Evan wasn’t hiding anymore.
The thing she had been pretending wasn’t growing inside her.
She wasn’t ready to name it.
But she wasn’t denying it anymore, either.
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