#murder solving

Getting thrown out of a window was a regular Tuesday occurrence in your world and you weren’t surprised when you arrived on set and that was the stunt for the day. Crash through a window, fall a couple stories and land back first on a large pad, cushioned and safe like always. It had been your day to day for almost five years and the stunts and dangerous activities had only gotten more elaborate the more parts your twin sister, Molly, took on. 

She was the actress, the face, the one who said the lines and held a gun wrong and still got to attend the premiere in fancy dresses while you watched from a two bedroom apartment in LA. But you didn’t mind, she was the better actress between the two of you and always had been since as a kid you were too busy jumping out of trees to learn how to master being in front of the camera. You were born for stunt work and were happy to use it to give Molly her big break since her first film needed a stunt double and you just so happened to have her face and the skills. 

“Cut! Excellent work people!” 

“Are you good, sweetheart?” Joe, your stunt coordinator asked, and you gave him a thumbs up, rolling off the pad and landing on the street on two feet. “That was amazing.” 

“Thank you, I’ve done it a hundred times,” you said and pulled off the leather jacket Molly was wearing for the scene and handed it over, stretching to work out some kinks in your neck. 

“This is why they always hire you, you’re the best,” Joe added and you nodded, smiling and walking over to a snack table just off set. 

The movie was some kind of spy drama about Molly’s character, a woman named Elle and her having to take over the family business after her husband is killed on a mission in Italy. It was all action, all stunts and exactly the kind of film you were perfect for, telling her to take it before she even finished reading the full script. It was a shoot that was taking place in Milan as well and while it was hot as hell and you wouldn’t stop sweating you were still living the dream. Well….

“OH MY GOD!” 

“Hello to you too,” you said and placed a hand over your mug of coffee to keep it from spilling since Molly had always been loud and she scared you. 

“Sorry. The worst thing has just happened,” she said and wandered over to a series of tables and took a seat, dressed in the same outfit as you which made it even more obvious you were identical. 

“What happened, did Olivia Rodrigo unfollow you again.” 

“No…the second worst thing.” 

“She changed the purple she uses on her merch?” 

“That was one time and Liv admitted to being wrong,” she said and you nodded, remembering the fiasco. “No…Damon has decided to give me a scene partner for like the entirety of the movie. He wants to bring in my dead husband's brother and have him be this guiding light or some bullshit.” 

“So you won’t be the only star?” 

“No…they’ve reworked half the script and apparently this is what people want, a misguided partnership between two people who clearly have tension and I’m pretty sure they’re going to have some kind of tryst by the end of the movie.” 

“With your dead husband’s brother?” 

“Also her first love,” Molly said and sighed, grabbing your coffee and taking sips as you let her.

“Wow…that is…interesting. Who’s the writer on this?” 

“I don’t know…she also wrote Honeymoon. Wendy something.” 

“The other brother romance,” you said and she nodded. “She has a type.” 

“That’s not even the worst part because I’m fine with a brother romance, romance of any kind is quite fun but the worst part is the actor they chose.” 

“Who?” 

“Notch Carter,” she said and your jaw dropped since you had heard about him before and his exploits on so many sets before this one. “He apparently got dropped from this other movie he was doing and needed a job and is good friends with Damon so here he is, ruining my movie.” 

“Who’s doing his stunts?” you asked and she eyed you. 

“What?” 

“Stunts, who did they get for Notch’s stunts.” 

“I don’t know…I care more about them hiring an actor who half of Hollywood calls Crotch Carter. Did you know that? Crotch?” 

“I did not,” you admitted and glanced up just as the director walked by, a stern look on his face like always. “I’ll be right back.” 

“Sis! Hey!” 

“Good luck,” you said and ran off, catching Damon before he could walk into his trailer and tapping him on the shoulder as the guy turned, raising a very trimmed brow. 

“Yes?” 

“Damon…” 

“No…Damon,” he replied and said the same name but with a much more obnoxious French accent and you rolled your eyes. 

“Anyways…I was told by Molly that you are giving her a scene partner.” 

“We are…Notch Carter…he’s the big guy around town and we need big to make this work since no one was going to see a female spy movie and Wendy made that clear.” 

“That is great…not great…but great for you I guess and a horrible backwards plan for women but who is doing Notch’s stunts? He needs a double right.” 

“Of course, he always needs a double and has been rolling with this new guy, got accused of murder a year ago but I think that was all fake and got blown up in a stunt.” 

“Who?” 

“Colt Seavers,” he said and your eyes widened. 

“Thank you, Damon.” 

“Damon,” he shot back and stepped into his trailer as you ran a hand down your face, wishing he would have said any name but that one. 

“All good,” you called and gave the door a thumbs up, before spinning around and right into a very broad chest. “Oh…sorry.” 

“No…sorry to you,” the man said and you glanced up to find your sister's annoying scene partner standing in front of you. “Notch Carter.” 

“I know who you are.” 

“Of course you do…uh,” he muttered and you told him your name as his eyes narrowed at the last name. “Are you Molly’s sister?” 

“Twin,” you said and nodded to her since she was still drinking your coffee and talking with a woman you didn’t recognize. 

“Yes, she’s talking to Stacy, my beautiful girlfriend and model who is here to support me on this wonderful film.” 

“A film that Molly was supposed to be the star of,” you muttered and he eyed you. 

“I am going to make it bigger.” 

“Sure,” you said and he gave your shoulder a pat as you frowned. 

“We have a cast party after the shoot today to welcome me in, make sure to join and bring Molly.” 

“The star,” you said and he nodded, smiling bright and walking over to his model girlfriend as you rolled your eyes. 

You grabbed a PA who handed over a call sheet and sure enough Notch was listed with his stunt double, the one and only Colt Seavers who you knew and wished you didn’t. Colt had been in the business almost as long as you had and you crossed paths years back doing a stunt class at an arts college outside LA. He was charming to say the least, all jokes and old movie references and the moment had resulted in a night that you both regretted and did again and again. When he moved around too much for a variety of movies and met a camera operator and budding director named Jody you assumed it was done, all those pent up feelings were nothing but that, unresolved and forgotten. 

But three months ago he revealed that Jody and he didn’t work out, she was filming a hit movie in Paris and he was doing boat stunts in Florida and on a weekend off you met mostly in the middle at your rundown apartment in LA. It was a night full of regrets and unresolved feelings that weren’t so unresolved and now Colt was in Milan, shooting on your dream movie and it was going to make everything a whole lot more complicated. 

“God…Notch is an asshole.” 

“Don’t you mean Crotch?” you asked and Molly chuckled. 

“God yes and that girlfriend of his might be worse, I think that her head is air.” 

“She’s a model.” 

“She also wants to be an actress, got a small part in this film, Notch asked for it.” 

“Great…so much for a dream movie.” 

“He also mentioned his stuntman, Colt Seavers,” she said and smiled. “You know him. He’s the guy you spent the weekend with back in April…hmmm?” 

“Yes…he’s that Colt,” you muttered and hated to call it a weekend, sure it was a few days but on Sunday he left, bolted before you could even say goodbye and it hurt all over again.

“Wow…what a small world. What are you going to do?” 

“Avoid him,” you muttered and she rolled her eyes. 

“This movie now has romance, maybe you need some as well.” 

“There is no way in hell I am turning your big movie into some wild and crazy summer romance,” you said and walked off to change and get ready for that dumb crew party. 

“Sure you are!” 

“Life isn’t a movie, Molly.” 

“Yeah but you're surrounded by them,” she called and you chuckled, slipping into a trailer and knowing she was right, you definitely were surrounded by the movies. 

And your life was about to become anything but a good one. 

The cast and crew had gathered at a restaurant not far off the set with an expensive menu and a rooftop deck that overlooked the nice part of town and to say you were done with it was an understatement. Call it a stunt person trope or maybe you just hated parties but rooms full of people trying to talk over music they know is too loud was not your definition of a good time, it was a bad time and like always you were in the corner, bobbing your head to that loud ass music and hoping Molly would get tired and head home so you could have an excuse to leave. But she was dancing in the middle of all the people pleasers, a tequila sunrise in hand and the biggest smile on her face and you sighed, knowing it would be a while before you could sleep. You also spotted Notch across the way with an arm draped across the shoulder of his actress girlfriend as he smoked a cigarette and blew the smoke in her face every couple seconds. You rolled your eyes and were about to search for a second beer when the music shifted, getting a bit slower and you groaned as a song you loathed started to play through the speakers and the dance floor got slower, more intimate. 

You can hear it in the silence, silence, you

You can feel it on the way home, way home, you

You can see it with the lights out, lights out

“God…it’s always Taylor.” 

“She is the soundtrack of my sadness,” you muttered and the guy chuckled as your eyes narrowed since the noise sounded familiar, almost comforting. 

You slowly turned and spotted his hair, still sporting a bit of blonde tips from his Tom Ryder days as Colt Seavers stood next to you, beer in hand and an easy smile on his face as he mouthed some of the lyrics, really getting into it. 

“And you understand now why they lost their minds and fought the wars,” he sang and you eyed him. “And why I've spent my whole life tryin' to put it into words…Come on sweetheart, put it into words.” 

“No.” 

“More words than that,” he muttered and you rolled your eyes, about ready to walk away but he grabbed your arm. “Hey…I’m sorry. It’s good to see you, it's been too long.” 

“It’s been three months,” you deadpanned and he chuckled, rubbing his neck.

“Dare I say that’s too long.” 

“Don’t be charming,” you said and pushed past him, going over to the bar and grabbing another beer as he followed and grabbed his own, sticking close to your side like mold. “Colt…” 

“What?” 

“You’re following me.” 

“Is it a crime to want to catch up?” 

“Yes,” you said and he frowned. 

“Come on, we know each other, we get each other and I hate where we ended and how it all went down…” 

“I was a weekend fling,” you shot back and he frowned. “Jody broke your heart so you found me in LA and I just so happened to be single, sad and too drunk to think straight. If I was any smarter that weekend would’ve never happened.” 

“But are you mad it did?” he asked and you stopped, jaw ajar and didn’t know how to answer that. 

Sure he used you as a good time after he and Jody broke up since she wanted someone more mature and he kept picking movies for how fun the stunts looked and not the quality of the production like she wanted. They were going to be a dynamic duo, director and stunt coordinator, working in tandem to make the best of the best but it just never happened the way either of them wanted and he ended up alone, sad and in LA. You were also in LA, sad and just as alone and when Colt knocked on your door you let him in, you let him kiss you and you even let him have a good time in your bed when you knew it was nothing but a bad idea. Maybe you also enjoyed your time, liked the way he made you feel and had kept your feelings locked inside since you met him years ago at a stunt class in Hollywood, got lost in his charms. But now he was a nuisance and you were half tempted to shove him off the rooftop balcony where there was no safety mat to catch him. 

“Oh my god…Colt Seavers!” 

You both turned as a very drunk Molly wandered over, her heels in one hand and a smile on her face as she wrapped you in a hug, hanging off your shoulders with a smile on her face. She smelled like vodka and you hoped that after annoying you, she’d go to bed and you’d finally have an excuse to leave and get some sleep for the early calltime tomorrow. But Molly had also been good at the whole party aspect of Hollywood and she had been known to get sloshed at one too many Variety Oscar parties over the years. They had stopped inviting her to the after party and so you were forced to watch as she cried over the results while a few too many sips into a bottle of 1000 dollar Vodka. 

“Colty…I hear so much about you,” Molly said and moved away from you to wrap him in a hug as his eyes widened. “She won’t stop talking about you ever since April. This whole movie has been nothing but…Colt would like Milan, that church would be cool for Colt to see, oh Colt loves the heat. It’s annoying.” 

“All about me?” 

“No,” you shot back and moved so he wouldn’t see the blush on your cheeks. 

“Yes,” Molly assured and you wanted to strangle her. “She was so obsessed, I almost didn’t invite her to this shoot since she mentioned wanting to run off to Florida, find you and see if you would apologise for ruining your perfect weekend and maybe make it better…but then I got this job.” 

You wanted to punch Molly, or throw her off the rooftop since that was going to be a secret and so what if you had a bag packed and a flight to Florida saved in a separate tab and were only hours away from going after Colt and getting him back, making up for your mistakes. You stopped after you got the call about this movie, the big break Molly had always wanted and a chance to showcase your skills on the world stage. It was something you couldn’t pass up and you sent her the audition call, she got the job and off to Milan you went and had been there close to six weeks, a silent regret hanging in the background. Well it was silent until Molly and her Vodka brain assumed Colt would love to know all about it. 

“Anywho…I go now…more dancing,” she said and sauntered off as you stood there, rubbing the back of your neck and knowing she had definitely just changed the dynamic. 

“Was she just drunk or…” 

“I almost went,” you admitted and his eyes widened. “But then this job hit my inbox and it was either her or you and I chose her.” 

“I thought you hated each other.” 

“We had for years before this gig but she had wanted to be a star in her own movie since she started and Damon wanted that, a star who had never gotten the chance and Molly and her twin stunt double was perfect. Maybe I was also being a bit selfish and assumed that getting her the job of her dreams would get what we had back as well.” 

It was true, you and Molly had a falling out years back after you refused to do a movie with her and she got fired because they couldn’t find a suitable match to be her stunt double. Ever since you had been a bit strained, only meeting on sets and then she would head back to her penthouse in downtown LA and you would return to the two bedroom on the outskirts, teaching martial arts classes on the weekends. This movie was a chance to hang out after shooting was finished and get back a bit of the sisterhood you had been missing since the last time it felt like you were family was college and that was a while ago. 

“I get it…wanting to do it for family. I did a lot for my mom when she was alive, every stunt in every movie was for her.” 

“I still wish the timing was better.” 

“Then you would’ve ended up in Florida?” he asked and you shrugged, not really knowing how to give him an answer. “I get it.”

“Colt…” 

“SEAVERS!” 

You both turned as Notch walked over with his girlfriend Stacy hanging off his arm and dressed much like him in very little clothes, really only a bikini top and a mini skirt as he sported an open button down and shorts that were an inch too short. He wrapped an arm around Colt’s shoulders, basically using him to keep standing up straight which was a weird sight since Notch was a few inches shorter and struggling to even keep himself attached to Colt’s side. Much like Molly the two were pretty much wasted and Notch was smiling, showing off his perfect teeth minus one bit of gold in the far corner because despite his attempts, nobody was perfect. 

“Hello.” 

“How are you man?” 

“Just catching up.” 

“Yes, we ran into each other earlier and I told this little minx to make sure she is here.” 

“Minx?” you asked and he dismissed you. 

“This guy, Colt Seavers, is my saving grace. He got the job on this insane TV show out in Florida and nailed it. I couldn’t imagine having to toss myself off a boat or drive through a window.” 

“It’s toss yourself through a window and drive a boat,” Colt muttered and got dismissed as you rolled your eyes. 

“Whatever hot shot and now…My beautiful Stacy gets to enjoy the limelight like me. She got a part.” 

“I heard,” you said and smiled at Stacy. 

“I’m just happy to be here,” she admitted and chuckled. “Being on this set is a huge honour and meeting the two of you and being able to really get to know the people that make movies like this possible.” 

“The actors play a much bigger role,” you said and Colt nodded in agreement. 

“Yeah but they need you guys, stunt doubles and fall guys and girls to keep them safe. It’s a huge part of the behind the scenes.” 

“Well, thank you, it means a lot,” Colt said and she wrapped him in a hug before doing the same to you as Notch just scoffed. 

“Movies also need actors. You losers would be unemployed with people like me,” he said and smiled as if that was the funniest thing in the world before glancing down at his designer shoes and frowning. “Colt…do you mind?”

“Why not,” Colt muttered and stooped down, tying the shoes as Notch grinned and punched his shoulder the second he stood, a grin on his face. 

“I’d be dead without this guy!” he said and walked off as Stacy thanked us both again before trailing after him. 

“I hate him.” 

“Is he better or worse than Tom Ryder?” 

“Worse, Tom tried to kill me.” 

“I saw that. You escaped by doing the Miami Vice stunt…the boat.”

“That I did and it worked and it was cool.” 

“The basis of everything we do,” you said and clinked your beer bottle against his. “Well…I should go make sure that Molly actually pulled off her clothes and got into bed rather than sleeping on top of it.” 

“Is she in a trailer?” 

“No, she has a room on the 6th floor of the hotel next door,” you said and nodded to it, grateful the crew party was always held at the club next door. “She usually wanders back and passes out right in front of her door so I need to make sure she doesn't sleep in another hallway.” 

“Do you need any help?” 

“No, I’m good,” you assured and dropped your bottle on the table as Colt followed you down the stairs and over to the front door of the club. “It’s good to see you.” 

“We should hang out, away from the set and where we can reconnect.” 

“I’ll keep it in mind,” you assured and wrapped him in a hug as he held on a little tighter than everyone else and you smiled before heading next door.

You couldn’t keep the smile off your face as you headed up to the sixth floor and were pleased to see that Molly was not in the hallway, passed out against the wall and had made it inside her room. You had a spare key, a request from her and slipped it into the lock since the place still wasn’t digital before slipping open the door and spotting her sleeping form on the bed. 

“You made it into bed,” you said and slipped off your shoes, converse not heels since you were smart and didn’t like sore feet. “Colt is a sweetheart like always. I might have missed him and regretted not going to Florida and thanks to you he knows about that, I was hoping to keep it a secret but you’re a talker when you’re drunk. And not normally a light sleeper.” 

You flicked on the light, wondering why she hadn’t replied and stepped further into the room, eyes widening and you cried out at the mess in the bed, Molly motionless and sitting in a puddle of her own blood. It looked as though someone had slit her throat and it had happened a while back since her eyes were glassy, staring at the ceiling since she had been dead for a while and even if you tried, there was no hope, she was gone. You and her didn’t get along outside of sets, you never had but you never wanted to see her die and not like that, murder was never wished upon anyone and especially not your own twin. You moved and sat on a chair across from the bed, heart pounding and half debated calling Colt since he had dealt with death on set before and for him it worked out, he caught the guy and got the girl. Sure he eventually lost the girl and she took his dog but that was besides the point, he was smart and could handle it. 

“Holy shit.” 

You turned and sure enough Colt had followed and you didn’t have time to think it was sweet that he bothered since the guy's eyes were wide and he wouldn’t stop looking at Molly. 

“Colt…” 

“I…” 

“It wasn’t me,” you said and he turned to you.

“I didn’t think that, not for one second.” 

“Good…I just walked in and found her like that…she’s dead.” 

“How?” 

“Slit throat,” you muttered and couldn’t look at her as he walked over to just make sure and cursed when he felt no pulse on her wrist, slamming his fist on the bed. “They’re going to blame me. I was here last and I’m her twin, of course it was me.” 

“No…we’re going to find who did this and make them pay for it.”

“Colt…” 

“I’m serious. You’re with me and we should start by looking for clues,” he said and walked off to search the room as you smiled despite yourself. 

You had to guess he didn’t expect to be involved in two murders during his career as a stuntman but danger seemed to follow him in both life and his job. But Colt was handling it better than you expected and he combed the room with a certain carefulness, like he was worried about disturbing what was left of Molly. He knew about her, you rambled about your sister a lot when the two of you ended up together and would complain about her more than anything. How she chose bad roles and drank too much and needed to stop expecting you to act like every other person in Hollywood. You never cared about fame or fortune or being the best in the best movie, you did stunts for the adrenaline rush and pure love of the job. But now more than ever you wished that you went to at least one more party, gave her a small bit more attention and really embraced what you and her had. 

“Find anything?” You asked and looked back as he shook his head. “I think there might be something written here.”

“Can you read it?”

“Too covered in blood,” you said and ignored the way your heart sank as he dipped into the bathroom and returned with a wet towel. “Thank you.”

“Anytime,” he assured and you wiped the blood and other bits off her arm, seeing that you were correct and someone wrote a message. “What is it?”

“It says: Molly, let this be a warning, watch your back before someone stabs it.” 

“Molly?” He asked and you nodded. “Why would they write a warning to Molly on a dead Molly.”

“It doesn't sound logical,” you muttered and were about to chuckle at the absurdity of it when your stomach dropped.

“What?”

“It would only make sense if they didn't mean Molly. They were warning her to watch her back as if she was going to be the one to find the body. But she couldn't…unless she wasn't the target.”

“And it was someone who looked exactly like her,” Colt deadpanned and you nodded. 

“Someone like her twin sister,” you added and sighed since it meant Molly was never meant to die, it was you, you were the target. 

“They got the wrong fucking twin.”

“You got that right,” you said and plopped onto the other queen bed, eyeing your dead sister as your brain tried to catch up, to make sense of all of it. 

“We should go to the cops.”

“Why?”

“Because if you're alive and Molly is not, they could still come after you and that note is proof you didn't do this.”

“They'd still swing it against me, they would and you know it. We can't rely on cops for this, we're on our own.”

“No way in hell am I letting you go out there when people want to kill you.”

“Colt, I'm not a baby, I can handle myself and I need to find out who did this and why.”

“Back with Tom Ryder and that whole fiasco I almost died,” he began and you looked at him, saw his mouth set in a hard line and the way he wouldn't really look at you. “I managed to get out of it fine, I was okay but I almost wasn't, had to fake my death just to keep him from killing me and if these people are as bad as Tom…” He trailed off and wandered over, sitting down next to you with a heavy sigh and grabbing your hand. “I'm not gonna sit around as you walk out there with a target on your back.”

“Colt…don't,” you shot back and stood, dropping his hand as he frowned. “Don't act like that.”

“Like what?”

“Like you care.”

“I do care.”

“You didn't care six months ago,” you shot back and he frowned. “You left me sitting in my bed, cold because you bolted in the middle of night like some kind of coward, too scared to confront his real feelings.”

“Weren't you going to follow?”

“I don't see how that's relevant.”

“It's relevant because you didn't and maybe you're also a coward,” he shot back and you were about ready to throw hands and prove how annoyed you were when there was a knock at the door. 

“God that’s probably housekeeping, maybe they are here to clean up this mess and arrest me.” 

“No…I doubt that,” Colt muttered and moved over to the door, looking through the small peephole near the top of it before he jumped back. 

“Colt?” 

“Guys…guys with guns!” he said and your eyes widened just as your guests started shooting up the door and he jumped, getting behind the bed in seconds and pulling you down with him. 

“Colt…what the fuck do we do?” 

“Window.” 

“Are you insane?” 

“You’re a stunt person like I am, pretend there’s a camera on us.” 

“Yeah but we normally have a mat!” you shouted but he ignored it and bolted over to the window, getting it open in record time and stepping out onto what was probably the most rickety fire escape on the planet. 

“Do you trust me?” he asked and you hesitated, standing just inside the window and not knowing if you should, if you should put your faith in someone who had broken your trust one too many times. 

“Why not,” you said and hopped out onto the fire escape as it shuddered from the extra weight but held its own and Colt slowly made his way down the steps, making it to the bottom in record time. “How far is that jump?” 

“Five, maybe six feet,” he said and you swallowed hard as he went for it, landing and rolling to his feet, rolling out his shoulders. “Coming?” 

“Give me a second,” you muttered and wrung out your hands, scared to say the least but your pursuers had made it inside, you could hear the shuffling and knew an open window was a pretty good indicator of what the plan was. 

You breathed in deep, remembering training from a while back about how to land in such a way where nothing broke, the impact didn’t cause you to die and you could actually walk away from a bit of tumble. Sure five or six feet wasn’t the highest jump on the planet but there was always the worry about breaking something and with some hesitation, you jumped, doing the same roll Colt did and ending up on your own two feet and safe and sound. He reached over, patted your shoulders and made sure you were okay before you gave him a nod, shaken but alright and followed him deeper into the city of Milan. 

“We need to find somewhere to lay low, maybe a budget hotel on the outside of the city.” 

“Have one in mind?” 

“There’s a motel for about 20 euros right on the outskirts of the main part of the city, it should work.” 

“And then what?” 

“I don’t know,” he admitted and ducked down an alley as you ran a hand through your hair, unsure if this was worth it but Molly’s killer was still out there, still was someone who wanted you dead and the thought propelled you forward, despite it all. 

The motel on Colt’s mind was shady to say the least, in a part of town that no one bothered to keep up and full of streets littered in trash and bodies like that entire part of Milan had just been forgotten. But when you asked for a bed they had one and it was cheap, less than the 50 euros you had in your wallet and the front desk assured the room had two queens and looked out onto the nice side of the road. Only one of those facts was true. 

“God dammit,” you muttered and looked at the singular queen bed and the view of a nice looking church out the window. 

“I can ask the desk for a new room?” Colt said and moved to the front door but you stopped him. 

“It’s fine,” you muttered and closed the curtains before flopping back onto the bed with a heavy sigh, the weight of the day coming over you. 

“Are you sure?” Colt asked and sat next to you, weighing down the bed and you sighed, sitting up and running a hand down your face, finally willing to feel all that had been ignored in the last hour or so. 

As much as you wanted to close your eyes and assume this whole thing was a dream, Molly was really dead, she was gone and after so many years of never seeing eye to eye she was gone before you could forgive each other. The movie was supposed to be a fresh start and you had spent half of the shoot arguing about how her career was going and what came next. Molly wanted to slow down and got mad when you claimed she was entering the best part of her career and the role would open up so many new roles and opportunities. But she wanted to slow down after nearly sixteen years in the business and was mad that you didn’t and sure the last few days had been good, they’d been cordial but you fought a week back and the words shared were echoing inside your head. 

“This is my career as well Molly!! You are ruining my life as much as your own.” 

“Maybe if you actually were the face you wouldn’t need me. You’re only here because of me and if I want to stop, you’re shit outta luck. Go fall out of windows for someone else.” 

“Doing this was the biggest mistake, I never should have hinged my career on you.” 

“I didn’t ask you to!”

But she did, she did ask you to hinge your career on her and desperately needed someone to act as her stunt double on a movie she shot years back, the first big break of her career. Molly needed a stunt double and you had the background for it and looked exactly like her, it was a win-win situation and the first breakthrough of both your careers. She had spent her time doing small roles and you had spent it on TV sets for little pay, mastering your craft at the expense of your sanity and needed Molly to make that break happen, make all of this happen. Her dying was an end to that, an end to your shared career and also an end to ever telling her you were sorry for being an asshole, for letting frivolous things get in the way. 

“Sweetheart?” Colt asked and slid closer since you could feel the tears pooling before they fell. 

“I’m fine,” you said and stood, moving the curtain and staring out the window at that damn church. 

“You don’t have to be fine. We’re safe here for the most part and your sister just died.” 

You hated the way your heart sank at the mention of Molly being dead even though it was true, she was and Colt was right and forgetting about her was the wrong way to deal with it. You turned to him as he pulled off the leather jacket he had on and dropped it on the chair, running a hand through his hair that still had the lingering effects of having blonde tips when he worked with Tom. Colt had aged in the time since you last got a good look at him and sure it was three months ago but that was primarily in the dark and a drunken haze and it felt really like years since you sat and looked at him. He wasn’t the same guy you kept running into in Hollywood at classes and small movie sets and TV shows with horrible plots that just needed some stunts to add some flair. He looked older, lines etched in his face and when you walked over and sat on the bed and he followed you could spot the callouses on his fingers and scars on his arms, years of stunt work coming back in carvings. 

“Sweetheart,” he started and slid closer, wrapping an arm around your shoulder and you let him, feeling tears start to force themselves out. “It’s okay.” 

“I’m…” you began and could feel all the adrenaline of the last few hours leave your body as your shoulders slumped and you finally let yourself feel everything, admit that it was all true and Molly really was dead.

“Let it out…I get it…I know what it means to lose someone in a way you don’t expect,” Colt muttered and you buried your head in his chest, feeling him wrap his arms tighter around you, so tight it was almost like a weighted blanket, keeping you grounded. 

“How so?” you asked and looked up at him, at his chin covered in stubble and a small scar off to the left. 

“I was raised by a single mother in Florida and while she was struggling to pay the bills, I was jumping out of trees and making her stress over me. When I was seventeen she got sick, really sick and we didn’t have money for a doctor so she just got sicker and I woke up and she was gone. I was a month away from my 18th birthday so the lady that came by to check on me just ignored it and I lived in that small ass house for a couple years before I got the Miami Vice job.” 

“Just like that?” 

“She had an infection that never got treated and died in her sleep. She was also a drinker so…I’m sure that was a factor but it was a lot, all at once and murder is different but I get it…I get what it feels like.” 

“Thank you.” 

“Of course,” he assured and you pulled back, letting out a yawn as he chuckled and grabbed a pillow. “We need to head back to set, see if there’s clues in Molly’s trailer, something she left behind that could point us in the right direction.” 

“Yeah…but we also have to be careful, we never know who’s looking at us, who’s waiting in the shadows to do something to us.”

“I’ve been in this position before, I know what it feels like to look over your shoulder.” 

“Ah yes, your Tom Ryder incident.” 

“Hey…I died.” 

“And came back, congrats,” you said and he chuckled, pulling off a secondary blanket and wrapping himself up on the floor. “What are you doing?” 

“Taking the floor, did you notice there's one bed and no couch.” 

“You just jumped out of a window after being chased by goons, share the bed with me,” you said and his eyes widened as he stood back up.

“Are you sure?”

“Why not?” You said and smiled, slipping off your beat up leather coat and sliding under the blanket before shimmying out of your jeans. “Ignore the no pants part of the occasion.”

“This is just the regular no pants, not the fun kind,” he shot back and slipped out of his own jeans and even his shirt before sliding under the covers next to you. “This isn't too far?”

“It's just a night Colt.”

“A night can change a lot,” he shot back and you felt yourself blush, turning away from him and trying desperately to ignore the heat radiating off his body. 

“We're not back in LA, drunk and looking for an escape.”

“You know…I'm sorry.”

“For?”

“Leaving like I did…I woke up in the middle of the night and you were sprawled out and I knew that if I didn't leave then, I never would.”

“So you chose to leave,” you said and he nodded. “And I chose to run away.”

“You were going to follow me.”

“Yeah…I was…but then the email for this job hit my inbox that morning and I thought of Molly, thought of how much she wanted a role like this and I couldn't do it. I believed she'd get it and I needed to be close in case she did.”

“Say Molly didn't get the role…”

“Yeah…I would've called,” you muttered and rolled away from him, feeling the bed shift as he chuckled. 

“I would've answered,” Colt said and sighed deeply, his snores filling the room shortly after as you sunk deeper into the bed. 

“I would've ran all the way back,” you whispered and knew it was the truth, it always had been and maybe if you ended up with Colt then Molly would still be alive. 

But now you were with him anyways and she was dead and you had to figure who did it and why before everything came crashing down. And also ignore the way you liked to listen to him breathe in his sleep, the gentle snores and how peaceful he looked when you turned back around. You missed Colt, more than words and were grateful he was there to lend a shoulder and a smile when you needed it most.

The set was calmer than you thought it would be with everyone going about their business, not caring that their main star was dead which likely meant she hadn’t been found. The men with guns had to be on the side of whoever did it and made sure you were dealt with and likely the body as well which meant Molly was somewhere unknown. You didn’t let that thought get to you and wandered closer to her trailer as Colt stayed behind, acting as a lookout just in case someone got too close who looked too interested in the both of you. The guys with the guns back at the hotel had shook you up, made you realise how close you had been since those killers weren’t after Molly, they had you on their mind. But you couldn’t worry about death at the moment, there was a lot more going on and you were steps from her trailer door when an old face stopped you. 

“There you are!” 

“Damon?” you asked and he sighed. 

“Damon,” he repeated and you rolled your eyes as he tapped a pen against a clipboard. “Where have you been?” 

“Drank too much and stayed at a hotel with Colt.” 

“We have been looking all over for you two, we wanted to shoot another stunt this morning but then you both didn’t show up and it derailed the entire schedule. You better apologize to Molly for missing it.” 

It took you a second to recognize what he said, what he mentioned about Molly and it took even longer to pick your jaw up off the floor and actually find the words to speak to him about the fact that he just mentioned your dead sister was not dead. 

“Molly?” 

“Yeah, she’s around here somewhere.” 

“Uh…Molly is here…” 

“Why would she not be?” 

“Uh…When did you last see her?” 

“This morning at around 8am when she came looking for you,” he said and walked off, leaving your jaw still partially dropped as Colt made his way over, an eyebrow raised. 

“What happened?” 

“He…he…” 

“Seavers!” 

“God dammit,” he muttered and turned just as Notch appeared, dressed in his costume.

“Where have you been?” 

“Drank too much and slept in,” he said and Notch looked between the two of you with a grin. 

“Sure. Keep telling yourself that and go apologize to Molly for missing the shoot today, she was pretty upset,” Notch said and walked off as Colt’s eyes widened and he turned to you. 

“What?” 

“I know…” 

“Molly is alive. You checked her over right…for a pulse or movement before we left that room.” 

“I swear to god she was dead. Her throat was cut and she wasn’t breathing and she was dead and now she’s back and is a zombie I guess.” 

“She can’t be…maybe…” 

“Maybe she’s a fake,” You said and he nodded. “I thought of that first. Someone could’ve easily faked being Molly and walked on set and took her place, especially if they knew she was dead.” 

“Who else knows?” 

“No one from what I can tell, it got covered up before we could get to it.” 

“So we have a fake Molly and someone who still wants to kill you…great. This is beginning to sound a lot more complicated than my thing with Tom Ryder.” 

“You dealt with a murder.” 

“Yeah but that dead man stayed dead,” he muttered and you nodded, giving him that and walking closer to Molly’s trailer, reaching out to open the door when Molly herself stepped out, letting out a shriek once she saw you. 

“Oh my God!” She cried and your eyes widened since Damon was right, Molly really was alive and currently glaring at you. “What the fuck.”

“Molly,” you said and she nodded, a brow raised. “You're here…and you're okay.”

“Why would I not be?”

“You drank a lot last night, were pretty out of it and we thought you'd be hungover.”

“You know, I don't get hungover,” she shot back and you raised a brow as she glanced at Colt over your shoulder. “Colt…of course you're here as well. We've been looking all over for the two of you. They wanted to do this massive stunt with a train and you both weren't here.”

“The train stunt was set for a sound stage later on,” Colt said and Molly eyed him.

“Right…maybe it was a bus. Damon mentioned a big stunt. Tell Notch your sorry for missing it. I have a fitting to get to.”

“For?”

“Just changing the costume a bit,” she muttered and applied some extra lipstick as your eyes narrowed. “Don't be late tomorrow. We're close to being done and then the real fun can begin. Notch even mentioned a new movie he'll be doing after this, something about space, I might join. You'd be down, right sis?”

“Always,” you assured and she smiled, patting your cheek before walking off with a whole new sway in her step. “That’s not Molly.”

“No shit. She didn't call my Colty.”

“She also hates pink lipstick and the brand was a company who called her a walking problem. She tried to do a promotional shoot with them but blew up when they kept insisting that pink was her colour.”

“What's her colour?”

“Baby pink.”

“That's the same thing.”

“Not according to Molly,” you said and pulled the handle of her trailer door but it was locked. “Shit. She locked it. We'll break in the next time they have one of the cast get togethers. They usually happen after long shoots. Until then…keep an eye on her. We need more dirt than just lipstick.”

“If that's not Molly, who is it?”

“I don't know. But whoever they are, I bet a bunch of money they also killed her.”

“But why?”

“Fame. Pretend to be Molly and then take her success.”

“I'll keep an eye out, see if I can spot anything else,” Colt assured and caught the frown on your face. “Hey, we can do this. I've solved a murder before.”

“Didn't Ryder leave all the evidence on his phone?”

“I still solved it. I brought him in.”

“After you fell out of a helicopter.”

“Details,” he shot and walked off as you rolled your eyes and hoped that Colt could find something, anything. 

Fake Molly assumed her plan was flawless but even after so many years of nothing she was still your twin, your other half. You knew her inside and out and could spot the small moments that gave her away and hoped that would be enough to figure out why the real one was dead. 

***

It was like watching someone attempt to pilot a Molly looking suit and they weren’t doing the greatest job at it since she was sloppy, like a version of Molly you looked at behind foggy glass. She was snappier, nastier and refused to listen to most of the crew who almost looked shocked by the change since while the original Molly was an actress who could be stuck up at points, she still had some bit of a soul. This one was like a shell and it had been five hours on set, trying to film a scene between Molly’s character and Notch’s and she just wouldn’t get it right and kept itching at her neck. The gesture made your eyes narrow and you were standing next to Colt, watching them through a monitor since no stunts were planned for the day, you were only there to observe. 

“Cut. Do it again,” Damon said and sighed, leaning heavily in his chair as Molly groaned. 

“Why?” 

“Because that was horrible,” Notch deadpanned and she turned, glaring daggers at him as he put his hands up and stepped back. 

“It was not. I was fine.” 

“No…you weren’t…do it again,” Damon shot back and she rolled her eyes, snapping her fingers and an overworked makeup artist ran over and retouched everything as she flattened the hem of her skirt. “Alright…Elle and Sven…take eight.” 

“Elle, talk to me. This is insane. We can’t do this…you are way out of your depth and are going to get the two of us killed,” Notch said, in character and you hated to admit he was pretty good, not great but not definitely not as bad as fake Molly. 

“Sven…PLEASE,” she shouted and Damon cringed. “I can do this. Seth told me everything he knows about this line of work and you know me…I have skills, I’m brave and we need to get that drive back before this all gets out of control. You don’t know what Dr. Bravado is capable of…” She turned, leaning heavily on the rail and sighed, deep and looked like she was actually nailing the scene until she started crying and your eyes widened. “He killed him…in cold blood and he left me all alone and trying to figure out what the hell to do next. And now I have you, his equal and maybe my chance.”

“We can do this Elle, I know we can,” Notch began and grabbed her hand. “But I can’t lose you too.” 

“You won’t…we’re stuck together.” 

“I know. I’m yours.” 

“And you’re mine,” she assured and he dipped down, giving her a kiss and Damon yelled cut. 

“It turned out,” Colt said and you shrugged. “Still horrible.” 

“Molly would be better,” you muttered and he nodded as Damon stepped up, shooing Notch and the fake Molly away from the fence you were shooting in front of. 

“Thank you everyone for all your hard work today. I know it's been hard to get back into the swing of things but we've made some good progress and only have a few weeks left in our shooting schedule before the fun can begin. Make sure to come by after work by my trailer and enjoy a beer, have some fun and relax people, it's movie making magic and I like what we're doing, it's fun!”

The small crowd clapped and Damon grinned, walking off and patting Notch on the back as he went. 

“A party?”

“Perfect chance to check out her trailer,” Colt said and you nodded as Molly walked towards it, scratching at her neck and yelling at Notch to keep up. “Come on, we have time.”

“What did you have in mind?”

“A break,” he said and walked off as you rolled your eyes and followed, trekking behind him through the streets of Italy. 

“Why do you need a break?”

“I almost died a couple days back,” he shot back and you nodded since it didn't feel like that escape out the window was so recent. “I also haven’t seen a lot of the city and apparently there’s a spot with a view.” 

You rolled your eyes but let Colt drag you through the streets of Milan until he pulled you into a bar near the heart of the city that had a rooftop deck and that nice view he was talking about. It overlooked a lot of the main square and since it was Italy and summer, it was hot outside, the sun beaming down on the two of you as he shed that Miami Vice jacket which left him in a white t-shirt. You pulled off the light flannel you had pulled on that morning and draped it across the back of the chair as Colt nodded in appreciation, the years of stunt work and muscle training leaving your arms and shoulders quite buff. 

“This is a hell of a view,” you said and Colt chuckled. 

“I like it,” he admitted and you knew he was looking at you. 

“You’re too charming for your own good,” you shot back and turned as he blushed and looked away, almost embarrassed you had just called him out. 

“You and a few people have thought that.” 

“Jody?” you asked and he nodded. “How did that end? I never asked, I just kissed you…a lot.” 

“I liked that part,” he said and you rolled your eyes. “We were good for a while after the whole Tom incident, even started this little company with a director and a stunt coordinator but Jody got a movie in Paris and I wasn’t needed. It was fancy and proper and no stunts were needed and she wanted me to tag along and be pretty on the sidelines and I wanted more. So I stayed behind and she made a fancy movie and met a fancier guy. We called it off two weeks after she left.” 

“One movie is all it takes.” 

“Metalstorm was a hit. She wanted to prove she could do more than just direct people how to blow up cars. I liked the blowing up cars part and wasn’t a huge fan of the whole acting part so we no longer fit.” 

“Every movie needs a good car getting blown up.” 

“Exactly,” Colt said and ordered a fancy sounding cocktail off a waiter along with some appetizers. “At least this movie has a few cool stunts but it got ruined by jealous people.” 

“Is that your theory?” 

“Jealousy is a hell of a drug and if someone wanted to become Molly they could do it pretty easy, she was alone and drunk…it wouldn’t take much to take advantage of her. We just have to figure out who did it and why and also what else they want.” 

“Maybe it was Notch.” 

“Why would he kill his co-star?” 

“Have you seen Stacy?” 

“Yeah they broke up in a fight the night of that party and then she went home.” 

“Do you have proof?” 

“I have this,” he said and showed off a photo of Stacy in New York, smiling at the camera with the Statue of Liberty over one shoulder. “It seems legit.” 

“Seems,” you muttered and made a mental note to also check out Notch’s trailer when you went back. 

“Question.” 

“Of course.” 

“Say you never got the email from Damon, never got this job and Molly never got her dream role and you never went to Milan…where would you be?” 

“Really?” 

“Come on…gun to your head…where would you be?” 

“1.2 miles outside of Miami, Florida at the Palmdale Complex which is full of respectable and good looking single family homes.” 

“Funny…I know someone that bought a house there and has been trying to renovate it.” 

“What a coincidence,” you said and thanked the Italian waiter who walked back over, taking a sip of a drink that tasted more like mangoes than alcohol.

In another timeline, one that went differently, you’d be sipping beer poolside at a townhouse in Florida as Colt thrilled you with stories taken from his hours spent on set that day. He’d be working with smaller filmmakers, making movies that meant something and weren’t as high and mighty as Jody suggested but at least they’d be fun and he had always liked fun. You had a lot of it that one night in LA, in a small apartment with dim lights and a lingering scent of a peach flavoured Sangria you kept buying because it was cheap. You were also pretty sure that was the last day you had real fun and sighed, staring at the view as Colt recounted stories from the set you were just on and you tried to have fun.

Key word…tried. 

The party Damon was so proud of was a small get-together on a darkened set as he handed out bottles of beer and told people some Italian snacks were on a table. It was small and simplistic but almost needed, a small bit of normal in the crazy life that happened when you spent x amount of months on a movie set. Molly and Notch were there, sitting next to each other and complaining about the lack of catering as you kept an eye on their trailers. When you looked back she was with Colt instead and he was making her laugh, keeping her occupied as you made your way towards the trailer but got stopped by Notch who placed a hand on your shoulder. 

“How are you?” 

“I’ve been better. Tired and overworked so I’m headed to bed.” 

“You’re not drinking?” 

“Colt and I grabbed drinks after the shoot.” 

“Oh…Colt and I…excellent.” 

“Really?” 

“You look cute,” he said and pulled out a mini bottle of what looked like schnapps before handing it over. “Come on…when in Rome.” 

“Don’t you mean when in Milan?” 

“Small things don’t matter,” he muttered and you rolled your eyes but downed it as Notch gave your shoulder a pat and sucked back one himself. “Try to have fun, you only make a movie like this once.” 

“I hope twice!” you called but he was already gone and you rolled your eyes, turning and spotting Colt alone, Molly gone and you cursed before running over as he stared at you, eyes a bit wide. “Where’s Molly?” 

“Oh she left,” he said and blinked at you. “I think. Don’t remember when.” 

“I was gone for a minute.” 

“Then she left then,” he said and your eyes narrowed. 

“Did she give you anything?” 

“No…but you look real cute,” he said and you rolled your eyes as Damon turned up the music blasting in the corner and Taylor Swift began to serenade you both. “Man…she always shows up at the perfect time. She was my top artist last year and I am not afraid to admit that or the fact that I spent like 300 bucks to see her in Orlando. I cried sweetheart, sobbed.” Colt smiled, tears in his eyes as he tapped a rhythm in the arm of his chair that matched the song that was playing. “I keep these longings locked. In lowercase inside a vault. Someone told me. There's no such thing as bad thoughts.” 

“Colt…” 

“Only your actions talk. These fatal fantasies. Giving way to labored breath,” he sang and stood, spinning around as you rolled your eyes. “Taking all of me. We've already done it in my head…”

“COLT!” 

“What?” 

“Focus. Where did Molly go?” 

“I’m telling you and the unicorn next to you…that I don’t know,” he said and your eyes widened. “What?” 

“Did Molly give you a drink?” 

“Yeah, this,” he said and handed over a small bottle as you pulled out its twin from your pocket, a gift from Notch and could suddenly feel the world begin to tilt. 

“Shit…I don’t know how…but they drugged them.” 

“Don’t do drugs, sweetheart,” he shot back and you rolled your eyes. 

“You’re such a light weight.” 

“No you!” he said and his words were already being slurred. I’m fine. I have my brain…it’s here…Right?” 

“Sure,” you said and walked away from him, towards the trailer as Colt let out a noise of annoyance and followed, stumbling his way across the set and grabbing your shoulder for stability. “Colt…you should just sit and let it pass.” 

“Nah…You are in need of my help…I can help…I am good helper.” 

“Spell helper.” 

“H-e-l-k-d-t…is there a y?” he asked and you stopped, grabbing his cheeks which were warm and his eyes were bloodshot, pupils blown out and you knew he was useless, a drugged mess of stuntman who was suddenly a lot more obsessed with you. “You know…Taylor has a song called Love Story…that’s you.” 

“What?” 

“A love story…you are my Juliet and I am a hopeless Romeo.” 

“Sure.” 

“I should have poisoned myself like he did…after I left…it’s what I deserved.” 

“Why did you leave?” you asked since Colt had his guard down and maybe his drug riddled brain would give you a straight answer. 

“I saw you that morning…the light hit your face and I saw a future…a moment without Jody in it where I was happy and it scared me. I wasn’t ready for the future and I treated you like an escape but you’re really hard to escape, like a black hole…in a good way. So I left before I stuck around and fucked it all up because you deserve a Colt with his shit together.”

“How about now?” 

“I took this job with Notch because he mentioned his costar was named Molly,” he said and grinned. “I knew it was your sister and I wanted to see you as much as you wanted to see me…Desperately.” 

“I appreciate it.” 

“Now we need to find Molly…find her and kick her ass…right?” 

“Sure,” you said and kept walking, spotting the unicorn he mentioned and letting out a sigh, grateful whatever drug they added to the bottles wasn’t affecting you as much. 

Molly’s trailer was off to the side of the massive set that was mainly a large field at the moment and was where all the catering trucks and equipment was kept when it wasn’t being used. Hers was one of the bigger ones and parked next to Notch’s, the lights on since she seemed to be inside which was going against your plan. You crept up to the door and luckily still had a key because Molly had never been the best at keeping things and stabbed it into the lock before twisting it, the door opening shortly after. Inside wasn’t Molly but her severed head and the drugs finally kicked in as you screamed and jumped back, knocking into Colt who stepped aside, too drugged up to catch you and you landed hard on your back. You blinked, trying to get the feeling back and glanced up to see the severed head was not that but a mask, like the ones used in Mission Impossible and a very confused not Molly was staring down at you.

“Stacy?” you asked and she cursed as you felt the pain start in the back of your head from hitting the ground a bit too hard. 

“Notch!” she called and he walked out, moving to Colt and raising a brow when the guy tried to retaliate. 

“Hey man…what is this?” he asked and tried to punch him but it failed and he went flying and Notch moved aside and let it happen, Colt falling to the dirt in a heap, out cold. 

“Colt?” 

“Out for the count,” Notch said and you leaned back on the ground, eyes blurry as he hovered over you. “Next time don’t take drinks from strangers.” 

“Fuck you,” you said and he chuckled. 

“Not my type,” Notch muttered and you went to move but the world tilted to the side and in seconds you were out like a light.

You awoke with a start to find yourself face to face with the sleeping and dirt covered face and hair of Colt Seavers since you were both chained to the table in Stacy’s trailer as the woman herself sat close by. She was leaning back on her phone, eyes narrowed as she scrolled through it with the Molly mask sitting on the table next to her and it made you angry. She was jealous of Molly, it was clear from the start and killed her in order to take over her spot in the movie and get her moment in the spotlight like the power hungry wannabe you knew she was. 

“Hello Molly,” you snapped and she looked up, smiling. 

“Hello.”

“Why are we tied up?” 

“I don’t trust you,” she said and Colt let out a snore, still fast asleep and you rolled your eyes as she got closer, leaning in front of you. “You really do look alike. Molly is prettier and her eyes are brighter, but I like your cheekbones. It was hard to get the mask right but thanks to some movie magic and Notch knowing Tom Cruise, we managed to figure it out.” 

“So you killed Molly to become her?” 

“I didn’t kill her…well…I did I guess but I didn’t intend to.”

“What does that mean?’ 

“My intention was to drug Molly, leave her locked in a room till the movie and press tour was done and then let her go. No one would die…I’d be famous after revealing that she was secretly not here and I, Stacy Waller have been her the whole time. The press would have a field day, Molly would be ruined for having a fake and I would get my beautiful moment in the sun.” 

“But then…”

“Notch happened. He gave her the wrong dose and she died and then had to make sure it looked like a violent murder and not drugging like it was. I never wanted to kill her…trust me.” 

“But you did…she’s dead and instead of fessing up and telling someone, you pretended to be her!!” you shouted and Colt jolted awake. “My sister, my twin is dead because you and Notch are too fucking assholes with nothing else to do but ruin peoples lives…mine included.” 

“Jesus…that was a lot.” 

“I have more,” you muttered and turned to Colt to find him grinning. “What?” 

“That was sexy.” 

“You caught that?” 

“Do it again,” Colt said and you rolled your eyes as Stacy let out a huff.

“Stop giving each other google eyes and focus on me. You are the ones that are tied to a table and have a lot to worry about right at this moment.” 

“Like what?” 

“Like the fact that I have enough evidence stacked against you to frame the both of you for murder,” she said and your jaw dropped. 

“What?” 

“Those men you ran from worked for Notch and they have Molly’s body in a secure location and it takes one call to move her to your trailer, all perfect on the bed and for me to claim I became Molly to cover up her sister being a murderer and that I did it because you threatened me.” 

“What do you want from us?” 

“I want you to sit in here and be good little stunt people and do the remaining tricks before I get to live my life in the spotlight like I deserve.”

“So you’re going to leave us here…in this trailer.”

“Yes, keep up.” 

“Molly?” 

“Notch, call me Stacy,” she said and the said guy poked his head through the door, ignoring you and Colt and giving her a smile. “What do you need?” 

“Damon has been asking where his star is.” 

“Of course. I’ll be there,” she said and moved to pull on the mask, slipping right back into the Molly persona and stopping by the door. “Don’t move. I’ll be back with dinner from Damon’s party. You only missed an hour of it, the drugs weren’t that impressive by the way.” She smiled and was just about to walk out the door when she stopped and walked back, grabbing your chin and forcing you to look at her. “You know…in another life…we might have been sisters and for now we’re family and I hope you’ll forgive me for what happened, I liked her a lot. She was pretty drunk before the drugs and mentioned to you that she was happy to see you happy again, enjoying your work. I hope you still can and will…long after this mess is over. Maybe you’ll even change your hair and become my stunt double instead. One can dream.” 

You stared at the door and could feel tears in your eyes but you refused to let them fall since Stacy had already taken too much and she wasn’t about to break your spirit on top of your family. Colt caught the change and reached out, hand brushing yours and you gave him a smile since he could make any moment better, even one locked in a trailer and cuffed to a table. What you needed was to leave, to get out of there and go and find someone who would believe your crazy story that Molly was dead and this one was a fake and rather than finish the movie, you needed to solve a crime. But Damon was good friends with Notch and the whole team had a reason to keep going and it felt like you were on the outs, up a creek without a paddle. 

“Hey…we’re gonna get through this.” 

“We’re in a lot more shit than we were a few hours ago. Stacy is off the rails.” 

“She also I fear is underestimating us…she doesn’t know what she’s up against and that will be her downfall. The two of us might be slightly insane and she doesn’t get it, she doesn’t understand.” 

“Insane how?” you asked and he chuckled. 

“We jump out of windows for a living, we’re insane,” he said and you rolled your eyes. “I have a gun license and a black belt in three different martial arts disciplines and you have the record for the highest freefall drop done by a female stunt woman…we got this.”

“This feels like too much,” you said and sighed as Colt reached up, stretching thanks to the cuffs on his wrists and placed a hand on yours. 

“Hey…how about this…I make you feel better.” 

“How?” 

“I’ll tell you something I’ve never told anyone before, not even Jody and I liked her for years.” 

“Why me?” 

“Because you’re sitting here, assuming your world is ending and I want to make you feel better. Sure it won’t fix this but maybe it can make you smile.” 

“Fine…go for it,” you said and he grinned. 

“Okay…my name…my real name is not Colt,” he said and your eyes widened. “Colt is a stage name and I’ve used it for years, ever since I got the Miami Vice job. I got that job when I was 18 and the first day on set I met the guy I’m doubling for and he’s older but we have a similar build and hair and all that jazz so we’re fine…we’re good and I introduce myself and he immediately goes… “No.” So I assume I’m fired…I did nothing and yet he hates me and wants me gone but it turns out, my name was the problem. I introduced myself with my first name…Ryder…and his name was Ryder Collins and he didn’t want his stuntman to have the same name as him so he told me to change it and then started to ramble about Colt 45’s and whether I could shoot one because that was going to be the first stunt and I asked if Colt was a suitable stage name and and he said it was. I thought I could start using Ryder but I met Tom and his ego was so big I couldn’t dare try it out and suddenly I found myself liking Colt a little too much to really change it back.” 

“Ryder Seavers,” you said and he nodded. “I like it.” 

“I always liked it as well, Ryder felt interesting, it was different and cool and my mom did a good job with it.” 

“Were you named after anyone?” 

“Sally Ride…she couldn’t use the name Ride or Sally so she chose Ryder as a nod to it and always told me I could be like her, touch the stars.” 

“Too bad you weren’t an astronaut.” 

“Sucked at math…maybe in another life,” he muttered and ran a hand through his hair as your eyes narrowed. “Oh…this…had to distract you.” 

“How?” you asked and Colt pulled a pen out of his pocket. “You can pick a lock on a pair of cuffs with a pen.” 

“I spent a lot of time in cuffs in my 20’s, you learn to get creative,” he said and got to work on unlocking yours as your eyes narrowed. “Not for the reason you might think.” 

“You have a secret dark side,” you said just as Colt got the cuffs off and you stood, rubbing your wrists and he shrugged. “Well it was useful right now so I’m going to see it as a blessing. We still don’t have a plan…Stacy is going to come back and see that we got out and then frame us for murder.” 

“Maybe we could use her need to be a star…against her,” Colt suggested and your eyes narrowed. 

“How?” 

“Change the ending. Put her in a spot where the only option she has is to reveal herself and her plan.” 

“Molly said that it was Wendy who changed the ending…she added Notch and also changed the final stunt to be his, not hers but when I looked into it, Wendy wrote the whole thing and someone else changed her ending. Maybe she’d be willing to change it back.”

“Like the car stunt with Tom…make them see just how dangerous this job is.” 

“I have texts from Molly about her wanting to try out stunt work, make her job a bit more interesting, maybe Damon will take it as proof that he needs to change his ending, lean more into the women empowerment side and less about the man saving the day.” 

“Hey…We can save the day sometimes,” he said and you rolled your eyes, walking over to the door and pulling it open only to quickly shut it since Notch was sitting outside, scrolling through his phone as he stared at photos of himself. 

“Shit…Notch is out there.” 

“We have the roof,” Colt said and you glanced up at a vent in the ceiling as he hopped onto the table and got it open, pulling himself up as you followed and ended up on the roof of the trailer. 

“Now what?” 

“A small leap,” he said and walked to the edge, eyeing the trailer next to Molly’s that luckily belonged to you before going for it, clearing the three foot gap with ease as you rolled your eyes. “Come on!” 

“Be happy it’s not a massive gap,” you shot back and he rolled his eyes. 

“I would have caught you,” he said and you jumped for it, missing the leap despite how small it was and Colt did just that, grabbing your arm before you could tumble off the side. “Would you look at that?” 

“I slipped,” you said and he pulled you to your feet, gripping your shoulders to make sure you were stable as your heart pounded. 

“You’re falling for me, sweetheart, admit it.” 

“Never,” you shot back and moved to the vent but the roof was slippery and nearly tumbled off the side a second time, once again getting grabbed by Colt as his grin grew even wider. “Not a word.” 

“I’m flattered.” 

“Shut up…Ryder.” 

“Not the real name,” he said and feigned hurt as you pulled away and made your way to solid ground thanks to the ladder on the fair side of the trailer. “Where’s Wendy?” 

“Her trailer is on the other side of the set. Look out for Stacy and Notch, I don’t really want them to know we escape just yet.” 

“Will Damon go for a new ending?” 

“He trusts me…I hope and he wants this movie to succeed…maybe he’ll even believe us. That man might be insufferable and too French for his own good but he wants to make the best movie he can and we’re making that possible.” 

“Let’s hope,” Colt said and you nodded, making your way across the set, dipping between trailers and people, keeping an eye out for Notch or Stacy who seemed occupied by either keeping you both in the trailer or enjoying the party. 

Stacy, dressed as Molly, was leaning heavily on a PA you had seen around before, practically throwing herself at him and smiling as he laughed at a bad joke shot at him from someone on the crew who walked by. You rolled your eyes and were about to walk across the last bit of grass when Colt grabbed your wrist and pulled you back, shielding you from Notch who walked by, still immersed in his phone screen. 

“Colt…” 

“Shhh,” he said and you hated how close you were, his chin brushing the top of your head as he kept his eyes on Notch, hand playing with your hip almost absentmindedly as your breath sped up. 

“I think he’s gone…” 

“Nope…still looking over here…he’s gone.” 

“Can you step back?” 

“Nope…We need to make sure,” he said and his other hand found the other side of your hip as his grip tightened keeping you locked in place. “He might be gone.” 

“He might’ve been gone.” 

“Not enjoying this?” he asked and looked down, blonde tipped bangs hanging in front of his eyes as he looked down at you with a grin on his face. “I am.” 

“Colt…it’s not the time.” 

“I know,” he said and stepped back, hand lingering until you moved far enough away to have it drop. 

“Wendy’s trailer is right over here,” you said and moved closer to it, getting farther away until you noticed that Colt hadn’t moved, he was rooted in place. “Colt. Are you coming?” 

“Just taking a look.” 

“You got to stop that. We have more pressing things to worry about then how much you can flirt with me in a single walk to a trailer across the grass.” 

“Who said I was flirting?” 

“That smirk on your face.” 

“What smirk?” he asked as you kept going, keeping an eye out and waited a second before spinning back around, catching the wide grin before he could get rid of it. 

“That one,” you shot back and smiled when he blushed, picking up his pace and keeping up with you as you knocked on the door of Wendy’s trailer, ignoring the do not disturb sign taped to the glass. 

“Can we not read signs?” 

“Uh…Wendy? We were hoping to speak to you.” 

“Who is we?” 

“Colt Seavers,” you said and added your name as a lot of crashing and cursing came from inside before the door opened and you grabbed a potted cactus before it could topple out of the trailer. 

“The stunt people?” 

“Yes,” you said and a woman with frizzy hair and very thick glasses, grinned and pushed the door open more, allowing you inside as she grabbed the plant. 

“Why didn’t you say so? Come in,” she said and you did, eyeing the jungle of houseplants as she moved a few off the couch and patted a cushion. “Also…Wendy Chapman is my full name but I know that Damon never tells anyone because he and his fucked up little ghost writer changed my ending and ruined my movie.” 

“Your ending?” 

“The one with Elle making a big statement and saving the man like the badass woman she is.” 

“Damon told everyone that you wanted that ending…it was your idea.”

“He lied. I wrote the original and then added in Notch when he mentioned his good friend needed a job and he wanted to be nice so I added Sven and changed it but wanted to keep that Elle ending so bad. He made me switch it because Molly didn’t want to do stunts. I found that odd because you do them and you’re great at them and Molly has been ruining my movie since her little bender moment. Talk to her.” 

“I will,” you said and knew the stunt comment was made by Stacy and her and Notch had been planning the whole thing for a while. “We need to talk to you about changing it back because I have messages from Molly that are all about her wanting to do the stunts. Especially the last one with the fire escape climb and the jump and the catch…heck of a moment. Full of female empowerment and all that jazz, exactly what you wanted.” 

“And Damon is okay with this?” 

“I can make him okay with it.” 

“Excellent, I have the original script,” she said and dug it out of a potted monsterra before handing it over. “I will also send off a copy to Damon and you can tell him about all those little messages you discovered and we can put this trainwreck back on the tracks.” 

“Sure…I like that idea.” 

“Also, good job with those stunts, Molly has a hell of a sister.” 

“I try…it’s my job to look cool so she can look even cooler.” 

“Give yourself more credit. Us writers add in these crazy scenes and insane sequences and just hope that people like you both can pull it off and you do…you make the movie magic happen.”

“Stunt people are meant to be the unknown,” Colt said and Wendy looked at him. “We do the dirty work so the star can shine. I’m fine with my double getting all the credit, all the awards and I’m sure she is too.” 

“Molly deserves it. I would be out of a job without her,” you said and sucked in a deep breath as Colt sighed. “Maybe one day I’ll step back…be a coordinator like I planned.” 

“What’s keeping you?” 

“Molly,” you said and gave Colt a knowing look as he ran a hand through his hair, Wendy missing the silent exchange when someone else knocked on the door but in a different way. 

“Oh my sweetie has arrived!!” Wendy called and walked over, pulling open the door as her sweetie walked in and made your jaw drop. 

“Damon?” 

“Damon,” he shot back and stepped further in before giving her a kiss. “What are you two doing in here?” 

“We were talking to Wendy about the ending, sweetie,” Colt said and he chuckled as Damon glared. 

“What’s wrong with my ending?” 

“We wanted it to have more female empowerment,” you said and he rolled his eyes. “Listen…you have a star with Molly, she’s the big bucks and why people are going to come see this and who they’re all going to be looking at and yet…she’s missing out on the last big stunt of the film. People want Elle to succeed and not get saved by Sven like every other generic action movie ever made…this original ending is something different.” 

“Something different…” 

“It can be,” you said and Damon nodded. “Imagine…people watch your movie and for all of it, it looks like Sven is going to save the day and then right at the last second…bam…it’s Elle. She saves everyone, him and the world.”

“When you put it like that…” 

“Molly mentioned wanting to try her own stunts weeks back, I have texts that I can send so we can run through the final set of stunts tomorrow and then film it for real later on.” 

“She’ll agree to that?” 

“I feel like she has to,” you said and Colt nodded in agreement. 

“I guess it can’t mess things up anymore. This movie needs something to set it apart from all the other action flicks being made and maybe that ending scene is the key. If Wendy, my love, thinks it’s a good idea, I must agree.” 

“I do,” she said and Damon smiled, giving her cheek a kiss. 

“Tell Molly we’ll run through those stunts in the morning. We have the space and the time, why not see if it’s even possible to save this trainwreck of a movie before it really gets derailed.”

“I will,” you said and smiled, following Colt back outside the trailer and immediately getting spotted by Molly who didn’t look pleased you had made it out of her locked trailer. 

She stormed over, yelling to Notch who was following behind her and looked almost shocked that he managed to lose track of the two of you.

“How the hell did you get out?” 

“We escaped,” Colt shot back and draped an arm around Notch’s shoulder as his eyes widened. “Maybe next time you shouldn’t cuff a man who spent his twenties getting out of handcuffs.” Notch eyed him and he shook his head. “Not for the reason you think…trust me.” 

“You have a busy day tomorrow, Molly,” you shot back and her eyes narrowed. “We were just talking to Wendy and Damon and they want to change the ending to give Elle a bigger part in this movie and that comes with a whole new collection of stunts. Stunts that I have texts from you about…Like jumping off a fire escape and getting caught by Notch and a fake fight scene…because before that cast party you wanted to start doing your own stunts and Damon is all for it.” 

“He is?” 

“I am,” he said and the man himself walked over, smiling at Molly as her mouth hung open in shock and she looked ready to tell him she was out but kept her mouth shut and gave him a wide grin. 

“Well then I will look forward to it, I can’t wait to show off my talents.” 

“You’ll do great,” you said and she nodded in agreement. “We have a few simple stunts planned and then a jump that you will be fully harnessed for. It’ll be easy to get through, trust me.” 

“And if I die?”

“Molly you are talking with a stuntman who fell like seven stories and all he did was break his back, you’re fine,” you assured and Colt sighed, rubbing said back since you knew he hated to remember that moment. 

“You are insane and I better survive this so I can frame you both for murder the second I get off set.” 

“Feel free.” 

“That’s it? You give up?”

“If you can get through tomorrow, you deserve to frame me for murder.” 

“Challenge accepted,” she shot back and threw her hair, that was an obvious wig, over one shoulder before running off with a huff as you rolled your eyes and noticed that Notch didn’t follow.  

“I don’t have to do a lot of stunts right?” he asked and turned to Colt who shrugged. 

“Probably not. The ones planned are all for Molly.” 

“Good…because I don’t like heights or running or like doing more than needed for a movie. It’s why I have stunt doubles and one time I had a whole body double for this scene in the sun because my skin is too good for that.” 

“Molly will be the only one in mortal peril,” you assured and Notch smiled, wrapping you in a hug and even giving your cheek a kiss. 

“You’re the best,” he assured and ran off, back towards the trailer as you glanced at Colt who just shrugged. 

“Well then…” 

“I am choosing not to question that.” 

“Best option frankly,” Colt said and chuckled before you both walked the opposite direction, your trailer at the other end of the set, away from Molly and Notch until the morning and hopefully the end of all of this. 

“God that was scary,” you said and Colt chuckled, flopping back on the bed at the back of the trailer as you took the couch. “I thought she was going to say something but luckily the only thing Stacy wants more than ruining my life is finishing this movie.” 

“We could have told Damon.” 

“Tell him that his star is actually a fake and it will ruin his movie…he’d think I was insane. I have a plan for tomorrow and it involves that jump.” 

“What about after?” 

“If I don’t die or get accused of murder I might sit back and breathe for a little bit or take a vacation. I hear that Spain is nice this time of year and we’re not that far out.” 

“What about Florida?” 

“It’s June, I’m sure Florida is nice too,” you said, not catching what he was implying as Colt chuckled and moved, jumping off the bed and joining you on the couch. “What?” 

“What if we went to Florida…together…and you helped me remodel that single family home so we could hang out by the pool afterwards and I could thrill you with stories from back on set.” 

“And I could actually put my skills to good use and be a stunt coordinator like I planned,” you added and he nodded, with a grin, moving closer, hand resting on your thigh as you looked down at it. 

“It sounds like a nice life. Simple…no murder or fake twin sisters or crazy stunts planned to make a director realise his star is a fake twin sister.” 

“When you put it like that,” you said and Colt chuckled, resting his forehead on yours, so close you could feel his breath on your lips whenever he exhaled. 

The story of you and Colt was told in fragments, running into each other at the wrong time in the wrong place. You saw him when he was young in Florida one time, he caught you in Hollywood, you bumped into each other on dozens of sets and even after Metalstorm when you thought he had died jumping a burning boat in Australia. You were pissed at Colt for faking his death and never telling you, the one person he called his constant after both the fact that you were always there and a nod to your shared favourite show Lost. 

That moment after Jody was the first where feelings got involved, real feelings, feelings that made you believe that maybe something could happen but Colt saw it getting too real and bolted before he gave you both a chance and you stayed. You took the job and got Molly her dream role and assume that was it for yourself and Colt Seavers, two people who just never ended up at the right moment at the right time until he started singing Taylor Swift at a cast party and everything changed. 

“What?” Colt asked when you pulled away and grabbed your phone, still sitting in a drawer where you left it and pressed play on a song that made him grin. “Wow…what a throwback.” 

“I didn’t give you any words,” you said and he chuckled. “I got some now.” 

“And?” 

“Maybe tomorrow.” 

“Oh come on.” 

“I don’t know what’s going to happen tomorrow, if my plan is going to work but I want to hold onto something good happening afterwards, in us getting a chance to actually be something and see where this could go. Maybe it goes to Spain for a vacation or back to Florida for a semblance of a normal life or something crazier…who knows. But what I want is you there.” 

“I’m there,” he assured and you nodded, moving back to the bed and pausing the song on your way. “Should I take the couch?” 

“Never take it again,” you said and Colt nodded, joining you on the bed as you enjoyed the last night of peace before the entire world went a bit crazy. 

But maybe it would work out and you’d give him the kiss he had been desperately searching for and agree with Taylor when she sang about being in love for maybe you were. With a man who’s mom told him he was destined to touch the stars with a name like his but all he needed was to reach for you. 

The plan was simple. What you needed was to put Stacy in a spot where she’d be forced to give it up that she was just pretending to be Molly and your sister was actually dead, body buried someplace she never said. The stunts would be a part of that and you’d be right next to the fake Molly under the guise that you were doing them with her, making sure she knew the steps before the cameras turned on. The truth would be that they were already on and you were buddies with one of the camera operators who really hated the new Molly, he called her annoying and was more than willing to take part in your little plan. Colt was in a building across a pretty big gap with Notch since his character was supposed to be tied up and he and Molly would meet in the middle and she’d jump to him, getting caught before she could fall with a drive of all the information they needed clutched in one hand. 

You were going to recreate that, convince Molly she could do the stunt and then ruin it right at the end. It all looked good, she was eager to prove herself and wasn’t saying a thing as you made sure her harness was attached properly, cables attached to a crane above the building that would catch her before she could fall. This was the biggest stunt of the movie so Damon made sure the entire team went all out and Molly was getting tied to a chair since it was in the script that her character would feel inspired by the death of her husband, break out with his own pocket and prove herself with a fight, a climb to the top of the roof and eventually a jump. 

“Tell me again.” 

“Fight, climb, jump,” you said and she nodded, looking nervous. 

“And why are you here?” 

“We’re not filming today, just running through it.” 

“Why?” 

“Damon wants it to be perfect and we need to practice to make it perfect,” you assured and she looked doubtful but rolled her eyes and sat back like she was supposed to as you left the rest of the set up to Joe. “Colt…come in.” 

“I am here.” 

“Switch to channel 3.” 

“10-4,” he replied and you switched your own radio over, Colt following suit. “Hello.” 

“How are we looking?” 

“Notch is grateful he gets to do nothing but sit and look pretty.” 

“Good…Molly is excited…I think.” 

“Do you think your plan is going to work?” 

“I might have to improvise a little bit,” you said and he pressed the button just to sigh into his walkie. 

“Be careful.” 

“I will. I’ll see you on the other side,” you said and nodded to Joe who gave a thumbs up that she was ready. “Molly! Do the first scene yourself, you know it. A simple scuffle and then bolt towards the window, it’s made of breakaway glass so it should shatter on your way out and I’ll meet you on the fire escape. Good luck.” 

“Don’t need it,” she shot back and you rolled your eyes. 

“Alright…final stunt sequence rehearsal in three…two…one…action!” you called and watched as Molly called out her line about needing to feel her husband one last time before getting through the ropes with ease and rolling to her feet, exactly as planned. 

The guys playing her assailants ran in and attacked, feigning punches to keep her safe as she acted with a surprising amount of grace for someone who was pretty bad at everything else. But you could spot where she and the real Molly differed, how much she pulled back and her lack of confidence, kicking out like she was scared as the guy she was against had to accommodate the lack of skill and it looked a lot more fabricated than normal. You could tell the crew was starting to see it, muttering about how she lacked finesse and smiled as Molly pulled off the last hit, a kick and sent the guy flying back into a pad and he stood up with a grumble about the horrible presentation as you rolled your eyes and nodded to Joe. 

“Phase two!” you called and bolted over to Molly, dressed in an outfit exactly like hers, tight black pants and a leather jacket like her character was supposed to be wearing as she set herself up for the jump. 

“Where do I jump?” 

“Ylou should catch yourself on the rail of the fire escape outside the window.” 

“Then after that?” 

“Climb,” you said and nodded to Joe that you were in position as she sighed and got herself ready. “Colt we’re ready in three…two…one.” 

“10-4…Notch and I are good on this end.” 

“Stay on channel three.” 

“Got it,” he said and moved to the other channel as you added an earpiece before getting yourself ready. 

“Molly…are you good?” 

“Just do it.” 

“Okay…in three…two…one…”

At one she was off and running towards the window as you followed, yelling advice as she managed to break herself free and slam into the rail of the fire escape on the side of the building you were using for the stunt. She didn’t overshoot like you thought she might and just brushed off a bit of pain and kept going, taking the stairs two at a time towards the roof as you got closer to your plan coming together. The real kicker would be the jump since Molly was supposed to jump to the other roof, miss and get caught by Notch who would be leaning out of the window. It was supposed to mimic a bit of fate in play and Wendy assured the audience would find it romantic that Elle was desperate for a sign that her husband was still with her only to have his brother reach out and catch her. 

In reality Molly was going to jump and not fall with the cable she was connected to but hang there, dangling above the ground and hopefully it would be enough for her to reveal herself to the rest of the crew. You weren’t positive that it would be enough and were too busy worrying about it when you were slammed right at the top of the roof and ended up tipping over the top of it, barely able to scramble and catch yourself. 

“What the…” 

“The tables you see have turned,” Molly said and smiled, looking down at you. 

“What are you doing?” 

“Notch told me your plan,” she said and pointed to a small earpiece you hadn’t noticed. “Turns out that Colt is as good at fighting as he is at getting out of handcuffs but it still wasn’t enough and he has Colt on the ropes. Take a look.” 

You looked down and sure enough Colt was in a similar position, hanging off the fire escape on the other building just a few stories below you as Notch looked up at you and Molly, a grin on his face. 

“So what…instead of frame me for murder you’re going to kill me too,” you said and she shrugged. 

“No…I’ll pull you up but you have to admit on the radio that you did it, you killed Molly and I am a double you hired to keep up the guise that she was still alive,” Molly said and you groaned, moving and gripping the edge with one hand, using the other to switch your radio to Colt’s channel and hoped that he never switched back. 

“Colt…”

“I got it…give me a minute,” he said and you could hear grumbling as he got himself back up, tossing Notch back through the window. 

“What the hell…”

“Stop messing with stunt people. We train our entire lives to be dangled off buildings or tossed through windows and we even train to be the second best, stuck behind a sister we never hated, we love more than life itself. I loved Molly, I loved her so much and felt like an asshole when we could never connect and now she’s gone, dead and gone and it’s all because of you.” 

“I worked my ass off for the spotlight and people told me I didn’t have the face for it, me a model and she got it all. She had this and this job and even my own boyfriend. He was obsessed with her and he never saw me as anything more than an accessory.” 

“That’s a Crotch Carter problem,” you assured and chuckled as Colt assured over the radio that he was ready and you sighed, readying yourself for one hell of a jump. “You will have to learn Stacy that movies are full of fakes. We play our parts but that’s not who we are, we’re all pretending and sometimes pretending to be something is what gets you almost killed by the fake version of your twin sister.” 

“Is this some kind of lesson?” 

“Yeah…never trust an actor and…never trust a fucking stuntman!” you called and reached up, ripping off her mask as she shrieked and pushing off the side of the building, falling towards the ground without a cable attached. 

But unlike Stacy who didn’t have anyone to lean on and especially not an actor with the worst name on the planet, you had Colt Seavers and he was there, grabbing you before you could even reach the bottom. Sure he might’ve dislocated a shoulder in the process and you cringed in pain but you were and he was quick to pull you up. 

“Good?” 

“Always,” you said and nodded to Joe who pressed a button and the now still harnessed was shot into the air with a shriek before the cable lowered her to where she was level with you and Colt. “Stacy.”

“What the…Where’s Notch?” 

“He’s not the best at fighting,” Colt said and nodded to a knocked out Notch inside the room. 

“This is insane…this whole thing was a setup…I could have died…” 

“That would have been a big problem,” you assured and hoped she’d catch the sarcasm. 

“You still have no proof I killed Molly. I’m not even being recorded and what…they’re going to believe your testimony over mine, I have good lawyers and Notch does as well.” 

“Tell me again…how did it happen in case I need to tell a jury.” 

“It was mainly Notch, I just wanted to drug her but he sliced her throat like an idiot and I had to fake being her with that stupid mask that is very hot for Italy in June.” 

“And why?” 

“To steal this whole thing, this spotlight, I deserved it and spent so long in auditions and waiting rooms, staring at girls who were way uglier than me as they got the parts that I deserved for movies I’d be perfect at. I auditioned for this role but they gave it to the actress who had a twin sitting in the corner, a built in body double and it’s not fair.” 

“Right…sorry…can you say all that again?” 

“What?” 

“I’m not sure that Tyler’s camera caught the last part,” you said and nodded to the camera through the window of the other building, still rolling like you planned as her eyes widened. 

“What?” 

“Remember? You can’t trust anyone, even people who tell you this won’t be filmed. Everything is filmed here, it’s the movies,” you said and she launched into a flurry of curses as you rolled your eyes and followed Colt down the fire escape and back on solid ground. 

“So she was a fake,” Damon said and you nodded, handing over the mask. “Who is she?” 

“Stacy Parsons. Notch’s girlfriend.” 

“I don’t think that relationship is lasting.” 

“Maybe not,” you said and smiled as Damon sighed. “Sorry about your movie.” 

“No…I have an idea for a new one now. Two stunt people who uncover a conspiracy on their set and need to work together to fix it and they get drugged and escape and have to make up this massive stunt to get the real killer in position. They could also be old friends who have been in love for years and they finally got the chance at saying it aloud after that brutal final stunt and it would be the perfect love story. What do you think?” 

“That sounds pretty unrealistic,” you said and he nodded. 

“It is a movie.” 

“I know…but you just did a big elaborate love story plot, why not focus on something smaller?” 

“Smaller…Right…” 

“I’m sure people will love the grounded approach and not…whatever that was,” you assured as Colt chuckled behind you. 

“Right…I’ll think about it,” he assured and wandered off, calling for Wendy so they could discuss it right as the Italian police appeared and you followed Colt off the set to let them do their work and not interfere with a very easy investigation. 

“Do you think he’ll make his movie about stunt people falling in love?” 

“It would be too hard to believe.” 

“For sure…who would play us?” Colt asked and you chuckled. “What actor do I look like?” 

“Hmmmm….What about Ryan Gosling?” 

“You mean Ken from the Barbie movie?” 

“Yeah.” 

“Nah, that’s not right,” he said and you nodded, not seeing it yourself as he took a seat on a bench overlooking a view and you followed. “So what’s next? Spain?” 

“God no…I need calm…probably Florida.” 

“I have a house that needs to be renovated.” 

“I can hold a hammer,” you assured and he chuckled. “I’ll have to wait for this shoulder to heal so I can be a cheerleader beforehand.”

“You know I have a big ego.” 

“We’d be a perfect combo,” you assured and he turned, smiling when he saw how close you had gotten. 

“Together.” 

“You’re not going to run?” 

“Never again,” he said and reached forward, cupping your cheek and pulling you closer, finally getting the chance to kiss you after so long of wishing for it. 

It was a good one too, packed full of years of regret that nothing happened sooner and you were excited to see just how far you and Colt could go together. Maybe when everything settled he’d go back to sets full of stuntwork and you’d finally be the stunt coordinator you had always dreamed of being. But the big part would be that you’d be together, sitting in his home in Florida and talking about all the other dreams you had planned and knowing you could accomplish them as long as Colt was right by your side. 

“Colt…” 

“Yes…” 

“My shoulder is still dislocated.” 

“Right,” he muttered and pulled back as you groaned in pain. “We should probably get that fixed.” 

“Good idea,” you said and followed him back to an Italian ambulance as they looked you over and you were both joined by Damon who had more ideas about crazy love stories that could only happen in movies. 

You and Colt knew they could happen in real life, you had proved it and Stacy was convicted of everything alongside Notch and months after the whole thing had finished you buried Molly in Hollywood and apologized for it all. You spent every minute on set doing it for her and the job took you to wonderful places and you met people just as incredible as you hoped with Colt right by your side the whole way through. A stuntman and a coordinator, taking over the industry movie by movie and if there were anymore murders to solve, you’d have him to assist with that as well. He’d forever be there, by your side with a smile on his face and making any set and any day infinitely better for maybe Taylor Swift was right after all. 

You can hear it in the silence, silence, you

You can feel it on the way home, way home, you

You can see it with the lights out, lights out

You are in love, true love

You are in love

She slips away from her dorm room, sticking to the darkness provided by the girls’ building. Harrowdene rises above her, three stories and red brick, her home for the past three years. She knows which shower has the best pressure, the creak of the floorboards, how far out of the window to lean to get cell reception. First year she shared with Nancy Wheeler. Last year, it was Tina Watts, and this year she got Vickie Dawson. Vickie is in band, the LGBTQ club, and performed in last year’s production of Cinderella. She also hadn’t said too much when Chrissy had shimmied out of their window, along the ledge and down the large white trellis that goes from their floor all the way to the ground. She’d been in bed, feigning sleep but Chrissy had seen the glint of her eyes anyway.

Once she hits the rear entrance - the emergency fire door that gets propped open during the day and closed by Mrs Click every night - she makes a dash across the grass to the thick line of trees that surrounds Hawkins Academy. Mockett’s wood, the small forest that hides the school for the rest of the world.

Rumor goes that the original owner of the land - before it was a school - was a conspiracy nutjob and had it planted to keep anyone official out. Another rumor says that a girl was murdered by her teacher in a clearing after an affair gone wrong. This one is only half based in fact. Someone was definitely murdered here. 

It’s terrifying, walking through the forest after dark. Every crack, every rustle, the faint noises of a fox all make her jump and she wishes desperately that they’d agreed on another meeting place. She was here mere days ago, but in the setting sunlight rippling through the gold colors of the trees, it had felt almost magical. 

The bench in the woods is a relic from a time long gone by. Supposedly, once the school had a cluster of benches out in this clearing for students but they were nearly all removed over a decade ago. There’s just one left: the legs covered in moss, the wood faded and covered in scratched initials. More students have marked their names on it than even the bench can remember. 

He’s already there when she emerges from the line of trees, wrapped up in his denim jacket against the cold October bite. Her heart judders when she sees him there, tracing the wood with his long, elegant fingers. The silver of his rings glint in the light of her torch and he turns to look up, his face breaking into a smile when he sees her.

Stop, Chrissy tells her heart. We’re only solving a murder.

“Hey, you got out,” Eddie says, sounding impressed, as she slings her bag on the table and climbs onto the other side of the bench. “Not hard, right?” She narrows her eyes.

“How did you get out?” she asks, suspiciously. Apparently, the trellis trick is quite well known among the residents of her dorm, often used when sneaking out to go meet boys. Apparently the auditorium is a popular make-out spot…or it used to be. “The boys’ building doesn’t have a rose trellis.” He shrugs, looking unconcerned. But then again, he’s Eddie Munson, known dealer and outcast. Unlike Chrissy, this probably isn’t the first time he’s snuck out at night.

“The bathroom on the second floor opens out onto the roof of the administration building,” he explains, twirling the chunky ring on his index finger. It has twists of silver wound around a large amber stone. “Easy drop down and I just have to climb onto the bins to get back up. Unless some dick has locked the bathroom window before I get back but that hardly ever happens.”

“Okay,” Chrissy says slowly, and pulls out the black notebook from her shoulder bag. She barely had time to write all of her notes up after dinner but she’d needed to get them out of her head. Everything has been churning over in her mind for the last three days, ever since the body was found. She recognises how cliche it is to have a murder notebook and that true detectives probably keep everything in their heads but she just isn’t up for that. Everything makes more sense written down.

And she can’t keep a big whiteboard in her room so this will have to do.

“I put down everything that we have so far,” she says, opening it to the correct page and turning it around for Eddie to see. Eddie pulls out his phone and turns on the torch function, holding it up so that he can see her neat handwriting. She’s outlined everything as best she can: possible suspects and motives, a sketch of the auditorium, a timeline of the victim’s last day.

“This is good,” Eddie says finally, setting his phone down on the table beside them. “Really good. Is that timeline finished?”

“I think so?” Chrissy hedges, chewing her lip. People have been less than helpful with the details but she’s been able to get enough. “There’s half an hour just after class ends that I can’t account for. No one seems to have been with him then.” Eddie’s eyebrows shoot up so high that they nearly blend with the dark mass of hair on his head.

“Shouldn’t you know?” he asks, incredulously. “I mean…weren’t you guys dating?”

“No,” she says defensively, because she resents explaining her former relationship with Jason to someone who is essentially a stranger. Even though she’d…even so, she doesn’t want to explain it all to Eddie. She’d loved him as much as she’d hated him and then his body had been found three days ago, which made things much more complicated. 

“We broke up,” she says, folding her hands up into her lap so he can’t see her digging her fingernails into her palm. She’s drowning in grief and guilt and confusion, and she doesn’t know which to feel first. “The day before he died.” Eddie rests his chin on his palm, looking at her. 

“And that’s why the police wanted to talk to you?” he asks and she hesitates.

“No,” she says, eventually. It still feels like bile in the back of her throat, the cold look on Jason's face when she’d told him that it was over. How the news trickled through the dining hall the next day at breakfast that a body had been found in the auditorium. How the first feeling that flowed through her body was relief. “Because no one knew. I hadn’t told anyone and Jason didn’t either. I think he thought…”

It’s both too obvious for them to voice out loud. Jason had expected to get her back, and he’d probably never doubted that she would eventually do just that.

“Right,” Eddie drawls, his voice dripping in contempt. “Of course. What Lord Carver wants, he gets.” 

She swallows. She can’t speak ill of the dead, but she also won’t say it wasn’t true. Jason had…expectations. 

“Anyway,” Eddie says, seeing her discomfort. “It’s good shit. Couples of leads, a few suspects. People who aren’t us, which is the vital thing.”

She nods, because that’s the whole point of this little alliance. The drug dealer who’d had a very public fight with the victim only a few days prior to the murder. And the girlfriend who’d suddenly ended what everyone else thought was a picture perfect love story.  Police tended to suspect people who had motives like that.

“Were they horrible to you?” she asks, because she hadn’t been the only one pulled out of class for questioning. Everyone with a connection to Jason had been taken to the principal’s office at some point since it had happened. Chrissy, Patrick and Billy, and all the other guys from the basketball team, that freshman kid, Lucas, who found him…and Eddie. Even Steve, who’d never really been friends with Jason, had been pulled in. 

“Nah,” Eddie says, but there’s lines around his eyes that betray the lie. The police hadn’t even been very nice to her, and she has a reasonable alibi for most of the time frame of the murder. “It was fine. They can be dicks to me because I’m not a minor. They just asked about the fight.”

Chrissy knows better than to ask about the fight. There have been rumors flying around school, and there are even more now suggesting that Eddie had lost his temper and murdered Jason in a fit of rage.

People have too much time on their hands.

“What’s your alibi?” Chrissy asks, suddenly. They’re partners in this and she doesn’t know. But Eddie’s face turns guarded, a little defensive. 

“Why do you ask?” he says and she shakes her head.

“I don’t think you did it,” she assures him, because in a school full of doubters, she doesn’t want him to think she’s one of that number. “But what did you tell the police about where you were?”

“I was just…writing songs on the roof,” he says, rubbing the back of his neck. There’s a delicate flush to it, rising just above his Hellfire Club t-shirt. “Alone.”

“Do you do that a lot?” Chrissy pushes, and tucks her hands inside her jumper. It’s colder out here than she’d expected and she’d tried so hard to not disturb Vickie that she hadn’t stopped for anything like a hat or gloves. 

“Just when I have some good inspiration,” Eddie mutters vaguely. He’s avoiding her gaze, nervously strumming his fingers against the dry wood. She wonders if their meeting in this very spot nearly a week ago affected him as much as it affected her.

“Okay,” she says, deciding to let it go. She pulls the notebook back towards herself, squinting at the pages in the dim light. 

“I don’t know if we can get into the auditorium yet,” she considers, thinking of their next move. “The police are done but the staff still have it sealed off…what?” Because Eddie is grinning widely.

“I can get us in,” he says, in a low voice, jabbing a finger at the page, and her outlined sketch of the crime scene. “I have a key. The janitor is very forthcoming if you're willing to supply him with weed.”

“I’m really glad that your law-breaking helps us commit further law-breaking,” Chrissy says, flatly. But she sighs and stuffs the notebook back in her bag. What’s a little more rebellion?

“I guess it couldn’t hurt,” she admits and is startled when Eddie pulls himself out of his seat, sweeping her bag off of the table.

“What? We might as well go now,” he says, her bag dangling by the strap from one finger. “No one will be around and the guard patrols get less frequent after midnight. Less chance of being caught.”

“Sure,” she says in a daze and takes her bag from him, slinging it over her shoulder, easily falling into step with Eddie as they leave Mockett’s wood. She’s tired and it’s only a matter of hours before she has to roll out of bed and go to her classes like nothing has changed. Like her ex-boyfriend isn’t dead. Like she hasn’t snuck into a crime scene after dark. Like the idea of a killer hiding at school doesn’t terrify her.

Like the boy next to her isn’t the whole reason for breaking up with Jason in the first place.

“We probably shouldn’t hang out much together during school hours,” Eddie says awkwardly, as they head back towards Harrowdene and the shape of the drama building and auditorium beyond it. Maybe her dorm’s easy access to the murder site is what has the police thinking she makes an ideal suspect. Motive, access, relationship…all the dominoes in a line. 

The frank acknowledgement of it stings but she gets it. Any sign of a closeness with Eddie, another person of interest, might send those dominoes tumbling down. The police would probably love the idea of a murdering teenage Bonnie and Clyde.

“Oh hey,” Eddie says suddenly, noticing the goosebumps clinging to her skin. He unwinds the thick black scarf from around his neck, something chunky and handmade from wool. He deftly wraps it around her, looping it carefully around her hair. It’s soft, something well loved and she catches the faintest smell of his skin on the material, something woodsey and deep, like the inside of a guitar. 

“Thanks,” she murmurs and swallows heavily.

Oh yeah. She’s screwed.