let me be your motivation

danae taylor   💋 21 years old. dancer + influencer. generally better than most people. @damnnae: nobody needs to own over thirty lipsticks and yet here i am

[dtwashington]

andyxsylvan·:

Nodding his head with a smile as she answered about needing a car, he leaned back against the counter just looking at her, feeling how familiar the moment was. Him with a coffee in and and her in his shirt, the casual use of ‘babe’, it wasn’t lost on him in the slightest. Standing up the tiniest bit straighter as she moved towards him, he let her take the mug in his hand while he eyed her every move. It was hard for him not to touch her, to let her go and not kiss her like he would have a year and change ago, but this was a different time, a very different time. “I’ll see you there.” Andy murmured, smiling even as she walked away from him and out his apartment door. The second it was closed behind her though, he breathed out a sigh. Phone still in his hand from when he pulled it out, he shot a quick text to his brother and another to his manager before turning around and making himself another cup of coffee. 

Getting to the set, he went to the trailer they set up for him and looked at himself in the mirror. The make up team was gonna have some work to do today, between the marks Danae had left and the bags under his eyes from the long night, they were really in for it. About an hour later he was finally walking onto set, ready to get started. Walking right over to where Danae was talking to the director, he smiled. “Hey, guys.” His hand lifted to the middle of Danae’s back, more in a friendly casual way than anything, but after last night it felt a little different. “Your hair looks nice.” Andy leaned over and whispered with a grin, his hand rubbed up her back before it fell away. Getting into the scene, Andy was doing a lot more sitting around for the next few takes, but he had his direction, knowing what he was supposed to do. He basically had to stare at Danae, which was easy enough, considering. Sitting in the booth, he ruffled his hand up through his hair, looking in the direction Danae was coming from as the director called action. 

After leaving Andy's apartment, Danae had quickly texted Nova from her Uber, having to tell someone about what had gone down the night before. The conversation was brief, because she got home and had to shower and then get going, but it served its purpose. Most of Danae felt pretty great, all things considered, but there was the tiniest part of her that lingered with guilt, that made her think maybe she should apologize and redraw a line with Andy later, because that's probably what he wanted. Of course, that thought was tossed from her brain rather quickly, because she was busy with work, but it had been there. Getting there early like suggested, she found out that they had decided to go a different direction in terms of her aesthetic - they weren't taking the extra long time to straighten her hair for her, after all. She wasn't complaining, god knew it took a long damn time, but considering the text from her manager literally that morning, she was the slightest bit confused. Still, it gave her plenty of time to work on the bits of shooting that only required her, so that was another added bonus.

By the time Andy was joining them on set, Danae had already shot the very brief intro segment of her walking through the back of the diner, getting her hair up 'for work' and the portion that actually fell at the end of the video. She wasn't a stranger to the out-of-order way that music video shooting with a story line tended to be, so going from entering the scene where she and Andy were meant to be meeting to the ending scene after he was apparently leaving her behind wasn't that odd for her. She was talking to Dave about what she would be doing next now that Andy was going to be filming, too, when the mentioned male came up beside her. The girl's brows lifted subtly at his hand at her back, but she looked at him with a smile all the same. His whispered compliment, though, had her squinting faintly as realization set in. Of course, he must have contacted someone on set to change the plan on her hair - she remembered now that he'd always preferred the natural curls of her hair than when she straightened it. There was a faint smirk lingering on her features as she walked away from their instruction with a slow shake of her head. Oh, Andy.

Standing on her beginning mark, Danae held her arms out for the couple plates of prop food that she, as the waitress in this diner scene, was supposed to bringing out to a table when Andy happened to notice her. She laughed through a 'no' answer to the question about whether or not she had ever waitressed before just a moment before a hand fluttered about to fix her hair and the color of her uniform costume. Everyone scattered after that and action was called. The sell was that she was supposed to notice him just before he noticed her, look a little surprised - because why wouldn't she, right? - and go about setting the food down on the table. She glanced in Andy's direction again after the food was set down, just like she was meant to, and then she lingered long enough for the few seconds of his continued look before cut was called. It was a short segment, considering, but she figured they'd have to do it a few times for technicalities sake. "Hey, I didn't drop the food, we have us a win." She announced, shimmying her hips in a happy dance before moving over behind the camera to look at what they'd gotten. "So, okay, see, right here?" Dave started, pointing at the moment when Danae first 'noticed' Andy, coming out of the kitchen. She nodded her head, she could see what he was talking about, and she owned it. "Sorry, I didn't realize I was smiling a little at him, I'll fix it." She confirmed. Dave chuckled, "Save those smiles, they're coming I promise, but it's surprise right now, okay?" She offered him a smile for now and a nod then before letting him say what he needed to say to Andy, too.

[dtwashington]

andyxsylvan·:

What was so unfortunate about this was that it felt so easy to do, it felt so easy to be with her and while Andy didn’t know for certain, it still worried him that that was going to be what got him hurt. That he was going to go all in with his heart and his feelings and maybe Danae wasn’t going to want any of that, or want him, maybe this was just a circumstantial thing, some pent up tension she’d needed to release and have it be over. He wouldn’t know until he asked, and he sure as hell didn’t plan on asking right this second. Either way he knew he wasn’t looking to get fucked up again by this girl, but he was pretty sure it was going to happen regardless of what he wanted.

Andy didn’t really know how these things went, the proper manners for these kinds of moments. He’d hooked up with a few girls sure, but never his ex girlfriend until now, and the sleepover bit never happened before. Offering breakfast felt like the right thing to do, considering they were going to be seeing each other for another few days. Nodding his head at her answer, he took a sip of his coffee then rolled his lips together as she continued, just barely squinting at her at the mention of her hair being straightened. He’d always preferred Danae with her naturally curly hair. “Okay.” Andy answered simply, then smiled softly at her, wondering idly where this might end up going for them again, wondering if it was going to come to a full stop after filming was done or if it’d just continue to get confusing. He didn’t know, all he knew is that he didn’t want it to end, but he also didn’t want to get hurt either. A complicated conflict, considering. His head nodded once again at her question, smiling as he thought of their activities of the night before. “I have a few other adjectives for it too, but fun works.” He offered, then took another sip of his coffee. “I can get you a car, to your place or to set if you need it?” Andy asked, pulling his phone out of the pocket of his jeans.

It was one thing to be working together, and something totally different to do what they'd done last night, and Danae knew that. She wasn't stupid - or, maybe that was a little up in the air at the moment. The smart person would have just given up the video job on their own. Definitely wouldn't have slept with the ex boyfriend. She liked to think that she would be a little more careful here on out, but given a very early track record already, some part of her knew better. It certainly had opened the floodgates on a lot of thoughts and feelings she had suppressed in the last year or so, so perhaps karma was making an appearance already. She continued to follow Andy's lead and stick with a casual approach, though, which was rather easy for her anyway. It was what had gotten her here in the first place, after all, right? She noticed the very tiny shift in Andy's expression, but she wasn't sure what it was aimed at, and she didn't ask.

Whatever barely lingering awkwardness there seemed to be was really what kept Danae standing where she was in the kitchen doorway instead of being in his space. There was a pull there, though, she couldn't deny that. The longer she looked at him across the small space, the harder it was not to instinctively move closer to him again. Between the actions of the night before and the thoughts running wild in her head now, she couldn't say that desire was a surprising one. Kinking a brow at Andy's comment, the corner of her lips ticked upward in subtle amusement. "Oh, is that right?" She challenged, a playful quality to his voice. She liked to think whatever adjectives they were, they were good ones, considering, but who knew at this point what with everything else going on beneath the surface. Lifting her head from leaning against the entryway, she wrinkled her nose faintly. "I'm good, I set up an Uber when I saw Anita's text, it should be here soon. But thanks, babe, I appreciate it." She smiled at him. Unable to help herself, knowing there was probably an inevitable amount of space they would be sharing later on on set anyway, Danae stepped over to where he stood, stopping in front of him. Casually, she made a careful reach for the mug of coffee in his hand and brought it to her mouth for a slow drink, brow raised at him over top. "I'll see you on set, yeah?" She asked, lifting the mug she had taken from him and smirking faintly as she tapped her free hand against his chest, then turned to walk away and leave with the coffee before he actually answered.

[dtwashington]

andyxsylvan·:

Andy had known as soon as he’d seen Danae the day before that this video shoot was going to lead to some tension just because of what the video was, but did he think that meant they were going to be cutting that tension so quickly together? Not really. In fact, when his phone started ringing with Danae’s contact on it, he was surprised more than anything. He’d planned on going home and working out the lingering tension himself, taking a cold shower and going to bed in hopes that the next day would be better, but after the very direct phone call and getting her in an Uber to his apartment, his night turned out to be completely different. 

Waking up in the morning, he blinked his eyes open to a still sleeping Danae, not that that was shocking. He’d always been the one to wake up first between the two of them. Not even bothering to put clothes on just yet, he showered quickly and shaved, taking the time to examine the purpling marks on his stomach and neck, something else that didn’t surprise him considering his company. The make up team would have fun with that later, to say the least. Pulling on briefs and jeans, he didn’t bother with a shirt as he went to the kitchen, turning on his Keurig and making himself a cup of coffee. Hearing Danae behind him, he looked over his shoulder at her, picking up his mug then turning around to lean against the counter. “Hey.” He answered, voice the tiniest bit horse from sleep still as he looked at her with a small smile. Letting out a chuckle, he nodded his head. “I’ll give them your condolences.” He nodded, then rolled his lips together. “Are you hungry? I was gonna make something to eat.” Andy offered. He knew that whatever last night was, one time thing or continuing circumstance, he was going to be confused about it, but he chose not to be in front of Danae, especially considering they still had work to do. 

Waking up in Andy's bed without Andy there had left Danae running through a few different situations in her brain. Thankfully, as she reached the kitchen and found that Andy was there, just making himself some coffee, it seemed like those less than pleasant options weren't anything she'd be immediately needing to deal with. Who knew what that meant for later, but at this point she just had to take shit one step at a time. Since she'd, you know, crossed a line already, and all. The couple marks at his abdomen and the one at his collarbone weren't entirely unusual, at least not in a them context, but she probably could have been a little more discreet about it, all things considered. Still, a half playful remark about an apology for them felt characteristic to her - if only because in the moment she was leaving them on him, the last thing she had been thinking about was any level of sorry she felt. She hummed out a laugh between rolled together lips at Andy's words, nodding her head.

The invitation to have breakfast there wasn't uncomfortable, but Danae still somehow felt a little bit like she was intruding. Andy seemed to be acting pretty normal, pretty chill, which - knowing Andy for a long time - either meant that he was suppressing exceptionally well, or a polar opposite and that he really didn't feel anything odd about what had happened. She figured it was more likely the first option, though. They had a job to do still, and Andy had made it rather clear that he wasn't taking the out that she offered, so despite another thought to put it out there once again, she bit it back. They were grown ups - sort of - whatever was going on between them outside of shooting this video could stay separate from the actual job. Theoretically, anyway. "I gotta get a shower and changed, actually, ‘cause I gotta get to set sooner rather than later. Got a text from Anita." She noted, holding up her phone in gesture. "They wanna straighten my hair, and that, as we know, takes a long ass time. Especially with these extensions." She snickered, sweeping dark curls over her shoulder. Leaning her head against the doorway, her gaze once again slowly dragged up over him where he stood, lips curling at the corners. Curiosity lingering beneath whatever continued casualness was there, Danae's brows lifted faintly, faint grin still present. "Last night was fun, though, right?"

[dtwashington]

Everything had somehow happened so fast but simultaneously moved in slow motion. Danae couldn't say she was totally surprised by the turn of events, all things considered, but still. Could she really be faulted? The tension in that studio room had been about as fragile as glass, and then their run-through's with the director present had just made it worse. 'It's right at the height of the song, right at that bridge, it's a big moment, in the song and the story progression. It's heavy, it's hot. I really want the artistry to reflect that kind of sexy, passionate, raw emotion there for the both of you.' He said. Well, they certainly had gotten there, hadn't they? She had every intention of going out, dragging Nova with her to a club, dancing with a guy or a few, maybe making out with one. She had steam to let off. Lots of it. Nova had plans with her boyfriend, though, and due to a handful of various reasons, Danae wasn't really in the business of going out alone. So she stayed antsy, unable to stay still comfortably in her apartment, debating a cold shower or whether she needed to pull out that secret stash shoe box and treat herself a little.

Then she called Andy, though. It didn't exactly take a whole lot after that. He'd gotten her an Uber to his apartment after a rather quick and to the point phone conversation. Everything after that was, well, a lot. Three times? Four times? It couldn't have been five, right? Maybe it was, she had been there all night. That was how she was finding herself waking up naked in his bed, after all. It was the dull ache that lingered in her muscles she noticed first. She danced enough to know it wasn't the studio time that had done that to her. She also remembered in very clear detail the various positions and locations within the apartment she'd been bent, gripped, pressed-- Well. She knew why she was a little sore, was the point. Groaning as she stretched where she laid on the bed, the girl's dark brows lifted as her movement didn't come into contact with the body that she expected to be present there with her. Propping upright, she blinked the remnants of sleep out of her eyes to find that, yes, sure enough, Andy wasn't in bed with her still. She was in his apartment, though, so she was hoping he hadn't left for whatever reason, because it would make things a little awkward at video shoots for the day.

Danae eased out of bed, seeking out her underwear and bra first. She figured if she didn't know whether or not Andy was even home still that getting dressed to leave was her best option. Not to mention the fact that after looking at her phone, she realized she had a text from Anita - her manager - about how she was wanted on set earlier than Andy so they could get her hair done, given it took a little extra time. She couldn’t seem to find her own shirt, however, naturally, and she wasn’t exactly planning on exiting in her bra. So she went to Andy’s dresser instead, grabbing one of his v-necks for the time being; she’d definitely give it back later. Probably. She was careful as she made her way down the hall toward the main living room and kitchen area, as if she might somehow wake someone else if she weren't quiet. Andy was in the kitchen once she started into the space, though, and she let out a quiet sigh in something that was more than likely relief. "Hey, mornin'." Danae greeted gently, leaning sideways in the doorway to the kitchen. She wasn't sure how this after process was supposed to go. Hitting a point of having to hook up after the built up tensions of yesterday's rehearsals, yeah, it made a lot of sense, but it didn't change their history, didn't change the potential for any awkwardness. She just hoped that she hadn't fucked anything up too terribly here. Eyeing him up slowly, her gaze paused over a couple of the notable hickeys left on his stomach, one at his collarbone, too. "If we’re doing anything where you’re shirtless today, tell the makeup team I'm sorry?" She offered in a snicker, gesturing toward his torso.

[dtwashington]

andyxsylvan·:

Some of this interaction he was having with Danae was shooting red flags into his head, some of it felt like it was crossing a line, but then some of it felt all too familiar to stop. The teasing, goating and pushing into the sexual tension they always had, it was one of the things they were always good at when they were dating, especially towards the end. Either way, he was going to be doing a lot of reflecting after this shoot came to an end, he was sure of that. He was going to have a lot more questions than answers and a lot more confusion than he’d had yesterday about how and why their relationship ended if this was still so easy for them, but he wasn’t going to dwell on that now. If Danae wanted to test him, he wasn’t going to backdown. 

Walking her backwards into the mirror, Andy didn’t move back or push himself away from being in her space. He wondered what was going on in her head, if she was thinking the same thing he was about how this felt so easy and normal for them even after the time they’d spent apart, wondering if she wanted him as much as he wanted her right then. They couldn’t do anything about it though, at least not right this second. Looking down at her with a particular glint in his eye, Andy breathed in sharply as her hands squeezed at his hair, his hand sliding from her hip down to her ass before his brain could even stop it. It sat there for a second before he squeezed over it firmly as if punctuating her sentence with the motion. Lips ghosting back against hers as he spoke, he blinked down at her. “I’m good.” His hand squeezed at her ass again, body pressing up against hers as he caught his teeth over her bottom lip, pulling at it slowly then watching it snap back into place. 

Maybe it was because this sort of thing was what their relationship had most recently been heavy on that made it feel so very easy for Danae to slip right back into. Of course, she always had been flirtatious, bordering on inappropriate, particularly in the physical sense. The fact that a solid eighty percent of her time acting in such a way was in fact with Andy had to add to the ease she felt in this moment, didn't it? She had to admit that he was dealing with it a hell of a lot better than she expected him to. Something in the back of her mind gently reminded her that this wasn't a game, though. Testing him a little bit or not, she still had to remain some level of cautious of feelings here, because there were a lot of them to be had between the two of them, and in particular, there were a lot of potentially bad ones she had to be aware of on Andy's behalf.

However, all that being cautious was rather difficult when Andy had her pressed into a mirror and was feeding into every challenging advance she made. Things had progressed further than she expected, further than she had initially planned on pushing them, even. They'd eased into territory that wasn't quite simply a test anymore, or at least it didn't really feel that way. Her lips parted once again, brow twitching upward at the sharp breath he took in. His hand falling against her ass had a faint smirk curl at the edges of her lips before she rolled them together to hum low in her throat when he squeezed at the spot. Heavy lidded eyes blinked in quick succession as his teeth tugged at her lower lip, Danae feeling a heat rising in her chest, spurring her on further, like she had to do something because this was beyond tension that could be cut with a knife at this point. Her fingers in Andy's hair tightened again as she leaned up, lips brushing his just as she was about to go in for the full press of her mouth to his.

Then the studio door opened. There was the faintest, low whine lingering in the way that Danae huffed out a short sigh as she slumped back against the mirror behind her. She could feel a warmth rise in her cheeks, and she was momentarily grateful for the fact that her skin tone left it hard to tell that she was flushed. Clearly, no one seemed to think anything of their close press together, given Vera's 'ooooh, we love to see a chemistry build.' Licking her lips, a faint breath of a laugh left Danae a moment later as she was worming away from Andy to go and shake hands with the video director and producer. Two individuals who also seemed like they were rather thrilled that it was her who was there. She wondered why, in this setting, considering. "Vera tells us you guys have really got all the steps for the choreography down already, that's awesome." Dave, the director, started in with a smile. "We wanna get a good feel for the flow of it, add in some specifics to character, camera block a little. So, it'll probably be another five or six times of run through, get it real perfect and polished and put together, alright?" Offering a smile that felt the slightest bit tight-lipped, Danae nodded her head. "Sounds good, let's do it."

[dtwashington]

andyxsylvan·:

While some of this felt odd, being around Danae like this, some of it felt familiar all the same. He was going to leave this rehearsal and probably the whole of this shoot more and more confused each day, if it was so easy for them, if things were good just like they had been when she’d ended things, then why did she end them? It was the question that had circled around in his head for the last year, but he wasn’t going to dwell on it now. They were working together, and he was going to take it day by day with Danae, because that was all he could do, right? His eyebrows lifted subtly at her offer to show him around LA. He’d been there for a few months and still hadn’t gotten out much. He’d turned 21 in January and barely even went out for it, he’d been working and hadn’t found the time, maybe the time had finally come. Again though, he was going to take this, Danae coming back into his life so suddenly, day by day. Nodding his head though, he smiled. “Yeah, that’d be good.” He answered finally, wondering if she meant the tour or not. 

There was a lot in the last few moments that had him reminiscing, moments flickering like a movie in his head as the girl he had spent so much of his time with for three years stood in front of him. Danae had always had some kind of hold on him, before they were dating, during and even now after, it felt so easy for him to just be a puddle on the floor around her, and that’s exactly how he felt looking at her, dancing with her, being around her right this second. She’d hurt him, more than he liked to admit, but still he felt willing to let her in to do it all over again. Her stepping into his space had his heart hammering in his chest, feeling the way she slid her hands up his chest and to the back of his neck. He wasn’t stupid not to realize this was a test for the out she’d just given him, and if she was going to test him, he was going to do what he did best, ace it.

“I’m comfortable with it.” Andy murmured lowly, looking down at her, the small gap between them more noticeable now. He fought back a shiver that desperately wanted to roll down his spine as her hands landed at the back of his neck. His hands twitched at his sides, trying to figure out the best way to go about this as he looked down at Danae, eyebrow lifting. “We’ll be on a bed,” one hand lifting finally to hook at her waist, not hesitating in walking them backwards into the wall of mirrors behind her, getting even more into her space as his other hand lifted above her head, leaning into her. “Lots of being in each others space like this,” Andy licked his lips, eyes flickering over her face before his gaze landed on her mouth then moved back to her eyes. “Lots of kissing and touching, hands and lips on skin.” 

With an offer to show him around LA sometimes and a bordering on inappropriate testing method, Danae was well on her way to getting herself into trouble in this situation. True, she had been the one to break up with Andy, and she hadn't really thought of that as a mistake. Things back then had been different, complicated, for a number of reasons. Maybe she hadn't done a good job at explaining them all, maybe there was a lot left to be understood on Andy's behalf because he didn't see things the way she did at that time. Whatever the case was, they were broken up, she'd done it, yes, no denying of that. Did that mean she didn't find herself still enjoying his company? No. Did that mean it was impossible for lingering feelings to rear up in this setting? Clearly not, as it turned out. And did it mean that she wasn't reeling a little bit in her own head about if and what kind of something this might all mean by the end of it all? Well. Things were shaping up to be complicated, but there she was, putting herself out there.

A twitched lift of her brow was given in reply to Andy's initial confirmation. He didn't make a move to touch her at first, didn't seem to notably react to what she was doing, either. However, that seemed to change as he got into more detail. Being guided back into the wall of mirrors was unexpected, Danae's lips parting just slightly as she took the backward steps with him, hands squeezing gently at the back of his neck. Her head lulled back against the glass, back arched still into him both away from the cool glass behind her and to press fully into him where he leaned into her now, too. She had to give it to him, he was proving his point better than she might have been prepared to give him credit for. Pausing to graze her teeth over her lower lip, she looked up at him with a slow blink of her eyes, pulling in a deep breath through her nose. One of her hands at the back of his neck dragged down his chest while the opposite hand dragged up into the back of his hair, fingernails grazing along his scalp.

There was a fleeting thought in Danae's mind that she would probably fuck Andy again, right then, right there, even. She gave two second's thought to trying it, even, but then she remembered that whether the attraction and the tension was there or not, this was a job. A job meant that other people - bosses, even - could walk in at any given moment. She didn't really need that on her resume, did she? Still, she did lean in closely to brush the side of her nose against Andy's, breathing shallow where their mouths were barely apart from one another's. Her fingers in his hair squeezed around the strands, her hand at his chest curling her fingers to trail her manicured nails over his shirt. "As long as you're good with it, Andy." She breathed, pointedly inching forward just enough that her lips ghosted his as she spoke lowly before she eased back to let her head lull against the mirror again.

[dtwashington]

andyxsylvan·:

Mentioning moving back to New York, Andy realized there was a whole year and change that they knew nothing about, and for two people that had spent years knowing nearly everything that went on with each other, it was a weird pill to swallow. “Yeah, I recorded my EP and then my album there, I’ve only been living in LA for about for months.” He nodded his head, then continued. “I like both equally but for different reasons, I probably would have stayed in New York but LA is easier for me right now.” He wondered idly if she even cared about this or if he was just talking to fill space. It was weird, knowing that after this video shoot they were probably going to go back to not talking at all, to just being someone from each others past and having no connection other than what happened here and what happened when they were dating. It hurt though, because if he could change that, if he could have her back now, he knew he would without question. 

Mentally kicking himself for letting the question slip out, he was still somewhat pleased to hear she wasn’t seeing anyone. He felt it was only fair to mention that he wasn’t either, just in case. Nodding his head at her question, he rolled his lips together. He didn’t say anything just yet, agreeing that he was good might have been a lie, but at least he could try to fake it well enough. Try being the key word. Her hands on his cheeks had his head practically spinning, but only in the way that it felt so familiar to him, a small smile lingering on his face when she dropped her hands, only to let out a laugh after the fact. “There’s no real good way to explain this video to a current relationship, yeah.” His hand lifted to rub at the back of his neck, rolling his lips together. As Danae continued, his brow creased downwards. She was giving him a very obvious out of this, that she’d quit if it was too hard for him, it confused him but he didn’t do voice any of that confusion. Instead, he shook his head. “I’m good, Danae.” He breathed, letting his hand fall from his neck. “We already know this works, the physical shit, so.” He shrugged a little, just hoping she’d take that as bait and run with it. 

Even in realizing that it was Andy she was working with and the time that had gone by since they had broken up, it hadn't fully occurred to Danae just how much that meant for them to catch up on. Of course, she knew that a lot had gone on in her own life in the last year or so, but even that hadn't dawned on her as something to think too much about. Was she curious about what he had been up to and how he'd been doing? Sure, especially now with him present with her. She just hadn't thought about just how much there was to be able to say to one another, given the circumstances. There was a small smile remaining on her features as she listened to him talk, explain what he'd been up to and where he'd been. She nodded along a little here and there, imagining it all. "I mean, we been knew I love LA." She noted with a light laugh. "If you're gonna be around for a hot minute, though, I can show you some cool places to go. If you want, I mean." She offered with a loose lift of one shoulder. If they could work together in a setting like this then they could hang out and talk casually, too, couldn't they?

The casual touches and the playful teasing in attempt to lighten the mood were common for Danae, and she knew that Andy was familiar enough with them. She hoped that given that knowledge it still helped him at all as opposed to making things worse. Without even thinking too much about it, she'd gotten to that out she had previously giving thought to offering him. It was true, though, that the last thing she wanted to do was make things harder for him. Regardless of how it did feel nice to be around him, to get to talk to him and see him, feel some of those good things that were characteristically Andy, she knew that she had hurt him when they'd broken up. It was only fair in her eyes to give him that option. Her brows lifted again as he seemed to dismiss it, reassure that it was fine. It was the follow up comment specifically about their physicality that had the girl's head tilting, however. There was a gentle baiting in there, she could tell, and there were two ways she could have gone with it, she wasn't totally sure which one was worse.

Probably the one she went with. Blinking slowly, she stepped even closer to him where he stood, much more notably in his space now as she looked up at him through her dark lashes. "And you're still comfortable with it?" As she lowly asked the question, her hands lifted to slide very slowly up from the middle of his abdomen, up to his chest. "'Cause you said there's a lot more than just the dance, right?" She clarified with a quirk in her brow as her hands continued up his chest, her body arching forward into his just slightly. It was as much taking the bait in a rather characteristic direction as it was subtly testing him, not to mention testing herself in a way, too, at this point. "I think 'locked in the hotel' is the line, right?" She eased more fully into his space now, body against his, hands sliding up either side of his neck, linking together at the back of it. "What are we doing in that scene, huh?"

[dtwashington]

andyxsylvan·:

The casual conversation was probably better for them considering the obvious tension they’d created in the air. Talking could only lead to so much, right? Letting out a chuckle at her response, he nodded his head. “Definitely going to be underwhelmed, it’s just a big fan blowing in our faces while we sit on a stationary motorcycle in front of a green screen.” He shrugged. “I tried to get them to actually let me ride a bike but it didn’t go over well.” Andy smiled, lifting a hand to ruffle it through his hair before it fell down to his chest, sliding there for another moment then falling to his side. “I don’t have that bike anymore actually, I sold it when I moved to New York.” He shrugged, a casual interjection of something she wouldn’t have known automatically. 

The question that managed to fly past his lips had Andy mentally cursing himself. Of all the things in the world to ask Danae, that was one he was most curious about but also least wanted to ask, which was probably why it ended up being blabbed out in the first place. Squeezing his eyes closed after he stammered through his lack of explanation for the question, Andy opened his eyes at the single word that left Danae, face softening the tiniest bit. For some reason, he expected her to be dating someone, probably because he knew how many guys in their home town wanted to date her and it only made sense for her to be dating someone new now, right? Her continued response and question had him twisting his mouth, biting down on the inside of his lip. “I dunno, just curious.” He shrugged, but some kind of relief was washing over him in that second, but even though he was relieved, he couldn’t do anything about it, could he? “I– I’m not either.” Andy started, cursing himself for this entirely choppy conversation he was having with Danae. So much for confidence, right? “Seeing anyone, I mean.” 

There was a grin lingering on Danae's features that she couldn't quite help, even further when she was letting out another laugh when Andy went on to describe what they were actually going to be doing. "Wild times, for sure." She snickered with a fluttered roll of her eyes. As he mentioned riding a real bike, she nodded her head, though her gaze followed the motion of his hand as it moved down to his chest. Her eyes dragged up from there, along the length of his arm to his shoulder, her lips twisting sideways. It was the mention of him having sold his bike that had her gaze shift back to his face. "So you moved back to New York? That's cool, you did seem to like it there." She nodded her head, small smile on her face. It was a detail she hadn't been aware of; she hadn't kept tabs on him after their breakup and her move back to LA, and it wasn't like her friends were keeping her updated now that they were separate. It made some sense, his going back there, it was probably how he'd been able to get more into his music at first.

She couldn't quite help that she was subtly amused by the way that Andy seemed unable to keep from asking what he had. It was unexpected to a certain extent, and it was clear as he continued to speak that it had kind of just slipped out. For a moment, she wondered what else was going on in his head that it was the first thing he thought to ask her. Standing closer to him, his answer caused Danae to smile a little more noticeably and nod her head. When he seemed to stammer over continuing, she let out a breath of a laugh, her hands lifting from her sides to his shoulders where she squeezed for a moment. "Are you good? Did the dancing burn you out a little bit? It's okay, babe, take a deep breath. Everything's cool." She smiled, figuring being light and at ease might help encourage him to do the same. It didn't faze her much, either, the casual use of a pet name of sorts. Lifting her hands from his shoulders, she moved them just to press over his cheeks for a couple seconds before they dropped entirely. "Probably a good thing you're not seein' anybody, though." She noted as she took a small step back from him, though it didn't move her terribly far from him. There was a lingering pause after the statement, leaving her meaning a little up in the air before she added something for good measure. "What with you pushin' me into a wall and whatnot." She smirked faintly and tilted her head. "On the real, though, I want you to tell me if at any point this isn't cool for you, alright? I'm not tryin' to make this difficult for you, and my ego's gonna survive losin' a job if it's gonna be better for you, that's what I care about, I mean that."

[dtwashington]

andyxsylvan·:

He was wondering if Vera could sense the tension between him and Danae, he wondered further after she left the room if they’d get over this or if it’d end up coming to a head. There was a lot of touching and intimacy planned for this video, and while he was going to do his best to push through it, it worried him the tiniest bit about where his feelings that he very obviously still had for Danae would stand, if they would talk again after this. It was hard to say now as she danced away from him over to her water bottle. He had lots of questions for her, things he wanted to know and felt like he couldn’t ask her while Vera was around, but she was talking before he could even get a word out. Head tipping to the side, he thought for a moment, a tiny grin on his face as he shrugged his shoulder up. “I get to green screen ride a motorcycle, that’s kind of cool.” He laughed out, nose wrinkled up. “We both do, technically, but..” Andy shrugged his shoulder up again, then rolled his lips together. 

He was realizing the longer he spent around Danae now the more normal it was starting to feel, and he didn’t know if that was a good thing or a bad thing. He’d spent months missing her and writing songs about the way he felt, then months trying to get over her for it to only be forgotten after seeing her again. He didn’t know what he was supposed to do about the way he was feeling right this second, and he had questions he wanted to know about her and the last year of her life, but the one that slipped past his lips before he could bite it back wasn’t the one he would have lead with. “Are you seeing anyone?” He had to physically hold back a wince, twisting his mouth to the side realizing there was no coming back from that, was there? If something burst through the ground and swallowed him whole he’d be totally fine with that. “I mean like..” Andy sighed, lifting his hand from his side to rub at the side of his neck. “Do you.. are you seeing anyone?” 

The casual and conversational question that Danae had asked had been just that, casual. It was a diversion, really, because there was a tension in the air that could be cut with a knife. She wondered if she were the only one aware of it, though, so shifting subjects seemed like a safe way to go. His answer had the girl letting out a laugh, her head tipping backward with the sound. The added detail of her getting to do it, too, had her lifting her brows, a faint grin still quirking at her lips. For a moment, she flashed back to being back home in Lakewood, the rides she and Andy had taken on his old bike, her dad's grumbling about 'her boyfriend's damn motorcycle.' Her gaze dropped from his face to his chest for a brief moment as a breath of a laugh left her paired with a fluttered blink of her eyes. "Probably gonna be a little underwhelming for me after getting the real thing, but." She shrugged with a faint smirk, gaze shifting back to his face once again. She wondered if his mind wandered to the same things that hers did, but she didn't ask.

Finishing off what water was in her bottle, Danae made a mental note to find herself a set refreshment table to grab herself a bottle later on - she'd found those were pretty common on music video sets. She was in the middle of setting her empty bottle back down in its place on the floor when Andy was asking a rather unexpected question. She looked back at him from her bent position still, a brow kinked in question for a moment before she stood fully and turned to face him. It certainly wasn't something she was anticipating being asked, but upon further reflection she couldn't say she was surprised he would ask after all, all things considered. She couldn't help but wonder what his purpose was in asking, but it wasn't like her answer was anything she was worried about anyway. "No," She started, the corner of her lips twitching upward faintly. "No, I'm not seeing anyone." She confirmed further. Perhaps daringly, she stepped closer to where he stood; not super close to him, but enough that she had to tilt her head a little bit to look up at him. Her gaze bordered just barely on coy as she blinked up at him and lifted one brow in question. "Why?"

[dtwashington]

andyxsylvan·:

Unfortunately, Andy knew that this wasn’t even the worst of what was in store for him and Danae. The choreography was a part of the video, sure, but there was a lot more intimacy for them to be sharing, and if they couldn’t get past this the rest of the video was going to be even harder. So, he went into this lift to prove a point that he wasn’t going to let any awkwardness get in the way of work. Stepping into the wall, Andy kept his gaze on Danae’s face, looking up at the girl he was very much not over as he held her there. There was very clearly chemistry between them even with a year apart, and for a split second Andy thought how that would be good for the video, but very bad for him. His head turned towards Vera where she was talking, still keeping Danae pressed against the wall as he focused on the other woman’s words, explaining what he already knew about the rest of the video. Feeling her hand at his chest, he licked his lips and looked back at her for a moment then slowly stepped back so she could land on her feet. 

Letting out a quiet laugh as she walked around him back to her mark, Andy’s gaze followed her as his hand lifted to run back through his hair, ruffling it subtly. “Either way we’ll be doing it more than once.” He answered, a subtle quirk in his brow as he dropped his hand back to his side, waiting for the beat of the music to start again. Once more they hit each mark and the movements were fluid, ending with Danae against the wall again and Andy didn’t take his gaze off her this time. His mind was racing for more than one reason, first of all how easy this was when he didn’t let his mind scramble it up, how he was sure that it looked good and that his director was going to have a field day, and how much he missed the way her energy would just radiate off her and make him feel good. 

Andy’s confidence had grown in the last year, with the music he’d put out and the following he’d gained it was impossible to not feel better about himself, but it was different than the way Danae was always able to make him feel, and he was remembering it right this second. Giving her side a squeeze, he loosened his grip on her side so she could slide down to the floor but he didn’t move away from her just yet. “I think we might have this down.” He murmured, eyes flickering over her face, finally stepping back from the girl and glancing at Vera, clearing his throat a bit. “What else?” 

As areas of the video went, Danae was probably the least worried about the dancing portion. Sure, circumstances were a little different here because it was Andy of all people that she was dancing with, and it was quite the sensual number on top of that, but she felt good about it. Her confidence when it came to the work that she did tended to be pretty high, because in her position - the girl that got hired, not the girl who was in charge - she always felt that she really had to bring it, she had to prove the fact that she was worth hiring, that she was good at what she did. It helped that she tended to feel like she knew she was good at what she did, too, of course, but just because she was aware of it didn't mean she was going to slack on letting the people she worked with know it, too. However, Andy already had that idea to a certain extent, working with her or not, so she probably might have been able to get away with trying a little less. She didn't, though, and between that fact and the complete lack of lost chemistry between them, she knew that this dancing portion of this video was going to be great.

The energy had changed a little, of course. Doing her best work meant being all in, meant really selling it. That wasn't a hard thing to do because she knew Andy, there was a familiarity in the motions that only the two of them could know about. She wondered idly if Andy felt that charge of nostalgia, too, if it made his mind a little dizzier with something a little more heady than just dancing together. Of course she wasn't planning on asking that, but she still wondered. They ran through the whole segment once again, and her gaze was just as intent on Andy as his seemed to be on her when he pressed her into the wall that second time. She leaned in a little closer this time, very nearly nudging her nose against his as her fingers had worked further into the back of his hair this time; like she just couldn't quite help herself in that kind of moment. Then he was letting her settle back down again, however, the girl licking her lips and giving a gentle nod of her head at his words.

Twisting her lips to the side, Danae made the smart move of stepping around Andy to stand beside him instead of between him and the wall still as she looked at Vera as well. "Well, we get the director and producer in here to check you guys out, and obviously Dave will give you guys whatever details he's looking for in terms of the acting that's added in. But honestly, you two are already killin' it. Usually the more hot and heavy pair pieces I have to work with take a lot longer to nail 'cause of the awkwardness factor and all, but you guys," Vera shook her head slowly with a grin. Danae lulled her head sideways on her neck, lips rolled together and eyebrows raised. Well, she wasn't going to be the one to explain why that was. "You guys are great. If you wanna take another break, that's totally fine, I'm gonna go touch bases with Dave and Kevin, and they'll probably wanna see what we've knocked out, alright?" Danae nodded with a smile at Vera before she was leaving the studio space, leaving the two of them alone. The girl bounced gently from foot to foot before dancing with a notable roll of her hips and sway of her body over to her water bottle, singing 'but every touch is ooh la la la, it's true la la la' under her breath to herself as she went. Turning once she was taking a drink from it, Danae lifted her brows at Andy when she finished, voice conversational as if to distract from the previous lingering mood. "Which part of this video is your favorite?"

[dtwashington]

andyxsylvan·:

It was hard to say what the next few days was going to bring to them, whether or not they would continue to see each other was completely up in the air and he didn’t know which one would be worse, seeing her again or not. He’d taken the last year and a half to really try to get over Danae, he’d been with other girls, sure but mostly he’d worked really hard on his music. He loved Danae, and he knew that the next few days with her were probably going to be confusing, but he really was going to try not to let it get in the way of the actual work they were doing together. 

Rolling his eyes as she caught onto one specific word he’d used, Andy waved a hand at her, knowing her reaction was merely out of the fact that he’d never used that word before, at least not around her. He didn’t miss the way she looked him over, something Andy had been actively trying not to do to her, she was gorgeous and he damn well knew it, but he wasn’t going to make it obvious that he was looking her over. Before he could let himself do so though, Vera was coming back and pulling them back into rehearsals. They went over the previous segment a few times before moving onto the next, the lift into the wall. He knew it was coming, it was one of the more choreographed moments in the whole video, so it wasn’t surprising that it was up next. Listening to the women explain it, he followed the motions carefully, eyeing each step and listening to the counts. Nodding his head when she finished, he looked at Danae, shaking his head a bit. “We’re good.” He laughed a little, licking his lips and getting on his mark. They ran through the first part to make it fluent into the second, letting her go then grabbing her with one hand, pulling her into his chest and sliding his hands up her sides then turning her face to him. That went into the new motion of the lift, the step back and Danae turning around to him and his hands going to her waist with her legs going around his, lifting her up and doing the quarter turn he was told to, stepping into the wall and pressing her back into it. It surprisingly didn’t take much, it felt oddly familiar of a motion for them if he were totally honest. Looking up at Danae, he swallowed thickly, licking his lips again before he looked over his shoulder with a grin as Vera excitedly cheered at them. 

Andy had a better idea of the visuals of this all, of what was coming next, of what went where, so Danae getting all of these steps, all of these details was new. She happened to spare a glance in Andy's direction when Vera asked them if they had any questions about what they were going to be doing, but between the lack of apprehension on his face and the answer he gave, she figured this couldn't be that bad. Because having your ex-girlfriend wrapped around you and pushing her into a wall was probably like, therapeutic or something maybe? Probably not? Regardless, it was what they were doing. Vera stepped off again so that they could get down to doing what she had just described themselves. Danae had a pretty good visual in her head of what had been explained, it was just fluidly getting to it that would be the work. She knew that she wasn't going to let any awkwardness get in the way, but that might have been a little up in the air for Andy, she didn't fully know.

Starting from the very beginning of the choreography, so from the first portion they had already gone through several times, that part was easy still. As he took his new, next step back, she took her own step-sway forward as needed and then turned back toward him. It was almost instinctive, the way that as soon as Andy's hands at her waist had her lifted off the floor, her legs very easily wound around him. There was the potential for stumbling, for being off balance or in an uncomfortable position, but that didn't seem to be the case, because her back was pressing into the wall on the right count. And it was an awfully familiar sensation. Evidently a year and some change apart didn't deter any relationship the two of them had with walls. Danae's hand lifted to slowly slide along the wall behind her as previous indicated, her head lulled back, lips parted subtly. Something was different in her gaze as she looked at Andy now, and it was probably a good thing that this job required some level of acting, because she could just attest it to that. Even if it wasn't. As Vera praised them excitedly for 'doing so good on just the first shot like that, wow' Danae found herself looking at Andy still, eyes dragging down the line of his jaw, trailing the curve of his lips where he grinned. She hadn't totally realized what kind of problems she might have in this setting, but leave it to getting pushed into a wall to bring those things to light.

"From there, like I said, not too much more dancing really. You're gonna real, real slow slide back down to your feet, but Andy doesn't even step back, you're just right there the whole time. Very heavy, very steamy. The big director boss man will give you whatever details he's looking for in that shot, though, I'm just the dance lady." Vera explained with a smile. Danae nodded once at the explanation before it finally dawned on her that she still was there against a wall with her legs around Andy. And what was weird was that it didn't really feel particularly weird. Sliding a hand down his chest, she tapped her fingers there pointedly for him to take enough of a step back so that she could detach from him for the time being. "Should we run it again, or were we that impressive?" Danae snorted lightly, stepping around Andy now to go on autopilot back to her beginning mark, figuring they were going to have to do this a few more times - whether her mind took that for a ride or not.

[dtwashington]

andyxsylvan·:

While Andy didn’t fully know if they’d actually end up talking after this was all over, he understood not wanting to talk about whatever happened right then and there. Considering they were both technically working and Danae had said it was a heavy subject, he knew it wasn’t the right time either. But either way, he was concerned now, and curious and regardless of the fact that they weren’t together anymore, he didn’t wish anything bad on Danae. She was a good person, a person that had been such a big part of his life for so long and even though it didn’t work he wanted what was best for her. 

Getting into an explanation about what the video was going to be like, he wondered if she could see it in her head the same way he could see it in his. He doubted it somehow considering he’d been the one to come up with most of the idea. Nodding his head at her comparison, realizing she was right, Andy dragged his teeth over his bottom lip for a moment. “Yeah, telling a story, so it’s not just a music video.” He offered, knowing what the Bazzi video had been like for her and knowing this was going to be a little different. “I think it’s gonna come out dope, so.” He shrugged, but then his eyebrows lifted up, letting out a laugh after the fact. “I dunno about everything but maybe most things.” His shoulder shrugged up a little, toying back at her as Vera came back into the space and got them back to work. 

Danae figured she probably would still have the balls later on to suggest that maybe they hang out and get the opportunity to talk more - about anything, really, not just the thing with Scott - so she didn't feel the need to bring it up now. Whether or not Andy agreed to that sort of thing was left to be seen, but she wasn't going to take it personally if he didn't want to hang out with her outside of work, all things considered. For now, it was about the job they were doing, and that was fine, that was part of this whole arrangement, after all. The insight into some of the video helped Danae get a better feel for the whole vibe they were going for. She had gotten a loose idea from Vera's basic explanation, on top of a general mood from just the level of dancing that they were doing, but more of visual could be given with Andy's description.

His commentary - or at least one word in it - stood out to her, though, causing her brows to lift once again as she grinned at him. "Oh, it's dope, huh? Alright, okay." She nodded her head, unable to keep amusement from being subtly present on her face. Letting out a hum, the girl squinted faintly at his loose argument, her head tilting as she gave him a quick once-over. She definitely could have argued further, let him know he was wrong, but between the details of situations between them and the fact that Vera was pulling them back from their break to get to dancing again, she refrained. They picked up where they'd left off, doing the same section another few times. Vera offered a couple critiques and suggestions here and there, and Danae was just as attentive as always, doing her job. After fixing up details in that first section, Vera was announcing that it was onto the second portion, which involved a lift. Danae stepped out of the way in order to let the choreographer give her example.

"So you ended here, like this from the step off." The young woman began, standing in the right position. Her back was facing Andy, probably about four feet between them. "Andy, you're going to take one step back before moving forward again. She's gotta turn toward you first, so you're gonna time your steps on the count." Vera paused and did it just right, counting aloud and turning in the way Danae was going to be meant to so that they reached their meeting point at the right time. "Now, I'm not going to jump on you," She laughed, hands on Andy's shoulders. "But right here, at this point that you've both stepped back to each other at, Andy, you pick her up at the waist. Danae, your legs wrap around him, we're selling the passionate, all that raw emotion right." Danae's head cocked just barely to the side, lips pursed; as if 'raw emotion' wasn't the description she'd give to her wrapping her legs around a dude. Vera didn't notice, she just continued. "From that lift, it's a quick quarter turn, and step, step, step, til you reach the wall." She took the mentioned steps and turned so that her back was against the blank wall in question. "From there we can work in a nice little hand drag down the wall, and then it's not really dancing from there." Vera seemed to finish, showing what she meant with her own hand before stepping closer to them again. "Questions?" Danae's brows eased upward now, head lulling a little further to the side, tongue dragging along the inside of her lower lip. There were only a couple of seconds, the corner of the girl's lips ticking upward, before she spoke on her own behalf, "Nah, should be easy enough."

[dtwashington]

andyxsylvan·:

Taking the break they were offered, Andy hadn’t intended on asking about Scott and whatever Vera had mentioned, but his curiosity had gotten the better of him. He’d known the video that she’d mentioned, Danae had done it while they were still dating but anything after that he didn’t know. He hadn’t kept tabs on her. He’d promptly deleted her off social media after she’d broken up with him because he knew he’d want to look her up, want to see what she was up to and that wasn’t healthy for him. So whatever had happened, he didn’t know. And asking, though he really meant it when he said she didn’t have to answer after the fact, that it wasn’t his business, didn’t mean he wasn’t still curious, especially considering the tone of voice she took when it had been brought up. Hearing her answer to his question he only grew more concerned, wondering what had happened to make her not comfortable to talk about it right then. Still, he nodded his head, respecting her request but wondering idly to himself if they’d ever get a chance to actually talk about whatever it was, considering. 

He could tell she was trying to lighten the mood, and he welcomed it fully. Head lulled in her direction, Andy wrinkled his nose a bit, shaking his head. Whatever it was, he wanted it to come from her anyway. Turning to press his shoulder into the mirror now, he ruffled a hand back through his hair habitually, he shook his head. “We meet at a diner you work at, kind of have this whirlwind of a romance then it doesn’t workout.” He answers simply, shrugging up a shoulder. “There’s a hotel room scene, cause of the line in the song and the dancing we’re doing right now.. It’s a lot of close proximity and touching, lots of in each others space, if you couldn’t already tell.” Andy answered, rolling his lips together for a brief moment. “Like I said, probably better you’re not a stranger.” He breathed out, but his mind flashed to his girlfriend and he wondered once again if he should call her, or even mention her to Danae but decided against it again. “I wear suspenders at one point, so that’s interesting.” Andy chuckled, trying to lighten the mood a bit. 

Whether or not her implication that she would be willing to talk to him about the subject later on had an opportunity posed, Danae wasn't sure. The one thing she was sure of, though, was that it was not the time or the place. Dance rehearsals for a music video aside, it was also the first time they had even seen each other since they had broken up. Both details didn't exactly make it a good time and place to have a discussion about something so unpleasant. Thankfully, though, the attempts to transition away from the matter and onto lighter subjects was taken to easily enough. Danae didn't dwell too much on whether or not she would actually get around to telling Andy. Given their current circumstances, the timing would probably be off anyway. She also didn't want to be presumptuous and assume that just because they could work together and remain casual that it suddenly meant they were going to be alright around each other again in general, enough to hang out. Would it be cool? Definitely. Was she holding her breath on it? Not exactly.

Asking about some more details of the plan for the video was as much a shift in subject as it was to ebb Danae's curiosity. Sure she would have gone into it still with the same enthusiasm and dedication whether she knew all the details up front or not, but she did enjoy being in the know. Nodding along as Andy explained, her eyebrows eased upward at first before she had to roll her lips together. It was a hell of a video to be working together on after being broken up with each other for a year, but she hoped they'd power through. "So like, kinda what I did with Bazzi? But like.. closer?" She couldn't help but let out a little laugh with her words. The video she had done with Bazzi she had played the girl he was involved with, and they'd had a couple shots cuddled up, slow dancing, even getting close to kissing, in between shots of them separate or being upset. It was all to tell a story. Based on the dancing thus far alone, she figured this was going to be a little more intense. Who she was doing with added to that intensity, too, of course. Head tipping back with a laugh at Andy's tacked on wardrobe detail, her smile was bright, amused when she looked at him again. "I mean, everybody been knew you look good in everything, so they had to, right?" She toyed with a grin.

[dtwashington]

andyxsylvan·:

He hoped that he was capable of holding himself together at least for appearances sake, this music video was going to be good for him, maybe even a break he needed into the music world and he didn’t wane to have anything take away from the hard work he’d been putting in for the last year. Even though he probably should have taken the out Danae was offering him for more than one reason, he wasn’t going to. His head shook the tiniest bit, brow creased downwards. “I’m good.” His lips twitched upwards in a small smile. He was going to do his best to keep this professional, even if they were going to be in each others space in ways they absolutely had been before. Thankfully though, before he could dwell even more on the fact that he was going to be dancing very intimately and ultimately kissing his ex girlfriend, Vera was waving them apart to start rehearsing. 

He was paying close attention to the counts and what she wanted him to do with his hands and with his body, he was a fast learner, but dancing had never been something he’d put much into because he’d never had to do it. Still, he was trying. Learning the next sequence, he listened as it was explained then practiced it with Vera before Danae was going to step in. His expression changed as the two women spoke though, not missing the name of the song Danae had done a video for with Scott, and not missing the way Danae flatly said his name either. He hadn’t done much checking up on Danae after she’d broken up, he put a lot of his energy into music after, moving to New York and recording an EP then moving to LA himself, and even though he knew she was there he’d never reached out to her, why would he, considering. Still, something bothered him about the way Vera apologized and the way Danae had said Scott’s name, like bad blood was there and he didn’t know about it. As she stood in front of him, he looked at her with a vaguely confused and concerned expression before they went back into the rehearsing. 

It was all happening pretty easily, Andy was getting the movements and Danae was doing them perfectly, as he would have expected from her. Still, like he’d hoped it might, the being close with her, making the intimacy work between them wasn’t hard, and he didn’t know if that was a good thing or a bad thing, the fact that it felt natural to touch her even if it didn’t feel natural to dance yet. Stepping off to the side to check his phone when they were waved off for a brake, Andy’s gaze followed Danae over to her water bottle then stayed on her as she came back over to him. Stuffing his phone in his pocket with a quick text back to Rylee, he nodded his head with a smile. “Yeah, I’m alright.” He cleared his throat, leaning back against the mirror. “It is easier, it being you not some random stranger I’ve got to dance with, I decided.” Andy lulled his head in her direction, a tiny smile on his face but it faltered a bit, thinking back to the moment when Vera apologized quickly after making a comment. “What was Vera talking about, earlier, when she apologized?” His face scrunched up a bit, shaking his head. “Sorry, it’s not really any of my business, you don’t have to answer that.” 

Danae wasn't an idiot, she knew rather well already that the chemistry was there between her and Andy to make whatever they were seeming to go for in this music video work. She didn't know precisely what else was to come for the rest of it, but even so far in the section of dancing they had worked on, it was notable enough that they didn't seem to struggle with what they were doing. Getting to take a break, Danae once again felt like it was kind of necessary to check on Andy. Given the subtle tells of his reservations about the circumstances prior to getting into it, it seemed like the right thing to do. Twisting the cap on her swell again, she looked at him with a small smile of her own, nodding her head at his answer. "That's good, right?" She clarified. She figured it was probably a solid fifty-fifty on whether or not that was the case. It really could be good or bad to feel that comfortable, physically, with your ex still.

The question he posed about the moment between her and Vera had the smile faltering from her face, her lips pressing together. She wasn't mad that he had asked, and she couldn't even be mad at him for not knowing what that had all been about, either. It wasn't like she had kept tabs on him, either, why should he have done the same? Scott Donland wasn't a big name, and in fairness, neither was hers. If he wanted to find out what had gone on between the two of them, he had to have been paying attention to one or both of them, and why would he be? Still, in a dance studio during a rehearsal for the first day of shooting a music video together didn't totally seem like the right place to tell her ex-boyfriend that the scumbag she'd worked with more than once had assaulted her. "No, no, it's uhh-- You're good asking, I'm not mad or anything." She affirmed, pausing to tap her long manicured fingernails against the outside of her metal water bottle. "It's just kinda heavy, though." She started, tilting her head. "Supremely not great, so like," Danae shrugged her shoulders and paused again to let out a small sigh. "I dunno that, like, here and now is the place to talk about it, y'know?"

As if to lighten the moment, she tacked on a "You could always google it." But then her face scrunched up and she shook her head. "Nah, don't google it. People had stupid shit to say about it all, I'd rather you get it from me." Bending to set her water bottle back down on the floor against the edge of the mirror, Danae stepped around to stand in front of Andy a moment later. In further, hopefully more successful attempt, to take a lighter turn in their conversation, she offered him another small smile. "You wanna tell me more about what this video concept is, or am I supposed to be surprised?" She asked, kinking a brow at him and loosely folding her arms across her chest. "I mean, we know I like surprises, but."

[dtwashington]

andyxsylvan·:

Part of him a what he’d done to deserve this, why this was happening to him but the logical side knew that it was just a very big coincidence, and no one on his team had known that the girl they’d hired had been his ex girlfriend. He needed to take a moment, to get all of his uncovered feelings and questions compartmentalized before he could go back out there, he needed to take time to get his shit together basically, or else the video would end up like shit. So after taking ten minutes to do exactly that, he went into the dance studio where Vera and Danae were waiting for him. Stepping up to the women, he listened to the answers to his questions that were given to him, head nodding. Ruffling his hand through his hair, he breathed out through his nose in a soft sigh, turning to Danae when she spoke to him. “Yeah, I’m good.” He nodded, then rolled his lips together. “Maybe it’ll make it all easier, knowing each other.” Andy offered with a quirk of his brow, trying to justify this situation with the fact that he could have been having to press all up on a stranger, which might have felt only a touch more awkward than this. Maybe. 

Asking Andy if he was okay seemed like a needed thing to do to Danae, even if it wasn't necessarily the most. She liked to think that she knew Andy well enough, sure it had been a year but that couldn't have changed too much about the kind of person that he was. Which meant she had a pretty decent idea of how hard this could potentially be for him, whether he would admit to it or not. It was his follow-up answer about it being easier since they knew each other that had the girl sucking through her teeth thoughtfully. "If it's too weird, though, just-- let me know." She offered, leveling him with a subtly serious look. It wasn't the full presentation of stepping out, of completely giving him the option to have her not even try this first, but it was something. Vera was waving them apart before they could really speak too much more on the subject. There were a few moments of example given, Danae attentive on what the choreographer was showing to them. It was easier for her to give examples now that Andy was there and she could showcase the pair dancing that was being done, even though she was showing Andy just as much as she was showing Danae.

She watched as Vera did the slow counts with Andy first. They were running through it a second time, right at the point where Vera dropped backward and Andy caught her with one arm, then did the same with the second arm, when familiarity clicked in Danae's brain. It evidently had in Vera's, too, because she paused in the instruction before she was meant to turn so that her back was to Andy's chest. "Wait, you shouldn't have a problem with that one, right? 'Cause you did a similar one in Pullin' My Hair with--" Vera cut off, realization dawning on her once again. Danae kept a straight face, tone dry and flat when she said, "With Scott. Yeah." "I'm sorry, that was super insensitive, I didn't even think about it before I said it. I just remembered the video and it hit me. I'm so sorry." The young woman apologized hurriedly, shaking her head. Danae shrugged and pushed off the wall she leaned against. "After that it's a half turn to have my back against him? His hands down my sides, my hands down his neck, turn my face, then step off. That's all before we get to the next point, right?" Danae clarified, indicating both that she had been paying attention and that she was dismissing the other brief subject matter. Moving to her starting spot a short distance from Andy, she took a moment to look over his face, though tried not to dwell on any expression lingering there as she nodded a go ahead for the music to play again.

As the music began and Vera started doing the counts for them along with it, Danae stayed focused on the task at hand. This was a job, after all. Regardless of who she was doing it with, she took it seriously, and it was important that she still did her best work, stayed committed to the presented artistry. Which - potentially unfortunately - meant that she was very good at doing what was required of her; the fluidity of her body, the swaying in closer, the drags of her hands. Maybe it was the fact that it was Andy she was doing the dance with that made her so much more hyper-aware of it all. She certainly didn't think she was so attentive when she had worked on other videos in the past. Attentive enough to do a good job, sure, but not attentive enough to know how good she was doing, how present she was with who she was with. They started from the top and also ran through the section a second time, ending right with Danae's back to his chest and Andy's hand tilting her jaw to look back at him just before she stepped away from him. Vera clicked off the music and let them know they could take five before they ran through it a couple more times, straighten out any remaining little kinks. Moving over to where she'd left her water bottle, Danae picked it up to drink from it as she moved back over to Andy, brows lifted over her drink before it lowered from her mouth. "Still doin' alright?"

[dtwashington]

andyxsylvan·:

Seeing Danae sitting in the dressing room, Andy at first was surprised. There was a moment where he wondered if he was going to be able to do this, knowing what the music video was going to be for the both of them. He’d thought he was going to be doing all of it with a stranger, with someone he’d probably never see again, not with a girl he’d dated for three years of his life. It was going to be interesting to say the least. He was thankful so far that he hadn’t said or done anything completely idiotic, but he apparently had plenty of time to embarrass himself. Nodding his head as he inched back from the hug, he kept the smile on his face as his hand lifted up to rub at the side of his neck. “I’m alright.” He laughed airily, trying his best to stay casual about all the questions he had in his head and the slightly uncomfortable tugs in his stomach. 

“Thanks, yeah, I’m kind of proud of it.” Andy nodded his head a few times, letting his hand finally fall from his neck. He let out a laugh at her comment, hand lifting from his side to teeter back and forth. “Probably true.” He grinned. His head really was spinning, he had so many questions and thoughts about if he was going to be able to do this or not when Danae was speaking again. “Yeah, yeah, you go ahead, I’ll meet you guys in there.” He nodded, still offering her a smile and waiting until she got fully out the door for him to run his hand back through his hair, tugging at the longer curly locks there while he breathed out a sigh. “What the fuck?” He asked to the silent room, plopping down onto the couch there as he pulled his phone out of his pocket. Twisting it in his fingers, Andy rolled his lips together as he slumped back in the chair. For five minutes Andy sat there trying to figure out if he should call his girlfriend, let her know what was going on or if he should just get up and go get this over with. It took another few minutes for him to pull himself off the couch and walk to the rehearsal space they had, stopping just inside the door way to watch the way Vera was already working with Danae. “Hey, sorry.” He smiled, entering the space a little further. “Did you get the whole breakdown of the video or..?” 

There was an odd sort of back and forth feeling, Danae realized. Things seemed casual, but it was the smallest change in tone, or a short answer, or anything else of the like that made it teeter on awkward, despite her hoping to be able to avoid that. What was really to be expected, though, given the circumstances? She couldn't exactly expect for Andy to be excited to see her, or fully chill about the fact that they would evidently be working together. She wasn't totally relaxed about it, either, she just knew how to fake it better. Not to mention the fact that she knew that he had a lot more right to feel weird about it than she did, considering she had been the one to do the breaking up with him and not the other way around. As he mentioned meeting her and their choreographer in the studio, Danae had a second's thought once again to offer up to him that she could bail out of the job if it was going to be too hard for him. Whatever weirdness she may feel, whatever mixed feelings it stirred up in herself could be ignored easily enough to get the job done, but she definitely didn't want to push through if it was going to be something that was too rough on him. He seemed to need a minute, though, it wasn't the right moment to make that sort of offer, so she went off to find the studio instead.

Leaving her cherry printed water bottle against the mirror, Vera hugged her in her excitement to work with her a moment after, earning a laugh from Danae. She got a very loose, basic breakdown of what the general idea for the video was going to be like, not too many details. She couldn't exactly blame Vera for that; she was just there to teach them the dancing part, she wasn't the director, she wasn't the one with all the ideas. Still, what small information she was given indicated that there was going to be a whole lot of close proximity for the two of them. They were barely into any slow walk-through on the dance they were going to be working on when Andy came in. "I gave her details, but we didn't get too far without you yet." Vera answered for her. "I got a general, we're across the room from each other then come at each other and get real into it idea for this part, yeah." Danae added with a light laugh. Glancing at Andy as he got closer to her, Danae lifted a brow as Vera moved over to where her phone was connected to a speaker for their music. "You good?" The girl asked quietly as Andy was near enough. It was a minuscule attempt, really, and it wasn't the offer to leave that lingered in her mind, but it was something.

[dtwashington]

andyxsylvan·:

Andy had done a few music videos before, but this one was definitely the biggest he’d done. He was starting to get more buzz around his name, starting to move up and was finally getting radio play with a song, so it only felt right to do a music video for it, and he wanted it to be a good one too. The ideas he’d worked out with his team were in full motion now, and he was finally rehearsing and shooting it. The last year and a half had been a little crazy for him, but he’d done a lot of changing and growing up too, which made him feel even better about the place he’d started in. He didn’t know who they’d got for the female roll in his video, his team had told them they’d picked someone who had dance experience and music video experience too, but there weren’t any names dropped, so he hoped at the very least she wasn’t going to mind getting up close and personal with him, professional or not. 

Getting through wardrobe and some solo shots for himself, Joy, his manager came and told him he could take a break and go introduce himself to the girl who’d arrived for the video. Taking a quick minute to down a bottle of water, he headed to the dressing room on the set, knocking gently and opening it when he got the go ahead from the person on the other side of the door. But when he opened it, and saw who was sitting there, the polite smile he’d had on his face faltered notable. Danae Washington was sitting in the chair by the vanity, adjusting the hem of her pants as he blinked at her. “Danae.” He breathed out, a surprised look on his face for a few seconds before his gaze softened, shaking his head at her remark, him obviously not knowing it was her either. “Hey.” Andy answered simply, the sound of the girl he’d loved saying his name twisted uncomfortably in his gut for a moment but he pushed through it, a smile coming back on his face now. “How are you?” He asked, walking over to her and opening his arms for a hug, determined to not make this any amount of painful for either of them, but especially him. Danae had broken his heart, bad, and while it took a while to mend what had been hurt, he was doing better now, but was that supposed to make it easier to see her suddenly? To work with her? Probably not. Inching out of the embrace, he smiled down at her, heart racing in his chest as fast as his mind was going in his head. “Well, shit.” He laughed lightly, shaking his head a little. “Small world, right?” 

Based on the way that he seemed to be an immediate combination of surprised and confused, Danae safely assumed that Andy hadn't had a clue that she was who they had hired to do this video shoot with him. She had never particularly been an awkward person, but she'd also never had a boyfriend outside of Andy to have the awkward ex-encounter with, either. Still, her reigning confidence seemed to win out, because as odd a feeling it might have rendered, she decided she wasn't going to let this be weird. They had work to do. "I'm good, I'm good, yeah." She answered with a smile of her own, moving to return the hug that he offered her. She appreciated the gesture, even though she couldn't tell whether or not it was hard for him to do it. "Apparently so are you." She tacked on with a light laugh as they eased back. It was in reference to his work in music more than anything, though there was a quick once-over that her gaze took over his appearance, too. It wasn't like she knew much of anything about what else was going on in Andy's life anymore. She hadn't exactly been keeping tabs on the guy that she had broken up with, whether there had been a few times he'd crossed her mind or not. 

"Song's a bop, I won't even front. Nova and I worked out part of a video to it, actually." She added still, grinning faintly. Letting out a more notable laugh as he commented on the coincidence of them working together, she shrugged her shoulders loosely. "We grew up in Lakewood, I think we're used to the weird coincidental shit by now." She pointed out. For a brief moment, she thought that perhaps she should offer him some kind of out, mention that if he weren't cool working together that she could tell the director and producer that it wasn't going to work out. They probably still had their backup's number, they could get her there and it wouldn't delay his video too much. Whatever small inclination she had to do so, though, wasn't enough, because she didn't make the offer. She figured she'd wait it out, test the waters a little, so to speak. Things seemed a comfortable enough level of casual between them for now, so that was promising. "Vera said we'd meet her in the studio, right?"