Work Text:
2015
“Wait, Jody doesn’t know yet?” Ryland asked, a mischievous grin forming on his face.
Colt shot him a warning look.
“I don’t know what?” Jody leaned closer.
“It’s nothing,” Colt said, reaching out to grab her hand.
“The Colt Seavers Butt Double Incident of 2007!”
“Nope! Babe, don’t listen to him. My brother gets drunk easily.”
“No, I don’t—”
“And he’s a lying drunk. Can’t trust a word he says after a few drinks.”
“Hmm…” Jody mused, barely suppressing a smile.
The three of them were at a bar in Los Angeles.
After the fiasco that was Gail and Tom Ryder and getting framed for murder, Metalstorm managed to wrap filming several months ago. Thank God Jason Momoa had been available to replace Tom. With the movie finally in the post-production phase, Colt was no longer needed.
Colt’s life was finally back on track after two years of injury, recovery, existential crisis, and self-imposed loneliness. Soon he would resume looking for stunt work again, but for now he just wanted to enjoy being alive.
He also wanted to enjoy getting the girl of his dreams back.
Jody Moreno was here to stay.
Colt could finally—finally!—introduce her to Ryland. It was long overdue.
When they had first started dating, Colt told Jody that he had a twin brother, though she never got to meet him. Their relationship had been so new that the ‘meet the family’ milestone felt premature. Too soon.
Colt had also called Ryland back then to tell him he was seeing someone new, that he was so sure Jody was “the one.” He wanted to tell him in person, but Ryland had just moved to start his teaching job at the Grover Cleveland Middle School so they couldn’t meet face-to-face.
At the time, Ryland was in the middle of a 3-year relationship that began while he was getting his PhD.
Colt always had his doubts about that relationship. Ryland never seemed that into it, missing a lot of the passion that you’d expect, but Colt held his tongue. Maybe Ryland’s version of romance just took on a different form.
“How do you know she’s the one?” Ryland had asked over the phone.
“It’s hard to explain,” Colt said, bouncing his leg. “Whenever she’s in the room, I find it hard to pay attention to anything else. And when she’s not in the room, I wonder where she is. When I have a bad day, I only have to talk to her for five minutes and I start feeling okay again.”
There was a long pause on the other end of the line. “I see. She sounds amazing.”
“She is! I should introduce you two someday.”
Ryland laughed. “I’d really like that.”
Just one month after that phone call, Ryland and his girlfriend broke up. Colt didn’t know if he should feel bad. In any case, Ryland didn’t seem torn up about it at all.
Unfortunately, a certain accident happened not long after.
It would take about two more years for Ryland and Jody to actually meet.
To Colt’s relief, it went off without a hitch.
Jody was the nicest girl he had ever met. She was attentive and accommodating, even as a director having to wrangle together an entire set. She was very good at making the conversation flow seamlessly between anyone.
Ryland, when you get down to it, was a charming and funny guy. Kinda awkward and anxious in social settings, but overall good-natured.
Don’t get it twisted though: he had an attitude. In the past, he hadn’t been great at controlling his temper, leading to a lot of grief both in his professional and personal life. But everything that happened over the years really took the wind out of his sails and mellowed him out.
Colt always knew that his brother wasn’t a bad guy. There was just a lot of pain in their past. Ryland didn’t know how to cope with it and Colt didn’t know how to help him with it.
That was over now.
They’d come out the other side stronger and closer than ever before. Ryland was happy now, and eager to meet Colt’s girlfriend.
Colt was relieved that the two most important people in his life had hit it off and got along well.
Almost too well.
“No, no,” Jody said. “I wanna hear this. Tell me, my dear Ryland, what is the Colt Seavers Butt Double Incident of 2007?”
“Well, my esteemed Jody, back in 2007—”
“La la la la la I can’t hear youuuu!” Colt interrupted, covering his ears.
“Man, are you five years old?” Ryland smacked him with his noodle arms. “If you don’t tell her, I will.”
“C’mon, babe,” Jody leaned against him and gave him the doe eyes. “I wanna know, please?”
Colt was weak. “… Fine.”
“Start from the beginning,” Ryland said, eyes shining with mischief.
“So… eight years ago—”
2007
The eggs sizzled in the pan. Colt transferred them to his plate alongside the mound of corned beef and oats. He sliced up a banana and drizzled just a little bit of chocolate syrup on top.
He needed to bulk up, which meant a lot of lean protein, carbohydrates, fruits and veggies, and fiber. Now that Colt was enrolled in stunt school, he had to take his diet seriously.
Colt took a second to check his reflection. He flexed his arms and posed, sticking his tongue out. Progress steady.
With that, he—
2015
“Dude, when I said ‘start from the beginning’ I didn’t mean give us your whole morning routine!” Ryland exclaimed.
“Oh sorry Ry,” Colt said sarcastically. “Maybe you should’ve been more specific!”
Jody burst out laughing. It was a beautiful sound. Colt wanted to hear it more.
“Get to the point!” Ryland griped.
2007
At 19, Colt quit his retail job to make time for stunt school, but he still needed to pay rent. Thankfully, he lived just outside of San Francisco. Far enough from the city center to have a reasonable cost of living but close enough to commute regularly to one of the best filming hotspots in the country.
This meant he could pick up work as an extra, stand-in, or body-double for any ongoing productions. Colt had been doing those as side gigs since he graduated, but now they were his entire income. One day, hopefully soon, stunts would be taking up his schedule full-time.
Colt sat down at his desk, turned on his laptop, and checked his emails for any work updates.
When he first got started, Colt was surprised to find out there were agencies for doubles. He thought that sorta thing was reserved for actors. The more you know.
His favorite agent was a woman named Allison. She was diligent. Every day, she sent extremely detailed casting calls and job listings for him to peruse. So detailed, in fact, that he never bothered reading them in full.
Colt always skimmed them. He was a little bit guilty about that, ignoring most of her hard work. He’ll have to send her flowers on her birthday.
Today, there were three new emails in his inbox.
Rubbing his hands, Colt said, “Alright, what’ve we got?”
Urgently seeking:
Male body double
Caucasian
Body type: toned
Height: 5’10-6 ft.
Non-speaking role
The character will be required to run several streets. No stunt experience required.
No scene partners.
This character will be bare-chested, barefoot.
There were other stuff on the list, but he didn’t bother reading it. He got the picture. This role wasn’t bad. Sounds like they wanted to film some running sequences but the actor couldn’t be assed to do it himself.
Casting Call for:
Male body double, hand double, photo double
Caucasian
Dark blonde hair
Body type: muscular
Height: 6 ft.
The role involves being doused in water.
No scene partners
This character will be bare-chested, barefoot, bare legs, bare hands
Also not bad. He could handle being doused in water. Perhaps for a swimming scene? It was the only one not listed as “urgent,” which meant filming would probably be another day, which means more free time to work out and practice stunts. The pay was also the highest on the list. There were no downsides to this.
Urgently seeking:
Male body double, hand double, photo double
Caucasian
Body type: toned
Height: 5’11-6 ft.
The character will be filmed with multiple scene partners in various locations.
The character will be bare-chested, bare hands.
This one was a bit more vague. It didn’t really give him a description of what he’d be doing, and honestly Colt didn’t really like working with scene partners.
‘Doubling with scene partners’ usually meant one of the actors couldn’t make it that day and they needed someone who looked similar to film some over-the-shoulder stuff to trick audiences into thinking it was actually them.
Which meant Colt may have to stand opposite an obnoxious actor for an entire day.
No thanks.
Colt returned to the the second casting call on the list, gave it one last skim, took one look at the generous pay, and sent Allison an email confirming his choice. It was up to her to send them his resume and wait for them to accept.
Within half an hour, Colt got an email that he got the job along with a briefing about the role.
He was booked.
2015
“You didn’t read the fine print?” Jody asked, a look of horror dawning on her face.
“He didn’t read the fine print,” Ryland shook his head solemnly.
Colt rested his head on the table, arms folded around him. “Yeah, okay that one’s on me.”
“Where is poor Allison now?” Jody frowned.
“Doing her job,” Colt said, voice muffled by his arms. “I still send her a bouquet every year.”
“Aww, what a gentleman,” Jody said.
“Y’know what, I need a refill,” Colt said, bolting up.
“But it’s just getting good!” Ryland protested.
Colt dashed to the bar before they could stop him.
“He’s stalling,” Ryland said.
“Definitely stalling,” Jody agreed. “I feel kinda bad, should we really keep pressing him like this?”
“Yes, you need to know. It’s very topical to his life as of late.”
“Topical?” Jody looked confused. “What do you mean?”
Ryland leaned down, whispering conspiratorially, “Nobody knows this… a lot of agencies have tried to cover it up over the years. But this incident was the very first time Colt met Tom Ryder.”
2007
Colt arrived at the set exactly at the designated time. After confirming his identity with the crew, he headed to hair and makeup.
“My name’s Sarah. Have a seat,” the makeup artist said.
“Nice to meet you, Sarah,” Colt said. It seemed that the actor he was doubling for wasn’t on set yet. “Do you know who I’m doubling for? The brief didn’t say.”
“His name’s Tom Ryder, an up-and-comer who got really popular for his looks,” Sarah said. She opened up her makeup kit. “This is his first big movie. Could you take off your shirt? He’s a bit paler than you so I need to put some body makeup on you first.”
Colt obeyed.
Tom Ryder… Didn’t ring a bell.
Not knowing anything about him would make it kind of difficult to double as him. While Colt didn’t have to actually act the way an actor would, he would still be filmed. The whole point of a double is to trick the audience into thinking Colt was the other person.
That means he needed to nail his mannerisms, posture, movements, and stride. Colt often did a lot of research on the actors he had to double.
He supposed he’d have to just ask the PA for some guidance.
But then Sarah said something that threw him off.
“He should have arrived by now. I wonder what’s taking so long,” she sighed as she slathered some skin-colored paint on Colt’s chest.
Arrive?
One thing Colt learned about doubling is that it was usually reserved for scenes that the actor does not actually have to be there for. Shots where they’re barely in frame, insert shots of their hands, back shots, over-the-shoulder shots, and everything else that doesn’t actually show face. It was common for doubles to only work with a secondary production unit because of that.
Things he’d filmed as a double included close-ups of his hands lighting a cigar, flipping through a phone screen, pouring drinks, and standing across from another actor while they recited their lines.
This meant that Colt usually never met the actor he was doubling for.
That should have been his first red flag.
But like a fool, Colt didn’t question it. He just felt relieved that he would get to observe Tom Ryder so he could replicate his mannerisms better.
Sarah moved on to style his hair, giving him a tousled look. She assured him it wouldn’t matter since the water would flatten it anyway.
And then she told him to take off his pants.
That should have been his second red flag.
But since it was already established that Colt was a fool, he didn’t question it. The casting call did mention bare legs, after all. Perhaps a swimming scene.
The body paint was a bit ticklish on his legs but Colt was a grown man and a professional. He did not giggle.
Through it all, Tom Ryder still hadn’t shown up. Sarah was getting antsy, checking the clock once every few minutes.
To distract her, Colt decided to make conversation. “Do you know what they’ll have me do?”
“From what I know, this movie is about a guy who gets kidnapped by a criminal organization.”
“Ah. That makes sense.”
It did not make sense.
Colt couldn’t for the life of him figure out where the bare chest and legs would come into play. If this were for a torture scene, then surely Sarah would be painting fake blood and bruises onto him.
“Alright, legs done,” Sarah said.
Colt began to get up, but she stopped him.
“Woah there! We’re not done. Take off your underwear.”
What?
“What?” Colt asked.
“Your underwear,” she repeated, as if he were stupid.
“Am I missing something?” Colt asked slowly.
“Ah, my bad,” she said, turning around.
Thank god. Just a misunderstanding.
“Forgot to give you this,” she turned back, handing him some piece of fabric. “I’ll leave the room for a bit to give you time to put it on.”
“Sorry, what is this?”
“The intimacy garment,” she said, already stepping out the door. “Oh! Unless you prefer doing full frontal for maximum mobility on set? That’s totally a valid option.”
“Nope! I’ll take the, uh… intimacy garment,” Colt said quickly.
Sarah nodded and finally left the room, giving Colt ample privacy to panic.
Full frontal? What the damn hell is this movie about?
Colt started to think he should’ve read the full casting call.
2015
“I’m getting second-hand embarrassment,” Jody said with a groan.
Ryland was wheezing, hand covering his mouth to stifle it.
“Yeah,” Colt sighed. He took a deep swig of his beer. “I didn’t read the script, so I literally had no idea what kinda movie it was.”
“But at that point,” Jody said. “You finally figured it out, right?”
“Uhh… I was beginning to suspect.”
“Beginning to?”
“Shut up, Ry. I was still holding out hope for a normal role. I only found out later that the casting call listed 'bare butt' in the role description."
"Which you would have already known... if you didn't skim it," Ryland snickered.
Colt banged his head on the table.
“Alright, so where does Tom Ryder come into all this?” Jody asked.
2007
After the humiliating ordeal that was figuring out how to put on the intimacy garment and letting Sarah back in so she could paint makeup over his ass, Colt was finally done with styling.
Sarah gave him a fluffy bathrobe so he could sit in dignity while waiting. She assured him that the setting spray was strong and he wouldn’t have to worry about the makeup coming off.
Finally, Tom Ryder entered the room, a full hour after he was supposed to arrive. He didn’t greet Colt nor did he even glance at him. Typical actor.
That was fine though. Colt only needed to observe his mannerisms, not his vocabulary or diction.
Tom sat like he was trying to take up as much space as possible. He would puff up his chest more whenever Sarah’s gaze was on him, only relaxing once she turned away.
Colt noticed, however, that Sarah only painted his chest in makeup. Not once did she ask him to take off his pants.
How many red flags was he on now?
It didn’t matter. With both of them done, she ushered them out. It was time to film.
Colt figured that once he observed the filming, he’d be able to guess what the film was about.
If only.
“Action!” the director called out.
Tom Ryder dashed through the set, which at the moment was a cluttered hotel room, the camera operator hot on his heels to get the shot. He repeatedly looked over his shoulder, as if something were chasing him.
“Cut! We’re gonna move to the next scene.”
At this point, they had been filming for six hours. Colt had done nothing but observe them film, in this order: a bar scene, a scene in a fake theater, a scene where Tom had to sleep, and a scene where Tom gets tied to a chair.
Colt was really bored.
This wasn’t new to him, actually. Much of being a double involved waiting around aimlessly for them to need you. But the boredom of this session was exacerbated by the fact that he still had no fucking idea what the plot was.
He wished they’d given him a script.
Everyone transferred to the next set, which was just a large, empty room lined with dark tiles on the floor and walls.
While the gaffers were setting up the lighting, the director scanned the room. “Alright, we’re gonna bring in Mr. Ryder’s double for the next scene.”
Fucking finally.
Colt stood up, ready to approach and be given his instructions.
Before he could get close, however, Tom spoke up. “No! I already told you, I don’t need one!”
“Mr. Ryder,” the director turned to him, a tired look on his face. “We already discussed this.”
“I can do the scene myself! The people want me!”
Oh boy. He was one of those actors.
Colt sat back down, prepared for this to go on for some time. He tapped a nearby production assistant on the shoulder. “Excuse me, can I ask what this scene is going to be?”
“The character has just been kidnapped and is being forced to shower,” she answered kindly. “Then his kidnappers grow impatient with how long he is taking and send someone in to hose him down themselves.”
“Oh.”
“Mr. Grace? Will you please step forward?” the director called. “We will begin the scene now.”
But as Colt made his way to the set, Tom stepped in front of him, blocking his way. “No! Sit your ass back down!” He gave Colt’s chest a shove.
“Mr. Ryder!”
“You are not needed,” Tom said, pointing a finger right in Colt’s face. He turned to the director with a growl. “The scene is supposed to be hot and sexy! That means the people will want me! Not this nobody!”
Colt frowned. “Sexy? Isn’t the character getting hosed down against his will?”
“Exactly!” Tom whirled on him with a glare. “Which means you’re going to ruin the scene!”
“…Okay.”
As Tom went back to the director to yell at him some more, Colt glanced around at the crew, who were all looking very tired by now.
He leaned down to whisper to the production assistant. “Why don’t you let him do the scene, then pretend that filming is a wrap. When he leaves, you can film me without him knowing.”
Her eyes light up. “That’s actually a good idea!”
Colt watched as she grabbed the director and whispered the plan in his ear. The director nodded and turned to Tom with a smile, giving him a thumbs up.
Pleased, Tom made his way onto the set.
The PA returned to Colt’s side, relief on her face. “Thank god for your quick thinking. We would have been here for another four hours.”
“Four?”
“Yeah, that’s how long he and his agent argued with us during the initial table read.”
“Damn,” Colt said. Actors could be so difficult. But there was something strange about the whole thing, something nagging at the back of his mind. After a pause, he turned back to her. “Hey, can I ask a question?”
“Shoot.”
“I’m a bit confused about my role here. Body doubles are usually brought in because an actor doesn’t want to do a scene,” Colt explained. “But Mr. Ryder seems like he really wants to do this. So why hire me in the first place?”
The PA pursed her lips. “Let’s just say Mr. Ryder doesn’t have the proper… assets that a scene like this requires.”
“Huh?”
She gave him a look and jerked her thumb at the set.
Colt turned to look.
Tom stepped onto the dark tiles. He stood on the mark, nodding at the director. Then he took off his robe.
Colt’s jaw dropped.
There were no words to describe it.
Tom Ryder had the flattest ass he’d ever seen.
It was so flat you wouldn’t be able to tell his front from his back with just a silhouette.
It was so flat you could put a pencil on it and it wouldn’t roll off.
It was so flat a pancake would be jealous.
This wasn’t just a flat ass. This was negative ass.
To top it off, Sarah hadn’t put makeup anywhere on his lower half, which made the uneven skin tone stand out on camera. This is why you don’t skip hair and makeup…
It wasn’t just unsexy; it was downright unsettling.
Colt finally understood what he was brought on to do.
He was a butt double.
The set was dead silent as they filmed the scene.
Colt almost felt sorry for him, averting his eyes out of pity.
When it was over, Tom strolled out with a proud look on his face. “See? Nailed it!” He shot Colt a sympathetic look. “Sorry for wasting your day, hopefully they still pay you.”
Colt just nodded.
Perhaps he should’ve felt insulted, but at the moment he only felt like giving Tom his condolences. No man should have to live with an impairment like that. Life was unfair.
Everyone held their breath as they waited for him to leave, finally letting out an exhale when the door shut.
The director approached him and spoke quietly, “Mr. Grace, we apologize for the hold-up. But can I assume, after all of that, that you now understand the weight of your role?”
Colt nodded gravely.
This was the stupidest role he’d ever taken and he would be sure to read the fine print from now on. But it was still serious business.
“Alright then,” the director said. He gestured to the set. “If you will.”
Colt stepped onto dark tiles underneath dim lighting. He took a deep breath. His performance would make or break the scene and by extension the entire movie.
He took off his robe.
Silence.
And then, somewhere behind him, the sound of a mug breaking.
Colt felt self-conscious being completely nude in front of everyone, but he was professional, dammit. He would not break.
“Stay at mark 1. Prepare to move to mark 2.”
Colt obeyed.
“Action.”
Colt reviewed his mental notes on Tom Ryder’s mannerisms to try and capture it as accurately as possible. Then he walked forward, the camera following right behind him.
He hit the mark.
“Cut! Alright, we’re gonna turn on the water. 3…2…1… action.”
The silence on set was suddenly filled by the drone of falling water. It was a thin enough curtain of (thankfully lukewarm) water that it wouldn’t obscure the camera’s view of him.
Colt felt stupid standing there with his bare ass facing everyone on set while he got drenched. He shook his head, trying to dispel any awkward feelings.
“That’s good!” The director called out. “Getting the water out of your eyes perfectly captures the frustration the character feels at his situation.”
Well.
“Try bracing your hands against the walls,” the PA suggested.
Colt braced.
“Now lean your head down like you’re exhausted.”
Colt leaned.
“Can you stick your back out a little bit more?”
Colt… stuck.
“Alright, now we’ll bring in the hose. Brace yourself a bit more.”
There were some rustling noises as the props department rolled out their prop.
Without warning, a strong burst of water struck him in the back. The force was almost enough to make him hit the wall he was braced against. In his surprise, Colt widened his stance a bit to resist it better.
“Perfect!” the director called. “You capture the agony and shame! The character is in a humiliating position, being ogled at by strangers and forced to do their bidding. But he will not cave. He resists. He is proud. He fights to maintain his dignity!”
Colt wished he still had dignity left to maintain.
“And cut!”
Finally.
Both the hose and shower shut off. Someone on set rushed to give him a towel, which Colt took like a lifeline and immediately wrapped around his waist. He stepped off the set, using another towel to dry off his hair.
The PA thanked him for his time as he practically sprinted back to the dressing room.
2015
Ryland and Jody were doubled over with laughter. Colt could no longer understand a single word they were saying.
“You—How…” Jody wheezed.
“Take your time, babe.”
“How much did they pay you?” she finally managed.
“The biggest check of my career until that point, yet somehow not enough.”
“And what happened with the movie?”
“It was a hit,” Ryland interjected, face still red from laughter. “Made $340M worldwide on $16M budget!”
“Wow,” Jody said. “So… 340 millions worth of people saw your ass?”
Colt pressed a hand to his face.
“At least 340 million.” Ryland said. “That doesn’t count the number of people who bought physical copies or caught it on TV. The real number is way higher.”
“Amazing numbers,” Jody nodded, impressed.
“And they liked it!” Ryland said. “Last I checked the film had over 70% on Rotten Tomatoes, 7.5 out of 10 on IMDB, A- on Metacritic…”
“Why do you memorize that?” Colt grumbled.
“And his ass went mega-viral,” Ryland ignored him. “Good reviews being left, demands to drop the glute routine, endless comments on ‘Tom Ryder’ supposedly having a fat and luscious ass. I remember one critic describing it as ‘the finest globes he’d ever seen’, and another saying ‘I didn’t even know an ass could look that fat.’ TMZ even wrote an article questioning whether Tom Ryder got implants for the role.”
Colt buried his face in his hands. Maybe he should’ve let Tom Ryder light him on fire after all.
“Damn, that must’ve been some ass,” Jody said. She traced the rim of her glass. “So… what’s the name of the movie?”
“Jody!”
“I’m just curious about your filmography, babe! I just wanna watch it to get to know my boyfriend more,” she said, a look of pure innocence on her face.
“It’s called ‘Waltz of the Gun’, by the way,” Ryland answered.
Jody frowned, pausing for a second to think. “Hmm… Not ringing a bell. How could it have gone mega-viral and made all that money if I’ve never heard of it before?”
“Well, that’s where the story goes downhill,” Colt said. “Tom figured out they tricked him and didn’t use his actual ass for the movie, which pissed him off at first, but he happily took credit for it. But then producers and directors started asking him to do more nude scenes because of how viral Waltz of the Gun was. He realized there’s no way he’d be able to do that without people realizing it was faked. So he got his agency— and eventually Gail when they linked up— to bury the film.”
“Ugh,” Jody groaned. “Typical Tom. Bragging about doing all his own stunts when he couldn’t even use his own ass.”
“Yeah,” Colt agreed. “So now you can’t find the film anywhere. They’re no longer making any DVD or blu-ray copies of it, cable networks are forbidden from airing it on TV, and you won’t find it on any of those new streaming services.”
“So there’s no way to watch it?” Jody asked, devastated.
“Not legally. But it’s pretty hard to find it on piracy sites. I only found it on one.”
“That’s so sad,” Jody said. She was all sobered up now. “Ugh. As a director, that’s the worst possible thing that could happen to your movie. Becoming lost media.”
A gloomy silence fell on the table.
“Well…” Ryland said, clicking his tongue. “Maybe it would be. If not for me.”
Colt and Jody slowly turned to him.
Ryland grinned. “I have ten physical copies of it in my house right now.”
Jody gasped.
Colt pressed his fingers to the bridge of his nose.
“I also have two hard drives with the entire movie along with the rest of his filmography,” Ryland continued. “And uh… I actually seeded a torrent of it online. That one file you found, Colt? It’s probably mine.”
Silence.
“Ryland…” Jody began, a stern look on her face. She suddenly looked like a teacher scolding an unruly student.
Ryland deflated in his seat. He began to look slightly ashamed.
“As a director, I cannot condone piracy. You know this,” she said.
Colt nodded, giving Ryland a stern look of his own. You tell him, babe.
“But perhaps I can overlook this infraction,” she continued. “All you need to do is… give me one of those physical copies.”
“Jody!” Colt whirled on her, betrayed.
Ryland burst out laughing.
“And we’ll let bygones be bygones,” she continued, ignoring Colt. “Deal?”
“Deal!” Ryland sat up and reached out a hand to her.
Jody laughed, grasping it and giving it a firm shake. “We need to watch that together. All three of us.”
“Absolutely not,” Colt said. “That was the most embarrassing thing of my life!”
“Don’t be a killjoy! It’ll be fun,” Ryland nudged his shoulder.
“You really wanna watch Tom Ryder’s ugly face onscreen for two hours? After everything he’s done?”
“Who cares? He’s dead now!” Ryland said dismissively. “We can make fun of him in the afterlife. It’ll be so fun!”
“Yes! Please? Pretty please?” Jody leaned into Colt’s side, once again giving him doe eyes.
“Please?” Ryland begged.
Colt was so weak.
“Fine.”