Even though he'd watched the process for a lot of this, Jimmy was drawn into the world on the screen. He wasn't watching Cooper Hayes, an actor he had a crush on. No, it was Seth all down the line, a fellow wolf, a vulnerable lone wolf, and one he would have stuck up for ifhe'd been there.
He'd known Cooper was a good actor, but the full force of it just about knocked him flat. He was as mesmerized as the rest of them. At one point, Hope, sandwiched in between her mom and dad, cast him an incredulous look. Their silent communication agreed, "Can you believe this?" She was as blown away by the performance as anyone, which said a lot right there. It wasn'tjust Jimmy having a crush, or his family not knowing the plot; Hope knew as much as he did, and she hadn't been that impressed by Cooper as a person. This was the real deal.
The immediacy of the story touched the pack. The filming and editing and storyline were definitely above average, and Coop—Coop shone.
They all watched, even forgetting to get up for snacks until the commercial breaks.The episode ended, and they all shushed the boys who started raising their voices immediately so they could watch the teaser clip for the next episode.
Candice blew her nose loudly. Chad reflexively caught his brother in a headlock to get out his emotion. Dad's fists tightened again, and his jaw flexed. "We'd take him into our pack," he muttered, his brow furrowing with indignation at thethought of the packless wolf on his own, trying to make his way in the world, having to rely on non-shifters for a chance.
"He's not really a wolf, you know," Hope said, injecting a mild note of reason into the charged atmosphere.
Dad laughed then. "I know. But I don't quite believe it. I'd have to meet him to be sure."
He glanced at Jimmy as he spoke, and Jimmy sat up a little straighter,proud of the autograph and the idea that he knew Cooper well enough to invite him round to meet the pack, however erroneous that idea was.
"We don't even know if he's getting more than three episodes," announced Hope.
"They can't get rid of him! He's the best part!" exclaimed Candice. Jimmy was starting to think he'd better keep his autograph well hidden from her, or she might decide toclaim it for her own.
"It's true," Jimmy admitted begrudgingly. "They've been trying to cast a different wolf."
"They'll regret it if they do. Why get rid of the one good character?"
"Don't you like Lincoln Canes in it?" Jimmy asked, testing the water. He knew who his favorite person on the show was, but he was pretty biased, and he wanted to hear others say it too.
Opinions surroundedhim, loud opinions from a noisy pack with lots of feelings on the subject. As usual, they all talked over each other. He'd grown up that way, so it was easy for him to follow five or six conversations at once, but he supposed it could be intimidating if you'd grown up an only child, or without a lot of close-knit extended family. (How horrible that would have been. He couldn't imagine life withouthis brothers, even when they did get him in trouble.)
"Lincoln who?"
"He's better in movies. The wolf stole the show."
"But he's not a wolf!" (This was Hope, being factual again.)
"No, but he's the best part of the show!"
"They can't get rid of him. That's final!"
Jimmy sat back and grinned, basking in the public opinion that was finally going his way.If my pack feels like this, otherpeople do, too.They definitely have to keep Cooper, if they want to keep the show.He felt entirely confident in this prediction, as sure as if he were an old industry insider.
Some things, you knew. This was one of them. Coop was just that good—and he had to stay. The show would end otherwise.
#
When Coop's agent calledhim with the news that they wanted him to do more episodes,he was silent for a long moment, thinking of what he knew about what they actually wanted. Him, gone. Maybe the first episode had gone over well enough that they were taking him back, but there was no guarantee he wouldn't have to go through that same disorienting whiplash again two episodes later—or half a season later, after he'd finally started to feel secure. No, it hurt, and it was likelyto hurt in the future.
Still, the knowledge that his acting had won over the holdouts was a great balm to his wounded pride. He was ecstatic about that.
The mood last night, when they'd turned on the show, had gone from bored to pleasantly surprised (for Swindon), and from nervous, jittery wreck to relieved and proud of himself for his work (for Coop). Of course he could see flaws in his performance;he always could. But he'd done his absolute best, and that completely showed on the screen. Every moment he'd had was well-shot, well-lit, and well-edited, creating the most convincing mood possible, giving him the time and the right setting for each emotional or dramatic moment to really resonate. It felt like he was watching art. It felt amazing. He'd never had so much screen timein his life or such a meaty role.
Of course, it didn't hurt that he loved the character he played, wholeheartedly and shamefacedly. He identified with aspects of Seth's character far too much, but putting them into his performance was a safe way to show them to the world when other ways wouldn't have been. It was almost like getting paid to go through his own personal therapy. Except it wasn'tlike that at all. It had been damned hard work, on a ridiculously tight schedule, and his costar had hated him. Coop wondered if that was something he'd convinced himself of, insecurity at work. He didn't trust his own judgment enough to be sure either way. But he knew what it had felt like.
"Make sure you get me a kill fee," he told Allan. "I really want a kill fee for every single episodeof the first season, at least. I worked so hard on this character, and they tried to dump me. I don't know how soon that's going to happen again. I'd like to get paid if they're going to keep me hanging on a string."
Allan laughed softly. "Don't worry. I'll get it for you. Now, how did the party go last night? You've got to know that will help me in any negotiations."
Great, hinting aboutwhether he'd "connected" with Rorke or not. He rolled his eyes and bit his lip, embarrassed about how close to the man he had gotten, and with such little prompting from his agent. It had made him feel like a heel, like a gold digger.
"We didn't have sex, but I did talk to him. He's an interesting guy. He's funny. I didn't expect that."
