SF Chapter 101: Dumb Friend
Mischa had just finished filming a scene, and it was finally her break. She took out her phone and stared at one contact for a few seconds.
She typed something.
Deleted it.
Then typed again.
This time, she actually sent it.
A few moments later, her phone buzzed with a reply, and she immediately answered.
Mischa: heyy!!
Dani: Hi dude
Mischa: ??!
Dani: Oh, sorry Mischa. New phone. Saved your number as Mike.
My bad.
Mischa: you are such an idiot!!!
"Something funny?" Ben McKenzie asked as he approached her, noticing Mischa laughing at her phone.
"Oh, no," Mischa quickly replied, instantly changing her expression. "Just some dumb friend I have..."
The boy nodded before heading back toward the set since he still had another scene to film.
Mischa then noticed Alexandra nearby and walked toward her.
"Dani is such an idiot," she complained while showing her the phone.
"That he is," Lexi agreed. But then she added casually, "You don't need to show me anything. It's not like I'm dating him. Even if I were."
That made Mischa pause for a moment. "Yeah, you told me," she said awkwardly. "But... I would still feel strange."
She struggled to explain it properly. "I just want you to know I wouldn't do anything behind your back."
Lexi visibly held back a laugh.
"Mischa," she said, amused, "I'm going to watch a movie at Dani's place later, if you want to come."
"Yes," Mischa agreed almost immediately. "Well... I'm okay with it. Thanks."
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Later, in Malibu, Dani was sitting on the couch while Lexi was lying on top of him. Mischa was sitting on the other side, though farther away. They were watching Eyes Wide Shut.
"You can sit closer, Mischa," Lexi commented casually after noticing the distance.
"Maybe she remembers that I bite," Dani joked.
Mischa rolled her eyes and moved closer, but still somewhat cautiously.
"When did we adopt a stray cat, Lexi?" Dani remarked.
"You have the sensitivity of a horse, you know that, Dani?" Mischa scoffed.
He simply responded by making an angry cat noise.
"And the maturity of a kindergartener."
He kept growling at her until she finally cracked a small smile.
But the moment he turned his attention back to the movie, Dani suddenly whined, "Lexi, go back. I just missed the scene where Nicole Kidman was naked."
She completely ignored him while Mischa looked at him like he was absolute scum.
After a while, both girls ended up leaning against him, though Mischa still became a little awkward during some of the more sensual scenes.
Near the end of the movie, Lexi asked, "What do you really think, Dani?"
"Great work from Kubrick. My thought is that the movie isn't really asking whether people cheat physically..."
Dani paused for a moment before continuing, "But whether anyone can truly handle knowing their partner has inner desires, fantasies, and emotional worlds that don't fully belong to them."
Mischa quickly covered his mouth with both hands.
Dani just stared at her, raising an eyebrow.
"Ew," she exclaimed. "Did you just lick my hand?"
She immediately wiped it on his shirt.
"Why?" he asked.
"I just wanted, for once, for you to stop at the intelligent part without some fifth-grade joke ruining the entire sentence," she explained.
Dani stared at her for a moment before suddenly becoming more serious. "Mischa, I just want to be clear that I have no desire for a relationship right now."
"I can be your friend. Depending on things, maybe even a friend with benefits. But I don't want you to feel cheated later because of things I never promised."
Mischa looked away. "What's with you all of a sudden?"
Even Lexi didn't seem to know what to say.
"It's quite obvious you're starting to develop feelings for me. Whether it's love or just affection, I don't know. But I don't want you getting the wrong idea."
"So I don't get hurt?" she asked, sounding slightly defensive.
"Not really," he denied. "Whether I say this now or later, even if somehow we ended up in a relationship, pain is still part of the process. I junt want to be honest with you."
She stared at him in disbelief for a long moment before finally placing a hand over her face. "Couldn't you just be like a normal player? At least then I could call you a bastard asshole."
"You can still call him that," Lexi pointed out.
She stood up and offered her hand to Mischa. "Let's talk outside. We'll leave the asshole here."
And they walked out to the balcony of his bedroom.
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The two girls sat in silence for a while until Mischa finally confessed.
"I think I was really starting to have feelings for him."
Lexi tried to hold back a laugh, which immediately made Mischa glare at her.
"Sorry, Mischa, but you've been acting like a middle school girl with her first crush," she teased.
Mischa got annoyed but still asked carefully, "Can I know why you called me out here?"
"Why are you acting like you're walking on eggshells?" Lexi asked rather bluntly.
"I... learned my lesson. I almost implied that he was using my vulnerability last time, and that was really low of me. I don't want to be that kind of girl," she replied.
"Wow..." Lexi said, genuinely surprised by the answer.
"Honestly, Mischa, I think Dani is a great friend to have around. But he's not really the conventional boyfriend material. You would figure that out one way or another."
"For you, what's so great about him?" Mischa asked.
Lexi explained, "He's really fun. The way he can go from saying something intelligent and genuinely charming to being the dumbest guy on the planet makes it really hard not to laugh."
"I love watching movies. It's probably my favorite thing. Maybe that's why I always wanted to be an actress. And somehow, watching them with him just makes it even better."
She went on, "You saw it yourself. He can make some really insightful analyses."
"There's also something weirdly comforting about being around him. It makes you wonder why you make your own life so much harder sometimes."
Lexi pointed one more thing. "It's interesting how successful he is, yet his ego and arrogance feel almost theatrical. It's more like a joke than anything genuinely serious."
"And the sex isn't bad either," she finished, trying to sound nonchalant.
"You really are a perv, Lexi," Mischa remarked mischievously.
Lexi immediately retorted, "At least I wasn't the one loudly asking him to go harder. Or to hit your own face with his-"
"AHH—" Mischa quickly covered Lexi's mouth with both hands before she could finish the sentence.
She was completely red from embarrassment.
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The two girls came back and sat beside him to watch another movie.
During the film, Mischa decided to provoke Dani a little.
"John Tyson is so handsome. Very different from someone I know."
Dani looked at her casually. "Yeah, well, if you marry him, I'm calling you Mike Tyson."
Lexi let out a small cough beside him.
"You're like twelve years old," Mischa scolded.
"Ryan… I'm emotionally confuthed," Dani quoted in a deep Mike Tyson voice.
"Thummer, I don't know who I am anymore."
That finally broke Lexi, who burst out laughing next to him.
"Nobody underthtandth MY PAIN." he kept alternating between a high-pitched and deep voice.
This time, Mischa jumped on him and shoved a pillow against his face.
"GOD, you are such a dumb idiot," she said, unable to stop laughing. "I hate you."
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