Page 18 of The Golden Scoop

He nods. “Benjamín,” he says, suddenly slipping into a thick accent. “My mom’s from the southeast coast, but she came here to study, met my dad, and the rest is history.”

Explains the dark, unruly hair, tan skin, and the kind of warm personality that makes me want to spill all my secrets.

“Don’t let him fool you,” Matt comments. “If he gets pissed at you, he’ll start speaking really fast in Spanish, and I’m almost certain none of it is complimentary.”

“That happened once,” Riley jumps in, coming to his defense.

“And it was because you showed up with orange hair,” Luna adds, making Matt groan.

“It was Halloween!”

“I had to wash your hair five times to get it out,” Ben says. “Like, I get it. You’re the star, but can’t you be a little considerate? I didn’t even get invited to the party!”

Party. Now we’re talking.

“Care to go for a walk with me?” I ask him. “Without Matt interrupting every time he wants to keep you quiet.”

Ben smirks at me playfully.

“I thought you’d never ask.” He stands, grabbing my hand again. “Let me know when he’s ready for me.”

“Ben, I swear—” Matt starts before Luna interrupts him.

“Don’t worry, star,” she says. “He won’t tell Emma all about how deeply in love you are with her.”

Matt turns sharply toward her and I frown. Do they have me confused with someone else?

“Hate, Luna,” he clarifies, but his voice is weirdly soft. “She can’t even stand the sight of me.”

Finally. Something we can agree on.

“I mean…” I can’t help myself. “Your looks are fine. The problem comes when you open your mouth. But hey, I don’t think all those girls you meet at Halloween parties care much about that, so you’re good.”

“Ha. Funny,” he mumbles as we walk out of the trailer.

Ben clearly thinks it’s funny, judging by the squeal he lets out next to me.

I gather an impressive amount of absolutely zero juicy gossip. Yes, even from Ben. And he talked my ear off. I have three pages full of notes and not a single scandal. No shady behavior. It’s all surprisingly good.

Interviewee: Benjamin (Hair Stylist)

Matt remembers everyone’s birthday, and he always brings cake. I’m not sure why people assumes he’s a playboy. Sure, he’s flirty, but I don’t think I’ve heard him talk about a woman in… well, ever. He’s hardworking…

That I can attest to. I mean, these are long days. Longer than I ever imagined. The only time he has a ‘break’ is when he gets to sit in that hair and makeup chair, so no wonder they love him there. He went straight to filming as soon as he was ready and did that for about four hours, munching on protein bars between takes.

It did make me feel a little bad, sitting on the sidelines enjoying a delicious chicken pesto sandwich with extra bacon, extra tomato. All while he jumped from a first floor, rolled around in dirt, and took what looked like very real punches. The assistant director mentioned Matt doesn’t like using stunt doubles unless it’s necessary.

As if he hadn’t been subjected to intense physical activity for the entire morning, when the clock strikes two p.m., he’s taken back (for the third time) into hair and makeup. Now to get ready for a short interview on set about the movie.

“Is every day like this?” I ask him while we wait behind the scenes for the tech team.

He looks irritatingly fresh. Relaxed. Not a single hair out of place. And I thought I was good at long days.

“We’ve been slowing down this past week, actually. Big scenes have already been filmed, and we almost never go in order, so we’re basically cruising along to the finish line now.”

“Matt, we’re ready for you,” says a man I recognize from filming earlier, carrying cables looped over his shoulders.

“Don’t move. I’ll take you out after.”