Interview (Selftape)
“Action!” a voice screamed and Remus Lupin sees a red light appear on the camera placed right in front of him.
He has always been someone who avoids being the focal point. As a child, he never eagerly posed in front of cameras. He was the type of person to appear in photos with a hand covering his face.
Therefore, having a full production crew as audience, while he was about to make an intimate tape destined to an even broader number of people was… disturbing .
Despite this sense of vulnerability, Remus managed to remain seated on the couch.
“Tell us your name” said his interviewer on a chair next to the camera, so unlike Remus, only his voice would appear on the tape. His voice was pleasant to hear, melodious. As the man worked Remus noted how he commanded the crew around him, who seemed to tell them exactly what he needed with barely noticeable finger movements or just a few glances. Yes, technically Remus is the “star” of this tape because only him will appear on it, but he quickly picked up that this guy was the star of the room.
Remus did his best to ignore the dangling microphone above his head and the surrounding bright lights, still his answer came out kinda shaky.
“Moony”
Remus sat straighter on the couch as he attempted to dismiss the half-dosen crew members standing silently in front of him. They are focused on the equipment. Not you he said to himself.
“Moony” the other guy repeated with false surprise. Remus successfully managed to not roll his eyes as if his interviewer wasn’t the one who came up with the name 30 minutes ago.“How old are you, Moony?”
“22” his words quivered as he poke. His hands were sweating.
God the lights are so fucking bright.
“How tall are you?” the man's voice was playful yet managed to somehow make it sound formal, he clearly was a professional.
The mellowness in how the man across from him spread on the chair. The little smile lingered slightly as he spoke questions made Remus feel even more self aware of his contrasting stiffness.
“ Around six-foot-five” Just hang a little more, and you’ll have the money he thought.
A couple more interview-like questions followed and Remus tried to answer them vagably, as suggested beforehand. He grew curious by the business nature of the questions. Do people actually watch this part or just skip it? Does knowing details about the actors help people get off faster?
“How old were you the first time you masturbated, Moony? “
There it is. Remus' stomach made a tiny twist.
Honestly, he was chickening out. And he needed to compose himself before his legs bolted through the doors on their very own.
It won't be that bad.
This is a professional environment
Probably this people record actors wank in this couch daily
Not much people will pay to watch this anyway
And it’s not like it's gonna hurt. Right?
Why should he stay and let these people record him while he wanks? Sell it to who knows whom, rather than just sprint towards the exit?
It's a big cheek, and you own some big numbers.
He forced himself to take a deep breath. For the first time in the two minutes the camera has been recording, Remus's pulse stopped banging his ears, and his back lost almost all its tension. Almost.
Just give them what they want.
He felt his lugs get full and allowed to let the oxygen rest there for a bit.
For her.
Remus slowly exhaled.“I was sixteen” he began and the interviewer’s dark eyebrows raised ”I guess I was kind of a late bloomer”. He felt his shoulders loosen as quiet laughs came from behind the camera.
“Tell me about your first time, Moony” Asked the man with a soft smile, never losing his teasing tone.
“I was seventeen” he felt his cheeks flushed at the memory. “It was with a guy I met at my summer job” the man nodded, making a sign with his fingers to Remus, suggesting him to add something more. “He was older, so it was a great experience cause… he actually knew what he was doing”.
“Interesting” said with a compliant voice as he winked one of his gray eyes to Remus.
“Tell us about your scars, Moony. How did you get them?” cause everyone eventually asked him this question at some point. And yes, it totally felt like an invasion of privacy, but Remus understood in his teenage years that the silver lines across his face always spiked people’s curiosity.
“When I was little, I was attacked by a wolf” the lie came easily.
He has said it at many job interviews, at guys at clubs or just meeting new people in general. It wasn’t as dark as the truth yet he felt the urge to be milder, so he added “An ex boyfriend used to tease me about becoming a werewolf because of it”.
“Heard that, guys?” the man laughed. His long hair flipped with his head as he turned at the standing crew, saying jokingly “We may have a werewolf with us this episode”.
“Alright, Moony” he continued as he ran his hands through his hair, putting it behind his ears.“Now that we know you a little more, we’ll move to the fun part” a mischievous grin crossed the man's face.
Remus wondered if all this looks and grins were actually part of this guy’s job.
“It's time for you to take off your clothes” he said as he did a gesture to make Remus stand up.
It became evident that his duty as an interviewer had concluded, and he fully embraced his role as director, orchestrating the crew around him like his own symphony.
Sirius black he had said his name was earlier. Remus thought to himself. What an asshole.
Remus stood up and started to unbutton his shirt.