Ambivalence// Timothée Chalamet

Deux

     It was around 10:00 pm on a hot, Saturday night in New York. The city was anything but asleep. It was just waking.

     So many people had shown up to the party, my party, and more had continued to come. People's skin turned all of the colors on the rainbow under the colorful lights. Everyones laughter and conversations was not enough to drown the music. The music was so loud that the beat of it was pulsing through everyone's bodies. The smell of alcohol permeated the air. And the smell of- weed?

     I scanned the rooftop and my eyes stopped on puffs of smoke coming from my far left. This party was going to get a lot crazier.

     I was talking to Audrey and her friend, Sabrina, when I noticed one of my old friends amongst the crowd.

     "I'll see you guys later," I quickly said before moving through the crowd.

     I found my friend, Tyler, and tapped his shoulder, beaming.

     "Nadia?"

     "Tyler!"

     Tyler turned and gave me a tight embrace, slightly lifting me off the ground. I reached up and ruffled his soft light brown hair as he smiled down at me. His tan skin turned dark blue under the lights.

     "God, it's been so long!" I said, still a little giddy.

     "Yeah, it's been what? Almost six months since we were both in L.A?" Tyler responded. He linked his arm in mine and led us to the drinks, or what was left of them.

     Because of the traveling that we both did, we hadn't got to see each other that often. But way back in January this year, I had gotten the opportunity to write about a music festival. From there, Tyler and I were to meet up.

     As I refilled my cup with spiked Sprite, I noticed that he was reaching for a new cup of his own. "You're two hours late to the party Ty," I laughed.

     Tyler smirked as he poured in some vodka. "I was busy getting these." He held up a bag of gourmet gummy bears over me. My favorite type of candy. Our favorite type of candy that we always ate back in college.

     I cupped my hands and Tyler dropped the bag in my hands. "The memories these bring. These got us through so many study sessions." I muffled a quick "thanks" before immediately opening the bag and sorting through the gummy bears. The grapefruit flavored ones were my favorite.

      "So, how's life been for you in New York?" I asked. After college, Tyler moved out to New York City to pursue his career as an actor. He's been pretty successful, too.

     "Great. Busy, but great. I've worked with so many directors, I've gotten to meet so many amazing people, and I've gotten to live out my passion.Oh, and I've been going to so many parties. I couldn't pass this one up."

     I nodded. "Me either, seeing that this party was thrown for me."

     Tyler raised a brow.

     "Yep. I'm in New York for two weeks. Surprise."

     "What a lovely surprise. Who threw the party?"

     "My friend, Audrey. Who invited you?"

     "My friend, Jason. And he was invited by someone else."

     "Oh god. Who did you bring?"

     "A good friend of mine that I met last year during filming. He's around here somewhere." Tyler had a spark in his eyes when he mentioned filming, and I couldn't wait to hear more.

     I nodded and took a sip of my drink. "What movie did you guys-" I paused when my eyes landed on him and his eyes landed on me. He was approaching Tyler and apparently hadn't seen me until now. The happy spark in his eyes turned into a sly angry flame, only for me. Nonetheless, he approached Tyler as if nothing was happening between us.

     "My man Timmy T," Tyler greeted, earning a laugh from none other than Timothée Chalamet. He was wearing a simple dark grey shirt, black jacket, and black jeans. His wavy dark brown hair was, as much as I hated to admit it, as wild and gorgeous as ever. Red lights that illuminated his pale skin, making him remind me of the devil.

     "Ah no, man, not again," Timothée joked. I could tell that embarrassment from the nickname was virtually nonexistent. Instead, there was nostalgic humor.

     There was absolutely no way that Timothée Chalamet could be here, out of all places. Why would he be here when he could literally be anywhere else in the world? He could be in Italy or France or England, but he was here. Fury boiled in the pit of my stomach as I remembered my immense joy of the fact that I would never have to see "Timmy T" again.

     As he patted Timothée on his back, Tyler turned to me and said, "Timmy, meet my friend Nadia. Nadia, Timmy."

     Timothée's eyes turned to me and he smirked.

     "I already know him. Unfortunately," I said to Tyler. I whispered the "unfortunately" part. I didn't want to spoil Tyler's time or mood.

     "And I already know her. We met last Summer in Le Chambon."

     "Where?" Tyler asked.

     "Le Chambon-sur-lignon, France. I had a writing assignment there-"

     "And I was visiting family for the Summer." Timothée interrupted. I glared at him for a split second.

     "We happened to be in the staying in the same neighborhood and-"

     "And we bumped into each other and haven't been able to forget about each other since." Timothée cut in once again. I fought rolling my eyes. He smiled a smile that looked so genuine.

     "Oh. So are you two...together?" Tyler asked.

     "No!" Timothée and I both said simultaneously. Tyler raised his hands in surrender.

     "Sorry, sorry." I began. "It's just that we'd never be together, ever. He's not my type."

     "Oh really? Because-"

     As if on cue, Audrey grabbed my hand from behind and tugged me back.

     "Nadia, I've been looking for you everywhere. I have some friends for you to meet." Audrey explained. She looked at Tyler and Timothée for five seconds before pulling me away from the two.

     "Was that Timothée Chalamet and Tyler Andersson? They're both pretty hot," Audrey said as she led me to her friends. I looked over my shoulder and saw Tyler waiving and Timothée smugly smirking again. I'd text Tyler later. As for Timothée, I hoped that I would never have to see him again.

     "Don't reduce them to that," I replied. I rolled my eyes as I thought of Timothée. "They are both much, much more."