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Filming was a lot for everyone. For the cast, for the crew, but mostly, for the two people that had just seen each other that day for the first time in six years, while still not having exchanged a word, a touch, or even a smile.
Timothée found himself in front of the camera, while Manon sat behind it, her attention focused on her college journal. He'd glance at her in-between scenes, and she'd glance up at him in-between her journal entries. They never made eye contact with each other at the same time, for they'd immediately look away if they saw a sign of the other one averting their gaze back at them.
The moment a scene would end or a small break would start and the opportunity to talk would rise, one of them would go missing. They'd either get their name called or simply disappear behind the many trees on set, unable to handle any sort of communication with each other.
To say it was a happy reunion would be a lie. It was shocking, for sure, but the happiness wasn't quite there yet. Perhaps it was because they could hardly believe they were both there, together, and perhaps it was because the version of each other they imagined in their head was quite different than who was standing in front of them, in more ways than one.
They both wanted to approach each other so badly, yet it felt as if an invisible force was holding the two apart. The two weren't quite over the emotions they felt throughout those years apart, and though they had so many things they wanted to say or do, figuring out the order of things appeared to be quite challenging.
Manon observed Timothée throughout the day. She gazed at him as he acted, his emotions in the scenes quickly treading their way to her heart. The girl admitted to herself that his acting was phenomenal. He was brilliant, yet part of her feared that perhaps the reason the pain was so evident in his acting, was because of her. Manon remembered how talented the boy in front of her was when it came to acting.
She'd normally find herself filming him acting out scenes from his books each summer and always found herself getting so involved in the characters he was playing, so involved in the way he was acting, that she'd shed a tear, or laugh until her stomach hurt. She knew he had a knack for acting, and felt happy to know that he went on to do something he loved.
Timothée studied Manon when she wasn't looking. He studied the way she wrote in her journal, holding it almost as if it was her most prized possession, wondering what she was writing about. He studied the way she looked at her phone with furrowed brows, wondering what was she looking for in that tiny device of hers. He studied her as she glanced away from the ground and looked around herself, seeming to appreciate the nature she was in. Most of all, he studied her face, trying to figure out what she was feeling, what she was thinking.
His mind could still not quite comprehend that the girl he thought he'd never get to see again was standing in front of him. He felt conflicted, trying to figure out how to approach her, and if he should in the first place, while also attempting to figure out why she was on set. He considered asking Luca about her for a moment but decided against it.
"Drooling over the new girl, I see" His favorite co-star spoke as he walked over to the boy upon finishing yet another scene and rested his hand on his shoulder.
"Uh-yeah" Timothée mumbled quickly in response, incapable of telling Armie the truth. Armie knew all about his childhood best friend, and if he found out the new girl was the same girl from his childhood, he simply wouldn't leave the two alone until they got together. The boy knew he'd have to tell him at some point, for he wasn't a good liar and wouldn't be able to lie forever, but he felt like he needed more time.
"I could set you two up if you want to, I kind of already did" Armie smiled at Timothée, looking back and forth between him and Manon.
"What"? Timothée exclaimed, sheer panic ringing through his voice "What did you do"? He questioned, averting his gaze away from the girl, and averting it to the tall man standing beside him.
"I just told her I think you'd make good friends, that's all" Armie explained, noticing the nervousness in Timothée's body language. He didn't mean to make Timothée anxious and uncomfortable, he just wanted him to make friends and be happy.
"And what did she say"? Timothée asked nervously, wondering how their conversation went and if Manon wanted to talk to him as much as he wanted to talk to her.
"It doesn't matter. She's from France, here because of college, doesn't really know anyone here and I'm sure she wouldn't mind having a friend or two, you should go and talk to her while you have the chance" Armie responded, unwittingly answering some of the questions that were roaming through Timothée's mind. Though that definitely didn't stop from new questions to arise.
Timothée wondered how Manon got to France, and if she was living back at the Manson. He wondered what college she went to, and what she was studying.
"You're right, I-I should go do that" Timothée clenched his fists, telling himself in his mind that it was now or never, that he wouldn't give in to his fears and avoid telling the girl he cared for everything he had to say again. He was given a second chance, and he didn't want to lose it.
"Go get her tiger" Armie clapped on the boy's back, pushing him forward and smiling at him proudly.
Manon wasn't where Timothée last saw her. Her bag was resting there, but she was nowhere to be found. He walked between the trees looking left and right until he began hearing the soft echo of her voice. He followed it, which lead him to Manon leaning on one of the walls of the mansion, her attention averted to the phone pressed against her ear.
"How is she doing? Is she eating well? Is she calm? Did she say anything about me"? Manon uttered quickly, attacking the nurse on the other side of the phone with the questions soaring through her mind. It was her first time being so far away from her grandmother, and she knew that she couldn't go too long without checking up on her. She needed to hear that everything was okay just to ease her heart.
But of course, Timothée had no idea who she was talking to. He found his heart sinking in his chest as the possibilities of the person on the other side of the call rose in his brain. He wondered if perhaps she had a child back in France, and perhaps she was talking to her partner, making sure everything was okay. She was quite young, the same age as him, but he heard of people starting families at such a young age and it wouldn't surprise him if she had a partner and a family. She was a beautiful girl with a good personality, she was the perfect person to start the rest of your life with.
He found himself backtracking, realizing that perhaps things weren't as simple as he thought. That he wouldn't be able to solve their years apart with a confession, that perhaps, he was too late.
Manon got off the phone, sighing in the process. She heard the rustle of leaves, almost as if someone was walking close by, but upon looking around realized it was just her, all alone. Her thoughts immediately moved back to Timothée. His presence was killing her inside.
She felt as if she was ready to do anything to go back in time just to sit down with her grandmother when her mind was clear and ask her for advice. Her grandmother always knew what to do, and Manon knew that her grandmother would be able to help her approach him, help her tell him everything, because she herself, simply didn't have the courage.
No amount of sleepless nights and hopeless dreams could prepare her to the number of emotions that would arise upon seeing him. It felt as if she saw him such a long time ago, that she simply forgot how to talk to him, that she had no idea how to even approach him, or smile at him.
She never heard his side of things, and neither did he hear hers. The two were left with nothing but assumptions ever since the day they lost each other.
Their fears were like monsters, pushing them further apart.
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✔ Statistics » Timothée Chalamet
Fanfiction❝ Statistics are human beings with the tears wiped off ❞. ↣ In which a boy and a girl grow up together and get separated by a tragedy, only to be left wondering where the other one was, and whether they would ever see each other again. ❝ Sometimes...