Golden Days

Chapter 05: Escapade

The next image we see is of a wooden door with a peephole and the number 332 above it.

As the camera moves away from the door, we can see Arthur, standing right in front of it. His fist is stretched toward it and he almost knocks on it but steps back at the last second, putting his hand in his pants' pocket.

Arthur is wearing a well fitted and elegant gray suit, which he looks at, wondering it isn't a bit too much. What if Alfred mocks him for being too well-dressed?

We, briefly, watch Arthur rehearse in a quiet voice what he is going to say. He first rehearses a brief formal greeting and then the explanations. He came for professional reasons. He wants to make it perfectly clear that this whole thing of rivalry and kisses on the sidewalk wasn't what he was looking for in this job. He doesn't like Hollywood dramas and he has no intention of living one. He just wants to do a good job and spend his spare time with his cats. He would prefer for them to maintain a cordial and distant relationship from now on.

Yeah, that sounds good to him.

He wants to state all those things to Alfred before Alfred himself says something like, "Oh, I was just trying to experiment what it's like to be with a beta man. I don't give a fuck about how you feel about all this."

Arthur takes a deep breath. Okay, he's ready now. Now or never.

He gives three quick knocks on the door, waits two seconds and ... no answer. Alright! Alfred was probably not home! Arthur turns very quickly to leave when ...

"Hey, you really came!" says Alfred's lively voice behind him.

Arthur becomes paralyzed in the act as if he had just been caught transgressing the law. He turns slowly to Alfred, making an effort to appear calm and confident.

"Uh, I decided to come because... ."

The words simply vanish from Arthur's mouth when he sees Alfred. After all...

01. Alfred is just wearing a towel.

02. But Alfred is also wearing...

"Are these glasses?!" Arthur points to Alfred's face in astonishment.

Alfred is wearing glasses, indeed. They are round, have thick black frames and give him a completely different look. Instead of looking like an impetuous hero, Alfred seems like the kind of fella that rejects party invitations to stay in his home, reading.

"Oh yeah. You didn't know that. "Alfred casually remarks, adjusting his glasses on his face. "I have a pretty bad eyesight. Without glasses, I can barely see anything."

... Did that mean that during all that time, Alfred was acting and even challenging Arthur on it without barely seeing his surroundings?! What the hell!

"Jones, you never wear glasses at the recordings!" Arthur exclaims in disbelief, confronting the veracity of what Alfred has just said.

"Of course, I don't. Do you think they would want a hero wearing glasses?" Alfred huffs. "If I wore them, I would only be able to play the role of the smart and slightest lame friend of the protagonist."

What he says is true, but Arthur has a hard time absorbing the fact that all along, Alfred has acted out scenes with him, without even seeing his face.

"But... but...! You didn't see me and... What?!"

"Look, can't you come in and talk about it in here?" Alfred asks, arms crossed over his chest, tapping his foot impatiently. "I'm in the middle of the hall, just wearing a towel, so... "