sidelines , timothée chalamet

SEVEN

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       LIAT'S PHONE LIT up her face, illuminating the freckles that peppered her face like glitter. Her green eyes reflected the news article on her screen, the almost golden specks in her eyes even more featured. Her previously all-brown hair had been bleached at the bottoms, and turquoise dye had taken up two large strands towards the middle in the front. A green notebook sat neatly under her phone as she sipped a smoothie.
       He watched from the doorway, afraid to come over. She was undeniably different; there was an air of maturity and calmness to her, one he didn't recognize. She smiled as she looked at something on her phone, taking out a pen. She scribbled furiously, looking at the door, leaving him no where else to hide.
There he was, Timothée Chalamet, in all his glory, standing like a kid who was just tagged in freeze tag, by the door. Liat felt her heart thump in her chest as he walked over, feeling paralyzed. "Timothée," she smiled, ignoring the anxious feeling growing in her stomach. "Hey, Li," he said, making her insides feel icy. Of course he had to use her nickname. He had rarely ever used her full name, always making up nicknames for her. Liat, on the other hand, always used his full name. She found it poetic and beautiful. She loved the way it tumbled of her tongue, a familiar yet far away sound. At least, she used to.
       Liat looked down, avoiding his eye. "How are you?" She asked, twirling the ring on her index finger. "Good, you?" She pulled the sleeve of her sweatshirt, finally making eye contact with him. He had obviously grown, his facial features more defined, but he still had his childish smile, one that Liat used to find familiar. "Pretty good," she muttered, spinning her feet under the table.
       The two sat in silence, ignoring each other's eye. Liat looked over at her smoothie, tucking her journal into her tote bag. "So," she breathed out, avoiding eye contact. "So." She took a sip of her smoothie, focusing on her scuffed up boots. She glanced at Timothée, who was silent, looking away before he could establish eye contact.
"This is weird," he said, making her nod. "Incredibly weird." Liat laughed, making him smile slightly. "Well, what's been going on in your life? You've obviously been very busy." Liat smiled lightly, looking down. "I finished my tour recently. I've been writing, staying home, y'know, the usual." He nodded, sighing. "I listened to Immunity. It was really good."
Liat's eyebrows rose, her  cheeks turning rosy. "Really?" She felt about ready to vomit, her stomach churning wildly. "Yeah. I always knew you could do it." The ghost of a smile on her face dropped, shifting to annoyance. "That's not what you said when we broke up, but okay." He sighed, finally making eye contact with her. She felt icy and nauseous, looking at the eyes she used to admire, used to write about, used to trust. "I'm really sorry. I didn't mean it."
       She plastered a smile on her face, making her cheeks hurt. "It's fine, Water under the bridge." The awkward silence resumed, filling the already tense air. "My favorite song on Immunity was 'I Wouldn't Ask You'." Liat bit the inside of her cheek, looking to her side. "It was about you, you know," she stuttered, twirling the straw in her juice.
"I figured," he muttered, looking down. "I learned so much about you through it. I didn't know half of those things." She tensed, unsure of what to say. "A lot of the songs mentioned you," Liat murmured, clutching her phone. "The Call Me By Your Name reference in 'Bags' was cool." Liat's cheeks turned a furious shade of red as she looked down at her shoes. "I didn't think you would get that," she laughed.
       "You did mention it in your Genius interview for Bags," he laughed, making her cheeks heat up even more. "I can't believe you watched that!" She gasped jokingly, placing her hand over her heart. "Why wouldn't I?" Liat smiled, taking a sip of her smoothie. It just felt so natural, being here with Timothée, joking around; just like they used to do. It just felt so easy, so perfect.
       But, of course, nothing in Liat's life is ever easy or natural or perfect. Everything is messy and gross and a puzzle, but missing the last pieces. Liat looked over at Timothée, smiling. She missed him. She missed his smile, she missed his laugh, she missed counting the freckles on his face, she missed watching old Brady Bunch reruns with him and her mom on the weekends—
       "Weren't we so wrong then," he joked, making her eyebrows furrow. "What?" Liat sat up straighter, confused. "When I said you would never be famous and you said I cheated on you. We were so wrong." Liat frowned, looking down. "Did you seriously bring that up?"
Timothée stammered, making her sigh in annoyance. "See, you always do this. You always have to bring up unrelated topics just to piss me off." The two argued, speaking over each other. Liat sighed, pulling down her sweatshirt. "I swear," she muttered under her breath, looking at her empty smoothie cup. Timothée follows her eyes, noticing her empty cup.
"I should go," she mutters, shoving her journal in her tote bag. "I could walk you to the subway," he said, scrambling to get up. "You don't have to," she assured, waving to a waiter she knew. "No, it's fine." Liat looked down at her at her shoes, walking towards the door. Timothée held the door open for her, making her groan. "You can stop, Timothée," she muttered, making him laugh slightly.
       The cool fall New York air hit Liat, chilling her cheeks. Walking down the oh-so familiar streets with none other than her high school boyfriend; it was almost nostalgic, a feeling Liat hated. The tension felt sticky, and Liat felt her throat burn. She could see the subway station nearing, making her sigh in relief. "So," she muttered, rummaging her bag for her MetroCard. "So."
Liat rocked on the balls of her feet, looking down at her shoes. "I'll see you?" He nodded, stuffing his hands in his pocket. "Okay," she whispered, looking towards the station entrance. "Okay." Liat headed down the stairs, looking back. She waved, a small smile gracing her lips as he waved back.
This was my worst idea ever, she thought, sighing.

❛ camille can't stop ! ༉‧₊˚✧
one) BLACK LIVES MATTER!! just because i'm updating doesn't mean i don't care. check the link on my profile for resources and ways you can help!!
two) this took me forever to write but what u do think of timothée and liat? should they date again?
three) ALSO!! thank you FOR 12k READS! i wrote this because i thought it would be fun and i NEVER thought it would become this big! THANK YOU ALL!!