𝐬𝐮𝐧𝐛𝐥𝐨𝐬𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐬 | pete davidson

three: the dance

"Dahlia, Kitty!" His stomach jiggled as he bellowed a laugh, his arms wide open as he got up from his desk to hug her from the doorway.

She nervously laughed, reluctantly hugging him back. "Mister Michaels..."

"I—nooo..." he growled playfully. "No need to be so formal, nobody calls me that here. Please, call me Lorne."

Dahlia nodded. "Well, I can guess where the 'Kitty' thing came from." She folded her arms over her chest, watching him laugh again. "Sorry if that bugs you, I've been referring to you as that throughout the studio. The cast practically knows you as that."

She watched him travel back to his desk, waddling like a chubby duck scuttling back to its pond. "But, I'll have that erased if you don't like it."

Once he plopped down in his leather seat, he extended a hand out to the open chair facing his desk. Dahlia took the cue and accepted the seat, the last thing she'd want to do is disrespect her potential employer.

"Uhh, I suppose I'll just have to make a name for myself while I'm here."

Lorne belted out into jolly laughter again.

"Of course, of course. I knew from the video that I'd like you a lot, but you just keep surprising me. You've really solidified that."

He laid out his desk straight, clearing away any and all clutter from the countertop before folding his hands together with his fingers entwined, resting on his belly.

"So..." he melted into his chair more. "What a coincidence Aidy was at that party too."

Dahlia nodded, anxiously squeezing her palms, balling her hands into fists in her lap. She remained silent.

"How do you know Jack Veramente?"

Her eyebrows perked, a natural response whenever someone asked her that question.

"Well," she chuckled, caressing her cheek. "He and I are friends. Jack's the first person I met when I moved to New York."

"Ah." Lorne exhaled. "I only ask because... well, I think you know just how recognizable the inside of Jack's home looks like." Dahlia simply smiled at him, incessantly nodding. She was too afraid to slouch into her seat, her posture had not changed since she had left the elevator.

Who was that guy in the elevator? Dahlia thought.

The dude's a skyscraper, he was so freakishly tall.

He was so...

"Would you like to meet him?"

Dahlia snapped out of her thoughts, blinking in rapid succession at Lorne. "I'm so sorry," she said, rubbing her left eye with her wrist. "See who?"

"I asked if you'd like to meet them. The cast, I mean."

Oh... she nodded again, tapping her thighs with flat open palms.

"Lovely! They're all set to meet for today's run through the script—"

"Oh! Oh, you meant t-today...?"

"Of course! I pushed the script cold read up to today so that everyone had the chance of meeting you!"

Dahlia put on a smile to mask her nerves. "Ohh... dandy."

*

Aidy was the first from the cast to welcome her. Dahlia didn't recognize her at first but she clarified who she was. She had just vaguely found Aidy familiar.

She was a round woman, a few inches taller than Dahlia. She had long brown hair, round rosy cheeks, blue eyes, and sharp eyebrows positioned to make her look super serious even when she was resting.