Timothèe Chalamet Imagines

❁off of work❁

Your POV

Finally. 9:45 pm. Off of work.

I slump against a street lamp and shoulder my bag, waiting for my Uber to arrive. It's very ambient, and it gives me very, 'I'm a working girl in New York', energy. But what ruins that vibe for me is the pain in my knees, the killing headache I have, and the fact that I feel like I could curl up on this cement and fall asleep, even though I'm in an extremely dangerous part of town.

I close my eyes and rest my head against the lamp post, listening to the sounds of the city. Honks, sirens, yells... and someone walking towards me.

I snap my eyes open and see a man shuffling over to me. He looks withered under his baggy t shirt, and he has cotton ball taped over the veins in the crook of his elbow. I wish I could say this didn't terrify me, that homeless people who have had their lives stolen from drugs didn't scare me to death, but I feel entitled to be nervous standing here alone as this man continues to approach me.

"You got any change?" he asks me.

Fuck.

I shake my head and turn away.

When I don't hear the man leave, I force myself to turn back around.

"Nothing?" he asks me.

"No, I'm sorry," I say, trying to sound firm. My tone is anything but that.

I think he's going to leave, but instead, he steps closer to me. I can see his face entirely illuminated in the lamp light. It is old, and he has gray stubble on his face. His eyes look wild.

"I see you in that coffee shop all the time," he says, motioning to the place I work.

I just nod, silently praying that the Uber arrives any second.

"You're very pretty," the man tells me.

Now I'm panicking. It seems like I could take him down - he looks all weak and drugged up. But running away would probably be better -

The Uber pulls up right at this moment. I sigh with relief and quickly climb in, shutting the door very hard behind me.

"Hi," I say exasperatedly to the driver.

"Hey. Helvita Complex in Hell's Kitchen?" The woman asks me. I nod.

I watch the man standing under the lamp light as we drive off. I am grossed out, exhausted, and extremely sad that some people live that way.

The ride home feels long. Maybe it's the fact that my phone is at 1% and I can't use it to text Timmy, maybe it's the slow New York traffic, or maybe it's the fact that I'm so exhausted I feel like I can't stand up again tonight, but it seems to take forever.

Finally, finally, she arrives at his apartment complex.

Now all I have to do is get out of the Uber, take an elevator to the top floor, and walk down the hallway to our apartment.

I do just that, swinging the heavy door open and throwing my bag on the floor. I manage to kick my shoes off and saunter over to the couch before collapsing on top of it.

The room is dark, and I'm pretty sure Timmy's asleep. He's been working early in the morning - like 4am early in the morning - so he's been going to bed super early to be well rested.

I miss him. I feel like all either one of us do is work.

I'm thinking about how I really don't want to get up and brush my teeth when the light flickers on, illuminating the living room with a dim yellow.

I turn my head and see Timmy standing above me, dressed in his basic flannel pjs. He rubs his eyes and smiles down at me.

"Hi," I say with a smile.

He leans down and wraps his arms around me, hugging me tightly.

Coming home to this makes it all worth it.

Over my shoulder, he inhales deeply.

"I love how you always smell like espresso," he tells me.

I giggle into him. I sit up when he pulls back and we sit there for a moment, just staring at each other. I can't take it anymore, and I flop back into him, my head resting against his chest.

"I missed you," he says quietly.

"I wish we could see more of each other," I say into his shirt.

It's quiet for a moment, and I'm on the verge of drifting off to sleep.

"I wish you didn't work so much," he tells me. "It feels like I never get to see you anymore."

For some reason, anger flashes through me. I tense up against him and pull away.

"Yeah, I wish I didn't have to work so much either, but I make 7.50 an hour and I have to make a living somehow," I snap.

Shock runs over his features.

"No, I'm sorry that's - that's not what I meant. I'm sorry. I know you've been working hard and it's draining," he tells me.

"I'm just sick of working, that's all. I'm sick of the people, and the short breaks, and the creepy men who hit on me while I'm waiting for my ride," I ramble, my unreasonable anger subsiding.

"Wait, who's hitting on you?" he asks.

"Nothing, there was just a gross guy tonight. It's fine. It's not a big deal," I assure him.

We sit in silence again.

"I'm sorry," I say, reaching over and holding his hands in mine.

"Don't be sorry. I can't imagine what working in service 24/7 is like," he tells me.

"It sucks," I say.

"I know."

He slides off of the couch and into the kitchen. I hear him rustling around, and I reach for the remote, turning a random Netflix show on.

He comes back a couple minutes later with two mugs of tea.

I don't have the heart to tell him that I just want to sleep - not when he's wearing that sweet smile and resting his head on my shoulder while we sip our tea and watch Netflix.

I move my head down to his lap, and he takes my mug from me, setting it on the coffee table in front of us. I can't help closing my eyes when I feel his long fingers running through my hair. Over, and over, and over.

I'm so tired.

"You can sleep, you know." he whispers down to me.

I smile to myself and finally let go, drifting off to the hum of the TV and the feeling of his fingers in my hair.

guys I'm SO SORRY that I've been gone for so long. honestly I'm having such a huge block with this right now for some reason. I need you to tell me the types of things you like to read so that I know what to write. also, sorry this one is bad. I usually don't publish things I don't like, but I felt like I needed to put out something - I might delete this one later. summer is very busy for me so if I'm not updating as much, I'm so sorry. but I can assure you that I will tell you if I intend to stop writing these - which I don't anytime soon.

but thanks for sticking around and waiting for me if you did. I can't tell you how HAPPY this platform makes me :) I love you all so much <3