A Chance Encounter (Chris Hemsworth X OMC)

Kept at a Distance

The sense of love and connection Wyatt had felt upon arriving at the Hemsworths' house had been so immediate and genuine that when he woke the following morning to find that Chris's friends were coming over, the contrast was jarring.

"They won't stay all day," Chris promised him as he gave him one last kiss. Wyatt noticed the kiss was especially breathtaking and passionate, which made him feel more secure about the situation; it told him that Chris definitely wanted to soak up all that he could with him before having to put the mask on.

From that moment on, it was as if Chris weren't the same person. He was still Chris- still the jovial, goofball of a man. But the way he was able to pretend not to know Wyatt was almost scary. He was seated far away from Chris, next to Miley at the very end of the table. Chris and his friends were the major talkers at the table. Their rowdiness was endearing though Wyatt felt like an observer instead of a participant. Anytime he'd look over at Chris, he felt like he was looking at a version of him from an alternate world where they'd never met.

It's called acting, Wyatt, he told himself. He isn't really thinking like that.

But Chris wasn't the only person at the table who behaved this way. Craig, Leonie, Luke and Melissa all behaved the same way. They were all friendly enough, of course, but only Miley and Liam treated him like they knew who he was. This was an integral part of the cover, of course. Aside from them, Wyatt spent the morning at the breakfast table feeling like he was surrounded by strangers.

You're an actor too, he reminded himself when he started to feel discouraged. He poured all of himself into conversation with Miley, which helped. She knew what he was probably dealing with and continued to smile encouragingly at him as they spoke.

Aaron and Luke Zocchi- not to be confused with Chris's older brother- were Chris's old childhood friends. Ross was a fitness expert and author he'd met during his initial days of bulking for the first Thor film. And Bobby was his stunt double. When they'd met Wyatt, they'd all been friendly in that distant way heterosexual men can be. They're cool with you being gay, but they don't immediately want to pal around with you.

"Oh, you're that Halloween bloke!" Zocchi said when he'd been introduced to Wyatt.

The others had complimented the movie before moving on as well.

Leonie and Craig would randomly shoot Wyatt a friendly smile that almost seemed to ask him "are you okay?" Wyatt would respond with a reassuring smile even if he felt differently on the inside.

You knew this was how it would be sometimes. You knew. So don't act all sad now.

Once breakfast was concluded, Chris and the guys all departed for the beach. With them out of the house, Craig, Leonie and Melissa were able to relax around Wyatt and resume business as usual.

"Wyatt, do you want to go into town with us today?" Leonie asked as she knocked on Wyatt and Chris's open bedroom door. She stepped in and found Wyatt staring off into space.

"Sure," Wyatt briskly replied. "Let me just get ready."

"No rush," Leonie said. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. It's just a little weird doing this. Pretending we don't even know each other."

Leonie nodded. "I know. But if there's anything you need- you tell me. If you need to talk, you know I'm here."

The day was spent venturing around Byron Bay. They took Wyatt around and showed him all the notable locations. As he walked around and took it all in, he found himself recalling how Chris had referred to the place as paradise. And he was right. Byron Bay was beautiful and breathtaking. Though it would have been even better had Chris been at his side.