Any Way The Wind Blows (Timothee Chalamet)

Concrete

                                                              Manhattan, New York, United States 

                                                                                      Present Day 

The familiar buzz of my phone on my metal nightstand caused me to jolt awake quickly. It was Fleur, my best friend in New York. 

"Hey! I had to head out early, going to interview for a TV internship ily see you later." 

The light from the screen caused my eyes to twitch, and I groaned as I brought myself up to sit on the side of my bed. 

"kk see you for dinner. Ramen?" I quickly typed back. 

I let out a large sigh as I felt the comforting threads on my sheets; I just wanted to sleep forever. Columbia was hard, and I was running short on ideas for my newest project for my class on period pieces. My head fell into my hands, and I sat there for at least a minute till I gathered up the strength to get dressed. I decided to go with a relaxed outfit; some acid-washed Wrangler jeans and a cropped Off-White hoodie. I threw my hair up into a bun and combed through my eyelashes with a little bit of mascara, following through with a bit of lip balm and highlighter. I grabbed my bag and a half burnt piece of toast that Fleur left for me on the counter. I glanced down at the time on my phone, and after realizing I was about 15 minutes late, I rushed to the elevator, aggressively tapping at the buttons. 

When I finally reached the bustling streets of Manhattan, the crisp fall air refreshed my morning grogginess. I speed walked like a soccer mom in California to make it to my class on time, entering the massive building that had absorbed my life the past few years. I saw that my professor had already started, but there was a brown-haired boy on the platform with a PowerPoint behind him. I couldn't see who it was. 

"Shit," I muttered to myself; the proposals must be due today. 

I opened the door as gently as I could, but it made a large creak as I tried to push my way past it. 

My professor glared at me as I took my seat next to Matvey. 

"Thought you'd never make it." He chuckled as he shifted his bag to the other side of him. 

"Please tell me that presentations won't finish today; I have like three words down on mine," I stressed. 

"Awe, come on, adapt, improvise, overcome," Matvey winked. 

I rolled my eyes at him. 

"We aren't presenting, idiot; take a closer look at who's at the podium." He gently gestured to the boy standing awkwardly at the front. 

"Oh my God," I whispered, kicking Matvey slightly with my foot. 

The boy with curly brown hair and a slender frame was Timothee Chalamet, the actor who played Henry V in "The King," which we studied. I listened closely to what he said about how he felt during the film, what worked and what didn't—taking notes to incorporate some of what he said into my projects. 

"Any questions?" Timothee asked, opening his hands and stepping out from behind the podium,  brushing his thick curls out of his face. 

The rest of my classmates bombarded him with questions about what the set was like, and how it felt to work for Netflix. A few questions surrounding Robert Pattison and the mud scene also arose from the starstruck crowd. I wanted to ask him about what makes a director stand out to him, endlessly rehearsing it in my head as my heart beat out of my chest. I couldn't bring myself to force the words out of my mouth, so I sunk into my chair, defeated. My gaze caught Timothee's for a brief moment, and just for a second, reality didn't exist. 

I anxiously awaited the lectures end, tapping Matvey with my pencil every time I saw him dozing off. This guy was seriously falling asleep when there's an actual big screen actor right in front of us? I met Matvey at a mixer for international students the first week on campus. He hailed from Myshkin, a small town outside of Moscow. We became best friends the day we met when I invited him over for mac & cheese, and the rest was history. Matvey wants to change the film industry in Russia, he's outspoken, driven, and has just the right amount of arrogance where it's almost charming. His soft blonde hair framed his freckled face, his blue eyes fluttering as the lecture buzzed in the background. He had a strong jawline, and his slender frame suited him. He definitely knew how to dress, although most of the time he looked he stepped straight out of a ninties sitcom. 

Time seemed to tick by slower and slower, and soon I felt my mind drifting to sleep. I rested my head on my hand fighting the urge to close my eyes as my classmates rambled on with their questions. My eyes felt heavy, and my head began to slip as I travelled to another world. 

I woke up to a gentle touch on my forearm, It wasn't Matvey, he was never gentle. I stretched my spine as I looked up with blurry eyes. 

Oh shit. 

Timothee stood infront of me, leaning on my desk with a slight smile and a sigh. I grabbed my pen and chucked it at Matvey which startled him to say the least. 

"Was I really that boring?" He laughed 

"No.. uh.. well..it wasn't you! I just didn't sleep well last night, time change and all." I rambled. 

"What adventure have you been on then?" He inquired. 

"Uh Saskatchewan, I was.. visiting family" I winced. 

"In the middle of the semester?" He chuckled and took the empty seat in front of us, facing back to me. 

"Yeah let's just forget this conversation ever happened" I threw my head back in defeat. 

I was talking to Timothee Chalamet, every teenage girls dream, and I could barely remember how to speak english. 

Speaking of that, Matvey pretended he was still learning english, so he wouldn't have to participate in the conversation. He saluted us and shuffled to the door. 

"Your boyfriend?" Timothee asked. 

"No, he's just a really good friend.. most of the time" I answered. 

"Good to know. I couldn't help but notice you were both late, and falling asleep during my lecture. Was there something I could have done better?" He flashed me another smile. 

I felt my heart rate pick up again, was I still asleep? making up my own reality where a movie star was talking to me alone. 

"I guess you could have made things more interesting" I sighed, quickly taken aback with what I just said.