Gotta Find You

An American Girl

Disclaimer: I do not claim to own the character Elio Perlman or anything else to do with Call Me By Your Name. I just enjoy the book and movie and this is my little sequel, if you will. Hope you enjoy the read!

Elio could be outgoing if he wanted to. But that was rare. This girl however, was outgoing, period. Not in a 'hey, look at me' way. Vivienne Clarke didn't care what anyone thought about her, or if they even thought about her at all. She did what made her happy. She intended on making the most out of her life, with or without the approval of others.

Elio and Vivienne caught each other's eye immediately. They were attracted to each other by an unknown force that neither of them could understand or deny. It was the first day of school, and after the English professor finished going over the syllabus, Viv noticed Elio reading. But he did stop every so often to look over at her and then grin discreetly to himself when he looked away.

She made the effort to approach him after class. "Hi, I'm Vivienne Clarke." she announced to him and stuck her hand out to him confidently. He looked at her, then looked at her hand. Upon taking her hand into his he said, "Elio Perlman." "Well, Elio Perlman, what's your next class?" "Uhh," he opened his agenda book and scanned over his schedule, "Math 101." "Really? Me too, let's sit together."

She took him by the hand and led him to the classroom down the hallway. Elio smirked at the way she took charge. It was sexy. He was more intrigued by her than he was willing to admit at this point. Viv pushed the door open and they walked in together, she picked two seats in the middle of the room. "To show that we are here to learn, but not too eager." she explained to Elio.

After going over the syllabus in detail, the math professor dismissed the class early. "So are you available to hang out for a bit? I don't have another class until later." she asked with eagerness as the other students gathered up their things and got up from their seats. Elio was not accustomed to someone being so bubbly, especially toward him. He was usually the one doing the chasing, the initiating in nearly all relationships and friendships he'd ever had.

"Yeah, sure." He smiled softly at her and she hooked her arm under his. They walked together to the outside of the building. They settled at a picnic table under a huge maple tree. The sun wouldn't disturb their eyes too much as they sat and got to know each other better. Viv placed her hands on the tabletop and took a breath before starting, "So Elio Perlman, have you ever been in love?"

This was always her favorite question to ask when she met someone knew. It got the other person's attention and it was a great way to get a glimpse of their soul and mind. Elio's eyes darted down at his own hands. His mouth puckered a little, but she could see his eyes growing sorrowful, and she regretted her question.

She shook her head, disdaining herself for speaking. "Oh, I shouldn't have asked, I'm really sorry. That's too personal." Elio looked her in the eyes and his sad face began to soften. He usually was a rather closed book, but Vivienne made him feel a warmth that he took delight in, but he knew he couldn't trust it completely, not yet. "No, it's okay." he said, "I have been. In love, I mean. Briefly, anyway."

"You can tell me about her, if you want." She encouraged, her eyes shining with invitation. Elio shook his head and looked off to the side, he pursed his lips conspicuously. He wrestled with the decision whether to tell her or not, she seemed to be a woman whom kept up with the ever changing swing of things in the world. "It wasn't...um-I uh, I had a relationship with a man." he cleared his throat, "An older guy."

Viv's eyes widened, not with shock, but with interest. However, she'd be lying if she didn't admit to herself that she was disappointed, as she was crushing on him. She was really hoping that he'd be attracted to her, but that would be a stretch if he weren't even attracted to her gender. She had to ask, to clarify, "So, you're gay?"

His eyebrows raised with thought for a few seconds, and then he shrugged his shoulders, "In that instant, yes. But I like girls too." "So you're bisexual?" she asked cautiously, sensing that he wasn't exactly confident talking about this topic. "I mean, I haven't subscribed to any labels. But I guess so." She nodded slowly, "Cool." Viv was relieved that he wasn't exclusively into guys. Sure, they could be friends, but she didn't want to be...just friends with him.

They sat in silence, just letting the breeze pass as the leaves of the great maple tree cascaded down onto the ground below them. Elio took a moment to look at Vivienne, to really look at her. It was the only instant of their time together so far in which she was completely silent. He smiled softly, admiring the way her skin looked in the mid-morning sun that trickled over them from between the tree's branches. He observed as she brushed the ends of her hair over her shoulder.

She felt his eyes on her and she nonchalantly met his gaze. She matched his little smile with her own lips. She was really starting to enjoy the way his chocolate curls shined under the sun, how the tiny golden specs in his irises brightened. "Elio, you must be the most beautiful man I've ever seen in my life." She meant every word. His cheeks flushed with a warm tone and he couldn't help but grin. He shook his head at her words, as he wasn't one to be comfortable accepting compliments.

Everyone Vivienne had ever known was so ordinary. So bland and all the same. This was why she wanted to go away to college. She wanted to meet new and interesting and beautiful people. Not beautiful just in the physical sense, but she wanted to get to know the true beauty inside of people. To learn about them, and their experiences, and the way the saw the world.

"You are quite beautiful, Vivienne. I'm glad I met you." His smile was sweet and genuine. "Thanks." she blushed. They both found themselves not wanting this time to end, neither of them wanted their next class to come. "So, what about you?  Have you ever been in love?" Suddenly, she felt nervous under his lens. "No," she shook her head slightly, "I haven't. I mean, I've dated guys, but I've never been in love with any of them."

"I understand that." Elio said, he knew what is was to love someone, but not be in love with them. Vivienne sighed in a way that did nothing to mask how badly she did not want to leave his presence, but alas, class time calls eventually. "I should head to class." "Oh, yeah," he brought his wrist into his view and upon reading the time, he continued, "I should go too, mine's across campus basically."

Both of them stood up, gathering their respective school supplies and slinging their backpacks over their shoulders. "Well, it was nice to meet you, Ms. Clarke." Elio said, smiling. Viv giggled, "You kind of already said that, but it was nice meeting you too." He scoffed at himself, having not remembered the words he said just moments ago. He had her to blame if he seemed flustered. "I'll see you around." he said, unsure of what to say. He didn't want to be too forward, even though he really wanted to be.

Their gaze was broken as he walked away and turned his back to her, but she called out his name, "Elio, wait!" He turned to face her once again, "I want to see you again, come by my dorm sometime. Room 101, Ivory Hall." she grinned flirtatiously and nodded with a cute little wave before taking off again.