My Leading Man | Timothée Chalamet

chapter four

Syd and I approached the coffee shop where I was just yesterday morning, and I was feeling surprisingly nervous. My palms were getting sweaty and I had to wipe them off on my skirt several times on our way over until Sydney told me that if I kept doing that, my skirt would get wet and I would look like I peed myself.

When we got up to the window, I did a quick scan through the window to see if by some miracle, Timothée actually showed up. No sign yet. I was feeling more and more anxious by the second, and I started doing these weird half-kicks outside the shop to shake out my nervous energy, until Sydney grabbed me by the shoulders and pulled me too close to her face.

"Dude. Chill. It's gonna be fine."

I nodded and took a breath. "Yeah. You're right. No big deal." I tried to level with myself that it really was no big deal, but it was no use. What's wrong with me? It's just some guy who I met getting coffee yesterday. He probably won't even come. He- Sydney pulled me out of my thoughts and pushed me toward the door.

"Okay, now get inside. Don't want Tim to run into you out here." I inhaled deeply, composed myself, and opened the door.

Once I ordered my coffee - my nerves couldn't stomach real food at the moment - I sat down at a little table that faced the window. I scanned around the shop and outside to see if Timothée had come and I just missed him, but no such luck. I took a sip and checked the time. It was now five minutes after the time I arrived here yesterday, so not too bad. He still had time.

So I sipped. And sipped. And sipped. And between each sip, I watched the minutes tick by: five, ten, twenty. Things were looking pretty bleak. I wrote out a text to Sydney, who was sitting on a bench somewhere outside the cafe. I don't think he's coming Syd :/ Then in a separate text I added Let's go. Don't wanna be late for class. I set my phone down and a shock reverberated through my body at the stunning sight before me. Timothée! I couldn't believe it. I blinked hard to make sure I wasn't imagining things, and sure enough, there he was. He actually came! I felt my heart stutter then pick up its pace and I bounced my legs in nervous anticipation underneath the table. He walked through the door, looked around the room, and when his eyes fell on me, he smiled. I thought my heart would burst from my chest. Okay, Vi, he's just here to discuss the script. No reason to have a panic attack. Keeping these assurances in mind, I tried to keep it casual and gave a smile and small wave in return. He held up the script to me, then held up his index finger, indicating to give him just one second while he got his food.

As he waited in line, I tried to discreetly get a look at him. His hair looked messy and windblown today, but still absolutely incredible. The waves curved around his cheeks, and stopped right at the neck of his blue and yellow windbreaker. Today was one of those weird March days where it was cold in the morning but warm in the afternoon, so I could tell he was dressed for today's chillier morning. Below his jacket he was wearing black sweats and white sneakers. I could have kept staring at him forever, but not wanting to make him uncomfortable, I looked away.

A couple minutes later, he slid into the seat in front of me with his back to the windows.

"Hey." He smiled at me, then his face momentarily fell. "I hope I'm not too late! I'm so sorry things just got out of control this morning-"

"No worries," I interrupted him. "All is forgiven," I added truthfully, and gave him a tentative smile. "So-" I began, but stopped when behind him, I saw Sydney outside the shop's windows do one big exaggerated gasp and burst through the doors. She was definitely one for theatrics. Noticing my hesitation, Timothée leaned back slightly and turned his head in the direction of my eyeline, and I bit my lip, hoping for the love of all that is good, please, Sydney, don't do anything weird. She turned back and stepped in line just in time for him to not notice her. I tried to save face. "Uh- sorry. I just think that's my friend over there," I trailed off. He looked over at Sydney, where she dramatically turned to me, put on her shocked face, and walked over to the table.

"Violet! What are you doing here? What a coincidence!" She patted my arm. I widened my eyes at her, telling her please to dial it down.

"Uh, yeah. Hey Syd. I just came for some breakfast, and-" Sydney turned to Timothée.

"Are you- Timothée Chalamet?" Her eyes were as big as saucers, but he just smiled at her.

"Yeah, what's up?"

I just sat there, not knowing what to do. "Not much," she said smoothly, and shrugged. "Mind if I get a picture with you?"

Timothée hopped up from his seat in an instant. "Yeah, no problem." He then turned his magnificent eyes on me. "Mind taking it for us?" At first I just stared back at him, uncomprehending, then shook my head with a smile.

"Yes. Of course," I laughed. Syd handed me her phone, and I took a picture of them, with Timothée holding up the peace sign, and her leaning on his arm like I'd seen her do with a million other guys before. They looked like a couple. I felt a slight twinge within me, but quickly brushed it aside, not wanting to dive into the reasoning behind it. 

After taking the pic, I handed the phone back to her, and she thanked him for the picture, said it was so nice to meet him, and that she was going to be late so she better get moving. I smiled and waved a polite goodbye, then turned my attention back to the incredible man in front of me once she was gone.

"Nice friend," he laughed awkwardly.

I smiled. "Yeah, she's... she's great."

"Did she even get any food?" He laughed good-naturedly.

"You know, I don't think she did," I laughed. I liked that he was talking to me about her; it felt like he felt closer to me and was letting me in on a little secret.

He smiled, then his face turned serious. "So, about the script." He began diplomatically. 

All business, I thought. Wanting to match him, I laced my fingers together on the table before me and gave him my full attention. "About the script," I repeated, and took a sip from my coffee.

"I want to be in your movie. It's incredible."

I choked.

"You- what?" I looked at him dumbfoundedly.

"Your script," he clarified, like that was the part I needed clarification on. "I love it. It's fresh, it's clever, and I want to play Theo." He looked at me seriously. "If you'll have me, that is." He looked nervous.

Meanwhile, my mind was reeling. What was he saying? I thought I heard the words he was speaking, but clearly there was a disconnect in my brain. There was no way he could possibly mean what I thought he just said.

"I- I don't understand," I shook my head slightly.

He leaned forward and looked at me intently. "This is one of the best scripts I've ever read. It's inventive and does everything a good screenplay should. I spoke with my agent this morning, and she thinks it'd be good for me to do a small indie film, bring me back to my roots." He took a pause, letting it all sink in. "I know it's a lot, but if it's at all a possibility, I'd be honored to be a part of this."

My mouth dropped completely open. I had no idea how to process this, let alone muster up a response. He glanced down at his watch, then looked at me apologetically.

"I'm sorry- I've gotta run. But here's my agent's card," he held out a small white piece of paper to me, which I only stared at until he gave up and just placed it on the table in front of me. He stood up to leave. "Just, think about it? Get in touch with my agent this week, and let me know, okay?" He was already walking away from me, yet the air around me buzzed in a frenzy. "I'll see ya!"

I was frozen. Unable to move, unable to think. I just stared at the card in front of me and finally let out a breath I didn't know I was holding.