Flaws of Stars

Chapter 5

[pov Zendaya]

There was nothing more lovable than seeing Timothee being satisfied by his own acting. As always, he was appreciating with much recognition the compliments people gave him as the room emptied. It seems Lou was an ideal new partner for acting... I squint my eyes while analyzing her, smiling. Tom, next to me, gazed at me and seemed to already know what I was thinking.

- No. No, Zen, I know that look, don't do that.

- Oh, I'm definitely gonna do that. As a good friend, of course.

- Zendaya, complained Tom, why can't you just...

- What? Stay here and wait for her to come to us?

- Zen, you don't have to check if every person that interacts with your friends has good or... specific intentions.

- I'm not... checking anything, I retorted expressively. I'm just... curious to get to know her.

Tom sighed.

- You're definitely gonna test her.

- Nah, I'm not.

I was.

I walked towards her and patted her on the shoulder. She turned to me instantly, surprised.

- Hey! Lou, am I right?

- Yes, she said, looking pretty much disturbed by my presence.

- I just wanted to say I have seen some of your work and I love it.

Her face lit up.

- Oh! Well thank you very much. I have to admit I really love your work too. What you did on Euphoria, Dune... especially the emotional moments in Euphoria, you acted truly amazingly.

Compliments to flatter my opinion of myself... How convenient. I didn't know what her plans were, but I was deeply invested in what her flaws could be.

« I am going to figure out who you are, Lou... even if I don't even know your last name. »

- Thanks.

From afar, Tom made an alarming face. But I wasn't gonna let Lou escape me so easily...

- Oh, I'm sorry, Tom apparently needs me. Would you like to join us?

She seemed frozen for a second.

- Yes, of course.

- Good. Follow me then!

I introduced her to Tom and asked her a few things for several minutes. In the end, according to my personal analysis, she at least had good intentions. I quickly gave a look towards Timothee, who was calmly sipping a drink, trying not to gain attention. But I saw his glances, he was probably waiting for me to invite him to join us. And now that I've made sure Lou is safe, I should give him a signal.

- Oh, and I wanted to say, you were truly amazing back there, with Timothee.

- Thanks...

- Really, it was astonishing. Did you talk with him a bit?

- Uh...

- Wait, actually-

I took a break and turned around to pretend to search Timothee for a second.

- Timmy? I exclaimed. Come over here!

He approached us with a lively walk.

- I was just saying how incredible you both were together earlier and...