I can't remember the last time I was awake this late, it's nearly three in the morning now, and Wyatt and I are still awake, sitting on my bed. His laptop lays between us as I scroll through Netflix, trying to find something to watch.
"You've never seen Forest Gump?" Wyatt asks. He's lying on his side, his head resting in the palm of his hand as he looks up at me. We both changed back into our PJs since arriving home, piling blankets over ourselves to warm up a bit.
"I never got the hype," I shrug, scrolling past the movie. We've been looking for a while and can't seem to agree on a thing to watch. "What about-"
I pause as I click on the next movie. The cover of it is a picture of Wyatt, dressed in Victorian-era clothes. He's standing beside a girl on a hilltop. She's dressed in a Victorian era ballgown. Both are staring into the distance, wearing serious expressions. "What is it?" Wyatt asks, leaning up to peek at the screen.
"You know..." I hover my fingers over the touchpad, "I've never seen one of your movies before,"
"Really?" Wyatt asks, sitting up straighter. His brow was quirked curiously.
I nod, "I refused to out of principle."
"Makes sense," Wyatt nods, shrugging his shoulders, "well, do you want to watch it now?"
I glance back at the poster, my eyes falling down to the brief plot description provided below. It sounded like the kind of movie I'd like, a Jane Austen type period piece film, "isn't it weird watching your own movie, though?" I ask him, although the more I stare at the picture, the more I want to watch it. I want to see why Wyatt is as loved in Hollywood as he is.
"Sometimes," Wyatt shrugs, "but you get used to it. Seriously, if you wanna watch it, we can."
"I am only watching this for research purposes," I inform him, a serious expression on my face, "and to make fun of you."
Wyatt laughs, nodding his head, "I expect nothing less."
I press play a little bit later, curling my knees up to my chest, pulling the fleece throw blanket up to my chin. I crack a few jokes at the beginning of the movie, making fun of how the white puffy-sleeved shirt that Wyatt's character wears, claiming he looks like a pirate. The more the movie plays, though, the quieter I get. Growing lost in the story.
Wyatt's character Jack is a servant boy. He ends up capturing the heart of Sybil, a lady in the society who's arranged to marry someone else. She and Jack see one another in secret, not caring if they were not supposed to be together. I couldn't help but love Jack, rooting for him and Sybil to make it.
As the movie goes on, Wyatt and I shift closer. At some point, Wyatt moves the laptop onto his lap, both of us scooting closer to one another. Our legs are pressed against one another, our heads ducked together. I barely notice, though. I'm too focused on Jack and Sybil's story. As the story progresses, the two are pushed further apart. Her parents discover their secret relationship and send Sybil away, far away from Jack. To a place where she will be reminded of how a proper young lady is supposed to act. She and Jack both promise that it'll change nothing, that they will marry when she gets back... but that doesn't happen.
"That's it?" I question as the credits roll, a depressing piano tune playing behind them. The film ends with Jack standing on the same hill he and Sybil used to secretly meet at, except this time he's alone, watching from afar as she arrives back in the kingdom, her arm linked with another man. "It's over? that's how it ends?"
Wyatt chuckles, looking over at me. I felt him look over a few times throughout the movie but never dared to look back. I was far too focused on Jack and Sybil, "Did you like it?"
YOU ARE READING
Back to December
RomanceMarley and Wyatt. Wyatt and Marley. The two of them couldn't be more different. Marley is shy, awkward and nerdy, the kind of girl who'd much rather stay in than go out. She was the type of girl who blended in, hating being the centre of attention...