Aurora - Pedro Pascal

TWO

It didn't take Amelia very long to get her bag packed for spending a week at Tom's house. She spent the night before the party at her house alone, but all she really did was crochet while Grey's Anatomy played in the background. The drive to his house wasn't very long, but she went a little out of the way to go to her favorite local coffee shop for a latte and a scone. The coffee shop felt like a little getaway. She wasn't stopped for pictures as often and she knew the baristas on somewhat of a personal basis. She could read in one of the corner seats if she wanted, and no one would bother her.

Of course, she also made a stop at the store to get a few snacks for herself in case she got hungry in the middle of the night. It was early in the afternoon by the time she left the store, so she decided to pick up lunch for her and Tom on the way to his house. The party wasn't going to start until nine, so she had plenty of downtime, most of which was used to check emails and talk to her agent, Phoebe.

"I just got off the phone with casting for Fear Street. They're still figuring out callbacks but that's okay because it means that you're not dropped from the project entirely, okay?"

"I get that but it's stressful, y'know? These are triple feature R.L. Stine movies. They're going to be a big deal. I don't care about the money, you know that. I really want to get my name out there more now."

"I know, hun. Hopefully, I'll know more within the next few weeks."

"And what happens if-,"

"I know what you're gonna say, and we'll figure it out. I still think you should audition for the fourth season of Stranger Things but it's up to you."

"What's the deadline for that?"

"They want your tape in by the end of November, so I'd say you have plenty of time to get it done. But the sooner you do it, the sooner you hear back. Anyway, I think that's pretty much everything. Have fun at Tom's party tonight, okay?"

"Okay. Thanks."

She ate dinner with Tom before starting to get ready. The outfit was a simple combination of a sparkly black top with bright pink pants and a classic pair of black heels. Tom's parties were always the best, with a few big names in the industry always in attendance. She came downstairs when the music started and the lights turned off, and Miles and Keleigh were the first two people she laid eyes on. They caught up over drinks and talked about upcoming projects. Miles told her that she should audition for Stranger Things, or at least put more consideration into it. Two seasons were out and it was arguably one of Netflix's biggest shows.

The party was soon in full swing, with the room full of laughter and music. Someone by the snack table caught her eye, which gave her an excuse to cut a conversation short and get something to eat. She ate a few chocolate-covered strawberries before getting a plastic cup and scooping Chex Mix and pretzels into it.

"Hey! What's your name?" She yelled over the music to the guy next to her.

"I'm Pedro. You have a beautiful smile."

"Thanks! I'm Amelia but everyone calls me Millie. How do you know Tom?"

"I don't! It's, uh, my agent sent me here for networking!"

"Let's network, then!"

She put her cup of snacks down and grabbed his hands to drag him into the crowd of people. They were able to talk to a few of her friends before one of her favorite songs came on. Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! (A Man After Midnight) by ABBA was one of the few songs that turned her into a completely different person. As a lot of people started singing and she started dancing against Pedro, she felt the happiest she had felt since her last relationship. Pedro sat down at the end of the song and she grabbed the two of them drinks. They tried to talk but the environment was too loud, so she took the liberty of taking him upstairs to her room.

"I hope you don't mind that I take my shoes off. I love them but they hurt so bad."

"Go ahead. I really like your outfit, by the way."

After taking her shoes off, she put on a pair of socks and an oversized sweatshirt. Pedro sat on the bed next to her and took a minute to really look at her features in the dim light of the bedside lamp. He couldn't believe that someone as pretty as her was real, let alone sitting right next to him.

Amelia didn't really know what to do. She hadn't felt this giddy about a guy being in "her room" since high school. She couldn't really figure out why she was so nervous, either. Pedro seemed like a nice guy and she was doubtful that anything would happen. She started to fidget with the sleeves of her sweatshirt while they tried to make small talk.

"You okay? You seem nervous," he said. She immediately stopped what she was doing and looked into his eyes.

"Uh, yeah. Yeah, I'm okay, and yeah I'm a little nervous. I don't think it's you specifically, though. Like, you seem like a pretty great guy. This is so embarrassing. I'm twenty-eight and this is the first time in my adult life that I've been this sober with a guy in my room. God, I can't believe I really just said that. I kinda wanna die now," she said with a chuckle.

"Hey, I think you're doing great. Let me know if I'm making you uncomfortable, though."

"Okay."

Amelia walked over to her bag and got out a deck of cards before sitting on the floor. Pedro joined her as she shuffled the cards and started dealing them. She explained the rules of the game Speed and they played a few rounds before she checked the time. The music had been turned off so she figured that most of the guests had left or decided to spend the night. She texted Tom and he said that he was still downstairs getting things cleaned up.

"It's late. Do you have a way home?" She asked as they both got up.

"I'm old," Pedro said as his knees cracked, "I was gonna call an Uber."

"Okay, number one, 43 is not old. Number two, you should text me when you get home so that I know you're alive."

"But I don't even have your number."

"Hand me your phone."

It took a few moments for her to enter her phone number and save it as a contact, but she also took the liberty of setting a contact picture and texting herself from his phone. He was about to leave when she grabbed her phone and headed straight for him.

"We're not done. Smile," she said. She saved his number and put the picture in her contacts before walking him to the door.

"I'll text you," he said.

"Yeah."

She was trying to fall asleep watching TV when her phone vibrated an hour later. It shouldn't have been surprising that Pedro was the one to text her, but she let out a soft giggle at the fact that he remembered.

Pedro
Home safe x