Aurora - Pedro Pascal

FOUR

Pedro put the ball in Amelia's court, and she wasn't sure how to feel about it. She wasn't necessarily opposed to getting back into dating, but her last relationship didn't exactly end on the best of terms. He let her pick the place where they were going to meet up, so of course she picked the coffee shop near her house.

"Six shots of espresso? How are you even alive?" She asked as they walked out of the building with their drinks. They planned on going back to her house and hanging out in the backyard.

"Listen, I gotta drink enough caffeine to get me through the day... And it happens to be a lot. I try not to think about it too much," he said.

Amelia chuckled and handed him her phone so that he could pick the music when they got in the car. The drive was pretty short, with them only being able to get through two songs, but neither of them seemed to mind. She was nervous to go into her house with him. She hadn't been there in a few days, and even though it was clean, it was hard to remember if there were blankets all over the living room or not. They walked in and Pedro watched as she put her keys on the counter and kicked her shoes off. There was a blanket thrown across the couch but it looked natural. He followed her to the backyard and sat across from her at the table.

"So, do you have any projects coming up?" He asked. She took a sip of her drink and cleared her throat. Things probably felt awkward because she was nervous.

"Hopefully. I'm waiting for a callback and I don't know if I should tape an audition or not."

"What's the audition for?"

She chuckled and hid behind her hands.

"You can't tell anyone. It's for Stranger Things. I've never worked with Netflix and even though I know it'll be good for my career, I'm still worried about it, y'know?"

"I don't think you have anything to worry about. Working with Netflix is pretty great and I love the show. I can help you tape if you need someone to read with you."

"Yeah, my sister said that you were in Narcos. I didn't Google you. Is that weird?"

Pedro chuckled and took a sip of his coffee before looking back at Amelia.

"No, I don't think it's weird at all. I didn't Google you, either... If that helps. I don't know, I just feel like it's kind of a breach of privacy."

"Thank you! Oh my God, I went on a date a few weeks ago and the guy Googled me when he was right in front of me. It was all awkward and uncomfortable but I also know it could've been so much worse so I'll take what I can get," she said with a chuckle. There was a hint of pain in her voice as she spoke, and she tried to mask it by clearing her throat and taking a sip of her drink.

"Do you wanna talk about it?" Pedro asked after a beat of silence. She was usually pretty reluctant to talk about the breakup, but he made her feel comfortable.

"Um, sure. So, I went to rehab for a few months and then I moved here. I met this guy while I was grocery shopping one day. It was kind of like a meet-cute, and he seemed like a pretty good guy. We went to a few workshops together because he was trying to make it and I wanted to get 'back in the business' as soon as I could. I think it was when he met my parents that things really started to take a turn because y'know, nepo baby. He moved in with me and we were both trying to book roles but it felt like he wasn't really trying. Like, he didn't have an agent until he had lived with me for a month. I helped him find the agent but that's neither here nor there. I still let him stay because I've been there. My last name probably helped me get out of that situation faster, though. Anyway, like three months go by and he wasn't booking anything or working side jobs, but he tried to get me to use my connections for his benefit. I kicked him out after that."

"Wow, that's... I'm so sorry all of that happened. You don't deserve to be treated like that. No one does."

"Yeah... Everyone was kind of glad when we broke up. Well, everyone on my side of things, at least. I had a hard time coping with it at first. Partially because we were together for almost a year, but also because I had lost a lot of friendships because of my addiction. Looking back, it wasn't really too much of a loss because they were encouraging my addiction, but I also didn't want my sister to drive over an hour for me when I was feeling sad. So I mostly leaned on Tom and Nikki, which is kind of odd because I don't think either of them were equipped to guide someone through a breakup like that but they figured it out."

"Nikki...?"

"Nikki Sixx. We started becoming friends when I moved in with my sister before rehab and now he's like family to me. I'm lucky to have him."

"Can I ask you a really personal question?"

Amelia nodded her head and fidgeted with the hair tie that was on her wrist.

"What were you addicted to? You don't have to answer if you don't want to."

"So I was a heroin addict for a few years. I was pretty wild in college and that was when I first tried it. I saw someone OD the morning that I decided to get sober, actually. I know it's fucked up to say but I'd probably be dead somewhere if I didn't see someone OD. My family tried to have interventions but I wouldn't listen, and I feel like a horrible person for it. Never had a problem with alcohol, though."

They ended up talking for hours, with Amelia ordering food around lunch and dinner hours. Neither of them realized how much time had passed until the sun started to set, and Amelia knew that she had to take him back to the cafe so that he could get his car. She sat on the ground by the door to put her shoes on and laughed when Pedro helped her up.

"I can still help you with your self-tape if you want," he offered when they were in her car.

"Sure. I'll text you my address and you can come by tomorrow."

She parked next to his car and stopped the engine before getting out with him. He looked confused because the cafe had closed, so there was no way that she was going in there.

"Maybe we should go out sometime. Like as a date. I really like spending time with you."

"You're forward. I like it. Yeah, let's go out. Maybe in a few days? I know I'm seeing you tomorrow but I'm just really excited."

"Yeah, that should work for me. I'll text you."

"Yeah."

When Amelia got back to her house, she couldn't help but feel like a teenager. She closed the front door and started giggling, and that wasn't something that happened often. A few of her things were still at Tom's, so she texted him that she would be back the following evening and grabbed a charger from a box of cables near the TV. She sent Pedro her address and they texted for a while before she fell asleep. He planned on being at her house at around lunchtime the next day, and she decided that she was going to cook for him.

Once he got to her house, she started to cook the grilled peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. They ate together and she got everything set up to tape the audition. She almost couldn't make it through the first try with a straight face. Something about Pedro reading as Steve was just so funny.

"I'll email it to the casting director when I get back to Tom's later. Hold me to it. Thank you, by the way."

"You're welcome. So, how would you feel about going to Nobu on Thursday?"

"I can get with that."

"Good, because I kind of already made a reservation."

"That's cute," she said through laughter.

Later in the evening, he reminded her to send the tape when she told him that she was about to go to bed. She smiled and took a picture of the email to send to him. The reservations were set for Thursday at eight, and Pedro couldn't help but laugh when Amelia sent him a text that said, "Send me your address and I'll pick you up,". He really hadn't met anyone like her.