Flashing Lights | Cillian Murphy x Reader

Chapter Four

In a world of boys he's a gentleman.

My earbuds played Taylor Swift, an artist I loved and didn't care to hide. My music taste varied a LOT, and there wasn't necessarily any artist I didn't like, but this song had been stuck in my head all morning so dammit, I was gonna listen.

We all sat in a large 15 seater van, everyone talked amongst each other for the first thirty minutes of the drive but eventually everyone listened to music on their own. I sat right beside Cillian, who wasn't wearing headphones but was instead reading his script. I should probably be doing the same, I thought, but I was enjoying listening to music way too much.

I was a little aware of the forced proximity between the two of us. Since four of us could cram between a row, Cillian was very close to me, so much so our shoulders and knees were touching, but he made no effort to move away. He simply sat, as if he didn't notice he was practically pressed up against me.

I bobbed my head back and forth to the tune of the music, letting a small smile cross my face as I listened. Before long, I felt Cillian's cold, large hand brush my bare leg. I looked at him in surprise and took out an earbud. "Yes?" I asked quietly, wondering what he needed me for. He smiled softly, leaning forward, making him closer to me then he already was. "Your earbuds are leaking, I can hear your music." He said, his voice barely above a whisper, his accent even thicker when his voice was lower. I felt my cheeks heat up from embarrassment. "Ah! Sorry!" I stammered quietly, turning the volume down on my music drastically.

He let out another soft chuckle, his head tilting back ever so slightly, giving me the perfect amount of time to look at his perfect chiseled jawline before he looked back at me, sapphire eyes meeting mine as he smirked. "Taylor Swift? Really?"

I felt annoyance bubbling in me as I stuck my earbud back in, no longer wanting to converse with him if he was going to tease me for liking a popular artist. He noticed my adverse reaction because, after staring at me for a while, he suddenly reached over and plucked my earbud right out of my ear.

"Hey!" I started, when suddenly he stuck it in his ear, leaning close to me so he could listen. The song was already ending and another song came on, Salvatore by Lana del Rey. I felt my cheeks getting redder at how close he was to me, I could nearly feel his breath on me as he leaned into me, sharing an earbud. It was such a small act, and yet I felt incredibly flustered about it. I looked at his face, to see him looking ahead. His expression seemed focused, as if he was taking in every individual lyric, digesting it in his head.

I couldn't help but find myself entranced in him, watching as his face changed the longer he listened. His eyes closed at some point, almost like he didn't want any outside distractions to keep him from fully enveloping himself in the music I listen to.

Salvatore came to an end, and he slowly took the earbud out of his ear and, carefully, put it back into mine. He said nothing as the van pulled into the studio in which we would be filming.

~

The days passed before rehearsals would start, mostly consisting of meetings and outings, everyone trying to get to know each other the best they could. Melody and I became best friends, and I'd say Cillian and I got somewhat close. Anytime he would walk next to me he'd put his hand on my back, sometimes even going as far as to keep his hand on the small of my back, which earned jealous glances from some of the women crew members. Every time he did, my stomach knotted up the same way it did when he looked into my eyes for too long. My body reacted to him in a way that made me uncomfortable, but it wasn't entirely bad.