new york nights - aryan simhadri

𝐢 𝐜𝐚𝐧'𝐭 𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐩 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮 - 𝐬𝐜𝐞𝐧𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐫𝐞𝐞, 𝐭𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐭𝐰𝐨

♥

one hundred sixty eight hours since i left new york

𝐢 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐥𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐞'𝐬 𝐟𝐚𝐯𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐞 𝐣𝐚𝐜𝐤𝐞𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐞 𝐬𝐨 𝐡𝐞'𝐝 𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰 𝐢 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐨𝐟 𝐡𝐢𝐦. if that doesn't scream hopeless, i don't know what does. i reach for my high-top boots- lorie's probably watching the interview right now seeing right through me, knowing i wore them to make me look taller. i grin at the thought as i explain a story of me as a kid walking really weirdly, kind of like a goat, and then having to re learn it growing up. i cringe after telling the story because lorie just stopped teasing me about that a few years ago because he forgot.

i cross my arms over my stomach and turn my gaze to my co-stars, trying to pay attention but i'm genuinely zoned out at this point.

the grocery store. ever since lorie had texted me so drily, i couldn't help but obsess over those three words- and they weren't even i love you! being around lorie's bad for my vocabulary, i just become a big mess. he never goes to the grocery store. it makes him all nervous. the first time i realized that lorie got really nervous, like really nervous, was when we were younger and the two of us went to get ice cream. his parents had given him twenty dollars for his allowance and even though i insisted that i could ask my father for more money, he really wanted to pay for himself. but he was just short of enough and started practically shaking. "i- um-" he started stammering, looking over at me every few seconds.

"it's okay, let's just ask someone for money," i reassured him, smiling.

"i- but that's so..." he seemed at a loss for words and mumbled, "i guess i do need to pay." his eyes started to well up with tears.

my eyes widened as i instantly rushed towards him, putting my arms on his shoulders. "hey! hey, what's wrong? we'll get some money, okay? we're okay, we're okay."

i ended up borrowing a few dollars from a friend and it all ended up to be fine. but an uneasy feeling washed over me, a pit in my stomach that kept asking 'is lorie okay? is lorie okay?'

and i think that was the day i realized that i'd always be thinking of lorie, even if we weren't together. even if he hated me. i'd always be rooting for him, and he'd always be in the back of my mind. even now as bright lights were flashing on my face while doing an interview for one of the most anticipated tv shows of the year, all i could think about was him. you miss him, a voice comments that sounds eerily like my mother's.

"aryan?" the interviewer stretches out the 'i' in the middle of my name. my head snaps up as i realized they'd been asking me a question. damn it.

i plaster on a smile. "sorry, could you repeat that?"

to their credit, the interviewer was very patient with me. "what made you start to read the books?"

"oh, well..." a smile tugs at my lips and i can't help but break out in a huge grin. "my friend-" i look directly into the camera. if lorie can't tell that i'm wearing this jacket for him, at least he knows i'm talking about him. "my best friend, actually," i make an ahem noise with my throat, correcting myself. "he introduced me to the series when we were kids. and one day he texted me with the casting call, and i thought he was just pranking me, but..." i gesture to the room we're in, making my co-stars and the interviewer laugh. "i auditioned as a joke, but the day i called back i ran into his apartment and we re-read all the books. and on the day i got accepted, he made me this cake. it was really good." i hope i'm not blushing. there are always those fans that are hyper observant and will totally create theories about a relationship between lorie and i.