The Dysfunction Of Evan: Books 1-3 Collection

2. In The Club

Grady pulled up to the door of the restaurant and Jake ushered us inside. The cast had a private dinning room all to ourselves. I felt like a VIP. Wait, I AM a VIP. I couldn't wrap my head around it. My heart was pounding in my chest as Tom escorted me to our group. He kept looking at me, making eye contact, which sent my nerves into a flutter. How did he do that? We'd spent the entire forty minute car ride together, alone (since Jake had the brilliant idea of sitting in front and putting up the privacy wall),  talking, and I still felt like I was dreaming. Why didn't his touches send my anxiety through the roof like when other people touched me? Each time he made physical contact, it had a calming effect on me. Right now his hand was in the middle of my back and I felt like pudding.

We weren't the first to arrive, but we weren't the last. We took our seats and Tom introduced me to everyone. This was a dinner just for principal and primary cast, so the group was rather small. To my left, was Natalie Portman, playing Evan's best friend Lily. Next to her was Maisie Williams, playing James's sister, Jessica, then was Liam Hemsworth who was playing Kyle, James's best friend. Peter Capaldi sat across from me, he was playing Kurt, Evan's father, and next to him was Jaden Smith, who was playing Byrant, a client of James's with a troubled history. Holden Kelpton, who was playing Evan's younger brother Frankie, hadn't arrived yet.

"Welcome to the club, Astrid." Natalie said reaching over to hug me.

"It's my first movie, I doubt that puts me in the club." I said quietly.

"Oh, it does." Peter said. He held up a bottle of wine. I picked up my glass and let him fill it.

"Landing a lead role with no experience on your first time out, very impressive." Liam said. He raised his glass. "Lets toast to a fabulous production, and the birth of something new." He winked at me. Everyone raised their glasses, said 'cheers' and took sips of their drinks. 

Tom fell into conversation with Liam and Maisie, Jaden was on his phone taking pictures, and Natalie and Peter bombarded me with questions about my favorite films and TV shows. It was no secret to me that the majority of the cast had stalked my profile, so I felt like their interest was out of politeness. Still, it was a little overwhelming. By the time Tom swooped in to save me, I felt like I was drowning. 

"Are you alright?" He asked quietly. 

"Not really, I could use some air." I replied. Tom signaled Jake, who was standing off in the corner. 

"Everything alright?" 

"I think its a little warm in here for her." Tom said.

"It is a bit stuffy, why don't we go outside for a moment, Astrid?" Jake held out his hand. I took it, tossing a look of gratitude to Tom.

Once outside, I took a deep breath and leaned against the wall of the building. 

"I hope you don't mind, I clued Tom in about your anxiety. I figured since you'll be working with him closely, he should know." 

"Thank you. It came in handy." I said. "I get into situations that overwhelm me and my anxiety kicks in. I can't get myself out, because my anxiety makes me feel rude, and if I am able to get out, I obsess over it for ages. Or if I do something stupid, it lingers." I looked up at him. "I still find myself obsessing over things that happened years ago that no one but me probably remembers. Like my meet and greet with Rebel, when I started to head for the gate before it was time to." 

Jake thought for a moment. " I vaguely remember that. But I could also tell you were not only keyed up on having met your heroes, but your anxiety was through the roof. No need to worry about it, I knew you weren't a threat."