the hamptons | t.chalamet

08

"are you sure no one's looking for you? because i find that hard to believe considering you had a bodyguard." timmy says.

i shrug.

"i don't really care."

he frowns at that but goes back to his sandwich.

it's two in the morning and i'm sitting across from him on top of the front counter. it's been a rather relaxing night. i watched him make and eat three different sandwiches, one after the other, and then let him finally make me one after his second.

despite my lack of appetite, i managed to eat a generous amount of his monster sandwich just because it was so funny to watch him make it.

other than his three sandwiches, we've done nothing which has been, to say the least, fantastic. he hasn't pushed for conversations when i'm not in the mood and he completely drops it when he notices my lack of participation.

"are you vegetarian?" he asks.

i hold up the sandwich that's almost bigger than my face and show him the impressive bites. "clearly not."

he smiles. "that's a relief."

"especially since you just finished an entire pack of turkey breasts."

he laughs and a small smile slips out of me at the sight and sound.

"you should see me with a pack of ham."

this time i laugh a little.

we fall back into silence with nothing but his eating and occasional moan of flavourful pleasure to fill the diner.

i swallow another bite of his sandwich and look out the front window. it's completely dark and there hasn't been a single customer since alaska, who i learned is his best friend, left.

"so is your boss chalamet?" i ask, referring to the diner.

he shrugs. "sorta."

"and are you and alaska the only employees?"

"my sister works here when she's in town."

"is she in college?"

he nods.

i nod.

we fall back into comfortable silence. i don't know why i'm interested in him. i've been more active with this stranger in the last hour than i have been all day. somehow, i feel better talking to him.

"what about you? any siblings?" he asks a minute later.

"i have an older brother, i guess."

"you guess?"

"his mom married my dad when he was six and then left when he had an affair with my mom so evander's kind of not my brother."

"but you grew up with him? that counts for something."

i shrug. "it did. he hates my guts now."

timmy raises his eyebrows. "why?"

i pause. i've never told anyone. not even gen knows. only my family and home staff are privy to this information.

"because some shit happened a while ago and he's hated me since."

he thinks for a moment. i wait for the expected what happened question but all he does is pick up his sandwich again.

"yeah family is tough but it's still family." and then he goes back to eating.

i'm surprised but grateful. he's either the most considerate or unbothered person i've ever encountered. at this point, i can't tell if he's insanely in tune with people's emotions or if he honestly just couldn't care less.

after another few minutes of silence, he licks his fingers clean of mayo sauce, hops off the counter, and wipes the crumbs off.

he stretches his limbs and i hear another crack in his knees when he bends down to grab some napkins from the bottom. wordlessly, he wipes his hands and face and then glances to the clock on the wall.

2:27 am.

"i'm closing it soon." he says.

"i thought this was a 24 hour diner."

he nods. "yeah but no one ever comes and i have school tomorrow."

"is your boss cool with that?"

he finds my question amusing and smiles. "of course."

i shrug and slide off the counter as well. maybe i can find another 24 hour café. a bench by the beach sounds pretty nice too.

"i should take you home." he suddenly says.

i freeze. "why?"

he takes a long hard look at me. "because it's almost three in the morning and i'm sure you're family is worried."

"why do you care?" i ask defensively.

he shrugs. "i don't. but i don't want to be framed for kidnapping a princess."

his lips quirk up a little at the ends. princess irks me but i can tell he just wants a reaction.

"i don't want to go home."

"and why's that?" he muses.

i pause. i don't really have an answer.

he raises his eyebrows expectantly and leans forward on the counter. when i don't answer, he presses his lips together and lifts one eyebrow.

"thought so. why would you want to spend a night in a diner over your luxurious-"

"i can't go home." i blurt and cut him off.

he stops short and frowns. "why?"

i struggle to find the right words. "i just... i can't. not now."

his previous teasing is gone and he looks at me with concern all over his face. again, he stares at me hard.

after a long moment of him analyzing me, he sighs. "alright. you can come back with me."

my eyes widen in surprise.

"what?" he asks. "i'm not going to let you wander outside in the middle of the night by yourself. so i can either take you home, to a hotel, or back with me." he stops and watches me intently. "and since you can't go home and you have no money, we're down to our last option."

our last option? for some reason, my heart feels lifted.

"i..." i don't even know what to say.

"don't worry about it. you can pay me back with a watch or something."

i stare at him and he smiles.

"let's go."