Alleyway BxB

XXIII (Day 1)

MONDAY, 22 OCTOBER
MARCELLO LOCKHEART

"You really didn't sleep on the plane, didn't you?" Corbyn asked.

"I did," I mumbled. "I'm just stupid."

"What did you do now? Did you fart on the plane? Did that old lady next to you fart on the plane?"

I gave him the stink-eye. "No. Look at this." I stuck my phone in front of his face, left no more than a couple of centimetres of space in between. "Look at it."

Corbyn swatted me away. "What am I supposed to be looking at? The screen's off."

"Exactly." I shoved It back into my pocket. "I was so focused on Nathan last night that I forgot to grab my charger and now I've run out of battery. I promised I was going to text him when I landed too."

"My phone's dead too." He patted my shoulder. "Look, we'll see if anyone on set has a charger you could use and then you can call him or something. I'm sure he's doing fine."

The ride thus far was nothing special. I spent it talking with Corbyn and the driver about nothing particular at all, nothing too memorable. Corbyn talked about the scenery of New York as we were driven through. He lived in Sydney all his life so he was pretty amazed.

I, however, was a mix. I talked about the scenery too but found myself always reverting back to Nathan. I couldn't even stop myself from fiddling with my phone. I continuously pressed the power button. I knew it was never going to turn on, but kept at it anyway. "What do you think he's doing right now?"

"Bro," Corbyn snorted. "It's been a week and you're already obsessed with him."

"It was a real question, Cor."

"Again, I bet he's doing fine. He definitely misses you too. The same shit I've been telling you for the past hour."

~~~

"There's our Felix!" The producer exclaimed. He was already running over, and I could tell he would be interesting to work with. "Marcello, it's great to see you again. How was the flight?"

Handshake. As per usual. Firm and brief.

"It was great. I slept the whole way," I answered, and we let go. "You're Holden?"

"I am. Just to get into it, hair and make-up happens right over there-" he pointed to the open door of a trailer. "-wardrobe is over there-" then pointed to another one. "I'll let you get ready so we can start this as fast as possible."

I only nodded as Holden wandered off. "Wow," I murmured to Corbyn who was just behind me. "He talks really fast."

But Corbyn had his back to me, obviously hypnotised by the table of food in front of him. "I know, I'm surprised you got any of-" He turned around and his eyes went wide, words stumped. "Oh my-"

"Marcello?" Someone said behind me, but it sounded all too familiar. Someone I had not seen in over four years. "It's been a long time, right?"

It's been too long.

I spun around to see no one other than Nicholas. "Nick!"

Nick and I dove into an immediate hug and lighthearted laugh. Just like we used to. I even lifted him from the ground slightly. He hadn't grown at all since the day we last met.

6'3. A great height, but not as tall as Nathan.

"Holden looks nice but he can be pretty serious," Nick murmured as he grabbed hold of my wrist. "You should get ready before he comes back around." As Nicholas tugged me in the direction of hair and make-up, he waved to Corbyn. "Great seeing you again, Cor. Let's go out later?"