Wherever You Are, That's Where I'll Be | Sebastian Stan

Three - *Are You Going To Stay?

A few weeks had passed since Holly had fallen asleep with Sebastian on his couch. He had taken her home the next morning, where they said their goodbyes. Reluctantly.

The two had called and text each other most days, however life had been busy for both of them, their interactions taking place between screens and different time zones.
Over the past few weeks; going from texting, phone calls and skyping, Holly and Sebastian had grown closer to each other, feeling like they had known one other for a few years rather than almost a month.
They had discovered a lot about one another over a short period of time.

Holly had been concentrating on writing a book, one she had been working on for a while. The details were heavily under wraps, she wanted to keep this story to herself for a little while, she was for once proud of a piece of her work. She wanted to read it to her mom before anyone else. And she did.

"Hey Mum." Holly began, she sat on the roof of her apartment. She wasn't supposed to be up there. But it was a clear night and she felt the urge to climb the winding stairs to the spacious rooftop. She spoke to the stars, a picture of her mom in her hands, her laptop resting on her legs as she read the meaningful words out loud. A few tears escaped their prison, gently gliding down her cheeks.

This past week, Holly had also recorded and sent off a few audition tapes. She had recited some of her favourite monologues to the camera. Her favourite being one about finding the truth of life and the mystery of existence.

"It's all about; all about looking into yourself...like trying to put your hand inside and pulling something out that means something more, you know?
That's the problem, isn't it, the truth seems to be covered in layers of smog. It's like we're all after a false reality-I'm gonna escape it...don't know what I'm gonna find but I do know that whatever I've been looking at, isn't the real thing-there's something more..." Holly plays out the scene to the camera before picking it up and panning it to look up at the night sky.

Sebastian had interviews all over the place, in New York, in Brooklyn and a couple in LA. He was promoting a new film that was due to be released. Holly had forwarded a few of her audition outtakes to Seb to get him through the interviews, which she knew could get repetitive and tiresome. He had found them amusing, laughing when she went off script or fluffed up the lines. Her actual audition video made his heart swell.

Friday rolled round. It was a day off, finally, for both of them. They had planned to meet late that morning after Sebastian's flight landed and he had been home to recharge his batteries. Unfortunately his flight had been delayed. Most of Friday was now lost.

Holly had stayed in her apartment, working on a painting she had yet to complete, looking back on some of the photographs she had taken for inspiration.
This particular painting was destined to hang in a gallery downtown, it was an intricate piece with an array of colours. It had an autumnal colour palette, a lot of oranges, browns and golds.
The pair had planned to chill out in each others company, enjoying a long weekend together. Holly had promised Sebastian a tour of the city, visiting all the places her paintings were held.

Seb arrived at Holly's apartment late that night tired and aching. She wasn't expecting him, thinking he would go home after a long day of traveling. If she'd have known she would've picked him up from the airport.

Holly opened her door to frantic knocking; rubbing sleep from her eyes, she was startled to see Sebastian standing in front of her.

"Hey." He breathed, she ushered him through, allowing him to drop his bags by the door.

"Hey! I could've picked you up. I... You look shattered, did you wanna take a shower." She says. He nods back as she takes in his appearance. His hair was disheveled, stubble had worked its way onto his face. He looked so tired.