Cliché || H.S.

Chapter 8

When I get to set on Monday morning I pretend to sleep while they do my hair and makeup. I'm too stressed to talk to the girls, and instead I make my stress worse by staying quiet. I'm nervous about seeing Harry. I don't know how to act around him now that he actually knows things about me. I walk into wardrobe expecting it to be empty but there he stands, getting fitted for whatever he's wearing today.

"Oh hey Lilian," Harry turns to me, and his entire face lights up. A wide grin spreads across his face. Okay, that's a good thing, I can do this. "Good morning," I offer him a soft smile and a side hug. Side hugs are the worst, most awkward type of hug. Why did I do that?

If he thought it was as weird as I did, he didn't let on. I don't think anything could kill his mood. "What do you think of my new trousers?" He asks me while doing a little spin. He poses with his butt sticking out, giving me a full view. I can't help but let out a laugh. The wardrobe girl looks at me in shock, like me laughing is the most blasphemous thing she's ever heard. I choose to ignore it.

"Your pants look great, now shoo so I can change," I wave him out of the room and he stops to mess up my freshly done hair before leaving through the door.

"What was that about?" The wardrobe girl asks me, a suspicious look on her face. "Oh nothing, just getting into character. What have you got for me today?"

****

Harry and I got back into our normal groove right away, and the long days didn't seem so bad. We decided that we could skip out on dates this week and next. The picture I posted was enough to hold people over for possibly months.

Late Thursday night while getting ready for bed we all get an email that something went wrong on Nina's end so we have Friday off. Knowing that I don't have anywhere to be tomorrow sends me into the deepest sleep I've had in months. I don't wake until nearly noon the next day, a large contrast compared to my usual 4am alarm.

Celeste is in class for another three hours so I have the entire house to myself. What do people do when they aren't working? I reach for my script so I can study lines, but I immediately put it back in my bag. Today will be filled with zero work. I never do that, and I owe it to myself. Instead I put on my favorite bikini and head down to my home library. I've read most books on the shelves, but I've bought some that I haven't gotten around to.

Not bothering to sort through for a new book, I pick up my favorite copy of To All the Boys I've Loved Before and head out back to my pool. It's finally May and LA already feels like summer. I can't help but laugh at the irony of this book and how it relates to my situation. Lara Jean and Peter Kavinsky fake dating hits too close to home. Not to mention we share the same middle name. I wonder if Lara Jean was confused if she actually liked Peter or not. Books make these feelings sound so much simpler.

I couldn't have been outside for more than an hour when I heard the patio doors open, Safia sauntering through. She's already in her swimsuit and wordlessly lays in the chair next me. "Hey Saf, so nice of you to invite yourself to my house today," I say sarcastically, but Safia knows I don't mind that she's here. The door was unlocked for a reason.

"Your pool is better than mine. I'm taking a nap, go back to your book or whatever," Safia puts her ear buds in and shuts her eyes, completely dismissing me. If I had to guess the moment she found out we didn't have to work today she went to a party. Safi makes it painfully obvious when she's hungover. I turn back to my book ignoring the light snores beside me.

I'm really getting into the story when the patio doors open once more, this time Celeste coming outside. She's still in her scrubs and she looks exhausted. She lays down in the chair to my right, closing her eyes. "Not that I'm not happy to see you guys, but why are you not working?" she asks.