Cliché || H.S.

Chapter 32

Six months is a much shorter amount of time than you would think. Six months is approximately the amount of time between the Fourth of July and New Year's Eve, and when you're ringing in the New Year you're hardly thinking about where you will be come the middle of summer. But these past six months have disappeared before I could even blink my eyes.

Six months ago today, Harry and I were forced into a miserable lunch at Nobu (a restaurant we have still yet to return to), and today we're attending the wrap party of the very film I almost refused to do because of him. I was uncertain the day we met, just as I am uncertain now. Undeniably, our dynamic will change without working together everyday, but I'm excited for us. I'm excited for anything that has to do with Harry.

I'm somewhat emotional that this whole process is over. I always get somewhat emotional when a film wraps. You get so accustomed to spending everyday with a group of people, and then suddenly you go weeks, months, years, without seeing them again. But tonight will be one last hurrah with one of my favorite casts and crew I've had the pleasure of working with.

They really went all out with the event. The party is held at the Huntington Library, which to my surprise isn't a library at all. After I get through the maze of a Japanese garden and into the building, the museum space is transformed. People dance to the blasting music, others crowd the open bar or the buffet. A photobooth sits in the corner, but a photographer is also milling around to take pictures in the process.

I say hello to some of my favorite crew members and their families as I walk in, scanning for either Harry or Safia. Safia locks eyes with me almost immediately and races towards me. 

"Lilian Jean O'Brien!" she shouts, "you have to come take a shot with me right now!" She pulls me along by my hand towards the crowded bar.

"Only one, I have to drive tonight," I tell her. Subconsciously my eyes continue to scan, looking for a head of brown curls.

"What? Take an Uber. Or Harry. Where is he? He always drives," she questions. She swivels her head around the party looking for him.

"He had to stay at the studio late tonight so he said he'd meet me here," I shout over the music. Safia nods her head before turning to the bartender and ordering two shots of tequila. He hands both to her and she passes one off to me.

"To working with your best friend and finally having a break," she toasts. I raise the small glass before bringing it to my lips. It burns familiarly on the way down and as if it'll ease the blow I shake my head before setting the glass back on the bar. Before I have a chance to breathe Safia grabs my hand and pulls me into the center of the dance floor.

We alternate between dancing and talking to the other people at the party for a short while before Safia drags me back towards the bar. As I watch her take another shot, I feel a hand press onto my back. Harry stands next to me, looking incredible as always. I snake one arm underneath his, pulling his side against mine.

"Drunk?" he asks loudly.

"Drunk," I say pointing at Saf before I point to myself, "sober." He nods his head in understanding before ordering a drink for himself.

"How was the studio?" I reach up towards his ear so I don't have to shout.

"It was good," he answers with a smile. It doesn't quite reach his eyes, and I can't help but wonder if something happened. "I'm going to go say hi to some people, we'll talk later?" I nod my head, and he disappears as quickly as he came.

As the night begins to wind down, Harry finally finds me again. He grabs my hand and spins me around before pulling me close to him so I can hear, "Do you want to go take a walk?" I nod my head in agreement, so we head out the doors and into the garden.