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Manon sat by the stone fountain located a few minutes away from her apartment as she read the book the production was based on. To say she didn't connect to the book would be a lie. Experiencing young love, losing it, and feeling all the pain afterward was something Manon had truly mastered, same as transitioning from childhood to adulthood and realizing that things are just not as easy as they seem.
The girl knew that she would deeply regret not having slept in the morning if she continued to read, but found her eyes glued to the artwork in her hands.
She also found herself enjoying the silence of the town at night. It felt as if it was just her, the water, the street lights, the beautiful architecture, and the stars above. She much preferred it over the dark apartment that brought up the demons within her and figured that if sleep had to be sacrificed in order to feel at peace, so be it.
The town was a maze of narrow twisting streets, secrets hidden within its many paths. Timothée found himself taking his time instead of hurrying to Armie's place. He wanted to explore, to uncover the secrets hidden within the town's core. He had his headphones in his ears as he ran his fingers across the walls of the houses spread across the town, getting lost in the architecture that was built long before he stepped into the world, belonging to a different era he could only dream of experiencing.
Manon heard the sudden sound of footsteps and quirked her head up. She had been sitting there for quite a while and had yet to stumble across another soul. She waited for another sound, in hopes she could try and figure out where the original one came from, but upon meeting with nothing but silence, assumed it was a citizen passing one of the alleyways and focused back on the book.
Moments later, she heard the echos of footsteps yet again. She clutched the book she was holding to her chest, feeling the fear as it began coursing through her blood. Her mind suddenly felt at ease as she heard the sound of someone's humming echoing through the fountain and coming from an alleyway to her left. She swore the melody was familiar, but couldn't quite associate it with anything she'd ever heard.
As the humming and footsteps grew louder, her anticipation grew stronger, just to be met with the boy she had known so well. Timothée emerged from the shadows of the alleyway, taking her breath away in an instant. Manon recognized his face immediately, as he did hers.
Before letting her emotions take control of her, she looked down at the book in front of her and remembered the plot. The girl decided there and then that she wasn't going to let her story with Timothée end as it did for Elio and Oliver, that she wouldn't let her fear take ahold of her, that she wouldn't let herself succumb to her darkest thoughts and stop her from doing what she knew she craved more than anything.
Suddenly, it was as if nothing mattered anymore, but him, as she opposed to her many thoughts, ignored the many warnings and lifted her delicate, shaking arm with a soft smile, sending her childhood best friend a wave, hoping he'd appreciate the gesture that had seemed like such a big step for her at that moment.
Timothée took his headphones off, unable to comprehend that he had just found Manon all alone in the midst of the night, all alone and communicating with him. There were so many things he wanted to think of that moment, so many things he wanted to assume, to feel, yet he suppressed it all, telling himself that if he talked to Armie about it, Armie would tell him to grow a pair and dive in. There was no better option than talking to Manon. The boy was done with living in his own mind, with ruining things because his mind told him to.
Manon's heart beat fast as Timothée made his way towards her, part of her not believing that her gesture had actually worked. She found herself looking back at the book in order to avoid making eye contact with him.
"What are you reading"? Timothée asked, his voice sounding almost as faint as a whisper at the very beginning, but then gaining confidence by the end. There were so many things he wanted to say to her, yet he stopped himself and instead of overanalyzing the situation as he normally would, he chose to appreciate the beauty of the girl in front of him.
"A really important piece you've never heard of before, my personal literature pick" Manon explained with a proud smile as she showed the cover of the book she was reading, throwing the two back to their days spent reading each other's literature picks and hoping he would pick up on her sarcasm.
"Really? What's it about"? Timothée responded calmly, holding back a foolish smile. He sat down on the edge of the fountain beside the girl, tucking his hands into his pockets nervously.
"Two bros, chilling in a pool, five feet apart cause they're not gay" Manon grinned, hoping Timothée understood her reference, which he did being the Vine enthusiast he was each sleepless night "It's a vine" She informed him.
"Bold of you to assume I don't know what a vine is" He rolled his eyes with soft amusement, before motioning his palm, prompting her to continue, easing into the conversation as much as he could "Continue".
"Basically, a lot of crying and heartbreak" Manon waved her hand "I heard they're making a movie. They've got this actor who seems to enjoy wandering the streets at night even though he should be getting his required beauty sleep, what do you think brings him out of his man cave"?
"Maybe he's just fed up with sleeping for the night. He told me he wonders what this random girl by the water fountain is doing reading a book alone at night" Timothée rolled with Manon's story, enjoying the simple conversation they had. He had missed talking to the girl, no matter what the topic was about. He just wanted to hear her voice and to see her smile.
"You can tell him the same reason" Manon responded, smiling bittersweetly at the boy sat down beside her. She wanted to tell him why she was truly there but figured it was a story for another night.
"Let's ring him up right now" Timothée pretended as he took his phone out of his pocket and entered his contacts. Manon rolled her eyes at his action, before looking away from him and averting her gaze to the sky above her. Timothée giggled and put his phone away, his giggle sending a wave of nostalgia through her. She missed his laugh so much, the laugh that warmed a thousand hearts, the laugh that made her feel whole inside.
"I missed this, I missed us" Manon mumbled, her voice no longer holding the confidence it had when they were joking around, but rather a shakiness of sorts, almost as if she could hardly blurt the words out of her mouth. She was terrified of admitting how much she missed him, for she wasn't sure he missed her as much as she missed him, or if he missed her at all.
"Me too" Timothée responded, staring at the girl as she glanced back at him, their eyes meeting properly for the first time in years, as if they could finally see each other clearly, without the ideas of each other they developed in their minds over the years apart. They were just two raw and real human beings.
Manon was on the brink of tears, and before she could let any of them out, she melted into his touch, where she felt most safe. The sudden contact caught him off-guard, but there was no hesitation in his mind and he wrapped his arms around her with all of his affection, tightening his grip as to protect her, as if holding her wasn't quite enough, as if a second would pass, and she would escape out of his arms and vanish forever. It wasn't long before his own eyes filled with tears, and he too, found himself letting them go.
Manon could hardly believe she was hugging him. She dreamed of hugging him for so long. When she felt down, when she felt alone, the thought of hugging him made her feel hopeful, and experiencing it physically made her feel like all the pain was worth it.
The two felt the world around them melt away as they squeezed each other, neither of them wanting to ever let go.
"I thought I would never see you again" Timothée confessed as the two pulled away, his voice breaking apart.
"I told you the last time it was just a see you later" Manon smiled at the boy in-between her tears. She felt overwhelmed with so much joy, despite the tears of pain that streamed down her cheeks. Timothée had so much to say, yet all he wanted that moment was to feel the warmth of her touch, nothing else mattered to him.
Manon rested her hand on his cheek, running her thumb across his soft pale skin, confirming to herself that he was truly real. He felt the warmth of her hand on her cheek and put his hand over hers, letting her know that he greatly appreciated the gesture. He closed his eyes, thanking the universe for bringing the girl back to him. And she stood there and stared at him, appreciating him fully. With his tear-stained cheeks and messy hair. He was beautiful, and she was beyond thankful to have him in her arms again.
Thunder rolled over both of their heads as they snapped out of their thoughts and looked up at the sky in unison. Drops of rain kissed their foreheads, before quickly turning into more than just drops.
"We should get out of here. Come on, Manon" Timothée offered, the pronunciation of her name coming to him as a shock. He never thought he'd get to say her name aloud, and she never thought she'd get to hear him call her by her name.
He held his hand out to her with a smile of mischief on his face, and she couldn't help but accept his offer, sliding her hand into his, the two sharing each other's warmth yet again.
It was as if the two had awoken from a coma, their childhood instantaneously coming back to them, making them feel truly alive for the first time in what seemed like an eternity.
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