the laughter the two used to share is close enough for paloma to retain strong , vivid memories of it. with the number of shared imaginary friends , inside jokes and common experiences the two shared at a young age , it was impossible for anyone to foresee how FRACTURED their relationship would become. paloma can still feel the whiplash of going from inseparable childhood friends , to each other’s emotional kryptonite. ❝ maybe instead of telling me , you should talk to the producers directly. or — i don’t know — write them a strongly worded email , if you think your natural dramatics might be off-putting , ❞ she sighs , already feeling herself grow tired of harvey’s cynicism , a trait that undoubtedly pushed her further away as they forged individual paths. as the HAPPY-GO-LUCKY boy faded away ( through his parents’ actions ) , less and less of their friendship seemed remotely salvageable. a fact neither of their families ever seemed to notice , or allow themselves to internalize and understand. though , paloma’s family has always been less pushy about the two of them getting along. ❝ when that card’s printed and ready to be sent out , i’ll be sure use my best calligraphy to let them know that usually , my type’s a little less HARRY BINGHAM and a little more grizz visser. or , in terms they can understand , a little less harvey strathmore , and a little more matti james. at the end of the day , the constant ‘ woe is me ’ act really doesn’t do it for me , ❞ she quips , unable to hold back yet another another sigh , ❝ as for the interview , trust me , i much rather would’ve called over anyone else to help save me from another set of HYPER-PERSONAL questions , but sadly you were the only one close enough for me to grab. it’s a mistake i won’t be making again anytime soon. ❞
she throws a final eye roll harvey’s way , before both settle back into their assignment , their professionalism taking the reins. her head nods ( absent-mindedly ) as harvey runs through his characterization of harvey , trying to get her own hold on HARPER HAYES. as with valentina , paloma finds herself underlining , circling , scribbling in the margins and empty blank spaces of her script , every instinct and thought inspired by the writers’ own words jotted down before she can forget. this is her process , an intimate routine she almost feels harvey is an INTRUDER to , his presence made more obvious as he gets up from his chair. with a final look at her notes , she mirrors his actions , getting up and standing as close as two friendly co-workers would ( which is far closer than she and harvey have , at least since they were twelve ). ❝ it’s not really my scene , ❞ she shrugs , feigned disinterest coloring her words , taking on harper’s character with an ease even she’s impressed by , ❝ plus , i wasn’t exactly invited. ❞ the push and pull of her motivations is all too clear : on one hand , there’s the large crowd of potentially intoxicated strangers but , on the other , there’s her cute co-worker , with whom she’s been DYING to spend time with outside of work. the tension is bizarrely well-suited for the current situation. on one hand , harvey and paloma can barely seem to achieve civility , but , on the other , the characters they take on in the blink of an eye and their COMPLICITY take paloma back to something nostalgically familiar.
SHE RAISES A GOOD POINT: there’s no use taking out his frustrations on paloma, who sits in the exact same predicament as he is, standing face to face with a person who had once been his friend. “ fine, ” he grumbles. she might have even been his best friend, even, perhaps. he doesn’t know what kind of qualifier he would put on a friendship he can barely remember. part of that stems from naturally aging, memories of toddler years simply haven’t developed in his brain, but there’s certainly another part of harvey that has tried to block her OUT — unintentionally, perhaps. self-destructive, certainly. fighting his DEMONS when he was seventeen and believed the world was conspiring against him ( he still feels that way, of course, but to a lesser degree ), he’d pushed away GOOD memories, and those that made him feel like life was just unfair. paloma vidal fit in those boxes, shiny blonde hair and a naive smile — like that, his opinion of her changed. figures, she’d use fictional characters to point out his flaws. it wouldn’t take but an OUNCE of self-reflection to note the similarities: privilege, an unfair world, even a trip down the avenue of drugs. he rolls his eyes. “ i’m not THAT dramatic, ” he defends, though his lack of eye contact might spell otherwise. “ — usually. obviously, everyone would pick MATTI, he’s got like, no flaws. happy, carefree, charming, cool. doesn’t give a shit about what people think of his … hipster style. ” his voice goes soft, for a moment: it’s clear harvey envies the liberties that matti enjoys. “ feel bad for the guy — it’s like he’s never experienced HURT before, he looks at life like there’s nothing that can goddamned stop him. ”
he simply WATCHES her for a moment, every pen scribble, every facial expression that stems from paloma studying the script. he would almost say it was ADMIRABLE, how much effort she put into a character, a scene that wasn’t even hers. he sees how dedicated she is, why netflix cast her in the first place — alongside, of course, the darling smile that never failed to make his parents fall at her feet. the intrigue in his eyes erases quickly as he falls back into character, the charm and positivity of matti james flowing quickly through his veins, as if he’s EXCITED to play the role — because he is. he’s a challenge and a half to understand, but boy, does it feel exhilarating and freeing to put on a smile without anyone questioning the motives behind it. “ if you HADN’T noticed, ” harvey starts, tapping a cup between his palms as he approaches paloma, a teasing eyebrow raised, “ i just told you about the party, and invited you to it. ” there’s a bite of a lip, a smile protruding between a mischievous smile. he tucks his hands behind his back, leaning forward slightly, trying to GUILT paloma — no, harper — into coming, too. “ pick you up at 9:30 ? " one lingering stare between harvey’s eyes and hers makes him nostalgic for days that he’d ask her something similar, EXCITED when he would hear the vidals would be coming over for dinner, or attending the same party the strathmores would be. he’s reminded of a time where he felt like she was the one thing he had that his BROTHER didn’t — and his face drops, cutting out of character, unable to keep it together as those memories traverse his mind. “ what’d you think of that ? too playful, not playful enough ? ”
