filming: season one, episode five | day seven time: 7:45pm location: on the road to charlotte’s / charlotte’s apartment for: @harmcomforts
the only thing that wes can focus on right now is the irresistible temptation to hold charlotte’s hand. they should be safe right now, he thinks he can probably trust charlotte’s roommates to keep their mouths shut if he decided to link their fingers, but there’s a part of him that kind of enjoys the lusting. his eyes are locked on her perfectly manicured fingernails, wondering if she always has them looking this pristine, or if the girls happen to have some nail technician backstage that he’s unaware of who keeps them looking this dainty and flawless at all times. the only reason he’s so hyperaware of this, is because he’s sitting a foot away from her in the backseat of her roommates car -- and if he doesn’t fixate on the close proximity of their hands resting beside each others on the middle seat, he’ll be thinking about far less lovely things. like how danny is probably looking for him right now, and when he’s unable to find him, the first person he’s going to call is wes’ mother. or worse, he’ll have to think about the fact that he’s about to go to a party with a majority of the cast and crew, and he’s not really sure how he’s supposed to act. the only reason he’s going is because the location of the party happens to be at charlotte’s apartment, hosted by her roommates, and this seems like that moment that he’s been crossing his fingers for. it’s actually come a lot sooner than he expected, getting the chance to see what charlotte’s life is like outside of set apart from just fucking asking to hang out. he didn’t realize how difficult that would actually be, considering his mouth goes dry and his eyes go straight for her lips every time they’re alone for two minutes out of character. so when the suggestion of an afterparty was thrown up in the air, wes made sure to secure his attendance by asking charlotte if he could ride along with her.
besides, it’s not like danny would be willing to take him. when shooting ends, he’s expected to return back to their hotel room without question, despite being a twenty-two year old who should be able to make decisions for himself. sneaking away with charlotte and her roommates to their car was simple, though he didn’t actually mention to her that he was sneaking away at all. it seems easier this way, to hide the fact that he has little to no control over his life and just pretend he’s a well-adjusted but definitely weird and disgruntled actor with problems that charlotte doesn’t need to know about. well, doesn’t need to know about yet.
“oh my god, pick a song already jack. it’s not hard.” emilia teases the boy in the passengers seat who has been tapping through song after song on spotify, unable to decide on the perfect one. wes wonders if his presence in the backseat has screwed up their usual carpool dynamic, and that’s why jack is struggling, but he doesn’t ruminate about it for too long, because they’re pulling up to an especially bright stoplight that has him immediately shifting his gaze from their hands on the seat up to looking at charlotte’s face. goddammit, she’s fucking glowing, and he’s lost for words again. but he wants to say something, say anything right now, because staring at her silently the whole ride, hands or face is probably just embarrassing. so, awkwardly, he clears his throat and, loud enough that the entire car is able to participate in the conversation, he says: “i’m excited to see your place. i bet it’s... pretty cool.” wes bites his tongue hard, annoyed with himself. pretty cool? that’s all he could think of? “i’m in a hotel, so it must be nice to have a spot that you can go home to and it actually feels like... home?” not like wes has actually felt at home anywhere he’s lived. being under the same roof as his mother doesn’t exactly bring him the kind of peace he’s supposed to feel when at home. oddly enough, right now, in a car with two people he hardly knows and a girl he’s crushing hard on he feels more relaxed than usual, which has him wonder for a moment... if perhaps home doesn’t have to be a place at all.
