Chapter Text
Eliott is finally done with college. After long, stressful years, he’s finally done.
When he was younger he thought college would be where he could be free, use and express everything that he felt into his movies.
But he never thought about the bad part. The sleepless nights, looking at a screen while Lucille was sleeping right next to him. And he couldn’t find comfort in her anymore. She was part of the problem now.
Last year was the worse of his entire life. He felt like constantly drowning in work and unnecessary drama with Lucille and their families.
In their eyes they were getting old, they were dating for as long as everyone could remember. It didn’t make sense why they were not moving forward. Both of them are adults now, starting new, successful careers and what? Would continue to date forever?
And obviously, all the blame was on Eliott who wouldn’t make the move. So he got tired of hearing about it. He went to a jewelry shop and finally bought a ring. Lucille wouldn’t complain about it, but he’s sure it’s not her “dream ring”. It doesn’t matter.
Now he’s here, graduated, hiding an expensive ring inside one of his snowsuits, trying to think of the perfect time to propose to the girl he doesn’t love.
They’ll have another dinner with their families tonight to celebrate his graduation so he might do it before dessert. Right in front of everyone so he can avoid having to do it again or explain to someone on a different occasion.
Just thinking about it makes him angry at himself. He gave in to everyone’s desires for his life once again. He tries to avoid drama and fights at all cost with Lucille and his family. They already have enough disagreements about his mental health. But marrying someone is an important step that shouldn’t make him this angry.
He knows his house at this hour of the day, his parents are working. So he stops by, making a mess inside his closet, finally finding the snowsuit, sticking his hand deep inside the giant pocket, finding the small box inside. He rushes out of the house before he can run into someone.
Lucille already texted him checking if they’ll meet at hers at eight. He said that yes, at eight he’ll be there with his parents.
It’s five now so he has plenty of time to take a walk in the park near his house. He never walked as much as right now. He finally sits at a bench when it’s six. It’s a nice ring with a big diamond on top.
He doesn’t know what he’ll say when the time comes and he can’t bring himself to think on something.
He’s staring at it for minutes, hoping someone will see from afar the big ring and steal it from him so he doesn’t have to do it. The streets are getting louder with cars and people walking around, going home after a stressful week.
Lucille’s home is three stops down the main avenue. He should go home, take a shower, put some formal clothes on, wait for his parents and then go to hers.
But he just rushes to the bus stop, getting on the first one, straight to her house. Someone is leaving the building when he gets there so he holds the door, quietly walking upstairs, looking at her door.
The little box with the ring came inside a small velvet bag. He pulls the strings, giving it a knot and hangs on the door handle.
When he’s leaving the building empty-handed, he texts Lucille:
I can’t do it. I’m sorry.
And he walks back to the bus stop, suddenly feeling like himself again for once. He didn’t think things through, but he ends up at the train station. The whole city seems to be there now, stumbling against each other, trying to get to their loved ones, maybe their houses, drink some wine.
He walks aimlessly and in no rush. There’s a part of the station that’s almost empty compared to the main area. It’s been a very long time since he last traveled. Eliott sits in a bench for the second time tonight, taking a deep breath.
It’s past seven when he looks for his wallet, walking to the main area again, buying the cheapest ticket he can get for the next hour.
As soon as he gets the ticket, he goes back to that same bench, waiting for hours to go by. It’s even emptier now. He recognizes someone walking, seeming lost. It’s not like there are many guys with that hair walking around in Paris. Eliott is almost sure they went to the same college, the other one seems younger, but Eliott can’t be sure.
The guy finally stops at one of the trains, asking for information and smiling to the employee, getting inside. Eliott gets up and follows him, can’t believe his luck when the guy checks his ticket and lets him in on the same train that the boy just entered.
They’re two rows from each other, the boy seems to be traveling alone as well. He puts his bag on the empty seat by his side, sitting closer to the aisle, hiding inside his hoodie.
Eliott forces himself to look away, can’t spend his whole trip staring at a stranger. He sits more comfortably, checking his pockets to see what he’s taking on this week-long trip: his wallet, his phone, headphones and an old cap shoved inside one of the pockets from his coat. Now he’s thankful to be wearing a leather jacket, a hoodie and a black t-shirt underneath. At least he has some options for the next few days. He checks his bank account, there’s enough money for a hotel room and some new clothes.
When the train closes the doors, there’s a small family sitting around him. The older brother sitting by his side, already with his headphones on, looking outside the window. The mom and dad are sitting across from them and the little sister on the mom’s lap.
He looks to the other boy and he’s still alone, with three empty seats around him. Eliott is tall and these seats are not comfortable enough. He can just walk up to the other guy, asking if he can sit there.
He puts his shoes back on, leaving his seat, walking up to the boy. He seems tired, takes a second for him to look up, seeing that someone wants to talk to him.
“Hey, can I sit here?” He was going to explain why he needed to sit there, but the other one is already nodding slightly and Eliott just sits right in front of him, taking his jacket off and putting it by his side. “I’m Eliott.”
“Hm, I’m Lucas.”
“Nice to meet you.”
“Nice to meet you too.” Eliott finally leans against his seat, relaxing and Lucas is still looking at him but when Eliott tries to meet his eyes, Lucas looks away, searching for something on his backpack by his side.
He doesn’t want to be a creep, but he can’t stop looking, he tries to be subtle about it, watching as Lucas gets his headphones connected it to his phone, seems to look for a specific song. As soon as he settles, relaxing against the back of his seat, Eliott looks away, starting to do the exact same: fishing for his headphones inside his jacket, connecting it to his phone but he lets it on shuffle, finally looking up again.
Lucas is not scared. He doesn’t look away this time, but he looks very tired.
His eyes are getting smaller by the second. Eliott is also tired but not as much as he thought he would be after such a long and stressful day. Lucas starts to struggle to keep his eyes open. He’s blinking slowly and Eliott smiles when the other one opens his eyes just one last time and then he’s sleeping.
Now that he’s alone, Eliott takes his shoes off again, turning just a little to the side to see the outside world, Paris being left behind, but he can still see Lucas with the corner of his eyes. They have a few hours to rest so Eliott closes his eyes, smiling without knowing exactly why.