fic: rewrite our story 2/4
Part One
: : :
Kris and Adam are going to Smoothie Shack’s all-nighter beach party together. Kris has heard of the party - it’s a yearly thing at Rue Falls, and it seems like every kid or tourist who has set foot in the town has gone to at least one - but his parents didn’t let him go before. But now that he’s 16, he’s finally allowed as long as he doesn’t get drunk.
It’s Adam’s first time to go too, so they decide to meet a little bit later, closer to the time when the party’s really in full swing. So at midnight, they’re standing in front of the very crowded bar which serves the non-alcoholic drinks. The dj’s playing a pounding drum and bass trance track that’s got Adam swaying on his feet with his eyes closed. Kris tries but fails not to stare at Adam all sweaty and relaxed. Adam’s mouth is slightly parted and Kris thinks that if he were to step closer, he’d hear Adam humming with the tuneless dancey beat.
But as it is, he doesn’t want things to get awkward between them, now that he’s got a friend to spend the rest of the summer with. So he just stays where he is, sipping on ice-cold Coke and when he can look away from Adam, looking at the other people dancing. It’s a huge crowd but not crazy enough to make the atmosphere stifling or uncomfortable. Kris loves it, and with the slightly chilly ocean breeze drying the sweat off his skin, he knows that this is going to be one fun night.
When Kris turns away from the crowd, he sees Adam talking to the bartender, a slightly older lanky brown-haired guy who laughs when Adam says something. Kris can’t hear their conversation but he can see how the bartender’s checking Adam out when his eyes skim Adam from head to foot. Adam seems oblivious but he leans over the bar to whisper to the bartender’s ears, and Kris feels his stomach churn a bit.
Kris turns his back on Adam and the bartender, and looks at the crowd again. Somehow, he doesn’t find the scene as interesting as it was earlier. He just finishes his Coke and approaches the bar to get another one, already thinking of going home after he finishes it. He’s wondering if he should call Daniel to pick him up, seeing as Adam probably would be staying. Daniel would laugh at him, but at least it won’t be as lame as asking either his mom or dad to pick him up.
He’s leaning against the bar waiting for his drink when someone bumps into him. Before he can stumble onto the stool beside him, a pair of hands reaches out to keep him on his feet. Kris looks up and sees a guy about his age smiling at him apologetically.
“Hey, I’m sorry,” the guy says over the music, looking sheepishly at Kris. “It’s just too crowded in here.”
Kris replies with a reassuring smile. “It’s ok. We’re like dominos here.” Then he groans inwardly because how lame can he get, seriously?
The guy laughs though, and he looks at Kris, eyes bright. Then Kris sees him blush when he realizes that he’s still got his hands on Kris before awkwardly tucking them in the pockets of his shorts.
Kris just keeps smiling. He can’t help it; the guy’s super cute and he thinks maybe there’s a chance of meeting someone new, after all. Especially since Adam’s busy meeting other people too. He pushes that thought away and extends his hand. “I’m Kris.”
The guy looks a bit surprised but a smile brightens up his face when he takes in Kris’s extended hand. He shakes it as he says, “Cale. Nice to meet you, man.”
For a brief moment, Kris wonders if Cale’s into guys too. But then he just shrugs because even if Cale isn’t, Kris has a good feeling about him. Maybe they can be friends too, like Adam and him are. From the corner of his eye, he can see Adam still talking to the bartender. So he just talks to Cale.
And it’s good. Over the music, he learns that Cale’s a local of Rue Falls, and that he’s friends with the dj. They’re both iffy about the trance music, but Cale promises Kris that his friend’s going to play some awesome songs. Just as Cale says this, ‘No Diggity’ comes on. Kris looks at Cale, and without thinking, they both bop their heads to the beat. Kris laughs when Cale wiggles his eyebrows and he answers by moving his hips a bit. He knows he probably looks all sorts of awkward and dorky, but he doesn’t care because Cale’s laughing so hard.
Kris is having a good time but he still finds himself trying to look at Adam from the corner of his eye. He’s pretty surprised when he sees that Adam’s also looking at him, the bartender leaning forward to speak in Adam’s ear. Kris quickly looks away, and he tells himself that he’s ridiculous for feeling like he got caught when he’s just staying out of Adam’s way.
‘California Love’ comes on next and Kris turns to give Cale an approving nod. He starts to lean closer to tell Cale that he loves the song, but he stops when he feels a heavy arm drape over his shoulders. He turns and finds himself staring at Adam who’s standing so close Kris can see the freckles on his lips and on the bridge of his nose.
Kris feels the knot on his stomach loosen and he can feel his cheeks stretch from smiling. He’s having fun with Cale but now that Adam’s standing there beside him, he feels excited and nervous and just plain relieved, all at the same time.
He hears Adam introduce himself to Cale. Cale smiles at Adam and reaches out to shake his hand after telling Adam his name. Adam drops his right arm from Kris’s shoulders but he quickly walks around to put his left arm on Kris’s shoulders before shaking Cale’s hand. Kris bites his lips and looks down, not wanting to meet either Cale or Adam’s eyes.
Kris can hear Adam and Cale make small talk, but he barely registers what they’re talking about. All Kris is aware of is the heat of Adam’s body beside his, the warmth of Adam’s breath ruffling Kris’s hair. Without really meaning to, Kris shuffles closer until his head is almost resting on Adam’s chest. He feels Adam tug him closer and Kris just breathes deeply, fighting not to close his eyes because, well.
He looks up when Cale says, “I was just going to ask Kris to check the hotdog stand down there.”
Kris feels Adam stiffen a bit and he thinks Adam might be cold so he just puts his arm around Adam’s waist. Adam relaxes and tells Cale, “well, he’s with me.” Then he looks at Kris, eyes questioning. “You are, right?”
For some reason, the way Adam’s looking at him makes Kris’s heart stutter. So he stands on his tiptoes to talk near Adam’s ear. “I am.”
Adam shivers and Kris feels heat course through him. They stare at each other for what seemed like forever until Kris feels giddy with it. He remembers that Cale’s still there and he quickly looks away from Adam.
He finds Cale looking at them with amusement on his face. When he sees that Kris is looking at him, Cale shrugs and says, “well then, I’ll just go and check it out. See you guys around.” He steps back to the crowd with a little wave.
Kris suddenly feels awkward. He knows that something happened there but he doesn’t want to think about it too much. For now, he’s just happy with Adam draped over him, and Kris just wants to snuggle with him forever.
“So. Want to leave? We can just hang out somewhere that’s not here,” Adam says, his lips touching Kris’s earlobe.
Well, Kris loves that idea but he also knows that Adam’s been looking forward to the party. So he says, “Are you sure? We can stay for a while, I know you want to.”
“Nah, we can’t drink anyway,” Adam shrugs. “Unless you want to stay?”
The uncertainty in Adam’s voice makes Kris want to hug him. So he does just that, wrapping both arms around Adam’s waist and burying his face on the crook of Adam’s shoulder. Then he murmurs, “how about a walk down the beach?”
He feels rather than sees Adam nod, Adam’s chin lightly grazing the top of his head. When Kris chances a look at Adam’s face, he sees Adam gazing back at him all tender and fond. Kris just smiles and thinks that he can never imagine wanting to be anywhere else. With anyone else.
: : :
Adam’s hungry and since he’s shooting a romantic dinner with Ste at the beach, it’s really putting him in a foul mood. But he can’t eat when he’s working, and despite the really beautiful setting and some seared salmon that looks really good, this is still work.
He looks at his watch when their director Claire yells cut. When she tells them that she needs one more shot from an angle that captures the light coming from the setting sun behind them, Adam pouts.
Ste pats his hand. “Just one more take. Make sure the googly eyes you’ll give me are very convincing so we can just eat.”
Adam laughs despite himself. Looking across the table, Adam’s struck again of how gorgeous Ste is. Adam has a thing for guys with amazing bone structure, and Ste totally fits that. Plus Adam really finds Ste’s British accent sexy. But he’s not one to stand between two people in love - which Ste and Doug are, even if they’re not acting on it yet - so he just plays the role the best that he can.
Kurt, Adam’s stylist, approaches them and fixes the collar of Adam’s linen shirt. Adam asks him, “have you heard of a good place to eat here? I haven’t even had time to go around!”
“Honey, you’ve been here two days, of course you haven’t had time.” Kurt fusses about his hair and hums thoughtfully. “Well. Blaine went out to have lunch with this guy…”
Adam fake-gasps. “Your boyfriend did what?” Kurt’s been dating Blaine, the show’s writer, for a few months now. Every time Adam sees them, he highly doubts if there’s a sappier couple in existence.
“Oh shut up, you drama queen.” Kurt rolls his eyes as Ste laughs. “It’s with this guy Brad who’s helping him find some awesome places for you guys to have dates in. So Brad takes him to this café called The End, and Blaine says the place is great.”
Ste pipes in. “So we’re shooting there?”
Kurt shrugs. “I don’t know for sure. But Claire wants some really romantic places and from what Blaine has told me, The End’s kind of like a typical beach café. There’s live music, though.”
Adam perks up at that. “Maybe it’s a new place. It wasn’t here when my family and I came here.”
Claire then tells them to go back to their places and Kurt walks over to the side. As soon as the camera rolls, Adam and Ste take small bites of their salmon and some salad. For Adam’s part, he mostly just sips his wine while Ste talks about working in a bakery back in his hometown of Hollyoaks in England when he was a teenager.
The shoot wraps up after that and Adam goes back to the house he’s renting for two weeks with Steen and his bodyguard Jeremy. He takes a shower and that improves his mood, so he decides to take a walk. He figures he can go by himself, and both Jeremy and Steen frown at that.
“It’s Rue Falls. If someone approaches me, I’ll smile and sign autographs. Big deal,” he huffs as he puts on one of his old shirts.
Steen sighs. “Ok, but call me or Jeremy if you need us.”
“Go have fun! I won’t be going far, anyway. I’ll probably just grab some dinner then come back here.”
He leaves before Jeremy gets out of the shower, just because he doesn’t want to give the same argument. Adam thinks they’re both being ridiculous seeing as he’s not that famous yet. A moderate hit of an album and a campaign with Armani doesn’t make him a household name.
But then, ten minutes into his walk, he finds himself being asked about four times if it’s ok to take his picture. It weirds him out but at the same time, it makes him happy knowing that he’s getting somewhere.
Adam’s always wanted to be famous. Not for any other reason, but what he loves is the work that goes with it. He loves dressing up and photo shoots. He loves meeting creative and interesting people. He thinks that this kind of work is a good outlet to express himself, to make a difference, be creative. The money and the fact that people recognize him are nice, too. He’s bought his own house in a gated community after he landed his big Armani deal, and he finally feels that he’s getting settled.
And he has an album out - finally, after all those years of playing every gig imaginable in the LA club circuit. It was a surprise when it became a hit. Adam thinks it could be because of the buzz generated by his modeling gigs, but he’s not going to complain. If his risqué fashion style and pretty face make people listen to his music, then his life couldn’t be any better.
The album was his life for years. All the songs in Kaleidoscope Lullabies were written in between his random jobs, back from when he was just struggling to survive in his first few years in LA. Some of the people he wrote the songs with are either still his very best friends or have drifted away. For Adam, his album is a collection of snapshots of his life told through club anthems, glam rock throwbacks and quiet introspective ballads.
He remembers writing a song here in Rue Falls back when he was 19, during that summer when Kris didn’t come back. It was the first song he finished. He’d tried finishing something with Kris but at the end, all those stray lines and chords from the summer before were buried in a time capsule. Adam wistfully wonders if there will come a time when he’d be able to see those songs again, maybe finish them. But without Kris, it just wouldn’t be right.
Adam has never really thought about Kris as much in the past few years. Except for that last summer when he wondered why Kris and his family didn’t come to Rue Falls at all. Now that he’s back, it seems like he’s always thinking about what happened to Kris over the years. He wonders if Kris bought his album, if he’s proud that Adam’s finally living his dream. Most of all, he wishes that Kris still writes those songs he kept inside him. Even after meeting a lot of people in his job, Adam still believes that there’s nothing more beautiful than those random melodies Kris plucks on his guitar.
Adam pushes the thoughts of Kris away when he sees a small café with the quaint sign The End above its doors. He’s intrigued because the place looks moderately sized and there’s a queue of about 10 people waiting outside. He walks to the end of the queue, sitting on a wooden bench by the café’s outside walls. He’s hungry but he doesn’t want to walk any further, so he just settles there and checks his e-mails on his phone.
He’s not even halfway through reading one of Blaine’s e-mails (Adam seriously wonders why Blaine won’t just call him) when he hears a gasp followed by, “Holy shit. Adam Lambert. I adore you. ” He looks up and finds himself facing a gorgeous redhead wearing what looks like a waitress apron.
Adam smiles automatically. “Hi…” he looks at the waitress’ nametag, “Emma.”
Emma’s looking at him with wide eyes and her mouth’s slightly parted. “Why are you sitting here? Why don’t you just go inside?”
He waves his hand vaguely towards the people on queue, and that makes Emma laugh. She says, “oh shut up, come on!” Then she tugs Adam inside and they go through the front doors.
As soon as they’re inside, Adam’s absolutely charmed. The inside of the café isn’t too big, and there are only just about ten tables with four or six chairs each. Each of the tables is topped with a small vase with wildflowers, and candles. A jukebox is playing on one corner beside what Adam thinks might be a small stage. The lighting isn’t too bright but it’s not too dim either. All in all, it seems like a casual place where people hang out and eat, instead of going on a first date. But it’s perfect for probably a third date, he thinks wryly. He can already see why it seems popular.
Emma tugs him towards the bar where a good-looking guy wearing a cap is serving drinks. Adam hears Emma yell, “Matt. Look who I found lurking outside,” and the bartender turns.
Matt quickly walks towards him and shakes his hand. “Nice to see you here. I’m Matt, by the way,” he tells Adam. Adam wonders why it feels like he’s suddenly meeting a lot of British guys these days.
“I’m Adam,” he says after letting go of Matt’s hand. “Great place you have here.”
“Yeah? Thanks, my wife and I are pretty proud of it. She’s not here, though. I gotta warn you, she’s a big fan. Please don’t be scared when you meet her,” Matt winks and Adam just laughs.
“I’ll be happy to meet her,” he says then turns to Emma. “What can you recommend for dinner? I’m starved.”
For some reason, Emma gets a weird look on her face, but it’s gone before Adam can think about what that means. She brightly says, “oh, we have strawberry and broccoli salad. And you have to try our chicken wings!”
“Ok, I’ll have some of those, thank you,” Adam nods. His stomach growls in anticipation of food. Matt puts a glass of some blue cocktail in front of Adam and tells him that it’s on the house. Soon after, Matt walks him to the table in a secluded corner of the café.
“Will it just be you? Or are you meeting someone?” Matt asks him as Adam sits on the chair tucked in the corner.
“Just me,” Adam says. Matt nods and tells him to call either Emma or him if he needs anything.
His dinner arrives shortly after. And it’s amazing. Adam wonders how such simple food can make him so satisfied. But there’s something smoky and addictive in the chicken wings sauce that makes him lick his fingers. And the yogurt dressing of the broccoli and strawberry salad perfectly complements the strong flavor of the chicken. He’s still wiping his hands on the wet towel Emma handed to him, when Matt comes back with a slice of cake.
“Try it. I don’t think you can find this anywhere else,” Matt smiles at him, before walking back to the bar.
Adam groans because seriously, he’s cutting down on desserts. But the cake looks sinful, with the chocolate icing melting on top and the white and gold cake just looking so soft. He takes his fork and puts a small piece of the cake into his mouth. Then he just sits up straight because he’s had this cake before.
Adam won’t ever forget having orange soda cake.
Without even thinking about it, he gets up and walks over to the bar to talk to Matt. But Emma meets him halfway with question in her eyes so Adam just blurts out, “where did you get the cake?”
Emma smiles at him. “Oh, the orange soda cake. Isn’t it awesome? Our chef made it.”
Adam’s heart is pounding like crazy and he’s catching his breath. Emma’s starting to look at him weird so he just says, “I want to meet your chef.”
Emma tilts her head to the side, looking like she’s thinking about something. But after just a few seconds, she just smiles brightly and says, “Go finish your cake. I’ll ask him to come out.”
Adam nods, his chest still feeling heavy. His hands are cold and he can feel his knees getting wobbly. Is it really possible? He shakes his head, but he knows he can never be wrong about this.
He sees Emma come out of the kitchen door at the far end of the bar. Adam holds his breath. A tall lanky guy with floppy brown hair and a wide smile follows Emma, and walks towards Adam’s table. Adam releases the breath he’s been holding, lets the disappointment course through him for a while.
Stupid orange soda cake.
Adam smiles when Emma and the chef reach his table. He holds out his hand to the guy and says, “You must be the chef. I’m Adam.”
“Hello, and nice to meet you. I’m Andrew.” Adam thinks oh right, another cute British guy. “Emma here said you wanted to meet me?”
Adam nods and tries not to let the disappointment show through his smile. “Yeah, just to let you know how amazing the food here is.”
“Thanks, that’s always wonderful to hear. Did you like the cake?” Andrew asks him. “It’s a specialty here. I don’t know if you’ve had it anywhere else before.”
Adam’s heart goes crazy again for no reason at all. But he just nods and says, “oh yeah, I’ve tried some orange soda cake before.”
Emma and Andrew goggle at him, and Adam feels weird under the scrutiny. So he tries to school his features and says, “Weirdly enough, it was also here in Rue Falls. Not in this café, though. You guys weren’t around then.”
Emma gives him a dazzling smile and Adam doesn’t miss how her hands squeeze Andrew’s. She then says, “yeah?”
Adam just smiles back at Emma and Andrew, and sighs. The nostalgia he feels is overpowering but then, Andrew’s the one who made the cake. He logically thinks that it’s a simple enough recipe to experiment with. But he still can’t help the trace of wistfulness that crept into his voice when he says, “yeah, best cake I’ve ever had. The last time I had it was a long time ago, though.”
: : :
Adam seems to find himself being in a ridiculously good mood whenever he’s around Kris. Or just thinking about being around Kris. It’s crazy, but even his family notices it. Neil even commented that he’ll probably get away with selling Adam’s precious signed Bowie album; Adam smacked him on the head, of course.
What amazes Adam even more is that Kris is hardly his type, but all he wants to do is hang out with him. Sure, Kris ticks his boxes for Southern, pretty and tiny, but they really don’t like doing the same things. Adam’s into the dramatic and crazy; Kris likes laidback and quiet. Adam’s sure that if they didn’t get into talking about music the first time they met, they wouldn’t have discovered how much they really have in common.
Like, now, Adam’s looking at Kris mix some cake dough. They’re standing in the kitchen of Kris’s Aunt Mildred’s house and the sun’s bright outside. Adam would’ve preferred going to one of the small restaurants near the town square to have some tea, but he’s watching Kris bake instead. If any of his friends hears that he’s wasting a totally good afternoon just watching some boy cook, he’s never going to hear the end of it.
But he’s having fun watching Kris measure the sugar and the flour. He wants to take a picture of Kris’s fingers, the calluses on his fingers buried under the moist cake dough. He laughs when Kris tells some lame joke about the egg whites he’s beating. Yes, Adam’s a creeper, but he doesn’t care because he just can’t stop smiling.
When Kris takes out a bottle of orange soda from the fridge and starts to pour some into a measuring cup, Adam says, “seriously?”
Kris laughs. “Hey, wait until you taste it.”
“Where did you learn this anyway?”
Kris pours the orange soda over the cake mixture and starts mixing it. “I made it up. I wanted some orange-flavored cake, but we didn’t have any. But we have some orange soda, so there you go.”
Adam wrinkles his nose. “You’re weird.”
“You’re saying that now…” Kris waves the wooden spoon in front of Adam’s face. “No seriously, those who’ve tried this always ask for more.”
Adam grins. “I better be impressed.”
Kris looks at him, the side of his mouth quirking a bit. “That’s the idea?”
Adam feels warm all over and he just grins stupidly at Kris. Kris dips a finger to the dough, and puts it in his mouth to taste. Adam knows he’s staring but he has stopped caring the moment Kris opened the door earlier that afternoon wearing a denim apron. He’s still wondering when he started finding a guy with bowl cut hair hot.
“Want to try it?” Kris offers, thrusting the bowl at Adam.
Adam’s slightly peeved because that means he has to stop looking at Kris’s mouth. But he just shakes his head and says, “I’ll just wait until it’s done.”
Kris shrugs and pours the mix to the cake pan. He then puts it in the pre-heated oven and once that’s done, he washes his hands. All the while he’s talking to Adam about some horror movie he saw on cable the night before. He then takes out the things they need for the icing and puts it in front of Adam.
“Now you can make the chocolate icing,” Kris just says as Adam stares at him dumbly.
“You realize I don’t know shit about this, right?” He raises his eyebrows. “I’m just here to eat.”
“We’ll do it together,” Kris says. “I melted the chocolate in the pot over there, now we’ll just mix everything in this bowl.”
And that’s how Adam ends up mixing the chocolate icing in a stainless bowl while Kris puts on some Queen in the cd player. They’re singing together, Adam using the spatula as his mic and Kris leaning on the counter leaning helplessly as he laughs.
Once the cake’s done, they let it sit for a while. They end up taking a nap together on the deck. When Adam wakes up, Kris is leaning against him, head lolling as he sleeps. Adam stares at Kris for a while before lifting his arm to tug Kris closer. Kris just snuffles a bit, but he just settles comfortably against Adam’s chest. Adam feels overwhelmed for some reason, his breath coming in a bit faster. Kris smells like cake and chocolate and the summer breeze, and all Adam wants to do is to bury his nose in Kris’s hair.
Adam closes his eyes to take another nap. When he wakes up, he finds Kris looking up at him. Kris is smiling slightly and he feels warm against Adam. Adam doesn’t think about it before leaning down and placing a chaste kiss on Kris’s lips. Kris gasps a little and Adam takes the time to bite Kris’s lower lip, to nibble on it. Kris starts kissing back, and Adam tugs Kris onto his lap, letting his hands touch.
When Kris breaks away to catch a breath, Adam puts a hand at the back of Kris’s head to tug him forward. He presses their foreheads together, and Adam can’t stop looking at Kris’s mouth.
Kris sounds a little breathless when he says, “let’s go finish the cake.” Then he leans down to kiss Adam again and all Adam can think about is how perfect everything is.
They manage to stop touching each other after a while, Kris tugging Adam up from the bench on the deck. Adam wraps his arms around Kris as they walk to the kitchen and he keeps on standing behind Kris as they put the icing on the cake together.
Adam takes the first bite of the orange soda cake from Kris’s fingers. Kris holds a small piece of it between his thumb and forefinger, and Adam licks the chocolate icing on his fingers. Kris feeds him the entire slice, small bites in between kisses. And when they finish it, they take a walk on the beach, ending it by making out on top of their rock cliff.
When Adam walks Kris home, Kris gives him half of the orange soda cake and kisses him goodbye under the moonlight. As soon as Adam’s home, he opens the container and eats two slices of the cake. Neil asks for some but Adam chases him out of the kitchen.
: : :
Kris goes to LA for two days, buying some things for the café. By the second night, he can’t wait to just do the hour and a half drive back to Rue Falls. He’s got the entire day off before going back to work and he’s so looking forward to it.
He normally loves going to LA, loves the energy of the city and he spends it taking some pictures, trying out some restaurants and buying some music. But the craziness of the tourist summer season at The End just exhausts him. And much as he doesn’t want to admit it, Adam being in Rue Falls kind of makes him tired too.
He’s been thinking of Adam way more than he should. Seeing Adam the day before he left only made things worse. Because Adam looks better than he does in all those magazines and tv interviews. He’s not entirely the Adam Kris knew, he can say that for sure, but when Kris saw Adam’s smile, it makes him think of stuff when he’d rather not.
So some sleep after the long drive from LA would be nice, that’s why he chooses to just drive in the middle of the night to avoid the traffic. As soon as he gets home at around 4am, he falls facedown on the bed and goes to sleep.
Which is interrupted so rudely by Brad, who wakes him up three hours later with a nudge on the shoulder.
“Kristopher, wake up! It’s an emergency!” Brad whispers to his ear and Kris groans.
He turns away quickly, burying his face under a body pillow. “The last time you had an emergency, you went makeup shopping. So… no.”
Kris feels Brad stand on the bed and step over him. Then Kris opens one eye to see Brad’s face close to his, and Brad looks kind of pale. He can also see the dark shadows under Brad’s eyes and well, Brad never goes out without at least some concealer.
Kris sighs. “Ok, what happened? Can’t Andrew take care of it?”
Brad looks confused for a moment, and then he says, “oh no, the kitchen’s fine. I need your help with another thing.”
Kris is starting to get nervous. “Tell me. So I can say no already.”
“You wound me,” Brad says, sounding so confident that Kris would actually help him. “I’ve been throwing up since last night. Some shellfish disaster. Such a bad omen - that guy’s not getting a second date. Anyway, I feel terrible and I called Celine to let her know and…” he takes a deep breath, “I need you to cover for me in the Bachelor thing.”
“You’re kidding, right?” He can feel the panic start and it’s a totally unwelcome feeling.
Brad turns wide pathetic eyes on Kris. He bites his lips and Kris thinks that he actually looks contrite. “Um, no? Come on Kris…”
“It’s my day off!” Kris whines and closes his eyes.
“I’m sorry, I know. But no one else is available! It’s just for today, though. I’ll definitely try and be there tomorrow.” Brad hugs him and Kris can feel himself giving in without meaning to. “I’ll totally make it up to you, I promise. It’s just a short shoot today, you can still sleep in until 1.”
Yeah, like that’s going to happen, Kris thinks. He sighs and mumbles, “you’re so going to owe me.”
Brad hugs him tighter and whispers, “you’re awesome!” in his ear. Then he pulls back and looks at Kris, all excited. “Oh, you’ll get to see Adam!”
Brad gets a funny look on his face and Kris narrows his eyes. He got a bunch of weird texts from Emma, Allison and Celine when he was in LA, and now Brad’s making eyes at him. “What happened?”
“Nothing! You’re so paranoid,” Brad huffs. But Kris still has a weird feeling about the whole thing.
“Are you really sick? Because you’re so going to have your ass kicked if you’re playing me.”
“Hot, but no! The doctor at the walk-in clinic gave me a shot but she said I might throw up some more later,” and Brad actually pouts. Kris pushes the weird thoughts away and decides that Brad’s a schemer, yes, but he’s also Kris’s friend.
Kris rolls away from Brad and stretches. “What time do I have to be there?”
“The shoot starts at 3,” Brad quickly says as if Kris would change his mind. “So you have to be there at least an hour early. It’s at small restaurant beside the rock cliff.”
Kris mumbles. “Of course. It has to be there.”
“It’s perfect! You can rest there after the shoot’s done,” Brad says. Then he squeals. “And oh my god, didn’t you meet Adam there?”
He just nods vaguely. “Well yeah. It’s been ten years, though. Things have changed.” Brad gets a weird look on his face again, like he wants to tell Kris something, but Kris has had enough of this today. He has to be around Adam and it’s making him nervous. He’s even clenching his teeth, which is so totally not good. So before Brad can say anything more, Kris just says, “anyway, that’s not important. So what should I do for this job?”
At 2pm later that day, Kris is already trailing after Blaine, the show’s writer. He’s balancing the clipboards on his arms as he takes notes while Blaine talks to Claire, the director. They’re saying something about having Adam and Doug walk on the beach, and sip some cocktails while talking about Doug’s family.
Every mention of Adam’s name makes Kris more on edge. Adam still hasn’t arrived on set, and Kris tries to train himself not to look around to wait for him. It’s unnerving, and he’s obviously distracted, but Blaine just smiles at him. Kris thinks it’s because he’s just covering for Brad, which is part of it, but the uneasy, heady feeling is hugely because of Adam.
He forces himself to snap out of it, and it helps when he gets sent to talk to the restaurant’s manager to tell them what they should serve. So when he gets back on set, he’s pretty relaxed. But all the crazy feelings come back when he spots Adam standing just outside the air-conditioned tent they’ve set up.
Kris finds himself rooted on the spot, eyes completely on Adam. He’s closer now than when he went to the town quad on the day of the photo shoot, and the way Kris’s heart is pounding completely takes him by surprise. He chalks it up to nostalgia, because he knows how Adam kisses. He knows how Adam lights up when he’s happy. He knows how soft and beautiful Adam’s voice is when he says good night and don’t go.
Blaine appears at his side and Kris quickly turns away from Adam, pushing down the force of memories. He smiles when Blaine tells him that Claire’s looking for him.
Kris turns and walks over to where Claire is standing near the table where Adam and Doug are sitting. He feels hot all over and he looks down as he walks towards Claire. Then he kind of virtually rolls his eyes at himself, because Adam’s deep in conversation with Doug and not even looking his way.
Claire smiles at him when he gets to her side. “Kris!” She points to the blueberry, cherry and corn dessert on the table. “Is that what we ordered? I want the Rainbow Parfait, because it’s a thing here, right?”
Kris nods. The restaurant they’re at is famous for the Rainbow Parfait. “That’s exactly it. Looks like it kind of melted though.”
“Yeah, it won’t look good on camera,” Claire says. “Would you be a dear and tell them to make two new ones, then we can have them bring it out when we’re all set to roll?”
“No problem.” He starts to walk towards the restaurant, Claire’s “thank you, Kris” following him. He passes by Adam and Doug, but he keeps his eyes set on the distance, not even daring to take a glance.
He’s just stepped out of the restaurant and looking at the clipboard when he hears, “Are you Kris?”
Kris underlines tell Blaine about peacocks and without looking up, he says, “yep, anything I can help you with?”
Kris hears a gasp and when he looks up, he finds himself face to face with Adam. Adam’s looking at him without blinking, and Kris fidgets because he can feel himself blushing. He tries to smile.
“I’m Adam,” Adam says unhelpfully. Kris kind of wants to laugh. But then, his heart is going into overdrive and he knows he’s not breathing properly. Also, Adam’s not giving any hints whether he knows who Kris is, so Kris just calms himself down and does his job.
“Hi, I know who you are,” he says. Adam smiles brightly, and Kris wants to take a picture and keep it forever. He’s that lame. “Um, need my help?”
Adam’s smile dims a bit, then his eyes go wide and he laughs. “You don’t remember who I am!”
Everything then falls into place and the relief that Kris feels is totally unexpected. He chuckles nervously and he says, “of course, I remember you. Welcome back, man.”
Adam gets a gleeful look on his face, and Kris feels the sudden overwhelming urge to kiss him. Which isn’t helped by the fact that Adam practically jumps to hug him, and Kris finds himself hugging back. It’s so familiar to be buried in Adam’s arms like that, yet still so different. But it still feels so good.
When Adam whispers, “I can’t believe you’re really here,” Kris just nods and buries his face on Adam’s chest.
Part Three