Timothée placed his phone on the table, mentally sighing at Armie's insistence that there's something going on between them. As much as Timmy wanted there to be more between them, there wasn't. And even though it pained him to admit it, there probably wouldn't ever be anything else between them.

Claire stirred, slowly opening her eyes and sitting up. She rubbed her eyes tiredly as she mumbled, "What time is it?"

"2:45," he answered, catching her off-guard. "You've been asleep for about an hour and a half."

He couldn't help but admire her like this. Her hair was a little messy and she had this dazed look in her eye. Something about how different it was from her normal self made her current state oddly cute. That, and the adorable expression she made when she realized how long she had been asleep. They were the perfect combination in his opinion.

She blinked back her tiredness and ran a hand through her hair. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to-"

"It's okay," he reassured her. "I didn't mind it."

"Are you sure," she asked as she moved to face him with a small pout.

'Cute, cute, she's so cute-'

"Really, don't worry about it."

"You know," she rubbed the back of her neck. "That was the best sleep I've had in years."

His cheeks flushed. "Really?"

"Really."

He leaned forward a little, tilting his head with a dreamy smile. "I'm glad."

As they continued to gaze into each other's eyes, it struck Claire just how freaking stunning Timothée was. It may have been her grogginess, or the fact that he had been so sweet with her just moments prior, but something about him was so... appealing. Maybe it was his eyes, which she just barely began to appreciate, or his insanely charming smile that seemed to drive her crazy, or the fact that he was biting his lips...

He was biting his lips.

While looking at her lips.

Claire felt her heart start pounding as she realized that not only was he looking at her lips, but she was also looking at his lips, which he was biting. He was just a friend, and yet he felt like so much more in that moment.

Realization seemed to hit him at the same time, because his eyes met hers with a questioning expression. Almost as if he was asking for an invitation.

Her cheeks flushed and her eyes went back and forth between his eyes and his lips, her mind struggling to decide what this feeling was. Eventually she cast her doubt aside, and slowly began to lean forward. The two got closer to each other as Timotheé raised his hand, his touch ghosting against her cheek. And then...

The door clicked, and the two jumped back, both looking over at the front door to Claire's apartment. Their eyes landed on Nat, who was very confused.

"What," she asked. "Is there something on my face?"

They looked back at each other, holding eye contact for a moment before breaking out in a fit of giggles.

Claire gazed at Timotheé, and while she was giggling, her mind was racing. What was that? Does it mean anything? It was confusing, to say the least. But at the end of the day, they were just friends, and Claire was okay with that.

Yeah... just friends.

________________________________
Hey guys! This is the last chapter of Act One. Hope you all enjoyed it. Currently I'm sitting in my room, kinda sad. My friends are texting in a groupchat (that I'm in) rn and I wanted to join the convo but I feel like I'm overstepping? Idk. I just feel like I'd be interrupting them and I don't wanna do that.

Anyway, I'm sure you all enjoyed this chapter and how I made you think they were gonna kiss. Led you on. Played with your emotions. ;)