Actor in Hollywood

"...Tonight, I want to be alone."

Keller and Evan had dressed up meticulously for tonight's candlelit dinner, but now, their well-arranged formal attire felt more like a constraint.

The night was cool, with a slight chill.

The two were walking toward Keller's dorm. The entire campus was eerily quiet—no engine sounds, no chatter from students, nothing. The world seemed to have fallen silent, with only the night accompanying them on their journey.

Keller tried to lift her skirt, but her shoulders felt too weak to bear the weight, and her posture involuntarily slumped, gravity feeling sharper than ever.

Evan, however, wasn't paying attention to Keller. His focus was on their surroundings, constantly alert, fearing that Tommy might leap out from some shadowy corner, his body tense.

"No."

"You can't be alone. I'm staying with you."

Evan was firm.

Keller sighed, slightly helpless.

She stopped and looked at Evan but didn't get the response she expected. Evan neither acknowledged her nor planned to respond. Instead, he gestured for her to keep moving.

He was like Kevin Costner in The Bodyguard, protecting Whitney Houston.

Keller furrowed her brows slightly and dropped her head, reluctantly continuing to walk.

"Evan, I just... I don't want Tommy to see us together right now."

Moonlight pierced through the tall plane trees, flowing down at their feet. Keller's face flickered between light and shadow, revealing a hint of fragility and struggle, like a magnolia quietly blooming.

This time, Evan noticed.

He lowered his head, taking a closer look at Keller's delicate profile.

Sigh.

He exhaled softly, troubled and conflicted.

"Keller."

"I've already lost you once, and I don't want to lose you again."

That fragility, like a butterfly's wings, would shatter with the slightest touch.

He lowered his gaze, and the shadows of his lashes trembled faintly under the trees.

He remembered their last meeting. After they parted, Keller had chosen to end her life, bringing everything to a complete stop.

Evan shivered, unsure if it was from fear or the cold.

However...

Different people don't always share the same sorrows and joys.

Keller didn't understand Evan's words. "What do you mean, you lost me once? What are you talking about?"

Evan froze.

But Keller, confused and angry, continued, "Evan, you never lost me. What are you even saying?"

Evan looked at Keller, at a loss for how to explain, unsure where to begin. His steps slowed, letting her walk ahead, only to quickly catch up again, afraid that moving too slowly would mean losing her once more.

Keller glanced at Evan. "God, you've been acting so strange lately."

Evan took a deep breath, glancing up at the sky, trying to change the subject. "Look, my car just got smashed to pieces. I'm a little on edge..."

Keller exhaled lightly. "Yeah, I know, but…"

"Your accent's changed. Even the way you walk is different…"

Keller was lost in her thoughts, noticing all the small details she hadn't before. Evan, however, was startled.

"What? My walk is different?"

Keller didn't notice his reaction, continuing her train of thought.

"What I mean is, at dinner tonight, you were so handsome and charming, but somehow… you didn't feel like yourself."

Now it was Evan's turn to feel confused and a bit irritated.

He didn't understand what had happened to him in this timeline. Ever since he'd traveled back through the diary, he'd been facing countless unsolvable mysteries. Every step he took, he was cautious, afraid of revealing his secret, terrified of making a mistake that could ruin everything.

And now?

Evan asked, "Can't I just be a little nicer to you?"

Moonlight gently fell on Keller's lashes. She noticed the frustration in Evan's voice. She looked up at him, the light and shadows playing across her face, revealing her internal struggle. She couldn't quite describe the odd feeling she had, the words forming on her lips but stopping before they could come out.

Then...

"Wait..."

Out of the corner of her eye, Keller noticed something.

That triggered Evan's alarm. He instinctively followed her gaze.

"Isn't that your jacket?"

A lemon-yellow jacket lay flat on the ground, sleeves spread open.

Keller stared at the jacket, while Evan scanned the surroundings. The two walked together, and Evan finally, perplexed, picked up the jacket—

Nothing unusual.

Indeed, the jacket itself was fine, but the oak tree behind it, large enough for two people to wrap their arms around, served as a perfect natural hiding place.

Keller gasped, "Tommy!"

Tommy appeared.

Leaning lazily against the oak, his right hand braced on the tree, Tommy's body slouched, putting all his weight on it. In his left hand, he twirled a silver baseball bat, playing with it fluidly. His face and upper body were hidden in the shadows, making it impossible to read his expression.

In that moment, he took control.

His relaxed stance, the tension in his shoulders and arms, made it clear—like a cat playing with a mouse—he held all the power, looking down on the pair before him.

At a glance, Tommy noticed Keller's movement—

Immediately, Keller reached out to pat Evan's arm in warning, edging closer to him, as if Tommy might attack at any moment.

Heh.

Tommy let out a low chuckle from the back of his throat.

Almost simultaneously, Evan noticed Tommy. He quickly picked up the jacket, eyes locking onto the figure, ready for anything.

Eric, the director, recalled Mackie's advice: always follow the actors' eyes.

The camera focused on Anson and Rachel's eyes. Eric captured the "action," the tension and emotions flowing through their gaze. The camera became the audience's way to tap into the characters' relationships and the narrative's undercurrent.

The feeling was subtle.

Slowly, Eric began to taste the extreme tension pulling at the scene. His heart started to race before he even realized it:

Anson.

Though he made no significant moves, and there was no close-up, Anson still silently controlled the light and emotional flow, with the camera circling around him, unknowingly following his lead and centering him in the scene.

It was a brilliant experience.

It was as if an invisible spotlight constantly enveloped him.

Some people, it turns out, are born to be the camera's favorite. Some people truly look different under the lights.

This was one of those moments.

When Anson looked at Heath—

Or rather, when Evan looked at Tommy, the camera shifted its focus with Evan's gaze, landing on Tommy, then looking back at Keller and Evan through Tommy's eyes.

A triangular standoff formed, with invisible tension spreading in the night air.

Tommy noticed Keller's movement and Evan's gaze. In just one glance, the answer he'd been searching for finally surfaced.

He chuckled softly.

Step by step, Tommy walked out of the shadows, swinging the baseball bat like a predator preparing to pounce.