Philautia || Amour Éternel Series BOOK ONE ||

Twenty-one -SHANNON

September 2015

"You'll do great, Callie-Cat. Good luck," Shannon said into his phone.

He wasn't sure Callie heard him because the line went dead. He sighed before putting it on the coffee table in front of the sofa.

"It's Emmys Night. She's probably too busy to be able to talk much," Jared offered as he came out of Shannon's kitchen and sat next to him, bowl of popcorn in hand. "Remember awards season for me? It was total chaos ninety percent of the time."

Shannon shrugged and took a handful of popcorn, careful not to drop any.

"Why are we watching this anyway? Its totally stupid," Jared continued.

"Because she's my friend and I want to support her," Shannon explained in a strained voice. "If you don't want to watch you don't have to stay."

"Alright, don't get your balls in a knot," Jared replied. "I'm just curious."

Shannon rolled his eyes. He had been looking forward to watching the show so he could see if Callie won. When Jared called and invited himself over for the evening, Shannon had to change his plans a bit.

"Well stop it," Shannon insisted.

"You aren't watching the pre-show?" Jared needled him, reaching for the remote.

"For fuck's sake, Jay!" Shannon exclaimed in frustration.

Jared chuckled and turned the TV on. The room was filled with chatter from the news until he changed it to the Entertainment network. The cameras were panning across the red carpet in front of the Microsoft Theater downtown. People were crowding the carpet and it looked like total chaos.

"Do you know if Callie's there yet?" Jared asked.

"I think she had just left," Shannon said. "It sounded pretty hectic, so I didn't get to ask."

"Welcome back to the 2015 Primetime Emmy Awards pre-show red carpet," Ryan Seacrest said into the camera. "We've got interviews with all the hottest nominees coming at you. Don't forget to tune into E! News tomorrow to catch all of the best and worst dressed winners from tonight's show."

The camera panned away from him and showed celebrities milling about, posing for photos, and greeting each other on the red carpet. Shannon smiled when he saw Callie. She had on a deep blue floor-length gown with a high slit up one side of the dress. He could see black sky-high heels on her feet as she walked. The dress glittered in the lights and trailed behind her slightly, contrasting with her pale skin and the red carpet beautifully. Then Shannon's heart stopped.

She wasn't alone.

She was walking, hand-in-hand with a tall lanky guy who had short curly brown hair and cheekbones that could have cut glass. He had on a well-tailored suit and was too close to Callie to be just a friend. Fortunately, Jared took the words out of Shannon's mouth, so he didn't feel as stupid saying them.

"Who's that?" Jared asked.

Shannon knew exactly who he was. "Matthew Grey Gubler," he said.

"Oh. Are they..." Jared started. But before he could finish his question, Matthew leaned over and kissed Callie gently on the cheek. "Oh."

Shannon could feel his brother's eyes on him as he stared at the screen, desperately trying to keep emotion off of his face. "I guess they are," he replied simply.

"Clearly you didn't know," Jared said.

Shannon shrugged. "Its not a big deal. She can date whomever she wants. Doesn't bother me."