Xtina can't sleep for dreaming of Coby, and she's up & heading downstairs to make some breakfast when the phone rings. And of all people, it's Gavin. He tells her he stopped at the payphone on the corner on the way to his movie set. "Justin told me you called for me & you sounded upset. I just wanted to know you were okay, if there was anything I could do for you?" he says. "Thanks, Gavin," Xtina says, feeling an actual smile coming over her, "I just needed someone to talk to." "Well," he answers, "I have a little time before I have to be on set, would you like to come get a cup of tea with me? I need someone to talk to, too."

Xtina meets Gavin downstairs and they walk over to the tea bar. It's been so long since she last saw him, she forgot how beautiful he was. "How's the movie thing going?" she asks, picturing him as her favorite character, Dream. That is what she loved about Gavin, all the passion and drama. "I would have made her a goddess," Xtina intones suddenly, quoting a line from one of her favorite Sandman titles. Gavin almost drops the cup as the girl is handing it to him. "That's the scene I'm stuck on, Xtina," he says solemnly. Xtina laughs, "Gavin, you know what a Sandman fan I am, and I promise you, you don't even have to act, you are a perfect Dream just as you are," she says as she waits for the girl to brew her cup. "Why do you say that?" he asks, looking very serious. Xtina laughs, "Because you would go through hell for your girlfriend, Gavin. It's the kind of guy you are," she says with an affectionate smile. "I am going through hell," he sighs, as they sit down with their tea.

But Gavin insists, ladies first, he wants to know why she called. "I was just so upset, Gavin," she sighs, telling him about Rainier moving in, how perfect he is for her, but how she regrets losing Coby. "You should think before you do things like that," he admonishes. Xtina nods her head sadly, "I know, that's how I blew it with you. I don't know why I do the things I do," she sighs, and insists Gavin now tell her his troubles. She wonders if she'll ever be comfortable to sit & talk to Coby like this.

"Xtina, did I ever tell you about Astrid?" Gavin asks suddenly & Xtina almost spits out the tea in her mouth. She swallows & says, "When we were first dating, you used to call me Astrid all the time, even in bed. I hated that so much...but no, you never told me who she was, ex-girlfriend, I assumed.." Gavin sits staring for a moment, jaw dropped. "I did? And you never told me?" Xtina blushes, "I was crazy about you, Gavin, so I just put up with it. You stopped after a month or so..." "Well, she was an ex-girlfriend, and an actress. And now she's playing Death in this movie," Gavin tells her, going to explain how he's doing the film to get his girlfriend a job as costume designer on the set, and how Astrid told everyone in a big dramatic scene that she had been sleeping with the PA Alison while she was with him.

Xtina sits in stunned amazement at Gavin's revelations: it's pretty juicy stuff. "It's been torture to have to work like that, and I'm not having much success with the acting, either. People keep telling me I'm perfect for the part, or I have 'it', but I just don't get it," he sighs. "Gavin, the fact that you are still upset over the girl you were with before me is what makes you so right for this part. Say the line for me," she says to him, say "'I would have made her a goddess'" Gavin takes a sip of tea, breathes deeply, looks her in the eyes and says the line. It takes her breath away, for a moment Gavin is Dream, and Xtina has seen her favorite character come to life. "'Maybe she didn't want to be a goddess, Little Brother...'" Xtina says Death's lines. There are passages of the Sandman books she knows by heart, and this is one of them. Gavin continues the scene with her, and when he finishes the line "'I had not wished to return to Hell. Not yet. Lucifer Morningstar is not one to forgive a slight, nor to forget an injury. But if I have committed a wrong, then I have but one course. It must be made right.,'" he stops, looking within in himself. "That was beautiful Gavin, you're a perfect Dream," Xtina tells him, her heart racing with the thrill of playing the role of Death for a moment. "I can't wait to see this movie,Gavin, when is it coming out?" Gavin laughs, "I can't get past this scene, Xtina, It may never come out at this rate. And I'm going to be late if I don't leave now," he sighs, getting up from his chair.

"It was good seeing you again, Xtina. Doing that scene with you helped out. Thank you," he says as he hugs her goodbye. She wishes she could hug Coby like this and just feel the platonic affection she feels for Gavin.

(All lines in Arial, bold italic style are from "The Sandman: Season of Mists", by Neil Gaiman DC/Vertigo Comics.)

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