Girls With Luv

FOURTEEN Liya

"Ah, of course. You're not gonna let that go, are you?"

"Not in this life." His grin grows and I'm sure my face mirrors it. Without saying much, we go towards the pool and sit down together, our feet dipped in the water and the sea breeze caressing our backs. I hear the subtle sound of April going bonkers and yelling at someone to "put the lid away, or else the pot will burst!" I shake my head and chuckle.

"So, what do you wanna chat about, Mr Johansson?" I look at him and he holds my stare. I have no idea why I'm not blushing my face off right now.

"You don't call me by my name. Why?"

"What?"

"You've either called me Mr Johansson or simply held my gaze before talking to me. What's wrong with calling me Julian?"

It's surreal, that's what. But I can't say it out loud to him, can I?

"It's okay, you don't have to answer. But if I'm intimidating you in any way, please tell me."

"What - no! You're the exact opposite of intimidating. It's just," I take a breath. "I'm not really good at fully expressing what I'm feeling. I tend to stick to myself, I stay away from social interactions unless it's something I'm really interested in, and I find sudden bursts of confidence at strangest and the most unexpected moments. So, don't take it personally. I weirdly feel quite comfortable with you." His face breaks into a genuine smile.

"I am like that too. I'm a me-person, majorly because I'm too shy for my own good." He laughs nervously. "But I'm good at changing topics of conversations."

"Please enlighten me."

"I'll say it again, I love your hair. It reminds me of the days when I had the same colour."

"I know, I saw your live interaction." I stare into the distance. "You sang your solo track at the request of a fan."

"You remember..."

"Of course I do. I cried myself to sleep that night. My ears were begging to hear you sing it live."

"Really?"

I narrow my eyes at him. Does he not know that he has a serious fanbase? And that his songs literally speak to the soul? Or is he just too modest?

"Let's make some rules, okay?" I declare because modesty is unnecessary sometimes.

"Rules?"

"Yes. I will tell you if and when you intimidate me in any way. In return, you won't be shy or modest around me. Deal?"

"I will try my best." He plays with his earlobe and I slap his hand away without thinking twice. "Okay, deal."

"Good. You're a celebrity, you have earned it. Don't ever treat it as something that you must be modest about. Hell no. You worked hard, be proud of it. Rub it in my face, go on!" He bursts out laughing and I join in. He starts saying something but the sound of the glass doors opening distracts us. Spencer, clutching her phone and sling bag very tightly, looks at us with a very solemn expression on her face.

"Hey." I smile at her. "Where are you headed?"

"I'm gonna check out the beach." She replies.

"Alone?" Julian asks and I spot a light frown on his face. He sounds like a lost kid who can't ponder spending one second alone, just with himself. I suddenly feel bad for him. I have no idea how hard it must be to be a celebrity; they have struggles of their own.

"Yeah. Liya, give me a call when the food is ready." Spencer starts walking towards the back gate and I don't know why I sense something low about her.

"Will do. Hey, just a second." I stand up, grab her wrist and drag her to a corner after whispering just a second to Julian. "You want me to come with you?"