Luna for years has dreamed of being on the other side of the screen. So when she gets the opportunity to move to California, she doesn't hesitate to leave everything behind in hopes of becoming an actress. With all the ambition in the world, she is...
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To say I was perplexed is an absolute understatement. My body was completely frozen, and my thoughts couldn't seem to correlate with one another as my eyes locked with his. I opened my mouth in hopes that I would be able to say something, anything that would allow for me to process exactly what was going on, but ultimately managed to get nothing out.
Questions left and right began to pile within me until I felt like I was going to explode from all the confusion. What the hell is he doing here, and most importantly, why?
"Luna...?" He blinked as though his vision was blurred, and I basically mirrored the same action. A part of me almost felt surprised that he recognized me, because for a moment there I thought he may had forgotten who I even was. But considering how unrecognizable he appears on my end, I don't think it would have made any difference. We were two different wave lengths that managed to cross each other by chance, and that is all that it could ever be.
"W-what are you d-doing here?" I hadn't realize how badly I was shaking until I heard the quiver of my own voice.
I had never given it much thought as to what I would do if I ever saw him again, because if I'm being brutally honest, he became irrelevant to me the moment I realized he had no intentions of coming back. But now that I find myself standing only feet away from him, I'm suddenly being forced to remember about a past I had long forgotten.
"I could ask you the same question." His words come out slowly, as if he were trying to asses the situation with caution.
I glance down to his right hand to see a set of car keys, and the way he's dressed leads me to believe he's coming from something important. He's a lot taller than what I remember; he's definitely not the dowdy shy little kid I used to call my best friend. His features are much more prominent, but I have a hard time debating if it's just because he's gotten work done or because he's wearing makeup. Or maybe it's because he finally lost all that baby weight I used to tease him about.
"What are you doing in LA?" He asks again, this time taking a small step forward. I can't exactly read the expression on his face, but it doesn't look any good. He doesn't look happy to see me, and for some reason that bothers me more than I would like.
My words come out barely above a whisper, "I just moved."
He blinks a few times, unable to comprehend what I just told him. "Why?" He says very bluntly, which ticks me off.
"That's none of your concern." I do my best to gather myself and hold my chin up with defiance.
"But what exactly are you doing-"
"Look," I promptly cut him off, "If your here to pick something up, don't mind me. Just lock the door on your way out." I turn to get another glass of water, ignoring the broken pieces of glass on the floor. My hand is shaking, but I hide it well enough for him not to notice.
I can almost hear the hesitation within his voice. "Excuse me?"
"Did I stutter?"
He stands there frozen in place and at a loss for words, staring back at me as though I'm an alien or something of the sort. A few moments pass by until I realize that nothing is going to come out of his egotistic mouth, and I exhale with annoyance at both him and myself for being so stupid enough to have once fallen for a materialistic jerk who only cares about himself.
"Your parents were kind enough to offer this house as a place for me to stay while I go to school." I explain myself rather harshly, "So you can get your head out of the clouds because it has nothing to do with you."
"Wait, back up- you mean to tell me that you just moved here, as in this house?" His attitude suddenly changes, slightly catching me off guard.
"Is that not what I just said?" I can't help but say that sarcastically, despite how wrecked my nerves are at the moment. I swear, my heart is beating faster than the speed of light.
"I don't believe you." He crosses his arms across his chest, his eyes narrowing down on me.
"Oh you don't believe me?" I almost laugh at his words, "I suppose you think I'm here for you then? To see my long lost best friend?" I pout my lips at that last sentence. If I ever doubted myself for being petty in the past, I realize now just how wrong I was.
"I don't know what it is you want from me, but if you know what's best for you, I suggest you leave right now." His words were condescending, and it made my blood boil with anger.
"I'm not going anywhere." I shake my head as I stand my ground, "Whether you like it or not, I live here now."
"Sorry to break this to you sweetheart," He backs me into the kitchen counter until his face is only inches away from mine, "But this is my house- I'm the one who lives here." He pauses, taking a good look at me, "And it's not up for charity, kid."
He turns around to leave, but stops in his tracks. "Please don't forget to clean up the mess you made." Mark purposefully steps on a broken piece of glass as he leaves to go upstairs.
I was paralyzed in place, utterly stunned by the change of events. "Nice to see you too, asshole." I uttered. It takes me several moments to realize what just happened, and it takes even longer for it to all sink in. I could feel the anger rising inside me as I look down at the floor and see the pieces of broken glass scattered everywhere. He can go to hell if he thinks I'm gonna clean that up.
As much as I thought it over and over again, nothing was making any sense to me. How was this his house? I get that his family owns it and all, but if he actually lived here, I don't think I would even be here in the first place. Or would I...?
There was only one way to find out. I run upstairs to where I had my bags and hastily grab my phone, dialing his mothers number as I pace up anxiously around the room.
"Hello?"
"Mrs. Tuan," I speak in a rather urgent tone, "Hi, I-I'm so sorry to call you at such a late hour, but-"
She cuts me off before I can even finish my sentence, "Luna-darling! Don't worry about it sweetheart. How was your flight? Do you like the house? Have you made yourself comfortable yet?" She strings her words together, the excitement rising in her voice by the second.
"Actually that's why I'm calling." I search for the right words to say as I nervously bite the inside of my cheek, "I didn't realize that I would be sharing the house with a roommate." I say carefully, taking a seat by the window and staring absentmindedly out into the city.
"Did I forget to mention that?" She softly chuckles, and my heart drops at the same rate of her mischievous laugh, "I'm so forgetful these days."
My stomach literally plummets all the way to the ground.
"Anyhow, Luna-darling, it's getting late. Lets chat another time?"
"But Mrs. Tua-"
"And tell Mark to call his mother every once in a while!" With that, she hangs up the phone before I can even respond.
