The Other Mahone

2

    “Ems!” Emma heard Austin before she could even see him and was blindsided when he picked her up and spun her around like he had been since they were little.

    Before she could even stop it, tears of joy filled her eyes and she was hugging her brother as tightly as she possibly could.

    

    “Okay, the house is right on the beach and I even decorated your room for you because I want this summer to be awesome.” He beamed while simultaneously punching a code into the gate which then swung open to reveal a massive house right on the beach. Emma slapped her hand to her mouth to cover the pure shock on her face

    “HOLY SHIT AUST! IS THIS EVEN REAL PLEASE PINCH ME!” She turned to her brother with huge eyes and he just chuckled, thoroughly satisfied with her reaction.

 

    After exploring every room in the house besides her own, Austin finally allowed Emma the access to her room and it was well worth the wait, “you, you did all this? For me?” She asked, at a loss for words.

    “Ems, I would do so much more just to show you how much I appreciate you being here for me these past years, I know it’s been hard being away for so long but we’ve got 2 and a half months together so you better get ready to be absolutely sick of me by the end of the summer! Oh, and I almost forgot. We’re throwing a party tonight! A ton of celebrities have vacation houses here and not that I want to get your hopes up, or anything but I diiiid hear that a certain Camila Cabello was planning on stopping by...”

    It had been at least 6 months since Emma had seen her best friend and also, conveniently Austin’s girlfriend and no other news could have made her any happier.

    She decided to start getting ready for the party since it was already nearly 7, once she was finally primped and dressed it was 8:45 and the music from downstairs was blasting so loud she could feel the bass vibrating her room.

    Giddily triple checking that her lipstick hadn’t smudged onto her teeth, Emma opened the door that led from her room to the outdoor patio behind the house where most of the party-goers were.

    The first person she spotted was Austin, not surprisingly surrounded by a group of girls, but he had his arm protectively wrapped around Camila. When she saw Emma, she bolted towards her, full speed and jumped into her arms, disregarding everyone in her way.

    “OH MY GOD EMMA YOU LOOK MORE BEAUTIFUL THAN EVER! I MISSED YOU SO SO MUCH, HOW HAVE YOU BEEN? OH MY GOD YOUR BODY GET EVEN MORE BANGIN?! HOW IS THIS POSSIBLE??” The two best friends caught up quickly and gushed over some fruity punch that Camila had poured them.

    “Cami, does this punch even have vodka in it? You can’t taste a thing!”

    “Oh just wait two more cups and you will be feelin it sista. The last time I drank this stuff I ended up wearing  snowsuit on the roof of your house. I’ve actually probably gotta get back to Austy, he’s looking a little bit like a lost puppy, and we can’t have that can we?” Camila danced back to her boyfriend.

    

    Although she didn’t get to hang out with this crowd of people very much, Emma had made quite a few friends over the years of being with Austin as he gained his fame.

    “So that’s when I told her that there was absolutely no way I was gonna dance in anything less than 6 inches.” Lauren finished her story and everyone broke out in loud laughter, Emma lazily scanned the crowd that had been growing as the night went on and spotted none other than the gorgeous Nash from her plane ride to California, politely excusing herself from the conversation, she B-lined for him and his entourage, the same group of flawless boys he had been with earlier that day.

    “Now this is borderline stalking.” She opened the conversation, very casual Emma. Way to flirt. Nash hadn’t seen her when she walked up but once he turned in her direction his whole face lit up.

    “Aaah the mysterious girl from seat 1B who fled the scene before I could even get her number. How’d you find your fine self here tonight?” Nash brought her in for a warm hug and his scent surrounded her comfortingly.

    “Actually, this is my brother’s house...” Emma scratched her arm uncomfortably, second guessing the bold lipstick choice she made for the night.

    “No way! Your brother is Austin Mahone?!” Another boy butted into their conversation with wide eyes.

    “Sorry, excuse him, this is Shawn.” The boy blushed and stuck his hand out for Emma to shake.

    “It’s totally fine, and yeah!”

    “Wait a minute...you’re Emma, right? This is gonna come off so creepy but I read an article on your family the other day, you’re an artist, right? The article said you’re studying at Yale for fone art and you’re only 17! That’s amazing.” It was weird having someone recognize her for anything besides being Austin’s shadow and her cheeks were burning but she smiled and nodded nonetheless.

    She averted her eyes from Shawn’s admiring gaze and peeked over at Nash who was staring at her too but with a different look in his eyes, a mischievous one.

    “If you don’t mind Shawn, I’m gonna steal Emma away.” Nash rested his hand on her lower back and guided her over to the edge of the party where the house turned into the beach.

    “So, your brother is like, a major star. And you didn’t feel the need to tell me, but it’s fine, you can be forgiven under one condition.” Emma bit her lip and smiled back,

    “Oh? And what would that one condition be?”

    “That you give me your number and agree to dinner with me tomorrow night.”

    After pretending to consider it (because honestly who in their right mind would actually need to think about that?), Emma nodded, “I guess so, I’ll have to cancel some major appointments but I’m sure my people could fit you in somewhere around 6.” Nash grinned from ear to ear and shot his hand in the air triumphantly.

    “I’ll be here at 5:59.”