Faye Calinao
"Take a picture with me," I heard Lei say from nearby and I looked away from my camera to see him facing away from the Eiffel Tower with his phone in his hand. Even though we had someone taking photos of us awhile ago, I walked over to him and put my phone into my coat pocket. I turned facing the same direction as he wrapped an arm around my waist. I smiled at the camera for the first picture. The second one I looked towards Lei who seemed to be already staring at me with an innocent look. He leaned forward to kiss me and I smiled knowing this was his intended next pose for us. He pulled away and I leaned forward to kiss his cheek and I could hear his phone snapping the next photo.
"I want to cuddle with you tonight," I spoke as he opened his photos to look at the photos he had just taken.
"I have no problem with cuddling. I was planning on cuddling with you every night until we leave. I like having you with me." I smiled as he showed me the pictures. I linked my arms with his and leaned my head against his arm. I looked at the last photo Lei had of us and smiled at how cute we looked. "I'll send these to you when we get back to the apartment. Should we be heading back?" I nod in response as we began our journey back to the apartment.
"Lei?" I asked softly, realizing a few things. He hummed as we continued our walk. He had his arm wrapped me as we walked close together. "We should tell Ximen, Meizuo..."
"And my parents..." Lei added and my eyes widened at the mention of his parents. "Your parents..." The thought of now meeting his parents and me introducing Lei to my family is something I did not think about. How will my dad react? My mother? She would be excited for me. What about my grandparents? "When do I meet your parents?"
"Uh..." I have to tell my fans. This has caught me off guard and I felt myself feeling shy all of a sudden. Lei took a quick glance towards me and let out a light laugh before breaking into a big smile.
"It may be awhile before you can meet my parents. I am going to talk about you next time I'm speaking with my mother."
"I really haven't thought about that until now. I have to tell the whole music industry we're dating," I smile shyly. "I mentioned in an interview I would make an announcement."
"I think our classmates would be interested as well."
"Are you suggesting something?"
"We could post a picture on Weibo and Instagram that we've taken today? Unless you want to broadcast yourself?"
"I'm not much of a broadcast kind of person." I shook my head at the idea of talking to a camera and reading comments live. "I like your idea of posting. I get to pick a cute caption!"
"We'll post the same picture then? We have pictures from our rehearsal this morning, lunch, a few random ones from exploring the streets, jardin des Tuileries, Palais Garnier, and the Eiffel tour."
"Maybe I'll choose a few of my favorites. I can't believe... this is real." My mind continues to comprehend that Hauze Lei is my boyfriend.
"You're so cute," Lei spoke with content. "I can't wait to do senior photos with you."
"My mother is already requesting for photos," I smile and saddened at the same time, because I realize my mom hasn't been doing too well when I left. "We... should FaceTime my mom."
"Your mom? Is she doing alright?"
"She..." Lei doesn't know. Ximen had always known and Meizuo knew a little about my mother. "She had Ataxia-telangiectasia when she was a child and with complications she has lymphoma," I answered softly. Lei came to an abrupt stop and turned towards me.
"I... I had no idea. I'm sorry Faye."
"I don't tell many people. It's okay. We should call her though. I can introduce you. She will be excited to hear about us." Lei smiled shyly and nodded. We walked over to a nearby place to sit. We took a seat and I took out my phone. I looked for my mom's contact and clicked on the face call. I held the phone up waiting for her to answer. The screen showed me as the phone began ringing. It should be around four in the afternoon there. I reached for Lei's hand and intertwined our hands again. As soon as Lei squeezed my hand, the ringing stopped.
The big screen switched over to my mother and my screen going to the corner. I smiled and waved to my mom.
"Hi mom!" I spoke happily to see her. Today from what I could tell, she looked happier.
"Faye!" My mother spoke back just as excited to be reviving a call from me. "It's really good to hear from you! How are you doing? How is Shanghai? Is school going well?"
"It's really good to see you mom." I continued to smile at her. "I'm doing alright, school is going well and it's not too bad. I enjoy my courses so far."
"That's wonderful dear! I'm happy you decided to go there this school year. How is Ximen doing?"
"Ximen is doing well. He asks about you."
"Tell him I say hello. He needs to visit!"
"He said soon. Mom..." I spoke shyly now and gave her a nervous smile. "I actually want you to meet someone." Seeing my mother smile on the other end, curious, she claps wondering who I am about to introduce.
"One of your friends?" She took a guess and I laughed nervously as I squeezed Lei's hand gently. I slowly pulled my phone back so Lei came into view of the phone. My mothers eyes widen for a split moment before smiling again.
"Hello Mrs.Calinao," I heard Lei speak English for the first time and bowed his head slightly before giving her a wave. "I'm Hauze Lei." My heart fluttered at the sound of his English. I realized the entire time we never spoke English to each other. My mom seemed very happy to see another male other than Ximen being introduced to her. Never have I introduced a guy to my parents other than Ximen.
"Ah, it's nice to meet you Lei. Very handsome boy."
"Mom," I spoke wondering how she will react in a moment. "I wanted to introduce you to Lei, because... I want to introduce you to my boyfriend." My cheeks were burning and I pressed my lips together as my mother covered her mouth in shock for a moment and her eyes widened taking in what I had just told her.
"My daughter has a boyfriend?!" Her tone was mixed with shock and excitement. "Faye, that's wonderful! I'm happy for you and Lei." She looked towards Lei. "I hope to meet you in person in the near future!"
"Of course," Lei nodded politely. She made eye contact with me again.
"Awe Faye, I can't wait to tell your dad. I'm really happy to be hearing from you and to meet you Lei. This has made my day!" Seeing my mom happy brought happiness to me. I'm glad I could share great news with her. "I don't want to keep you two from what you're doing. It must be late there."
"We're actually in Paris mom," I spoke sheepishly.
"Oh? You're traveling for a performance or research?"
"No. We're on a small trip together. We're doing school work while we're here and doing our own rehearsals here."
"Ah, Lei, you're a music major as well?" Lei hummed and nodded. My mother began asking questions and Lei would answer her questions. In the time the two were talking, I slowly handed my phone over to Lei so he could hold the phone. The two seemed to be getting along and instantly bonding. The sight of Lei smiling and laughing of funny stories my mom told of me from my awkward phase of doing recitals. The two talked for quite some time when I felt a light squeeze to my hand to notice Lei put me back into view with my mother.
"Faye," My mother beamed. "You must bring Lei here when you visit during your break, alright? I want to have a private performance from you two."
"Okay," I spoke.
"It was really nice talking to you both. I should pick up your brother and sister from their practices."
"Tell them I said hi and that I miss them. I'll call you again soon to talk to all of you." My mother said her farewell to both Lei and I before we ended the call.
...
"Faye?" I looked away from my laptop to look at Lei, who sat across from me. He had his laptop on his lap. Our school work was spread across the living room table in front of us. We have been working on our business paper and project after we had dinner in a nearby cafe. We've spent now three hours working on our assignments and taking notes we've missed in person. It was now midnight and I was beginning to grow tired.
"Hmm?"
"Can I come over and visit you while you are with your family during the winter holiday?"
"Of course. My mom seems very excited to meet you. Even better you can spend my birthday with us." Lei raised a questioning look at the mention of my birthday.
"Your birthday? When is your birthday?"
"The twenty fourth."
"Your birthday is the day before Christmas Day?" I nodded in response and typed a few words into my document. "I can visit for a few days around your birthday and spend Christmas with you and your family."
"I'm sure my family would love that. I'm excited to introduce you to my siblings." Talking to Lei about my family seemed to be another calming talk to have. Lei showed interest in getting to know more about me.
"Right, your mom mentioned you have siblings. What are their names?"
"I have a brother named Owen and a sister named Cora. They're actually twins. They're seven."
"That is very cute. You're the older sister setting a good example for them."
"I try my best... Do you have any siblings?"
"No, but I've always thought Ah Si, Ximen, and Meizuo as my brothers. We have history and have gone through a lot together." I nod as I listen to him speak about them. He talked about some of his favorite memories with them and some of the tough situations they have gone through in the past. "That's why I was surprised and confused all at once when I learned about you being Ximen's best friend since our childhood. I find it strange how we have never run into each other if you and Ximen were very close. And it's strange, because Ximen and Daoming Si had never once mentioned you the entire time."
"Surprisingly, I never actually have seen you or Meizuo in school."
"You spoke to Joyce about knowing me since senior high school," Lei spoke softly. He put his laptop on the table and gave me his full attention now. I felt myself warming up thinking we're about to have another long conversation of my past.
"Yes." He frowned slightly as he thought about something for a moment.
"How?"
"I had orchestra with you," I answered sheepishly. It's strange he's now finding this out.
"I don't... remember you in the orchestra. I knew everyone in the cello section."
"I... was in the violin section then." Thinking of when I was just a violinist brought back the memories of what Daoming Si did. Lei seemed to be confused wondering how this was possible. I really have had a transformation since then. "I uh... you probably don't remember... I was your stand partner." Lei's expression of confusion turned to shock as his mouth parted slightly and he squinted trying to remember who sat next to him.
"But..." I shook my head to stop him and he looked at me in confusion once again. I put my laptop onto the table and take my phone from beside me before getting up and walking over to him. He looked up at me wondering how I was his stand partner. I went onto my phone going through my photos. It took a moment to find pictures from high school.
I found a picture of Ximen and I from our freshman year. This was just before midterms week and we had just come back from ice skating. We were dressed in formal attire getting ready to attend a dinner with his parents. I handed my phone over to Lei and he took a look at the picture. He then looked between the picture and me. I took a seat next to him as he quietly observed the picture.
"I changed how I presented myself when I moved to Canada with my family," I smiled faintly. "I wanted to have a fresh start and I wanted to get rid of my bangs. I also chose to switch over to contacts as well." Lei looked towards me again. From his expression I could tell he felt guilty for not knowing who I was back then.
"I can't believe I did not pay attention to you then."
"It's okay. I had no idea you and Ximen were best friends at the time."
"I never talked to you."
"I didn't talk to you either," I shrugged. "I was really shy then and probably would have embarrassed myself if you talked to me then."
"Embarrassed? Why embarrassed?"
"I had a crush on you then," I laughed lightly and folded my arms. "That was the time I started liking you." Lei wrapped an arm around me and pulled me close to him. I snuggled against him and leaned my head on his shoulder wondering what he'll say next.
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There is a bit of time skipping in these future chapters, but it's for a reason! We eventually would like to make it to their graduation day. I hope all of you like the direction the story is going so far and appreciate all of you for giving this fanfic a chance ❤️ I love seeing your interaction in the comments throughout the story! I look forward to continue to do my best with the rest of the story!
Started my first shift back in the pharmacy for the first time since I completed my training a year ago 🥺 Being back there reminded me why I don't want to give up even through school is being so hard on me since the pandemic started. Being back there in that environment and working alongside my co-workers who share the same goals has inspired me. I'm happy in this setting and see myself there in the future as a pharmacist.
Cross country has been crazy! I find it so bizarre to be running outside when it's snowing or below 30. The many times I've caught myself from siding on the ice or stepping in a huge puddle... I am happy to be running again. It gives me hope and a break from school even though I'm freezing on these long runs ❄️🥶