After that night I took some time to prepare for school in the fall. I know it's only June but it's never too early to be prepared. It's been a week since the whole Joonas incident and I've talked to the boys a little bit. It was Sunday and I woke up to the sound of my phone buzzing on the table next to me. I turned it over and saw a dm from Aleksi.
@alexmattson: Hey Tish! We edited your cover of 'Heart of Glass'. You sounded great! We also have an idea about the release of it. You should come by the studio!!
@morticiaantilla: hey aleksi. i would love to hear it. i can head over in about 45 minutes i just woke up.
@alexmattson: Oh perfect. See you soon!
@morticiaantilla: see you soon aleksi!
I was surprised at how fast they had finished the song. I mean, I recorded it last week. I also forgot about the whole recording process due to that night's events, but I get ready anyways. I put on a black and white slip dress and matched it with an old leather jacket I stole from my dad back home. Then I slipped on a pair of knee high black boots, grabbed my purse, and got in the car.
I parked my car and walked in. I didn't have a key to the studio they were in so I quietly knocked. Soft voices coming from the other side of the door stop and the door clicks open. The first thing I noticed was Joonas. He looked normal and even sent a tight lipped smile to me, which I returned. The next thing I noticed was a tall man wearing a grey suit. He seemed to have been conversing with Niko. "Hey guys," I said closing the door behind me. "Hey Tish, so glad you could make it." Aleksi said to me. The others greeted me and I figured, out of politeness, to introduce myself. "Hey! I'm Morticia." I said extending my hand. He shook my hand with a firm grip. "Hello my name is Alexander Murphy. You can call me Alex. Great to meet you Morticia, lovely name by the way." He said. He seemed professional and his accent made me wonder where he was from.
"Ah thank you. Are you from around here?" I asked letting my curiosity take over. "No, actually I'm from the United States. Born and raised in Albany, New York but I've relocated to the country's capital, Washington, D.C." He replied. Wow I wasn't expecting that. "That's so cool. I've never actually been to the capital. But I have heard a lot about the mass amounts of museums there are in the city." I said laughing slightly. "Oh yes. Plenty to do if one find themselves bored. I have two little children and their favorite thing to do is explore the Spy museum. Before Covid closed everything down of course. They loved climbing through these vents they have. But their favorite thing to do, besides drain my wallet at the gift shop, is to do the spy simulator." He said. His face lit up talking about his children. How cute.
"Mort. Come here we want to show you something." I heard Joonas say. I excused myself from Alex and went over to the computer. "What's the deal with Alex? Who is he?" I asked the boys. "He's a surprise tool that will help us later." Niko said to me with a straight face. "Did you- did you just quote Mickey Mouse to me?" I asked giving him a look of both disgust and confusion. They all started laughing uncontrollably. These men are children.
Aleksi, while laughing opened a file labelled 'Tish-Heart of Glass'. I couldn't help but stare at the screen wondering what I sounded like. I've always loved singing but never really thought anything of it.
"Alright Tish, let's hear it." Aleksi said moving the mouse to the play button. I looked up at Aleksi and saw Alex standing over him also watching the screen. Once again, I was curious. But not as curious as I was when it came to the song. I turned my attention back to the computer and watched Aleksi press play.
Throughout the song I was quiet. I was in shock. He made me sound amazing and I was speechless. He made the song have more of a rock and roll vibe which I absolutely loved. When the song finished the room was silent. I turned to Aleksi and threw myself at him. I wrapped my arms around his broad shoulders and thanked him profusely. He hugged me back. When we separated I stood up and hugged each boy one by one. The last one was Joonas. I pulled him into a big hug, placing my arms around his neck. He responded by pressing his cheek to the side of my face and wrapping his arms around my back. I held onto him for a little bit longer than the rest. Finally, we separated and when I looked into his eyes, I saw that whatever happened that night was forgotten.
"Oh My God guys. That was incredible thank you guys so much. I think I'm on the verge of crying but they're happy tears." I said sitting back down. "Well we're glad you like it. But, we have one more thing." Aleksi said turning toward Alex.
"Morticia, I work for Sony Music and as of last month these boys are signed with Sony Music Germany. I work at the headquarters in New York City. Well, that video of yours got around to us. The one in the bar. So, as we were already going to come up here to talk with the boys, I'm here on behalf of Sony Music to talk about a record deal." Alex said. My jaw dropped. Holy fuck I definitely was not expecting that. I looked around the room and noticed all the boys with a smug look on their faces. I mean I liked singing and everything but I never
thought I would be offered a record deal.
"Um. What? Like for real? Wow if you're not shitting me I mean yeah. But before I make any commitments I need to like take time to process this." I said trying to form a coherent thought in my brain. "Perfect. Here's my card and please, don't be hesitant to reach out once you've made your decision. Now, I'm afraid I have other work I must get to. See you later boys. See you later Morticia." Alex said grabbing his jacket. We all waved goodbye and watched the door close.
"Holy shit. Holy shit. Holy shit!" I said repeatedly the second I heard the door click. "You all did this for me?" I asked the six boys in front of me."Of course we did. You're special to me. I mean all of us." Joonas said running his hands through his curly hair. A warm feeling overtook my stomach as I smiled back at him. To thank them I decided to invite them over for dinner. "Hey guys. As sort of a thank you I was wondering if you all wanted to stop by my flat tonight for dinner?" I offered. "Oh no we wouldn't want to impose." Tommi said. I dismissed his comment "Tommi, you guys have done so much for me. Please, just let me cook you dinner. I'll while out the cookbook my yia-yia gave me when I was younger. It's filled with different Mediterranean dishes." I told them excitedly. "I think I speak for all of us when I say we would love to come over." Joonas said rubbing his stomach. "Alright perfect. I'll give you guys my address and you all can come in about an hour or so." I said smiling. They agreed and I was soon off.
I've always loved cooking and so being able to do something I love with some of the friendliest Finns I've met is pretty great. I decided I would make a couple dishes. Deciding to start with Avgolemono soup, I start cooking and as the purée was thickening with the stock, chicken, and rice I felt my phone vibrate. I looked down and saw a DM from Joonas.
@joonasbc: hey. we're on our way. we'll be about 20 minutes.
@morticiaantilla: that's fine! i'm still cooking so take your time.
He liked my message and I put my focus into the now thickened soup. I removed it from the heat and looked for something else to serve. I decided to stick with the Greek theme I had started with so I thought of making Spanakopita. I'll just enlist one of the boys to help me when they come because it'll be a little while. My pappós and yia- yia would be proud. Well maybe not as I grabbed a can of Dolmas from my small pantry. What they don't know won't hurt them. I feel guilty knowing my pappós would have a heart attack over the fact they're not fresh but I just don't have the time.
Deciding I wanted to play some music I connected my phone to a speaker and pressed shuffle on my playlist. Zombie by The Cranberries came on and I danced around singing as I did some last minute cleaning.
In your head in your head
Zombie, zombie, zombie-ie-ie
What's in your head, in your head
Zombie, zombie, zombie-ie-ie
I set out a couple bottles of wine. A Fiano to go with the Spanakopita and a Pinot Gris for the soup. I changed into nicer, but not too much nicer just clean, clothes. Right as I finished I heard a knock on the door. I opened it and there were 6 men in all black with big smiles on their faces. "Hey Mort look, we bought you a gift." Olli said smiling. I looked and saw an expensive Jeroboam sized bottle of Cabernet Sauvignon in his hands. "Holy shit thank you guys." was all I could say. "Wait that's not all." Tommi said. I noticed his hands were behind his back. He pulled out a tiara and a sash that said "congrats" written in fancy script. He moved through them and placed the tiara on my head. Then all at once the boys bowed and said "my queen for the night" laughing. I had to laugh as well.
"Well come on in." I motioned for them to go inside. I waited behind to close the door. I took the tiara off my head to get a better look at it and laughed when it read "sweet 16".
"Why does my tiara say sweet 16 on it? I didn't know it was my sixteenth birthday!" I exclaimed laughing. Next thing I knew Tommi smacked Joonas over the head. "You idiot! Why didn't you pick one that said like 'congrats' or something one it?" He said while the boys were laughing. "Hey in my defence it was either 'sweet 16' or 'happy 50th' so I chose the one she would get least offended with." Joonas responded trying to duck from Tommi's hand. I threw my head back and laughed before placing the plastic tiara back on my head.
"Alright can one of you boys help me with the Spanakopita?" I asked as I got back into the kitchen. "Ooh I can! I love cooking." Olli said getting out of his seat as fast as he could. I laughed and let him help me. He helped me prep the dish and when we put it in the oven. "Alright so it's going to cook for about an hour but I made some Avgolemeno soup and I have some Dolmas. I also have some wine. Pinot Gris is what I have set out for the soup but if you really want a beer I think I have some in my fridge." I said directing them around.
The boys all grabbed bowls and using a ladle, poured the soup into it. We all found a seat and started talking.
"Wait so you're Greek?" Joel asked me. "Well my paternal grandparents are. They immigrated to Finland. I don't know why they chose Finland but they did." I said laughing.
"Ooh where in Greece are they from. I went to Greece back in 2019 and it was gorgeous." Aleksi asked. "Oh well my pappós is from Chios. It's right near Turkey." I said. He nodded and we kept talking.
After about an hour of chatter and moving outside to enjoy the fresh air, the oven alarm went off and I went inside. "Hey can one of you guys help me?" I yelled as I walked in. Then Joonas shot up and ran into the kitchen. I thanked him and he offered to take the pan out. I opened the oven and was reaching for an oven mitt when I heard a squeal come out of the blonde one's lips. Looking over I saw he grabbed the pan with his bare hands
"Joonas, why the fuck would you do that." I said rushing over and grabbing his arm. I dragged him to the bathroom and stuck his hand under the cold water. "Don't move. I'll be right back." I ordered. He winced and nodded.
I went outside and told the boys the food was ready. Before I left to attend to Joonas, I said "Joonas is such a blonde," and walked towards the bathroom.
Joonas didn't move from his spot with his hand running under the water. When I opened the door he looked up at me and that sideways smirk returned to his face. "You look pretty tonight."
HEY
so uh yeah i finished this and idk i wanted to include some of my greek knowledge because i literally love being a little greek.
also wanted to show off my d.c. knowledge 🙄🙄 LMFAO