"I'll finish up in the kitchen. You guys should stay for lunch." April says and looks at me and Spencer as if to get our approval. She just invited EuphoNia for lunch, why the hell will I object? And the fact that Julian Johansson is sitting right next to me, his knee dangerously close to mine, has shipped me to an alternate universe. I think I caught him staring at me when I was talking to Ryan but there's a fair possibility of my brain manipulating stuff.
"Yes, totally. In fact," Spencer grins. "It'll be great if the rest of your group joins us as well. I don't care if I sound like a fangirl, because I am one and there's no point in denying it. Plus, there's no harm in knowing our neighbours for the next few weeks, right?" She has a point, doesn't she? It's not like we'll get a do-over, so let's make the most of this. Yes, I'm the same person who lost her shit a few hours ago. People change with time, it's the truth of life.
"Are you guys seriously okay with that?" Ryan asks. See, he is the biggest and the most considerate sweetheart you'll find on the planet. I've seen fan-meet events in which he actually gave career advice and listened to a girl rant about her inability to sing.
"Yes, of course!" April grins and gets up. I spot Jeremy's gaze directed towards her.
"Then let us help you cook." He stands next to her and my smirk subtly grows into a grin. I sense a potential romance. I look at Julian and find a similar expression on his face. He catches my stare and leans in.
"Do you see something?" He whispers in my ear and my spine freezes with goosebumps.
"I see a lot of things." I grin and he chuckles.
"I know I'm pretty handsome, but the kitchen is where I look the best." Jeremy winks and April bursts out laughing. The boys, on the other hand, shake their heads and laugh, as if they saw it coming. Of course.
"Yes, I'll help too!" Ryan exclaims with enthusiasm.
So as Spencer, Julian and I sit back, the others head for the kitchen. Jeremy practically drags April out of the living room and I all but explode into a fit of laughter. Julian joins in and Spencer zones out in a world of her own.
"You guys have a backyard too?" He asks after a few minutes and I snap out of my laughter infested mood.
"Yeah yeah, it's not that big but I like it." I get up. "You wanna see?"
"Definitely." He smiles and scratches the nape of his neck. My heart blows out of the window.
Julian follows me outside and we go past the glass doors. I turn around slightly to see if Spencer's with us but she's picking up the glasses on the table. Had it not been for a certain worldly presence right next to me, I would've made fun of the fact that Spencer was willingly cleaning up someone else's literal mess. I should've given more thought to why she did that, I should've stopped and asked her, but I just couldn't, at that particular moment.
"You three seem pretty close," Julian comments as we stand together in the middle of the backyard.
"We are. Extremely close. So close that I'm wondering why Spencer is cleaning the table." See, it came out. We know each other so well, if a thought sticks with us, we will address it even if it's five minutes later.
"What?" Of course, he doesn't get it. Who would?
"She isn't the clean freak of the group, she's the messy one. She only cleans when April bullies her into doing it."
"Maybe she just randomly started cleaning and you're reading too much into it." He shrugs and I give it a thought. I mean, I am the queen of overthinking.
"Yeah, maybe."
"So," He starts and stares at the swimming pool with a grin. "Wanna sit and chat? Let's use this chance to prove to you that I'm not a high and mighty celebrity."
"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?"
"And leave the love of your life all by himself? How can you be so cruel?" She jokes but I look past it.
"Shut up, I'm serious."
"So am I. Just go and relax. I wanna do some writing." She pats her bag and smiles. I must've looked unconvinced because she sighs and rolls her eyes. "Seriously woman, sit your ass down. Poor guy will start overthinking. Tell me about it all when they leave." She winks. I don't push much. We have learnt to give each other space and if there's something bothering us, we find the right time to talk about it. So, yes. I let go of whatever doubts I had and just break into a grin. A friend has no obligation whatsoever to unburden herself just because that's what she is expected to do. It's a weird kind of unnecessary pressure.
"Deal," I say enthusiastically and slowly walk back to where Julian is sitting. I hear the sound of her footsteps, which fades away in the background as I plop down next to my guy.
Did I just say my guy?
Ignorance is bliss.
"She okay?" He asks and I smile lightly. The fact that he addresses my concern without actually making me talk about it is something I'm not used to. Kyle used to force me to tell him things and when I did, he'd just ask me to ignore and move on or tell me that people have it worse so I should just be thankful that my problems can be dealt with easily. That's the shittiest piece of advice you can give to a fellow human being. I won't even mention the term 'girlfriend.'
"If she isn't, she'll tell us when she wants to," I reply.
"That's a very mature response." He stares at the pool. "Usually, the concept of personal space is foreign to everyone."
"Well, we learnt to never force each other to talk. And it worked out pretty well for us. I mean, it's been more than five years since we first met, and we still live together. I'm sure you definitely understand what I'm saying... you guys have stayed together for eight years. Right?"
"Right." He gently grins. Why is his side profile such a killer? "Eight years. They practically brought me up, I was a school kid when I met them."
"Tell me more." I slightly tilt my posture to get a better look at him. I know the story, thanks to certain fan sites. But it's a different thing when you hear it from the person himself.
"Well... that's a long story, most of which you'll find online somewhere. But the short version of it consists of the fact that as a tiny teenager who was too passionate about dance, I felt lost in a new city. And the boys took care of me, taught me how to break out of my shell and learn new things without an iota of judgment. There were times when I really wanted to quit the band. I almost did, but they didn't let me. Especially Ryan. Jeremy used to pay for my food, Vilhelm helped me overcome most of my shyness, all of them showed up for my graduation. They're all my brothers."
The way he talks about the guys is just beautiful. It's admirable. I can see how much he loves and respects them. Being the youngest in a group isn't as easy as it comes, I know. I'm younger than both April and Spencer and sometimes, it does feel like they take care of me simply because I'm like a baby to them. The age gap is negligible but you can still feel it in your bones when you're with someone who is older than you. So, when he says that the guys brought him up and helped him, I completely understand. Because I've been there.
"We both might be fundamentally different. But," I say. "The way you feel about the guys is exactly how I feel about the girls. So, yes. I totally get you."
"I don't think we are fundamentally different." He argues. "I'm not really good at holding conversations with new people. I think you're the only exception."
"Likewise," I smile. "Julian."
"So you can say my name." He laughs and I join in.
"Of course, I can. It's just slightly surreal."
"How come?"
"Well, two days ago, I was staring at my phone screen and sighing because I had no idea when I'd get to actually see you in person. And now, that's exactly what's happening."
Julian blinks animatedly and the silence almost lasts for an eternity. I consider breaking it but the look on his face is seriously unreadable. So, I wait for him to respond. And when he does, I become a red tomato.
"I live inside your phone screen?" He literally smirks and my eyes widen. "Show me."
"What? No!"
"Come on, I wanna see! What picture of mine is good enough to be on Liya's screen?!" He practically jumps on me to grab my phone, which isn't even with me right now.
"Hey!" I laugh and squirm, making both of us land inside the pool. I think I swallow big amounts of chlorinated water, thanks to the shock of suddenly being splashed along with a highly attractive man.
Julian resurfaces, coughing up and I burst out laughing.
"You dragged me down with you!" He complains. "I'm twice your size, how did you even manage to do that?!"
Ummmmmm, I'm an athlete. I do have some muscle hehe. But I don't say that, it's not necessary to tell him that I'm a professional swimmer.
"Well, karma." I waggle my eyebrows and he laughs. We stare at each other silently and warmth spreads through my body like fire on land, even though it is threatening to freeze to its very core right now. A light smile plays on his face as he looks down towards me, the height difference giving him some weird kind of edge. I somehow refuse to break eye contact. His hand gently brushes against mine and my entire body and soul jolt awake, as if completing an electric circuit. I'm sure it's the damn breeze, but I can't ignore the sudden shift. But before I can do something about it, a loud noise and the bursting open of the glass door creates a giant void between us. We literally break apart, as if caught doing something illegal. The source of our absolute dismay is the bright, happy face of Jacob Holland and a very disinterested Shawn Young who was probably pulled out of his bed without consent. They both stare at us and I start wondering if I've been transported to a house that doesn't belong to me...
"Hello!" Jacob brightly greets me as I try to pull myself out of the pool. "Looks like we interrupted a very romantic moment." Before I can answer, April shows up with a spatula in her hand and chaos literally follows her.
"Liya. Where's Spencer?" She asks and two seconds later, Jeremy jumps on her from behind and smothers her face with squashed tomato puree. She lets out a combination of giggles and muted screams as she struggles against his tall physique. Julian and I stare at the utter chaos in front of us. While we were having our moment, the others were bringing the roof down with their crackhead antics. I was not prepared to physically bear witness to EuphoNia's notorious chaotic nature. I feel like I'm watching a live show of some ruthless standup comedy. Vilhelm Keller and Jace Parker emerge, laughing like maniacs. Vilhelm has a steel bowl on his head and I almost mistake it for a literal hat. I have no idea how and when the entire boyband ended up under my own roof. Why is this too unreal to be real? If it's a dream, it's the weirdest one ever. Julian helps me out of the pool and I introduce myself to my insanely famous audience. What, in the name of God, is happening today?
"Liya, please call Spence. Where did that woman even go?" April says, wipes the puree from her face and cleans it off on Jeremy's shirt. He doesn't even complain. My lips lift up in a subtle smirk. I'm gonna have a lot of fun once the guys leave.
"I'll call her." I run to my room, lock the door behind me and give out a loud sigh. Wow.
What. A. Day.
I dial Spencer's number and wait for her to pick up. She does in five seconds, I tell her about a potential romance in April's life, she tells me about her brief encounter with Vilhelm's twin brother and hangs up on me before I can finish my circle of torment around her absolute love for Noah Keller. We are really living our lives right now, aren't we? I change out of my wet clothes, towel-dry my hair and head downstairs. Everyone has retreated to the eating area by the front patio. Noah Keller is here too, which will soon turn very interesting I believe. I take a seat between Julian and Vilhelm, who were cutely arguing about a dish or something. Looking around me, I observe how comfortable everyone looks, despite the fact that we literally just met. A shy smile plays on my face because guess what... this isn't a dream. It's as real as it can get.
* * *