I stare at the blue dress that got major thumbs up from both of my friends. Amazing, I think to myself. I do have an attire that fits well with the occasion. It takes me half an hour to get ready, before which I watch April run around the house like a confused child. This is what she does. When she wants to clear her head, she'll either go for a walk out in the open or simply rush here and there in the space that closed walls offer, either setting things right or talking to herself. So, we tend to let her be because that's how she gets control over herself. And I'm sure that's what she needs right now... control.
Since we both know that Spencer really sucks at picking out clothes at the last minute, we literally shut her inside her bedroom and asked her to come out only when she's ready. After much thought over everything, April steps out of her bedroom, wearing a black jumpsuit with a silver belt and her hair tied up in a top knot.
"You okay now?" I ask her as she plays with the keychain on her purse.
"Yep. I'll see how it goes and respond to the situation accordingly."
"That's the best way to go about it. I hate to say this, but Spencer does have a point. What if we are reading too much into this because our souls are hopelessly romantic?"
"If she's actually right, she won't let us hear the end of it."
"That's what I'm afraid of." I sigh. "Anyway... don't overthink. Just see it as you getting a chance to go out with the eldest member of your favorite band. Who are we kidding, the fandom would literally wanna jump countries just to be in your position."
"You're right. I should make the most of it."
"YEAH MAKE THE MOST OF IT, MOMMA BEAR!" Spencer shouts from her bedroom.
"Aren't you supposed to be getting ready?" I hear silence. "If I kick open your door right now, will I find a very messy Spencer Donovan's ear plastered against the door pane?"
"I can't hear you, I'm currently talking to the teddy bear on my onesie."
"And people tell me I am the youngest one here."
"Well, they say that because you are the youngest one."
"Oh, just get out already." I give her a hug and close the door as she steps out with determination evident on her face. Good for her.
I go back to my room and coolly wiggle into my dress for the evening. Good thing I have short hair, I won't have to spend extra time combing out knots. When my hair was long, it was insanely curly and the days I picked to wash them were the days I cried the most in agony. I often made Spencer help me, she is weirdly good at getting rid of any kind of knots. The woman can do that with her eyes closed and I make full use of it.
Ten minutes later, Spencer and I happily walk along the same path that threw us face-to-face with EuphoNia for the first time.
* * *
I can sense Spencer's agitation at the absence of a certain someone and it is too damn hard to not tease her about it. It seriously feels like she is walking on pins and needles and can't find a comfortable spot to relax in. Currently, we are all settled in the royal living room I will not talk about, and the boys are dramatically explaining how Jeremy made them practice the art of serving drinks without spilling. I will also not talk about how breathtaking they look in their smoothly ironed tuxedos. Words won't do justice and that will be a heinous crime.
Spencer keeps scratching her right cheek, which is what she does when she wants to get out and be by herself. As if on count, she asks where the bathroom is and I internally laugh. I knew she would do that, I hope Noah shows up soon. But then again, if she sticks to this evident agitation, it'll be more fun to tease her about it. Call me evil, but that's the whole point of our friendship... we don't let things go just like that.
"Where's Noah?" I ask when Spencer's rabbit ears are out of reach.
"He is probably still inside his bedroom, trying to figure out what to wear." Vilhelm responds and everyone hums in agreement. I blink. He literally is the male version of Spencer.
"Let me guess, his room is a mess of piled up clothes."
"No, he is a neat freak actually. He doesn't even let people enter his bedroom because he is afraid that we'll ruin it." Julian says.
"Huh." Vilhelm stares at the table. "I'm his brother and I don't even know what his bedroom looks like."
"Why must you know anything about his bedroom?" Jace laughs
"No, I'm just saying... What is so secretive about it anyway? I will go and find out." Vilhelm rushes out of the living room and I shake my head.
"Is he always like this?" I look at Julian as I whisper the question in his ear.
"Yep, he's like a protective older brother." He chuckles. "But don't worry, I don't think he wi-"
"I CAUGHT THEM RED-HANDED." Vilhelm bursts out of nowhere, followed by Noah and a panic-stricken Spencer. "They were hugging and everything."
Wow, this is the drama I need cheese popcorn for.
"It wasn't like that!" Spencer squeaks, which is so unlike her. She usually doesn't get flustered because of stuff like that, she handles it well with indifference. The fact that she is reacting like this is a loud and clear message of its own.
"Don't make me give out the details." Vilhelm nudges her with his elbow and Spencer turns into the human equivalent of a baby tomato. I am actually scared for her, her face is splitting red. I think Noah senses this too because it doesn't take him seconds to act on it.
"Cut it out, will you?" It's not what he says, but the way Noah immediately stands next to her (not in front of her, might I add) and flicks Vilhelm's forehead earns him my immediate approval. "Come on, Spencer." He leads her to the seat right next to me as if he knows what will make Spence feel better, and literally glares at everyone to move on from the distraction of ten seconds. But since he has the intrinsic vibe of a small baby who is demanding chocolate, the rest of the boys don't take offence and instead, listen to him. I sit silently and observe.
Even with a flustered face, Spencer doesn't try to hide her smile. She bloody owns it.
* * *
April and Jeremy returned soon after the entire fiasco with the potential lovebirds in the backyard, which by the way flew right out of the window the moment Noah glared at everyone. I must say, I was impressed. He looks like a goofball who doesn't know what it means to be serious but the way he handled the whole thing with literally just a "cut it out, will you?" clearly proved that I read him wrong. Ever since that one moment, I have been stealing glances at Spencer who keeps fidgeting with her sling bag. Okay she really needs some counselling because I know that overwhelmed is the right word for her.
April looked fine when she walked up to us. I noticed the little hug her and Jeremy shared by the door, so I'm guessing it's all good between them. I like this. I was worried it'll turn into a toxic love triangle which we have watched in abundance, thanks to Korean dramas. When Spencer asked her about the "not-date," April just gave her a reassuring smile that translated into "later." So all in all, everything seems more than fine.
Currently I am with Julian, struggling to get my phone back as he takes advantage of his height and decides to juggle the poor device between his hands. With the short frame that I am stuck with, it is impossibly hard to reach even halfway through the long path that exists between my raised arms and his fingertips holding my phone. I'm afraid he'll throw it up to the stars and then ask me to space travel.
"Will you please stop?!" I say, exhausted and everything. He just grins like a bunny and shakes his head.
"You see, I can't stop thinking about my face on your phone screen." He presses the power button and chuckles the moment my screen lights up with his face. "Somehow I don't remember this photoshoot. When was it again?" He looks at me and I stare back with a faux disinterested face. He returns to the screen. "Man, I am handsome. Maybe I should just keep repeating Jeremy's pet dialogue."
I slouch my shoulders and just give out a sigh. Yep, I give up. He's a bloody muscle monster and I am a mouse in comparison, there is no winning in this battle. And it's good to accept your defeat without causing further drama.
"Fine, whatever. Do what you want." I say and plop down on a hand-made net swing that is dangling between two poles. It seriously feels like a tennis net was turned into a swing because no one likes playing the sport. Good thinking, I'd say. It's better to make use of something than letting it rest like a lonely stone.
"You want me to do whatever I want?" He leans against the pole and stares at me.
"Well, it's not like you're gonna listen to me and do what I say..."
"Fair enough." He sits down beside me and the proximity sends shivers down my spine. I try my best to focus on the starry sky. "Can I ask you something?"
"Yep." I keep staring at the sky. It's beautiful, just by the way.
"You wanna spend the day after tomorrow with me?"
That was so direct, I truly wasn't expecting it from a person as shy as Julian. He really has become very comfortable around me, hasn't he?
"Uh.."
"Don't worry, you don't have to give an answer right now. I plan on exploring the town and none of the guys want to do that. Since Jeremy won't be there to boss around, they just want to become hibernating bears. So I just needed a companion who would help me camouflage in case someone recognises me." He starts rubbing his earlobe and looks away, bringing back the shy main vocalist I know. It's hard to not start laughing, that's how adorable he looks.
"So you want me to be your bodyguard." The humor is evident in my voice.
"What?"
"You want me to help you escape when crazy fans find you out in the open. Right?"
"Well, I -"
"You see, I am strong and all because of my profession. I agree. But how can you expect me to protect you when I couldn't even take back my phone from you? This just doesn't add up to me." I chuckle. "You got a better excuse for me then?"
His face turns red and I bite back a laugh. Aah karma is a sweetheart, I am getting my chance to use my wit against his muscle. Hehe. I nudge him with my elbow, urging him to say something.
"Come on, tell me."
"I don't want to."
"Why not? You have other bodyguards you can turn to?" He snaps a look at me and I wiggle my eyebrows.
"You really like teasing people, don't you?"
"I wish it were a real part-time job, my friend."
He shakes his head in a way that tells me he wasn't expecting anything else from me. Well, I am a tease queen, what can I do about it? Plus I had to take revenge against the cruel misuse of his height against me, right?
"So, what's your answer?" He asks.
"To what exactly? You see, I can't just say som -"
"Spend the day with me." Julian cuts me off and the gaze holds me captive. "Am I asking you out on a date? Probably. Do I want to get to know you? Definitely. Do I want this to make things awkward between us? Hell no. So, here. All the cards are on the table."
My mouth suddenly goes dry, thanks to his in-the-face honesty that I find extremely attractive. He did what I asked him to do and yet again, I'm speechless because of the way he did it. I shouldn't be surprised either, everything he does is just iconic.
"That was smooth like butter." I comment.
"Well, I'm guessing that's what you prefer."
"I do. And yes, I will go out with you." I say and stop myself from giving in to my desire to just start giggling beyond control. I feel genuinely happy right now but hell would break loose before I let Julian see that. Or anyone, for that matter. I'll go home and that's when the face will start showing symptoms of Utter Glee Syndrome.
"Really?"
"Are you seriously surprised?"
"Well, no. Because I still have your phone with me." He flashes my own phone screen on my face and I roll my eyes.
"Real matured you are."
"That I am." He leans in so close to me that I fear he'd hear my heart beating like the clappers. "You'll see more of it soon."
I keep thinking about this one line even after we go back inside to have the sweet dish that Jeremy had made for us. It's a combination of home-made chocolate syrup and walnut brownies and Spencer almost passes out from the heavenly scent that invades our senses. As I let the fragrance take control over me, Julian's voice becomes background music to the scene.
We all take the sweetness to their backyard and settle down on the cutesie garden chairs. Shawn gets his guitar once again. No one mentions that we might not see all of them, together under the same roof, once again. Who am I kidding, you can't get lucky twice. We played our luck this time, won pretty damn well and that's gonna be it. We've made our peace. So instead of whining about stuff or being sad about some of them leaving tomorrow, isn't it better to just enjoy the present moment as much as we can? That way, we'll be able to add to our memories a huge chunk of happiness.
Jeremy cracks some disappointing dad jokes and even though he pretends to be all good, I can sense that he is lowkey upset about something. He keeps looking at April once in a while and when Vilhelm indulges her in some interesting conversation, he gets up and makes an excuse to get water for everyone. I can't help it, I follow him inside.
I find him staring absentmindedly at nothing at all and I suddenly feel extremely sad. Unrequited love of any kind truly sucks and I think we all have been there at least once. The worst part is you can't blame anyone or anything but the wrong timing. So, it tends to get more frustrating. I walk up to him and help him wipe the glasses that were laid out in front of him.
"Hey." I say and take the cloth from him. He snaps out and grins.
"Hey! You don't have to help, it's -"
"Jeremy, I know why you're upset." He gives out a defeated sigh and runs his hand through his hair.
"Was it that obvious?" He asks, totally dropping the pretense.
"To me, yes. To others, not so much." I say. "I thought you guys talked it out...?"
"We did, and it's all good. But that doesn't defeat the rejection that I felt. So, I just need some time to work through this and I know I will."
"I know." I place my hand on his shoulder to offer moral support. "For what it's worth, at least you tried. I mean, you won't have to think about the what-if which would've happened for sure had you not talked to her about how you feel and had she not been honest about her own feelings. It just doesn't work out sometimes." I think about Kyle as I say this. Yes, some things just don't add up to the image you had in mind when you picked up your pencil to draw. Either the face looks botched or proportions are just wrong. But at least you get to find out what kind of stuff you aren't good at drawing, so that the next time you pick up the same pencil, you'd know what to not draw.
"Yeah." He sighs. "Thank you, Liya."
"Don't worry about it." I smile. "Just promise me you won't be too hard on yourself."
"Nah. How could I do that to this handsome face?" He frames his face with both of his hands and I burst out laughing. "And like you said, it doesn't work out sometimes. We can't beat ourselves on it longer than necessary. Yes, I feel rejected. Yes, I know April and I could've been great together. Yes, this is just bad timing. But it's not the end of the world."
I nod with a smile. Somehow I know that he will be fine. He just needs some time, that's all. Maybe it's a good thing that he has to leave tomorrow...
Jeremy and I walk out of the kitchen together, holding tiny water bottles. We toss them to whoever needs them and laugh out loud when Ryan misses the catch and the bottle ends up bursting open on his lap. Before we can go back to our chairs, Jeremy messes up my hair with his giant hands and I immediately slap them away.
"Thanks again, Liya." He grins. I frown at him.
"You have the guts to ruin my hair and thank me at the same time?"
"Well, I'm very talented." I just laugh and push him away. Yep, he will be more than fine because he accepts himself the way he is and nothing can ever beat that self-love. He's actually very inspiring in that way.
I take my seat between Spencer and Julian and empty my bottle of water within seconds. As if on cue, Julian leans towards me and gently rakes his fingers through my hair, trying to clean the mess that Jeremy made. I don't say anything, just watch him work. When he's done, he rewards me with a bright toothy grin and crinkly eyes. I grin back. I didn't know how good it feels when a guy fixes your hair so sincerely. It was hard to not close my eyes and have him repeat the work at least seven times more.
"Jeremy's okay, right?" He whispers, and I realise that he must've noticed too.
"He will be. He just needed a gal pal for ten seconds." I wink and he chuckles.
"I'm glad he found one at the right time."
* * *