Josephine
I hang up the phone and stare at the screen as I put both hands over my mouth. I love you, bye? What a fucking idiot. He must think I'm insane. "How can you say that?"
I get up from the floor and start pacing around the kitchen, feeling like I'm about to panic. "That's going to freak him out for sure. We said it before, but never face to face; I usually looked at a black screen or Dino."
Oh my god. I put my tea mug in the sink and tried to process what happened. I was introduced to his sister, Isabella and Mum. I just saw him in his 'I just woke up' looks. And it didn't disappoint. I'd lie if I said I didn't squeeze my legs together as much as possible. He said he didn't have sex with her. He didn't have sex with Mia! And she's jealous of me! I don't know why, but this makes me feel fucking fantastic. Now I have to figure out what Halloween costume to wear. Should I text him what outfit he has and match? No, that would make us look like a Halloween couple. Not that I would care, but what would his friends say? Felix gave me a few dirty looks. I'm sure he doesn't like me. Probably because he is Mia's friend and knows the history between her and Hero. I take a few breaths of air and exhale and look around. What should I wear to a birthday party?
I won't take Hero seriously with his whole Halloween party thing. Halloween was last week. If they want to dress up as Dracula and zombies, that's their business. Not Mine. Guys just smear some ketchup on their faces, put on some fake teeth and say, 'I'm Dracula! I compel you to suck me.' Yes. Some do say that. I go into the bedroom and open the door to the dresser. I don't even know what to choose for a costume. I take my phone, open the Pinterest app, and look for easy costumes for Halloween. But I end up unsuccessful.
I look at my phone and text Hero. Better to ask than to go dressed as the Nun, and then everyone is just wearing normal stuff.
Hi, I was wondering what you'd wear to your party? Not to match you, of course. But just to have an idea. I don't want to go the extra mile since Halloween was like a week ago.
I press send, and his reply comes back in a few minutes.
Wear something minimal. We won't stay there for a long time. ;)
If you say so, I leave my phone on the bed, go to the kitchen to make myself something to eat, and open my laptop to check some emails I received from the office in Seattle. As much as I like England, I still miss home. I don't know any good quality food stores here. Technically, everything I know about England or London, more precisely, is from movies or what Hero told me. And honestly, I can't live every morning with a sausage roll or a chicken and bacon sandwich from Greggs. No matter how good they are. I go to the fridge and take out eggs, bacon and chives. I put them on the island and took two potatoes from the pantry. I start peeling the potatoes and cut them in half, then make a hole in the middle and break an egg inside the potato with two slices of bacon and cut chives on top and sprinkle a little cheddar cheese and put it in the oven for 30-40 minutes—enough time for me to check my emails and make myself a smoothie.
Hero
I stare in the mirror and then back at the phone, trying to recreate the makeup from the photo. I spent almost 30 minutes in the bathroom trying to put a little black eyeliner under my waterline. Who made me try to do makeup like a skeleton from Coco? When I'm satisfied with how the left eye looks, I move to the right one. I slowly try to apply eyeliner under my waterline, and that's when it gets into my eyes. I throw the pencil on the floor and rub my right eye frequently. "Ah! Mother fucker! You son of a bitch! Ah! Who the fuck made me wear makeup! Fucking hell!"
I open my left eye while I rub my right eye and look in the mirror. "Hurts like a bitch." I try to open my right eye and rinse it with water, but it doesn't help me. I take the soap bar, wash my face and eyes with soap, and rinse well until the stinging disappears.
I hear my phone receiving a notification. I get out of the bathroom, go to the bedroom, and take my phone from the bed and I try to read the message with one eye open. It's from Josephine.
Hi, I was wondering what you'd wear to your party? Not to match you, of course. But just to have an idea. I don't want to go the extra mile since Halloween was like a week ago.
I wouldn't even go to the party if it were up to me. Especially now that my eyes look like I've been drunk and high all night.
Wear something minimal. We won't stay there for a long time. ;)
I toss my phone back on the bed and go to the bathroom to get my eye drops from the cabinet. I put a few drops in both eyes and then went to the dresser to look for something to wear. At this point, I don't care what I wear. I just want to go out for a few hours, have a drink or two, and then go home to bed because I'm going to work tomorrow.
Josephine
I sit on the edge of the bed, open the Pinterest app again, and search for casual Halloween outfits. I scroll for ideas for almost an hour and can't find anything. I looked in my closet and noticed the red sequin dress. I think it will work. I take out the dress, place it on my bed, and look around to find a pair of shoes to match it, but I'm interrupted by the sound of the doorbell. He can't be here so soon. Driving from his parent's house to my place will take him at least two hours unless he's the Flash. I walk to the door and open it, and Ethan greets me.
"Hi!" I smile at him and move out of the way for him to walk inside.
"Hi. I was in the area and thought I might pass by to see if you're okay since you left so quickly last night." He smiles at me.
"I'm fine. I was getting ready for a birthday party."
"Oh. I can leave if you are busy. I should've called you before I showed up." He says, walking towards the door.
"No!" I grab his arm. "Come with me. It's at a pub or something. Everybody is going, so we can leave if we don't enjoy the party." I smile at him.
"Yeah. I'd love to." He smiles at me, nodding his head. "Who's birthday is it?"
"Remember the guy I told you about?" He nods his head at me. "His birthday."
"Oh. Okay. But remind me before we get there to buy something as a gift." He says, sitting down on the couch. "You can go get ready. I'll wait."
"Thank you." I walk towards the bedroom and then turn around to face him. "It's Halloween themed, by the way!"
"You should've started with that, Jo!" He sighs and closes his eyes. "What am I going to wear now?"
"It doesn't matter!" I yell back at him, walking inside the bathroom, locking the door and getting in the shower. Since Ethan assured me he's in no rush, I've taken my time in the bathroom, shaved my legs, curled my hair, and done my makeup and nails. All in the bathroom. I debated whether Hero would drive me home or if we parted ways after the party. Would he go home alone? Would he leave early since he has work tomorrow? Or he'll live with Amelia? Those are questions that are taking over my consciousness right now. I put on my dress and the pair of shoes to match; I grab my bag, walk into the living room, and look at Ethan as I twirl around in front of him.
"So? What do you think?" I say as I smile at him. He looks like the air got punched out of him, and his cheeks blushed.
"You look lovely. The most beautiful Jessica Rabbit I have ever seen." He says, smiling at me.
"Oh, stop it," I say, feeling my cheeks burn. "Thank you. I'm going back to change into normal clothes, and maybe if you want, we can go and help me decide to buy a Hero as a gift." I look at Ethan and smile.
He nods his head and smiles. "Yeah, sure. I need to grab a costume, too, anyway."
"Okay, give me ten minutes." I ran into the bedroom and changed my clothes. I chose a pair of tight jeans, a white sweater and the pink coat I bought last week from Zara when I arrived in England. I walk out of the bedroom and grab my bag and keys. "Shall we?"
"Of course." He gets up and offers his arm, and we walk out of the apartment, heading towards Hero's birthday party.
Hero
I get out of the car and look around. I lock my car, walk inside the building, walk up the stairs to Felix's apartment, and knock on the door waiting for him to open the door. I wait a few minutes, and the fucker still doesn't answer the door. At this point, I start to pound on the door with my fist, try the doorknob, and notice it is open. I walk inside the apartment and look around.
"Felix?" I shout, walking further into the apartment, noticing the bedroom door open, and I step inside. "What the fuck takes you so long to – oh fuck. Sorry." I walk out the door, down the hallway into the kitchen and try not to laugh at the awkwardness I just found myself in. My best friend fucking a chick in the missionary position. I open a cabinet, take out an empty glass, and pour some cold water to wash away the embarrassment. After a few minutes, I hear hushed voices around the apartment, then a door closing with force. The front door. She left. Felix walks into the kitchen with a towel wrapped around him and a glistening sweat. At least, I hope it's sweet.
"So," I say, and he gives me a dirty look as he walks to the fridge and takes two beers out.
"Happy birthday." He says, handing me a beer. "Gotta make 25 unforgettable."
"Trust me." I point in the direction where his bedroom is. "I won't forget even if I wanted to."
"You act like you haven't seen shit like this before."
"Yeah, man, but it was just your bare ass. If it were something more interesting, I'd make it count." I open the beer bottle with my car keys and drink a mouthful of beer. "So, why am I here? It sounded urgent."
"I just want to ask you a question." He looks at me, lighting up a cigarette. "About Josephine."
I don't know why but a shiver went through me.
"What about her," I say, looking at him.
"Don't get pissy. I just want to know what you're going to do about it. I don't want you to jump from Josephine to Mia like we did in high school." He takes a drag from the cigarette and blows the smoke in my face.
"Why the fuck do you care? Do you want to fuck Mia? Be my guest. You were already circling her like a fucking hyena when we were dating." I shout at him and throw the beer in the bin.
"I don't want to fucking either of them! This isn't about Amelia. It's about Josephine. I know what kind of influence she has towards you."
"You don't know shit. I haven't even had a proper conversation with her." I run my hand through my hair, trying to calm myself down but can't. The smartwatch is already vibrating on my wrist from the high heart rate I'm experiencing.
"You say that now, Hero. But two years ago, she wasn't nowhere to be found when you were drinking your weight in alcohol and spending nights god knows where until someone called your mum from the hospital from having you in a coma from alcohol poisoning." He shouts at me.
"That wasn't Josephine's fault. Stop fucking blaming her!"
"Yeah, it was. She had you wrapped around her pinky, and the moment she found another dick to ride, you were ready to fucking ki–"
Without having time to process what the fuck I'm doing, I punch Felix in the face and look at him as he spits blood on the floor.
"Don't fucking mention her again." I give him one more look and walk out of the kitchen.
"You're destroying your life and friendships for a chick you haven't even spent a full day with." He mumbles as he goes to the sink and washes his face. "Make sure your choice is wise."
"Like I'll listen from the bastard who lied to me for six months about not knowing someone was fucking my girlfriend." I close the apartment door behind me with a bang, go downstairs, get inside my car, and drive back to my apartment to prepare for the 'party'.
Josephine
Maybe inviting Ethan to Hero's birthday party was a better idea. Why do you ask? Since he found out it was a Halloween-themed party, he dragged me to a costume shop, and I spent more than an hour there. I tried to explain that he shouldn't dress up, but he insisted. So now I'm looking at an Ethan dressed in Hufflepuff robes. After that, we went to Soho because the bar where the party is held is in Mayfair and it's close. Ethan went inside the Armani Exchange and bought Hero a wallet as a present because what can you buy a guy you've never met?
On the other hand, I couldn't find anything to give him as a gift. I went into Zara and didn't find anything, then I went to Burberry and left feeling like the ultimate poor person. I would have bought him a book, but I need to know what kind of books he reads, but these are enough. And if he doesn't like them, I will gladly accept them. A pair of cufflinks cost over £200. I love the guy, but £200 for a couple of cufflinks? I don't even know if he wears cufflinks on his shirts. I feel so stupid. I mean, I should know him very well, we spent two years talking to each other, but now I don't even know if he still likes the things he wanted when we met. As we walk down the street, I notice a shop, and that's when it hits me. Hero is obsessed with office supplies or any pen or pencil that looks different. I remember how he would show me on Facetime how many things he had and how many diaries and notebooks he had. I went inside and was utterly amazed. Hero was right; these stores make you want to buy everything. I went to the aisle with notebooks and journals and chose two hardcover notebooks with the Harry Potter theme. Then I got him a calligraphy set and bought him a plush Dumbledore keychain for Dino. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Ethan buying some Harry Potter things for himself too. I'm not going to lie. I also got a notebook similar to the one I got from Hero and a coffee mug with the Hogwarts logo for my desk at work.
"Wanna go and have lunch? I'm famished." Ethan looks at me, smiling.
"Yeah, sure. I'm hungry too." I look at my phone and sigh.
"What's wrong?" He asks, looking at my phone and then at me. "Your mystery friend didn't text you the location?"
"Oh, no. He did. I'm worried about my mum. I know right now it's late back home, but I just can't stop myself from not worrying about her."
I look around, notice a restaurant and point to Ethan, and we walk towards it. As we step inside the restaurant, everything is so intimate and quiet. We go to a booth in the back next to the big window and look outside as it rains.
"Good thing we didn't get soaked before we found a place to eat." Ethan smiles as he removes his jacket and places it beside the chair. "So, what's wrong with your mum? If you don't mind answering, of course."
"Well," I bite my lip and look down at my hands as I play with my nails. "You know the pandemic happened, and we got covid, and because her lungs got so affected, she ended up with pneumonia. A few tests later, she was found in an early stage of cancer."
"Jo, I'm so sorry," Ethan says, quickly grabbing my hand and rubbing the top of my hand with his thumb. "I am."
"It's okay. She's cancer free now." I smile at him, trying to push away the tears. "But she's still weak, y'know. She's all alone back home, and I'm here."
"That's great news." He squeezes my hand and smiles. "Sometimes distance is bad, especially with family members, but you can see her now on Facetime."
"Yeah, I know." I smile at him. "I hope once I get myself on my feet with work and an apartment since everyone tells me that Brixton is too dangerous for me, maybe I can bring her here in a year or two tops."
"It's not as dangerous as people make it sound. But I think you should move closer to work. You said you work in Mayfair, so maybe around that area. For example, I live in Hampstead." He looks at me, smiling.
"Why are you smiling like that?" I ask, confused, but before he responds, a waitress approaches us and asks if we are ready to order. I decided to eat a burger with fries and iced coffee; meanwhile, Ethan went for fish, chips, and green tea. After the waitress left, I looked at him and asked again. "So? What were you going to say?"
"Maybe you should move to Hampstead. Nice area, with good food, and is close to the park and Soho. What do you say?" He asks.
"Maybe." I look down at my phone, waiting for a text from Mom or hero but nothing. "I'll probably look for a place after my first few paychecks since I can't pay a huge rent yet."
"I understand." He looks at my phone and then at me. "So, this guy. How does he seem in real life versus online, I guess."
"Well, I spoke to him this morning on Facetime, and the conversation was somehow relaxing."
"Relaxing?"
"It was relaxing, I was nervous, but that feeling quickly disappeared, and it was like we could just talk like we always have through text. It's just this time it wasn't through text, and I honestly feel like I'm dreaming all of this because I dreamed about it every night for two years."
"I don't want to sound like a douchebag, but are you sure this guy has the best intentions?" He asks, and his question takes me aback.
"Of course he does! What kind of ques–"
"I'm just saying, Jo. He didn't show you his face for years, and maybe he wouldn't even care if you didn't run into him at that party."
"Hero isn't like that," I say, looking at the waitress as she places our plates and drinks down. But I have already lost my appetite. Maybe it wasn't a good idea to invite Ethan. I met the guy yesterday, but I also met the hero in person two days ago. But that's different. With Hero, I talked for two years, every moment we had free for each other.
"I just don't want you to get hurt." He looks down and starts eating his food. I try to do the same, but now my mind is racing, thinking about the possibilities of What ifs?
****
After we ate lunch, we went back to my apartment to get dressed in the costumes and chill for a bit. I understand Ethan's concern, but I don't think Hero has terrible intentions with me.
We arrived at the pub around 7:30 pm, and the music was loud inside. I'm so glad I decided to go with this simple red dress. Everyone here is wearing costumes such as vampires, witches, and zombies, and I think I saw the Scooby doo gang in the back. As I look around at people having fun, I move about, trying not to get accidentally hit, but someone dancing around. I noticed in the corner Felix and his friends. I think his name was Jake or Jack.
"I'm going to the bar to grab a drink! Do you want something?" Ethan shouts over the music.
"Water, please!" I say, and Ethan mouths an 'okay' to me and makes his way to the bar.
And that's when I notice him standing there on a bar stool, looking at me, holding a glass of dark liquor.
↳ today's chapter playlist;
Padam Padam - Kylie Minogue
Heroes - Alesso & Tove Love
Waffle House - Jonas Brothers
One Last Time - Ariana Grande
React - Ella Henderson
Lionhart - Joel Corry & Tom Grennan
Giving Me - Jazzy
Escapism - Raye