Austin was right. I fell asleep soon after we took off and the next thing I knew he was nudging me to wake up for landing. “We’re almost there.”
I sat up a little bit and handed his earphone back to him. I stretched a little. The seat was uncomfortable, and that’s when I realized there was no turning back anymore. I was in Texas. “What‘s next?” I asked. “Are we heading home?”
Austin nodded. “Back to my house. We kind of have the guest room set up for you. It‘ll do for tonight. We can rearrange it and stuff tomorrow. I‘m recommending a shower and bed. That‘s what I‘m doing.”
I stayed quiet until the plane landed and they let us off. Even then I didn’t say much. I followed Austin and Scott followed me. We ended up outside with our bags, staring at an escalade. I didn’t know whose it was, but when they put my bags in the trunk and climbed in the front, I assumed I was to sit in the back, so I did.
Scott put the car in drive and backed out of the airport. We started driving into what I assumed was the city of San Antonio itself. Huge buildings towered over us. The same kind of buildings I thought would eat me up when I was younger. The area was beautiful. It was late at night, but the October air was still warm through the open windows. The loose hair that fell out of my ponytail blew in the wind around my face and tickled my nose.
The city was beautiful and my eyes stayed glued to the window as we passed more and more buildings until things finally started to settle into a rural, suburban area. The houses got larger the farther we went and I realized that Austin lived in a neighborhood where everyone had a good amount of money. Scott continued turning corners until he pulled into the driveway of a relatively large house, even though it was small compared to all of the ones around it.
Austin jumped out and hurried to the door, which his mom had already unlocked before we got there. They hugged and I watched while carefully stepping out of the vehicle. They talked for a short second before Austin came back and pulled both of our bags out of the trunk. “Come on Olivia. Let‘s get you settled. Come meet my mom.”
I followed him to the door and into their living room. There was a large, plush leather couch in the middle sitting in front of a big screen TV. The decorating was simple; just family pictures hanging on the walls and standing on tables. The stairs were immediately to my left and a hallway led out of the far end of the room. The layout appeared to be similar to my house, but I assumed it was probably a lot different. Austin sat my bag at the bottom of the stairs. “Mom, this is Olivia.”
She came over and shook my hand. She continued to go on with the nice to meet you rant and I smiled and kept up with the whole thing. As amazing as it was I was feeling very homesick. Austin offered to give me a tour and I accepted without a second thought. He showed me the entire house, which was actually a lot bigger on the inside than it looked on the outside. The house had four floors, including the basement. The living room, kitchen, and dining room were on the first floor. The second floor was mostly for his mom. It held her room, an office, a bathroom, and a fitness room. The third floor seemed to be privately reserved for Austin and myself.
His room was the first thing across the hall at the top of the stairs. My room, the guest room, was right next to it. I had my own private bathroom, and Austin had one across the hall. Austin had a separate music room next to the bathroom with all of his guitars and a ton of his fan posters that got sent to him. The basement was the game and movie room with all of the video game systems, board games, and DVDs.
Austin sat my bags in the guest room. “So like I said, it‘s only kind of set up for you. We can rearrange all the furniture and stuff if you want. I know not everyone likes having their bed in the middle and all that. So,” he paused and looked around, not sure of what to say. “Are you cool for tonight? I can help push stuff around if you want.”
I stared at everything. The closet was on the far end of the room next to the door to the bathroom. The bed was in the middle and the desk and dresser were along the same wall as the door. “Umm… It can wait until tomorrow. You look tired so…”
He smiled and we stood there awkwardly. “Hey, it’s fine. Do you need help with anything? Need anything set up?”
I looked around again. “You have wifi for my laptop right? Does it have a password?”
He picked up a pen and paper from the desk and copied down the password. “Is that it?”
I nodded. “Yeah. Thanks. I‘ll see you in the morning then?”
He nodded back. “Yeah. See you then.”
Austin walked out and I shut the door behind him. This was all a whole lot to take in. I pulled my laptop and webcam out of my backpack and set it up on the desk. I needed to make a few calls back home before I went to bed.
Dillon and Larry were already logged into Skype when I got on. I started a chat with them and they both smiled huge when they saw me. “Livi! You‘re alive! How was the flight?”
I smiled. “It was good. I slept almost the whole time.”
Larry smiled. “How‘re you doing so far? Do you like it there?”
I glanced around the room again. “It‘s different. I‘ll give it that.”
“How‘s Austin?” Dillon asked.
I shrugged. “He‘s being nice, but it‘s awkward you know? It‘d kinda be like that time when you first came over to my house and Jake was the only one home because I had to run and deliver something to our neighbor and you were left there all awkward-like for ten minutes, except it‘ll be an entire year of that for us.”
Dillon shook his head on my screen. “It won‘t be like that forever. You just haven‘t really had the chance to talk to him. Once you do I‘m sure everything will be fine.”
“All that‘s going to happen when I finally talk to him is that he‘s going to go and try to tell me about himself, and I‘m going to have to sit there and pretend I didn‘t already know that because I stalk him on the internet.”
Dillon and Larry laughed. “You‘ll be fine,” Larry said. “You two are going to turn into best friends and then you‘ll both get famous and I‘ll see the two of you strolling around L.A. in one of those teen magazines that Kylie and you read all the time.”
I laughed. “That‘s a lie.”
We talked for a lot longer than I expected. It was nearly midnight by the time we said goodbye and I shutdown my computer. My phone was blown up with texts from Jake and two missed calls. I texted him back, telling him I’d call him back in the morning because I was tired and I wanted to get a shower before it got too late.
My shower was quick and refreshing and I turned out the light as soon as I put on my pj’s. The room was warmer than I was used to when I try to fall asleep and I laid awake for most of the night, unable to shake my fear and excitement over my new home.
Austin knocked on my door in the morning. I rolled over and came face to face with the bright morning sun. “Hey. It‘s time to get up. We have a meeting with Scott before we fix up your room and stuff. You have an hour and a half. We‘ll have breakfast with Scott.”
I sat up. “What time is it?”
“6 in the morning.”
I sighed. That’d be seven back home, but still early either way. I spotted all of my suitcases. Which one held which clothes? “When do I unpack? I don‘t know where anything is.”
“When we get back. Good luck.”
He shut the door and left me alone. Very helpful. I picked up my phone and called Jake.
“Liv! You‘re okay!”
I laughed. “Did you think I died?”
“No, but you wouldn‘t answer last night. I thought you were sick or mad or something.”
“I‘m fine Jake,” I said. “Everything‘s good. It‘s just… awkward and uncomfortable. I‘m sure it‘ll be fine.”
“You‘re homesick.” Only Jake could read so easily into my words.
I sighed yet again. “Yeah, but I don‘t want to come home. I‘m going to prove to Daddy that I can do this. Really. I am.”
“Dad‘s a wreck,” he told me. “He couldn‘t believe you actually left. What‘s the plan of action anyway?”
I shrugged to myself as I pulled the zipper on my first bag and peeked inside. Everything but clothes. “I‘m getting ready for a meeting with him now. I don‘t know if it‘s like a formal plan of action thing or a ‘Hey here’s a donut and thirty different plans we could use.’ Austin just told me to get dressed.”
The next bag was all shoes. I tossed it, still open, into the closet. The following bags finally held real clothes. I pulled out the first outfit I could find; a yellow Smurfs t-shirt, a pair of old gym shorts, and a pair of neon green socks. “He‘ll get over it when I‘m an international bestseller or something. I have to go. I need to get ready.”
“Bye Liv. Have fun.”
“I will,” I promised. “Love you.”
“Love you, too.”
I straightened my dark blonde hair in the bathroom then and watched it fall down to the bottom of my shoulder blades. I thought about makeup, but decided against it when I realized I’d have to find it in all of my stuff. I looked good enough for my standards, but my standards aren’t all that high.
Austin knocked again. “Scott just called. He wants you to save all of your writing stuff to a flash drive and bring it along.”
I smiled, glad I knew where something was for once. My backpack was thrown under the desk, so I scooped my key ring with my flash drive and put it in my pocket. “I keep all of it on here and backed up on my laptop, and the PC in my dad’s office.”
Austin nodded. “You ready?”
I glanced at my feet and back to the closet. “Almost.” I slipped on my purple and gray Nike’s and followed Austin down the stairs. His mom was already waiting in the car, looking angry. Austin and I both climbed in the back. “Thanks for dropping us off Mom,” Austin said as he buckled up.
His mom nodded into the mirror and backed out of the driveway without saying a word. Now if that didn’t make me feel awkward. Austin tapped my side with his elbow. “Can I see your phone? I want to put my number in it, you know, in case.”
I handed it to him, and he added his name, and added my name to his phone. Mission accomplished I guess. I found his number and started a text. “So your mom doesn‘t talk or…?”
Austin replied. “She does, she‘s just not a morning person some days.”
We pulled up at the base of a huge office building and Austin nudged me out of the car. His mom drove off once the door was closed. “Well that was awkward,” I said. Austin shrugged. “She’s quiet. I‘m sure she‘ll warm up and start talking when you‘re around.”
He led me through the door and passed the security guard, who didn’t even pass us a second glance. Maybe Austin spends a lot of time here. The elevator was down the hall and we took it up to the thirteenth floor. Lucky isn’t it?
Scott’s office was the first thing past the floor lobby. “Austin! Olivia! Great to see you this morning!” I couldn’t help rolling my eyes as I thought about how maybe he was a little bit too much of a morning person. “Take a seat guys. I’ll go get the donuts from the front desk and we’ll chat for awhile.”
I looked to Austin after he was gone. “He‘s not always this cheerful is he? It‘s scary.”
He shook his head. “He‘s on some weird meds in the morning. It‘ll wear off by ten.”
I can’t say that at this point I wasn’t questioning what I’d gotten myself into. Everything was weird… Super weird. I was really starting to miss home and being around the people I loved. Every single moment of things felt like my first day of middle school. Awkward.
Scott came back and laid the donuts on his desk and sat across from Austin and I. “Now, this is going to sound insane, but I assure you. It isn‘t the meds talking.” I glanced at Austin, who seemed virtually unphased by the strange start of the conversation. “I‘ve been thinking long and hard about how I can use the two of you to make the other famous, and I have several possible scenarios, but first we have to talk straight up business. Austin, we have a formal meeting with the producers from the record company we talked to on the phone the other day coming up. You‘ll be expected to break out your suit. And Olivia. Oh Olivia do we have things to discuss.”
I couldn’t contain myself any longer. The words that had been boiling inside me since the beginning of his monologue escaped. “Are you sure this isn‘t the drugs talking?”
Scott’s seriously awkward face fell. Austin snorted a strange laugh and covered his mouth to keep himself from continuing his fit of laughter. “This is my business tone and I expect it to be taken seriously. If you‘re not going to listen to what I have to say you can just go back to Virginia and wait for someone else to knock on your door and give you an offer.”
I was speechless. I’d meant it as a joke, but he was dead serious. I didn’t want to give up everything, and Austin must have seen this too. “Scott. She was only kidding. Cut her some slack. I was thinking the same thing the first time you went on a business pitch with me. She‘s only been away from home for a few hours. Let her adjust before you freak out on her.”
I sat in silence, but Scott didn’t react. He moved on in a more serious tone as if none of it happened. “Now, Olivia, you‘ll be picking up with your education online, right where you left off. All classes have assignments that are due at the end of each month. Make sure you get everything done. Austin, I emailed you her school accounts, so make sure she gets set up when you get home. Next thing we need to talk about is your writing. Did you bring the flash drive?” I handed it to him, afraid to speak. “Can I keep this until tomorrow? I want to review everything you‘ve written and see what we‘ll be doing what with. I also want you to take everything but the first chapter of your novel and your short stories off that website. No one‘s going to want to buy something they‘ve already read.”
He stared between Austin and me for awhile. “Now onto the publicity pitches.”
“Now,” Scott said. “There‘s several ways we could go in order to sell this. For example, you two could date.”
I dropped my donut. Did he just? He suggested…? “Wait a second. Repeat that.”
“You two could date. That would definitely sell it. Everybody would be like ‘Omg! They’re so cute together let’s buy their stuff because they’re sooo in love,’ and no one would care what it is because you‘re in love. What do you think?”
My mind was spinning. Did he really just suggest…? I took a risk and looked over at Austin. His features were squished to the center of his face, obviously uncomfortable with the situation. “And if we don‘t want to?” I asked.
Not that I wouldn’t mind, but you know, that didn’t seem like it was on Austin’s agenda. “Well, you know we could try and sell it separately and let Austin be the only one that ever sold anything.”
I glared. “That‘s not fair. There‘s more than one way to do this.”
“Then what other way is there?”
I glanced at Austin again, becoming strangely aware of how close I was to pushing Scott over the edge again. “What about just friends? Best friends sell stuff all the time.”
“Boys and girls can‘t be just friends. You‘re either in love with each other or you hate each other.”
I stood up. “Do you want to bet on that?”
Scott nodded. “Yes.”
I pulled out my phone and called Dillon, on speaker. “Hey Dillon.”
I could practically hear him smiling on the other end of the phone. “Hi Livi.”
I sighed. “This is weird, but I have to know right now. How do you love me?”
“As a best friend.” No hesitation, no lies, just straight up best friends.
“Nothing more?”
“No, of course not. Wait you don‘t… Do you? I‘m sorry. It‘s just not like that for me. I…”
“Dillon.” I cut him off. “No. It‘s not like that for me either. I‘m just proving a point to somebody. How long have we been best friends?”
“It‘ll be eight years the week after Christmas.”
I smiled to myself. Not only was I telling them, but I just proved it to myself. Guys and girls can be just friends. “Thanks Dillon. Love you. Bye.”
“Bye? Liv, what the heck? What are you doing?”
“I‘ll call you back later.”
I hung up the phone and stared straight at Scott. “Just friends,” I said.
Scott looked me in the eyes. “He‘s gay.”
“No he‘s not! He‘s my best friend!”
“How do you know he‘s not gay?”
I felt the strange urge to cry. How did I know? I guess I had no proof, but no girl wants to believe her best friend is gay, but why should I care? Even if he is gay he’s still the same person right? It’s not like he likes guys and poof, he turns into an evil old pile of pork chops. Right? He wouldn’t be any different. Would he? No, but would I look at him different? I didn’t know. The question still stood; why did it matter? Dillon’s Dillon no matter which way he swings. Right?
I was so confused I didn’t know how to react. Dillon’s never had a girlfriend, but he acts just like every other guy. I always just assumed he was straight, but what if he’s not? “He‘s not gay!”
“Call him and ask him.”
“No!”
Scott laughed. “If you‘re so sure he‘s not gay, then why are you afraid to ask?”
My eyes started to brim with tears, and that’s when I realized that I’d never once heard Dillon say anything about liking a girl. No average middle schooler’s comments about girls’ boobs, or her butt. I never caught him checking out one of my friends, and other than his family and his soccer team he doesn’t really talk to guys.
He can’t be gay. I pulled out my phone and started to dial his number again. Austin’s hand caught my wrist. “Liv. You don‘t have to. He‘s being a… well you know.”
I shook my head and called him. He couldn’t be. “Liv?”
Did he always sound like that? I swallowed and hoped my voice would stay even. “Hey Dillon.”
“Are you okay? You sound weird.” Crap. My voice was shaking.
“Yeah. I‘m fine. I just… My manager was wondering…”
I couldn’t say it. “What?”
“I… They… Dillon… Are you…. Do you like anybody?”
“Not particularly. Liv, what‘s going on?”
“They think you‘re gay.”
Yep I said it. There was dead silence on the other side of the phone. I heard him swallow loudly. “Does it matter?”
“Dillon please, just answer the question.”
He sighed. “Well, I never thought about it but, I guess maybe it‘s possible?”
I think the fact that I was crying was pretty evident. He can’t be. “Why?”
“I don’t see anything when I look at girls. They’re just people to me, but it’s not like I walk around talking about how hot guys are. It’s not like that either. I just… yeah.”
“Yeah?”
“I‘m gay.”
I choked back the sudden flood of tears. “Liv? Are you okay? I‘m sorry… It‘s just, you know, how it is.”
“Don‘t be sorry Dillon. It‘s not your fault. It‘s who you are, I just, well, I didn‘t see that coming. I don‘t want to believe it.”
“Are you going to be okay Liv? I‘m sorry.”
I swallowed some of my tears and sniffed. “I‘m going to be fine, and so are we. You‘re still my best friend right?”
He laughed lightly on the other side of the phone. “Forever and always.”
I smiled and said good bye. I couldn’t stop crying though. No, he’s still the same Dillon, and he’s always going to be the same Dillon, but something bothered me. Not that he was gay, but… somewhere deep down I think I really did like him. Maybe not a burning love, but still. What was I going to do now?