"I missed you, Azlin."
Azlin freezes, not knowing what to do as she glances at the flashing camera lights and the looks of shock and confusion of the people around them. At first, she considers pulling back to keep the hug from looking too intimate, but judging by the way Ben has his arms tightly wrapped around her, it makes it clear to her that Ben really doesn't care about hiding their friendship--or whatever this is--from the public eye anymore.
Hence, she just accepts the fact that the media will start knowing about them from hereon, and decides to hug back. Fuck it; she hadn't seen him for a whole month. Might as well savor the moment now he's here.
"You're crazy, Ben." she whispers, in which he just chuckles. "But I definitely missed you too."
Ben finally pulls back and flashes her a smug smile. "Surprised you again, didn't I?"
"But how?" She pulls him to an angle where they are facing away from the cameras and at the same time prevent the others from overhearing. "You're supposed to be filming in London right now!"
"Well, I had to pull a few strings." He shrugs. "I just really wanted to be here for you."
Azlin couldn't contain her smile at the mere thought that Ben had to go through so much effort just to be able to come to her exhibit. It's definitely the sweetest thing someone's ever done for her in her entire life.
"Oh, and one more thing! I brought a friend." Ben smiles cheekily. Just then, another wave of loud chattering and clicking of cameras are heard by the entrance of the gallery, and at this point the crowd is definitely going crazy that the security personnel had to form a human barricade to contain them and prevent the people from flooding into the gallery. However, a man casually dressed in a navy blue cardigan and grey trousers manages to push through the crowd.
"Sorry, got a bit held up back there," the man takes the spot beside Ben, and it takes Azlin a few seconds to realize that it's none other than Joe Mazzello. JOE freaking MAZZELLO.
Azlin had to cover her mouth to prevent her jaw from dropping to the floor, unable to believe that this is all happening. She could only look at Ben incredulously, her eyes feeling like they would pop out of their sockets any second.
"Hello, nice to finally meet you." Joe extends his hand for a handshake, and Azlin tries her best to keep her hand from shaking as she accepts it.
"A-Azlin," she stammers. "My name is Azlin. Oh my God I'm sorry, I just can't believe you're actually here."
"Why didn't you act like that when you first met me?" Ben complains. He looks at Joe as if he'll know the answer.
"I dunno Ben, maybe I'm actually more beautiful than you are?"
"Oh please," Ben rolls his eyes at him. "Fortunately, Joe's within the area so I thought it would be great to tag him along so you two can finally meet. Although now I realize it might not be a good idea..."
"Yes, Ben has said a lot of things about you." Joe ignores him and winks at Azlin, his words obviously holding a lot more meaning. "And I assume Ben has said a lot of things about me too?"
"Oh he did," Azlin shakes her head and laughs. "He usually sends me a picture of you then proceeds to backstab you."
"I knew it," Joe flashes Ben a disappointed stare. But then he shrugs and looks back at Azlin. "But it's okay. I backstab him with Gwilym too."
Ben whines at this, making Azlin burst in laughter. She immediately falls comfortable with Joe's presence because of his sense of humor. Now that he's standing before her, she realizes that Ben had been absolutely right; Joe Mazello is definitely a genuine and amazing guy. And indeed, it feels like she's starting to form an alliance with him against Ben.
"Whoa, are these all your work?" Joe's attention shifts to the sculptures hung across the wall behind them. Azlin timidly nods, making him flash a "not bad" expression as he gives Ben a meaningful look.
"Ohhh, now I see." He winks before proceeding to study the sculptures closer. Azlin gives Ben a confused look.
"Ignore him. He just likes to tease me a lot." He shakes his head and nervously chuckles. As they watch Joe walk around and eventually get approached by someone for a picture, Ben's eyes naturally lands on Azlin's masterpiece placed at the very center of the wall. Azlin's heart starts to race as she trails after him, anxious on what he thinks about it. She watches as he carefully studies the intricate details of the piece, his eyes turning distant and hazy as if he's being pulled into another world the longer he stares at it. Then his gaze stops at the eyes of the man--those eyes that had the exact same shade of green as his own, and Azlin holds her breath, waiting for the moment he'll recognize himself.
Ben turns to look at her, a mix of emotions swirling in his eyes so much that she couldn't quite identify what they were. A soft smile forms on his pink lips. He motions for her to come closer, and she does, and they stand there side by side as they stare at the masterpiece together.
"What do you think?" she nervously asks.
"It reminds me of someone," Ben glances down at her with a fond look on his face. Azlin holds her breath as she waits for him to continue. "It reminds me of you."
Azlin exhales in confusion. "What? Really?"
"Yeah. It feels like I'm looking straight into your soul. Like it pulls me to be connected." He says as he touches fingertips with the man's extended hand. "I can tell that you poured your entire heart out for this. I expected that your piece would be amazing, but this is just... just perfect."
This makes Azlin's heart warm all over. she's glad Ben likes what she had done. "Still mad that you didn't get to see it first?"
"Hmm, still a little bit." Ben says cheekily, making both of them laugh.
Their conversation is interrupted when a fan approaches Ben for a picture. He flashes her an apologetic look, but Azlin just smiles, not minding at all. However, a hand suddenly touches her shoulder, making her turn around and divert her attention away from Ben.
"Excuse me, may I take a photo of you?" A photographer says, and Azlin thinks nothing about it and just nods, moving to stand beside one of her sculptures. He takes about two or three photos, and Azlin almost thinks it's done until he steps closer her again.
"I'm sorry, but what's your name?"
"Azlin," she smiles. "I created these bas-relief sculptures. If you need any information to incorporate with the photo, I have an info sheet here to--"
"What's you relationship with Ben Hardy?" He suddenly asks, throwing her off guard. "Why did he hug you earlier?"
"I.. I uh..."
"Are you perhaps friends? If so, how did you meet?"
Azlin's smile falls as she realizes that the man is actually a journalist instead of a photographer. He steps closer as if to press her further with questions, and she could feel her face getting red as she gets more and more flustered.
"Or perhaps, does it incline more into a romantic relationship? How long have you been together?"
"I... I actually um..." She stammers. "Ben and I are--"
"You don't have to answer that question," Cher comes out of nowhere and stands protectively between her and the man. "Sir, if you don't mind, we're only answering questions regarding the art and the exhibit. No personal questions please."
She smiles at him, although her eyes rather seem cold and threatening. The journalist huffs and finally walks away, and Azlin exhales in relief as if the man's presence alone had been suffocating her. Cher turns around, hands on her hips as she looks at Azlin dead in the eyes.
"Lesson #1 on what to do when being harassed by journalists: You don't have to answer their questions." Azlin guiltily bites her lip, only now realizing what she's getting herself into. Cher shuts her eyes and rubs her temples, shifting from her scary persona and back into Cher-the-sassy-friend. "And girl, how. in. the. world."
She motions towards Ben and Joe standing on one side of the gallery, now being cornered by journalists and fans as well but obviously taking it more smoothly and calmly than Azlin did.
"How come I didn't know you're friends with Ben freaking Hardy and Joe freaking Mazzello?!"
"Just Ben! I'm friends with Ben!" She defends. "I didn't even know he'll bring Joe Mazzello along. Heck, I didn't even know he's coming!"
"You owe me an explanation," Cher narrows her eyes at her as she slowly moves away. "Oh you definitely owe me an explanation. You better not miss a single detail or else, I'm coming for your ass."
Azlin sighs exasperatedly and rubs her temples. This entire situation is definitely becoming more messier than she could handle. Never in her life would she have guessed that her first exhibit would turn out as crazy as this.
Meanwhile, Cher pushes through the crowd surrounding the two celebrities, then stands in front of them as she waves her arms in front of the cameras to disrupt them.
"Okay guys, sorry, the exhibit is done. Mr. Hardy and Mr. Mazzello needs to go now." She volunteers to act like their manager for the meantime, knowing the consequences that could happen if the situation isn't contained any longer. She calls over some of the security personnel to help keep the crowd in place as she guides the two away from them.
"They can go thru the back exit leading to the staff parking lot. I'll be with you in a few minutes." Azlin says as she rushes over to them.
Cher nods and ushers the two towards the exit, which she thankfully knows because it's where she had parked. Non-staff are not allowed in that area so they could be certain that there are no fans or photographers waiting to ambush them there.
Meanwhile, Azlin made sure to exchange thank you's and goodbyes with her fellow artists and the people that organized the exhibit, and much to her embarrassment they also kept on thanking her for bringing two celebrities. She just smiled at them in response and didn't bother explaining any further to make the conversations brief, also to limit the chance of a journalist spotting her again. She swiftly gets her bag and coat from the studio before proceeding to the back exit as well, thankfully taking up no more than five minutes.
"Azlin, I'm sorry. I didn't expect we'd create a mess like that." Ben immediately apologizes as soon as he sees her step out of the building. "We didn't mean to take the attention away from the exhibit."
"No, no, you definitely didn't." She smiles as she remembers how the two thoughtfully made it so that whenever someone asks for a picture, they made sure that the background still included the art pieces and that they are completely captured. "In fact, I think you did the opposite."
"I can assure you people will definitely be talking about the exhibit now." Cher nods reassuringly.
"Anyway, I really appreciate that you came," Azlin smiles. "I know you guys sacrificed something else just to be able to be here. And Joe, I'm sorry if Ben dragged you into this."
"No, it's definitely no problem." He gives Ben a meaningful stare. "After all, I also wanted too meet the person he can't seem to shut up about lately."
Ben clears his throat and gives Joe a meaningful--or rather threatening squeeze on the shoulder.
"So Azzie," Joe and Cher's brows simultaneously raise at the endearment, but Ben doesn't seem to care. "Do you have any plans after this?"
Azlin shrugs. "Well, I think I may have to go back to the studio to clean up, but maybe I can just do that tomorrow... I feel pretty tired after the whole thing so I'll just head home after you--"
"Oh no no," Cher wags her finger at Azlin, a mischievous look on her face. "You didn't think you could just go back home without celebrating the night, did you?"
"But--"
"We're not done yet, darling. I've always let you escape the parties before, but definitely not tonight." She doesn't give Azlin a chance to protest and secures an arm around her waist to make sure she doesn't escape, then proceeds to drag her along to her car. Cher glances over her shoulder towards Ben and Joe who's trailing behind them, slightly in shock at her tenaciousness.
"It was originally supposed to be just the two of us, but I guess you boys can feel free to come along if you want."
"Are you kidding?" Ben's lips curl up to form that signature cheeky smile of his. "I wouldn't miss it for the world to finally see Azlin get wasted."
***
[A/N]: God, I love Ben and Joe's chaotic friendship. Meanwhile, I also love how protective Cher is. Such a badass 😩