Mike: Okay, party at Maya’s house tonight!
Vic: With party he means: hanging on the couch with lots of popcorn and beer
Jaime: So kind of the usual thing?
Mike: Yeah, that’s my definition of a party!
Vic: So, what do you call an actual party then?
Mike: “AWESOME”
Vic: Come everyone! Let’s go to an awesome!
Mike: -_-
Mike: Do you have to be like this?
Vic: It’s a big brother thing, you wouldn’t understand.
Tony: I can come tonight! It has been too long since we hung out at Maya’s place, guys!
Jaime: I have nothing planned either, so I’ll be there too.
Naira: You guys do realize that it’s thursday, right?
Mike: So?
Naira: Well, you guys may be able to sleep till noon, but me and Maya both have to get up at seven. I don’t know about her, but I can’t control those kids with only four hours of sleep. Which means that you guys have to leave at least at 11 pm. That’s gonna be a short party.
Mike: Okay, party at Maya’s house TOMORROW night!

Maya’s POV
I shook my head at the messages in our group chat, but I couldn’t say that I was surprised. This was how it always went. They always announced that they were gonna hang out at my place without any word of consent from me. Normally it didn’t really matter. At my old job I had a very irregular schedule, so I was often free on work days. But now things were completely different. I worked all day on Monday, tuesday, thursday and friday, and on wednesday I mostly had meetings with the teachers about the kids. It goes without saying that I really had to get used to my new schedule. To be honest, I was still getting used to it. I had to get up early four days of the week...FOUR! It was a travesty!
I put a piece of paper in a folder and put it in one of the drawers in my desk. I looked over all the folders of students I had gathered over the last two weeks I worked here. Before I started here I always wondered how much work being a counselor would actually be. I mean, it would practically be waiting for students to come in and complain to them. And even though that was a big part of the job (a lot more students come in a day than you would think), it was far more than that. I was not only here to help with the personal issues of these kids, another task I had was to help them find out what they wanted to do in life and what they wanted to do when they grew up. At first I had a lot of trouble with that part of my job, but then I remembered the classes I had in college on occupation psychology. I delved into my old books and was getting a hang of it again.
But even though this job required a lot more from me, I didn’t want have my old job back. It was time for me to grow up. And I did actually like this job. Did I feel like I was good enough for this position yet? No, but I was sure things would be alright in the end.
After a few minutes I was finally done with all the paperwork I had to do and my sight automatically went through the box in the corner of my office. I had taken it with me to make my office a little more ‘mine’. I stood up from my chair and walked over to the box. It was filled with picture frames I was planning on putting on the little side table next to my desk. I took up the one on top and brushed a little dust off it with my thumb. It was a picture of my family: My dad, my mom, Tyler and me. It was taken years ago, I think I was nine or something. My hair was in ponytails and my brother was wearing a Mickey Mouse cap. We were laughing at each other with our mouths wide open and our parents stood behind us, smiling at the camera.
I let out a small chuckle. I might hate my brother right now, but I would always cherish the moments we had when we were kids. He knows how I think about it and the moment he decides to not be a douchebag anymore, I would await him with open arms.
I put the picture frame on the side table and dug into the box for another one. In a white frame was a picture of me and Naira in a pub the day that we met. I had taken the selfie and she was hugging me. You could clearly see that we were both pissed drunk, but I still love this picture to death.
It’s weird to think she has been here for six months. It feels like it was way longer. It felt normal that she was here. But I guess it seemed longer because so much had happened in that short period of time. My life is literally been turned upside down.
I shook my head smiling as I put this picture too on the side table. There were a lot more pictures in the box, but I knew that I only wanted to put up one more. It’s quite an old picture, but lately I have been strangely attracted to this picture. I took it from underneath a stack of other frames and looked at this strangely appealing picture.
It was a picture of me and the guys. I had met them in february 2013 and the picture was taken in June. It was on the night we had become friends, before that we had just been acquaintances. I guess that was the special thing about this picture in particular.
I looked over the picture one more time and a realisation hit me. In this picture I was standing next to Mike. He had his arm wrapped around me and my head was resting on his shoulder. We were both pulling weird faces just like everyone else in this picture. I grew close with all four of them that night, but for some reason I grew the closest to Mike. I had been attracted to Jaime since I first met him so of course I wanted to talk to him, but Mike just sat down next to me since the beginning of the night and never left that spot. I didn’t mind though. We talked for hours about the weirdest, most random stuff and I knew from that moment on that he was going to be one of the most important people of my life.
I could almost literally remember what he said as he sat down next to me. “Hey, could you please tell my brother that he looks ridiculous in that shirt?” He said and he pointed at Vic who was just sitting down in the chair across from us. He was wearing a button op shirt with pink flowers on it. I could see that it was a stylish choice, but I could kind of see what Mike meant. He kind of looked like he had just come back from a vacation to Hawaii. He acted like he didn’t hear Mike and scrolled through something on his phone.
I giggled and took a sip from my beer. Needless to say that it wasn’t my first one. “Why are you asking me that? Do you suddenly take an interest in fashion or something?” I said and I smiled cheeky at Mike.
He leaned back into the couch and put his hands behind his head. “Nah, I just like teasing my brother.” he said, like it was no big deal, obviously trying to restore his masculinity from being asked if he was into fashion. It earned him a middle finger from his brother, though, so I say his mission had succeeded.
I leaned back in the couch too. “Oh, so you’re a prankster?” I said sarcastic and I grinned at him. I didn’t know him for that long, but I just wanted him to know that he shouldn’t mess with me.
He obviously contained a laugh. “Don’t make fun of me.” he said chuckling and he shot me his most charming smile. “I won’t go easy on you if you do.”
I let out a sarcastic laugh and shook my head. He obviously didn’t know who he was talking to. “I think I’ll be able to handle it.” I said diminishing.
This didn’t seem to scare him, though. He just looked at me with the same smile. “I’d like to see you try.” he said a little softer than his other words.
Looking back at it, he might have been trying to flirt with me. Not that it mattered: at that moment Jaime entered my living room and all my attention was directed to him. And me and Mike, we became best friends. Nothing more and nothing less.
I brushed with my hands over the picture. The thought that I liked this picture so much lately because me and Mike were so close to each other in this picture flew through my head. No matter how much I tried to shake it off. It already came to a point that I didn’t even want to shake it off.
But I refused to accept the fact that I had feelings for Mike that were any different from that of a friend. Just as I had realized that night, he turned out to become one of the most important people in my life. And I wasn’t going to lose him like I lost Jaime.

*

I drove my car into my street, mentally preparing myself for the ‘party’ this night. I was exhausted from working all week, but I could definitely use a beer right now. I just hoped I could be as fun and upbeat as usually.
As I stepped out of my car I saw that Tony’s car was already parked in front of my house. I didn’t see Tony anywhere, so that meant only one thing. I sighed. Seriously, those guys…
My prediction was confirmed as soon as I had opened the door and walked into my living room. Tony was sitting on the couch and he had his feet on the side table. I guess he was watching some sort of thriller, because I heard gunshots coming from the TV.
The fact that the shyest guy in the band broke in my house to watch TV with his feet on the table was a pretty good indication of my friendship with these guys. I had always told them that they were welcome any time, but I found it pretty funny that they took it as serious as they did.
I walked over to the kitchen and threw my house keys in the bowl that was placed on my counter. I called it ‘the key bowl’, but honestly, it was filled with some other shit too. “Tony, how the fuck did you get in?” I asked even though I already knew the answer. I needed to show them that it’s not okay to break in in someone else’s house, even though I didn’t really mind myself. Someone needed to raise these kids.
Tony looked up from the television, looking not too guilty. “I took the-”
I interrupted him immediately. “Yeah, yeah. You took the spare key from under the doormat.” I said semi-irritated and I took two beers from the fridge.
Tony laughed as I walked into the living room and put them on the table. “Why did you even ask me then?” he asked.
I didn’t answer him, but I just fell down next to him on the couch, letting out a loud sigh.
He looked at the side of my face with a grin on his face. “Rough day, huh?”
I looked at him with an exaggerated exhausted face. “You have no idea.” I said taking the bottle to my mouth.
He chuckled and leaned forwards to grab his own beer. “Do you regret taking the job?” he asked and he didn’t sound like he judged me at all.
I smiled at the thought of the kid I had helped today. Even though it was just a senior not knowing what to do after graduation, I actually felt like I mattered. “No, not at all. I feel like it’s worth it.” I said.
“Then just keep going. At least for the times that make it worth it.” he said and he took a sip of his beer. I knew he wasn’t just talking about me, but also about the band. They had it pretty rough too. They were almost never home and I haven’t even mentioned the pressure that was put on them because they were such a big band. But they pushed through because this was their passion. This was what they always wanted to do.
“I know, I’m not someone to give up this easily.” I said smiling and I looked at the door. “When is the rest coming?”
Tony scrolled through a WhatsApp conversation and shrugged. “In about five seconds I guess.” he said.
I looked at him confused and I was just about to ask him how he knew, when I was interrupted by the the bell going off. Tony chuckled at my confused face. “Groupchat. Mike sent that they were in front of the door.” he said and I rolled my eyes.
I put my beer down on the table and walked towards the front door to open it. I was immediately met with the smiling faces of Vic, Naira, Mike and Jaime. Without any greeting Vic held up a white plastic bag in front of me. “I’ve got all the Lord of the Rings movies with me.” he said with a dorky smile on his face.
I grinned as I let them in. “Great. Let’s get our nerd on while getting wasted in the process.” I said as I let them all in.
After I had hugged them, Mike immediately raced towards the living room and threw himself on it, making Tony almost fall of the couch. “Hey Tony, you dickhead.” he said, punching him on the arm. While he was joking around with Tony, I couldn’t help but think about that picture I put up yesterday. I hated that this was creeping in my head right now, as it didn’t really help me be more fun tonight.
My thoughts were interrupted by Naira putting a hand on my shoulder. I looked at her and she had a big smile on her face. “I haven’t seen you in forever. How is the new job?” she asked.
It was true. It seemed like ages since I had Naira last. I kind of missed the time we were still living together.
I smiled back at her. “It’s nice. More nerve-wrecking than I’m used to, but it’s certainly more fun than my last job.” I said. “How are those little brats you’ve been teaching?”
She laughed and rolled her eyes at me. “Not all of them are brats, you know.” she said and then her expression changed a little. “Have you been eating alright, Maya?” she asked whispering, but I was still scared one of the guys had heard it and looked around me. Luckily for me they were way too busy trying to figure out my DVD-player.
I put finger in front of my lips. “I’m alright.” I hissed through my teeth.
I could tell from Naira’s face that she didn’t believe me and it was confirmed when she opened her mouth.
But I spoke up before she could. “Not here, Naira. I have no intention of explaining this to the guys.” I said, maybe a little bit too harsh. But I was afraid she would keep bringing it up if I wasn’t as direct as I was. And besides, it wasn’t like I had loads to share about this topic anyway. I wasn’t doing as good as I did when she still lived here and was watching everything I ate, but I was doing quite alright. I was just in a little down point that I would climb out of very soon.
Naira seemed a little hurt and annoyed, but didn’t say anything and dropped a painful silence between us. She walked over to the couch and sat down next to Vic. I hated this. She should’ve never found out about this. Then we wouldn’t have anything to fight about and she wouldn’t have to worry about me.
I was broken out of my thoughts by Jaime, who was standing in front of the open refrigerator. “Uhm Maya, do you have like...any alcohol?” he asked inspecting the fridge.
At first I was a little confused by his question. Of course I had alcohol. There was always alcohol in my house. But then I realized that I had been so busy this week, that I had forgotten to do groceries. The last time we met up at my house there was still a lot left, but there was a pretty good chance that I was all out now.
I walked over to the kitchen and stood next to him to look at the inside of my fridge. “You mean there’s nothing anymore?” I asked as I looked at my empty fridge. The only thing left in it was a bag of lettuce and a pack of milk I was pretty sure was sour by now.
Jaime shook his head. “Nope” he said. “I have looked through your cupboards too.” he turned a little red, like he should’ve been doing that. Like he was afraid I would get mad even though he had been acting like this was his house too for over four years.
I ignored and looked over the cupboards too. But of course I found nothing in it. Not even an old bottle of wine or a cheap bottle of scotch. I sighed and closed the last cupboard. “Well great. Now I have to go get some.” I said exiting the kitchen while taking my keys from the bowl.
“Okay, so I’ve got go get beer and other alcohol. Because for the first time in my life, I am all out.” I said a little stressed. After all of this new stuff, I didn’t really feel like organizing this night too.
As I was just about to walk out, I felt Mike’s hands on my shoulders. He lowered me into the chair that was behind me. “I’ll go get it. I have to get a package of cigarettes anyway.” he said and he shot me a sympathetic smile. Even though it was a little thing, I was happy he offered to do it. It would’ve been the last drop in my stress level.
“Naira, why don’t you go with him?” Vic asked, putting his hand on her arm. He was acting like it was the most normal thing for him to ask. All the faces in the room turned to Vic, including Naira’s, who was clearly wondering where this came from.
After a few seconds of us staring at him, Vic dropped the act and sighed. “I know all the fights between you two are all fun and games, but I want you guys to like each other, okay? You’re my brother and my girlfriend.” he said, obviously ashamed as he started blushing immediately.
Naira raised an eyebrow at him. “I have nothing against Mike.” she said, still confused of why he would say such a thing. It almost sounded like there was even a hint of her being offended.
Vic stopped blushing at the look of her face. “Well, you don’t really like him either.” he said matter-of-factly.
Naira looked like she was ready to say something back again, but she was interrupted by a loud gasp from Mike. “I can’t believe this! And I wanted to make friendship bracelets for us!” he said sarcastic and he mentioned for her to come with him. “C’mon. Otherwise he won’t stop whining about it.” he said seriously this time.

Notes

Heeeyyy everyone who still stuck around to read our story! Thank you!


Next chapter will be up faster than this one, because my co-writer is a lot faster in writing than I am ;)

xxxxx
Nicky