Never be the same. - Vinnie Hacker

flights and fights

Me and Thomas had been back and forth the last few weeks, talking about joining the hype house. I was hesitant. I had never lived with anyone but myself since I turned 18 and I wasn't sure if I was ready for the commitment.

"How about you move in for a week, see what it's like and if it's not for you then no worries." The brunette boy sipped his hot drink as the ambience of the coffee shop calmed down. The sun peered through the windows as I looked to the city skyline. I didn't want to leave Seattle, it was my home ever since my parents moved here 10 years ago. Thomas had flown all the way here to meet with me just to prod me one last time and convince me that this was the right thing to do.

"Come on." He grinned, moving about to catch my eyeline. "Everyone's dying to meet you. You already know Vinnie. You've facetimed Mia countless times and just think how fun it would be working with each other." He counted on his fingers all the reasons why.

"Mum always told me not to mix business and pleasure." I chuckled.

"It's not like that though and you know tha-" I cut him off before he could ramble any more.

"OKAY, okay. One week." I sighed. Thomas' face lit up like a lamp.

"Yesss! Yes. Come here. Bring it in!" He wrapped his olive arms around me, squeezing me tight as I couldn't help but smile at the thought of his excitement.

I got back to my apartment at about 9 after showing Thomas around the city like a tourist. He loved the movie. He loved the movie 10 things I hate about you, so we spent like 2 hours roaming the streets and film locations, as he quite literally geeked out and made me do countless tiktok's, lip syncing the movie. I was shattered. After my steamy shower, cleansing my hair of the day I just had, I laid on my bed and got a notification.

I hadn't spoken to Vinnie since he moved to LA. He pretty much finished senior year and went MIA. We both grew inseparable through high school, always with each other, so much so that our moms made a secret marriage pact. But in spite of everything, we never saw each other in that way. Vinnie was there  through every relationship and breakup and I was for him. I would be lying if I said I wasn't hurt that he moved away and seemed to forget my entire existence. Moving on my own, all I wanted was for my best friend to hang out with me and do all the stupid shit we would never get away with at home. But I guess that's what happens when you're Vinnie Hacker. That's why I was so shocked when he messaged me. He nevertheless had me smiling at my phone once again just like before. Flashbacks of the once clean cut blonde boy came racing through my head as I messaged him back and forth. The interaction only made me eager to see what the next week would bring. What would it be like seeing him once again? He most definitely wasn't the same Vinnie as I last saw him; but did that mean his interior was just as tainted as his exterior? Seeing him plastered all over my social media made me almost resent the person he had become. However it was almost hard for me not to way out all the euphoric memories we had together. Vinnie was an obstacle that seemed like an internal hurdle for me to get over but I had to swallow my feelings in order to accept the insane opportunity that Thomas had put on the line for me.

I woke up feeling half asleep the next morning and hastily looked at my phone with one eye open. A text from Thomas. I yawned as I unlocked my phone. He texted me saying he was going to pick me up to go to the airport in an hour. Wow. That man works fast. I rushed around, scrambling clothes into my case and scooping up piles of underwear to dump in. My heart was racing with excitement as I jumped in the shower and got my comfies ready for the short but nevertheless bumpy flight. I scraped my hair into a slick bun with a dead centre middle part and did my makeup to make myself look less dead than I did 5 minutes ago. I wheeled my pink case to the front door and sat in the kitchen with a bowl of lucky charms, with my handbag on the counter, ready for Thomas's call. This was it. Tonight I wouldn't be sleeping in the comfort of my Seattle city apartment.

Landing in LA, I didn't expect the heat to hit me like it did, but I was over here sweating like a menopausal woman in the uber. Thomas laughed at my tourist-like behaviour, mocking me like I was a recluse whose only personality trait was the Seattle space needle. We passed through the black iron private estate gates that lead up to the only house that stood above all the others. My nerves started to kick in.

"Thom really though... I'm shitting myself." I nervously stated.

"Why! You make fucking tiktoks for a living.. Doesn't get more embarrassing than that." He bluntly replied, making me smile.

"Shut the fuck up." I hit him on the shoulder. The sandy stone coloured building was now in plain sight and the water from the fountain glistened in the sun. It honestly could only be compared to a Mediterranean palace.

"Come on gurl!" Thomas exclaimed, walking round the back of the car to let me out and then remove my case from the trunk. He wheeled it up to the door for me and I took out my phone to capture the beauty of the building in front of me.

"Wow, you really are a tourist." Thomas shook his head. I quickly locked my phone in fear of anyone seeing my embarrassing behaviour from the inside.

"It's going to my mum actually, you arsehole." I laughed back.

I walked through the front door revealing a grand curved staircase and a well lit up hallway as bright as the sky outside. Thomas showed me to my room and placed my suitcase there for me. I collapsed on the bed, relieving myself from all the travelling I had done. I plugged my phone in as I heard screaming and chaos downstairs. Two seconds later Thomas' face appeared at my door again.

"If you're not busy, there's some people downstairs that really wanna meet you." he encouraged. I got up without hesitation, following him to the kitchen. It was pretty busy with people, not really sure on differentiating who was staying  in the house and who wasn't. They were scattered all over the room, sitting on stools, counters or leaning against bare walls as they all made small talk and jokes with each other. I felt awkward being the only anomaly but I was soon made to feel comfortable with all of their over and beyond effort with me. I made the way round the kitchen, introducing myself to everyone and desperately attempting to remember everyone's names. Some of them were clearly recognisable from being all over social media. But then from across the room I met eyes with a familiar face. He jogged round the counter the moment we caught eye contact. I couldn't help but smile at the sight of the shaggy haired blonde boy.

"Hey stink." I greeted him.

"Come here you lanky piece of shit." He gave me a hug that almost made up for the loss of contact we had. Even though there was still a buzz of conversation I could feel the eyes on us two.

"I didn't know you knew each other." Mia, Thomas's girlfriend piped up.

"Yeah, we went to high school together." Vinnie explained to the group as he went on to tell embarrassing stories of us two. I shook my head in disbelief at some of the ridiculous scenarios he had remembered. Thomas dimmed the lights and put on the LED lights while we all relaxed up and I continued to mingle with my soon to be housemates around the kitchen island, laughing and joking around. We played card games, we had a drink, and most of all listened to Vinnie's shitty playlist he put on in the background.

authors note:

Heyyyaaa.. I just started writing and this is my first proper book that I want to commit to. I tend to write long chapters (some of you might love or hate).
my writing ain't shit compared to some of you amazing authors on here. It will be a slow burner so stick with it. Hope you're all happy and healthy :))