ꜱᴜᴍᴍᴇʀ ʙʏ ᴛʜᴇ ꜱᴀɴᴅ|ᴊ.ꜰ

🀣𝟢𝟣𝟫🀣

ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀ ɴɪɴᴇᴛᴇᴇɴ
↳ᴀ ʙʟᴇꜱꜱɪɴɢ.

Moving day number two. I didn't think I had this much stuff until we'd packed it all up. We planned on making this the final trip, but it was our fault for having so many trips. We'd convinced that a smaller truck meant less probability of us getting into an accident, even though mom still hit the curb several times making turns.
We'd parked outside of Mateo's brownstone and got out of the truck. "Remind me to never help you move again," she joked. "Remind me to never move again," I countered. "Dually noted." She'd popped open the back and hopped in. "You ladies need some help?"
That voice. I knew that voice. I could make it out anywhere. "Eli?" He smiled at me. "In the flesh." I'd wrapped my arms so tight around him that I thought he might suffocate. "I haven't seen you since graduation, how've you been?" I asked. "Great, actually. Yeah, I got to takeover my dads record label."
"That's amazing, you've been gunning for it since we were twelve!" I was so happy for him, he deserved it. "I know, that's why I stopped over here. I thought that as my first duty as being the owner of Whitehill Records, I'd bring in a new artist," he said. "Cool, do you need help finding one? I know a few people from campus, they're usually in the studio at the same-"
"You're so dense sometimes, Nani. You get it from your father, there's no way it's from me," mom cut me off. I looked at her in shock. "Hello? Mom? What the hell?" I scoffed. "He's obviously talking about signing you, Nani. Take the hint!"

Now I was the one in shock. I looked between her and Eli. "No way... You're not messing with me right now, right? Like, this is actually real? You're not joking?" I could feel myself tearing up. He chuckled. "I'm completely serious. I got to listen to some of the tracks you've put out, your voice is exactly what I need for the label right now. I want more diversity within it, and I think you're just the girl for it."
I'd hugged him once more. "You're truly a blessing, always have been."
Eli and I met in fifth grade, but we didn't fully become friends until sixth grade. He was one of the only friends I had here in Chicago, and he'd made sure I knew I was loved and cared about. Whenever things happened with my mom, his mom would let me go over and spend the night with them. She'd tuck us in and turn the lights out but we'd grab our flashlights and head into our fort.
I'm pretty sure she knew we weren't asleep, I just think she didn't mind us staying up. We never went to school the day after something like that happened, she'd write us excuse notes and say we had appointments or something. Dad eventually put her on the emergency contact list so she could sign me out and make big decisions like that.

"Enough chit chat, start loading these boxes into the apartment." Mom shoved a box into Eli's hands, almost making him fall over. We stifled our laughs and headed inside. I'd opened the door for him. "This your place?" he asked. "It is now. I'm moving in with my boyfriend." He cocked an eyebrow at me. "Boyfriend?" He smiled.
I nodded. "Boyfriend." he'd sat the box down. "Where is he right now? I figured he'd be helping out with... I'm sorry, are you a hoarder or something? I've never seen this much stuff from someone moving into someone else's place."
I playfully hit his arm. "These things hold value. Like my Hogwarts tapestry and my wand collection, these are things I need. They bring me joy." He hummed in response. "And the boyfriend?" he continued. "He's at basic right now. And now that I'm saying that again, I've realized just how tired I already am of doing so."
He chuckled. "I know what you mean. I've been repeating myself about my dad stepping down to so many employees, I'm losing my mind." I knew exactly what he meant. "Hey, why don't we head down to the studio after we load everything? We can talk about your music and catch up."

"Yeah, that sounds great, Eli. Thanks."

Later that day, we did end up going to the studio. It was one of the unreserved ones, so we had to put a sign on the door. We'd ordered takeout and sat there catching each other up on everything that's happened since graduation. "Wait, so you're telling me that you didn't get the boy you'd been crushing on since you were like, born?" He questioned. I shook my head, plucking a shrimp from his plate. "Nope. I was upset for a while but I got over it."
"How'd you do it?" He asked. "I realized who I really wanted, and who really wanted me." We'd start getting into business and talking about my music. He said he liked my sound and how versatile it was, said we could do a lot here in the studio. I believed him, too. Eli had an amazing ear for music, his dad, too. His dad has produced over thirty platinum albums and singles in the last decade.
We were about to take about some unrecorded songs when my phone started ringing. It was Theo. "Boyfriend calling?" he asked. I nodded. "Probably just checking up, give me a second." I'd stepped out into the hallway and answered. "Hey, is everything alright? We don't usually call until later," I said. But the other line was silent. The only thing that could be heard was other peoples voices.

"Everything's great, actually. We're celebrating a birthday right, they're all wasted. I'm just hoping Sergeant Bullock doesn't decided to make a surprised visit to our platoon tonight," he said. I smiled to myself, even if he couldn't see it. "So I'm guessing you're having fun?" I asked. "Yeah, it's actually really great. People think the military is all screaming and being scared for your life but I'm really forming a brotherhood with these guys, they're like the siblings I never got to have."
I knew exactly how he felt, I had that, at some point. "That's great, Theo. I'm really happy for you. I've got some good news myself." Excitement was coursing through me right now. I'd been waiting all day to tell him about this. I was gonna email him, but saying it over the phone works, too. "What is it?" He questioned. "So, one of my old friends were in town and he told me how he finally got the family business, right?"
"Right," he said. "Well, said family business just so happens to be a record company and the first person he wants to sign as the new owner of Whitehill Records is me!"
"Oh my god, that's amazing, Nani! What? I'm so fucking proud of you!" That was the first time I had ever heard Theo say an actual curse word, he hadn't even said one through our arguments.

"We're currently in a meeting but I promise I will call you back and let you know about everything that happened," I said. "FaceTime," he corrected, "I miss your face."
He was so cheesy. "Alright, I love you. Talk to you later."

Word Count: 1,237.