You, Me, and Her

Verse 16: Sunflower

Social media was abuzz as Trend Wise magazine unveiled their newest cover--- Aidan Pryce, the sexiest lead vocalist and guitarist of the X-Holic band. The artistry in the photograph was already praised even before the rest could be seen, and everyone was excited to attend the launch and the press conference organized by the publishing house itself.

Halwyn was making his way through rooms of the venue where the launch would be held and stepped into the hallway with mixed feelings. At the moment, he wanted to leave the anxieties behind and focused on ensuring the site was prepped and ready for tomorrow's event. Checking himself in a vintage mirror, he tried to fix a stray hair out of his face before heading down the stairs and into the grand hall where he saw Eurig sitting by the bar instead of checking the rest of the rooms with him. He thought this scene had played in his head before and couldn't help blinking at the déjà vu.

"What are you doing?"

"Calling someone?" Eurig waved his phone and proceeded with the activity.

Hal couldn't help clicking his tongue. "As I thought...you're hopeless."

"Look, maybe he called and I just didn't get the message?"

"Or maybe he just didn't call because he has no interest in seeing you again."

Eurig scowled. Sometimes, Hal could be brutally honest but he couldn't blame him because he was the same to him as well. This was the reason why among the three of them, it was him Hal considered his second-best friend after Aidan, beating Cadi in the position. "Maybe he lost my number," he tried to convince himself and turned to check on his phone, logging into his social media. "The band looks busy."

"We are busy too but I don't see you working your ass off. Come on, tell me, what are we going to do with Gwen?"

Upon hearing this, Eurig put his phone back in his pocket and stared at Hal crossing his arms over his chest. "Why are you even stupid? You said YES to both your sister and Aidan. That's the reason why we are in this dilemma in the first place."

"I didn't say yes to Sia..." Hal grimaced but was unable to look at him. "She decided it herself."

"You nodded your head!" snapped Eurig. After a few moments, his friend drew a deep sigh. "What even is your sister thinking? Does she really think we can pull this off like magic? Ugh!"

"Never mind that I already made a commitment," Hal said. "Bring the stuff, the wig, the make-up, the everything. Cadi promised to help. You guys need to back me up on this."

"What are we even discussing?" Max with Steffan and Cadi came to join them, bringing some takeaways from a nearby fast-food chain and beverages from Starbucks.

"Thank goodness, I'm starving," Eurig complained and quickly took one of the bags from Max's hand.

Cadi, who saw Halwyn creasing his forehead handed him his mocha latte. "Don't worry about it, Hal. Everyone would be drunk and fuzzy by the time Aidan could even figure out you're Gwen."

Maxen snorted at what she said. "Forget it! That man is a genius in music but dense in everything else. By the time he discovered that Hal and Gwen are one person, Hal would be all the way to Timbuktu!"

"Please, don't say that."

Steffan, who sat beside Hal in the minibar watched him keenly. "Are you sure you can pull this off?"

Frowning slightly, Hal took a sip of his mocha latte before declaring. "I lasted the whole day being her in a photoshoot with him and went with him twice on a date. How hard can it be?"

But Steffan shattered his confidence, reminding him of one significant thing. "Except that when you went out with him, Hal wasn't there. This time, you and her would have to exist in the same space."