Made of Broken Stuff || Blind Channel

10. From roommates to neighbors

A few weeks had passed. I had been fortunate enough to get the apartment, which meant that I wasn't Joonas' roommate anymore, I was his neighbor. I didn't have too many possessions, so moving was really easy. In the name of fairness, I gave Joonas a spare key to my apartment, since I had one to his too. Fair, right? We'd promised not to just barge in out of nowhere, though.

I had also set up my business here in Finland. It was still quiet of course, but I'd already gotten a few photoshoots booked. I knew it would take time to build the business in a different country. However, having already worked in Norway did make things easier. I was excited to see what I'd get to experience through this job.

"This is nice." Aleksi said while walking around the apartment. It wasn't too big, but at least it had a separate bedroom. Tommi and Niko had been there earlier too, but now it was just him and I.

"Yeah, I think I'll be just fine with this. It's cozy and atmospheric." I sighed contently as I sat down on the small couch. It didn't take long for Aleksi to join me.

"Definitely." He said, sitting down next to me.

"So... You promised me a real date." I suggested with a playful smirk on my face.

"I did? How come I don't remember that?" He teased, clearly knowing exactly what I meant.

"Well, how about-" Aleksi was about to propose something, but was soon interrupted by the sound of the apartment's door flying open. Joonas walked in with a smug grin, Joel followed him right after and closed the door behind him. Joel had plastic bags in his hands.

"Joonas, jumalauta! Didn't we just agree not to break in whenever we want?" I huffed and threw a cushion at him. He caught it with ease and threw it back at me.

"It's your moving day darling, it doesn't count!" He announced. Just then I realized what they carried in with them. Beer, and quite a lot of it.

"We're gonna have a housewarming party." Joel agreed, I shook my head.

"No we're fucking not." I frowned at the announcement.

"Yes we will! Come on, it'll be fun!" Joonas argued.

"I don't want to get kicked out the same day I just moved in."

"What if I promise to keep an eye on them and make sure it doesn't get out of hand?" Aleksi then said, catching me totally off guard. I stared at him for a while and huffed in defeat.

"Fine. But just the band, alright? Maybe Minna and Sofia. Not too many people." I demanded, crossing my arms on my chest.

"Of course! Besides, we can go to Joel's after everyone has seen this place. You know, it's pretty small." Joonas explained.

"What even is the point of having a housewarming party if it's not even in the said house?" I questioned his logic.

"Shut up woman! We'll have a good time!"

And so it'd happened again: the boys were going to come to my place that evening. Joonas kept saying that he would handle things, I wouldn't have to do anything but sit back and relax. He assured me that I'd be just a "casual hanging out" kind of party. At least I didn't have to drag myself to a sweaty sports bar or anything. Besides, if we'd go to Joel's place, I could easily sneak back home whenever I wanted. I wasn't so fond of partying nowadays. I used to be when I was younger, especially during high school. But coming to this age, I had learned to appreciate my own personal space and peace. Casual hanging out definitely seemed way better than having a hardcore night out with the band.

Tommi had picked me and Aleksi up from my place, we were heading to a local supermarket. Apparently, we needed other things than just beer, which was fine by me since I didn't really like beer. I used to drink it as a teenager trying to get drunk. Back then I'd have drunk anything I'd been offered. Yuck. Joonas had pretty much kicked me out of my own apartment to go grocery shopping. He said he'd arrange things when I'd be gone. I didn't even bother to argue with him. He could be really stubborn when he wanted to.