His Girl #Wattys2016

5. Just another fan.

As soon as his words fell on my ears, my mind went blank. I chided myself for having forgotten that important a detail. But the rational part of my brain was not ready to accept the fact. I mean, even if he did have a girlfriend like the media often remarked, why should it matter to me? He gave me his number because he found my ways if reaching him unusual, he wanted to please a fan and he did. His having or not having a girlfriend needn't mean anything to me.

As soon as all these thoughts registered in my mind, I opened my mouth to explain this to Drake.

"Yes, he might have a girlfriend. But that shouldn't bother me because-"

"Sarah! Think before you talk!" Drake's voice made me flinch. But I continued my sentence from where I had stopped, only slightly increasing my volume.

"-because he's my favourite singer and I'm his fan."

"Oh," he said, his face turning a deep red. "If you're sure, then here. Take his number. He wants you to call him when you're free."

"Thanks." I said, reaching for my phone.

I typed in his number, quickly saving it before Drake could comment more. I dialed it and he answered just after two rings.

"Hello?" He sounded unsure, confirming his words that he didn't give out his number to people.

"Uh, Aaron?" I blurted out. "It's Sarah. You wanted me to-"

"Oh, hey. I had asked to talk so I could personally invite you for my next concert."

"Oh. Wow. Okay." I muttered to myself.

"So, should I send you the tickets? Drake is welcome to join us, by the way."

The entire conversation was sounding surreal to my ears. I couldn't pinpoint the exact word after which I stopped listening but I knew I hadn't heard much.

"Drake," I said, looking up at him, "says he'd love to join us."

"Great! How will you collect the tickets? Will you come over or should I..."

Oh, my God. At that moment, the crush I had on Aaron quadrupled and crossed all limits. A celebrity being so down to earth is such a rarity.

"We'll come over ASAP. Don't trouble yourself." I said, beaming at Drake.

After I hung up, Drake gave me a sceptic look like he wasn't sure what to say to me. I sat beside him, tried to bring down my excitement by a notch and started.

"So," I looked up to see his expressions, "Aaron wants me, us, to attend his next concert. He wants us to go up to his place and get the tickets."

"Okay. And what exactly made you think I'd love to join you to the concert?"

"You were the one who reminded me that you were like a brother to me. So I thought you wouldn't send me there alone."

For a moment Drake was silent. Then he burst out laughing.

"Trust you to turn someone's words against them." He said, shaking his head. "Fine, let's go."

"Oh, Drakey! Aren't you the best!"

Before he could interest me with a sarcastic reply, the front door opened with a loud thud. Melanie came in with her signature grin stuck to her face. Drake left the living room, excusing himself as soon as Melanie sat down beside me on the couch.

"Sarah, my darling," she said, her voice so sweet and fake, "why don't you start from the beginning and tell me everything that happened."

"Uh, okay? As you know, Aaron lives in this very building and..."

When I was done explaining the happenings of the day to her, skillfully dodging the areas which I wasn't supposed to mention, she sighed.

"Sarah, my dear," she spoke in a fake tone. I so badly wanted to ask her to stop using it but she didn't give me the chance. "You realise how lucky you're, right?"

I simply nodded. A part of me wanted to see where she was going with this and the rest of me wanted her to shut up. But she kept talking and I listened.

"You know that I like Aaron as much as you do, so isn't it really mean of you to not take me along when you went to visit him?" She sounded so off, for a moment I found myself feeling guilty.

"Mel, come on. If Aaron was living in your building, I'd have come to you. But he lives here and..." I trailed off, quickly realising how wrong it sounded.

And as luck had it, Drake walked in right at the moment. He didn't look too pleased with my answer. The way he looked at me, like I had let him down, made me wanna bawl my eyes out. I wanted to say so much in my defense, to tell him that I had asked for his help not because he stayed in the same building as Aaron, but because I trusted him. That I knew he'd do anything he can to make me happy. Before I could start to clarify this, he slowly backed away and walked out of the room.

"Drake, listen, please." I said, following him. But he slammed his room's door shut on my face.

At the same moment, my phone beeped notifying me of an incoming message. When I checked, I saw that it was a message from Aaron. I'd have been ecstatic if I hadn't just hurt Drake so much. I checked the message anyway.

Coming?

The simple message made me smile a tad. I quickly typed a 'yes' and sent him. I turned the knob on the door to Drake's room and it opened.

"Drake?" I called, stepping in. "I'm really sorry. That was not what I meant. I trust you with my life and-" I stopped when I saw Drake sitting at his desk.

His face was devoid of expressions but his eyes gave him away. I went and sat on his bed, facing him. I pulled out my phone and opened the folder with all our pictures, his and mine, and placed it on the table before him. As the pictures changed, he slowly lifted his head to see them. A small smile made its way onto his face as the photos changed. Memories of all the silly things we'd done together, of all the moments we had shared came rushing towards me. The smile on his face, now so much prominent, proved I wasn't the only one thinking back to those moments.

I put my hand on his shoulder and when he didn't react, I slowly spoke up.
"Even if Aaron lived miles away I'd still come running to you. I always come running to you, no matter what the situation is."

He nodded. "I'm the only one who puts up with all your bullshit."

"Yeah, I know. And I know that you're secretly glad about it."

He burst into laughter. "I guess."

"Now if you're done being angry, can we go to Aaron's and get the tickets?"

Drake rolled his eyes at me but nodded his consent.