The next morning, I woke up with a huge headache. The sun shined through my large window and I pulled the blanket up over my face. I groaned and rolled over to grab my phone to check the time. 11:05 a.m. I wanted to sleep in longer, but Aspyn texted me earlier in the morning to meet her and Julian and his friends for lunch. I lay there for ten more minutes before finally dragging myself out of bed and into the bathroom. I splashed some water on my face and took a makeup wipe and removed last nights remains. I walked down to my kitchen area and made myself a cup of orange juice, taking a tylenol to ease the headache and hopefully get rid of it altogether.
I made my way back up to the bathroom and started a warm shower, knowing it's just what I needed to wake me up. As I stood under the warm water, I thought about the night before and how much fun I'd had. I made a mental note to definitely go out more, especially now that I'm legal to do just about anything and get in to more bars, even though it wasn't necessarily my scene. I still had a good time. I thought about how great the band had been, and made sure to check out their music online later if I could find it.
After a long shower, I was finally fully awake. I checked the time, it was nearly noon and I was meeting Aspyn and Julian for lunch at 12:30. I quickly threw on a pair of black high waisted skinny jeans and a black sweater, which I tucked in. I slid on my favorite pair of oxford doc martens and walked back into the bathroom to brush my teeth and do my usual makeup routine. My natural curls were curlier today than they usually are, but I fancied the look, so I didn't touch my hair at all. I grabbed my bag and keys and texted Aspyn to let her know I was headed that way.
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I met up with Aspyn at 12:25 p.m. and we got seated at the restaurant.
"Julian and his friends should be here soon," she said, typing away on her phone. I nodded and took a sip of the water the server had already brought out. Aspyn was always stuck in her phone, but she was also an intern for some fashion magazine, so she had every right to be. She was very much into pop culture and high fashion and I knew she'd make it big in the industry someday. Me, however, I am the complete opposite. I'd rather spend my days at the library or in the park or in a small coffee shop reading a book by myself. Sure I'd set up social media accounts, but I didn't want to live through a screen. I wanted to experience life in the now. I took my camera almost everywhere with me, though, to capture a moment I wanted to remember forever.
"Over here!" Aspyn yelled across the restaurant, waving both of her arms in the air. I looked over my shoulder and saw Julian with a group of guys. I squinted to see who it was, and sure enough.....
"Hey, guys!" Julian said, walking up to the table and plopping down in a spot next to Aspyn. "Oh, hope you don't mind, I brought some company. Aspyn, Rowan, this is Catfish and the Bottlemen. The band that played last night at the bar! You remember?"
Oh, I remember.
I smiled and waved at them all. I saw Van, and he smiled at me and decided to take the seat next to me, while the other guys took seats at the end of the table.
"Fancy running in to you here," he leaned over and whispered, a smug grin on his face.
"Small world," I nodded. I didn't think I'd ever see Van again, and to be honest I was hoping I wouldn't after remembering how embarrassing I'd been the previous night.
We didn't talk much to each other during lunch, mostly everyone had open conversation with everyone. I did get to meet the rest of the band and learn their names, Bondy, the guitarist. He was chilled out and calm, but had a joker side to him. Benji, the bassist, who had a killer afro and was also quite the joker. Bob, the drummer, who was shy and quiet, but had a permanent grin and a lovely laugh. They were an odd bunch, really. But they were all kind and I enjoyed their company.
