Stormy

Chapter 23

We all dance for a while and enjoy Julian's DJ set. It is obvious that he tries not to play too many aggressive tracks, which usually are more his style, to fit my taste of music. As Emma and I head over to the food table, for which my friends have prepared a few different cakes and several other little snacks, another guest arrives to the party. I smile as I see who it is. "Hey, birthday girl!", he says and approaches me. "Emilio! What are you doing here?", I answer. Martijn hops to my side and smiles: "I have asked him to come over and complete the DJ line-up for your birthday partyyy!" Emilio gives me a hug and says: "Happy birthday, Julie! I hope you don't mind that I came over." "No, I'm happy to see you.", I answer, "Thanks for coming by!" Emilio searches his backpack for something and then presents me a little box with a purple ribbon on top of it: "It was all a little spontaneous, so I only had time to get a small gift for you, but I thought you could use it very well. Happy birthday, Julie!" I open the present to find a little box full of black and white guitar picks. "Thank you! You're so right! I always keep losing my guitar picks!", I laugh and give Emilio another hug. "You're welcome.", he says and then adds: "I guess I'll go and switch places with Julian now. Hope you'll enjoy the set!" Then he walks over to Julian, they joke around for a little while, before Emilio takes over and plays some of his tunes. Julian walks over to us and grabs himself something to drink on the way. "Hey, Julie.", he says, "I didn't even have a real chance to wish you a happy birthday yet! Hope you're enjoying the party!" "I'm absolutely enjoying it. Thank you so much for being a part of it! Your music was great!", I answer. A few friends join us and one makes a comment: "Wow, Julie, what a great party! This DJ line-up is better than most music festivals!" "And you do have Martin Garrix up as a headliner as well.", Martijn smirks. "You're playing as well?", I ask back. "Yup. Only if you can still stand my music after all that studio work, though.", he smiles. "Absolutely.", I say, "Like seriously, I can't thank you guys enough. I could have never imagined how great this day would turn out to be. This means so much to me!" Emma gives me a hug and says: "You deserve it! You're such a great friend!" We keep dancing to Emilio's music for a while, until I suddenly get a call on my phone. My parents. I'm about to decline the call, as Martijn suddenly says: "I think you should take the call." "Really? Why would I?", I ask with a hint of sadness in my voice. "Trust me. They are your parents after all." I sigh and then do as he says. I walk a few steps away from him and take the call: "Hello?" It is my mom on the phone: "Hello darling! Happy birthday!", she screams into the phone. "Thank you.", I answer. "So, how's your day been?" "Well, I thought you would call earlier.", I say, "But quite alright so far. My friends have organized a party for me." "That's great! Enjoy the party then! Your dad told me to say hello and happy birthday! He's just in a meeting right now. But we love you, darling!", she says. "I... I miss you both, mom.", I answer quietly. "We'll make up for that the next time we are in the Netherlands!", she promises. Another one of their fake promises. "Well... I need to go now.", I say. "Okay, darling! Talk soon!", she says, before I hang up. Martijn comes back up to me and asks: "So how was it? How are you feeling?" I don't say anything for a while, so he steps in and says: "Don't let it ruin your night. You deserve to be happy on your birthday." "I'll try...", I sigh. "Come on.", he says and grabs my hand, "Let's get back to the dancefloor. I'll play some music for you now! Hope that will cheer you up." "Can I get another minute?", I ask. "Sure. But just one.", he answers with his typical smile and offers me a hug. After a short while, he says: "I know it sucks to be alone. And to miss your loved ones. I'm here for you if you need someone, I promise." "Thank you, Martijn! This means a lot to me, I hope you know that.", I say. He nods his head and says: "I know, Julie. And now come on, let's get back to dancing, alright?" "Alright.", I say back and follow him. He goes straight up to Emilio and after a few tracks, he takes his place and all my friends cheer for him, as he starts his little set. He takes us on a journey through his most cheerful songs and really manages to spread a new happy vibe all over the party. Before he ends his set, he calls me up to him and says to everyone: "I want to play one last song tonight and that is a very special one. I'm sure Julie hasn't told many of you about it, because I know she would never brag about things like this. But anyways, it's a song that she wrote together with me. It is going to be released on my record label soon and I just thought it would be the perfect way to end this set. Everyone, this is "Now That I've Found You"!" I watch in awe as Martijn starts the song and presents a whole new second drop later in the song. It is so much better than the old version and I don't even know when he had the time to work on it during his busy schedule. As the last chords have faded, Martijn grabs the mic one last time and starts a happy birthday chant for me. He gives me a hug and asks: "How did you like the new drop? I was so nervous to play it, now I really hope you like it!" "It's amazing! How many nights did you have to stay up working on this one?", I ask. "A couple.", he replies, "But looks like it was worth it!" "Most definitely!", I answer and he just gives me a smile.