✔️ Midnight Sparks『 T.H. 』✧･ﾟ:*

Chapter 4: Just a random encounter

The kind of hope they all talk about

The kind of feelings we sing about

- Go Radio

- - -

"Ali? Ali!"

I blinked once. Then twice. As if I'd just surfaced from a dream that had previously sucked me in like a whirlpool.

"Are you okay?" Jayna stood in front of me, her eyes wide with concern. It took me a second to register that her arm was on mine, shaking me gently.

"I'm fine," I finally said. "I'm fine." The pounding music and the bright strobe lights came streaming back in, jolting my senses awake.

"You don't look fine," Jayna stated.

We were still at the dance floor and in danger of being knocked over by dancing bodies, so Jayna led me to a table in a quiet corner of the lounge.

"Look, I'm sorry for spacing out just now," I told Jayna, shaking my head to clear my mind properly.

"What happened? Are you drunk? Did you get drugged?!"

"No no, nothing like that. I didn't mean to make you worried. It's just that –"

How do I explain to Jayna the turn of events that had taken place after we had separated just now? Even I had trouble fathoming it all.

Maybe it was best to keep the story simple. Factual. Yes.

I shrugged before I continued, "I met Tom Holland again. We were both outside getting some fresh air. Then we came back in and danced for a while. And now he has just left for another party."

"What! You were with Tom Holland? Holy crap, that's crazy. No wonder I couldn't get you on the phone at all. But geez, Ali. When I found you, you looked like someone had just run over your pet cat or something. What was up with that?"

Oh, right. Crap.

"Umm I think I was still processing everything, you know?" I forced a grin. "I mean, I was in the same breathing space as Tom Holland. And we shared a dance. It was kind of surreal."

"Huh. I never thought I'd see the day when Ali Kinloch would have a starstruck moment. Although I have to agree that Tom Holland is very charming." Jayna nodded with approval. "Do you follow his Instagram account? He seems like such a genuinely great guy. And he gets like 10,000 comments within the first 5 minutes of posting something. His fandom is totally next-level stuff."

"Yeah, he did seem really nice," I answered in a casual tone.

To be honest, I wasn't sure if what I was feeling was just a matter of being starstruck. When I thought of Tom Holland, I didn't conjure up a mental image of a celebrity – someone who's acted in huge money-making movies, who spends his time attending press events, signing autographs and posing for photos with screaming fans.

No, that wasn't the picture I had in my mind at all. Instead, I saw that pair of twinkling brown eyes that seemed to communicate a private joke only the both of us knew. I saw the silly dance moves he made just to convince me to hit the dance floor with him. I saw the easy smiles of Trevor McGeek.

"Did you get his number or anything?" Jayna asked.

I shook my head no. "It was just a random encounter. No biggie. I wasn't hoping for anything more."

"Darn. I thought you could provide the access I needed. I honestly wouldn't have minded interviewing him for my YouTube channel." Jayna shrugged. "Oh well. At least this turned out to be a night to remember for you."

"A night to remember indeed," I echoed.

* * *

Two months later, I barely thought about the night of my random encounter with Tom Holland. Whatever strange feelings that had possessed me back then, had subsided. Thank goodness.

My world didn't change overnight – life remained pretty much the same. College classes were still underwhelming but having Jayna in most of them did help. Work at Café Luna was only challenging when Lou got into one of his moods and started ranting about how nobody appreciated authentic Italian cuisine anymore.

"Ali, I think Lou is in one of his moods again." Jayna's voice broke into my thoughts.

I turned to peek at Lou. Lou was actually short for Luigi, and arrived in the great US of A about 20 years ago. He quickly got sick of the Mario and Luigi jokes, so he started going by Lou for his sanity's sake.

I could see Lou pacing in the kitchen, muttering to himself. Before long, I knew he would step out from the kitchen and aim his mutterings at Jayna and I.

"You'll need to pacify him with some groundbreaking news about Britney Spears then," I said to Jayna as I went to clean up a table that had just been vacated by a customer.

Fun fact about my boss, Lou – he may be forty-five but when it came to Britney Spears, he was a squealing fan boy in his teens.

"She was caught lip syncing in yet another live performance, I think. Will that do?"

"We shall soon find out. He'd either calm down or start yelling at you to order something since you've already been here for an hour."

Jayna laughed, then stopped when we heard the ringing of a phone. It came from the kitchen, and we both turned to see Lou exclaiming, "Hello! Hey. Yes, yes. This is Café Luna."

"Wow, the last time I saw Lou looking this happy was when Britney said in a magazine that her favorite dessert was tiramisu," Jayna remarked.

"Yeah, his good mood lasted for 2.5 days after," I recalled. "Let's hope this one stretches for 3 days."

Lou hung up after 5 minutes. He appeared from the kitchen – and yes, his usual frowning face was smiling.

"What's the good news, Lou?" Jayna chirped.

"Why are you still here? You're not a paying customer." Lou glared at her then relaxed the next moment, saying, "Anyway, perhaps you can come in handy this time. You and Alison here."

"I aim to come in handy at all times," I quipped with an exaggerated wide grin.

Lou grunted. "I got a call asking for catering service. Some fancy movie premiere thing, very exclusive. Only for 40 people, but I will need an extra waitress." He seemed thoughtful. "Café Luna was highly recommended, it seems."

"Congrats, Lou! That's awesome. Of course I'd be honored to fill in as your extra waitress," Jayna said. She shot me a grin, and I knew she was thinking about the celebrities she could pounce on for her YouTube channel.

I was glad for both Lou and Jayna too. But something was gnawing at my thoughts. "Lou, did they say who recommended Café Luna to them?"

Lou shrugged his shoulders. "I forget the name now. Was it Victor..? No, no. I think... I think it was a Trevor."

"Trevor?" Jayna immediately threw me a loaded look. I'd told her about Trevor McGeek, of course.

Trevor...

All memories associated with that night had been pushed away into some far recess of my mind. As they should be.

What else could I do, anyway? I wasn't going to waste my time acting like a silly fan girl, sitting around and hoping... For what? There was nothing to hope for.

But now, with Lou's phone call...

I didn't know what to think.

Or feel.