Starstruck (the Idea of Always)

Vrijdag 22:21

JENS
     Jens hadn't been to a party like this one in a while. Most of the parties he'd been to recently were loud and crowded, with people he didn't know and drinks he couldn't name. It was almost like the parties themselves were telling him to leave (he didn't, of course, he had appearances to keep up). 

      The holiday party at Milan's and Zoë's (and Robbe's in a way) was smaller, more intimate. Everyone knew everyone, at least by name, Aaron didn't know Milan well enough to know what to get him for Secret Santa. The music was a bit loud, but it was a party, and the girls wanted to dance. 

     But Jens didn't want to leave quite yet. He was happy, and chill. Everything was okay.
The party had been going on for a while now, but it didn't seem like anyone was too keen on leaving. The girls were still taking turns dancing before plopping themselves on the sofa for a drink, and then jumping up at the next song and starting over. Robbe and Sander were sitting on one of the sofas with their legs tangled and Robbe's head between Sander's neck and shoulder, where he kept turning his face toward Sander to place gentle kisses to his skin. Jens always smiled when he caught this, though neither of them noticed him watching. Aaron and Amber couldn't keep their hands off each other. Jens smiled at this too. Jana and Luca were in the kitchen, grabbing some crackers or something for Zoë and Noor (and the guys, who were going to eat it too). 

      At one point the doorbell rang and everyone (except Aaron and Amber) looked up in confusion, as everyone who had been invited was there. Then Milan jumped up from his place next to Zoë, where he had been gently kicking her feet, and said, "Oh, that's right!" 

     "Food?" Sander asked, raising his eyebrows at him. 

      "No, I invited some friends, they're in town from the Netherlands." He made his way to the door and opened it, exclaiming happily, "Hi!" to the two people behind the door. Jens looked over at Zoë, assuming she would know, and she shrugged nonchalantly before continuing her conversation with Noor. 

     "People," Milan said, a little too loudly as he reentered the room, "this is Ralph," he gestured to one of the guests, who had bleached-grey hair and an earring, "and Lucas." Milan pointed at the other guest, a younger boy, with curly brown hair and blue eyes. 

     Jens's eyes got stuck on the boy. As Lucas looked at everyone, giving thin, awkward smiles as they greeted him and Ralph, Jens gazed at him, his lips parting, his stare travelling down his body and back up to his face. He had freckles scattered across his face, and a mole above his lip. 

      Fuck.

      When Jens looked back up to Lucas's'eyes, he was startled by Lucas looking directly at him, his eyes a more startling blue than he'd realised. They held eye contact for a second, an intense second, before Jens broke it, looking away, back down to his phone, pressing the home button and swiping pointlessly as he couldn't focus on anything on the screen. 

     "Uh, yeah, you can sit, or stand if you want, I don't think you'll want to, but sure," Milan said hastily, a bit awkwardly, and they both gave polite laughs and sat on a small empty sofa.

LUCAS
     Lucas's eyes went over the other people at the party again. He lingered a bit on the pretty boy sitting on the floor. 

     Jens didn't notice.