—Yiyun Li

The beeps and bubbling noises of a requested video call startled me awake, and it took me a moment to realize where I was. Shit, I thought, I didn't mean to fall asleep. I cleared my throat and smoothed my hair with the palms of my hands, tucking stray strands behind my ears, and hit the green accept button.

Julian's face immediately lit up and he smiled ear-to-ear, making his lively eyes narrow, as his cheeks lifted. His dewy face was beet red, hair a frizzy mess, and still I had never seen a more beautiful creature in all of my life. Involuntarily, I took a deep breath at the sight of him.

"Hey, gorgeous!" His beautiful voice rang with clarity and excitement.

Don't melt. Don't melt. Don't melt.

"Hi, Julian. How did it go?" I didn't know what time I had fallen asleep, but since there was very little rasp to my voice, I couldn't have been asleep for very long, I decided.

"Oh my God! Brooke, you should have seen it! This was our best show yet! Everyone was so loud. I didn't even mess up once, you were right! I was so nervous but I just kept thinking of what you said and the tension just sort of dissolved after the second song."

"See, I told you. I knew you would do great." I never doubted him for a moment, but to see his relief was a comfort to me, in and of itself.

There was the sound of people screaming nearby, which I first assumed would be fans, until Julian turned the camera to show Tommy giving Jesse a piggyback ride around their dressing room, with Devon hot on their tails with a can of silly string.

Julian jokingly yelled at them to grow up, but he couldn't hide the grin spreading across his face.

"Where's the fun in that, old man?!" Jesse yelled back, as Devon turned his assault on Julian and covered his front with thin, green strands.

"Full of beans, the lot of ya! You know you're going to pay for this, right?" Julian wiped the string from his face, though it still covered most of his shirt and neck. "I'm awake before all of you, just remember that!"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah," Devon taunted as he reached Tommy and Jesse, only to have them turn around to spray whipped cream all over his face.

I giggled, and then felt the urge to yawn, but covered my mouth instinctively. Julian still noticed.

"Are you tired?" he asked with a smile, and checked his watch.

"No. Well, I mean, kind of. I accidentally fell asleep before you called, but I want to keep talking to you," I said honestly.

"Brooke, go back to sleep. God knows you need it. Your sleep deficit is probably about a thousand hours. I should probably stop the monkeys before they waste all of this lovely food catering. Maybe they're not hungry, but I certainly am." Julian's laugh, his truly happy laugh, was one of the most beautiful sounds I had ever heard.

"Where's Mason?" I asked, momentarily avoiding Julian's request for me to sleep. Rest could wait.

"I'm pretty sure he hit the showers already. I should do the same pretty soon." Julian motioned towards the string covering his chest. "I think the lads want to go out again in a bit, since it's our last night here in Vegas."

"You should go with them," I encouraged Julian, though seeing how wild his band mates were in comparison to him, made me slightly nervous to think of what they could get up to in a city like Las Vegas. I much preferred Mason's calm and cool demeanor, and hoped Julian would stick close to him instead.

"Yeah? I don't know," Julian said, shaking his head a little. "Maybe I'll give it a go."

"Yeah, you should. Who knows when you'll have a night off to enjoy the famous Las Vegas strip again?" I tried to persuade him, mainly to alleviate my own guilt, for feeling like I was holding him back.

"I'll only go if you promise to go back to sleep," Julian said while picking pieces of silly string off his torso.

"Okay, I will."

"Oh, Brooke, I wanted to ask you something." His tone was hopeful, but his eyes kept shifting from mine to the floor.

"Sure. What is it?" I asked.

"Well, we only have one date left on this tour... aside from the festival in Los Angeles next weekend. It's in Florida, this weekend. We're going to leave the bus in storage, and fly out to Florida tomorrow night. I know you have your interview on Friday, but I was hoping maybe you could come out to see me afterward?" Julian explained, somewhat quickly. His voice and the background noises were quieter, so he must have moved to a private room.

"Florida? This weekend?" I never traveled much, and my instinct to always plan everything heavily made me wish for more notice, but I really wanted to see Julian. In my home state, at that. It was a chance at certainty, when everything else with him seemed unsure.

"Yeah, I mean, I completely understand if you can't. I just thought I would ask, since we're leaving the states soon and all... going back to England to finish our new album." Julian nervously rubbed the back of his neck and looked away.

"I would love to, Julian. I want to see you again," I admitted.

"Really? You're sure?" There was relief in his voice.

"Definitely! Where in Florida?" I asked.

"Orlando. My manager can arrange your flights and room. Unless you want to stay with me."

"That's where I'm from! Of course, I want to stay with you, if you'll let me," I assured him and tried to mask my excitement.

"I do. More than anything, I do." Julian's smile spiked my heart rate even further.

"Okay, well, how do I set this up? My interview is at one in the afternoon, so I can come right after." I started to calculate how I could budget this. I knew I would be okay, as long as I secured this job, I would not drain the remainder of my savings. I figured the flight prices would be outrageous for such a last minute booking, but I could manage, especially for him.

"What? No, Brooke, my management will cover all of this. You don't have to do or pay for a thing. I'll tell them to secure a flight for the late afternoon on Friday, Tucson to Orlando, and return on Sunday. I'll text you the details as soon as I have them. I'm so happy!" His uniquely tinted brown eyes were glowing.

"I am, too. I can't wait!" I laughed. My excitement overrode the anticipation of the sinking feeling I would surely feel, to leave Julian after such a short trip. Immediately, I forced myself out of that mentality, and refused to feel nostalgic for a weekend that had yet to happen. Just be happy, Brooke, I thought to myself. Happy. For once, I was.

Someone pounded on his door. "Julian, you coming out or what?! What are you doing in there, bro? Don't tell me you're ready for a kip!"

"Just a second," Julian said, with his head turned.

"You should go eat and shower. Go hang with them. You've earned a fun night." I was still riding on the high of my elation.

"Well, I am starving. I guess I will," Julian conceded.

"Enjoy yourself. I'll see you in a few days." The words felt strange rolling off my tongue. Was I actually planning this with him? It seemed surreal.

"This is going to be great! Okay, Brooke, try to get some rest. I'll text you." Julian winked and ended the video call just as someone began to pound on his door again.

I closed my screen and sat up in bed. There was so much to do. I had half a mind to start packing a suitcase right then, until I remembered that I promised Julian I'd at least try to get back to sleep.

Sleep. I could do that.

Desperately, I tried to push the excitement of my upcoming weekend to the back of my mind, just long enough to sneak in a few hours of rest. I could relish in the details tomorrow morning.

Somehow, I did manage to drift back asleep.

When I awoke on Wednesday, I nearly leaped out of bed to find a text from Julian, with the details of my flights. They booked it already? I could not believe this was actually happening. My departure time on Friday was 3:10 p.m. and I would arrive by 8:26 p.m. I saved the confirmation numbers to my phone and ran to the closet to grab my purple carry-on suitcase.

I didn't know what exactly Julian had in mind for activities, if any, so I packed a variety of clothing: a red dress, two pairs of shorts, two tank tops, a t-shirt, a pair of jeans, sandals, flats, pumps, and sweatpants.

You're just going for the weekend, I reminded myself.

I tried to keep the bag light, but it ended up being stuffed to the brim once I added my flat iron, some makeup, and toiletries. Luckily, the bag was surprisingly roomy and it just barely zipped shut.

I texted Julian and decided to practice some answers to questions that would likely be asked during my interview, not only to prepare myself, but also to calm my nerves about the trip. Even though my bag was packed, I felt completely unprepared.

I wasn't even nervous about the interview anymore. It was completely overshadowed by the fact that in just two short days, I would be face to face with Julian again.

In his room again.

Exactly one week after we... would it really have only been one week? It couldn't possibly be. Everything was moving so fast, yet so slow at the same time.

My phone vibrated with a new message, and I eagerly grabbed it to read the text. My smile faded when I saw Caleb's name, instead of Arrows.

I need to talk to you.

1. "Cry Baby" by The Neighbourhood

2. "Heartbeat" by The Fray