Chapter 5: The Meet Up
1328 Words
Chan's POV
Everything's set up, and we're just waiting for Sam, Max, James, and the two new girls.
"Bro, did James called you already?" Daniel asked.
"No, why?" I asked him back.
"He's not answering my calls." Daniel said.
"What? Wait, I'll try to reach him." I worriedly said.
"Guys, Sam texted me. They met James awhile ago." Tristan said.
"So where is he right now?" I asked.
"I don't know. Sam said they saw him walking around the mall before the two new girls arrived." Tristan said.
"I'll look for hi-" I said but someone cut me off.
"Looking for me?" Someone said.
"James! Where had you've been?!" Daniel worriedly asked.
"You guys overthink too much. Chill." James said trying to calm us down.
"Why aren't you picking up my calls?!" Daniel asked.
"My phone was on mute." James chuckled.
"You made us worried!" Daniel scolded him.
"Calm down y'all. What's important is we're already gathered. And next time, don't mute your phone." I said looking at James.
"I'm sorry guys." James apologized.
"Yeah whatever." Daniel said and went to James' direction.
"Now give me a kiss." Daniel said, poking his cheeks.
"Eewww! Dude no!" James cringed and ran away from Daniel.
"C'mon!" Daniel said and chased James.
"Tell me Chan, who has been James' friend for 24 years?" Tristan asked and chuckled.
Me and James have been friends since diapers. My mom and his mom are bestfriends, so there's no doubt we're friends.
"You're right. You can't really tell who has been James' friend for a long time." I chuckled.
"If one of them is a girl, they're probably dating right now." Tristan said that made us both laugh.
"Everyone gather!" Someone shouted that gathered our attention, it's Sam. Tristan went to his girlfriend and pecked her a kiss.
"Babe!" Daniel greeted his lover. "Where are they?" He asked.
"So everyone, meet Nicole and Madisson." Sam said.
Two beautiful girls entered the bar, but this girl Madisson has caught my attention. She's absolutely stunning.
"Nicole, Madisson. Y'all know them, right? but let me introduce you to them again. This is Jasmine, our mom." Sam said.
"Hi! I'm the eldest here so they call me mom." Jasmine embraced them.
"This is Tristan, my boyfriend." Sam said.
"Hi. Nice to meet you." Tristan shaked his hands with them.
"This is Daniel, Maxine's boyfriend and the owner of this bar." Sam said.
"Hi guys. Welcome to the squad!" Daniel bumped his fist with them.
"This is James. Always late at everything." Sam said.
"Hi, pleasure to meet you." James said.
As he shaked his hands with Nicole, we all cheered for them.
"Y'all stop, you're making them shy." Tristan said but he's also teasing both of them.
Because of the cheers, James forgot to shake his hands with Madisson.
"Last but not the least, Chan. The one who always pays for everything." Sam introduced me to them.
"Hi, Nicole." I greet her and shaked my hands with her.
"Hello" Nicole said.
"Hi, Madisson" I said and shaked my hands with here. Damn, she's so beautiful.
"Hello" She said back. Her voice is so soft and it's like music to my ears. Her hands is so small that it fits in mine.
"Okay, introduction's over." Sam said that made our stares cut.
"So uhh, Jasmine. Please lead them to the table." Sam said.
"Copy. Uhm Nicole, James please come with me." Jasmine said, leading the way to Nicole and James' table.
The three of them walked away and left us. I still can't believe that girls like Madisson exist, I mean she's really gorgeous and I'm stealing glances at her.
"So guys, let's go drink!" Daniel said.
"Bro, let's drink the light ones first." I said.
"What?! Did I hear that right?" Daniel asked.
"Are you afraid of getting wasted?" Tristan said and chuckled.
"No! I mean, we haven't eaten anything yet." I said.
But the truth is, I don't want to get wasted tonight because I want to approach Madisson and I feel like Madisson isn't a heavy drinker so it would be nice for her to be sobber.
"You have a point. Go inside the VIP room and wait for me, I'll just order food online." Tristan said.
"Great! So let's go guys?" Samantha said.
"Let's go!" Maxine cheerfully said.
We all walked towards the VIP room and decided to sing while waiting for Tristan.
James' POV
Jasmine opened the door for us to enter. I'm a bit nervous and I actually don't know what to say.
"Enjoy your date!" Jasmine said and left us both.
Rose petals everywhere and fairy lights shining so bright. Our table was at the center, so I walked towards our table and pulled out the chair for Nicole.
"Thank You" She said then took a seat.
I smiled a little at her.
"Your friends are too romantic." She chuckled while looking at the rose petals.
"Yeah, they're brains only work when it comes to dating." I said that made her laugh.
"So uhh, let's eat." I said formally.
I took the knife and fork, and I sliced the beef on my plate. I then exchange my plate to Nicole's plate because she haven't sliced her beef.
"Thank You" She said and smiled at me.
"You're welcome." I said and smiled back at her.
I let her touch her food first before I touch mine's.
While we were eating, I decided to talk.
"I uhhm--" I said and paused for a second.
"I'm sorry" I said that made her curious.
"Sorry for what?" She asked.
"For this. I mean, it's actually a dare made by my friends so I can't really say No. I'm sorry because I uhh- disturb you or something." I explained.
"It's fine, and it's actually nice to meet you and your friends. Life's a lil boring when it's just me and Madisson, so it's really great to meet you all because we got to have new friends!" She cheerfully said.
"And there's actually one more thing I need to say." I nervously said.
"It's okay." She said that made me shook.
"I haven't said a thing." I awkwardly chuckle.
She put down her fork and knife and said;
"I know you're not yet ready. I can see it in your eyes, James."
She smiled at me that made me feel sorry for her.
"I'm sorry, I mean you're pretty and nice but I uhh-- want to focus on myself more. I'm really sorry." I said then I looked at the ground.
"It's okay! I'm okay with being friends. And it's nothing to be sorry about!" She said, making me assured.
I sighed and I looked at her eyes.
"So uhh, friends?" I asked her then I offered a handshake.
"Friends." She said and accepted the handshake.
I pulled out the handshake and I'm finally at ease. I'm really nervous earlier because I can't find the courage to tell her that I'm not ready to date, but she understood me.
"So, what's the reason? I mean who?" She asked.
"What do you mean?" I asked her back.
"I mean, is there anyone in your past that stops you from dating and uhh- pushes you to focus on yourself more?" She explained.
"Uhh that..." I said and paused for a second.
"There's no one, and uhh- there's actually no personal reason in the past that pushes myself to grow more." I said.
"Ohh. How 'bout your friends? How did you meet them?" She asked.
"Chan, is actually my friend since diapers. His mom and my mom are friends and both of our dad is actually business partners, that's why we're inseperable. Then in college days, we both met the rest of the squad." I said.
Remembering those days made me smile. I can't believe that I have the set of best friends.
"How 'bout you? How did you meet Madisson?" I asked her.
"I just met Madisson last month, I saw her at a ballet competition. My cousin and her, are both contestants at that competition. My cousin and I were in the room where contestants practices before performing, but while my cousin is practicing, she slipped. That's when Madisson entered the scene, she helped me walk my cousin towards the Medic. Since that day, we became friends." She said.
"Wow, she's really kind huh?" I asked.
"Yes she is." She said.
I smiled.
We just chitchatted, and decided to get to know more things about each other. And now we're having a friendly conversation.
- Writer
