Nathan

June: Nathan!!!!!!!! This

Is

Gold

I swear

I can't believe I've been listening to Valentina's shitty hip hop stuff all these years!

I smiled, clicking on the link to see whatever song she'd discovered this time. Pearl Jam — Yellow Ledbetter. Of course. One of the masterpieces in this world.

Nathan: You need to listen to a live version.

Jealous now that I saw them this year?

June: Infinitely jealous.

"Nathan, are you ready, darling?" Charlotte came into the bedroom, covered in necklaces and rings and earrings, her hair in an elegant knot, wearing a dress that reached her ankles. My eyes traveled down to her shoes, and I shook my head.

"Nope," I said, walking towards her and taking her in my arms. She'd put on the expensive perfume, the one that was so heavy you couldn't breathe in her vicinity for the first few minutes. "You're wearing heels. That's dangerous. What if one of them breaks and a handsome guy swoops in to save the day?"

She smiled, biting her lip, dimples in her cheeks. I loved her dimples. "Well," she said, "if you are that handsome guy, I don't mind."

I pulled her in to kiss her, wondering how the hell we'd gotten from that moment to this one. I thought I would get used to it at some point, but I still didn't really grasp what was happening, or how. How in the name of god had I ended up here, staying with Charlotte in the bedroom of her childhood home, an ocean away from California?

"Oh, no!" she said, as we broke apart. "Now I have to do my lipstick again! Oh, and you're covered in it, come here." I held in a chuckle as she wiped away the pink with her thumb, then marched into her bathroom again to reapply her make-up.

I didn't blame her for needing to feel perfect. When I met her parents, a week ago, I felt awkwardly inadequate in their company, even though I'd been wearing dress pants and a shirt. They were unfathomably wealthy, of the kind even my parents didn't cross paths with frequently, and again, I'd felt guilty for falling for such a rich girl. It wasn't her fault though; just like me, she couldn't help to which family she was born into. Besides, they were nice enough: a little unworldly, but kind and empathic. At least, they called their staff by their first names and treated them like humans. Nonetheless, I was glad this was only a vacation and I'd be returning home in a short while.

Nathan: Have to go. Dinner in a few.

You need to try some Backspacer songs. It's my favorite album.

"June again?" Charlotte's eyes moved from my phone to me, meaning she didn't like it. She tried to hide her disapproval with a smile, only I'd gotten to know her pretty well in the five months we'd been dating. "She really misses you, doesn't she?"

I didn't say anything, just locked my phone and slid it in my pocket. I wasn't going to have this argument again. Apparently, she didn't want to either, because she smiled swiftly and took my arm.

I didn't know how, but the primary and only problem in our relationship was another person. I'd come to realize that most of our arguments came down to something having to do with June, which, when I thought about it, was strange. I supposed Charlotte, as an only child, was used to being the center of all attention, and she had a hard time adjusting to the fact that it wasn't always like that. Be that as it may, I'd chosen to be here with her, and I think it'd put her mind at ease. For all her beauty and wealth, she was a very insecure person.

"You go to such lengths for that girl," she'd said earlier this month. "It makes me wonder where I stand. If you'd do the same for me."

Of course I would. She was my girlfriend. It was just that June had needed me more at the time, with her father fresh out of the hospital, groaning like an old man. She was strong, June, and she could handle it, but that didn't mean she had to go through it on her own. She was always there for me; I needed to be there for her. Charlotte had said she understood and that she was an "insecure twat" (her own words) and that I could be mad with her if I wanted to. I didn't want to. She didn't mean any harm anyway, and she'd been making an effort to ask about how June was doing ever since, even messaging June herself.

Still, as we were sitting at the antique dining table from 1652, underneath the light from the chandeliers, with a waiter refilling my glass with a Chateau Lafite Rothschild from 1899, whatever that might mean, I couldn't help but wish we were back home with June and Sam, playing them all of my favorite songs and drinking Coca Cola zero we poured out of the bottle ourselves.

I didn't know why June was suddenly intent on discovering the music I liked. Maybe it was how Charlotte had said, and she missed me. In the early phases, she'd only texted me songs I loved myself, then slowly, she'd discovered her own favorites, records I wasn't as fond of but she was amazed by. Sometimes, she'd even send me a band I didn't know yet. Turned out she had a thing for alternative music. Shouldn't have surprised me. I should've introduced it to her earlier. Why did it never cross my mind? Music used to be a part of my daily routine. When did that change? With Lena's death? When I had to try being an adult?

Something buzzed. Charlotte and I were lying on her bed, both on our phones, too tired from the dinner with her parents to do anything. June's face appeared on the screen — it was the picture I'd snapped shortly after Charlotte and she had gone shopping, the night we'd fled from Lena's mural. I didn't really remember why I'd taken it. She loved it, though, and was using it as her profile pic.

"June's calling," I said to Charlotte.

"Oh," she said. "You don't think something's wrong, right? With her dad?" The genuine concern in her voice put me at ease, and I accepted the FaceTime call.

Immediately, we knew there wasn't anything to be worried about.

On the contrary, she was laughing so hard she couldn't breathe, sitting close to Sam in his bed. They were on the laptop. Sam was propped up against some pillows, eyes narrowed, mouth tight in annoyance. Charlotte huddled close to me so she could watch too.

"You won't believe what this fool did!" June said, and even from here, I could see the little lights in her eyes.

"June, I asked you not to tell him..." Sam grumbled, almost pouting. There was something off about the way he was talking, like he was high on something.

"Hi Charlotte!" she called out, sending a bright smile in her direction. "You both need to hear this, really. I think something is seriously wrong with our boy Sam."

Sam went scarlet. "June, come on... Nathan, okay, but Charlotte..."

"Oh no, sweetie," she said, "she's gonna hear about this too. We need to make sure this never happens again." She turned to us, and I couldn't help but smile at her happiness. "So, our Sam here was trying to impress a girl today. You know how?"

"June, come on... It's not funny..."

"Yes, it is. Tell them. Tell them what you did." But Sam seemed intent on not sharing any information with us. "Okay, then I'll tell them. Maybe you can shed some light on his thinking process, Nathan." A grin, directed at me, and suddenly I was awake again. "Apparently, he and a couple of friends and Jennifer had been watching YouTube videos. There was this one video of a guy that got hit on the head by a falling boulder and survived, and Sam, I think, wanted to show them he could do the same, so he let them drop an old dictionary on his head. It might've been fifteen pounds." She started laughing again, tears in the corners of her eyes, and both Charlotte and I joined in. "Needless to say, he's got a concussion, so I'm taking care of him now."

What the hell? I couldn't hold it — I even dropped the phone, rolling about the bed as I laughed the lungs out of my body. I knew teenage boys could do strange things, though this was a whole new level of bizarre. Charlotte was giggling soundlessly, head in her neck, all at once looking more attractive in her pajama than she had done in the expensive dress.

I held up my phone again, to find June grinning at me. "Sam," I said, "I don't know why you ever thought that would be a good idea." Sam mumbled something. "I wish I was there so I could hit you on the head again, just for being a little shit."

"Oh, trust me," June said. "I already did. Doctor's orders."

Another wave of laughter came over the both of us, and for a moment, I could've sworn she was right here with us.

"Is he going to be alright, though?" Charlotte said, face serious again.

"Yeah, doctor said he was probably gonna be fine." A last giggle escaped her lips as she patted his shoulder affectionately, as if he was a good dog. "He did tell me I needed to wake him up every two hours, so we've got a long night ahead of us."

"Do you need us to come home?" I almost said it. Almost. But it seemed they were handling it perfectly without me. "Thank you for looking after him," I said instead. "And for giving us the opportunity to laugh at his pathetic ass."

She smiled. "That's what friends are for, right?"