~Chapter 30

 

            You are so silly. I told you to talk to me whenever you wanted.

The small reminder was her talisman for keeping any doubts at bay of being an annoyance. At first, Paige had felt timid and slightly embarrassed for telling Luhan that she couldn’t lose him. While she meant it in more imaginable ways than she had played it off as, she was relieved when he had replied in his normal uplifting and reinforcing way. She took the reply as a true open invitation to keep ties with him. In fact, she learned that he had meant his sentence in the most literal of fashions. He never started a conversation with her. It was always Paige who would inquire about his day first. His first response was always the quickest, as though reassuring her that she’d made the right move in getting his attention. But then, there were times…

            Where are you?

Paige stared at the screen and smiled. She hadn’t sent him a message since early that morning, which had merely been a reply to a conversation that had started the night before. This was a new conversation, and Luhan had started it.

            Out.

She smiled to herself. Keeping the answer vague was a good way to ensure continued conversation.

            Out? Out of your house? Out of the office?

            Yes.

            Paige.

            Yes?

            Can I get an answer that is longer than one word?

            It’s possible.

            One more vague answer and you’ll hear nothing from me for the rest of the day.

Paige typed a reply as fast as she could.

            I’m out running a few errands. Would you really have stopped talking to me?

            Don’t test me.

            Shouldn’t you be sleeping now? Isn’t it rather early in the morning for you?

            Practice started early today.

            Ouch.

“Excuse me!” an annoyed voice practically shouted from behind her. Paige whipped around and then moved to the side of the isle. Despite feeling slightly embarrassed to be so wrapped up in her conversation, she smiled to herself for the same reason. It was always like this. The world might as well drop away while she was talking to Luhan, even if it was a pointless conversation.

Paige tucked the phone away and continued her shopping. It wasn’t until she was sitting back in her car that she pulled it back out and checked for any new replies. Her smile faltered when there were no replies to read. It wasn’t a surprise; he had probably been called back to practice. Paige typed in another reply, tucked her phone back away and the engine to drive home.

 

---

 

            I can’t talk on the phone right now. I have hair dye in.

            As long as you aren’t rejecting my calls

            Not for any other reason than to avoid dying my phone case red.

            You could get another phone case.

            There’s nothing wrong with texts.

I have to guess how your voice sounds when you respond! You’ve been gone for a while. Maybe I am forgetting the sound of your voice.

            We spoke last night.

            :(

            I promise, I will call once I’m finished!

            Don’t you miss the sound of my voice?

            I can listen to you whenever I want. :)

            That’s not fair!

            :P 20 minutes, Luhan. I will call you back.

            You should record something for me!

             I don’t sing.

            It doesn’t have to be singing. You can just talk.

            I can turn off my phone and you can listen to my voicemail.

Paige threw the phone down and walked to the restroom to start the shower.  Outwardly, she was grinning and practically dancing. She knew his free time was minimal and precious, but there was nothing she could do when he had caught her after she’d already begun the whole process of retouching the red dye.

The timer was about to go off. Paige stuck her hand in the stream of water judging if the temperature was ready. When the timer went off, she stepped into the stream of water and laughed at the blood red color that washed down the drain. It really did look quite morbid, albeit a bit too bright to actually look the same color as blood. Paige had loved having red hair and once she’d settled on the color years ago, she had rarely deviated from it.

After her shower and checking her hair to make sure she’d done a decent job at the self-dye, Paige returned to the living room and picked up the phone. A choked laugh escaped her lips as she looked at the screen. 10 missed calls. She shook her head in sheer disbelief before sitting on the couch and hitting the call button next to Luhan’s name.

“You couldn’t wait?” Paige laughed when he answered.

“I’ve completely memorized exactly how you would speak three sentences. Those sentences aren’t going to help me in the types of conversations I’d like to have with you,” he sarcastically replied.

“What conversations are those? I sound perfectly pleasant in my voicemail greeting,” Paige said somewhat defensively, although pretending.

“A voicemail greeting isn’t going to answer my question about what you are going to be up to this coming week,” Luhan stated.

Paige smiled to herself before answering him, “I’m looking at a few smaller places. I don’t need a two bedroom and I need something with cheaper rent.”

“And you’re doing that this week?”

“The sooner the better. I’d rather move to a smaller place than to find a new roommate.”

“Does Amy know that you’re planning to move?”

“I haven’t found a place yet, Luhan. Besides, unless you know something I don’t know she’s not coming back,” Paige replied.

“Tao wouldn’t let her at this point,” Luhan laughed. “You should take pictures of the places you look at. I can give you a second opinion.”

“You want to have an opinion on where I live?” Paige asked, completely confused.

“I didn’t mean it like that. I can just give you a second opinion.”

“You’re too busy to worry about what crappy apartment I live in,” Paige replied, brushing off his offer.

“Now I will be worried! Don’t pick out a crappy place!”

“If you insist, I will send you pictures.”

“Thank you,” Luhan replied. “When will you be looking at places?”

“The day after tomorrow, before my shift starts. I hope to find a place then.”

“Message me first! Don’t sign anything until I’ve approved!”

“Luhan…” Paige whined, “you don’t have to be so concerned.”

“Don’t. Sign. Until. I. Approve.”

“Fine, fine.” Paige couldn’t care less if he wanted to have a say in anything, but she also wanted her apartment hunt to go quick and be settled all in the some day.

Eager to change the conversation, Paige turned the conversation to Luhan and his activities for that week. He quickly filled her in on some of the appearances he was recording and on what days they would be broadcasted.

“I’ll wave at you!” Luhan promised.

“You’ll be waving at a camera,” Paige responded dryly.

“No, I’ll wave at you! You better watch!”

“You know I watch everything! Even without you telling me to.”

“I know.” She could almost hear the smile in his words. “I have to go,” he announced.

“Goodbye, Luhan.”

 

---

           

No!

WHY!?!! 

Not that one.

LUHAN! YOU’VE SAID NO TO EVERY SINGLE PICTURE

It’s not good enough.

I CAN’T AFFORD BETTER!!!

Don’t settle.

LUHAN! I’m getting the next place I look at without your input.

Paige’s phone began to ring. She seriously contemplated ignoring it. She was standing outside of the new apartment, having excused herself due to Luhan’s replies. “What?!” she nearly shouted into the phone.

“Seriously, not that one,” Luhan firmly stated.

“I don’t get it! What is wrong with any of the places I’ve looked at? Everything you’ve been against are things I can easily fix myself.”

“You shouldn’t have to fix them yourself. The apartment should be in pristine condition before you look at it,” he argued.

“Luhan,” Paige whined.

“Do some more searches and try apartment hunting on your next free morning or day off. Maybe it’s not a good time to look for a new place."

“It’s not about it being the right or wrong time. I just need cheaper rent!” Paige continued to whine. She had to suppress the urge to stomp her foot in a tantrum like fashion.

“Just wait, please? Next time I’ll try to clear time and then maybe Amy and I can give you feedback. Wouldn’t that work better?” Luhan suggested.

“No. I’ll do it myself.”

“Paige.”

She didn’t respond right away. Instead she looked around the outside of the apartment building and realized she didn’t really like the location of it anyway. Fine. I’ll agree with him for now. But next time, I’m doing this alone. “I’m going to tell them no and head home. I’ll talk to you later,” Paige said and promptly hung up the phone.

Paige declined the apartment and went back to her car. It had been the most frustrating morning. She didn’t know why she had even listened to him. At first, she thought he was going to be helpful or fun about the whole thing. It had blown up in her face, however, as he found faults with everything and persistently told her no on every single place. Paige had given him credit to the first few places as she could reason that he was probably right, but as the morning had gone on, she had begun to lose trust in what he was saying and become more and more frustrated.

It wasn’t until she was inside of her old apartment that she fished the cellphone from her purse and checked for new messages.

            Call me, please?

There was only one message. She ignored it. Instead, she got ready for her afternoon at work. Leaving an hour later, Paige put the entire fiasco behind her and concentrated solely on getting through her shift.

 

---

 

            Call me the second you’re home from work.

Paige rolled her eyes. Luhan must have said something to Amy, that or Amy was having her own crisis. Either way, she wasn’t going to ignore it. She quickly typed a reply as she opened her laptop.

            Vid chat. I’m online now.

            Ok

It took a moment for the connection to come through. It was late at night for Paige but early afternoon for Amy. Paige tried to look as though the day hadn’t worn on her. She realized how much she missed her best friend as soon as her image came on the screen.

“You look dead,” Amy pointed out.

Paige scoffed, “Yes well, it’s been a long day.”

“Don’t be mad at Luhan.”

“Did he tell you how unreasonable he was being?”

“Well, he didn’t say it that way,” Amy replied.

“I’m not mad, not really. I really didn’t want to have this search extend more than a day,” Paige reasoned.

“He was trying to be helpful in lieu of you having no one there to actually go with you.”

“I can only imagine how picky he would be if he were finding a place for himself,” Paige laughed.

“He did stay awake half of the night to give you feedback,” Amy offered.

“He won’t have to next time,” Paige responded dryly.

“Oh whatever, you love him. If he made himself available, you’d want his input again.”

Paige groaned. “Do you have to keep saying that? We’re friends.”

“Whatever,” Amy said dismissively. “One of these days you are going to have to admit it.”

“Why? What purpose would it serve? This is just like the conversation we had about Kai. I can’t make anything permanent with Luhan.”

“But you’re not denying it either,” Amy teased.

“You’d catch me in that lie. I can’t do that to us at such a distance.”

“But you can be friends?”

“Yes. I can still be friends with you and I can still be friends with Luhan.”

“But, you love Luhan. You can’t just love him from that distance for forever.”

“I’m like any other fan. I can love him from afar. Besides, being his friend is more than what a great deal many have at this point."

“Why don’t you just come here? Come to Korea. You already want to move into a smaller place. You’d have both Luhan and myself here. Just come back! You can’t tell me that there are more reasons to stay there than here.”

“Maybe, eventually. If I get into a smaller place then I could save up more money for it.” Paige watched as Amy rolled her eyes. She had to laugh along with her.

“Oh!” Amy squealed, suddenly remembering something that warranted a topic change. “The boys have a break coming up! I’m going to China!”

“Really?! Is Tao showing you around?”

“Mhmmm. They have almost a week off. Well, not all of them. They opened up the schedule for a few individual activities. However, those who aren’t scheduled are going home.”

“That’s terrific! You’ll have to send me pictures of everything!” Paige demanded playfully.

“Like I don’t send you pictures of everything new I discover here? Of course!” Amy laughed.

“Do you know where in China you’re going?”

“I should. Tao keeps talking about it, but I pay little attention past knowing that we get some free time together.”

Paige laughed which was followed quickly by a yawn.

“You are tired, I should let you go.”

Paige barely nodded in agreement. “Seriously though, flood me with pictures.”

“Will do! Oh! One more thing, I’m sending you a link! Since you haven’t brought it up, I figured you haven’t watched it yet.”

”What is it?”

“The boy’s most recent show recording. Enjoy, and goodnight!”

Paige nodded and murmured ‘goodnight’ as Amy disconnected the chat. She opened up the browser and checked her notifications. Sure enough, a link was waiting to a cut of Exo’s latest appearance on a music show and it was English subbed.  While she didn’t need the subtitles, it was nice to have them.

Paige watched with a proud smile as the ending announced Exo as the winner for that week. She watched each of the guys smile and wave at the audience.

She was truly happy. Those boys who had wrenched their sanity dealing with their intrusion for nearly three weeks were doing so well. All of them were smiling and giving their ‘thanks’ to their fans and staff. Even Kai was radiantly happy. Paige couldn’t help but smile back at the computer screen.

That was, until a camera focused on Luhan. He intently smiled and stared directly towards the camera. He waved enthusiastically and blew a kiss and winked. Paige’s breath caught in as she remembered his promise.

Why is he making this so hard for me?

Paige lost count of the replays she watched that evening. She fell asleep both blissfully happy and equally frustrated.

 

---

 

“Good afternoon!” Paige greeted her coworker upon arriving at work. The girl seemed to be on her break, as she was leaning over the computer doing something that was obviously not related to their job.

“Paige! I blame you!” the girl squeaked.

“For what?!” Paige said in alarm.

“You didn’t shut up about these guys and now you’ve got me following them online,” the girl whined pitifully.

Paige tried to stifle her laughter. “Is something going on?” Paige asked, leaning over the girl’s shoulder.

“It’s like watching a car wreck, only a lot hotter! These pictures of them at the airport are addicting.”

This time, Paige let out a much louder laugh. She shook her head at the girl and went to place her things in her workspace and start her afternoon of work.

“Why are they at different places though?” the girl murmured at the computer screen.

Paige looked at the girl and then at the screen from where she was. “Not together?” she asked, trying to remember just what they were doing. It didn’t take long before she remembered.

“Individual schedules. Amy told me that some of the guys had things going on this week and the rest would be heading home,” Paige answered.

“It’s hard to keep track of,” the girl sighed.

Paige laughed again and rolled her eyes. Taking a seat at her desk, she pulled out her cellphone and typed her first message of the day to Luhan.

Are you traveling home as well? Safe trip!

In barely a moment, Paige’s phone vibrated with an answering text.

            I have other places to go to first, but home is in the plans. Thank you!

            Traveling with other members?

            No. But I will meet up with Tao and Amy in China later.

            Don’t spoil their honeymoon! ;)

The phone on the desk rang, pulling Paige back to awareness.

Work calls. I will text you after my shift.

Paige turned off her cellphone and answered the call. After a few minutes of back-to-back calls, she turned her annoyed attention to her coworker who was still on break.

“How much longer are you on break?” Paige asked.

The girl looked at the time on the computer screen. “Fifteen more minutes.”

Paige was about to respond when the phone rang again. Paige answered it quickly and gratefully hung up after a short two minutes.

“Paige, which one is this one?” the girl asked, excitedly, pointing at the screen.

She rose and walked over, recognizing him before she reached the desk.

“That’s Luhan,” Paige whispered.

“Luhan? Isn’t he the one you still talk to?”

Paige nodded.

“Goodness Paige, he’s beautiful.”

Paige choked out a laugh, “He really is.”

“You’re so lucky that you’ve met them!”

Paige smiled and stared at the picture of Luhan. He was sitting, obviously in the airport waiting for departure. He had on sunglasses and darker clothing, but in other pictures he smiled and acknowledged his fans.

She had no idea when the picture had been taken, but measuring by her recent text conversation, he still hadn’t boarded any planes yet.

Paige thought a small prayer that he would be safe wherever he was flying to as she walked back to her desk and began answering the phones again.

 

---

 

I’m finished with my shift. Where did you fly to today? I saw pictures online. :D

Nothing. No replies.

            I’m home now. Hope everything is going well!

Still nothing.

            I’ll leave my phone on, but I need to get some sleep. Text me back, alright?

As Paige checked her messages one more time before closing her eyes, she couldn’t help but feel a slight tinge of worry plant itself in the back of her subconscious.

 

---

 

Paige stretched, feeling too warm between the sheets of her bed. It was definitely the winter season, but living in California meant that random heat waves were not as uncommon as everyone liked to think they were. She threw off the sheets and searched around her pillows for her cellphone.  After finally finding it between the top of the mattress and the wall, she checked the messenger app.

            In CHINA!

Amy’s short text was accompanied by the most ridiculous selca of her and Tao in some place that Paige had absolutely no recognition of. Paige laughed to herself and exited Amy’s conversation to pull open the one she’d started with Luhan the night before. Still nothing.  Paige debated on texting Amy. It was morning for her, but almost 2 am in China. Figuring that Amy would answer whenever she woke up, Paige messaged quickly:

Has Tao heard from Luhan? I messaged him last night but I haven’t heard anything and it’s been hours.

Paige left her cellphone on the bed as she proceeded to shower and grab a quick breakfast. She had debated on another round of apartment hunting that morning, but at the growing temperature rise outside, she ditched the idea in favor for a lazy morning before work. Paige music in the living room, suddenly having the urge to do some light cleaning.

After an hour, she moved from the living room and kitchen into the bedroom. She had almost forgotten about her phone and picked it up off the mattress thumbing through her notifications.

            Sorry. Jet lagged. Don’t worry so much!

Relief spread through Paige’s entire system as she read Luhan’s message.

            Do you know who you’re talking to?

Paige laughed at her witty response as she hit send.

            My Paige. The one who overthinks things. What are you up to today?

            Nothing as exciting as I’m sure you are.

            I do have a full day planned. Do you work tonight?

            Yes. I will be leaving for work in a couple more hours.

            Any plans after?

            I’m boring, Luhan. No.

Call me when you get home tonight!

You’ll be free?

Yes.

Tonight then.

:D

 

---

 

The only thing keeping her from losing her mind was the promise of a phone call with Luhan after work. The phones had been relentless. She felt that the average customer lacked more sense than normal. She had been meaning to check the calendar for a full moon as if paranormal circumstances were the cause of the frustrating evening at work.

On top of that, Amy was making her jealous with the amount of pictures of her and Tao in China that had begun to stream to her phone halfway through her shift. Normally, she kept her phone off during work, but the photos had initially lifted her mood. However, having just an hour left to her shift, she was more wishing she could escape and join them instead of merely being excited for them.

The clock couldn’t have ticked by any slower. She waited for her coworkers to arrive for the next shift and relieve her. It was later in the evening and business had finally managed to slow down, but she still wanted to leave. She probably shouldn’t have, but she pulled open the browser on the computer and started to surf through her favorite Internet sites. Before long, she was sifting through updates on Exo. Most of the focus was on the few members that were being featured on radio shows in pairs. Those who were on ‘vacation’ were flying under the radar. Well, there was speculation as to where some of them were, but with no proof and no pictures to aid in the fan’s guesses.

Paige’s phone vibrated in her pocket, signaling another message received. She assumed it was another picture from Amy. She pulled the device out and was only slightly surprised to see the notification with Luhan’s name.

            Almost done?

Not soon enough.

Bad day?

I’m just anxious.

For?

To leave…

Nothing else?

Stop trying to make me say that I’m looking forward to talking to you!

;)

Paige heard a car door shut outside of the office and checked the time. If she was lucky, it was the next shift. She stood and began straightening the desk and getting ready to sprint out the door.  Sure enough, the office door opened and Paige had to do everything in her power to keep from jumping for joy.

Leaving the office ten minutes later, Paige jumped in her car and drove home. She parked the car and began to walk across the lot on her way to her apartment. She wasn’t sure she could wait another minute. Now that she was safely out of her car, she pulled out her cellphone and opened up the app to the phone. She clicked on Luhan’s name as she turned the corner, only a couple doors away from her apartment. As soon as the phone began to ring in her ear, she could hear the ringing of a cellphone nearby. What funny timing, she thought.

Just a few more steps to the entry way where her apartment door was located. Paige heard the other cellphone stop ringing moments before the call was dropped on her cellphone.

“What the…” Paige muttered while staring at her phone. She stopped walking and stared at the device. She was about to try the call again, but knowing she was so close to her apartment, she decided to go inside first and attempt the call once inside. Her gaze drifted up and she took two more steps until she could clearly see her front door.

 

She stopped walking, again.

 

Her heartbeat quickened.

 

Where there was a surge of joy, there was an equal surge of panic.

 

Luhan stood away from the wall he was leaning against. His presence against the backdrop of the apartment building made everything look so mundane and ugly. It was the first time she had seen him in actuality since the airport, and even then she had regrettably ignored his existence at that time.

Paige could feel her eyes widening, sure that her face probably looked almost comical at the surprise in front of her.

“Hello,” Luhan said as he took a step towards her.

Paige blinked, not realizing that tears had pooled in her eyes.  Her purse and keys left her grasp and hit the ground with a loud clink.  The noise shook her out of her sudden daze and she looked down at the mess without making a move to pick any of it up.

“Yah, Paige!” Luhan took the required steps towards her and bent down to gather her things. When he stood back up to his full height, he stared at her face, his brow creased in concern.

Paige quickly brushed away the tears that had escaped and gathered her voice. “What are you doing here?”

Luhan smiled at her in an endearing way, making her already weak state deteriorate even further. “I’m here to surprise you.”

Paige blinked again. She couldn’t believe that he’d managed to pull off such a surprise. Much like weeks ago, when she had been so happy that he’d stopped being standoffish after she’d cut her finger in the kitchen, she flung her arms around him and pulled him in for another hug that caught him off guard.

Paige choked back tears. She knew how much she’d missed him, but apparently not to the extent that his renewed presence had made apparent. Inwardly, she flew when his arms wrapped around her waist, holding her tightly to him. All of the conflicting emotions that she’d gone to in realizing that it had been him that she loved, and not Kai, came to surface and threatened to suffocate her.

“Luhan.. Luhan… Luhan…” she mumbled into his shoulder.

“Shhh,” he begged for her to calm down while allowing one hand to lift in order to run his fingers through the long red hair that he’d come to love.

“I’m sorry! I’m so sorry!” she burst, surprising the both of them.

“What are you sorry about?” he questioned, breathing the words along the top of her hair.

She hugged him tighter, as if her confession was going to send him running away. She had to prevent it in anyway possible. She breathed a few times, rehearsing the words in her head. With her forehead still resting against his shoulder, she spoke. “I love you."

She had much more to say, but her heart squeezed when she let the small sentence slip and she couldn’t bear to say anything more. At least, not yet.

Luhan wanted to look into her eyes, not hear the sentence garbled against his chest. He tried to put just a few inches between them, but found himself laughing at the tight hold that Paige had on him.

“Paige,” he said, putting pressure on her shoulder. “Paige, look at me.”

She let her hold loosen, but not letting go fully. She straightened her posture and forced herself to look him in the eyes. They were so warm. The dark brown orbs almost shimmered with an expression that she’d seen captured in pictures, but had wanted to experience it first hand. Paige gulped down a breath of air, holding it in slightly before speaking again.

“I love you,” she stated again, not breaking eye contact. It might have been her imagination, but those dark brown orbs visibly brightened. She could see the relief buried in the back of his gaze and wished she could have gone back and paid more attention to just how much she’d wanted him. Her thoughts were stopped as she felt his hand trace along her jawline, keeping her chin lifted and her gaze from leaving his. She wanted to lean into his touch, absorb it so that he would never leave her again.

“I love you too,” he whispered in Chinese. She knew what he said, the phrase popular enough for her to know it and recognize it. And for some reason, it meant something deeper. Her heart began to race and that feeling of joy and panic spread again. The rather silly part of her brain didn’t want to believe that it was true or that it was really happening to her.

Luhan recognized the fear buried deep in her eyes and did the only thing he knew to extinguish it.

His lips met hers with a tentative promise that he was telling her the absolute truth. Paige felt all of her anxiety and regret melt away. She renewed her grasp around his torso, but not with desperation. This time, it was just because she couldn’t stand to be anything less than part of him. Luhan pressed further, wanting to erase all the conflicting emotions in the past and start over. He wanted this to begin something new for them. He used his thumb along the side of her cheek to trace small circles, as if reassuring that she didn’t need to worry and that this was an act of love and not something frivolous, fleeting, or done without intention.

It worked. Paige felt an overwhelming surge of happiness. She eagerly returned kiss for kiss and smiled against his lips. Taken by surprise, Luhan pulled away and stared down into Paige’s dancing eyes.

“Are you laughing?” he asked.

“No, not at all. I’m just ridiculously happy.”

Luhan leaned forward again, but Paige stopped him by letting go of him and instead grabbing his wrist.  When he looked confused, she just smiled at him.

“Come on. We shouldn’t stay out here.” Paige fumbled with her keys while leading him with her other hand. She opened the door, inviting him in and swiftly closed it behind her.

Paige the light in the living room and turned back to Luhan who was gazing around the apartment she used to share with Amy.

“It’s so empty in here,” he commented.

“I told you, I need a smaller place!” Paige laughed.

Luhan’s gaze returned to her and he smiled. “No, I think we have the perfect place for you now.”

Paige furrowed her brows in confusion and stared back at him. “What place?”

“You really don’t know?” he asked while taking steps towards her. “Do you think I came all the way here to say surprise, spend a little bit of time with you and then leave?”

Paige’s breath caught in again.

Luhan stepped closer.

“You want me to go back with you?” Paige whispered.

“I don’t think I’d listen if you told me no,” he smiled.

“So, I have no choice?” she breathed.

“I’d rather not give you one…” he murmured before capturing her lips again.

Paige melted into the sudden second kiss, again. Luhan took another step forcing her to step back against the wall. He leaned in, keeping her completely supported. He hadn’t intended to kiss her hungrily, but the promise that she would come back with him was too satisfying for any other reaction. He felt her tug on his shirt and pull him closer. He hummed in satisfaction, eliciting a small moan to escape her lips. He took advantage to dip in and taste her, relishing in her small yet blatant reactions. When a small whimper escaped , he pulled back and stared down at her.

“Luhan,” she panted, trying to find her breath.

He watched as her eyes danced back and forth to each of his.

“Hmm?”

“Take me home.”

 

---

 

“Paige. Paige, wake up.”

She heard Luhan’s voice somewhere in the distance, but she was so tired and had to battle to wake up.

“Paige,” Luhan repeated, this time nudging her shoulder.

“Mmmm?” she mumbled, still not opening her eyes.

“We’re here. You need to wake up now.”

“Huh?” she asked, still not completely awake.

“The plane has landed. We need to get off.”

Paige snapped her eyes open as reality sunk in. She glanced out the window next to her seat and saw that they indeed were on solid ground.

“We’re here!!!” she exclaimed.

Luhan laughed. He grabbed their carry on luggage and urged her to follow him. Paige all but danced out of the plane and into the terminal.

“Let’s go get our luggage, then we can see if our ride is here yet,” Luhan laughed.

Luhan’s surprise visit to the states had left fans not knowing where he was or what his schedule had been. They had made the flight from California to China without much of anyone paying any attention to them.

Paige bounced happily while waiting for the luggage to start flooding the carousel.

Once the luggage had been retrieved, Luhan and Paige made their way out of the terminal. Luhan pulled out his phone and began typing. “Soon. Our ride will be here soon.” Paige just nodded and smiled, trying to take in the unfamiliar area.

Minutes passed and Luhan was beginning to look impatient.

“Who’s coming for us?” Paige asked.

“A friend,” Luhan stated.

Paige shrugged it off and waited.

Luhan’s phone vibrated and he pulled open the messages. “Okay, they’re here,” he mumbled while scanning the crowd.

“PAIGE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!”

Paige turned around sharply and almost screamed in delight when she saw Amy running towards her.

They nearly collided into each other in their attempt to give each other a hug. Both of them became an incoherent mess of babbling about the stream of events leading both of them to realize that they were meeting here in China. Paige had told Amy about how Luhan had surprised her, while Amy had let it all slip that she knew it was going to happen.

 

Above the squealing of the two best friends, Luhan and Tao exchanged smiles.

 

The two best friends didn’t stop their talking, even after their respective boyfriends pulled them into the waiting car.

 

* END *