Then I Met You | Mat Barzal

Worlds Colliding

My Love 💕: I'll pick you up at 6 x

You checked his text for the tenth time, to be absolutely sure of when he was coming.

"Breathe" Olivia laughs out, looking at you bouncing your leg, your shoulders tense as your nervousness consumes you.

Mat's arriving in 5 minutes.

Mat's arriving in 5 minutes and you're going to a restaurant.

Mat's arriving in 5 minutes and you're going to a restaurant with his mom and dad and sister, where you would have dinner with his mom and dad and sister.

This was big, and no matter how many times Mat reassured you that his family would like you, it didn't ease your mind all too much. Before you can even fill your lungs with air, the doorbell rings and you look over at Olivia desperately, desperate for your nerves to ease, desperate to crawl into a hole and hide.

Of course he's early.

"Breathe," she says again, "they are going to love you, you have nothing to worry about".

You focus all you can on taking one deep breath before standing up, taking another deep breath before you make your way to the door.

Mat stands outside your door, Liana pokes his side in excitement as they wait for you. She jumps when the door cracks open and pushes her brother aside to hug you, which you welcome without a second thought. And just like that, your nerves are gone, his parents meet you with warm hugs too before Mat can even speak up to introduce you all.

"Oh, it's so nice to meet you, we've heard a lot about you" his mom, Nadia, beams and his dad, Mike, nods along. "He doesn't shut up about you" his sister pipes in, hoping to make him blush, but he just smiles and nods to confirm when you look at him. You smile warmly at him, taking his hand that he offers before turning back towards his family - "I've heard so much about you too, feels like I already know you". He squeezes your hand, "should we get going?"

There's a chorus of you all agreeing and Mat kisses you softly - you don't notice his mom emotionally clutching her chest at the sight, pulling herself together as Mat starts leading the way as his sister asks about the menu.

Before you know it you're sat around a table, eyes scanning the menu for what to eat as you make conversation.

"We're sad we couldn't come to catch one of his shows, hearing his new songs over the phone isn't quite the same as hearing them in person," his dad says.

"And there are a lot of them too," his mom adds, with a gleam in her eye.

"I think he's found some inspiration" his sister, sitting next to you, bumps her shoulder softly against yours.

"You could say that" there's a gleam in Mat's eyes when he focuses on you.

As you get to know them more you see little pieces from his family that Mat has brought with him to New York - his dad's competitiveness, his mom's kindness, and his sister's ambition. Your heart warms, seeing Mat around his family, so much love in his eyes. You'd always understood why he missed his family, but seeing first hand how close they all were you had to keep yourself from getting lost in a bittersweet feeling - focusing on here and now instead.

"He was so energetic as a kid - when he was seven months old he was running around the house, and we had to cut bedsheets and tie them around him" Nadia looks at her son fondly, as he shrugs, scratching his neck as he laughs.

"Once he got a little keyboard for his birthday it all changed though - he was still energetic, don't get me wrong, but he put all his energy into music," Mike tells you.

"Oh yeah, I've seen the garage band photos" you laugh, looking at Liana.

"Oh, he told you how he made me stand there, singing back-up as our neighbors walked past"

"Made you, eh?" Mat scoffs out a laugh, "pretty sure you liked the attention more than I did"

She pokes her tongue out at him and he returns the favor.

The conversation shifts as Mat asks how things are at home, and they all update him on all the small and big changes that have happened since he was last there. This store closed, this store opened, their neighbor got a small dog, so and so got married. They explain who's who to you as they go along talking about life in Coquitlam.

"You should come visit sometime," Liana exclaims.

"Mat usually comes home around May, you're more than welcome to come with" his mom adds.

"You've got finals in May, no?" Mat asks, and you nod.

"Yeah, so we'd have to come after those" his hand rubs your shoulder as he looks at you - "if you want to of course"

"I'd love to" you squeeze Mat's thigh before turning towards his family - "we'll definitely come to visit after my finals"

You all walk slowly on the way home, planning out the rest of their week here. When you reach your door they all give you and Mat some space, because even though you're going to see each other tomorrow, kiss each other tomorrow, you can never get enough.

You spend the rest of the night talking to Olivia about them - and they spend the rest of theirs talking about you.