Fade into you

Chapter 1

London, July 2022

Annelise

I unfastened my seatbelt and stood up. The plane was full, so we waited a little bit until the people in front of us got out. The beautiful stewardess smiled at me and wished me to enjoy my stay and I smiled back at her, thanking her as I wore my sunglasses and went down the airstair.

About 10 minutes later I was waiting for my luggage when I heard a familiar laugh behind me.
I turned around smiling and before I could utter any words, there he was, Jamie, my dear friend Jamie, whom I hadn't seen for what seemed like ages, hugging me tightly. I smiled widely. I'd missed him terribly.

"Oh my God darling" I squealed as he hugged me tighter and my feet lifted from the ground. "I missed you!!" I went on, smiling widely. We broke the hug and looked at each other.
"You've lost weight" he started on parent mode, kissing my forehead.
"Shut up, I haven't." I touched both his cheeks with my hands.
"Ugh, tell me, how is it possible to become more and more handsome every day dear??"
"Stop it" he playfully smacked my hands away and took them into his, kissing them. "You're gorgeous and I've missed you terribly and ugh I'm so happy you're here!!" he finally squealed, pulling me into another hug.
"How's Jess?? Is she in London?" I asked, hoping to get to see his girl and dear friend of mine as well.
"Nope, she's in New York at the moment. We'll meet there after Brazil" he informed me as we were waiting for my suitcases.

We finally got my luggage and walked towards the exit of the airport. As we were walking towards the elevators, many people were looking at him, some of them just smiling, and a lot of them approaching us to talk to Jamie.
"OMG it's Vecna!!" a girl squealed behind us as we waited for the elevator. I turned around smiling as the girl ran towards Jamie and jumped into his arms. When they broke the hug, she was crying. Jamie hugged her again and caressed her hair.

"I love you so much" she sobbed, and I gave her some tissue. Jamie went on talking to her as she got herself together and I took a picture of them. In the meantime more people had gathered around us, some of them taking pictures and videos.

About 10 more minutes later, we were on the elevator towards the parking lot.

"Aren't they amazing?" Jamie smiled, looking into his backpack for his car keys.
"Of course" I smiled back. I was so happy for him. He deserved all this love from everyone.

We got in the car and took a moment.
"Sooo... are you tired??" Jamie started.
"Of course not dear."
"That's great, because Joe's waiting for us, I promised we'd meet him at 8."
"Joe?" I looked at him questioningly.

"Yes, my friend Joseph, Joseph Quinn! You know, Eddie?!"
"Ahhh yes, of course, Joseph! You've talked about him so much, how could I forget" I smiled.
"So I promised we'd meet him, I've told him so much about you too, I can't wait for you to meet him, he's great! But, if you're tired, we can go home first and.."
"No no, I'm good, really, and I need a drink right now to be honest" I replied as I was looking outside the window.
"Great, off we go then" Jamie smiled. "You have so much to tell me!!"
"Indeed" I smiled back.

About 40 minutes later, we were downtown. We parked the car and headed to the place where we always went.
"I can't believe you brought me here" I squealed as we approached. Jamie squeezed my hand "of course, good old times right??"
I recognized Joseph as we approached, standing over a table outside and talking to two girls. The girls left as we approached more, and he smiled at us. He stood up to hug Jamie.
"Heey man" Jamie laughed. They broke the hug and Joseph looked at me. He had the happiest eyes I' d ever seen in my life.
"And you must be Annelise," he told me before Jamie spoke.
"Hello" I smiled, extending my hand for a handshake. "And you're Joseph, of course" I said.
"Welcome" he said, looking straight into my eyes and smiling widely. I shivered.
"Thank you" I suddenly felt very shy, and looked down at the table.
"An is one of my best friends" Jamie said as we sat down.
"I know" Joseph replied. "He talks about you all the time" he continued, turning to me.
"Same about you" I chuckled. "Hey, by the way, I'm a huge fan" I tried to conceal my shyness. How did I become so shy all of a sudden?
Joseph's face lit up once more, and it seemed to me he got a bit flushed.
"Thank you, thank you so much" he awkwardly said. Now it was his turn to look down.