Waiting for Us

Meeting for Once

Briar's P.O.V

Ah. Birthdays. A day for celebration since you have been alive for another year. Whoever celebrates their birthday is insane. There's no purpose to it. At least that's what I think. *honk honk* "Briar! Come on! Time to go! We have a concert to go to!" My cousin doesn't seem to agree with me.

Since it's my 20th birthday and I'm actually free for once, my older cousin Samantha thought she should take me to see her boyfriend and his friends perform. They're in this K-pop group called Stray Kids. I actually enjoy their music a lot. Music is the one thing that keeps me going and their music is no exception. They are the only reason that instead of studying for tests for university, I've gotten dressed in my finest black jeans and black and white t-shirt with black high tops and a jean jacket and am leaving the apartment my cousin and I share.

"Hi Sam," I say, stepping into her blue van. "Hi! Ready to have the night of your life?" "If you're ready to drag me home after because I'm gonna fall asleep." It's true. Late nights doing energetic stuff means I'm going to wipe out on the way home. "Come on. At least have a little fun? It's for the boys." "Ugh. I'll try." "I can take you to meet them later if you want." "You, me, and 8 men I have never met before? Hell no dude." My anti-social nature can't handle that much at once. She's lucky she's getting me to be around a whole bunch of people for just the show. "Fine. Just try to stay for the whole show?" "That I can do." "Good."

*time skip to towards the end of the show cuz that's the good part*

The show has been so fun. Especially because since it's my birthday Sam offered to buy me snacks and a shirt. Me, being the broke college student I am, could not pass this up. But we've been singing along and dancing like fish out of water. So overall not much is different from when we're at home. Just a whole concert space full of people we don't know. Soon enough, the boys announced that they'll be playing their final song. "Hey Sam?" "Yes Briar?" "Can I say one thing?" "Go nuts." "I'm thankful. This is the best birthday present ever Sam I Am." "You didn't just call me that. Oh you will pay for that." As she kept getting angry, the leader, and not to mention my bias, Bang Chan stepped forward and started talking and I immediately tuned out everything she was saying.

"So, thank you so much for coming out to see us perform. As you may know, today is my birthday. Yeah. One year older. Seeing you guys enjoy our set is probably the best birthday present I could ask for. Now, I want to dedicate this last song to you guys. For anyone out there who feels outcasted and needs a place to call their own. Here's a song just for you." As the intro to "District 9" starts, I tune back into my older cousin. "Did you just tune me out?!" "I'm sorry what?" "You know what? Just for that, you and I are going out after the show and you're meeting the boys." "Sam please don't. I can't handle new people. You know that." "You'll deal. The guys are really nice. They won't hurt you. Just chillax."

Chillax? Dude is she nuts?! New people. My idols nonetheless. There's no way. They'll just shun me and laugh in my face like everyone else. She can't be serious. As I sat pondering the potential outcomes of this meeting, I realized that the show ended and Samantha was dragging me outside. "Where are we going?" "The guys decided that they'll go back to their hotel. We're going to head there to meet them." "Are you nuts? You sound like a stalker." "Yeah. I know. But I have the texts to prove I'm not. Can you go on my phone and text Felix to let him know we are on the way?" "Fine."

*more time skips but this time to when the guys get to the hotel*

I was sitting on the couch with my earbuds in, listening to my K-pop playlist Samantha made for me when I got a tap on my shoulder. "Hey. They're here. Take the earbuds out and come with me." I begrudgingly take my earbuds out and turn off my phone as I follow my older cousin to the kitchen area where I spotted the 8 men I had been more terrified to meet than anyone on earth. "So guys, this is my cousin Briar. Briar this is-" "Hang on. Let us do it." "Go for it." One by one they stepped forwards and introduced themselves to me.

"I'm I. N aka Jeongin!" "I'm Seungmin." "Hi! I'm Felix." "What's up? I'm Han aka Jisung." "Hello my name is Hyunjin." "Hey! I'm Changbin!" "I know. You know. I'm Lee Know!" "And then there's me. I'm Bang Chan or Channie or Chris or whatever you wanna call me."

If I believed in heaven, I'd be headed there right now. To have Stray Kids just walk up and introduce themselves to me personally is something I could only compare to what I've heard people say ecstasy is. I suddenly felt Sam nudge my shoulder to try and get me to say hi. Guess I better say hi or else she'll have my head on a stick. I lifted my head but kept my eyes on the floor. "Hi. My name is Briar. I'm Sam's younger cousin."

I thought we would just be done. But all of the sudden I hear Chan start speaking. "Wait. You said your name is Briar?" "Yeah. Is there a problem?" Ouch. Sam just smacked me upside the head. "No. There's no problem. I just thought..is your name like Briar Rose? Like from Sleeping Beauty?" "Actually yes. My parents thought they were clever like that." "I love that name."

I lifted my eyes and met his sparkly brown ones. "You do?" "Yeah. I think it's pretty. And so are you actually."

—
First chapter done! Holy cow. Thanks if you made it all the way through this mess. Hopefully it's good.

Kota out!