metulji - jan peteh

'What are you doing here, Lilia Zena?'

My mind was sent into shock the moment I initiated eye contact with Jan. The way he looked at me spoke volumes; there was something there that reignited in both of us in that split-second. He lingered there for slightly too long - frozen in motion, unmoving. And, as much as I wanted to, my head wouldn't move, I just couldn't look away.

'He must have really liked your sign.' Kat laughed, almost skipping out of the venue. I hadn't seen her break her smile the entire night, and although the concert was now over, her mood remained in the sky.

'He liked yours too, clearly.' I replied, gesturing at the cardboard strip she held in her hand. Although it was now slightly bent, it had done a great job at getting her some heart-hands from Jan.

'Maybe he thinks you're cute. Don't tell me he wasn't captivated.' she elbowed Belle as she said this, who nodded enthusiastically.

'He definitely was.' Val agreed, splitting me and Kat up to bring herself to the centre and link our arms.

'Do you know if they come out after concerts? You know, to meet people?' I asked, attempting to be inconspicious, and Belle almost stopped walking in shock.

'They always come out after concerts.'

'Great.' I replied, my hands starting to sweat as I prepared to meet Jan again. I had been so preoccupied with getting myself here that I hadn't devoted enough time to deciding what my words were going to be. Now, I was swept into a large group of people who were waiting outside the front of the venue, and my claustrophobia distracted me from thinking about it too much.

'Bojan's supposedly out already.' exclaimed Kat, trying to get onto the tips of her toes to see him; she had found something on her phone saying that was true, but she couldn't exactly prove it at her height. Hearing her comment, the people surrounding us began to charge towards the stage-door we were waiting outside.

'I can see him.' agreed Belle, her eyes intently moving as I looked up into them, totally captivated by Bojan. However unattracted to him I was, I could still see where the appeal came from. Sanjay especially had been obsessed.

'What about the others?' I asked, craning my neck to try and catch a glimpse of Jan's long, black locks. Despite trying my utmost, I couldn't see him at all.

My phone then began to vibrate.

Shit, I thought. That could be anyone - it could be Sanjay asking me how everything went; or, it could be my parents figuring out that I wasn't in the country. I dismissed the idea that it was anyone else, while intently praying that the call was from my best friend.

As I pulled my phone from my pocket, a long number appeared across the bar at the top of the screen. Probably a scam call, I thought. Yet part of me itched to pick it up, although it wasn't even a British number.

'Hello?' I pressed the phone to my ear, in order to make out the most sound possible over the constant chatter of the crowd.

'Lilia. Come to the back alleyway near the bins. The door's open.'

'Jan?' I asked, but it was too late; three, short bleeps indicated that the line had been cut.

The three looked at me confusedly; I had to feign a reaction.

'I'm sorry guys, I need to go. I forgot I booked a taxi back to my apartment, and it's here.' I lied intently, and, despite showing hesitance at first, they all believed me eventually - provking guilt on my part. I had told them so many untruths that I was sure they wouldn't be able to trust me again if they found out.

'I'll tell Jan you said thanks for the pick?' Belle suggested, at which I nodded hurriedly. After that, we all hugged, vowing to find each other on a social platform after we'd uploaded the videos we'd taken. From then, I jogged out of the venue and down the street.