Spaceking

Chapter 10: There Are So Many Sparks Everything Will Spontaneously Catch Fire

"So, what are Lisa and Jolene like?" Dan asked me, leaning froward in his seat. He sat in front of me, our knees touching, with Phil besides him. Phil was looking at me too, but a little more distant. The look on his face told me that he was in another place, thinking about something completely out of context.

I shrugged. "They are both very funny. Jolene is a bit more quiet than Lisa, but she is the sweetest thing. Lisa is one of those friends that goes for insulting, but deeply cares about you anyway. They're cool. But beware; they're not that geeky. I mean, they know their classics and they watch some series, but not like it's their complete life."

"Unlike you," Dan chuckles, "I bet it has taken over your life." He winked. I grinned, saying: "Like it hasn't taken yours." He smiled, leaning back again. Our knees were still touching, thanks to his enormous legs. But I didn't move. He turned to take Phil out of his thinking to start talking about something. It was my time to zone-out. Only four stops to go.

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"Hey girl!" I heard a voice call. I turned around to see Lisa and Jolene walk up to us. Phil, Dan and me had just arrived. We had been looking around to spot the two familiar faces, but didn't. Lucklily they saw us. Lisa threw her arms around me, Jolene soon following. "Oh my word, Joanna," Jolene sighed. "You left us in panic last night. We were so sure you were with us."I let them both go, smiling at their cute worry-faces. "I'm fine though, more than fine, by the way. You know, it is just such a special, beautiful day.." I sighed, hoping they would get the hint.

Lisa looked up at the sky and frowned. "It's packed, it will probably rain." Saying this, she got an elbow between her ribs, coming from Jolene. "She means it's her birthday moron! Did you bring the gift?" Lisa turned to her, eyes and mouth wide open. "Shit, no, I totally forgot!"

They then looked at me sheepily. I waved my hand. "It's totally fine, I can open it tonight, in the hotel. I'm already glad you didn't forget." Jolene coughed: "That I didn't forget-" I laughed. Talking to them, I had forgotten about the two dark-haired giants who were hiding behind my back. Dan looked like he was following the conversation, with a cute frown. It was like he was trying to understand us. Phil was just staring a bit, still in his dreamy place. "Oh yeah," I now said, shoving them in front of me. "These are my new friends; Dan and Phil." They both waved a bit awkwardly, so I pushed them a bit, saying: "Give them a hand." Dan whispered: "But I don't like socialness." "You did just fine when we met." "That was different," he answered, looking at me. I noticed for the tenth time today that his eyes were reflecting the weather today. They were darker, even looked like they were clouded. I had to look away, blushing.

"This," I said, "Is Lisa." Both of them gave her a hand, smiling, saying their name and moving to Jolene. "And this is Jolene." Dan handled it just as quick, but I saw Phil hesitate just a second before he let her hand go. The tip of his ears were a light shade of pink. I tried not to giggle, but a small sound escaped my lips before I slammed my mouth shut. Dan gave me a weird look. I just smiled.

"Let's go inside before it starts raining," Lisa said, pushing Jolene to the building. Phil immediately catched up with them, talking to Jolene. Dan and I trailed a bit behind. "Ya' know, I still can't believe it," I said to him. He raised his eyebrows. "What?" He asked. I grinned at him. "Not only am I in London on my birthday, I'm also here with you," I explained. I then realised how it must have sounded, seeing his cheeks were turning pink, so I quickly said: "And Phil of course. I mean, I'm probably not your BIGGEST fan ever, but still-"

"It's okay, Jo, I understand," Dan said, chuckling. "And for the record, I'm also hapy to be here with you, not our BIGGEST fan ever." He lightly pushed me with his shoulder. My smile grew to creepy measures, but Dan didn't seem to mind.

"So, you're from Belgium, right?" Dan asked. I swiftly nodded. By now we had entered the building and were waiting in line for tickets. "That's so cool. And you speak such good English! You can't hear at all you're not from England." "Why thank you," I said, smiling. "I learned to speak it when I was around seven, because my parents were obsessed with the UK. We came here on holiday almost every year. But I had never been in Lodon before."

"Never?" Dan asked. I shook my head. "Your first time here, huh." Dan made a funny sound while looking extremely surprised. "Well, there are a couple of places you absolutely have to see." I nodded, following, but a bit confused. "Yeah, I found this amazing blog from a Londoner that is about all these places tourists almost never go."

"No, no," he waved his hand at me, while I took our tickets from Lisa and handed him one. "I will be your guide if you want." I almost let my ticket fall, so surprised was I. I must have looked ridiculous, with my eyebrows high and mouth open. "You would do that?" "Yeah, of course! I'm growing quite fond of you, so hanging with you shouldn't be that hard." I ignored the fact we both blushed at his first statement and put my arms around his torso. My head just reached his collarbone. He was frozen at first, but then quickly hugged me back.

"Thanks Dan."

"Not a problem, Jo." He leaned back, and I let him go before it got awkward. "But we should probably get going. The rest already went through." We quickly followed behind Phil and the girls.

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"I know right? They taste so.. ugh. I just can't discribe it, that's how disgusting it is." I said, waving my hands around. "Yes!" Dan said beside me, "Finally! Everyone always thinks I'm so weird for not liking fish. And I know there are others, but I just had never met another great mind." I grinned, bowing slightly and pointing at our sweaters. "Ravenclaw at your service, Gryffie."

"Come on guys, fish is delicious," Lisa said on my other side. We both turned to her, saying: "No it's not." Lisa backed away slightly, raising her eyebrows. "How long do you guys know each other, less than a day? And you're already in sync." Dan and I smiled and said: "Phil said the same thing." Lisa shook her head. "It's creepy, guys. Stop it." We shrugged and said: "We can't help it, it just happens."

"Well then, stop make it happen! While you two try to stop talking at the same time, I'll go to Jolene and Phil." I raised my eyebrows, looking at Phil, who was posing next to Brangelina, and Jolene, laughing her ass off. "Are you sure that's a good idea?" I ask her, while Dan is chuckling. "Yeah, of course," Lisa said. "Why would it be a bad idea?"

"Maybe because there are so many sparks that everything in a circle of three foot will spontaneosly catch fire," Dan said, shifting a bit. In this movement, his hand nudges mine ligthly, and I try to hide my blush.

Lisa looks at Jolene and Phil, scoffs, and then turns back to us. "Well, then I'll have to stay with the Hogwarts Twins."